The Perfect Wedding Planner...the hunt begins

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So instead of being twirled about at a great height on roller coasters for the first time at Alton Towers today I am sat in my kitchen with all my school books studying hard. Or at least I was until it was clearly coffee break time and my mind started wandering. So in the interests of retaining focus I figured a quick 15 minute study respite was in order. So with coffee made and kitkat consumed I felt inspired to write a quick post on a planner decision I need to make....

As you will have read in my previous post this week I recently became engaged to the very lovely Mr P.  To summarise he asked while we were in Paris, after I'd checked for joking/concussion/madness and established he was for some reason serious I accepted and with a massive grin still plastered across my face for the past 2 weeks I started to dream of weddings.

Hurrah all lovely don't you think?

Of course for a stationery and organisational freak like me this means only one thing. NEW PLANNER NEEDED! I mean with so much to think about - venue, service, vows, guests, music, food, drinks, dress, flowers.....of course I need a planner that can both help organise me but also act as an inspiration binder. One that can have copious pages of lists but also cut outs, pictures, samples etc etc

So I had a little scan of Amazon and also researched a couple more and of yes, of course, there is a Filofax in the current shortlist! So HELP PLEASE which planner do you think could be a contender, do you have any suggestions?

First up the Dodo Book of the Big Day

Available from the Dodo Pad website this is similar in style to their other celebration binders with lots of dividers and sections, useful pockets, tips all in a handy A5 size! Plenty of room for samples and lists....and the with lovely graphics and humour that we love about the Dodo Pad brand.

I love my Dodo Pad Christmas binder but is this one special enough to warrant being my wedding planner????

So I continued to look. The second contender is the Smythson Panama Wedding Planner

Available on the Smythson Website this is the ultimate in luxury notebooks. With the Smythson leather cover, the very beautiful Ivory colour and useful tabs for all the key planning topics such as Reception, Flowers etc. However this doesn't have any useful pockets for each section for tear sheets or the like...

Perhaps then I needed something more like the Complete Wedding Planner & Organizer

This planner can be found on Amazon and comes highly recommended by the lovely Crazy Life of J and in fact she has just written the most amazing post all about it here which just goes to show how amazing this binder is, and she shows just how useful and practical it is too!! It's a definite contender as personal recommendations are so important in these things (all Filofax fans know this from Philofaxy and how well the Malden has down purely down to that site and everyone raving about it!!!!)

Of course maybe I am thinking this through too much and with all the Filofax binders I have I could fashion my own planner. Or maybe I could use a pretty wedding notebook like this Our Very Huge Big Day notebook in conjunction with a storage box or ring binder to hold all my tear sheets?

Also available on Amazon here I love this range of stationery I have had several items over the years and the paper quality is good, they hold up well and I do love the brand....

Then I got to thinking about how Mr P and I are quite laid back and I certainly don't want to become a bridezilla to quote that popular cable TV show so this planner appeals quite a lot too:

The Anti-bride Wedding Planner is all about creating the wedding day that you want and making sure you organise it without a hitch. So if you don't want the formal church/sit down meal/flowers and instead are aiming for relaxed, fun and musical this is apparently the planner for you! So this therefore could be the planner for me...it looks fun, has the ethos of wedding planning that I want to adhere to (fun not fanatical) and of course it's PINK! Available again on Amazon here it's another serious contender.

Of course this wouldn't be a blog post without a Filofax mention. And as planning my wedding day to Mr P is likely to take a couple of years (well the saving up for it part at least will I'm sure) and planning is something I love doing so much then maybe I should throw caution (and hard earned money) to the wind and choose this as my wedding planner...

The Osterley Filofax, in A5 size, in Grey

Available on the Filofax website of course this is such a stunning binder that I've been a little bit in love for a while. However had no desire to purchase as I am perfectly in sync with the Amethyst Deco (see here for more on that) but in A5 this could be the perfect planner. Lots of room to have notes, to do's and planning pages. I could personalise the tabs and with the introduction of the clear pockets lots of space for tear sheets and samples.
Of course the Filofax doesn't come with any of the pre-organised tips, notes, guides or planners that the Dodo Pad, Anti Bride and Complete Wedding Planner do - which gives those types of planners lots of appeal.

So my lovely readers what do you think? Which of these lovely planners do you think could plan the perfect wedding without turning me into a bridezilla which would in turn most likely cause Mr P to retract his kind offer?

A dilemma I'm sure you'll agree

Lx

Paris, a city of romance, culture and surprises

So my last post about our recent weekend away in Paris was incredibly wordy. This one is pretty much all pictures, this way I figure they balance each other out. However you really should scroll to the bottom as there is a surprise lurking!!

Day 1: From the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower..... 

Check out my arty modern pyramid meets period arch photo!

Inside the angles are just as amazing as is the light coming through from the pyramid

The Louvre is a place of culture, art, sculpture and amazing ceilings!! Both in the cafe (above) and in the art galleries (below)

I mean how awesome is that ceiling? The detail and the carvings - that one in particular was far more beautiful than the paintings hanging in the room! Some other rooms had amazingly freaky people crafted leaning out of them. The French royalty back in the day had strange ideas on bedroom ceilings!

Of course of the paintings were amazing - like this giant one that makes me look teeny tiny (that in itself is an amazing feat!) 

Onto the Eiffel Tower - I love this shot as you can see all intricate metal work it really is quite beautiful up close!

I also like it when it is all lit up (apologies for the terrible photo best I could do!)

Twinkly eh!

The view wasn't bad either from the very top (gosh the elevator was scary)

Day 2: Croissants and Notre Dame, fountains and Pompidou

YUM!!!!

I like this angle of Notre Dame as all the different shapes and towers combine it makes it look all spiky and sharp and so different from the regal curves of the main entrance.

Mr P and I by a fountain that had sphinxes on our way to the Pompidou centre

I really liked the modern lego feel of the Pompidou centre. Outside escalators are the way forward and at the top yet another amazing view of Paris!

Day 3: waking up to realise I'm engaged!

Yep you read that correctly. The gorgeous Mr P managed to shock me into silence (it's true!! I think he was shocked too by that) by proposing in Paris. On our last night, after being out late watching a band he popped the question in our hotel room and thus made clear why he had been acting like a loon all weekend - I thought he hated Paris - apparently he was waiting for the "perfect" moment. However too many tourists scuppered his original plans hence his moody "grrrr there's too many people" grumbles uttered at every landmark!

Me? I think it was just the most perfect proposal. For one thing I had no idea what was going on and didn't even understand the question to start with. And for another there was no chance of me dropping the ring off of the Eiffel Tower/down the Champs Elysee...

So this post is for you Mr P for asking me so nicely to be your wife and providing possibly the most gorgeous platinum diamond ring I have ever seen in my entire life.  

But most of all for managing to shock me as hand on heart not in a million years did I think he would propose in Paris but I'm so glad he did as now I have the most amazing memento of a fabulous weekend.  

Au revoir

Lx