GreySkiesAndSilverLinings: Engagement

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Hello my dears! I hope you are all well. So are you ready for my third instalment of my "Bridal Series"? This post is about what we have organised so far after getting engaged at Christmas. Hold on to your seats lads, this is going to be a mad one!

The Venue

Ok, so there is so many options for a wedding venue but it's picking the right one. Which isn't easy! A lot of thought went into deciding where we both wanted to celebrate our day with our family & friends, it had to be somewhere that felt right. Myself & Craig had said before, we would head off on a cruise ship & get married out at sea (bit random, I know). But realistically there's no place like home. So with that idea out the window we both agreed to celebrate our marriage in our hometown. As most of you know myself & Craig are from Waterford & picking a hotel in the city was hard. Waterford has gorgeous hotels & venues for weddings. But for me there was one place that just stood out. And it had to be The Tower Hotel. You just know when you get a gut instinct. We had both been to weddings in The Tower & they were so beautiful & even felt a bit magical. And that's what we want our day to be. And it has such beautiful views of the city, like the river & Reginald's tower.

So as you've probably guessed, our reception is going to be in the tower.

Church or No Church ?

Right so this decision was fairly simple. We wouldn't be the holiest of people. To be fair, I only attend mass if it's a must. And to be honest I'm quite ok admitting that here. Everyone has their own beliefs and I have mine. Anyway, if this wedding was happening this time last year I can bet myself and Craig would be having our whole wedding in the hotel. But as must of you guys know now, a hell of a lot has changed for Craig & me in the last 6 months. For people who are new to my blog I'll just explain briefly what I mean. My dad sadly passed away suddenly last September from a massive heart attack. It has left a huge void in my life as myself and my dad lived together and were basically best friends. Getting married and not having him there to walk me down the isle is going to be one of the hardest things I'm ever going to do. Saying that, Craig & I have decided (and it wasn't a hard decision) that we are going to start our new journey as husband and wife in the church where my dad is buried. He might not be there physically on the day but he will be close by.

The Music is KEY

Having the right music & band on the day is defiantly important. You need someone who obviously can sing. Someone who is a good craic & someone who will get everyone up and dancing. So for us that was a really easy choice.

Let me just jump back 7 years here. August 2009. My debs. The band that played at my debs were The Waxies. The music was brilliant and the band were absolutely gas! Had the whole place up dancing. It was a great night with great people.

But let's get serious for a second.. The first song that me and

Craig slow danced to was played that night by The Waxies Wedding Band. And this song (which I'm not going to give away just yet) is the song we want for our first dance as husband and wife. So who better to sing this song for us only the lads who sang it that night 7 years ago. Romantic? I think so!

Story So Far

So that my friends is where we are at with our wedding plans. Some may think that we are crazy getting organised this soon because the wedding is not til 2018, but the time will fly by and it will be here before we know it.

Thank you everyone for having a read. I hope you are enjoying my bridal series so far. Let me know what Ye think!

Til next time my friends

J X

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The Engagement Party

17:33

Hello my friends. Hope you are all well. So I missed my last weeks "Wedding Wednesdays" as I was in bed with the flu. But here it is, the second instalment of my bridal series......

"The Engagement Party"

"Organising an engagement party is just as stressful!"

Ok for me, organising this party was just as stressful as trying to organise the wedding. Am I over exaggerating? Nope! & here is why..

Food- Having too much food, having too little food. There is never an in between. And unfortunately for us we had way too much food left over. We were giving trays of chicken to people leaving. Sure who needs a goodie bag & a bit of cake? Few trays of drumsticks, be grand!

Numbers- Alright this can happen at anything really, but trying to get numbers for a party is impossible, am I right? Hence why we had too much food.

Chatting- Trying to talk to everyone. It was so hard to get around to talk to everyone and thank everyone for coming. I can only imagine what it is going to be like on our wedding day.

The Dress- Obviously trying to find the right outfit for the night is important. Thankfully, I fell in love with my dress from River Island the second I saw it. I doubt it will be that easy for the big day!

Makeup- Thankfully this was the last thing I needed to worry about because I knew it would turn out amazing. Thanks to the fabulous Laura Dempsey Makeup, for making me look and feel amazing on the night. Such a talented MUA & who is also booked for my wedding day! Here's a before & after picture-

There were other little bits that stressed the life out of me, but I'm not going to go into it. That's another days work :)

Capturing the Moment

It was so important for me and Craig to have photographs taking on the night. Thankfully a friend of Craig's helped us out (Suzi Photos). Here are some moments captured that night.

The Bridesmaids

Peace n' Pout

The Boyband/ Groomsmen

Mama bear & her 2 cubs

The Maid of Honour/ the sister

Ah would ya look!

The best picture of the night!

Laugh's, Memories & Tear's

So it was a night of mixed emotions. For the majority of the night I was on a high, until it came to thanking everyone. I swore to myself all that week I was not going to cry when it came to talking over the microphone. Low and behold, I cried. But the reason I broke down was not because I was excited to get married (which I am), or the fact there was so much food left over, or my nerves talking in front of a room of people. It was because, even though we had our nearest and dearests there to celebrate the night with us, there was one person missing. My Dad. Looking around that room & not seeing him standing up with his camera mortifying me, was like someone had kicked me in the stomach. It made a lump in my throat & a knot in my stomach. Having so much excitement ahead in the next 2 years & not having Dad here to enjoy it with us, is so hard. But I know he's here egging us on & will be there the day I take my first step down that isle.

A picture can capture a 1000 words.

And there you have it! Our engagement party. I hope you all enjoyed having a read, if you did give it a little thumbs up on FB.

I enjoyed writing this one. A night full of memories.

Till next time guys!

Love J x

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Saying Yes!

16:58

Hi guys, so its been a while. This is my first post for my "Wedding Series". I have decided to start this series to bring you all on my journey to my big day!

So as you can guess from the title "Saying Yes", this post is about how Craig popped the question & how Craig, all those years ago, became part of my life!

Friends Forever

Does anyone remember being a kid and at home you had a group of friends who were like family? Ye spent every day of summer together. Hanging around the estate not doing a thing but it was best thing in the world. & if it was miserable outside, everyone huddled into the porch or front room of either of your houses. Those were the days! And that was the first time I met Craig.

Craig's grandparents lived around the corner from my house growing up & Craig was up there quite a bit, so that's how our friendship started.

Drifted Apart

As we grow up life & circumstances change. People go their separate ways. That's life I guess. So as we both grew up, Craig's grandparents moved, so Craig wasn't up to us as much. & then girlfriends & boyfriends came on the scene. Groups of friends changed & we kind of lost contact. I still always thought of him as a close friend, even though we didn't see each other everyday.

1 Vodka, 2 Vodka, 3 Vodka, Floor

I think the heading there may be self explanatory. To cut a long story short I had a little bit too much to drink one night. Went out with a few of the girls & we headed to "Ruby's Nightclub". Was at the bar, having more drink... When I turned around and the first person my eyes met were Craig's! I had not seen Craig in so long, my heart was pounding (that could of been all the alcohol I had consumed at this point). Now I would like to tell you this story is really romantic. We locked eyes across the dance floor, slowly walk towards each other, oblivious to our surroundings & had a long romantic kiss... But unfortunately for me that is not what happened. I rugby tackled him! Yes, you read right, RUGBY TACKLED him! Thankfully my clumsiness didn't make him run a mile.

Tough Times Never Last, Tough People Do

So that's where it all began, in a nightclub. But the road was never easy for us. We have had our ups and downs over the years, with me suffering with mental health to stress and pressures from outside factors. It wasn't always easy, but what ever is. I have suffered with mental health problems for a long time & at times it came between our relationship but Craig never left my side. I would never of blamed him if he did leave because living with someone who has mental health issues can be tough and straining on a relationship. But we came out the other side of it a hell of a lot stronger!

Saying Yes!

So being together nearly 7 years, people were always asking "oh when is the big day?" or when someone else got engaged or married, "Oh ye will be next". Getting engaged was something we only talked about recently enough but I never thought Craig would propose so soon (not that I'm complaining). I bet you're all dying to know how he did it, aren't ya? Well, even if you don't want to know, you're about to find out!

Ok, so this Christmas was our first Christmas living together and it was also the first without my dad. It was really hard not having my dad here to enjoy the holidays with us & Christmas did not mean much to me this year. But.... on Christmas day I opened on my present from Craig that was under the tree, opening it I had no clue what was in it.. When I opened the box, this is what I found...

Talk about a sweetheart!

I will be honest, I did sit on the ground for about 10 minutes bawling my eyes out before he got an answer ( I like to keep him on his toes). But as you know now, I said YES!!

Fiancée or Beyoncé

Is being engaged all its cracked up to be? Too right it is. It has made me feel so much more closer to Craig & knowing that we are planning the rest of our lives together just feels amazing. Oh and calling each other Beyoncé instead of fiancée never gets old.