Archive for the ‘Diary/ log’ Category

So, the guy has been met. Love has happened, and the engagement ring is shimmering oh so proudly on my finger. Bliss.

But now what? Where do you start with something so big? I mean, movies have been made, books have been written, fairy tales have been told and retold a million times over. Someone feeling a little bit of pressure? I mean, it is, after all, my wedding day! The day little girls across the world dream of, the day I get to be a queen the entire day, and in my books, the 3 weeks leading up to it as well, I mean you have to milk it a bit… The day I have to plan? Read the rest of this entry »

Splendid Affairs is proud to present December Wedding Special.On the 18. 19, 20 December you can save over  R35 000 on your wedding, without compromising on the quality of your wedding.

For only R62 000 you can have your dream wedding planned from start to finished at the Five Star Venue Toadbury Hall.

Read the rest of this entry »

Naughty, naughty me.  I’ve totally neglected my blogs but for good reason.  We’ve had a rollercoaster few weeks and I’m still holding my breath that nothing more happens (besides some good luck).  With my mom and I being in hospital, to having so many friends and family here from overseas and then my car being stolen it’s just been crazy.

I am however now officially Mrz Style and so proud to be!  We made it official on Saturday 29th August at Ingwenya Country Estate.  For some reason I was completely calm on the day, although admittedly when I saw the white chairs laid out so beautifully in the garden my stomach turned.  I pulled myself together as best I could and thought to myself “there is no point getting worked up and nervous as you don’t want to waste the day on worrying about things that you cannot fully control”.  I totally relaxed after that (with the help of Rescue Remedy and champagne which I highly recommend!) and just enjoyed getting ready and being pampered.  The hairstylist and makeup artist said I was probably the most calm bride they’d ever come across so I knew the pills (and champagne) were paying off. 

The honeymoon suite was above the ceremony so I had the advantage of watching everyone arrive and watch how nervous Mr Style was getting.  When it was time to put on my dress and get going I finally gave in to the nerves.  I literally thought I was going to hyperventilate.  I had the added worry that Baby Style, who is 3 and was walking me down the aisle, wouldn’t go through with it and would run the other way!  I however had someone very close to me in the family on standby to take over should Baby Style do this.  As my stunning bridesmaids walked ahead I waited a while, prepping Baby Style on what we had to do.  Needless to say my little boy pulled through for me.  He held my hand, even slowed down so I could walk properly and on seeing us Mr Style could not hold back his tears so I just kept looking down so I didn’t break down.

I can truly say that the minute I took Mr Style’s hand I was ok.  It all felt right and I kept telling myself that if things didn’t go 100% right on this day, would it be such a huge deal?  We were all there for the best reason ever and whatever happened, wrong or right, would give it even more character and give us lots to talk about later!  These are pics taken by our brother-in-law but I’ll be sure to post more from the photographer when we get them.

There is so much that I learnt from planning my own wedding and now actually having been through it.  I will dedicate that though to a seperate blog as I’d love this one to just be about the big day.

It’s been months of procrastination and denial since our engagement on Christmas Eve 2008. (Not that I’m not looking forward to being someone’s Mrs., but rather I’m dreading all the work that goes into wedding planning. Many horror stories have caused heart palpitations at girls’ lunches.)

I’ve now officially entered the adult life stage of expected questions at gatherings. As soon as news broke of our engagement, standard greetings with friends changed from “Hi, how are you and Nick?” to “Hey, when’s the big day? How are the wedding plans coming along? Are you done planning the most spectacular party you’ll ever plan and for which you’ll be judged for the rest of your life?” Sigh. The thing is, I have a somewhat laid-back disposition and am easily distracted. I still don’t feel as though I fit the role of engaged-woman-with-very-important-planning-to-do. But it’s not that bad, and I am tackling it bit by bit.

Let me start by introducing myself. I am Mizz Wonderland, so named because my wedding theme is Alice in Wonderland (and I’m allowed because my name IS Alice). I am 26, a copywriter, Taiwanese, a queen of bargain shopping, and I can bake a killer paella. (Follow my blog and I may just leak my culinary secrets to you…) I’m sure these next six-and-a-bit months will fly by with lots of shopping and planning and elbow grease involved; but it will be all worth it.

I can’t wait to share it all with you.

I was hoping to blog alot more in the weeks leading up to our wedding but a whirlwind of things have happened and sometimes I feel there are hidden cameras around and we’re on a reality show!  After my unexpected operation last Wednesday I suffered internal bleeding and had to be rushed back to theatre Thursday morning.  Luckily all was ok after that and I left hospital the same evening.  I’m recovering well but need a couple more days of rest so the swelling goes down.  My mom also took a turn for the worst in hospital after breaking her hip in a fall last Monday and ended up in ICU yesterday with blood clots on her lungs.  She is alot better today and all she is worried about is getting walking so she can get into her shoes that she hunted down for ages for the wedding!

I’m now left with alot of loose ends to tie up before the big day. Read the rest of this entry »

I have had such a hectic time with the decor arrangements and trying to cut down on the quote.  After thinking the first decor quote of R9000 was too expensive we ended up getting a much better decor idea from SA Wedding Decor which came to almost R20 000!  We’re moving towards a similar theme and feel to the below but after scrutinizing the quote and remembering that I am very creative, the centrepieces will be done by me and I am scrapping the white sheer organza overlays and the large white painted trees we were going to have as features on each side of the main table.  We have so much else going on that we can safely do without these things.  I’ve managed to get the quote down by R7000! 

www.mixmingleglow.com

We were also lucky enough to get the very best gift of all from one of our MC’s and good friend.  Read the rest of this entry »

With time running out, decisions had to be made once and for all.  With the help of a friend, I finally decided the decor which is really easy to do with guidance from a professional.  Often you see what you would like but have no clue what items and lighting is used to get the effect.  Whatever you do, don’t try do it yourself unless you have experience.  You will waste money buying the wrong DIY items as well as alot of time.  I have been dealing with a great decor company – SA Event Decor www.saeventdecor.co.za, with their sub division SA Wedding Decor www.saweddingdecor.co.za contact Amanda amanda@saweddingdecor.co.za.  I have received great service and their prices are extremely competitive.

Another great supplier I have come across is Lyn at Expressions Floral Design www.expressionsfloral.co.za or email lyn@expressionsfloral.co.za.  The price she has quoted for my bouquet and my two bridesmaids bouquets are so reasonable I actually didn’t believe the quote when I first got it.  All three are costing me R665 which includes diamante finishes and accessories.

We met our photographer at our venue, Ingwenya Country Estate, on Sunday to walk through the grounds and go over the lighting that we’ll have in the reception hall.  Highly recommended that you do this because your photographer won’t waste time on the day trying to find appealing spots to take photos and he/she would have prepared for any bad lighting in the hall or on the grounds.  Going to the venue and viewing the hall again put alot in place for us because it’s easy to forget the specifics of the venue after your first visit.   As mentioned in my previous blog, we’re moving the ceremony into the gardens and viewing the actual spot was so exciting and gave us a great indication of how we’re going to have everything set up.  It makes the rest of the planning much easier.  I suggest you go to the venue a few times if you’re not sure about the table layouts, DJ spot, main table area, decor ideas, etc.  It falls into place nicely once you’ve been a few times.

I also previously mentioned that we would visit the Oriental Market opposite Bruma Lake.  I recommend a visit there if you’re looking at DIY projects and saving cash.  They have EVERYTHING!  I just love the Chinese!  They are so creative and supply so much for you to choose from.  I’m using string beads in the centrepieces and there is a huge ‘florist’ and accessory shop there which is completely affordable.  A huge variety of  creative items, that if you haven’t wanted to use before, you’ll be using once you see them! 

We have also decided to scrap the decor ……

Read the rest of this entry »

Its been a while since my last blog post (had to study for exams) and oh my word……have plans changed.

It all started a few weeks before I had to really start focusing on the studying. Wedding plans were going great, on track, till a certain phone call sent me into a fluttery panic. Our budget had – due to unexpected reasons – been cut by more than half now you can imagine how a bride that has done most of her planning feels when told that the budget is almost all gone. After a few days of being a bit depro and contemplating getting married in court, I pulled myself together and started re-planning a really budget wise wedding. I still wanted to use the colour scheme and the flowers I had in mind but the venue was going to have to change to something well, more affordable for the Average Joe.

I started looking for almost unheard-of venues, looked for places that don’t normally cater for weddings but that can on request. Eventually I found one or two quaint little places but still my budget would be too high (I’m pretty much working with a non existent budget here).

Mmmmm….I could get married in my church’s hall and then find a banqueting hall for the reception, which would work in well with the budget. Searched a bit and found a hall not too far from the church and not expensive at all (it’s on a plot and if you are looking for a nice, informal, ‘almal kuier saam’ reception then this would be the place for you). By this time budgeting was my main priority and planning became very tiring and stressful. Even though we had found this place on the plot it wasn’t quite what Mr Daisy-to-be had in mind….

Back to the flippen drawing board…aaaaaarrrrgghhhh!
Read the rest of this entry »

My last week has been spent searching for specifically what we want for our decor and to be honest it’s getting more confusing.  Although decided on the theme, colours, etc when you start breaking it down to actual table settings, gifts, invitation stationery it gets a little harder because of the thousands of choices you come across on the internet!  I’ve decided to start a scrapbook to print out, or tear out if from a magazine, pics and articles pertaining to our theme and then break it down from there.  On the one hand it gives you a great visual of how you would like things to look and on the other hand you have a ‘diary’ of your planning to keep along with your wedding pictures and other memorable items!  Although we have 124 days to go, they are flying past!  I’ve been thinking we have so much to do and it’s overwhelming.  I’m so busy going over things in my mind that I totally forget to refer to my checklist which details all monthly tasks and creates complete calm.  Remember ladies, when you start feeling that the thinking is getting a bit much, look at your checklist to calm yourself down as it puts it all into perspective.  It really is a MUST.  Make extra notes on a spreadsheet or on a notepad that you keep with you so when you have a new idea or concern, write it down and refer to it when the time calls for it. You won’t function without a list if you are doing most of it yourself and the overwhelming feeling will definitely cause you to panic and forget things.  The biggest difficulty we have faced out of all the planning is who is going to take care of our little boy on our big day and when we go on honeymoon.  Read the rest of this entry »