Aloha! I can't quite believe that today marks 1 year since Mikey and I got engaged! It's gone so bloody fast and it feels like we've hardly got anywhere with the wedding planning!

I'm trying not to be a bridezilla. It's not a pretty attitude to have really. But sometimes it feels like no one understands what I/we really want from my/our big day.

We said when we got engaged that we weren't going to rush into the wedding and if we were engaged for 4 years then it didn't matter! However, I soon started buying wedding magazine after wedding magazine and the date was about to be set as October 2017. We started looking at venues and that's when people really started sticking their oars in. 

I wanted a nice, small DIY wedding which would (hopefully) allow us to cut some costs. I was going to bake our wedding cake and put my new stand mixer to good use! It was all going to be great. Until people started saying 'oh no, I don't like that venue', 'oh you can't possibly do a DIY wedding' etc etc etc.

So I threw a major bridezilla tantrum and told everyone we were eloping and they weren't invited.

It started out as a bit of a joke, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it.

And that's when Mikey suggested New York.

So on 20th May 2017 we will be getting married, on the terrace at Belvedere Castle, Central Park, NYC.

We've decided against going solo though and we will be inviting close family and friends and then having a big party back here a few weeks later for those who can't make it.

Now I just need to keep the bridezilla at bay whilst I deal with all the other planning details!

There's really not enough hours in the day!

Judging by how fast the last year has gone, I'm sure our wedding will be here in no time at all!

xxx

TheSundayPost - 15th November

Aloha! I've finally managed to get out of bed on a Sunday morning to write a SundayPost!

This week I've been off work so I've had plenty of time for fun! Here is what I've been up to this week!

1 - Wedding planning. We seem to have hit a bit of a brick wall with it. Quite possibly my fault as I've had no time for it recently due to work taking over my life! Hopefully I can start getting things organised more in the next few months. We still need to settle on a venue!

2 - Mikey bought me these flowers. I love the ombre effect! Sometimes there's nothing better than having fresh flowers in the house!

3 - We went to Dublin! Mikey's dad is Irish so he has lots of family there but I had never been! We decided to take a little trip so I could meet all the family as well as do a bit of sightseeing! We had a great time with lots of good food and beers! I won't share any more photos of our time in Dublin as I'm going to do a photo diary of our time!

4 - On Friday we had a few friends over for dinner. I cooked my favourite dish: Texas BBQ Brisket. I actually think I love that dish so much I'd have it as our wedding meal!

5 - It wouldn't be right if I didn't take a moment to reflect on the horrific events in Paris on Friday night. I won't say much as emotions tend to run high at times like these, and people say controversial things, but all I would like to say is that all those affected by what happened are in my thoughts. I just wish the world could be a peaceful place :( 

xxxxx

BudgetBride // 1

Did you know that the average UK wedding costs about £20,000!? I mean seriously, who even has that kind of money to spare! Call me selfish, but I'd rather spend a couple of thousand on a nice celebration, then bugger off to the Caribbean for a month! And that's pretty much exactly what I'm planning on doing!

I've decided to start this little feature on my blog to document my budget wedding planning and share some tips I'm learning along the way of how to save money. Expect mucho DIY decor posts!

But for now, I'm going to have a little rant about venue costs! 

Of course, not having a £20k budget means we're very limited when it comes to choosing a venue. There's hardly anywhere out there that is willing to let you have venue hire and feed your 100 guests for less than £6000. So it won't surprise you to know we still don't have a venue lined up, although we have viewed 2 and are in the process of negotiating the best price!

I've got an image in my head of what I want from a venue. Ideally, I'd love a relaxed, barn style venue which is a bit of a blank canvas so I can get creative and make it totally personal! Of course, barn venues are trendy now so they don't come cheap. We've viewed 2 different venues which are the same idea, but they are budget friendly. 

The first venue we viewed was a community hall with a difference. It was up in Perthshire, about 50 miles from our home. It wasn't your typical community hall though, it was like a cross between a barn and a giant shed, hence the name The Big Shed. As wedding venues go, the price is extremely cheap. The only issue we have with it is the capacity. It can only hold 60 in the main hall, so that's something we have to seriously consider. 

Our second venue viewing was actually a country house which a family member has recently purchased. It has an old coachhouse in the grounds which is currently being converted into a wedding reception venue. It looks to be a pretty amazing place once its ready, and we think it will be big enough! Now we need to see whether it is going to be within our price range. 

So a couple of tips if you are currently looking for a budget wedding venue: 

1. Have a look at places you wouldn't normally look at. For example village halls tend to have cheaper hire costs and with a bit of love and attention, they can be decorated to look like they cost a million pounds!

2. Don't be afraid to ask around if anyone in your family or group of friends knows someone with a potential venue. That's how we found out about one of our potential venues!

3. Keep an open mind. Some venues might have poor websites, or very little information available. Just email or give them a call for further info. You never know, you might love the place once you get there!

So that's the first of my BudgetBride posts! Hope you enjoyed it and do let me know if you have any tips for me in my search for an affordable venue!

xxx

TheSundayPost - 18th October

Aloha! I can't believe it's Sunday evening already! Where has this weekend gone?!

So here is what I've been up to this week.

1 - This picture sums up this week pretty well. I've been dreaming of better things most of this week, mostly wedding related. Things are slowly but surely coming along on the wedding front. We viewed another venue on Saturday, which I'm pretty enthusiastic about. Hopefully we will settle on a venue soon!

2 & 3 - This week we celebrated 11 years of happiness and purrs with my little furbaby Smudge. It's crazy to think it was so long ago that we took him home with us after he had been abandoned in a forest. To celebrate his 11th adoptiversary, I bought him his favourite food and special cat milk, and wrapped them up for him. Needless to say he's scoffed the lot now! 

4 - I just love Autumn time. The colours are just my favourite. And the fact I can get my layers and cosy boots out again makes me very happy. 

So that's about it for this week! Now it's time to get prepared for another work week. I'm pretty sure I'm in need of a week off now!

Have a fabulous week!

xxxx

Life Lately

Aloha! Time has passed by so quickly these last few months and I've been a terrible blogger, posting zero new posts! But I'm back, and I'd just like to say a huge thanks to everyone who has continued reading my posts, even although there have been no new ones! 

I thought I'd do a little catch up post to get back into the swing of things, so here's what I've been up to lately!

1 - I've been having hours of fun playing around with the new snapchat update. Sad I know. If you don't already follow me, you can add me on katiemccann92 for lots of selfies and food snaps.

2 - We had a pretty freakishly hot September here in Scotland. This meant lots of lunches outdoors which I love. My work is behind a church and I really enjoy sitting in the Church grounds with my lunch and a magazine. It's really peaceful and relaxing, especially when my work is so manic! 

3 - I decided to go back to brunette! I was getting bored of being blonde, and my hair grows so fast that the upkeep was becoming unmanageable. I was having to go to the hairdressers every 4 weeks, which is not good for my bank balance, not to mention my hair! 

4, 5 & 6 - I've been wedding planning like mad! We had our first venue viewing at the end of August, and hopefully another one this weekend. I've been practicing my macaroon baking, just in case I decide to bake my own macaroon tower cake (unlikely). And I've bought every wedding magazine out there in! I just can't help it!

So that has been about it since I last blogged!

Hopefully it won't be so long until next my post! 

Have a great week! 

xxxx