A Message From a Married Blogger

It feels like weeks since I last blogged, and before you think that this is one of those apology posts about being away it's not. haha. It's been less than a week since I've been on here, but whoah so much has happened. 

As you are all aware if you've been reading my blog, our Wedding Day was Saturday 14th May, and what a fantastic day it was. I always said that for me as long as Michael and I were married at the end of our wedding day then we had the perfect day, well I got that, plus lots more. The day was perfect. Not one thing went wrong, and we loved every second of it. I want to do a few posts from both Mike's and my perspective of the day, so I can remember it forever, but for now I'll leave you with a few pictures from our day. 

We get our official pictures on Thursday morning, which I am so excited about. So these are ones which our guest took of us. Which if these are the 'unprofessional' pictures, I cannot wait to see the 'professional' ones. 

When you hear couples talk about their wedding day and that it was the best day of their lives... it's true.

Love, 

Mr and Mrs Cahill

P.S I cannot wait to get back into the whole blogging thing again, I can't believe how much I actually missed it. We went away to Skegness for the weekend straight after our wedding day and it's pathetic to admit that I seriously had withdrawals from the internet, and Mike from his XBox. If it wasn't for my iphone I don't know what I would have done. haha. Now I'm going to sit back and catch up on the many, many blog posts I've missed while I've been gone.

Wedding: Finally Finished Invites

Blurred on purpose

So with just a week to go before the wedding tomorrow I will hand out our wedding invites. I know, I know. Most people look at me in utter shock when I say that to them, but it's not as though I'm having a huge wedding where hundreds of people need to be informed. There will roughly be about 25 - 30 guests attending our wedding, but to be honest if the only people that were there were Me, Mike, my parents, and my Nanna, we'd both be happy, as these are the people that mean the most to us. We're lucky then as these are the people we know that will definitely be attending, even without an official invite. 

I keep making myself believe that Mike and I are on an episode of BBC THREE's Don't tell the Bride without the massive budget, where they only get 2 weeks to plan the wedding, as their guest generally get their invites the day before the wedding. haha. So I'm doing quite well then. 

We'll all keep our fingers crossed that people actually show up to our wedding and it's not too short notice. I'm sure I'd have all my lovely followers as guest if all else fails. haha. 

Katie 

x

Wedding: Photograph List

When we visited our Wedding Photographer last week they obviously asked us what style of pictures we wanted. Now I'm really that much of a traditional girl when it comes to photos. I'm not a huge fan of the standard motionless poses pictures of the family. Don't get me wrong I still want some of these but a small proportion. For me I want the emotions from the day captured. Kind of like surprise pictures. And in Michael and I's photo session after the ceremony I'm not sure how to describe what I'd like, so instead I'll steal a few pictures from google to show you the style I like. 

There are so many beautiful images out there that this is the smallest of selections but it kind of gives you a rough idea of what I'm after. I love wedding photography where props are used, as I feel it can bring out the couple's personality more than usual. 

I love these three. Doesn't that bride look spectacular! She is so beautiful! There's also a picture of her walking down the aisle with her new husband, and words cannot describe how beautiful and happy she looks. 

While we were talking with our photographer I mentioned compiling a list with all my must have shots, so I didn't miss something I really wanted to remember. Plus there's also a few pictures my Mum would like that slightly mimic her own wedding, which I can't wait to give to her. So I thought today was that day why I got my but in gear and made out my list.

The List - Wedding Photograph Must Haves!

Before

♥ wedding dress hanging up/laying over chair

♥ buttoning up wedding dress

♥ the bridal bouquet 

♥ bride getting into the wedding transportation (because I'm not sure what it will be yet)

♥ bride and parents leaving for ceremony 

Church

♥ the church 

♥ guests arriving/walking into the church

♥ parents arriving/walking into the church 

♥ lots and lots of my Nanna

♥ Bride and Dad getting out of car 

♥ Bride and Dad stood near Church Gates (for Mum)

♥ Bride and Dad entering the church 

♥ Bride just before walking down the aisle 

♥ Bride walking down the aisle Front/Back

♥ Groom with best man 

♥ Groom waiting for Bride 

♥ Vicar 

♥ Groom seeing bride for the first time 

♥ Bride and Groom saying vows 

♥ Exchanging of rings 

♥ Hands 

♥ The kiss 

♥ Bride and Groom walking up aisle married :D

♥ Signing of the marriage licence, both bride and groom 

♥ Confetti being thrown over married couple 

♥ Bride and Groom getting in the car

♥ Bride and Groom in the back seat

After (formal)

♥ Bride alone 

♥ Bride with parents 

♥ Bride and Groom together 

♥ Bride and Groom with Parents

♥ Bride and Groom with Nanna 

♥ Bride with Nanna 

♥ Groom and Best Man

♥ Bride and Groom alone (lots off)

♥ Bride, Groom and Millie

Reception 

♥ Bride and Groom arriving 

♥ Venue 

♥ Wedding Cupcakes/Wedding Cake 

♥ Cutting the cake 

♥ Handing Bouquet to Nanna, instead of throwing it

♥ Bride and Groom Leaving 

Along with these I'd like lots and lots of random pictures of us and all the guests. I cannot wait. The only down side is that it could take a few weeks to get the pictures back, though I may be cheeky and ask for a few unedited pictures of Michael and I soon after or on the day so I can have something physical to hold on to until my pictures arrive. 

Now I just need to print this off and hand it to our photographer. I'm sure that they will already take all these pictures, but it's a just in case. 

The next thing I need to sort out is our playlist. We already know that we want our music taste playing, rather than the traditional wedding reception music. We're not having a DJ or anything similar so we're using our laptop as the sound system, which means we can have any music we'd like. So expect to see this post sometime this week. 

Katie

x

Homemade: Just Married Garland

I've been after a 'Just Married' garland/sign ever since I came across the one I posted here. This one was far too expensive for what it was, and I was determined to create my own. And last night I finally finished it.

It's probably well known from my previous posts that we are planning our wedding on a shoe string budget, so a lot of homemade decorations are a must. Though I should admit that even if money was no object I probably would have still have made a lot myself. I just think weddings are more personal and fun that way.

I have so many more fun little creations to add here, so expect to see more, seen as our wedding is less than three weeks away. All day today I have had sudden and unexpected waves of butterflies that shudder all the way through my body from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. It's such a strange sensation, but I guess it means I'm finally getting nervous when I think of our Big Day... there they go again. 

Speak Soon,

Katie

x

Homemade: Wedding Invitations

As I sit/lay here making good friends with my hot water bottle, I thought that I'd post my wedding invites. I still have more to make, which have all been baked and just need sanding and painting.

I've been pretty determined to make our wedding 'us.' At first when we started planning, the details I chose were the standard items, which were not necessarily me, but more of the norm. 


For example, the first invites I made were pretty traditional. They were nice, but I became frustrated with them because I didn't actually like them. It them took me a good few months to come up with the idea of using salt dough. It was like a light bulb moment, and from that point there was no going back. They are relatively easy to make, just be warned that they can be rather temperamental, and can rise unexpectedly. The way I found to help with this was to turn the heat down and bake for longer. And to mask the awful baking smell... I used a Yankee Candle which worked a treat.


Heres how to make them. Of course you don't have to make wedding invites, they can make supper pretty decorations. I have made them in a few sizes for wedding decorations, so be creative, and you never know what you might come up with.

Salt Dough

2 cups plain flour

1 cup of salt

1 cup of water

2 tablespoons of oil

This was the first time I had worked with cups for measurements rather than weight, and it turned out to be so easy. I bought simple red ones from Asda a while back, so it was also nice to finally put them to use. I'm still on the look out for some heart shaped ones though. 

Step one - Preheat oven to roughly 120°C then mix all the ingredients together. 

Start by mixing the salt and plain flour. Once mixed add the oil, then gradually add the water until you have a clay like consistency. Don't be afraid you get your hands dirty... it's actually more fun that way.

Step two - Next you want to roll out your dough. If you don't have a rolling pin, a wine bottle or a hairspray can works just as well. Just use your imagination. You want to make your hearts roughly 5mm thick, though trial and error, these worked out to be the best size. (always make sure to add flour to the counter to prevent the dough from sticking - this can turn into a nightmare without it)

Step three - Cut out your hearts. 

Step four - Place your hearts onto a floured baking tray ready to bake. Don't forget to make your holes before baking, so you can hang them later. You then want to bake them for at least an hour, or until these dough is hard with no soft spots. Mine took two hours in the oven each time. 

Step five - Once ready take them out of the oven and let them cool.

Step six - Sand all the edges, and top if necessary depending on how you want your hearts to look.

Preferably outside in the sun while listening to you favourite music

The top part of one of my batches did rise, so to save them I cut off all the bubbled parts, and sanded away to create a smooth finish. Now they just look like it was my desired effect. 

Now you are ready to paint.

Step seven - Paint and add text.

I chose white, but this may change as I've noticed that the paint has started to crack slightly (I'm a perfectionist when it comes to things like this.) I did make a batch for other decorations which I painted gold, and these have turned out perfectly. 

Step eight - Add a coat of varnish to keep your work looking amazing and fresh for years to come. 

Ignore the messy table - I like to keep things natural

Mine look slightly blurred in parts, but that's only where I've edited out our wedding reception venue. This is because ours is being held at my parents house, so it's not really fare to share their address with the world. 

Finally add a ribbon or some string to hang your decoration... and you're done. 

I also chose to add each guests name on the back of each invitation, and I will also add a little poem to each heart tied with a bow for that personal effect.

I can't wait to show you my other salt dough creations, so watch out for those.

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

Wedding Planning: A few ticked off the list

Today has been a rather hectic but productive day. I had an early start due to my wedding dress fitting appointment, which was a 9:30. Though this was originally a daunting time for me, now I'm rather grateful as it enabled me to cram so much into my day. At the beginning of today I was so nervous for our Wedding day, after yesterday when it hit me that we had just over 3 weeks left until the big day, and not a lot had been organised. Now as I sat here typing this I'm starting to look forward to it. 

♥♥♥♥

The dress fitting went well. The dress still needs some slight alteration on the bum area, but these should be sorted by next Friday. It's quite strange to think that on the morning of the Royal Wedding, I'll be having my final dress fitting for my wedding dress. 


This is a quick shot I took while trying to figure out the lighting. I'd love to show the pictures of my dress, but I'm going to save that for the 14th May. 

♥♥♥♥

Next we headed off to a flower shop. The one we chose was a recommendation from my Mum, and even though she had not been for years, they were lovely. My original plan of daffodils for my bouquet was not meant to be as they have all now died, but my second choice turned out to be perfect. I want to call them gerbils....  

Gerber Daisies. The lady who helped us had so much patience with me. Organising a wedding is so far away from my comfort zone, that making a decision, sometimes requires a little bit of help. The colour combination she chose was just perfect. She will also keep the stems quite long with ribbon to hold them together. We then chose the white ones for the button holes. 

♥♥♥♥

As soon as we got home I got started on making our wedding invites. I had my mind set on making them out of salt dough, but the smell of them baking had put me off for so long. Even to the point that come our wedding day we would have no guest. 

Once they had baked, I gathered them all up to take to my Mum's to paint.

I will dedicate an entire post for these as they were so fun and rewarding to make. 

♥♥♥♥

By 3:30, I had almost completed all the painting, just in time for my hair appointment at 4pm. I tried to wait for 2 weeks before the wedding for this, but my split ends were driving me mad. At this appointment, I managed to organise my hair appointment for my wedding day, and book in my trial appointment, and to top it all off book in for all the waxing a girl would need for their wedding day. 

♥♥♥♥

I feel so much better after all this, as I've managed to tick off 3 more big things from the never ending wedding to do list. I really am starting to look forward to our wedding day, rather than dreading it, from lack of organisation. 

I hope your week is going well.

Speak Soon, 

Katie 

x

Wedding Inspiration: Wedding Shoes

Today was my first day back at work after a long weekend off, so it's no surprise that I'm sat here continuously yawning. I actually enjoy my job, but it doesn't half drain me. I'm now sat at my parents house waiting until Mike finishes work so I can go and pick him up, (hence the lack of pictures.) We have quite a complicated evening routine when Mike has to work late night. As he works in a rather rough area, and we only have one car, plus the fact that he doesn't finish until 10pm, I visit my parents to pass the hours until I can pick him up. Normally it's quite nice, but tonight I'm on my own, as my Mum has gone out, and my Dad is at work. Katie the loner.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Other than that I had a fantastic, but a rather awkward idea last night in regards to our wedding. Fantastic because I love, love, LOVE the idea, awkward because it means if I find what I want I think that my dress will need to be re-altered.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Now for the idea - CONVERSE! I've never really been much of a girly girl. In fact the first proper dress I will wear will be my wedding dress. A few weeks ago I found a pair of cream heels which were ok for my wedding so I picked them up, and then continued on my hunt to find blue bows to add to the fronts. As of yet I have not found these blue bows, and with it getting closer and closer to the big day, it has become more and more frustrating. Then this idea popped into my head. I've always been one that believes, that your wedding day should be the one day you should have what you want, and not what people think you should have. So what better shoes to wear than converse?

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Mike and I have already agreed that he will be wearing converse on our wedding day, so we would also match. The only thing is, if I find the ones I want/like I don't really want him to find out until the day. A little surprise for him. I have decided upon low-tops, as I think they would look pretty good under my dress, as opposed to the hi-tops. And the obvious choice in colour would be blue, to add to my something blue. But finding one in my size, in blue, at at a reasonable price is proving quite tricky.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I started on this hunt by browsing the web, when I came across the littlewoods website. There I found my perfect pair of converse! I couldn't believe it, they were just right!

  

Not the best couple of pictures ever, as they were taken directly from the littlewoods website. 

And what was even better, was that they were on sale! I couldn't believe my luck... until I noticed that they didn't have any size 5 left in stock. You cannot believe how disappointed I was, and still am. I've now searched online and cannot locate a pair of these beauties for any less that £45! These were only £23. 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I'm sure sooner or later (hopefully not too late) I will find my wedding shoes. I now know that I would really like to walk down the aisle in converse. Most of all I want to be comfy, and ultimately I don't think I would be in heels. If any of you guys come across a pair like these, please let me know. Or if you happen to come across a sale on any blue converse. I would love you forever. 

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Speak soon, 

Katie

x

Daffodil Bouquet?

I love spring. I love suddenly spotting daffodils everywhere. It's makes me happy. 

This thought made me realises that daffodils are actually my favourite flower. 

I never though I had a favourite flower, to be honest I've never much much of a flower person at all. But the closer our wedding becomes ( 6weeks today,*a scary thought*), the more I start to panic about not having anything much at all sorted. My bouquet being one of those things. The beauty of daffodils made me think... so I decided to type in 'daffodil bouquet' into google (very original I know)... and trusty google didn't fail to inspire me.

I love that daffodils can grow in the ugliest places, creating a happy glow, which never fail to make me smile, like the middle of a dual-carriage way for instance.

Normally I wouldn't post pictures that I have gathered from google, as I always prefer to upload my own pictures, but I thought I would make an exception as I wouldn't be able to capture these myself.

I found this on a beautiful blog creature comforts. And I love it. It's also very easy to make, which is always a bonus.

I'm now living in hope that daffodils will still be in bloom by the time our wedding rolls by. The more I look at this picture, the more I fall in love with the colour yellow. It just seems to radiate happiness. Perfect for a spring wedding.

Another reason to love blogging, and my blog alike. 

If not for this blog, I don't think I would have found my wedding bouquet this easily. 

Starting this post, I had no idea what google would find me. 

By the end, I'm dead set on making my own daffodil bouquet.

Speak Soon, 

Katie

x 

Wedding Inspiration

Whilst shopping at ‘Meadowhall’ the other day we came across the most adorable little store. Now I don’t know if it’s just me, but when I was younger I always found ‘the lanes’ to be so mesmerizing. If you don’t know what ‘the lanes’ is, it’s just a selection of some of the smaller shops, which is situated around the food courts. To be honest it reminds me of a market, but in reality it's more difficult to describe than that.  I do remember it to be slightly better, but parts do still have that bit of charm.

We then came across a little shop, which sold allsorts of little trinkets, ornaments, and just interesting little items that you could ponder over for hours. In the far corner, tucked away, was the wedding section. I fell in love.  I love all these things; we could have bought everything here, but would have blown a huge chunk of our wedding budget, so instead we came away with a few pictures.

Not the greatest picture but I wanted to capture all the dangling items. 

I love all the bird cages, and large hearts, but I honestly would only use them for that one day. 

We really wanted the just married, garland? I'm not too sure what you would call it, but it was £8. 

I felt this was a little steep, but I still love it. I may have to get myself a little hacksaw. 

I'm going to attempt to make this, so watch this space...

How pretty.

This just made me awwww.

This was my favourite item, but at £28, unfortunately it will never be mine.

I may scour ebay and see if I can find anything similar for a fraction of the price. 

Wish me luck. 

Katie 

x

BRIDE IN TROUBLE

My last personal post on this page was announcing my engagement. I can't believe that that was in August and now we're over half way through January. 
What gets me more than that is that I'm getting married in FOUR MONTHS! Thats it! And the only things that we have planned is the venue, i.e Church (booked, almost paid for) and my parents house for the reception, and Mike's suit (picked and paid for.) I don't even have my dress yet!!!
Though driving passed a wedding dress shop last night that I pass almost every day, I noticed that they were having a ONE DAY SALE on Sunday, so I'm really looking forward to that. I really hoping that I find one I love, that doesn't cost the earth. 
I am so excited to marry the man of my dreams, but the planning, or lack of planning is driving me mad. It's the day that most girls plan for their whole lives and in turn save for their whole lives. But that's not the case for me. Don't get me wrong I have always wanted to get married, and since meeting Mike that has been one of the main things on my mind, but we are the worst savers ever! So the only money we have to pay for our wedding is whatever is left from what we earn in the net few months. *nervous laugh* 


Overall I know that our day will go well, I know this because at the end of our wedding day we will be married, and really that's all that matters. But I really think that I need to get started on some of the other parts. 


I have the rings planned, I know what I want, what styles, what sizes, where I'm getting them from, everything, I just need to buy them. So in a way in my head that bit is done. Kind of. 


The favours are all planned, strange but planned. All home made, just need to get about 30 large tea light holders for a reasonable price. So more hunting needed there. The other part of the favours just require me to get my butt in gear! 


The save the dates are done, and a select few have been handed out, but the rest need to be printed out, which requires me to go and buy some more ink, seen as they are little ink munchers. I could have got them done professionally but I wanted Fridge Magnets, and couldn't find any online where I could guarantee that I knew how they would turn out. The colour scheme of these may need to be changed slightly so I can print more out for a lower cost. So another few hours on Photoshop will be needed. 


The invitations still need to be done, I have no idea where to get inspiration for these from, and I'm not very creative when it comes to wedding invitations. Jesus it took me FOUR HOURS for the SAVE THE DATES. 


Flowers, now thats another story, I just don't know where to start with that one. *slightly worried* 


Hair - no clue 


Make-up - still no clue


I've never been the type of girly girl that knows the best place to get hair and nails done.... oooh look there's another thing. 


Nails??? Real, or fake???


Shoes, now I kinda have that one planed, I know that I want flat shoes. Some sort of cream/white (depending on the dress I choose) pumps. I can't walk in heals, definitely not on one of the most important days of my life, where falling over would be a disaster. 


Decorations - I have some ideas, but not enough to be able to transform an average size UK house and garden into something spectacular! 


Now photography thats a different story. I really can't afford the scary prices that photographers charge to take your photos. And then extra so you can have the rights to your own pictures. You'd think that because I'm obsessed with photography and taking pictures I'd know someone that would be able to at least take a good picture, that I could edit myself. But no, unfortunately I have a small family and we don't get on with my partners side. I'll end up with pictures of my wedding dress without my head.lol. 


I've scoured the internet for ideas of wedding on a budget, and only found websites with a definition of budget wedding being £4000! 


If any of my 7 followers (lol) could help with any ideas, I would be more grateful than you would believe. 


This post started somewhere completely different from where it ended... strange, but I think half way through this I realised how little time I really had until my wedding day. 


Thank you for reading this ramble. 
I promise to be back soon. 


Katie 
x

WARNING PHOTO HEAVY POST!

This year we decided to try something different. Normally Katie the control freak will plan her birthday from the moment she wakes to the moment she goes to bed.

2010 I thought that it was time to release the control and give it a new home in the safe hands of my amazing partner Michael.

I gave no clues to what I wanted to do.

I was given no clues to what I was going to do.

Surprisingly I also had no fear about whether my day would go well or fall to pieces.

I trusted that wherever we went as long as we were together we would have fun.

Mike had been planning the day for months, and the anticipation of the day had been slowly driving me mad for the same amount of time.

Finally the day arrived.

He woke me at 7am the time that I was born to bacon bagels and a pink rose.

I opened my presents and got ready for the day ahead.

I was then given the choice of finding out where we were going before we set off or once we got there.

I'd already waited 2 months what was another few hours?

He drove. 

I read.

We ended up in York. 

Our favourite city. 

Firstly he took us to York Maze.

This place is a-maze-ing. 

We had such a good time. 

We spent some time looking at the animals in the farm.

Despite all the signs warning that the animals may bite, Mike decide to stroke the pigs.

This had the most beautiful eyes.

The troll from under the bridge gave us a bit of a fright.

Oh wait that's me.

We then headed of to the maze....

...following our trusty map

Spot the Michael.

We then got lost...

a look of defeat!

We then headed to York city centre.

and took a long walk round the city walls.

Overall we had a fantastic day.

I couldn't have wished for a better day.

Any day out with my man is the best day ever.