A non-guidey guide from a soon to be bride part three

We'd like to introduce a lovely new blogger to you all. Meet Leigh (and her fiance Matt), a bride to be who we've got to know over the last few months as a member of our couples panel.

We'll be following Leigh until her big day and can't wait to hear the rest of her journey from Miss to Mrs...

Rewind to May '17 and take a nine-plus year relationship, a stunning holiday to Cyprus and a quaint little vineyard tour (oh and a little ‘YES’ from me) and that’s where our engagement began. That was the day I took that subconscious leap into the wonderful world of all things white and wonderful.

From speaking with married family and friends (and when I say speaking, I may mean hours of questions largely from me) it seems that the biggest question for the newly engaged population is ‘where do I even start?!’ The answer, in simple terms is a good old brainstorm!

Now you may have considered your wedding day since you were 6 years old and have wedding magazines secretly hidden in corners of your home with a precise vision of your dress and venue. Or, perhaps like me, you may have just blissfully accepted that your long term significant other although brave, was not THAT brave, and have never given much of a thought to any wedding related detail. If you are in the latter category, be prepared to make some serious decisions. My only hope is that none of you are fellow Libra's like me.

Whichever category you may find yourself in, can we take a brief moment to appreciate the wonders of the World Wide Web and our good friend Google. It’s a pretty straight forward starting point for all things wedding- but where you’ll end up is another matter altogether!

I'm now eight months in to my planning and we've just skimmed past the '6 months to go' mark, I should tell you now that's a nice little millstone to look forward to. The big boxes are firmly ticked however, if you were to ask me how and where I found each of my wedding suppliers, truth be told I’d struggle to tell you. In fact I’d fail miserably. By no flaw of my memory, but the sheer labyrinth of the internet with this post linking to that, and that supplier recommending that photographer, leading to the most dreamy picture of a Pronovias dress (I’m now on Pinterest of course) and oh look! She’s holding a puppy! Is that a Frenchie? Hang on…what was I looking for?! My new shiny wedding planner is now full of scribbles and doodles of puppies and my mind has gone to mush. Start again… ‘g o o g l e’.

But- don’t get me wrong, networking is fantastic and if you have found a supplier that you totally love because their style and their image is just perfect for your wedding vibe and YAY! they are just about within budget… do check if they recommend. If they have a similar style to your chosen wedding vibe then perhaps their trusted allies do to!

So back to the matter of inspiration and those early stages of brainstorming and idea seeking, it would be improper not to applaud the creators of the beloved Pinterest. An inspirational feast for the eyes but be aware, that one perfect item that you MUST have will be the one to give you no clue as to where it can be purchased. Just pin and drool and move on…

However whilst my Macbook, a good wifi connection and a cup of tea are usually a pretty good place to start, at some point you’ll need to take a literal step into the wedding world. The fun bit! Venue visits for me were by far a personal favourite; I mean, who wouldn’t want to have personal guided tours of beautiful castles and manor houses rich in history? Did I miss the bit that you won’t pay any entrance fees and if you’re lucky you’ll be provided with a glass of prosecco even if it is 10.30am on a Sunday morning- Thank You and why not.

Now I’m sure that all brides (and grooms) to be, must be at least acutely aware of the world of wedding fairs but I’m going to save the matter of supplier fairs, love them or hate them, for my next post. But if you are reading this and contemplating going to a fair, I encourage you to go!

For now, if you're in the early parts of planning I sincerely hope that you enjoy the process. The wedding world really is your oyster, and don’t be afraid to rebel against tradition (if required!) It’s 2018 and we soon to be wed’s are spoilt with the most delicious of choices…go find them!

Now where did I see that picture of a poodle carrying the wedding rings…

Written by Leigh Messenger: 179 days to go and counting…