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

July 2008

Firstly I have to apologise for being so slack last month – as well as the wedding plans, I’ve also had various rehearsals and moving house on my mind too. Everyone has said that all we need is to have a baby to completely top off our busy time. Not just yet, methinks! So, since my last entry quite a bit has happened.

After a lot of hassle, stress and worry, everything is beginning to fall into place (touch wood), with the bridesmaids’ dresses being altered as I write, the order of services being finished this weekend, some of the men trying on their suits tomorrow, etc etc. Simon and I have already been into Burtons to see the suits and they look great…we are really pleased with our colours. All the gifts have also been organised and bought from Letto’s…just the wrapping to do now! With just two weeks to go, we are waiting for the real manic time to start. My first hen do was very successful last weekend, with friends and family staggering around town! I’m looking forward to my next one at Les Roches which should be a little more subdued and relaxed.

It’s weird to look on the wedding planner and see that it now says ‘Days to go 14’. It really doesn’t seem that long ago that it said ‘Months to go 18’. The time has gone so quickly and I can’t believe that in two weeks time all my family and Simon’s family will be here to see us getting married! I will aim to do a final wedding diary before 2 August…

May 2008

I skipped last month’s entry as I didn’t think there was enough to say, so this month you will just have to bear with me as a spout everything that’s happened since March!   The biggest thing is that all the invitations are now out. Well, barring three that have to go in the post tomorrow. We decided that we didn’t want to give Jersey Post a ridiculous amount for sending them all through so we hand delivered almost all of them. I think we’ve invited our absolute limit for the day and the evening so it could end up quite a squeeze if everyone can make it. Although, we’ve already heard from a few that they won’t be able to make it due to holidays etc…that’s the problem with having a summer wedding!   I’ve had my first hair trial which went well and gave me a proper idea of what will look good.

My next one is today so I can try it out with the veil. Oh that was another thing I’ve done recently…I went to try on my dress again and it fits…fantastic! And I’ve also chosen my veil which is gorgeous and ordered my hooped underskirt.   We’ve also been to try the clothes on the little bridesmaid and the page boy. They both looked so gorgeous. The page boy was having to be bribed with sweets to try on his outfit, so I hope his parents have quite a few tucked away for the day of the wedding.  

We went to my cousin’s baby’s christening two weeks ago and it was nice to see a lot of the family all together again. It was weird when they were leaving and saying ‘see you in August for the big event’! Our little bridesmaid was a little upset as she thought it was the day of the wedding and didn’t understand why she wasn’t doing anything.   The weather has been bothering me quite a bit. At the christening it must have been about 20 degrees and yet I felt ready to pass out! Let’s hope it’s not as hot as 26 in August. I’m praying every day that there won’t be rain. As long as that comes true then I’m sure we will be happy.  

Simon’s stag do has fallen by the wayside at the moment…not sure what he will end up doing. But the best man knows I will not be impressed if he’s left naked and tied to a lamppost drunk, so let’s hope it’s something a little more subdued. I’ve now ended up with three hen dos. I’m going to have a night out with work people and any women over here at the time, a morning at Les Roches with my mum, sister and friend, and then breakfast at the Pomme D’Or with parents, Simon’s parents, best man, ushers etc on the Thursday before the wedding.  

The cars are now fully paid for, the organist has finally had a conversation with Simon and is all sorted, and we have another meeting with the priest next week to organise readings etc. Oh and we’ve been to two of our three marriage preparation courses. We’re also sorting a second meeting with the flower ladies to check everything we agreed will be fine. And our special piece of music has been arranged so I now have to check if it will be long enough to get me from the door of the church to the altar!   Other than that I think everything is plodding along nicely.

Apart from not having moved house yet, but let’s remain positive and fingers crossed.   ARGH, just 80 sleeps to go!! I can’t believe how fast the time is going. It’s weird looking at the wedding planner bit and seeing ‘2 months to go’. It doesn’t seem that long ago since it was ‘18 months to go’.   See you next month for my penultimate diary entry before I become Mrs Parker. 

March 2008

We really are in count down now. As of Saturday we have just 20 weeks to go. My mum has just returned from the UK seeing my sister and has managed to find her complete outfit. After 11 hours of looking. For my dad it was easier…15 minutes getting measured! My mum also found out that we will be needing £125 worth of one particular ingredient for our cake (can’t go into more detail than that as it’s a surprise).

All the invitations are ready to be posted, just got to cut out the little inserts to go inside. We are hoping to send the first batch at the end of March so I had better hurry up and get organised.

We have also made our wedding list with Homemaker. We were able to spend over an hour in the shop out of hours to pick and choose what we wanted. The next day Margaret had already put it on the website. We also have business cards to put in the invites to advise people where the list is. If anyone is unsure of where to get a wedding list then we would highly recommend Homemaker.

On Easter Saturday I am going with one of my bridesmaids to Ellis to get her dress altered. The men have been measured in dribs and drabs, but thankfully it’s nearly all done now…just the best man to go!

We are looking forward to organising the table plan with my dad…getting little scraps of paper with everyone’s names on to rearrange. Don’t worry, we won’t be going as far as to get little doll’s house chairs like Cameron Diaz in ‘Very Bad Things’! Just got to wait till the RSVPs start flooding in.

Simon’s sisters were pleased to be asked to read at the ceremony, but we just need to check with our priest that we are able to have both religious and non-religious readings. Also waiting to hear about the Marriage Preparation Course which we will be attending in a couple of months.

We have also picked our hymns for the service, plus the music before and during and have had a chat with the musicians who are all booked in and looking forward to it.

Apart from that, March has been pretty calm and there are no major panics at the moment. I’m just dreading the couple of weeks before the wedding when no one is sleeping, everyone is arguing and there are still loads of little things to be done.

Oh and Simon wants to move house before the wedding too, so we have the fun and stress of removals, buying, selling, court and everything else on top of wedding plans!

February 2008

Sixty hours later and my mum has handcrafted all the invitations! I’ve written all the insides and they’re all ready to get stuck in, addressed and sent off.

We have ordered our favours from Leonidas, the bridesmaid dresses have arrived, and we have finally made a decision on the men’s attire. We chose Burtons in the end for its hire range. Why is it that all hire companies have hardly any matching waistcoat designs in different colours?! Simon has been measured and booked in and now we just have to get the rest of the party to go and get sorted out.

Simon’s family are all booked with flights and accommodation which has been a weight off our minds. We were so worried with the way that flight prices go up and down that they would end up paying a fortune to get here.

Next month my mum goes off to Manchester to see my sister so she’s on the look out for her outfit too.

I can’t believe how everything is coming together so well (touch wood). Simon and I have even written out a list of everything else that has to be done before 2 August to make sure that absolutely nothing gets forgotten.

Anyone planning on getting married make sure you see the registrar. This is the bit that gets missed out in all the soaps and films! We didn’t realise that long versions of our birth certificates were needed and that there are fees to be paid to get a marriage license.

Well that’s it for another month…

January 2008

November 2007  

Happy wedding-planning!   Speak to you next month – CHRISTMAS IS ON ITS WAY!!!

September 2007

Oh my gosh…it’s 318 days till my wedding! It doesn’t sound much when it’s put like that. At least most things are organised or in the process of being organised.

I am happy to announce that this month the second of my bridesmaids has been to try on dresses at Ellis. The first dress she tried on was the right size, the right colour, the right style and looked absolutely gorgeous on her! It made me so excited about the wedding. It also made me realise that I’m never going to be able to carry enough tissues on the day!

The next step was to get my sister in the UK to find a shop which stocks that collection of dresses and that particular dress (easier said than done, let me tell you!) She’s found the place but can’t get there till another two weeks. Fingers crossed they won’t get discontinued!

My dress has also been ordered for me to try on so I’m waiting for November when I can go back to Ellis and try it in the size I will be for the wedding!

We are still waiting for some of our stationery bits to be back in stock so we can place our order…and our paper has to arrive from Bangkok! Still, everything is coming together really well, but I guess I mustn’t speak to quickly.

We are heading off to The Water’s Edge on Saturday for their overnight stay package. I just love to walk around and imagine how it will be when all our friends and family are there and I’m Mrs Parker (I’m too young to be a ‘Mrs’!) Let’s just hope that the weather changes by the weekend so we can make the most of it.

I HAVE asked my fiancé to write his account on here, but he’s not really a writer and I think he’s a little scared!

Anyway, speak to you next month when we have an excuse to go out and eat – Tennerfest!! Must think of fitting in that dress though!

August 2007

Well here is my first diary entry for weddinginjersey.com and I’m so excited. Friday night we celebrated our ‘one year to go’ with a meal out at the Pomme D’Or. I can’t explain how fast the last seven months has gone since Simon proposed to me on Boxing Day evening 2006.

We had decided on the date as soon as we got engaged. We wanted something special that was going to stick in people’s minds. I think Simon was a little concerned that 07-07-07 was a little soon, so we settled on 02-08-2008 (see what we did there?). And to be honest that day can’t come soon enough. I’m so happy that I’m going to be marrying my soulmate, my best friend, my University Simon!

Not really surprisingly everything is pretty much in order (I like to be very organised and know exactly what’s happening and when!). My mum has been a godsend with organisation. She knows who to contact, when to contact them, what they need to do etc. (And it’s ME who’s doing a Wedding Planner distance learning course!)

The church is booked – St Martin’s Roman Catholic Church where my parents and my grandparents were married (ahhh…). Every time I pass it I think how gorgeous it’s going to look in the sun (obviously we are going to have fantastic weather this time next year – warm, dry and sunny!). We have also sorted out the reception – one of our favourite venues in the Island – The Water’s Edge Hotel in Bouley bay. Tim Brooke, Marysia Philpott and all the staff always make us feel so welcome and it’s going to be wonderful celebrating our special day in this stunning location. We are also sorted with our cars – Curwood’s for their beautiful Princess. Also paid our deposit for our Videographer ¬– Graeme and Dacia from Digital Diggle as we know them from various filmings they’ve done before – and for our photographer – Tony Gasper from Ivory Pictures (if you’re looking for a good price and really genuine and lovely photographer then have a word with Tony!) Marysia from the hotel also pointed us in the direction of the ladies from St Clements’ Flower Club who are doing our flowers (they do lovely work and charge you for the cost of the flowers and a donation for the Club). My lovely mum is making the cake – she’s had a practice and it was fabulous (and think how much money we have saved to spend elsewhere!). I’ve also found my dress in Ellis, just got to wait till November to place my order for it. We are also getting samples left right and centre for us to try out the stationery. Just have the problem of bridemaids’ dresses and attendants’ outfits…
My biggest thing to point out is don’t forget to get insurance. We got ours over the Internet. At least that way if anything was to go wrong then you don’t lose your deposits or any other money.

So as you can see we are pretty organised for a wedding next year, but at least we have no worry of missing out on anything. And now we are simply enjoying a reasonably stress-free time!