This is the diary of Amanda and Denis who have kindly agreed to share their wedding preparation experience with us (most recent entry first) - The text is their own writing.

Hello fellow wedding-planners!

June 2008

Apologies for the sporadic diary entries for the past few months but things really are getting very busy now! Despite planning & organising our wedding for the past 18 months, we are now on a six week countdown! Unbelievable – time really does fly by.  

We have achieved so much recently it is difficult to remember what to account! The flowers are completely organised & confirmed now, the hire cars are booked for the wedding weekend & for our time in London before the honeymoon, the video camera is purchased (essential honeymoon item!), as is a brand new set of luggage for the honeymoon.  The honeymoon wardrobes have even been purchased! Mine is ongoing however…typical girl! Pretty much everything wedding-wise is finalised, so now comes the painful part of paying the balances!  

We need to still do our table names, table plan & order of service but they are well underway – it is just so infuriating that we are STILL waiting for some RSVP’s – our reply date for most guests was 1 June!? I really do not understand why it takes people so long to reply? Very, very annoying!   I am very thankful for my fiancé being the star that he is & completely taking over the organisation of the honeymoon, as we are going on a cruise & therefore there are trips to think about & so on.  I am finding it very difficult to think about anything beyond 9 August (including my birthday on 10 August!).  

Apart from a never-ending ‘to do’ list for the past 18 months I have thoroughly loved planning our wedding & will really miss it when it is all over! Writing this diary has been great fun & enabled me to share some ideas as well as put down on paper what we have achieved each month or so.  Whether you have a long or a short engagement the key is to stay as organised as you possibly can, as time will pass so quickly.   I will try & write another entry before the wedding, but if I don’t you will certainly hear from me as Mrs Philippe after our big day!   P.S Good luck to Kelly & James for the 26 July!

May 2008    

I am currently enjoying a pre-wedding week off work! Den & I thought it would be a good opportunity to do some jobs around the house, finalise some wedding bits & pieces ( we are off to talk ‘cake’ in a while…), and generally chill out a little while we can as we are well aware that the next three months are going to be hectic! The sun is shining so we could not have chosen a better time to have off! Summer might finally be here…  

Preceding this week off was my Hen weekend.  I went to London with my good friends from Friday – Sunday, where we shopped (a lot!), partied, and had a generally good girlie time!  I purposely did not book the whole weekend up with activities as for most of my friends going to London is a novelty, whereas I go back frequently as it is my home town.  However  what we did book was cocktail making which turned out to be great fun.  I would recommend it to anyone for their hen party. 

We had our own bar tender & use of a private room in a club in Covent Garden.  We all took turns to make the cocktails in two teams & the winning team won champagne.  Needless to say, various cocktails were made (some badly!) and they were all drunk, so we ended up a bit merry before 6pm in the evening!  Dinner on Saturday night was at Quaglino’s & on the Sunday we treated ourselves to a traditional afternoon tea at Liberty’s.  All in all, a good weekend was had by all!  

I received my letter from Anna Trigg yesterday informing me that my dress is finally here, so I am looking forward to trying it on soon – my memory has faded a bit about certain details so I cannot wait to see it again.   Apart from that, we only have the flowers to discuss with Bo-Kay, and organise, so dare I say it, we are on track planning wise.  Let the next 93 days commence! More from me soon…

March 2008    

Where is the time going?! Not only has the time flown since my last diary entry but we now have 5 months to go until the wedding!   My main focus recently has been my Hen weekend in London – a very important event to us girls! I am really looking forward to my weekend in May with my lovely friends & family – it is going to be great fun.  My fiancé of course is nowhere near having his stag weekend planned – typical! I am sure he will get there in the end…  

Hotel La Place have now re-opened so we are hoping to go along & see the new refurbishments soon, as well as decide on our menu’s – hopefully we will get to sample a few choices along the way…!   The bridesmaid dresses are arriving soon & my dress arrives in May for a first fitting.  We have organised the men’s attire also, so we are pretty much on track still – I hope it stays that way!  

I am officially bored of winter now & want the sun to start shining to get me well & truly in wedding mode! I have a friend’s wedding to look forward to at the end of May so roll on the summer weddings!

January 2008

I am starting to plan my Hen weekend now, which is taking place in London in May – so exciting.  We have lots of great ideas, so I just need to get everything booked now.  The girls cannot wait & neither can I!   Hotel La Place is currently closed for refurbishment, so I cannot wait until they re-open & go for a look at the work done.  January is such a long & gloomy month it is nice to have so many things to look forward to!

November 2007

Well, 272 days to go!  

We have made great progress since my last diary entry.  Namely, the bridesmaid dresses have been chosen & bought & I think I have made THE decision on my dress also.   It may sound a bit backward but the bridesmaids actually got their dresses first! As they are all based in London, my lovely Mum very kindly agreed to co-ordinate the bridesmaids – there are 3 plus a flower girl.  I was only too happy to let them go & decide without me as I already feel as though my head might explode! I instructed them what colour to purchase & what style. 

After arriving for their appointment at 2pm, I received a phone call at 4pm asking me to look on the internet at their shortlist of two dresses.  The first, I liked – a lot.  The second was a complete surprise as it was neither the colour nor style that I had chosen.  It was however, just beautiful.  When I asked them which they preferred, they were just so excited about the second dress.  This, combined with my approval, saw all four dresses purchased & ordered – simple!  I know that it is my wedding & that invariably it is my final choice, but I do honestly believe that your bridesmaids need to love what they are wearing & feel comfortable also.   

I went to Anna Trigg yesterday & tried on 9 dresses – all very different shapes & designs.  I did however, research fully (& have been for months!) so went in with a preferred designer & a definite style & image in my mind…I know have a shortlist of 2 dresses, with one definite favourite & they are totally different to anything I imagined I would wear! I know that there is a wedding cliché about this – i.e. you do not buy the dress you initially went in for.  I am also aware of the saying that you know the ‘one’ when you put it on – strangely my favourite dress is one that my Mum, sister & I all picked out in the summer on an initial impromptu browse around Anna Trigg.  I have a gut feeling that this dress is meant to be…the purchase will be in January as my Mum is coming over to help with the final decision so I will keep you posted…  

My biggest lesson thus far is that you need to keep an open-mind as however much research you do & whatever ideas you have – be prepared that these may (and probably will) change – for the better!   In the meantime Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to all you wedding-planners out there! x

September 2007

We are now on countdown! 11 months to go & counting… I have been told that the time is going to fly & I have absolutely no doubt that it will!

We had my family over for two weeks in August & took them to the Church to see it for themselves. It had a firm stamp of approval from all & it was good for us to see it again, in the sunshine (as I am SURE it will be on our wedding day!). The gardens looked beautiful, especially the rose garden – I am sure we can achieve some amazing photo’s there on the day.

We also took the opportunity to take both sets of parents & our sisters (bridesmaids also, of course!), to Hotel La Place for a meal. It exceeded our expectations & more & conformed that we had definitely made the right decision, for us. The food was divine & the service amazing. My mind is definitely at ease with both the Church and the reception venue…phew!

My biggest concern is still my dress…although I have made headway since my last diary entry. I went along with my Mum & sister to Anna Trigg, just to have an initial look. Anna was so friendly & helpful that she won my custom straight away! My mind was made up though when she announced that she was going to be stocking the brand of dresses that I have been looking at for months now. She is expecting 20 or so dresses in, so I am sure I will find ‘the one’ from the selection. I love every dress on the brand website so it might be a really hard decision choosing just one! I loved the bridesmaid dresses at Anna Trigg also, so have decided to order them from there & keep it simple and in Jersey, rather than go to London. I have enlisted two good friends (with great taste!) to go on an initial trip this Autumn with me & then my Mum is planning, as we speak, to come over in January to help me make the final decision – I had better not eat too much turkey in December!

July 2007

Well, I can report that yet more plans have been made! Despite what is turning out to be a disastrous summer weather-wise, I am still positive that the sun will shine on 9 August next year!

The flowers have now been booked with Bo-Kay. I think I know at this stage what flowers I want but that may all change when my dress has been chosen!

I am beginning to think that I should have my bridesmaid dresses made now…this is due to the fact that I know exactly want I want in mind, so know that if they are made I will be completely happy with the end result. It also helps that I know of two dressmakers who are extremely talented & willing to accommodate my wishes!

The very exciting news is that our honeymoon is booked! Yay! We deliberated for a long time, namely because I wanted to go to Italy (great culture, beaches, food, shopping – bliss!) and he was thinking more along the lines of the Maldives. Once we discovered that we would be going to the Maldives during monsoon season & that aside from water sports & golf, there would be no other activities other that sunbathing to do for two weeks, we decided that it was not for us. Believe me, I could easily lie on a beach for two weeks, with a spa treatment everyday – especially after the stress of a wedding, but he would be bored senseless! We compromised (in true married couple fashion…ha-ha) & have booked a cruise! Not just any cruise, but aboard a brand new ship for 2008. We have a balcony room, honeymoon additions & will be sailing around the Mediterranean for 12-days. Added to this, four of our destinations are in Italy – yippee! As you can probably guess, I am very excited!

The hunt for THE dress still continues – hopefully I will have news in my next update…x

June 2007

Well, not an awful lot to report for this past month wedding-wise, so my diary entry will be short & sweet! My wedding planning has been somewhat overtaken by the prospect of preparing myself for a new job, which I commence on Monday 2nd July & am very much looking forward to!

However, there have been slight panic stations nevertheless with news that Hotel la Place has been bought out & that changes are due to take place. After a hasty email to our wedding planner/events organiser, she put our minds at rest & assured us that the hotel would still be there for our reception! Phew! There are refurbishments planned, so we have heard, but we are fine with that taking place over the winter as planned. We love the hotel as it is, but would be happy to have our reception in a newly refurbished hotel also! Who wouldn’t…?

My best wedding discovery recently has been my guestbook. I saw a guestbook advertised in Cosmopolitan Bride (very good reading!) & emailed to make enquiries regarding ordering one. It transpired that the books were handmade by a lady called Suzanne & she was amazing! Once you have chosen your design & you inform her of your details (name / date of wedding etc), she then makes your book according to your specifications. Before she puts the final product together, she emails you with a picture to give you an idea & for you to make amendments if necessary. All of this is for £18! I was astounded when my book arrived within 48 hours, hand-made, beautifully wrapped & completely stunning, with free postage also! I could not recommend her enough! For those of you interested, the website is www.prettywild.co.uk. She also produces wedding stationary for those of you still looking at options.

Well, while I try to re-focus on dresses, flowers & the cake (my next priorities), amidst leaving one job & starting another…I will be back next month with my progress…!

May 2007

Well, at last the long awaited sunshine is finally here! Our thoughts are even more so on the wedding now as we are able to really picture the day, as it will hopefully be – i.e. sunny! We drove past our church the other day & it looked amazing in the sunshine, so I felt very excited from that point!

Time is flying as per usual, so this month’s achievements have been Save The Date cards – printing, addressing & sending out and booking the cars (Curwoods) & videographer (Digital Diggle). I had a bit of shock a couple of week’s ago to discover that unless I paid my deposit for the cars I wanted (Austin Princess’ x 2), I would be loosing them as others wanted the same cars on my date! Mad! You really do have to be quick & organised in Jersey!

My thoughts are turning to my dress now & the bridesmaid dresses. So exciting! Being a girl & working in fashion, I always thought I would have a clear idea of what I wanted in terms of my dress. To an extent I do, but I am fully prepared t change my mind once I start trying them on! This is common, so I have been told! I am planning a trip back home (London) in October as my four bridesmaids are all based there so it will be a ‘dress trip’! I plan on trying some dresses on & getting some firm ideas for the bridesmaids’ dresses also. My deadline for having all dresses purchased is December! With this comes a renewed subscription to Fitness First & panic visits to the gym! I have enlisted a very good friend who is training to be a Personal Trainer to act as mine, as I feel that I need an extra push (or shove in some cases!).

It is true to say that planning my wedding is starting to completely take over my life! I find myself thinking now with regards decisions I make or items I purchase – would this be good for my wedding? Maybe I should book these people for my hair…nails…etc? Would this be good for my honeymoon? Sad but true – it is a full-time project! I’m loving every minute of it though – goodness knows what I will find to think about as of August 10th 2008…!?

More from me next month!

March 2007

My name is Amanda. On the 9th August 2008 I will be marrying my lovely fiancé Denis…I thought that by writing diary entries for Wedding In Jersey I could not only share the different stages in the build-up to the big day but attempt to keep myself sane in the process also!

In April, I will have been engaged for a year, after being proposed to in Central Park, New York on a beautiful sunny day in the middle of an amazing holiday! It really was perfect. We both agreed to set a date in 2008 and give ourselves time to plan (and save!). Now, a year on we are counting down with 16 months to go!

In our opinion we are quite well organised…!? The church is booked (St. Lukes), as is our reception venue (Hotel La Place), as is our photographer (Peter Trenchard) and shortly our videographer & cars will be booked too…Phew! We are also in the process of composing our Save The Date cards as we both have family in the UK, plus some oversees guests and are only too aware of accommodation / travel issues in visiting Jersey, especially in Battle of the Flowers week (clever planning by us?! Oops!).

So time is ticking by at an alarming rate, but I admit that I am finding it all very exciting! So while I get back to my scrapbook & copious wedding magazines (!) I look forward to getting back to you with another diary entry next month! Happy planning to you all! X