I went to look for my wedding outfit on Saturday. I want an outfit that will tone in with the theme, be smart and not get lost among the beautiful bridesmaids and stunning bride. At first i thought of purple, but I would end up getting lost among everyone else, being a bit vertically challenged. So as long as it didn’t clash went with no particular idea of colour.
I called in at The Collection, in Workington, just to see what they had and had a lovely experience! The two ladies there had a chat, and found lot of different styles for me to try on. I am a bit limited in that I am a size 8 and quite a small size 8, and collections for older ladies seem to be more aimed at larger sizes. However there were still about 6 different outfits for me to try in my size.

There was a lovely pink floaty outfit with a corset style top and a jacket, but I felt that was a bit informal. I tried a Chanel style outfit but to me it looked a bit dated, rather Queen Motherish. Then there was a grey silk dress with a floaty stole that looked elegant except it showed up the only plump part about me – my stomach.
By this time I had the two ladies in the shop commenting and adding accessories, pinning this in, draping that. Other customers were getting involved and telling me how it looked. I was tottering around on stunning silver heels, other half was taking photos, coffee was brought out to keep his spirits up as he had to go and keep re- parking the car.
Eventually I settled on a grey silk suit, and I was sat down with a cup of tea while we negotiated the price. It isn’t cheap, but it is being altered slightly, the buttons moved to make the Audrey Hepburn style jacket a better fit and the top straps altered. I am also hiring a stunning fascinator which will be boxed up for me a week before the wedding.
I had excellent personal service, and was never pressurised . It was helpful when the other customer gave her opinion, as she agreed with us! I won’t look like Audrey Hepburn (my style icon) but hopefully I will look smart leading Sadie down the aisle.

My first task ,after booking the venue, is to find some excellent wines and champagnes for the reception. We are planning a trip to France, where we have a mobile home, and I intend to test as much of the champagne as I can. We have a couple of bottles of Veuve Clicquot which we can taste before we go, but I have absoulutely no idea what other champagnes there are available.We are expecting to have to buy quite a few bottles, about half a bottle per guest, so bringing it back from France, the home of Champagne, seems the cheapest option. we are going at Easter, so think of me, trawling the vineyards, testing Champagne. It’s a hard job, but I have to do it, as John will be driving.

When I have sorted the Champagne, I’ll have to start on the red wine. The things I do for my daughter.