Hey big spender

Apparently the average engagement now lasts a minimum of two years, according to www.jpdiamonds.com.
So although I feel like our engagement of what will be 22 months was a lifetime, it seems like this is quite a short engagement compared to some.
Fifty nine per cent of couples who have popped the question don’t even have a date booked for the big day.
And 70 per cent have been forced to put their nuptials on hold due to a lack of funds, with 35 per cent blaming the credit crunch for their long engagement.
Our reasoning behind the long engagement was to make sure we had enough to cover our costs, but with the average couple hoping to spend more than £7,000 on their wedding, luxuries are certainly being cut down.
For me, I am trying to ignore the fact that there is a recession. After all, you only get married once...... (at least that's the point!)
I will spend what I can on the wedding and hope that for at least one day, no-one will even think about the economic climate.

Here is a list of what people are skimping on during the recession.

A big traditional white wedding dress 21 per cent
Handmade tailored suits for groom and best man 38 per cent
A church wedding 34 per cent
A champagne reception 27 per cent
A free bar 48 per cent
A honeymoon abroad 20 per cent
Bridesmaids 12 per cent
Flowers 8 per cent
Balloons 28 per cent
A sit down meal 14 per cent
An evening reception 9 per cent

A year closer

I know it's been a while - but with Christmas and new year getting in the way there was no time to be thinking of weddings!
Still, here we are in 2009 and now the wedding is next year. Suddenly it seems close.
Also, I think I've found the dress.
I'm trying to keep an open mind because it was the first one I tried on and therefore I think maybe I need to try on another 50 before I can safely say it's definitely the one.
But it's so lovely - it's all I can think of.
I've thought of the accessories I'll need, the colour scheme, the flower girl's dresses. In fact now there doesn't seem much to think about anymore.
Sorted.
What's all the fuss about with organising weddings anyway? It's a breeze!

Getting in the mood

The wedding seems so far away that I find myself struggling to get really excited about it at the moment.

The good news is that my friend happily accepted the position of bridesmaid (just as long as she isn't called a bridesmaid), the groom's brother is going to be best man (despite losing the rings the last time he was best man for someone, and ended up borrowing my dad's metal detector) and the groom seems happy for me to do all the organising (is this a good thing?)

So in order to get in the wedding spirit I got tickets for my mum and I to attend the wedding fair at Wells' Swan Hotel on Wednesday night.

As we entered the fair we were immediately served glasses of cider champagne from The Orchard Pig - an inspired drink for the wedding, as the groom has said all along that he can't stand champagne and will instead be drinking cider during the toasts.

Stands advertising favours and fascinators, magicians and table decorations all helped to gauge what we needed to organise but I was a little disconcerted by the dental stand - advertising brighter, whiter, teeth.

I suppose I have always been pretty happy with my teeth, but suddenly I was cast into doubt by one lady giving me a dazzling Hollywood smile.

I almost expected to be met by other cosmetic enhancement companies, perhaps I need a nose job for the big day, a face lift perhaps, or maybe a new pair of more obvious assets?

No need to scare the vicar.

A fashion show gave me a few ideas for dresses - but to be honest - right now no dress is pleasing me. I think I have some idea in my head for the perfect dress but I haven't yet seen it in reality - I just hope it's out there.

Beautiful handmade gowns by Shepton Mallet's Jo Christoforides were modelled by bright young things barely out of school and a 16-year-old dressed in groom's attire was met with whoops from bride's mothers, but still I haven't spotted anything that's taken me by storm.

OK, so I haven't found the dress yet - but I have got a big bag full of leaflets about everything I need to think about (and there's certainly a lot to think about.)

So in some ways I am now in the wedding mood - and in other ways I am absolutely terrified.

Will I or won't I?

I didn't expect engagement presents - not really - but we have been lucky enough to receive the wonderful gift of cash from friends and family.

This now leaves me free to trawl the John Lewis http://www.johnlewis.com/ catalogue and find some "things for the home" that the other half will probably find completely pointless - I'm thinking scatter cushions and picture frames.

But we have also received a rather bizarre gift - one which I'm still not quite sure about how to react to.

A family friend and well respected lawyer has said that he would like to give us both the gift of..... a will. http://www.which.co.uk/advice/writing-a-will/index.jsp

Now I have to say the last thing on my mind was the thought of us both popping our clogs - considering this marriage is supposed to be the start of a long and happy life together - but it certainly made me sit up - and say thank you of course.

So now, for a moment, my mind is off the subject of flowergirls, cakes and invitations and instead I have to decide what I'd like to leave behind - and to who - when I depart from this earth.

In case my finger falls off

When I was first given my engagement ring it was a bit of a squeeze - I really had to force it over the knuckle.
But one thing was for sure - it was going on.
So when discussing whether I needed the ring resized I was very reluctant to take it off again. I'd finally been given a ring, why on earth would I give it back?
However, a couple of times I tried to see if it would go back over the knuckle and it wasn't very forthcoming.
I needed to be calm, cold, and pretty forceful in order to remove it.
This led to a discussion about what would happen if a: I got fat, b: broke my wrist or c: had some freak accident whereby I needed to get the ring off.
The answer was simple according to my partner - if you can't get it off now then obviously in the event of an emergency the fire brigade will have to cut the ring off - or my finger.
Needless to say the ring went back to the jewellers, has been resized and now fits me perfectly.
Oh, and I can sleep at night without worrying about my digits being removed.

The proposal

Finally, September 16 was the day.
My partner - after a short wait of five years - proposed to me.
It was a shock, I confess, but a brilliant one that saw mascara unashamedly running down my face turning me into a member of Kiss, momentarily.
He proposed in Sardinia and said that he had already had the ok from my mum and dad, thanks to some gentle persuasion with a bottle of single malt whisky (or whiskey, I'm not sure which.)
So there I was, miles from home, hopelessly happy and with no-one to tell. I could have burst, but you will be delighted to hear that now everyone knows - including you!
So it's finally sunk in - I'm getting married. We've said let's do it in 2010 and so the wheels are in motion and I have no clue where to begin.
I'm overwhelmed - already - and I have 18 months to go....
Let the plannning commence!