Obsession

I am in the process of trying to convince D that we should start planning our wedding, which of course isn't going so well as he really just wants to elope somewhere hot and do it on our own! Inevitably the more I think about it the more I want 'the works'! Well I don't want to spend a fortune because, yeah, I guess I agree a little in that it can be a bit of a waste of money if you go overboard, but I do want some of the things every woman dreams of from being a young girl - the dress, the flowers, the bridesmaids, picturesque venue, family and friends gathered together. We need to think about saving either way anyway so I would like to set a date, but alas D does not think this is a good idea, so it may come to pass that we never get married at this rate!

It would seem I have become a bit obsessed with wedding plans over the last week or so, (probably due to being confined to the house with a chicken pox infected child), and I feel I may have reached the line which will send D running for the hills. Certainly I am getting a lot of sighs and abrupt answers to questions, and of course unfortunately I have not received a definite yes to the whole event planning or date setting. However despite this I am researching on in my own little fantasy world of 'wedding' for my own personal amusement and to work out some kind of budget for the basics. I think probably all women underestimate how much the whole event may cost as to them no price is too much for their dream day and choices they make!

However in reality, during my research, I am discovering that some things are definitely more expensive than I thought! Take the wedding rings for example - for a plain platinum, d-shaped (now that's a whole other issue), mirrored finish (as is this), 2mm women's wedding band the cheapest from a jewellery store = £325. Should one wish to purchase over the Internet £209, but then who would? And of course its not that simple would you believe. There's D shape, court shaped, concave, flat, rounded, any mixture of the above; and then there's the mirror, matt, pure matt, something else and something else finishes to choose from, I mean, please, really, if the rings are this complicated how does one even begin to tackles such issues as the venue, dress, photographer, colours, themes, materials, decoration etc etc. And that's just one ring, what about the grooms? Well D would of course argue he doesn't need one as he has already stated his case against wedding bands, however this was met with a 'this is final' reply something along the lines of, 'if I am wearing one for the whole world to see I'm taken, so are you!' So the grooms ring is always a little wider, meaning the cheapest are about £500-600, so that's nearly £1000 on just the rings! Oh my lord this is going to be harder than I thought. A classy wedding on a real budget, how does one achieve this? If anyone has any good ideas or contacts please please enlighten me!

So I have chosen the colours and sort of theme; I have ideas about the kind of style dress I want for myself and bridesmaids (three including Alina), but of course at least a year at a slimming club is required before I can even contemplate trying any on; i know i just want close family and friends at the ceremony and then straight onto reception with a buffet supper for everyone; I have a short list of first dance songs; and I have started writing my own vows - not bad for a weeks work! So all I have to do now is wear D down and convince him all this is a great idea! Wish me luck!