What we've done so far as 2025 brides

If you follow me outside of this blog at all, you probably know I'm engaged to the love of my life and SO excited about it. Planning a wedding - they say it's one of the most stressful things you'll ever do, and I won't lie it has been a *bit* stressful so far. I thought I'd write a post about what we've done, where we're up to, vague plans and so on in case anyone's interested or in the same boat!

Chosen a date

We've chosen our date - I won't put the exact date here as I'm never sure how much to give away, but it's in the Autumn of 2025 giving us plenty of time to get everything sorted. We have gone for an Autumn date as we didn't want to go for Summer, get our hopes up for good weather only to have it pour down... plus I just *love* an Autumnal colour scheme!

Booked the ceremony & reception venues

Ah, the venue. This has been pretty much our only big stress as we could NOT find something that worked for us. Essentially we're having a tiny ceremony (family only, at the local registry office which is also where my Grandad got married) and then we wanted a big, laidback party. Everywhere we looked at was either £12,000 plus extra for bloody chairs, or didn't have a bar in the room, or would only fit about 60 people, or was next door to a supermarket...

We've found somewhere now, though, and again I won't say exactly where but it's exactly what we want - not too posh, big enough for a dance floor AND seats, does good food, has plenty of hotels nearby and so on. We've paid the booking fee for the registry office to secure the date, and we've also paid a deposit for the reception venue. So that's that sorted!

Made a spreadsheet

When I say 'we', this one's just me. But I value a good spreadsheet, and I think mine's up to about 7 tabs now - guest list, what we need to book/pay for and when, decor ideas, running order and so on. You just can't go wrong.

Started buying little bits

I haven't gone mad with buying stuff yet, but I'm well aware that the costs will pile up and I think buying bits as you go is a great way to avoid having to pay out a huge chunk of money at once. So far I've got a box for people to put wedding cards in, a cake topper, and some little wooden hearts for the tables. Oh, and a TEMU basket full of fake flowers, ribbon, etc etc etc...

Planned the decor

Following on from that, I know exactly how I want the decor to look and what we need to get in order to achieve that. I just really hope I can pull this vision off - but I've planned plenty of trips to car boot sales, flea markets and so on to source the perfect 'bits and bobs' we need!

And that's pretty much everything we've done, aside from starting to eat a bit healthier so we can both be in good shape for the big day. Let me know what I need to add to my to do list that I'll have inevitably forgotten...