I'm not having 'pretty maids all in a row'. This is not because I don't have people who I could ask to be my bridesmaids - there are several ladies in my life who merit the title of bridesmaid. These girls are important to me, and I would love to take this opportunity to show them that. (Of course they already know, but that's not the point.) But the WIC has kicked in again, and turned being a bridesmaid into a job that costs you money. That's not what I want at all, and is why I've opted out of it.
My MOH will have only two jobs - keep me and my mum laughing, and keep the little attendants from hurting themselves. Believe me when I say the first job will be harder than the last, as the last is something she does everyday and is very good at!
Back to my friends, and the question of how to let them know how much their friendship means to me. I've asked two of them (Team Warwards, the fabulous Ms D and Mrs F) to arrange my hen night. I may ask others to be involved in the day - either helping with make-up, doing a reading, or giving out order of service sheets for the church. Whilst I realise that this is 'an honour' (I was thrilled to do a reading at one of their weddings), it is also slightly nerve-wracking and is almost asking for a favour. So it doesn't quite satisfy the brief.
I'm hatching a plan that involves champagne, some awesome phrases of thanks, much laughing and some photographs, but you'll have to wait and see how that comes together!
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Registering for...what, exactly?
Like many newly-weds today, we will have been living together for a while before we become husband and wife. Whilst my slightly religious, slightly traditional mind is telling me that the wedding is the start of our family, it is not the start of our lives together. It's just a step along the way. A pretty big step, but just a step.
We have chosen to celebrate that step with friends and family. We are asking almost all of them to travel across the country and stay in a hotel. We have guests coming from London, Wales and even Paris. The fact that they will put time and effort into being at our wedding is enough of a gift. We don't want people to feel that they have to bring an actual gift as well. No one will get cut from the christmas card list if they arrive empty handed (I have heard this said!).
Having said that, we recognise that people may want to give us a gift, just as we would/have at their weddings. Enter the wedding registry.
Traditionally wedding gifts were used to set up a house. Somehow that ethos persists in todays gift registries. It is still common to ask for plates, or towels, or serving ware. I have no idea why, and we certainly won't be asking for that (slight moment to mourn the loss of more le creuset dishes). We combined two houses worth of stuff, then promptly packed it all into my future-in-laws giant chalet-shed and left the country. We won't have time to sort through it all before the wedding, but the chances are we have too much stuff.
A new trend which I quite like, but my mother hates, is asking for contributions towards the honeymoon. I think maybe if we did it quite specifically Mum would be less opposed to it - I have friends who have registered for a day scuba diving, a candlelit dinner on the beach and his 'n' hers massages. Each of their wedding guests knows exactly what they have given the happy couple, rather than the money/vouchers just going towards the overall cost.
We chose not to disagree with my mum on this, because there is something else we don't have that we would really, really like. Something that sounds perfect for a wedding gift - it will be the centre of our family life, will last a long time and is too expensive for us to justify buying it ourselves. We want a solid oak table and chairs. Something like this:
Unless we come up with something quite specific between now and the wedding, that is all we'll be registering for. Any contributions will be gratefully received, and properly acknowledged. Manners are an area where tradition definitely wins!
We have chosen to celebrate that step with friends and family. We are asking almost all of them to travel across the country and stay in a hotel. We have guests coming from London, Wales and even Paris. The fact that they will put time and effort into being at our wedding is enough of a gift. We don't want people to feel that they have to bring an actual gift as well. No one will get cut from the christmas card list if they arrive empty handed (I have heard this said!).
Having said that, we recognise that people may want to give us a gift, just as we would/have at their weddings. Enter the wedding registry.
Traditionally wedding gifts were used to set up a house. Somehow that ethos persists in todays gift registries. It is still common to ask for plates, or towels, or serving ware. I have no idea why, and we certainly won't be asking for that (slight moment to mourn the loss of more le creuset dishes). We combined two houses worth of stuff, then promptly packed it all into my future-in-laws giant chalet-shed and left the country. We won't have time to sort through it all before the wedding, but the chances are we have too much stuff.
A new trend which I quite like, but my mother hates, is asking for contributions towards the honeymoon. I think maybe if we did it quite specifically Mum would be less opposed to it - I have friends who have registered for a day scuba diving, a candlelit dinner on the beach and his 'n' hers massages. Each of their wedding guests knows exactly what they have given the happy couple, rather than the money/vouchers just going towards the overall cost.
We chose not to disagree with my mum on this, because there is something else we don't have that we would really, really like. Something that sounds perfect for a wedding gift - it will be the centre of our family life, will last a long time and is too expensive for us to justify buying it ourselves. We want a solid oak table and chairs. Something like this:
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