Our second wedding anniversary
Waking up on a dreary September Monday, really doesn't do much for enthusiasm levels here at White Cottage HQ. This summer has been our busiest yet and we have had the pleasure in being involved in so many amazing days, that it will take us the whole of autumn to share them all! It's been an exciting few months, but also crazy tiring. A baby sleep terrorist hasn't made things easier either :| So what with the lack of sleep, mountain of work and everybody else's weddings we've been immersed in on a daily basis, our own anniversary kind of slipped past unmarked. To be honest, the same thing happened last year (to be completely honest, I was eight months pregnant and so everything other than my swollen feet and the horrific heartburn went by unnoticed) and we didn't really take any time to mark the day. Which is a shame, as it was an AWESOME day and one we will never get to experience again.
So before we plunge head first in to wedding fair season, I thought it was important to take an hour or so to look through our photos, generally take a bit of Phillips-White time and remember what really was a beautiful,100mph wedding, whilst trying not to worry too much about how differently I would have done some of the stationery if I was doing it now. Seriously, I've well levelled up since then :D
We thought you might like a peek, enjoy!
Here are the answers to some FAQs :)
Normanton Church on Rutland Water. It's deconsecrated for civil ceremonies.
I can't walk in heels for toffee, so kicks it was!
Yes, that's Toby getting hooked by an umbrella :D
Yes that is genuine fear you can see in my eyes, Apparently I looked like that the whole way through the ceremony which led to the sweaty hand wipe at the end of the vows. Smooth.
More FAQs!
We decided against a traditional guest book in favour of a date night suggestion station. We got some questionable suggestions :)
We DIY'd everything except the catering. My sister is a florist so she aced all the floral pretties including the most beautiful corsages. I didn't want bouquets as I felt sorry for them that they'd just get plonked down after the ceremony and forgotten about :D
We built the lemonade stand ourselves and Toby spent the night before the wedding making thirty litres of homemade lemonade. Rock and roll!
...
Hard? Seriously the toughest thing I've ever designed. It took FOREVER.
Yes, they're off the telly :)
The Doritos Mariachi were a complete surprise for all of our guests. We managed to sit on it for 18 months. DIFFICULT WHILST DRUNK MUCH?
We got great feedback from our guests on our escort cards. Escort cards provide another 'activity' for your guests to get involved with and so if you're worrying about ensuring you have enough going on in the day, little touches like that are a great idea.
My bridesmaids and I handmade 100 pinwheels from vintage US maps, complete with 100% functional spinning wheels. That took a while!
And lastly...
Another handy little stationery trick for keeping guests entertained were our table quizzes. We went for multiple choice questions, all about me and the Mr, one of which being:
What is Kelly’s pet name for Toby and why?
a) Hams - because of his shapely thighs b) Maps - because of his complete lack of direction c) Shaggy - because of the striking similarity in vocal style to the popular 90’s artist of the same name
I'll let you try and figure which one is the correct answer :) They work beautifully for breaking the ice if your guests are on mixed group tables. Toby was heckled off the stage whilst dishing out the answers. Very funny!
My sister, Toby's best man and Dad worked their speeches beautifully. Toby's Mum called time on his Dad when he broke out his condom anecdote :D
Our thank you gifts were tshirts that we designed ourselves. Obs :D No one expects the mariachi!
My brother in law played a mighty fine set on his decks and then our band RULED the evening. Whilst they are a great all round wedding band, they are an amazing Pearl Jam tribute band. They came back from their second break of the evening and had changed out of their suits and in to the grunge stuff and played the best couple of sets of any band I've ever seen live. Including the actual Pearl Jam!
And that was our day, I hope you've enjoyed flicking through. I think the moral of the story is to make time for your anniversary, even if it's a quick peek through your pics. Preferably with your other half, snuggled on the couch, tea should probably feature or maybe wine. And chocolates. Oh you get the picture x
Thanks to: