Firstly I must apologise for it taking me so long in writing something new. 
I only realised last night when I was making lists, that actually quite a lot has happened since we came back from Ireland! 

I will start with my dress.... I bought it! Well I paid the deposit which is as good as. I went visit the lovely ladies at Blessings again the weekend after we came back from Ireland.  
I had it firmly in my mind that I would just try on one more dress. However, it was not to be... The minute I was back in the divine creation by Enzoani I just didn't want to take it off or tear my eyes away from the beautiful bride it made me become, (and everyone says, if this is how you feel it must be "The One")! 
It holds up, in and clings exactly where it supposed to!
And that is just the sample dress not my actual size... I cant wait until that comes! Alas I have to wait until February 2014, my choice actually as other wise it would be here in August and I would have to store it, in a 1 bed flat this is just not possible. This way she will have me in for the fitting when it come in and it will be altered to fit etc. and will save me storage costs! (Of course I am hoping to be supermodel thin by then so it may need a lot of altering!!) 

This brings me on again to Bridesmaids, I have been devouring all manner of wedding blog sites, google images and anything else weddingy I can find on the internet... I have suddenly fallen in love with a 50's style dress and dare I say it theme? 
Not a theme where I would encourage others to dress up but certainly a fun, sexy look for the Bridesmaids and Grooms men. AND fabulous ideas for SHOOOOEEES!!! 
I emailed all of my maids and got very positive responses, and surprisingly also from the groom himself! I have taped inspirational pictures of my ideas all over my kitchen cabinets and the more I look the more I love!! 
I don't want to give too much away otherwise no one will have a surprise but think 50's, spots and stripes and mucho glam! 
The ideas have been non-stop since then - invites, tables, chairs, décor, photos, pretty much everything! Its so exciting! 

Good news! 
We finally got our price from the Commodore Hotel, and my lord its so good! Less than we expected and certainly cheaper than doing it here
We are fine tuning a few items with the hotel but nothing drastic, and once that is finalised I can start on what I am best at - organisation and getting down and dirty with details! 

Well, it has been a very fraught few months for my man and I. 

Just wanted to write a quick post to say a massive thank you to everyone who is taking time out of their busy live to read my blog!
I had an email this morning from the host site which advised 494 people have read my posts since I started it 30 days ago! 

I am absolutely amazed by this, all your comments, help and support have also been very touching & have made me feel very loved!
 I am really enjoying sharing this journey with you all. 

There are personal reasons why I started doing this which I will not go into too much on here, but basically some things had happened that were getting in the way of what should be a really enjoyable and fun time for me. I was sad, couldn't sleep and very stressed. 
I started writing things down on the nights that I couldn't sleep and tentatively published a few, got some positive feedback and carried on, and here we are! 
You have all really helped me back to the positive side of wedding planning and I love hearing your advice and taking inspiration from you. 

Thank you again so much - Please carry on reading!

Much love
NB xXx 

A full entry will be added over the weekend. 

Dear Mum,

I think that you know that I am planning my wedding to the man I love with all my heart. 
I know that you had met him before you left us but you never saw us as a couple as this didn't happen while you were here. 
We are so happy.... this man makes me laugh hard, makes me feel beautiful, loves me with all of his heart and I know I am safe and protected as long as he is by my side. 
I think that you would be happy for us. I think you would like to see me smiling and happy and I know you used to love to hear me laugh. I do that so much more these days. Its a wonderful feeling. 

I'm so sad that you are not here to be a part of this...My wedding day...to help me with all the important decisions, like the dress, the hair, the make up, colours, flowers etc... Well of course you would be involved with all of it. You would be planning, I would be assisting!
I am trying to look at everything through your knowing eyes, trying to make everything perfect for you. 

I am getting married in Cobh, where you were born. 
We were there last weekend, I swear I could feel you as we stood on the promenade looking out to on Cobh harbour on Saturday morning. 

"Tread softly; I am only a whisper away" 

And you were there, a whisper on the wind. 

I hope I will feel your presence throughout this process, I hope you are just looking over my shoulder at every point, please guide me if I am going wrong and show me, somehow,  if you approve. 

I cant wait to spend the rest of my life with this man; we have many plans together... I am looking forward to carrying on life's big adventure with someone special holding my hand and an angel on my shoulder. 

I love you & Miss you Mum, every day. 
Happy Mothers Day. 

Locket xXx

View from St Colemans Cathedral down on to Pearse Square, Cobh. 

I just adore the different colours of the houses. 
I know it is typically Irish but I just cant help taking pictures. 
Here's hooping for a bit of sunshine come May 2014! 

The imposing St Coleman's Cathedral, set at the top of Cobh. The building inside and out is fantastic. I always make a trip here, every time to light candles for lost loved ones. 

In Memory of....... 

Beautiful Stained glass window

Couldn't not include a Meerkat pic!! :) 

So My Man & I went off to Cobh on Thursday last week for 3 days. 
We had a lovely time, it was nice to go back as a couple and revisit the town, and the excitement of looking at it all in a different way - Would here be nice for photos? How would the hotel be big enough for all of us? How would other people see it? 
It was eye-opening looking at it with a different perspective. 

Thursday when we arrived we hired a car from the airport and we used our best navigating skills. I had never driven to Cobh myself so we printed a map from the internet and we arrived in Cobh without getting lost once. We were extremely pleased with ourselves & decided henceforth that wecangoanywhere.com! 

We checked in and went to our room. My Man literally dumped the bags and said "Right lets go for a drink then!" So of course, in the spirit of Ireland, we did! 

We had arranged a meeting with Robert Fitzpatrick (GM of The Commodore) for the Saturday afternoon, so we had time to ourselves to sightsee and relax. 

We had a wonderful romantic Friday visiting Cork and we even went to Fota Wildlife Park (highly recommend this!) where we fell in love with the monkeys, kangaroo's & Meerkats.....My Man now wants a Meerkat Emporium! 
It was freezing cold, we wondered around hand in hand, taking everything in, really enjoying our time together. 
This is the "The Calm before the Wedding Planning Storm" we kept saying, knowing that our next few trips to Ireland after this one would not allow for such sightseeing trips & lazy days. Also we may not get out together each time due to work. So we tried to make this special. 

After our little jaunt out we walked around Cobh itself, especially the bits by the front of the hotel on the promenade by the water, where photos would look good. Apparently the Commodore has a fabulous roof garden where we will have photos also, I cannot wait to see it. We were unable to on this trip.
The locals that we spoke to in bars around Cobh were delighted to hear of our plans to marry there and the fact that we had decided to source everything locally, I have had suggestions of where to get my flowers, hair, make up, suits and apparently everyone is a DJ or in a band! 

Anyway, I digress... We had our meeting with Robert who was just brilliant, he had thought of details that I hadn't, was super helpful and his attention to detail is second to none! 
He set me at ease immediately as I had started worrying about planning a wedding in Ireland from the UK but I have been reassured for now that this man and his wonderful staff will do whatever they can to make this dream come true.
I am expecting lots of emails regarding the best (real!) photographers/DJ's/Bands/Florists etc over the next few weeks. 
He showed us the room that will fit us all in, the room will serve as the place for the civil ceremony and the dinner/reception. The thought of this scared me a little... Will they be able to turn it around and make it look wonderful? Of course they will! With Robert's vision and attention to detail I really do not feel I will have anything to worry about. 

As one local said to me, "Your wedding will be fabulous, he will make sure of it...." 

I cannot wait... Now to start on the invites! My head is full of ideas for everything. 

NB xXx 

P.S I have lots of photos which I will post separately to this entry once I have picked out the best! (I promise they won't all be Meerkats!)