Helluva Manbasket.

I'm going to change the title of this tomorrow after he's actually received his present, but for today, while he is on strict instructions to stay off the blog, this is 'Valentine's Gift'. I'll probably go for something cheesy tomorrow like 'Helluva Manbasket'. (Does anybody get that reference?) edit: Gave it to him! He loved it!

Because that's what I've done for Jay this year, and I'm super excited for him to see it all tomorrow morning. I find it really easy to get him presents generally because through the year I look up everything he says he likes the look of, then add it to my bookmarks. Come birthday or Christmas time, I've got a whole list of ideas to choose from. But Valentine's Day has never been something we've done "proper" presents for. I just wanted this day to be for making him feel special, and what makes someone feel more special and pampered than a personalised gift basket?!

I found the basket on eBay and chose a design that wasn't delicate or floral, so I could be sure it would appeal to his manly side (but I must admit I picked one that I could see a place for in our home!). Inside the basket is a Liz Earle giftset for men, a giant Valentine's Day card, a 'build your own Android app' magazine book, some miniature Whisky bottles and I bought him a year-long subscription to CODE Magazine but the latest issue isn't out yet, so I substituted a little home-made 'coupon'.

Jay studies computer games development at University so, as well as the 'pamper' products (Liz Earle) and 'treats' (whisky!) I got him some things he'd find practical. Hopefully he'll find a real use for the things I got him in the future, and if they're not practical then hopefully he'll at least be interested. I padded out the basket with the tissue paper from inside the Liz Earle package, otherwise I'd have just got some plain tissue paper from a supermarket. I also lined the bottom of the basket with the Liz Earle washcloth.

Happy Valentine's Day, Future Husband! I love you!

So You've Just Got Engaged...

He asks. You say yes. You might even cry. You tell your family. You tell your friends. You clink a glass of champagne and seal it with a kiss.

And then what? When the news has sunk in (actually, it's been a little over a week for me and it's still not quite real), you want to get down to business and actually plan the big day. So what happens next?

Buy a pretty notebook and talk to your fiancé about the things you expect from your wedding. Talk about how much money you want to spend and how long you'd like to be engaged. Talk about colour schemes and wedding themes. Scribble furiously throughout this conversation (he might not want to regurgitate it all 4 hours later - trust me, I understand that you want nothing but to talk about it again and again, but he might not) and use it as the beginnings of your wedding plans. I have a page for 'budget', 'wedding party', 'clothes', 'food and drink', 'decor', 'venues' etc etc and I add information, prices and ideas as they come to me. I always keep my wedding notebook handy.

Look up the legal-eagle bits and bobs. Find out what you're going to need to do in order to actually legally get married (in the UK the minimum notice you need to give for your nuptials is changing from 16 days to 29 days from the 2nd of March), where it is legal to get married, and factor the cost of declaring your intention to marry (£35 each) and of being married by an officiant (£45 if you're married in a registry office) into your budget.

Buy pretty things for your wedding party and do what you can to make sure everybody feels special. Asking somebody to be your bridesmaid or maid of honour can feel a bit like proposing in itself, so have a look around online for a cute and unique way of doing it. Once I've asked my lovely ladies the next big question, I'll let you know how I did it!

Start a pinterest board and subscribe to blogs/newsletters/magazines that fit in with the theme and tone of your wedding. If you're a white-gown and up-do kind of bride, look for glossy mags. If you want to get married in the woods, you won't find anything in your local supermarket. Change your search terms on Google and Pinterest loads until you find the exact inspiration you're looking for. There is loads of brilliant information out there, and I've definitely got some ideas. Have a look at my wedding board on Pinterest here - bang! There goes the surprise of my theme! 

Sit tight, lady and try not to get too impatient as you realise that you can't plan it all in a day and have it go ahead tomorrow - as much as I know how you'd love that. My current status is: we have picked a date we'd love, we've got a meeting loosely scheduled with a venue and it's perfect, we're just hoping the date and price are both right. I've got my budget nailed down (more on that later), I need to wait for my bridesmaid gifts to arrive so I can talk to my girls about it, we've sort of loosely decided everything without having set anything in stone. And I'd love to have the money to just compile it all into one big list, click 'yes' and have it all go ahead tomorrow. Is waiting not just the worst thing?

Real life still from the moment I looked at my ring for the first time. Yes, unfortunately, I was dressed like that. I was even chewing gum. Video is EMBARRASSING!

Stop ignoring the rest of your life. I am so so guilty of this. The washing basket has piled up. I am finding it really hard to concentrate on my studies. Everything seems a little bit pointless when you've got a wedding going around your mind at a million miles a minute. Even Christmas day was a bit like "Yeah, great, presents, but I'M ENGAGED!" and it's so hard not to let that consume you. But you do still have to do well at work. You do still have to look after your home. Your priorities before your engagement are still your priorities now and ignoring them now only makes things difficult in the long run. So when you're meant to be reading about 19th century revolutions and you open a new tab on your browser and start looking at pink sapphire earrings (REALLY, FEE?) think about how important it is that you look at them right now. Maybe try to use it as an incentive - if you write 500 words, you get 15 minutes of wedding porn. 

At least you tried.

Are you planning a wedding? Did you have a quirky wedding that I need to see? Get in touch!