CharleyBarley - my new 2014 diary with pics

Ah that is true, our venue with catering is almost double what your entire wedding (or is that a holiday :D) is costing. I really wanted a destination wedding because of the cost aspect but it wouldn't be practical with OH's family.

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WOWSERS! Really? Thats such a lot of money, I do know for sure that we would be looking at £15 - 20k for a wedding in the UK. Don't get me wrong, the holiday (!) aspect wasn't cheap, £7,500 for the holiday and with Upper Class and the Wedding Package and a room upgrade, that's totalled out at £8,900 - but we would rather spend that on a holiday (wedding!) than a wedding - is you know what I mean.

I can only imagine what your NY / Disney honeymoon is going to cost as well? I mean the actual flights and accommodation is fine but its the other stuff on top, the places you are visiting and tickets into various places.

All it boils down to is how you want your own wedding / honeymoon to be - sod what everyone else does and what everyone thinks YOU should do (have there been many people interferring and telling you what they think you should do? - I have had a few people i'm like "you do it your way and I will do it mine")

I just didn't want to get into debt, which is why we are saving really hard now.

xx
 
I've been married forever but I only spent about 1k on the whole thing! Mind it was arranged in less than 6 wks. Registry office. I bought my dress 2 days before, I'd changed my mind about the one I'd bought the week before. Meal for 20 and then disco and buffet in a hotel. Last minute weeks holiday in Italy.
Before you ask no it wasn't a shotgun job lol
 
WOWSERS! Really? Thats such a lot of money, I do know for sure that we would be looking at £15 - 20k for a wedding in the UK. Don't get me wrong, the holiday (!) aspect wasn't cheap, £7,500 for the holiday and with Upper Class and the Wedding Package and a room upgrade, that's totalled out at £8,900 - but we would rather spend that on a holiday (wedding!) than a wedding - is you know what I mean.

I can only imagine what your NY / Disney honeymoon is going to cost as well? I mean the actual flights and accommodation is fine but its the other stuff on top, the places you are visiting and tickets into various places.

All it boils down to is how you want your own wedding / honeymoon to be - sod what everyone else does and what everyone thinks YOU should do (have there been many people interferring and telling you what they think you should do? - I have had a few people i'm like "you do it your way and I will do it mine")

I just didn't want to get into debt, which is why we are saving really hard now.

xx

I've been married forever but I only spent about 1k on the whole thing! Mind it was arranged in less than 6 wks. Registry office. I bought my dress 2 days before, I'd changed my mind about the one I'd bought the week before. Meal for 20 and then disco and buffet in a hotel. Last minute weeks holiday in Italy.
Before you ask no it wasn't a shotgun job lol


We've budgeted £15K for the whole thing (including honeymoon, but not including spending money) and have been saving for almost 4 years. I feel a bit sick writing it out because in all other areas of my life, I try to be as frugal as possible and would probably have loved to get married in a registry office and be done with it. But somehow we've ended up here! I think we both just want a really lovely day that helps us mark a new chapter to our lives. We haven't had it easy getting to this point over the past 8 years, but now we're starting to settle and the future looks good :)

My parents are actually giving us the money for the venue because my dad is very traditional and it should be the brides family that pay to host apparently. However they wouldn't have been able to give us the money if my mum hadn't won some money on the lottery. We were always going to pay for it all ourselves as we didn't want our families to feel obligated to give us money (hence waiting for so long before actually setting a date). The money my parents are giving us we're going to leave to one side and use that as a starting block for the house deposit fund.

Oh and spending money for the honeymoon should be ok: all our food at disney is included and we got a $100 giftcard free when booking to use there so we just have stuff in NYC to pay for which cuts it down quite a bit.

Still feeling sick thinking about how mush its costing but we know we won't be going into debt over it so it's ok (I'll just keep telling myself that!)
 
I think that no matter what it costs all that matters is that you have a day that makes you happy and is everything you've ever dreamt it of being. :)
I think you both have got it figured out perfectly and I'm sure you'll both have the most amazing time that you'll remember for the rest of your lives. I can't wait for more details and pictures. Lots and lots of pictures! :) :) :)
 
Oh wow, thats great - I will let you know what its like. The Virgin Agents that booked our holiday...erm I mean wedding! (I keep forgetting to think of it as our wedding, more a holiday!) were raving about upper class. They said each employee of virgin gets one Upper Class a year so they always choose really far away destinations so they can just make the most of the service! I think it will be a nice way to round off our holiday, damn, wedding!

I would like to travel to India one day. Mick isn't keen, but it is something i would like to experience. I really fancy Sri Lanka.

some of Bobs mates work on Virgin & he said they get treated really well as employees. Indian is fab for culture, sights and food but there is a lot of poverty and if that's going to upset you it's best not to go, personally I can't wait to go back & we will one day. Sri Lanka is wonderful, it's so calm and again wonderful sights and food but far less beggars defo worth going to I want to go back there too!!!!

who will be going to your wedding?
 
I've been married forever but I only spent about 1k on the whole thing! Mind it was arranged in less than 6 wks. Registry office. I bought my dress 2 days before, I'd changed my mind about the one I'd bought the week before. Meal for 20 and then disco and buffet in a hotel. Last minute weeks holiday in Italy.
Before you ask no it wasn't a shotgun job lol

1k? Thats brilliant, when did you get married Stef?
 
We've budgeted £15K for the whole thing (including honeymoon, but not including spending money) and have been saving for almost 4 years. I feel a bit sick writing it out because in all other areas of my life, I try to be as frugal as possible and would probably have loved to get married in a registry office and be done with it. But somehow we've ended up here! I think we both just want a really lovely day that helps us mark a new chapter to our lives. We haven't had it easy getting to this point over the past 8 years, but now we're starting to settle and the future looks good :)

My parents are actually giving us the money for the venue because my dad is very traditional and it should be the brides family that pay to host apparently. However they wouldn't have been able to give us the money if my mum hadn't won some money on the lottery. We were always going to pay for it all ourselves as we didn't want our families to feel obligated to give us money (hence waiting for so long before actually setting a date). The money my parents are giving us we're going to leave to one side and use that as a starting block for the house deposit fund.

Oh and spending money for the honeymoon should be ok: all our food at disney is included and we got a $100 giftcard free when booking to use there so we just have stuff in NYC to pay for which cuts it down quite a bit.

Still feeling sick thinking about how mush its costing but we know we won't be going into debt over it so it's ok (I'll just keep telling myself that!)

Yes, I agree with you there, I keep having freak outs about the sheer volume of money we need to save and what its costing altogether - Mick keeps having to calm me down and remind me that its a once in a lifetime thing (well, twice in his lifetime, but I am not counting that marriage!). We are both putting away a quarter of our monthly salary, which makes things a little tight, but not that tight, more like "shall we get a Nandos for tea?" "No, its £20, lets just buy a chicken and do it ourselves" type of thing. We have temporarily stopped buying birthday pressies and things like that, but then we did spend silly amounts on one another. Last Christmas we spent ridiculous amounts on pressies for one another! I planned on never telling him what I had spend on him as I thought he would go mad, but it was obvious when we stacked our presents up that we had both spent a lot, so we had confession time and admitted it, we both spend just under £500 on each other! So ridiculous. But then we pay into a Xmas Club that my mum organises, so we both had £600 to spend each. This year we will have £1500 between us in the Xmas Club, but thats going straight into the wedding pot. As a family we have all decided not to buy for each other this year, because of the wedding and Mick and I are only going to spend a civil amount too!

We are also helping out some of our friends and family members on the quiet so they are able to come without getting themselves into debt. We would love to help everyone out as I feel really guilty that we are asking those people we have invited, to spend thousands of pounds just to watch us get married. I shouldnt feel that way about it, but I do feel this great guilt and wonder if we have made the right decision to get married abroad. My parents, for example, sat me down and said "we would really love to give you some money, but we can't afford to do that and come" - they looked so guilty that they couldn't help out! I told them that neither of us expected any money from them anyway! They are both retired, we are both in full time employment - and they have already spent £4,500 on coming to Barbados AND paying for my Nephew to come! That is there way of helping us, by being there.

But this is what we have always both wanted. We have been talking about getting married in Barbados since the very early days of our relationship. I think, especially when you are older, you realise that you need to do things your way, rather than what everyone else thinks you should do - I think when you are pushed into doing things when you are younger, you regret not doing it your way.

Stef is right, no matter what it costs all that matters is that we have our day and we get what we need out of it. Our Wedding is going to be great, but our pre and post Honeymoon is what we are really looking forward to, celebrating with all of our family and a few of our closest friends.

There will be lots and lots of pictures!!!!!
 
some of Bobs mates work on Virgin & he said they get treated really well as employees. Indian is fab for culture, sights and food but there is a lot of poverty and if that's going to upset you it's best not to go, personally I can't wait to go back & we will one day. Sri Lanka is wonderful, it's so calm and again wonderful sights and food but far less beggars defo worth going to I want to go back there too!!!!

who will be going to your wedding?

Oh they do, apparently Richard B has a party every year and invites EVERYONE that works for him! Amazing really.

Yes, thats the thing about India, I would really struggle to cope with seeing people struggling to survive, whatever you give to them can never be enough can it? I would find it very upsetting.

So far we have all of my family (Mum, Dad, Brother and his family, Sister and Bro in Law) Micks family (Mum, Dad, his 2 brothers and 1 sister and their families) my bestie, Cara and Lee and their not yet born but due yesterday, baby!, Mick's best man (who is a woman!) and her family, two of my friends and their other halves and Mick has about 3 of his friends and their families - also joining will be a few of Mick's Bajan Uncles and Aunts. We have around 45 people - but I don't imagine everyone who has said yes will end up going. The flights and accommodation will be really expensive, especially for our friends and their families to fork out. .. To be honest Michelle, as much as we love the friends we have invited, as long as our family and best man and Cara are there, we will be happy.

We are supposed to be having a big party on our return but I don't really want one! I know it sounds awful, but I just wanted a nice quiet low key wedding and no party! I don't know why, because I love a wedding and a party I am usually the first one up dancing and the last to leave, but only if its someone else's.

We will see, Mick is more up for it than me and he thinks we SHOULD have it for our friends and family who didn't make it to Barbs (which is about 150 - 200 people!)
 
I never posted yesterday's eats:

B - Boiled Egg and Tomato in a WW Petit Pain with LCL spread (1)

image-3842824672.jpg



S - Banana and Nectarine

L - Chickpea Dahl Loaf and Salad (2) for dressing (no pic, but it was the same as Wednesday)

S - Shape Pineapple and Coconut Yog, Grapes

D - Garlic Mushroom and Blue Cheese Spaghetti (HEA) and Parmesan on the top (part HEA, the other part in 3 coffees during the day) - I did cut up a Quorn Peppered Steak into it, but it tasted grrrrrosss so I picked it out.


image-888700320.jpg


S - Orange, Chocolate and Coconut Ski Mousse (4.5) and HiFi Rocky Road (HEB)

Syns: 7.5

It really felt like a full up and decadent day, to be honest I really thought I had spent more syns than that! I am so far really enjoying my first official week. I really hope I lose on Tuesday.

Today's menu is:

B - Same as yesterday (HEB)+(1) S - Banana and Grapes

L - Jacket Potato and Spaghetti Hoops with Cheese and side salad (HEA) S - Nectarine

D - Quorn Lasagne (10.5) and with cheesy garlic bread (HEA+B) - this is the big boy, I have been looking forward to. I saw it in Tesco the other day, its a whopper but its only 10.5 syns for the lot.

Mick is out and I wanted a treat, but I wanted to stay on plan, this is perfect. I haven't had a ready made lasagne for years, Mick has them from Tesco all the time and although I turn my nose up at it, I secretly want to dig in!

I don't have a great track record with most things Quorn, in fact the only thing I like are the nuggets, I have tried the burgers and saussies and meatballs and mince, all very disappointing. But I will keep trying and this is the tester tonight, it may all end up going in the bin, but I hope not, I have high hopes!
The cheesy garlic bread will be a WW petit pain (I love these things!), baked and then rubbed with a clove, sprayed with oil and then grated cheese and grilled.

Syns expected: 11.5

I have a strange feeling today, usually on a Friday I feel the diet straps loosen because I used to WI on a Friday, and I usually treat myself today and tomorrow. Now my new WI is Tuesday, I thought I would wake up today feeling miserable that I cant treat (read: cheat) myself, but I haven't, it just feels like a regular day on plan. PLEASE god let me feel this way tomorrow, I really need to try and keep a lid on the BBQ food, its not the meat, its the chips and dips and booze....
 
Oh my ......

Before:


image-2841800841.jpg


After:


image-3799543681.jpg


Syn: 10.5 for lasagne and 1 for dressing.

I am perfectly sated!
 
Hi charley nice to be reading about the plans for your wedding you must be excited. Good luck on your first week back at group and hope you get a loss that quorn lasagne looks yum I hate sloppy lasagne. Hope you are well X

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Hi charley nice to be reading about the plans for your wedding you must be excited. Good luck on your first week back at group and hope you get a loss that quorn lasagne looks yum I hate sloppy lasagne. Hope you are well X

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Hey Sugar

Nice to hear from you. How are you getting on with everything.

Thanks, I really enjoyed the lasagne, although it was a little sloppy, but then again i have kind of missed the sloppiness of a ready meal lasagne! I will definitely get it again and have next time i have a spare 10.5 syns.

I hope you are well love xx
 
The pub in Ireland is The Harbour Inn, Bray, the best pub in the world!!!!!


Thanks for that, i actually did look into flights from our local airport but they dont fly to Dublin - I will definitely get there one day, maybe go for a weekend sometime next year. xxx
 
Hope your family gathering went well hun :) x

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Thanks, it was really lovely. Sadly two of Mick's family members couldnt make it, which was really disappointing and we now have a crap load of food leftover!

I was off plan yesterday and have been off plan today! I am not very happy with myself for not sticking to it for the 1st week back at SW, but I am not going to beat myself up about it.

Tomorrow is a new day and I am going to re-start my Focus T25 DVDs too, so for the next 10 weeks its going to be 6am starts to my day!

I hope you have had a lovely weekend.


xxx
 
Hey Sugar

Nice to hear from you. How are you getting on with everything.

Thanks, I really enjoyed the lasagne, although it was a little sloppy, but then again i have kind of missed the sloppiness of a ready meal lasagne! I will definitely get it again and have next time i have a spare 10.5 syns.

I hope you are well love xx

Hi hun I'm not too bad stressed as we have moved house. I'm not getting on with diet atm but I will get back to it. No cooker atm so micro meals it is. Lol. How are you xx

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Thanks, it was really lovely. Sadly two of Mick's family members couldnt make it, which was really disappointing and we now have a crap load of food leftover!

I was off plan yesterday and have been off plan today! I am not very happy with myself for not sticking to it for the 1st week back at SW, but I am not going to beat myself up about it.

Tomorrow is a new day and I am going to re-start my Focus T25 DVDs too, so for the next 10 weeks its going to be 6am starts to my day!

I hope you have had a lovely weekend.


xxx

Sounds like a lovely weekend. I'm sure the exercise will negate any of the off-plan food.
 
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