Sunday 31 May 2009

Hmmmn... not quite cupcake heaven

I made cupcakes. They look good (even if I do say so myself). But... the frosting tastes a bit weird...



Anyway, here are the little beauties... far too much glitter methinks, and believe me I wasn't going for that lurid shade of Barbie pink. Back to the drawing board...


Friday 29 May 2009

Actual cake obsession.

Latest wedding obsession is the cake. Sparked by a flurry of deliveries to my office of these little beauties, I think that a cupcake tower is a fun, attractive way to offer a wedding cake without the boring old fruit cake that only Great Aunt Ethel likes anyway.

So... I've ordered my edible glitter, I'm hitting Sainsbury's baking section tomorrow and by Sunday afternoon I hope to have turned out several glittery confections of beauteousness. The thinking being that if I can perfect my technique over the enxt year, I will be able to save the average £350 these companies charge for a cupcake tower for 100 guests. RESULT!

Thursday 28 May 2009

Venue hunting

So, we've been to visit a venue, and we loved it. We're making ourselves go to see half a dozen more places over the next few months, but I have a sneaking suspicion we're going to end up back at our first place. It's a converted barn that would allow us so much flexibility, right down to being able to offer our guests a choice of five different puddings on the day. RESULT!

However... it's £4k just to hire. I know that's not expensive as wedding venues go, but outside of the weird and wonderful bubble that is WeddingLand, £4k is an awful ot of money to spend just on being allowed to take 100 people to a room for seven hours. Ho hum.

We can't book anything until we've done some serious saving, so I guess we just have to put dreams of that place in the back of our mind while carrying on the search.

Although.

I migth have just done a little investigation into making my own centrepieces that would look perfect in the barn. Just lovely.

I am definitely owed that lottery win right about now.

Wednesday 27 May 2009

NFI*

The hunt for invitations has started. A quick Google search reveals that hundreds, nay thousands, of businesses are all desperate to provide me with a veritable wet dream confection of card, cord, ribbon and a hundred choices of ink colour. Further investigation reveals that they would also like to divest me of a month's take-home for the pleasure.

I have (stupidly) set my heart on letterpress invitations - the kind that's the style du jour for trendy American weddings, but yet to really take off here. Letterpress invites are so classy and stylish and LOVELY. However, they're also loopily expensive.

I'm trying to find a cheaper way of getting the invites I'd like - making them myself is clearly not an option - but I'm struggling! Surely there's some typography/printing student who'd like to take this on as a project...?!

In the interim, I've decided to sulk and decide I'm not having ANY INVITATIONS AT ALL, and perhaps I'm NOT INVITING ANYONE TO MY WEDDING, and EVERYTHING is SO UNFAIR, etc. etc.

*Not F*cking Invited, in case you're curious

Tuesday 26 May 2009

Keep calm and carry on

Well, blimey. So I'm finally engaged. The Boy has gone and done it, he's popped the question, I have a beautiful ring on my finger and now it's time to start planning the day of my dreams, the party of the decade, the wedding of the century.

Except. Except.

My timing is impeccable. We're in the middle of the biggest recession of the last fifteen years - possibly the last fifty. People are taking pay freezes, pay cuts, anything to stop them slipping into the rapidly rising unemployment statistics. The reaction of my newly engaged friends is not that of joy - it's of blind panic. Unsure of the stability of their own jobs, they've just found out that the parents spent their inheritance on home improvements and holidays in Marbella in the heady, hedonistic late nineties. There's no wedding fund to secure the Asian fusion barbecue at the stately home of your dreams. There's no big bonus to be counting on to make a dent in those plans for your classic yet princessy dress and wedding breakfast in a chateau in Provence.

I think only a wartime sprit is going to get me through. It's going to be tight, we're going to cut corners, but by God ladies, there's eBay! We will fight them at the sample sales, we will fight the hotelier who suggests £150 a head menus, and most importantly WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER!

In the meantime, I'm off here to stock up on motivational items.

RB x