A non-guidey guide from a newly married bride

As many of you know, at the end of last year we were following Leigh as our 'soon to be bride' in her monthly blogs chatting about all things weddings, the highs and lows of wedding planning and passing on her tips for other brides to be. December saw Leigh marry her man so this is her return blog as a "Mrs", she made it to the other side!

A non guidey guide from a just married bride...

Well Hello. I’m back (just very briefly) writing from the other side. It happened. We made it. I survived. I’ll get this out of my system now…It’s THE BEST DAY EVER! The actual best, the rumours are true. If you are yet to be wed- I envy you, you’re in for a real treat!

Your wedding is like nothing else ever. It’s an exquisite cocktail of wonderful things- jam packed into not enough hours. (You won’t want it to end and this may end up with you fighting to keep your eyes open at 3am in the hotel bar). It’s everything in a day, and whilst I could use a million adjectives to paint a picture I have to summarise with this one word- it’s surreal.

In many ways your wedding day is ultimately the grand finale, the conclusion of the whole experience- from proposal to unwelcome hangover the morning after. That morning after, awake for only a few minutes and having already whizzed through the previous day in my head at least twice, offered one of the most poignant moments of all. That morning, dry mouthed and swollen footed I glanced over at my still sleeping husband and for a brief moment wondered if any of it had really happened at all? However the floor, displaying an unorganised yet almost artistic arrangement of discarded accessories and clothing confirmed it. Oh and my dress- there you are! Twenty-four hours earlier so beautifully hung and steamed to perfection, my beloved dress was now sprawled across the carpet, but quite happily so- almost as if to say ‘we’re good. My job is done’. This poignant moment was of complete contentment, overwhelming gratitude and sheer happiness. And yes there was also a long, deep sigh of relief, and a distinct sense of achievement too [husband and wife high five moment]. We nailed it. And the best thing? We genuinely wouldn’t have changed anything. Nothing at all.

And now here I am, sat back on my green chesterfield planning the next adventure- the honeymoon. Oh, a snippet of advice - if like us you are planning a delayed honeymoon, a ‘minimoon’ is the best idea. The thing is, once your wedding has come and gone, (arriving with no invitation) you may get a brief visit from the ‘wedding blues’. If a ‘minimoon’ isn’t doable, I suggest making other plans to look forward to instead. For us, a welcome escape to Venice for a few days was just what the doctor ordered, and the perfect way to reminisce the magnificent blur of the previous few days.

Before we part ways, allow me to share just a couple of pieces of advice with you. Firstly I must credit our wonderful photographer Rich, who on every occasion that we spoke prior to the day itself, reminded us to take a few moments out throughout the day to actually ‘see’ everything that was going on. That makes more sense in the moment - trust me. It’s so true though, there is so much to see, do and say, that it’s easy to miss what is actually going on around you. The best thing is to step back as a pair and soak in the atmosphere, see your guests having fun and enjoying the wine that you took days to decide upon, (it’s such a chore sampling wine but somebody had to do it!) see the details of your cake, the beauty of your venue and most of all, your wedded other- looking pretty darn fine!

And finally… dare I say it? Yes I dare. Things might not be completely and utterly exactly how you’d imagined. Allow yourself to accept a few ‘day before’ and even ‘on the day’ tweaks. Prepare for a mishap or two! In fact, embrace it. I now know very well that a fine, sheer veil doesn’t bode brilliantly with a wooden floor and its glorious splinters. Just smile and glide and be thankful for the memories!

Your wedding will be imperfectly perfect.

Enjoy!

Leigh x

So there we have it. Our first 'bride to be' on the other side - starting life as a wife and trying to shift those wedding blues. We have absolutely loved Leigh's tips and advice as she shared her planning story with us all.

Enjoy married life Leigh - it's the best. The icing on the top after a wonderful journey from Fiance to Wife.