Four months to go! Update...

So with just over four months to go to the big day, I've kick started again with all things wedding related so thought I'd give a little update on my progress.

My bridesmaids dresses arrived from Priddi.  They are lush, worth the money and both girls love them - result!  
Ordering online without having seen them before was quite a risky decision but it's paid off well and I'm thrilled with how they look.  I just need to get some minor alterations to each (both girls are different shapes and sizes) but am waiting until they find some shoes so we all know how much length to leave.  My sister, and sister in law (to be!) both chose the dress, colour and style (zip or lace) so I know they're feel comfortable and happy having to wear it all day.

I'm feeling a little bit bad this year now it's coming up to Christmas.  I usually like to buy people lots of presents but this time round, what with the wedding, honeymoon and spending money to pay off or save up for, it's seeming less possible to keep up to standard.  I hope everybody understands and I'm sure they will, after all, Christmas isn't about gifts and the amount of money spent but spending time with your nearest and dearest, which is what I'm planning on doing!

Although we'll be responding to people who ask us about wedding gifts by politely requesting money, we've tried to compromise.  You see, I know it sometimes gets a bit tricky when asking for money and some guests feel it's very impersonal or aren't keen about not knowing what it's spent on; similarly I've heard somebody once say "why should I pay for their honeymoon?  If they can't afford it themselves, they shouldn't have booked it" - we're paying for our honeymoon ourselves and because we've lived together for years, we don't need anything for the house, we're asking for the money to pay for (or rather put towards) excursions we can do whilst we're on honeymoon.  This means our guests will provide us with memories and experiences we'll almost certainly never get to do again.  A happy medium I think!

Other things that have happened recently include:

• Our 16 week meeting with our venue that has been scheduled for us to discuss the finer details like centrepieces, colour themes, numbers and the overall running of the day.
• My hen party has officially been booked (I don't know where, what or who has been invited but according to my sister, it's all sorted).
• The readings for our ceremony have been given to those who we have chosen to read them.
• Thank you gifts have been chosen for everybody.
• Me and my mum have been doing odd bits of DIY for decoration purposes.
• My invites are all ready to be written out and then sent out at the beginning of January.
• I've had my phone call to inform me my beautiful dress has been sent back to the shop ready for me to get fitted!  (super excited about this particular bullet point).

I've also had a few, and what I've been told is perfectly normal, wobbles and self doubts about choices.  I've wondered if I've chosen the right dress, the right venue and the right bouquet.  But, I keep reminding myself that I chose them all for a reason so they must be right.  I must admit that I am hugely disappointed that we didn't budget for a videographer (for the ceremony), a singer/band (a Buble type) or a photo booth.  Unfortunately, they are my biggest regrets but if we've spent the budget, we've spent the budget and as much as I could go on spending, I just can't - I'd much prefer to have money to our start married life with.