Wednesday, 29 February 2012

Wedding blogs

I don't have time to visit all the wedding blogs I would like to visit. I sometimes don't know which ones are for me - there are so many of them! And while some of my faves are listed on the right of this blog, I thought I'd do a handy link to the top 100 wedding blogs: http://www.weddingblogs100.com/.

Bookmark, explore and enjoy!

Thursday, 9 February 2012

Compromise Out of Catastrophe

A while ago I blogged that we'd found our venue, Syon House. I was avidly awaiting its opening day of 2 April so I could book, and begging the event staff for the 2013 prices so I could put it in my spreadsheet. 2011 prices had been £8k - steep but ok. 2012 were £7k as they needed to fix the roof. I thought I could cope with a 5-10% increase in costs and continued planning merrily.

So I wasn't expecting the bitch-slap of a £10k price tag. That's a whopping 25% increase in a recession and with nothing extra to show for it. I cried. I literally closeted myself in a room at work when I saw the website (funnily enough I never got the call about the new prices) and bawled down the phone at my fiance and mother.

I have since regrouped. And guess what - we're looking at venues again. Huzzah. We've already looked at Eltham Palace (nice but cold and a weird mix of Tudor and Art Deco) and are off to Nonsuch Mansion this weekend. I've basically bitten the bullet and started looking outside of London to find a venue. We'll just use the money we'd save by hiring a coach to drive our London friends to and from the venue! I'm still not sure how I feel about it all, but what will be will be.

It's frustrating to have your plan wiped out by a number, and even more frustrating to have to change your idea of your perfect wedding. So much of wedding planning is about compromise - and sometimes you have to compromise on your dream location.