ch ch ch changes

Hey :D
Everything is super exciting at the moment we are now thinking maybe a fish and chips van for the meal...yum...another amazing Andy idea :)There will be choices of what to have with the chips..an plenty of ketchup :D Saucy. It'l proably change by next month cause we're both a bit too impulsive, but it's ok lots of time left to sort it out :)
We just came back from a fun weekend back in Woolacombe rockpooling and climbing cliffs!..I so want to be a surfer..but since you need balance and coordination I doubt it'l happen :D We built some cool sandcastles..if all else fails maybe we can build a sand house? :) It's funny cause when you are little you plan out stuff like your house n garden n where it'l be n how many turrets your castle will have but now I don't really care what we live in, or how sparkly our furniture is..I have the most important bit..the right bloke..n the rest just doesn't matter any more.cheese but true.

We have been planning actual marriage things too..(you know that insignificant forever together thing that happens after the wedding?)Andy has decided to have a big downsize in the rabbit department as he's got tonnes going on with football & friends & thinks it'l be easier for the move..its a bit sad but luckily we have fab homes at a rare breeds farm for those that are going :)and we will still have double trouble Jasper & Toby to keep us company as well as a few of the buns..Jasper loves coming to my house so I think he'l settle in to our new home fine when we find it..Toby will proably have acquainted himself with the neighbours after two minutes..so I hope they like cats! I think he'l miss watching dan's gerbils..or cat TV as I call it..might have to get him a fish to terrorise! Not a sardine though..there his fave food atm..that and tonnes of cat nip..my cat is a junkie.
Mary is in South Africa at the moment eek! her last email said everything is cool & the person they are staying with is nice..she's more excited about going bride dress shopping then I am..probably because she's not the one who has to stand there in her pants!We are hoping to go when she comes back :) I want to try on some really ugly ones for the fun of it..but I think I might be thrown out of the shop for laughing! I'm sure my shopping party will keep me in check! I want to take mary, lo mum & ali..so we'l probably fill up the shops!! oh also amazingness emma is going to come to some with me too :) Fun :D
yay newsflash..Andy's lovely mate Dave is going to do a wedding video for us :D he has a brilliant sense of humour so really excited about it :)
I'l stop babbling now..too excited! :D
katie almost jones
xxx

The excitement continues :) i got my wedding mag for the month yesterday..love looking at the other brides ideas n pretty things..
Have changed the colour scheme..lilac n silver was looking a little washed out..so thinking lilac n blue now :) ..its too tricky n not really very us having everything matchy-matchy so will probably have lots of shades of blue & purple..that means the bridesmaids can have more choice n hopefully everything will tone in :). Also thinking navy suits..they look quite bright n funky in the brochures..cravats and cumnberbunds n waist coats scare me a little bit..so not sure what we'l come up with as accessories..plenty of time to ponder :)
im loving thinking about dresses 4 my mini-maids :) i think these are my fave so far http://www.bhs.co.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/bhsstore/653080/91600 how cute! they have fabric petals trapped in the skirt..soo pretty..have to hope there's somethings similar about next year when they've all grown..think il have to add a bit more sparkle and of course 'high heels' for lauren and molly :D (anything that has half a inch counts as far as they are concerned :) ). Andy took Lauren's card up at the weekend..wish i could have been there she was apparently v excited bless! :)so far Sophie just looks perplexed at me and says 'cat' if i mention the wedding..but im sure she'l be old enough to enjoy it once the day arrives :)

We've got about 20 children at the wedding if they can all make it..which should be fab :) I've ordered a couple of treasures for their goodie bags this week as i was ordering craft materials for youth group. Just trying to make sure they don't get too bored if its rainy..if its nice out im hoping the ducks donkeys n sheep will keep them busy :D

Really busy with uni n revision atm..but giving myself little breaks for bride business keeps me smiling :D

Jones is being superstarish as usual :) nodding in the right places n suggesting cool ideas :) I keep catching myself thinking..'im going to marry him'...WOW! :)

Katie Almost Jones :) xxx

Sharing out the smiles..

As I've said before we feel super lucky to be together an we'd like to share the smiles out & help other people through our day, here are a few ideas we're thinking about...Don't worry I'm not going to try to convert anyone into a veggie hippy! :D xxx

- A charity dress :) hopefully oxfam brides will be the answer! They get lots of new & sample dresses which is exciting! Alternatively one made from fairtrade/ethical materials or made in britain with good conditons for the workers would be nice :) Ive been a bit inspired to try n get more ethical clothing in general by a fellow bride to be who mentionned 'The Young King' by Oscar Wilde...its about a rich king who wants all this stuff 4 his coronation..n he dreams that the weaver making his cloak dies..n realises how bad it is..this quote stuck out to me 'Shall Joy wear what Grief has fashioned?' and so its good bye primark..this is a link to the full text..its a bit cheesey but you get the drift :) http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/YouKin.shtml n it really confirmed 4 me in general that I wanted 2 do the things wed talked about like fair trade etc...because a big celebration causing misery 2 others just seems a bit poo.

- Fair trade tea, coffee wine & chocolate. this is about why fair trade choc is important:http://www.stopthetraffik.org/getInvolved/act/chocolate/chocolate.aspx im so going to try harder to eat more fair trade choc now!!

- Free range eggs in the cooking..i need 2 ask mr caterer man to use these..ok helping chickens is not really helping people..but chickens like being happy :)

- gift list with grassroots/ oxfam unwrapped/save the children.


Hopefully we'l come up with more as we go along..

Katie Almost Jones

sumos and sweeties :)

hello again :)
eeeeeeeeeeeeeee the contract is signed....now to sort out boring factors such as insurance...yuck! :)
Valentines was fun! We went to see pompey vs man city which was a brilliant game..An the best thing ever..Glen Johnson scored :) I love the atmosphere at Fratton park..we considered it as a venue..it would have got me Andy's eternal gratitude..but sadly our date is in season..n theres not much space there..unless u like car parks.
This week we found a super cool site to hire outdoor games from..Andy is pleased as there are sumo suits on it lol! I dont think he'l convince me to put one on but it'l be funny to watch :)
they also have a couple of indoory bits like table football..could be useful if it rains..once the reception starts the ceremony room will be turned into a loungey type room with sofas, sweeties & general comfiness so room 4 a couple of games & people to chill & hide :)
We are thinking no to bouncy castle 4 afew reasons..1, jamies eye nearly fell in after he broke his cheekbone at marys party (im not keen on ambulances at a wedding..although there should be 3 doctors n 4 nurses in amoung the guests lol!) 2, the electric cable running through the fields could be a nightmare 3,big enough ones are megabucks! We are hoping less hazardous games like giant connect 4 n jenga will be ok..fingers crossed 4 nice weather so we all get to play :). Oh also space hoppers yay! bounce! Its kind of seeming like a countryside feteish type wedding atm..although don't tell Andy as he is dead against themes! I think this mainly stems from the 'bear hunt' theme i jokingly suggested..there is long swishy swashy grass at the barn..might be muddy! and there is a little lake to cross..the vow 'we cant go under it, we cant go over it, we'l have to go through it' :) maybe not..LMAO!!! Although a tiny bit of me still wants to invite children's teddies on their invites..n have a little teddybear picnic..its all about the childishness!
Katie Almost Jones

Eat, Drink etc etc

Hello Lovelies!
The wedding planning excitement continues! We have met with our caterer..who is utlimate loveliness although didnt bring a sample of cake..*cries* lol :) it felt very grown up & I was petrified before he arrived running round the house tidying up like the queen was coming for tea! He really put me at ease & can do great things like provide our tables & chairs, be the master of ceremonies (basically tell everyone whats happening & where to sit) and set everything up 4 us...big yays as this will make much more chilled :) the best thing is the company helps others & thats hugely what we want as part of our day..because we feel super lucky & happy 2 have each other we'd feel a bit mean if we didn't share the happiness around a bit :)..n i totally believe that the secret of happiness is helping others..so it gives us a bit of extra happy too :)
also this week has been a musing about music week :) andy came home with 2 cds for me with poss weddingy songs (i know...how cute!:) )Jack Johnson In Between Dreams i lost ages ago..n now have again :) better together is just magic so poss walking out 2 it..seems 2 make sense :)! n when we were on the way 2 the venue 4 the first time..Jason Mraz Im Yours came on the radio n we were both like what is that? love it! so thats a big contender!
silly to plan these things so far ahead..but it kind of just happened!
Love u all 4 putting up with me in wedding mode!
katie almost Jones x

Hey again :)
Well things are bubbling along nicely..we took Ali, Fred, Mum & Dad to visit the barn on Sunday & they all really liked it :) we got a formal introduction to the donkeys Ringo and Polly :) they are lovely! the ducks came to say hello too..apparently they like invading the weddings..which I think is great! 'do you take this man' *QUACK!!* hehe :) also checked out the toilets..they are fab! bright pink walls for the girls & blue 4 the boys :) anyways we put down the all important dosh & got lots of info on local accomodation, taxi companies etc scarily real! It started snowing while we were there :) pretty! but cold! so we all headed for hot drinks at the halfway inn..very nice with a roaring fire :) everyone was bursting with ideas which was lovely..from where to get the drinks to music etc! Its lovely to step back sometimes & just listen to everyone getting on so well :) i love it :) the lady sally was fab..we can visit lots and take lots of guests to peek :) she will grow our flowers for us in her cute garden..we need to choose chandalier garlands or big balls..i think both are sooo pretty! they can also dress the beams..but i think they are pretty amazing just as they are :) then theres lighting to think about..although we're hoping for a nice day :) and setting off into the sunset about 8 :) oh thats another thing..the timings of the day! :) we are thinking 2-8pm then nobody gets too tired or hopefully bored :) also andys worst nightmare is a disco..or dare i mention it..dancing! lol so it means he gets to avoid that :) we are thinking of having live music in the evening, and maybe even an ice cream van!! im very excited about that bit lol :) other ideas we are toying with are a pub style quiz/ a sweetie bar /cream tea:) we're avoiding an alcohol bar as neither of us are big drinkers..n its impossible to get it right 4 everyone..dont worry there will be wine on the tables :) but also lots of yummy fruit juices & soft drinks in big ice buckets :) it'l probably be grey n rainy but luckily dads church have huge urns that we can nick so there will be plenty of tea and coffee too :) i know what andys like without his cuppa quota lol :)
Its all sooooooooooooooooooooo soooooooooo exciting :D mum n dad r away so made andy a big roast last night n just cuddled up watching house shows on our own..i just kept thinking wow one day not that far off this will seem normal..n not like 'hehe! we are playing house!' We are going to live with mum & dad for the first 3 months which is so kind of them :) it is a bit funny getting married as soon as im done with the essential bits of uni but we didnt want to put off the wedding til 2011 as we'l already have been together 6 years when we get married!.an neither of us can wait :) im basically employed by uni until the end of that sept (but its mainly study leave) and at the moment the local job situation looks good because of the new childrens hospital :) yay :) hopefully once ive been working 3months we will be able to get a mortgage..and a little house somewhere just 4 us :) thats the plan! Im just hoping that some of they keyworker deals will still be avaliable..as the more we save the worse the mortgage market gets atm!! but it will all work out in the end :) Its soo exciting to think my 25th birthday could be in a home of our own :) with our little family..Jasper the dog, toby the cat..and however many million rabbits andy has got at that point :) eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :D
sorry! Im waiting to come down off the enagement high..but still bouncing off the walls atm!
Katie almost Jones xx

hey :) sorry have not written for a zillion years :) everything is zooming by so fast! its pretty much 18 months to go now..or 584 days (no im not that sad..but it counts the days down for you on some of the wedding sites!) my feet have not touched the ground!
We viewed 2 venues in the end..one was basically a glorified cowshed..lovely people..but a bit too rustic lol :)..we were both trying to keep a straight face as we went round..hilarious! It was a bit depressing though as you start to think what if they are all like this? luckily Andy seeing me a bit crestfallen when on a mad one man mission to ring as many people as possible in till we could get in touch with venue two..we both had a good feeling before we even got there which was cool..n eve when we got a bit lost on the way (bloody sat nav!) we were still excited..the best bit was pulling in, stepping out of the car to find two very friendly donkeys in a paddock who wanted to say hello :) From that point I was sold..You are kind of supposed to play it cool with the venues..like hmm this is quite nice! But Andy ruined it straight away by saying 'this is soo much better than anything!'pretty much as we walked in the door :) So glad we both liked it..means I can put off my wife practice nagging :). We forgot all our questions that we'd carefully planned at first..but it turns out all of the answers were what we wanted to hear :) And there were some bonuses we didnt expect..they only have one wedding a week :D This is hugely awesome as it gives me ages to set up..decide its all wrong..take it all to bits..and then put it all up again lol. Also its the same price as the cowshed..cannot actually believe that bit!! Anyways we are taking the parents up to see it Sunday..while we put down our deposit n chat lighting, flowers (which they grow to order for your wedding!) and donkeys :) there are also 3 sheep :) a field and a wood to play in! So hopefully the groom will be kept amused lol :)
Oh also I have my bridesmaids sorted :) I really wanted ten zillion and three! But luckily I have Andy to remind me that you're supposed to have more guests than bridesmaids! Doh! So here are my lovely ladies: My chief: Mary :) the best sister this side of ever, My lovely best friend in the whole world Loisa :), My little ones: Molly and Lauren Andy's lovely cousins who will be 7 and 6 on the big day (im also considering using Lauren as a hairdresser after she put 14 beautiful hair clips in my hair last time she visited :)bless), and one beautiful little flower girl my niece Sophie..who will be nearly 3 :D
Andy is still sorting out his boys..he is a man after all! :)
We are hoping to meet with the caterers within a fortnight..to decide on a scrummy bbq :) I can't believe how early it all needs to be sorted! but its very fun planning and finding the bargains :)
Lots of giggles and bouncing
Katie almost Jones :) xx