Today is my last day in the office before the wedding ‐ I can’t believe it, it has really crept up. I’ve just written an email to friends and family telling them I won’t be on email for the next 2 weeks before the wedding. I’ll also have a new email address with my new surname when I come back ‐ it was the first time I’ve typed my full married name and if felt really odd!
Suddenly the wedding seems to be really upon us ‐ it’s still is 2 weeks, but in that time we’ve got our hen and stag weekends, RT’s parents arriving and then everybody else joining us from the US. My best friend Clair has told me that when her Mum got married she said walking down the aisle was like an out of body experience for her ‐ she knew she was there but it was like it wasn’t happening to her. I can quite understand how she feels. For the first time it’s really hit me that I’m actually getting married. I keep picturing myself walking into the church towards Russell, and I can’t help thinking about it without being totally moved. I already know that it is going to be the most special moment of my life, I just wish the church were a bit bigger so I could go on for longer!
We’ve got a lovely weekend planned, the girls from work are taking me out on Friday for a “hen” night while RT is out with one of his best men which should be great fun. Saturday we finally pick up RT’s morning suit and the rings and we’re seeing a few friends and starting to pack for the honeymoon. Now, packing 2 weeks before we leave might seem a little excessive, but with people staying in our house it seems a good idea to get it out of the way ‐ not least because we need the room. We’ve started receiving wedding cards as well which is just lovely. I’ve never thought to send a bride and groom a card before their wedding day but now I wish I had, it really shows people are thinking about you and starting to get excited. We’ve also received a couple of gifts which started the “is it bad luck to open them before the day?” debate. I’m dreadful, I’d open my Christmas presents in early December given the chance, but RT has told me it could be bad luck, so after all the hard work over the last few months the wedding presents are staying safely wrapped. We’re not going to risk anything!
People keep asking me if I’m getting nervous yet. I’m really not just very, very excited about everything, although I have noticed particularly in the last few weeks that I have become hyper sensitive to everything as I just want it all to be so perfect. I rang RT today just to ask how some particular text looked on our menu cards ‐ we ended up having a big discussion about it which looking back was probably quite ridiculous and on honeymoon he’ll be able to have a good laugh at me. I think I reached an all time best last night, when over 2 weeks before the wedding I insisted we watch the weather forecast ‐ just in case it gave us some clues as to the weather on the day. We’re also now on “Version 7” of the order of service which keeps getting emailed between Rozza the Vic, Mum, RT and I ‐ I think we’re virtually there now as it’s been perfected to within an inch of it’s life. Now we just need to give it to the printers and let them get on with it.
Part of me almost doesn’t want all this to end ‐ although being Mrs Thornton will be the ultimate prize as it’s been such an amazing few months for RT and I. We went away last weekend and as we were relaxing we reminisced about all we’ve done whilst we’ve been engaged and how much we’ve achieved in every way. Planning this wedding together has bought us even closer together and I can honestly say I’m more deeply in love with him at this moment than I ever imagined possible. It has also meant that he has been able to spend a lot of time with my family and I’ve managed to really get to know his. It’s never the same, not spending time face to face, but with all the emails flying across the Atlantic over the last few months I know that we’ve all made the biggest effort possible to make the most of everything despite the fact that we’re in different countries.
As there is so much going on it’s hard to know what I’m most excited about. Lots of things individually would be enough to be thrilled about – altogether I don’t know where to start. From tomorrow I have 5 weeks off work, we have our hen and stag weekends which will be such fun, then RT’s family are in town. We have our rehearsal lunch, then the wedding itself before lunch on the Sunday and then jetting off for what is going to be the most amazing holiday imaginable. I almost don’t think I’ve taken it in, I just hope that I remember it all in years to come. So far I’m fairly relaxed about the day itself as we had a brilliant meeting: Mum, Paul, RT and I with the hotel co-ordinator. We’ve sorted out all the food and drink and more importantly the flow of the day – what we want doing, how and when. It went really well, nothing we asked for was too much trouble and she also had plenty of ideas of her own to make the day run even more smoothly. It’s weird to imagine that when we first got engaged we had our hearts set on a marquee at home, now I’m so pleased we’re not doing that, this way it is so much more relaxed, we’ve still got everything just the way we want it without any of the additional hassle.
I have my final dress fitting next week – I hope I still love it as much as ever, I’ve also got another trial for my hair, I know what I want now I just need to perfect it with the hairdresser. Then that’s it – apart from the table plan and some last minute honeymoon shopping I really think we’re done. This time in 3 weeks I’ll being lying on the beach with the most perfect man in the world enjoying every minute of being Mrs Thornton.
