Pre Wedding Party ♥

We have booked our one year pre-wedding party! It may be a little unusual to do, but that's us all over really. One of our favourite restaurants is called 'Syriana' in Birmingham. It's not one that would probably spring to mind to go to as it's a little out the way and it is Syrian and Lebanese food which I would of never tried before. One day we just ended up going, and I expected it to be spicy (even though I love spicy food), and I can be fairly picky, although I'm open to try new things.

The restaurant inside is long and narrow, with pretty multicoloured lights and fabric drapes, really traditional for that side of the globe. The food however, is AMAZEBALLS! We go every one to two weeks we love it that much, and it's about £17.95 a head for a big mezze to start, with flatbreads and loads of different dips, then you choose your main, I have marinated chicken and rice, then you have sweet pastries called Bakalava's (or however you may spell it) to finish. 

The staff there are so hospitable, and we always have a good old chat with the owner and manager, as I think we are their most frequent and loyal customers! So we thought what better than to have it there. We have the whole second floor hired to ourselves, with the three courses per head for about 40 people. We are having it Aladdin themed to go with the look of the restaurant, and giving the people coming the option to dress up! We are having a belly dancer too so she can give us all some lessons, and having the jingly jangly belts to dance to their groovy choons! (Cheese!)

Being the bride, I'm opting for a white outfit! Here's what I'm thinking.

I am by NO means having my belly out - LOL - but I shall probably have a plain white long sleeved top with Bride to Be in diamantes on it. These are harem pants and are only £6.99 from Ebay. I'm not too sure if the jingly jangly belt comes with it though, but that's only about £2.80 on it's own anywho.

So it's something very different to do a year before the wedding, I can't wait! It will actually be 2 days less than a year because of it being on the Saturday - of course I'm not counting too much.

I'll keep you updated on that! 

Tilly xXx

Operation Wedding Dress #5 ♥

I haven't done a proper Operation Wedding Dress update since the 29th of August! Can you believe that? Slapped wrists pour moi! So I briefly mentioned in the last but one post that I had lost about 2 stone now, and in my last Operation Wedding Dress post I weighed 13st 6lbs, I am now 12st 6.5lbs so almost another stone since the last time we had a chinwag about it. I have lost 30.5lbs in total, or 2st 2.5lbs, and have gone from a size 18 - 20 to a comfortable 14. Obviously, we are on the brink of Christmas and it's going to be quite difficult to be as strict, and I am finding that already - bit of choccy here and there - but I feel like I can see a size 12 on the horizon, and that was something I could of never dreamed of before I started this.

My ultimate goal weight is 11st 1lb according to weight watchers. I think this next stone will be the hardest to shift, but I know in the new year I'm really going to try for it. My current goal in the meetings is 12st. We now have a dog, so we try and go for walks that are about 40 minutes long and I hope to build that up, and increase the pace to a jog, then a run, but we will see how that goes!

My BMI has lowered from my heaviest weight being 34.57, to now 28.09. Don't really know what it all does but I'm glad I'm now in the 20's at least. 2lb a week loss from now until Christmas would be really nice to achieve my 12st goal by then but who knows. It's nice to think hopefully this time next year I will have my wedding dress and it's all hunky dory.

Just thought I'd show you this brooch. It's from Primark and was £4.00, and I bought it to go in my hair for a ball I went to last weekend. I just think it's so pretty, and if your are looking for brooch's for a sparkly bouquet, this might be a good one without breaking the bank. I just attached it to my side bun with a load of grips.

Just another quickie, I have found a great website called Final Stitch through a lady that tweeted me it. It's a great forum for brides to be, where you can pop on photos, details about how you and your other half met, and a great site to get plenty of inspiration! My username is 'wicktilleth' if you fancy a scout round, I have a few pics on, and will keep updating as the next 17 months whizz by. I'm doing two posts today, I have more things to write about!!

Ooo Oooo and....the sweet cart and DJ are now Booked! I didn't think we were going to have a sweet cart, but it's a really tall one and fits great with the vintage theme. I can dress it up however I want, and we have chosen 12 different sweets that are unlimited all night. I also cheekily asked the company to throw in the candyfloss machine for an hour to which they have agreed! You don't ask, you don't get. So the deposit is down on that too, just got to think of all the songs we want the DJ to play over the next year as well! 

Tilly xXx

A Visit Up North ♥

This weekend we went up to the venue with Ed's sister and boyfriend, and went 'Glamping' while we were there. We stayed in these wooden Octolodges, which were really cute and cosy. It was all heated with plug sockets and a T.V., only downside was the toilet and shower block was a walk down a hill but that's what it's all about. Ed was walking down to it with me in his PJ's and decided it would be more fun to get to them by falling and sliding down the hill! I turned round and he was covered in mud, so the one positive about that, it gave us a right laugh. 

Here was a view from the lodge at about 8am. It was stunning with mist off the hills, and snow on the mountains, you forget that sights like this exist in England!

This was the view in the day. This is about 20 miles away from our venue.

If we ever go up to Kendal I always make sure I have a quick mooch in the charity shops, they seem to have bags more goodies than we do. I just go in with an open mind and see what I come out with. With the help of Ed's sister, we found this gorgeous vintage hand mirror, with an ivory sequined back. I'm not sure how old it is, but it's quite heavy and I think it is brass. I just thought it would look gorgeous as a little vintage prop somewhere in the room, and the design of it is very wedding like. A whole £2.00 it cost! Definite bargain.(Sorry for the rubbish pictures, I was in a rush!)

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I've been after two vintage suitcases for the wedding. One for the table plan (I'll explain how when I do it!) and one to put any cards we receive in. I've looked on Ebay and they are all around £50.00, or too far away to pick up, and they are so popular now as a shabby chic home accessory. We walked into this charity shop and there it was. Perfect. Dark brown, rectangular, tatty, with somebody's initals on. It's also great because I found it in Kendal, so just another little sentimental point to it. I had the whole shop trying to help me get into the thing though, it was so tightly shut no one could open it! I just thought I would risk it and have it anyway for £15.00. 

When I got home we sprayed some WD40 on the clasps and it popped open like magic. It's in decent condition inside, but it'll look great when it's newly lined with floral fabric etc! Just one more to find now.

Tilly xXx

Oh Hey Stranger! ♥

Well haven't I neglected this blog for a good old while? Both of them have gone down the pan really, sorry if anyone does read it! We have moved house and we are pretty busy at the moment, always something going on. We also get our new dog on Tuesday, a six year old Springer Spaniel called Milo, who we are taking in from our friends as they are also on the move. He's a big ball of fun and I can't wait to have him around, he will also be an asset to my weight loss I hope with all the walking.

Talking of weight loss, I have hit about 2 stone loss now. It hasn't even really felt too much of a struggle. Although some weeks it is tough as we are getting into these cold winter months. There's nothing better than sitting in front of the T.V. with Ed, doing a bit of crochet, and eating copious amounts of snacks. I love it, and this week it seems to have overtaken me a little. I hope to get back on track once I have Milo, and get this weekend over as we are Glamping and visiting the wedding venue.

At my heaviest, before I skydived, I was a horrendous 15st 4lbs and I can't believe I'm typing that really. I joined weight watchers at 14st 9lbs, as I lost a little bit for the skydive. I am now at 12st 9lbs and feel better already. After this bit of a bad patch I am hoping I'll get back on track, and if this picture is anything to go by, it should give me all the incentive I need.

March 2011            October 2012

So we are going up to Kendal this weekend to pay off another chunk of the cost. We are slowly but surely getting there. We are staying at a farm, in something called an Octolodge, like a luxury wooden hut with heating and a T.V. and everything. I'm looking forward to escaping for a couple of days, although I doubt it's going to do wonders for the diet living on crisps and pot noodles. 

Anywho, just a quick update, and I'll get back to the wedding posts when I have returned from Kendal!

Tilly xXx

The Wedding Cake Confessions ♥

If you read my previous post, you may know I have been worrying about the wedding cake! In that post, I put that we were thinking of buying three plain tiers from Marks and Spencers, and decorating it ourselves. Ed and I went into M&S over the weekend, and took a little look at the cakes. They had them in stock priced at £56.00 for the Large base tier, £40.00 for the middle and £10.00 for the top, which was tiny. We looked at the birthday cakes, and a similar cake the size of the medium tier, decorated as a birthday cake with intricate flowers etc, was £15.00! It is an absolute rip off, plus I really don't want to be an average joe with three white tiers. What suits some, doesn't suit others and I'm all about bringing the quirk to the table.

So, we put our heads together while we were in the shop and came up with an idea that suits us down to the ground.

You know these little guys? They are the yummiest of the yummy in my opinion! Our table names will all be after Parisian monuments as that is where we got engaged. So what better than French Fancies? They also go along with the vintage theme as they are vintage picnic-esque if that makes sense. 

We are both fans of French fancies, so we thought how could we turn it into a wedding cake. Then I remembered they do these...

Giant French Fancies! A Perfect tier topper, and the cake that we can cut. These retail at £8.00 - an ever so slight difference to the £300.00 for a shop made cake, and from the £106.00 for the plain one from Marks & Spencers.

The plan is to purchase an acrylic square cake stand, ideally with 5 tiers. The giant cake on the top, and all the normal French Fancies on the four other tiers. This is the cake stand, and is £24.99 on Ebay with free P&P, I shall link it under the image. The trouble is, the top tier is 6 inches wide, and I have no idea of the size of the giant French Fancy, so I am going to pop to Sainsbury's with my ruler, and make myself look like a mad woman. The average cost of a pack of 6 Fancies is about £1.00, with a hundred guests that's about £16.00, so maybe a few more for good measure. Say £30.00 for the entire cake, job DONE!

To pretty it up a little I may stick some of the sugar flowers mentioned in the previous post on the giant cake, and a few of the little ones, just to make it look more wedding like, but that's only an extra couple of pounds. 

And there is the quirky, budget-savvy wedding cake, sorted.

Tilly xXx

My Little Ebay Finds ♥

Being a DIY bride, I must spend hours upon hours sifting through Ebay. Pages and pages of items from sugar flowers to dresses. This blog should probably be called confessions of the Ebay bride, but hey ho! I thought I would just share with you a few items I have found that I am considering for the wedding, how much they are, and what I plan to do with them. I'll also pop the links below each image, so if you are planning your own celebration, you could get them yourself =) These are in no particular order, just whatever I pick out.

These organza bags are a total bargain, it's 50 for £1.79 or 100 for £3.19. I am torn between the nude colour and the pink. As well as favours which may possibly be teeny pots of home-made jam, I am going to have these organza bags dotted randomly on tables filled with mini eggs! It is Easter Good Friday on our wedding day, so I thought we have to involve it somewhere. This just means there's a subtle hint of Easter, mini eggs are nice pastel colours, so I could put five bags on each table, and then fill a bowl of mini eggs on the buffet table. The total cost would probably be less than a tenner for a pretty little Easter hint.

Update - I bought 50 nude bags for £1.79, wehey!

Organza Bags

This is some floral vintage style fabric I have found. It comes in a fat quarter bundle for £7.50 with £1.75 postage. These would be ideal for the top covers for the jam favours, and also to make some bunting. The fabric on the far right has the exact colours of my little sister's bridesmaid dress too! So I shall get two lots of these because I think they will look so pretty all around the tables on the jam lids, tied with some brown twine! I have already got the twine too, 4 rolls from the 99p store!

Vintage Fabric Bundle

These are the teeny Jam jars I keep waffling on about. They are so cute! You know the type when you go down for breakfast at a hotel, and they have these with Jam and marmalade? I think with them being small they add a bit of quirkyness to the favours, and with a nice sticker saying 'Spread the Love' on the front, perhaps with the date of our wedding, they will be super duper. The only slight issue is...I've never made Jam before! Where there's a Till, there's a way!

These are 100 Jam jars for £53.00, which I don't think is too bad really. I excited to see them filled with Jam, with their little floral hats on!

Mini Jam Jars

Cake. Cake, cake cake. I have a mini panic attack when I think about the cake. Scouting around online, cakes are round about £300.00 for a 3 tier cake. It's daylight robbery, I know a lot of intricate work goes into them, but it only gets eaten! I have been thinking about buying a cake base, just sponge already iced in 3 or 4 tiers, and decorate it myself. Risky I know, considering you can only really get it 14 days before, and I could mess it up, but we will see! I think it's worth a go, plus it will be personalised, even if it's crap.

These pretty sugar flowers are £3.99 for 100, and I could either dot them all over randomly, or do a pretty trail up the tiers. Ill have to design before I stick!

Sugar Flowers

That's enough jibberish for now, but at least you can see what I have been looking at. What do you think? Have you got any Ebay items to recommend? 

Tilly xXx

I am back ♥

Oh Hey! Long time no blog! What a few weeks it has been. Ed and I went to Cyprus for our holiday last week, I am missing it already! It was so lovely and hot, and all the guests we talked to seemed to be going to a wedding over there, or booking a wedding. We were thinking after all this talk, are we doing the right thing staying in the UK to tie the knot? After a 5 hour non - stop pool chat along with a few other hotel guests, and much thinking, I honestly think we are doing right by what we are doing. I know that all our guests can come, well more so than if it was in Cyprus, I can tailor the room to exactly how I want it, and if it rains then we will just have to have some romantic rainy pictures. 

Here we are over there. It's all about the giraffe sunnies!

If you have read the previous posts, you may know that I ordered my little sisters bridesmaid dress. Well it came, and my Mom took that big tacky bow off straight away and it made the world of difference. Where the bright pink ribbon is, I think we are going to cover it with a slightly duskier/lighter pink just to tone it down a little. I'm also going to try and get an underskirt to flare it out a little. It's a really cute dress though, different with a vintage feel which is what I really like on it. 

Here she is with it on, it's just the right size to grow into over the next 19 months for her, and she is holding one of the little posies I have been making. It's not quite finished, but we just took the photo so we could get the full effect.

I spotted another wedding dress on the land of Ebay yesterday, which is a gorgeous lace and taffeta dress. I really love it, it's so elegant but still holds that vintage touch with the shoulders. I have broad shoulders so I thought this would work well to tone them down but others have the opinion that it may accentuate them, any ideas?

I do still love the dress I have put on here as 'the one', I just love how classy this is. 

The lace up back detail is stunning, and this looks so nice with a long veil. I also have a tattoo on my right shoulder, so this would also tone that down a little if I was going to cover it. That's another post in itself that I'll talk about at a later date. 

I hope everyone is well, next post coming very soon! Ooo and P.S. I gained 4lb on holiday, I went to weight watchers yesterday. I think it may have been more than that though because we moved house on Saturday and I must of dropped a couple then! I am really disheartened actually, because the people that joined around the same time as me who I was running alongside with weight loss, are now a few lbs ahead of me. I really need to try and get it off!

Tilly xXx

Making a little Posie Bouquet ♥

After yesterday's post, I was itching to get started on having a go at making a bouquet. I just really wanted to see what it would look like. I hadn't really got suitable brooches to put in it, so I just thought I'd see how it would turn out anyhow. My Mom and I popped down to Hobbycraft (a big craft store in the UK), and we found lots of goodies that could be turned into some pretty creations.

My Mom kindly treated me to all the bits and bobs to have a go with. I have been looking at real floral bouquets this morning, and they appear to be typically £50.00 or more! Daylight robbery yet again. I just can't justify it just to chuck them away. We got enough supplies to make two little Bridesmaid posies, and that came to just under £30.00 for two! I think they will be a nice keepsake for the girls if they wanted to keep them.

So to make them, we got: 

4 Bunches of artificial vintage coloured roses

3 Bunches of diamanté roses / sprigs

Floristry Tape and Floristry wire

Tools needed were scissors, and round nosed pliers if you are going to use brooches. Also, weight watchers chocolate brownie pudding top left - not optional =D

I began to assemble the flowers randomly so there were different colours mixed up. I then loosely wrapped one of the stem wires around all of the stems to keep them in place. It takes a bit of pushing and pulling to get them at the same level but it's worth it! 

I then added some diamanté roses and sprigs to complete it, just wrapping their wires around the base stems of the flowers. To secure, I just wrapped the floristry tape all around the stems to neaten it up. I have ribbon to wrap around the stem base, but it kept on gathering up as I wrapped it around. I'm now thinking of wrapping them in the thick brown vintage looking string - you know the stuff? And then adding the ribbon as a bow at the top. I'll show you once I have got the string.

This is a photo of it in daylight. I think it has turned out quite pretty, and I'm now thinking I may actually use this. I haven't fully assembled the other one, and that is one flower less than this so I might pop a brooch in it. I'm going to go back to Hobbycraft when I return off my holidays and grab the rest of these flowers, because I think I better get them before the Christmas stock starts invading. It will be great to have these done in advance, definitely one less thing to worry about. I've also got to figure out how to do the buttonholes, as they will have to match. I think Hobbycraft will have nothing left by the time I'm finished!

So there we go, a little bouquet for a fraction of the price, and something to keep forever. We're doin' the DIY!

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear! 

Tilly xXx

The Brooch Bouquet ♥

Because our wedding shall be taking place approximately 150 miles from our home, the flowers are the one thing I tend to worry about. As I previously worked in a hotel, seeing sometimes four weddings in a week, the couples were local and they came in early in the morning with the beautiful bouquets and buttonholes. By the time they came to check in at about 3 or 4pm before the meal, the flowers had all wilted, gained the brown edging on the petals, and well just fell to bits really. Also, they are extremely expensive and what for? To chuck away the next day, brill.

Image Sourced from Google Images

So they never look so great by the end of the day and personally, I don't particularly have the money to waste on something to chuck in the bin. Someone I used to know said that she had made her bouquets herself with artificial flowers, but I must admit I turned my nose up at it. Now however, seeing these brooch bouquets and now that I'm in the position of buying them, I'm actually thinking it might be a pretty good idea.

I have a couple of brooches already that my great Nan gave me, and there's plenty of charity shops around that I could grab some from. 

Image sourced from Google Images 

Looking around at certain websites that actually sell these brooch bouquets, they are literally around the £300 mark and above and beyond. Daylight robbery! There's no way I'd spend that, and after all this IS a DIY wedding. So I watched a couple of tutorials on Youtube, and it looks pretty easy to be honest. I think I'm going to give it a go to see if I can actually do it, and make a couple of home decorations as we move into our new house next month. I can really see how much it might cost then, and if I do have the patience. 

Image sourced from Pinterest

They look so gorgeously vintage, and they are so different. I could do mini versions for the bridesmaids too. It may save the worry of the flowers keeping nice, I can make them well in advance, it could become an heirloom to my kids so I could keep it, and there's no wilting around here! I could spray a bit of perfume on it too, just for effect ;p 

I'm going to have a little wonder around HobbyCraft this evening just to see what's about. Although it is still early with 20 months to go until the wedding, Christmas is going to come faster than we think, and then it will be January with only 15 months to go. I think it may flash before my eyes, so I just want to be prepared!

Have you had a brooch bouquet? Or do you prefer real flowers?

Tilly xXx

Operation Wedding Dress #4

So it is week five, but technically weigh in number 4 this week, as I don't count the first week because that was the start weight and blahdy blah. So I have really stuck to the plan again this week, but not done any exercise, so I was thinking a 2lb loss would be great, for not being too active. I was pretty nervous about this weeks weigh in, I don't know why, I think it was maybe because of the bank holiday throwing the days off. Even though we did have a bank holiday though, I still ate healthily. 

I got to the meeting super early last night, because I didn't want to wait around behind everyone getting weighed in - early bird catches the worm! So I gingerly approached the scales, telling my lovely leader that I thought it was going to be a maximum of 2lbs. I stepped on, and low and behold another three lbs has come off! My leader said 'You are making this look far too easy, Till'. I honestly couldn't believe it, I am really pleased with that because I didn't think I'd done so well. Here's the card and the little apple sticker to prove it!

So I now have a total loss of 1 stone and 3lbs. I go on holiday a week tonight, and I am hoping I can stay strong. I think even if I maintain the weight I'll be happy, but I'd be upset to have put some on. I haven't had an alcoholic drink for four weeks, I'm not a big drinker anyway but a glass of Rose at the weekend or at the pub with family has now turned into a very exciting pint of iced water, with a slice of lemon or lime. To be honest it's not bothering me at all, If I'm not going out for a proper drink, then having just the one is pointless. 

After the meetings, if I feel that the weigh in has gone well then I'll go to Sainsbury's and treat myself to a Weight watchers pud, a little bit of what you fancy does you good! Last night I really wanted a salad because every dinner I do seems to have a carby side, such as noodles, rice or pasta, so I tried to 'saladise' my meal.

I watched Julia from MissChievous new video on Youtube, which is a healthy easy lunch recipe video, and since watching that I was craving a salad. Craving a salad? I would never have put that before! Link to her video HERE. She is an inspiration, and actually re-tweeted my picture and commented asking how it was! She seems really nice I'd love to meet her as she has lost a lot of weight herself. 

So it is a chicken, grape and yoghurt based salad, and I just threw in some beetroot and a lettuce layer. The full instructions are on the video linked above if you fancy giving it a go. It was dead easy and quick, and I've had it in a wrap today too for lunch. My other half who if had lettuce would burn his insides actually really liked this too. Win win!

So one weigh in left before the holiday! Let's see if I can actually get another three lbs to make it an all round 20 before holiday, that'd be nice. Any tips and tricks please don't hesitate to let me know!

Follow me on twitter if you would like it's @misswicktilleth !

Thanks so much for reading if you are still here after all the waffle! Mmmm.. wafflesss .

Tilly xXx

Operation Wedding Dress Update #3 ♥

The third weigh in took place on Tuesday, and I was really hoping to reach my current goal weight of 13st 10lbs, but a whole stone would mean it being 13st 9lbs. I thought I was pushing my luck aiming for the whole stone in three weeks, so I just said to myself I'd be happy with a 2.5lb loss this week.

Ed's sister came with me which is always a good support. I always get major butterflies before I get on the scales in case I let myself down.

This week however, was another good week! It's never going to last as it definitely will slow down in the next week I reckon, but this week I did hit 13st 9lbs. I have now lost a stone in three weeks, and also gone down a dress size. I couldn't believe it. They weighed out a bunch of books to add to a stone and I can't believe how heavy it is. I do feel a lot better for it already.

This is the card this week. I think the 7 means like 7lbs + lost, I'm not so sure. 

I bought myself a new dress this week in the next size down, and work trousers too. It's a nice feeling getting slowly but surely away from that 18. Never ever again.

This is the Iphone app weight tracker chart. I don't think I could do it without the app at all, it makes such a big difference in helping to track what you are eating. So now, I'm en route for a ten percent weight loss, which brings me to 13st 2lb. I can't remember the last time I was around this weight, I think it was probably about three years ago. I can now see 12st 13lbs not too far on the horizon, I just hope that our holiday in two weeks time doesn't knock it out too much. 

I'd love to hear if you are on a weight loss programme, and if it is working for you!

Tilly xXx

Pre-Weigh in Thoughts ♥

I have my third Weight Watchers weigh in tomorrow. Feeling a little apprehensive about it this week, I'm not sure why as I've eaten the same as the last two weeks so I haven't had anything bad. I think it's just the fact that I know weight loss slows down after the first few weeks so I'm worried about feeling disappointed with the results.

Last week I hit 13st 12.5lbs, which meant I'd lost 5% of my weight, and I had only got 3.5lbs to go for me to hit a total weight loss of a stone. I was really hoping that I'd manage to do that this week but I think I might be half a pound out. It's quite irritating, but I guess I'll definitely hit it by next weeks weigh in. So for this week I'm aiming for about 2 and a half lbs. More would be nice but I'm not going to push my luck! 

I've done more exercise than I usually would this week too. I've managed to go on two walks, which I should also do tonight, a bit of a run, and spent the whole weekend cleaning the house, which really boosts up the activity points. So I have just over 24 hours to go to loose about half a lb. Achievable? Not so sure!

~~~

My little sisters bridesmaid dress has now been dispatched! I should receive that next week. We have now hit 20 months to go. It feels like it's going pretty quick now, and I'm starting to worry about it all. Should just take every day as it comes really! 

Right, I shall update on Wednesday morning about my official weight loss this week! 

Have a great day.

Tilly xXx

Operation Wedding Dress Update #2 ♥

I had my second weigh in at Weight Watchers yesterday, well third if you count the beginning weight, but second for actually being on the plan! I've had another great week with no slip ups or cravings, I haven't really found myself wanting a great deal of grub anyway, I think the determination has well and truely planted itself in my head. I just know that there are Weight Watchers products that can surpress any cravings should there be any, and if I want an Ice cream I've got Soleros in the fridge that come to 3 points. It's a phsycological state of being, and I'm thoroughly enjoying being on this plan, which I can't believe I am saying.

So last week I weighed in at 14st 3lb, with a total loss of 6lb in the first week. This week I weighed in at 13st 12.5lbs, with a second week loss of 4 and a half lbs! I couldn't believe it, my aim was for 3lbs this week. The ladies at the meeting were all asking me what my secret was!

This was the scales this morning, sorry about the pic, but there's a solid 13st 12lb there. I got to about this weight just before my skydive back in April, then I went on holiday and put it all back on. So anything lower than this, I won't have been that weight for a good few years!

Here's a snapshot of the Weight Watchers app, I couldn't do it without this thing, it's great. I track all the grub, it prompts me for my weekly weigh in and I can track any exercise. This little chart is great, it makes you see properly how it's going down. As long as it doesn't go up I'll be happy. I reached my 5% loss this week, so that's 10 and a half lbs in two weeks. This plan is obviously the best thing for me I think. If anyone is thinking about doing it just bite that bullet!

Weekly record chart. I'm now 2 and a half lbs off my current goal weight, and 3 and a half lbs off a stone. 

 

I got given this in this weeks meeting for reaching 5%. It's a good little read, full of motivation. If you do go, I would definitely say stay for the meetings. A lot of people just weigh in and go, whereas I think the meetings provide opportunity to discuss any good tips, or any struggles together, and see you're not on your own.

 

Bring on next week!

Tilly xXx

Operation Wedding Dress Update ♥

If you have read the last few posts, you will know I joined Weight Watchers last week. I was really apprehensive about it, and nervous for my first meeting. As mentioned in the last post about #OperationWeddingDress, I found it to be a good place to be at the meeting, and all the ladies were really friendly.

Over the week, I have eaten really healthily, completely cut the crap, but allowed myself one treat on Sunday. A typical day for me would be:

Breakfast = Banana (0pts) or a Weight Watchers Yoghurt (1pt)

Lunch = 2 Slices wholemeal bread sandwich, with ham, lettuce and utterly butterly (5pts)

A Banana, handfull of Strawberries or a Plum. (0pts)

Dinner = Quorn bolognese, making own tomato sauce using passata (around 11pts)

Pudding = I'm not usually having pudding but if I do, a Solero Ice cream is only 3 points! It's all good.

So Ed and I have been shopping at Lidl on a Sunday just to get bits for the week, and fresh fruit and vegetables. Their prices are so low, we had a trolley full for £31.00! Also, their fresh produce actually lasts me the entire week, a bag of crunchy salad from Sainsburys lasts 2 to 3 days max, whereas Lidl's can last up to 6 days! That really helps because it isn't costing as much as it usually would to eat healthy. 

The only treat I had was that we went out for a meal at Barton Marina which is a lovely canal-side place nearby, and I had three courses. I was still careful with what I chose beside the pudding, a dark chocolate cheesecake with white chocolate ice cream, ooo it was yummy. I'd got plenty of points left to enjoy this treat, so Weight Watchers doesn't ban the bad stuff completely.

So, less or the boring stuff, I had my first weigh in on Tuesday, and my Sister in law came with me for moral support! I was really nervous for stepping on the scales and really hoped it would be a 3lb loss, which would make my weight 14st 6. I don't mind telling you guys, your part of the journey! So we had everything crossed, I stepped on, and it said 14st 3! I'd lost a whopping 6lbs in a week! I can't literally believe it, it didn't even feel that hard to do! I also won the raffle too and got some recipe cards, so it was my lucky week. I did myself a weight watchers curry and treated myself to a Solero to celebrate. Now for the next week!

I stepped on my scales this morning, and this is what is said.

 

Obviously my scales aren't the same as those at the meetings, there's a slight differ in weight, but 14st 0.6! I'm so excited for it to say 13st something, I won't have been that weight for at least 2 years. It really is giving me the boost to carry on going to these meetings, and I'm actually enjoying it, I never thought I'd say that! Next weigh in is Tuesday 14th August at 7pm!

Tilly xXx

Save the Date! ♥

Before we got engaged, I hadn't really thought of Save the Date cards, and when buying wedding magazines and surfing the net, it became more apparent they were pretty popular. The concept of them, is to send out a card with the date and perhaps the location of your wedding before the invitation, so guests can get it booked off work in plenty of time. I've seen some nice idea's for Save the Date cards.

Some people like to take a photo with themselves in, and send that out by itself, or a formal card like the invitation. Here are some examples.

The idea is to be short, sweet and one sided. I like the photograph concept, however for ours I wanted something that would give an idea of the theme of the wedding. The card below is more like what I seem to come across more regularly, as it's straight to the point.

So, after a little while messing around on Photoshop, I came up with a design that I quite like for ours. Also, I am going to send ours out as magnets, so our guests can stick them on the fridge, and not forget! They will be about Credit Card size and come with little envelopes. They are priced at 20 for £6.99, or £8.99 with envelopes if you require them. If you don't fancy your chances with Photoshop, there are also some pre-designed magnets, that you can personalise with your names and date. 

I've got to do a final count of the guest list before I know how many to order. Obviously it is one card per house hold, so I think it's going to be around 50, which is a little annoying with it being 20 per pack. Nevermind! The link to the Ebay seller for the magnets is HERE.

This is the first design I have done, I wanted something a little bit vintage and floral. I'm a little unsure about the font looking at it now though, I'm not sure if it's right for the theme. But, that's what it's all about, trial and error and I shall get there in the end.

I'm not actually sure on when to send these, I'm thinking around Christmas or just after in January, with just over a year to go so they don't get mixed up with the Christmas post. 

Thanks for reading, tomorrow is my first Weight Watchers weigh in, so a post on #OperationWeddingDress will be coming either tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning! I'm a little nervous, but I think I've lost at least a pound (out of my pocket), so I'm not sweating it too much. 

Tilly xXx

P.S. I've just done a quick Save the Date card with the use of my background, and I think I much prefer it. I'm thinking when I receive them, to stick a little pearl heart in one of the top corners to make it a little bit more pleasing to the eye. Reckon it's better than the first one?

X

Bridal Shoes & Bridesmaid Dresses ♥

It's never too early to start thinking about the aesthetics of your wedding! At least, I don't think so...

So I always have a mooch around the bridal sections in Debenhams whenever I'm passing, or a sneaky look in a few shoe shops around Birmingham. I'm not particularly a shoe person; they aren't an item I gravitate towards if I'm out shopping really. However, I have been briefly thinking about the style of shoes I'd like for my wedding day. I'm not a big spender as you may have gathered, and I'd love a pair that are a bit 'wow' under the dress.

My initial thoughts were to go for something turquoise to match my hair if the dress was long enough, but I don't want it to look totally nuts. In Birmingham, I went into Kurt Geiger for the first time, and have fell head over heels (like what I did there?) for these badboys!

They are called 'Guess' by Carvela, and are currently on sale from £120.00 to £49.00, but they don't have my size! I did see them in the shop and they were lovely but I couldn't justify spending even the £49.00. I've since been back in and the buggers have gone. I just love them, the crystals are clear, but multicoloured in the light, and the base colour is a grey, dusky pink. I just love them, and I think if they were available online now at my size I would honestly get them. They do have alternate colours in Kurt Geiger, but they are at full price, so I'm keeping my eyes firmly peeled over the next year.

As for Bridesmaid dresses, my immediate thought was that they will be floor length, as I'm not a fan of short bridesmaids dresses, they look so much more classy long (because you know, I'm full of class ;) ). I just think they look pretty, and I feel better in a long dress so that's that. I also am thinking of a one shoulder dress, because I don't want my girls feeling uncomfortable or irritable due to their dress. 

I particularly like these dresses, they are the three main colours in our theme and they are available in all of those colours. They are around £75.00 each which is a little on the pricey side I guess, but for a custom made dress it's not too bad. I have no idea what colour to choose, unless I have one of each...

I love the material, they are one shouldered and have lovely beading detail under the bust. They fit the bill, but it's still early days, and I guess I have to consult the ladies who shall actually be wearing them!

Tilly xXx

Operation Wedding Dress ♥

So I've shown you a few of the dresses I love, and touched briefly about wanting to be in shape for the big day. #OperationWeddingDress is a hashtag I will refer to on Twitter if I'm discussing anything diet or fitness, which isn't that often! I tried calorie counting, because I had to be a certain weight as I skydived earlier this year (if you want to see the blog post and video, click HERE). I managed to lose a stone counting a total of 1200 calories a day and doing an hours walk here and there and a few sessions on WiiFit. This was over about 6 weeks, and I felt great. 

However, just before the skydive, we went on holiday and I was still eating salads and healthy things, trying not to gain any more lbs, but then little ice creams and pina colada's began to creep in. My willpower failed and I was just about OK for the dive, but after that my inner foodie took over again, and I've lost control yet again. I wouldn't even say it's emotional eating or anything like that, it's just me and the hubby to be love buying snacks, slobbing in front of Emmerdale, stuffing ourselves until we can't breathe. How healthy are we?  Eating out also plays a big part in our lives, as we have our brothers/sister in laws all as couples, and we love to go and have a meal altogether, as well as takeaways and god knows what else. So I've managed to put on another half a stone over the last few weeks. #FAIL.

So there we go, I've finally bitten the bullet and done it. I signed up for Weight Watchers online, as I have been thinking about doing it for months as the only way to combat my eating habits, and to get me in the right frame of mind. I was really nervous about the meeting, but it was fine when I got there. The ladies were all really friendly, I was by far the youngest one there, with all the rest being around 40+. They weighed me, calculated the points I could have each day, with a 5% weightloss target which works out to 10lbs. So, first of August, second day of it but first day after being weighed. 

I'm feeling pretty positive at the moment, I'm on holiday in 5 weeks time, so hopefully I will have lost a little bit by then so that's my first aim. The wedding dress is the constant aim, but if I have goals along the way I think it'll help. Good luck to anyone who's on it, have you had success? Also, if you are thinking about it, it might be worth just signing up and having a go, what's the worst that could happen? I shall update next week about how #OperationWeddingDress is going!

Tilly xXx

Theme - The Beginning Mood Board ♥

Now we've got the venue, and a good idea of what it looks like, we can start building up theme ideas. I can picture little bit's and bob's to go here and there, and what to use to decorate the venue. As for our theme, I love vintage-ness! I am a big fan of quirky, pretty, Parisian Vintage, so that is what I'm aiming to go for. Obviously, everyone has unique tastes, so it's great to sift through websites like Pinterest to pick and personalise little ideas from each image. 

Think Lace, Taffeta and Peonies, oh and not to mention La Tour Eiffel. Suitcases, birdcages, candles, bunting, mason jars, ribbon fairy lights, bows, pearls - are just some of the things that have me inspired. 

So this gives you a general theme on our wedding. The three main colours being a pastel turquoise (to correspond with my hair!), a pastel pink and a light gold/champagne colour. I didn't particularly just want to stick with a general colour because it makes it harder to get items to correspond, or dresses to match etc. Especially when I am getting a lot of things from Ebay, where the exact colours differ, so it makes things a little more lenient when it comes to colour matching.

Do you like the vintage theme, or had it for your own wedding? I'd love to know! The only thing I'm worried about is shifting so much stuff, especially the flowers, 150 miles up the road the day before! Any tips would be handy! Thanks for reading!

Tilly xXx

The Venue ♥

Today's post is all about the venue. The next stage in the process that we have encountered so far. As mentioned in the previous post, we took a fairly casual approach and it all came from nowhere really. It was nice to find somewhere we both felt confident with, and both agreed on out of the blue. We had been to a few wedding open days closer to home, but they all had something we didn't like or didn't agree with. So at a point I started to feel like 'We will never find anywhere', even though we hadn't been looking for long, you can start getting excited when it's actually booked.

We stumbled across this venue when we had to go up to the Lake District on business. I'd never been to the Lakes before, and didn't realise how nice it was! The views are stunning, it's very green, and filled with Sheep. What more could a girl ask for? There's no where like this near home, so we decided to re-visit for pleasure in March. This is the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal, if you wish to look at their website, click HERE. 

After staying for a second time, the conversation arose that we both loved the hotel, and that it would be a great wedding venue for us. We decided to ask for the brochure just on a whim, and we managed to have a little sneak peak into one of the wedding rooms whilst a wedding was on, and it looked really nice. After much discussing and deciding to bite the bullet, we pencilled in a provisional date of April 2014 just because it was the first half of that year, and just out of wedding season which is a great help to the old budget. We might just have a little ray of sunshine in April too, fingers crossed.

What we also liked about this hotel is that it has the option of getting wed in the outdoor Gazebo. It's so pretty, and after a little DIY jazzing up, it could look the dogs! If it was to rain however, they also set up a room inside for the just-in-case moment. We have opted for the Gazebo as we thought it would put a bit of a different twist on it. After a couple of months we went for a full tour of the hotel. In my Pukka Pad, I wrote down all the questions I had to ask. The wedding co-ordinator was lovely and helpful and pretty much answered them before I had the chance. So at this stage, we have secured the date and paid a deposit of £500.00, which we thought was very good as most were at least £1000.00.

After briefly discussing numbers and figures with the wedding co-ordinator, we came up with a figure that we agreed on after jiggling a few things around, and we are really pleased. If you have this to come soon, don't feel like you can't ask to take away something and add something else. For example, in the package, half a bottle of wine was provided for each person but we said it would be better to just have a glass, and that saved us a fair bit! It's your money and budget to do what you want, and they were actually more lenient than we first thought, so it doesn't hurt to ask! This was us after pencilling in the date!

So there is the venue, new post coming soon!

Tilly xXx