We quickly wolfed down the sandwiches mum had brought with us from home as we drove up the long winding driveway back to the Atholl Palace.
It was pretty busy and we could see lots of tantalizing stalls through the many windows of the Atholl suite where our reception will be held. I was getting so excited to be back and indulging in all things wedding - especially as we were about to hit the 1 year to go mark - I was practically jumping up and down.
I'd come prepared - armed with a heavy bag of bridal magazines and venue brochures to show examples of things I liked to suppliers. Gerard had brought his tablet to take notes on a spreadsheet document but he had left it in the car. He ran back to get it as myself, Mum and Dad noticed a very swish looking car (a Rolls Royce) decked out with a ribbon parked in front of the main entrance. Dad being Dad headed straight to it and had a good look around. I loved it and Mum pointed out that it matched the colour of the sapphires in my engagement ring. We all decided to find out which supplier it belonged to and to consider booking it. One thing ticked off the list and we hadn't even set foot inside yet.
As we arrived there we were offered a glass of sparkling wine. Gerard then caught up with us and asked if we'd seen the car outside - it had caught his eye too.
Within a few minutes we were talking to a florist who had set up an amazing display in front of the veranda restaurant. I discussed my ideas for flowers and she explained how her consultations would work and showed me some pictures of her work - also showing us a few more affordable options within our colour scheme for us to consider. She was offering a 10% discount if we booked that day so there went our first deposit.
Next on our to-do list was to meet the band we had tentatively booked beforehand. As it so happened they were set up right next to us and were just about to start playing. They were fab and we were able to book them properly. Looking forward to everyone getting up and dancing at our evening reception.
We made the most of all the tasters that were on offer at the different stalls: lovely shortbread at the tea station, wedding cakes and ice cream from the old fashioned cart that could be hired to attend the day.We were all swept up in the excitement and very keen to book this cart, but we realised it would have been an impulse purchase so we agreed to think about it closer to the time. The ice cream was delicious though.
Gerard and dad found a stall allowing wine tasting of some of the wines that we could choose to have with our meal. Gerard brought me over a glass of red wine and white wine to taste - telling me this was what they had chosen. The red was fine, but I wasn't terribly bothered by it as I will not be letting red wine get anywhere near me in a wedding dress. I hated the white wine and had an almost bridezilla moment. Luckily there were others to choose from and the next one (I think it was a chenin blanc) was very pleasant. We may need to taste them again when we do the menu tasting nearer to the time.
I managed to lose Gerard for a little while, deliberately of course, because I had spotted a stall stocking wedding dresses by the same designer as mine and I was desperately trying to persuade someone to measure me for my dress so I could then send my measurements to Karen who was going to order the dress for me. Unlike the London shop, who wouldn't take measurements unless I gave them a deposit, these ladies were only too happy to help. One of them led me into a quiet room and then wrote the measurements down on an order sheet for me and told me the size she would recommend I get. When I got back to the stall I spotted their small rail of sample bridesmaid dresses - one of which was in a gorgeous colour. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this was in fact the colour I had been looking at online on the Dessy website. It was good to see it was as nice in reality, although I'm still yet to have any of my bridesmaids try the dresses on.
I'd come prepared - armed with a heavy bag of bridal magazines and venue brochures to show examples of things I liked to suppliers. Gerard had brought his tablet to take notes on a spreadsheet document but he had left it in the car. He ran back to get it as myself, Mum and Dad noticed a very swish looking car (a Rolls Royce) decked out with a ribbon parked in front of the main entrance. Dad being Dad headed straight to it and had a good look around. I loved it and Mum pointed out that it matched the colour of the sapphires in my engagement ring. We all decided to find out which supplier it belonged to and to consider booking it. One thing ticked off the list and we hadn't even set foot inside yet.
As we arrived there we were offered a glass of sparkling wine. Gerard then caught up with us and asked if we'd seen the car outside - it had caught his eye too.
Within a few minutes we were talking to a florist who had set up an amazing display in front of the veranda restaurant. I discussed my ideas for flowers and she explained how her consultations would work and showed me some pictures of her work - also showing us a few more affordable options within our colour scheme for us to consider. She was offering a 10% discount if we booked that day so there went our first deposit.
Next on our to-do list was to meet the band we had tentatively booked beforehand. As it so happened they were set up right next to us and were just about to start playing. They were fab and we were able to book them properly. Looking forward to everyone getting up and dancing at our evening reception.
We made the most of all the tasters that were on offer at the different stalls: lovely shortbread at the tea station, wedding cakes and ice cream from the old fashioned cart that could be hired to attend the day.We were all swept up in the excitement and very keen to book this cart, but we realised it would have been an impulse purchase so we agreed to think about it closer to the time. The ice cream was delicious though.
I managed to lose Gerard for a little while, deliberately of course, because I had spotted a stall stocking wedding dresses by the same designer as mine and I was desperately trying to persuade someone to measure me for my dress so I could then send my measurements to Karen who was going to order the dress for me. Unlike the London shop, who wouldn't take measurements unless I gave them a deposit, these ladies were only too happy to help. One of them led me into a quiet room and then wrote the measurements down on an order sheet for me and told me the size she would recommend I get. When I got back to the stall I spotted their small rail of sample bridesmaid dresses - one of which was in a gorgeous colour. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this was in fact the colour I had been looking at online on the Dessy website. It was good to see it was as nice in reality, although I'm still yet to have any of my bridesmaids try the dresses on.
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