So after nearly 2 months, my flash heavy report is done. It's a long one so grab a cuppa. Enjoy!
Background
I met Mr B in the summer of 2006. I’d just come out of a long term relationship and he had recently split from his second wife (who we charitably nicknamed ‘The Sequel’). Add to that the 17-and-a-bit year age gap, and neither of us were looking for a serious relationship. I was 20 and he was 38 when we met. He was reacquainting himself with the single life, and my girlfriends and I were having the equally single summer of our lives! We started as ‘friends’ but somewhere along the way it became more than just a fling. It took us a few months and a couple of drunken ‘others’ to admit we had feelings for each other.
Over the next few years we integrated ourselves into each other’s families, I met his two gorgeous daughters (E and A, who were 16 and 11 at the time) and he shared the excitement of my twin sister carrying my two amazing nephews (L now 3.5, and J now 16 months), and having the honour of being asked to be Godfather to both of them.
The age gap and other people’s opinions on it between us put a lot of pressure on our relationship, and for the first year we were together we were very on and off. But we moved passed it and I honestly think it has made us as strong as we are today.
We moved in together in December 2008.
The Proposal
We had always talked about marriage, but as Mr B had been married before, and I was never really seduced by the idea, it wasn’t a high priority for us. In 2010 we were invited to 15 weddings over the May-October season, and we started to talk about what we would do at our own wedding, things we liked, things we’d change. We lay in bed one night after attending one of the many, and all I can describe it as is something ‘clicking’. It wasn’t if’s any more, but when’s. I told him I didn’t want to get engaged on Christmas day (which was lucky, as my gorgeous Twinny and her OH of about 10 years did!) and I showed him rings that I liked, including a £33000 Tiffany’s number! (Hey, a girl can try!)
We had our older nephew staying over one Friday night in February 2011, and on the Saturday we went to Argos (I know. From Tiffany’s to Argos – don’t judge me. HA!). We picked one out, showed it to L who liked it, but liked the Buzz Lightyear Lego better, and ordered it. Job done!
Saturday nights have always been our nights together, mainly at the pub, and one Saturday in March 2011 I was getting ready to go out and having a Fat Day (you know what I mean girls!) and moaning that I had nothing to wear. Mr B disappeared and came back with a big dopey grin on his face and said “I’ve know something you can wear. Your new ring” and got down on one knee. My answer? “But I’m only wearing one shoe!”
Planning for the Big Day
In June 2010, before we were engaged, we went to Zante, one of the Greek Islands. While we were there, we saw a wedding in the grounds of the hotel we were staying in. We decided there and then ‘when’ we got married, we wanted to do it abroad, and that this was the place to do it. We decided on 2012, one of the reasons being that my passport ran out at the end of 2012 and there was no point paying out twice for it! (If you haven’t guessed it yet, we’re not the most romantic people in the world. Snog in public, head over heels, lovey dovey, make you feel sick to look at. But not romantic!) We decided to go for either June or September – June was the time we usually went on holiday and we didn’t want to go in the Summer Holidays as the prices hike so much! Mr B’s youngest would be sitting her GCSE’s that year, so June was out in case it clashed with any exams. So September it was.
We contacted a planner local to the Island, and asked her about our desired venue. She confirmed she could help us organise it at the hotel we wanted and we spoke about dates. We looked at flights and holidays, decided we wanted to book it for early September and she told us she had Thursday 13th free. Date booked! We booked two weeks over there, from the 9th to the 26th, and let our families know the plans. We decided to invite family only, and apart from Mr B’s Mum and brother, and my sister’s partner, everyone wanted to come. In all there were 14 of us travelling.
So date and flights booked, we started planning the Party of the Year for friends and family when we got back. We drew up a guest list, which grew and grew, and decided we needed a venue to hold at least 200 people. We booked our local Football Club which is huge, modern and fabulous. We booked Mr B’s friend to DJ, caterers for a buffet, and decided on decorations and elements to make it ‘us’. We decided that we didn’t want to take away from the amazing colours and scenery from Zante, so wanted a muted colour theme. We went for Monochrome – black, white and silver – with a tiny touch of Hot Pink.
Dress Shopping
Every girl’s favourite part of the planning process right? Well we got to December 2011 and I realised that with 10 months to go, I really should start thinking about getting something to wear. I emailed a few shops in my area and had a lovely reply from a shop a few miles away. I booked a date in January and asked my Mum and two sisters to come along.
A little bit more background;
I grew up without a father for most of my life. He left my Mum for another
woman, with four children under the age of five, and a mortgage she couldn’t
pay, leaving us almost homeless by the time my little brother was a toddler. He
was 3 months at the time he left.
Ross has always seen himself as the ‘man of the house’. When he heard about the
dress shopping, he booked a day off from his job as a store manager and
insisted on escorting us all there.
My Godmother Auntie J came along too. When my Twinny and I were born premature we were in hospital for a while. My older sister was 18 months old. Auntie J helped out so much, caring for my sis and us when we came home. She’s always been a big part of my life too.
So I rolled up with my 5 person entourage and was met by the
most excited, friendly and lovely shop assistant I’d ever met in my life. She
obviously loved her job and made it such an amazing experience for all of us.
We discussed what I was looking for; she showed us a few options and left us to
look through the racks. There were some amazing dresses and we chose five or so
together. Auntie J picked out a stunning Mark Lesley Paradise, perfect for a
beach wedding. I tried it on first, and loved it. I tried on the others, but we
all agreed, nothing compared to that one (except the Disney Princess Ariel, but
it wasn’t as practical, so the Mark won!). The shop assistant told me that if I
ordered today, she would throw in some shoes. Yes. It’s true. Free. Shoes!!!
Does a girl ever need any more persuasion?!
When it came to ordering and the 50% deposit, my darling baby brother took his
wallet out and paid the lot. He said it was tradition and his duty.
Auntie J also paid for my headpiece.
So I finally had something to wear. It took all the willpower I had not to show Mr B any of it. We talk about EVERYTHING and it was so strange to keep a secret from him. But he was surprisingly traditional, and didn’t want to see a thing. Not even my FREE SHOES!!!
I bought my earrings and shoes for the party (that I never actually got round to wearing) in Debenhams for the grand total of £22. For both.
Dressing the Boys
Neither Mr B nor I wanted a wedding party as such, so decided against a best man or bridesmaids. As we were getting married in a (hopefully) warm country he decided against a full suit. He went for grey trousers, a white shirt with black checkerboard detailing, a silver waistcoat and a silver tie (which was decided on before 50 Shades, in case you wondered) and black shoes with a slight checkerboard pattern on the top.
A lot of the other men were asking what to wear, so Mr B suggested grey trousers and white shirts, waistcoats if they wanted them. Mr B and I, my Mum and my bro all started collecting bits for the little nephews to wear. They wore grey trousers, short sleeved white shirts, silver waistcoats and matching cravats and grey plimsolls. I’ve never seen them look so cute!
My little bro and I went on a shopping trip and sorted his outfit. We had a lovely day shopping, lunch and more shopping. I asked him to give me away. He was chuffed! Really proud too.
The Runup
Thursday 6th September: My last day at work. I was spoiled rotten by some amazing gifts from my colleagues, the children I look after and their families. It’s tradition at the day nursery I work at to gather all of the children together and present gifts to whoever’s special day it was (birthdays, leaving days etc.).Today it was my turn. The little darlings had made my cards and chosen presents for the day, and the older ones told me how much they were looking forward to seeing me dressed up like a princess. Bless them. I made it through the whole day with very few tears, but that bit was a struggle!
Friday 7th September: The day was spent packing (nothing like leaving it to the last minute!), cleaning the flat and evening drinks with Mr B. It was his last day at work, and once he got back we were on the home straight.
Saturday 8th September: I finished packing, bought some last minute bits, and checked all of my many lists. Anyone who is considering getting married abroad – remember you will have to pack for a wedding and a holiday. Lists are your friend! Mr B went to collect his girls and once they were here we rearranged some of the suitcases, packed some of our bits into their cases and headed off to the pub. We had a few afternoon drinks, a bit of late lunch and headed home. I managed a quick sleep, and as I got up everyone else went off to bed to catch a few hours. I took the opportunity to sign off of here and the 2012 Group, read my Good Luck thread and sat quietly contemplating everything we’d been planning over the last 14 months. I could’ve panicked, unpacked all the cases just to check everything was there (and believe me I thought about it!) but instead I looked over at my little box where my dress was packed, and the stack of 4 suitcases waiting by the door, and I felt calm. I had everything I needed and they were all having a little snooze before we headed off. If I forgot anything else, it wasn’t important. (I did keep looking at the box though, to make sure the dress was still there!)
Sunday 9th September: At 1:30am the taxi arrived to pick us up for the airport. Mr B’s Dad was already in it, so we went round to pick my mum, bro and older sister up. We met Twinny, her OH, her two boys and the Gruffalo Trunkie there. We booked in and the woman behind the desk ensured all of our seats were together. We had some breakfast (at 3am in Stanstead Airport Whetherspoons. Not a pretty place to be, but hey, we’re on holiday!), did a little Duty Free shopping and made our way round to the boarding gate. When we arrived, it was announced that unless pre-booked seats had been paid for, the seats on our boarding card were void, as a smaller plane had turned up. The crowd waiting went mad. People were pushing and shoving to get to the gate. They called passengers on groups at a time, and we waited. We were getting pretty upset by now. Twinny was worried her family would be split. Thankfully they were seated together, but were told that they were lucky to be put together because they hadn’t pre-booked seats. Yes, they would have sat a 3.5 year old on his own, but they let him sit with his parents ‘as a goodwill gesture’. By this point, I was ready to go Bridezilla on them, but I stayed quiet and held my dress and my Mr B. By the time we had boarded the plane, Mr B’s 74 year old dad was sat amongst a loud group of 18-30’s type lads, my mum was in the same position, and I had to sit alone, behind Mr B, next to a couple who obviously hadn’t washed in weeks, with no space above my head for my perfectly packed dress box that was my hand luggage. Luckily there was space for it above Mr B. As we took off, everything took it’s toll and I broke down into tears, while the Smellies next to me cracked open their packed lunch boxes. Of Egg Mayo sandwiches.
After the disastrous start to the holiday, we finally landed on Greek soil. I’ve never been so relieved to leave a plane. Apparently Mr Smelly was also a snorer. But as we stepped off the plane and the sunshine and fresh air hit me, I felt my mood change. It felt like we were home (having been there twice previously) and our family were there to share it.
We collected the baggage and transferred to the hotel. We were all staying at the same place, the hotel we were getting married in in 4 days’ time.
We checked into our room, and they’d given us the best room in the whole hotel. Our view;
We met with the family, sunbathed while some that hadn’t been to Zante before went shopping and exploring, and met with the B family for dinner. Mr B’s sister and BIL live in Darlington, and we live in Suffolk, so we don’t see them often. They had flown out on the same day, and it was so lovely to catch up with them.
The next few days were spent sunbathing, swimming and having fun with the family. It was our first big family holiday, and Nephew J’s first ever holiday. Nephew L was at the perfect age for a holiday in the sun too – he learned to swim while we were there. He was so proud of himself, and told me “I went under the water. I was rilly rilly brave!” So water fights, swimming and tons of ice cream, and a small toddler looking through FHM – family holiday well underway.
Tuesday 11th September: Mr B and I went to Tsilivi town to meet our wedding planner, Frances (at Tsilivi Travel). We had a chat about flower colours, photos, the videographer and about the run through of the day. We left feeling excited about everything and couldn’t wait – 2 days left! It was starting to feel more real to us now, and we left grinning like fools.
Wednesday 12th September: We spent one last day together at the hotel, and late that afternoon, Mr B left to stay at his sister’s villa, just up the beach. We swapped gifts to open in the morning, said our goodbyes, and I kicked him out before we cried! That evening I went out for dinner with the family, and The Twinny stayed in my room. We laughed, she found Mr B’s pile of FHM’s so had a read of one of them, and fell asleep quickly.
Thursday 13th September: THE WEDDING DAY
For the week running up to the wedding day, every weather
report said we were forecast rain and storms on the wedding day. I thought this
was hilarious. I said to Mr B that only we would fly out 1500 miles for our
wedding and still get rubbish weather!
8:30 - I woke up around to blue skies and sunshine, praying it would last until the ceremony at 5:00. I sat on the balcony reading and looking at the view. Twinny woke up soon after. We put the favours together, I gave her her present to open (a tshirt I’d ‘blinged’ and had matching ones for other sis and Mummy P), and she went off to get her boys up and dressed.
10:00 – I met the family for breakfast and (the girls wearing their Tshirts) and I ate a huge full English fry up! No nervous loss of appetite for me!
11:00- I went back up to the room and chilled out alone. The others stayed by the pool with the kids, but I had some time alone. I read, started my report, showered, and opened my present form Mr B. He’d forgotten to get a card before we flew out, so he bought a handmade one from a lady in the bar we drank in, which was HILARIOUS!
I opened the gift, and he’d bought me the most beautiful Swarovski Crystal necklace and earring set. There was a little Post It note on the box saying “Something New”. Bless him!
1:00 – The make-up lady came to beautify me. She was lovely and friendly and we chatted away while she worked her magic. And it only took her an hour!
2:00 – My sister is a hairdresser and the only person in the world I would trust to touch my hair. So it was a good job she flew out with us! She came to do my hair, joined by Twinny, and we laughed our way through the next couple of hours.
4:00 - The wedding planner was due to arrive to start setting up. We had given her a CD at the meeting, and I heard some of it playing (while she did sound checks). My stomach flipped over and suddenly I was hit by nerves. I sat and breathed through it, and don’t think anyone noticed!
4:10 – Mr B’s daughter came to the room with the bags he’d taken to the villa last night. He was here!
4:30 – I went off to my mum’s room where my dress was being kept. I got into the dress, and everyone was needed for a quick run through, so left me in their room, wandering round and twiddling my thumbs. My brother came back after a few minutes, asking for the key to our room, as Mr B had left the rings in the bag his daughter had dropped off earlier. Doh! I put the TV on, but the only channels I found were Sky News and a Greek game show.
5:15 – There was a knock at the door. My brother, the wedding coordinator and the cameraman for the DVD were here, and they had my bouquet! It was stunning – pink and orange roses.
My brother and I took a slow walk round the corner, while the cameraman filmed us and made us stop to pose. I felt a bit silly, and we giggled and grinned the whole way. The coordinator signalled the DJ to start the music as she saw us get round the corner. We had a guitar only version of Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars, and Mr B later told me that as soon as he heard the music, he welled up, knowing I was nearly there. We turned the corner, and carried on slowly walking towards the ceremony space. There was people hanging off their balconies and sitting up on their sun loungers, and I said to my bro “sh1t, everyone’s looking at us!” And then I spotted Mr B. He looked so handsome and so proud. I kept my eyes on him, and we grinned at each other the whole time. This was the only time I wobbled and nearly cried.
My little brother shook my soon to be husband’s hand and passed my hand over, which Mr B held, and didn’t let go of while we said our vows.
We said our vows (apparently – this is the only part of the day I don’t remember! I am possibly the worst wife in the world!) and exchanged rings, after Mr B had given me his right hand to put the ring on.
All of a sudden (or so it seemed) we were pronounced Husband and Wife, and Mr B kissed his bride!
We waited while our guests congratulated us, and posed for a lot of pictures. Here’s a few of our favourites;
We went down to the beach for some pictures, and as we stepped down, I noticed a man next to us, who just at that moment, decided to change his swimming shorts! Yup, he was naked!
Here are a few of our favourite beach pictures;
We had a few drinks in the bar, and walked up along the beach to the restaurant we had chosen to have our meal. (Not before Mr B ran back to the room to pick up the favours. Us disorganised?) We had planned to get there a little before the guests and set the favours out as name settings, but as it was, everyone just found a seat and mingled in with each other, both families mixed together. We had a ‘Greek Style’ celebration, where we had one long table and the food was put onto it, and everyone helped themselves! We had pittas, Greek salads, houmous, taramasalata, fried vegetables, gyros (kebabs), meat from the spit and pizza and chips in case the children wanted some! I was still buzzing, so hardly ate a thing. What I did eat was amazing. Everyone enjoyed it, and in true Greek style, there was no way we’d ever get through all of the food.
The view from the restaurant is amazing, and is one of the reasons we chose to have our Greek reception there. We watched the sun set over Kephalonia, and saw a storm closing in over the Island, the lightning flashing in the distance.
After the meal we walked back up the beach towards the hotel. In the dark. But no one walked out into the sea, so that was good! Mr B and I took this moment to pop back up to our room, and arranged to meet everyone in our favourite cocktail bar around the corner. We both got changed in the room, me into a white lacy dress I’d worn on my hen day, and him into his new Colchester United football shirt (I had one printed with our wedding date on the back as his present). We spent a few minutes laughing, hugging and talking about the day. I’ve been told by many OM’s that you should always take a few minutes on your wedding day to sit back and spend time alone with your new husband. Do it. I could go on and on about how it’s the only time you’ll get together alone on the day, and it makes you feel closer, but when you do it, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
We met our guests at the cocktail bar, cue cheering and clapping as we walked in (so embarrassing!) and spent the evening with our new family. We went to bed smiling and laughing, content as man and wife.
And because we all love a good flash, here’s a few of my personal favourites
