Hey my name is Jo(anne) i'm 23 and i'm engaged to Ben who is 26. We have been together for almost 8 years and engaged for almost 3 years- wow time goes fast! We both still live with our parents and have been discussing moving out and getting married for ages now and a few weeks ago we decided to stop just talking about it and get the ball rolling. With more debt than savings this may seem mission impossible but i know we can do anything we set our mind to, with the help of our parents and our family.
In all honesty we weren't intending to get married next year but we booked a holiday to Walt Disney World Florida and i came up with the idea that we should make it our honeymoon and get hitched!- Ben agreed and here we are.
So i guess we have one item crossed off the wedding 'to do' list. Another thing that we could cross off the list was everything that relates to a church or religious wedding as neither of us identifies with any religion and i know many people who have had a church wedding dispite never going or being religious and the whole babbling vicar 'there are three people in this relationship, the husband, the wife and God' jeez that crap is just not what we want to hear on our big day. We have chosen the Sheffield town hall for our wedding ceremony and we're going tomorrow to set a provisional date eeeee! so exciting :D
so on with the planning.. now those that know me, know that I'm not a very organised person, i can come up with really cool and creative ideas but organising things so they can be pulled off is more Ben's area of expertise, i guess thats why we're so good together. However as wedding planning seems to be a 'woman's thing' and he's not really bothered about the details (he just really wants to get married, awww) i am carrying the torch on this one.
So far i've requested and received loads of venue info packs from around the sheffield area all of which center the cost around the food. Most people will just get on with the planning and not think of the food as a problem but there is alot to consider when it comes to feeding our families.
Initally the cost. This is a recession, money doesn't grow on trees and our family is HUGE! All the venues offer set menus starting at around £30 per guest (this doesn't include any drinks package which start at around £14). While this doesn't seem like alot for a slap up three course meal when you multiply that figure by around 80 you can see that its a whole lot of money!
Then there is the amount of food that will be served. While i haven't eaten at these places my past experience with weddings tells me that the food will be average and the portions small. Both of our families have healthy appetites and the last thing i want is any of them to be hungry after they have eaten, afterall that's not what we're paying for. I'd rather there be too much than not enough(quote from my mother inlaw-to-be usually about sunday dinner)
Then choice is not an option!? I don't agree with these venues limiting the menu choice to one meat and one veggie option. You pay all that money and i think everyone should be happy with their meal not just 85%. Also Ben is a really fussy eater he likes his meat, hates veg and will not entertain anything in a fancy sauce he can't even pronounce! and why should he have to mess about with his food on the biggest day of his life?
Well we came up with a solution that will solve all that...self catering! That way we can select a wide range of food we know people will eat and loads of it!
The only problem is self catering venues are few and far between and decreasing every year! The first place i thought of was Catcliff Memorial Hall which has a kitchen, bathroom facilities and a stage but the bar is tiny (think hole in the wall with the local landlord selling tinnies from the otherside and you'd be spot on!) then the lack of parking is also a problem i think there is only room for 4 or 5 cars max! The price seems pretty decent though and i was happy with it but my Aunty Carole (newly appointed head of wedding catering) suggested Whiston Manorial Barn, she says it's self catering and has plenty of carparking so i called tp check it out. When i called to ask for prices they seemed reasonable and from the outside the barn looks amazingly cute and kitsch! After finding out that it's available for the 1st of September next year i've arranged for me, Ben and our mom's to visit tomorrow night at 10pm. I can't wait to see it i just hope everything goes to plan and we can get the barn and our ceremony booked for Next September.
So it's a big day for us tomorrow we're super excited! and i have to admit i am feeling the stress a little because i want to get the barn and the ceremony for the date and time we have chosen. I can chill when thats booked and deposits paid, right?
Well i'm going to get some rest now and dream of the wedding, i can't wait for tomorrow!
Much love, Jo x x x
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