what happens when you try to arrange a wedding in five weeks

Last year I suggested we actually do it some time. I was on a beach, he was in the pub

I have been with The Man for nearly 10 years. He has been threatening to marry me for many of those years. However, having been married three times already between us, it’s never been a priority. The fact that he has out-lasted both my previous marraiges put together has also lessened the need.

But about six weeks ago, I realised that my driving license had expired (check yours guys – I had no idea!), and it was in my previous married name. So, I was going to have to change my name on it.

I made the comment that “I wasn’t going to chnage my name on it now, just to change it again in a coouple of years time”, and with that, we went to the registry office and booked “The first Saturday available”. Which was last Saturday.

The Girl has been obsessed with us getting married eventually, and has mentioned it at least three times a week – even more so after her dad remarried. So, we obviously wanted her there, but apart from that, I’m not particularly into weddings, and I don’t like dressing up, and everything just seemed like too much fuss and bother. However, I LOVE a party!  I was in a quandry as to what to do.

So, I asked a wonderfully skilled friend if he would make our rings, to make it more personal and unique.  Him and his partner were the first outside our family to know.  Then, we finally relented and said family and closest friends could come along.  However, in ordeer to keep the amount of wedding chat to a minimum, I only told the girl 6 days beforehand when I had to take her out to get a dress!

I booked the ‘wedding breakfast’ in the back room at the Village Kitchen – Hanna and the team couldn’t have been more accommodating, and we gave the kitchen a resounding round of applause on the day.  Do check it out some time guys if you haven’t already – we had nothing but great comments from people.

The party had to be over the Rose & Crown, and I decided to get a karaoke and a photo booth. The wonderful people of Open Booths were amazing, and it really was a highlight of the evening – I highly recommend getting a photo booth for some brilliant memorable pics of your loved ones, and the Open Booth gives you so much more scope for merriment.

But then the other highlight was our cake.

After seeing a Wizard of Oz cake that he’d made for his neice, I asked my lovely friend Darren if he would be interested in making me an anti-wedding cake that was Walthamstow themed. He jumped at the chance and the conspiring began.  Originally, I had asked for me & The Man sitting on top of a pile of abandoned mattri (Walthamstow is famous for its abandoned mattresses, don’t ya know?) but it became so much more than that. It features our favourite places, our cats, The Girl, Warren Sreet station where we met (even though it’s obviously not Walthamstow where we were both living at the time), panda bowl man, pigeons. It was an absolute work of art. A showstopper – made clear by the amount of time people took taking photos of it when we brought it out. I can’t thank Darren enough!

All in all, given the amount of time I had to do it in, I think it was a bloody good day, and I am so grateful to every single person who came and shared our day. I wouldn’t have had it any other way – certainly not with months of stress and planning!

e17 art trail (part 1)

Arty farty Stow!

As I mentioned before, this is going to be my first year going around the E17 Art Trail.  I am very excited about this, although the sheer volume of exhibits is a little daunting!  Where do I start.

It actually officially started yesterday and will go on until Sunday – but yesterday I was at work all day and then out in the evening (I will post about the fabulousness of THAT later!).  However, I still managed to see a couple of things – that’s the beauty of the art trail, if you live in Walthamstow, then there is always something you can pop to see just around the corner!

On my way to work, I managed to see most of the Poetry Trail.  This really is ingenious — in Walthamstow, it is often a point of annoyance that there are simply SO many estate agents on Hoe Street – particularly between the station and the top of the market.  The Poetry Trail though has embarced this fact, and the majority of the estate agents have handed over prime ‘selling space’ for the period – disaplying poems in some of the holders where they usually show the house particulars in the window!

Poems in Churchills, Central & Strettons!

How cool is that?  I think it’s a brilliant idea – and fairplay to the estate agents – I think there are about 10 of them taking part.  There are poems by members of the Forest Poets, but also by 6 and 7 year olds from local primary schools.  And I have to say, THIS one was my absolute favourite.

Love this poem!

And then on my way home, I went into Le Delice to check out Martin’s underwater photos as I had been really looking forward to seeing them!  They are out the back in the ‘Moroccan Room’, so make sure that you go back there if you’re out and about. (I’m actually posting this in Delice now, and a couple oand their two young kids have just gone back there and the kids LOVED them!!)

Award-winning photos

They're looking great in-situ!

I am not sure what else I am going to do today – I want to go to Emma & Steve‘s launch party, and I am thinking of going to the talk in the library this afternoon.  It’s all just so busy, and I have had an exceptionally long, tiring week!  Wish me luck!!