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Monthly Archives: September 2012

A Tool Party with the Boys

Posted on 26 September 2012 by Bernard

I am sure you have heard of a pre-wedding kitchen tea for the ladies but have you heard of a pre-wedding tool party for the gents? Well that is exactly what I had last weekend with some of the boys.

As soon as my best man Sam got the job he hit the ground running with ideas for the pre-wedding social events beginning with the Tool Party. Sam claims the tool party to be a unique event which he invented (or at least perfected) and I have no reason to doubt him as the first tool party I ever attended was his own tool party a couple of years ago.

What is the tool party you may ask? Well it is a gathering of men, usually around cooked meat of some kind and chilled drinks for the purpose of…well gathering. Being a tool party the attendees also bring a small tool that will be of help in married life. The invitation emailed out by Sam to my male family and friends included a picture of Bob the Builder with the wording “Let’s give him all the tools he’ll need to have wedded bliss” and the instructions to come dressed in hard hat, fluoro vest or other similar manly work wear. Read the rest of this entry →

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Wedding Cars and Wedding Cakes

Posted on 19 September 2012 by Bernard

Even though I have been determined from the start not to be pulled into the ‘magic-making’ world of the wedding industry I have to say this wedding planning business really does take some energy! Jane and I have to be careful not to allow every time we see each other to be necessarily wedding related. I know a number of married couples who have a weekly ‘date night’ and even as an engaged person I can already see the value in implementing such an idea. In fact thinking about it, I have been glad that our engagement has been at the shorter end of the scale at seven months (with only three months to go next weekend). I can’t help but think that if our engagement was drawn out over twelve or more months we would have taken far too much time making this one day more than it needs to be at the expense of continuing to build the relationship that is the whole point of the actual wedding day. So with the date getting closer it was time to lock in a couple of the key wedding things: cars and cakes.

Jane and I have not been particularly fussed about fancy wedding cars. So much so that I had an initial idea to hire a couple of white cars from the local car rental company, pop a ribbon on the front and ask some friends to drive them around for the day. Of course once you go down that path it’s a matter of working out who will pick up the cars, who will put the ribbon on, who will drive them and who will return them. It did seem it would just be extra trouble so we moved to think about hiring some simple wedding cars. Luckily Jane is daughter number four to be married, so all the research on these important wedding related matters had previously been done and we were able to tap into the information sourced for previous family nuptials. Read the rest of this entry →

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Our Tropical Honeymoon

Posted on 12 September 2012 by Bernard

In the weeks before Jane and I got engaged we had discussed the topic of marriage and so by the time I proposed we actually had both our wedding date and honeymoon location in mind. Let me explain. Jane has an annual ritual of gluing assorted pictures in the pages of her diary at the start of each year, a mix of nature, people and religious images. One night we were at dinner and she was showing me these different pictures and on 31 December there was a photo of one of those over water bungalows with the thatched roof amidst the perfect clear water. Jane had it on her bucket list to visit such a place for a holiday. I remember nudging Jane and telling her that if we got married on 29 December we could be in a tropical bungalow in time for New Year Eve, just as her diary foretold! (I may have also tried to hint that this was a sign from God that we should get married this year).

Even if it had not been an overwater bungalow I would have been definitely keen to have a relaxing honeymoon. I love the idea of a honeymoon that is a holiday and not a trip. One where we can basically sit around all day and there is absolutely nothing to be done! In the previous years when I have taken annual leave it has been to go overseas for a course and sightseeing and while they have been wonderful experiences, I always get back in need of a holiday to recover. So this honeymoon is so exciting because (a) it will be with my new wife Jane and (b) we get to spend it resting and relaxing. Read the rest of this entry →

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Finding a White Dress – By Jane

Posted on 9 September 2012 by Bernard

I’ve never been one to particularly enjoy going out of my comfort zone. So when several people suggested that I somehow contribute to Bernard’s weekly reflections I was not an instant fan of the idea. Nonetheless, it is with great joy (and slight nervousness) that I write this special ‘guest’ column for Proposal to Marriage. I decided to pick a topic that I felt I could offer a little more insight than Bernard – the experience of finding a wedding dress.

After spending the better part of the last decade searching for Mr Right I suddenly found myself in the unfamiliar position of being able to say that I had found him. Now what? Well having been involved in quite a few weddings as a bridesmaid, I knew there would be lots of jobs to get done and that the planning would be a potentially time-consuming and even stressful process. I was aware that many bridal stores say it takes 4-6 months for a dress to arrive, and having only 7 months from the date of our engagement to the date of our wedding, I didn’t want to waste any time. Read the rest of this entry →

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