Venue - Check!

Whoop Whoop!!! So finally we are all booked for 18th Feb! We found a divine venue, very rustic, chilled and on the beach! They have an awesome menu with traditional African and plaas kos which is what I love and I am sure everyone else will too, no shortage of food options here!

We are so pleased about the venue! We wanted to be on the beach and seriously, you cant get any closer than this. It ticks all the right boxes for us, Ash and I are not the kind of people that want all the bells and whistles that come with an over the top wedding! Don't get me wrong, we have been to some amazing weddings over the past few years and my eyes get all sparkly when I see the amazing decor, however, for my big day! I want every one to be relaxed and have a great time, in flip flops and board short if they wish, and this is the exact venue for it!

I have also done my wedding page on http://www.weddingssa.co.za/ with most of the details updated, I feel bad about not having children at my wedding, other than my gorgeous Gabriella, but I want the day to be stress free for all our guests, they shouldn't have to worry about their kids! Am I a complete cow for not allowing guests to bring their children? Please give me feedback!

I have also been very creative since last week and started my bouquet and all the bridesmaids bouquets, I like them, its different and that's what I am all about!!!

Here are a few pics of the venue, what you think?

Do you still Love me?

Am I the worst blogger or what? Have you missed me at all? Do you still love me?
I am s sorry I have not blogged for almost 2 MONTHS (eish!) but things have been mad! I had to hold fire on Thailand as the Red Shirt blah blah blah was going on! Seriously, I think they are a little inconsiderate, could they not have waited until after my Wedding? I am a strong believer in "signs" and I think this was 1 of them, so to the utter disappointment of my gorgeous better half, we are now having the wedding closer to home! This means that I have less time to plan as February is the best month to get married here, especially as we will have to have a beach wedding!
Is it selfish of me to be a little excited to be having it here??? I am looking forward to the whole planning thing and mostly the control I will have here, yes, I am a control freak!

We are looking at a divine rustic beach venue up the West Coast next weekend! http://www.boesmanlandfarmkitchen.com/ check it out! Pretty cool me thinks, but don't things always look better on the web? So lets wait and see!

I have also found my wedding dress, I love it! I am pleased it is not sitting in my wardrobe right now as I know I will wear it every day, Ashley will come home and I will be sitting watching movies in my wedding dress, a real "FRIENDS" moment! We also ordered Ashleys wedding ring, was weird seeing him with a ring on his finger, somehow made it so much more real!

I have been searching the web for loads of DIY wedding ideas and have found so many, there are some amazing bloggers out there with some awesome ideas (me excluded)http://feelingfuzzy.blogspot.com/ has given me an awesome idea for some bridesmaids bouquets that cost me R1.50!!! Seriously! Also check out http://ruffledblog.com, all I can say to this site is WOW! I have spent most of my day going through the posts and they have given me amazing ideas for centre pieces and anything else DIY! I feel so inspired today that I just want to get planning!!!

We have sorted out the guest list, this was real difficult and I know there will be a few very upset people out there, we are on a seriously tight budget and the sacrifice we are making at having guests at our wedding is major! We forfeit a honeymoon (Ash hates me right now)just so we can have some friends and family sharing the day with us! We have limited ourselves to 60 people..... not very many I know but that's the way the cookie crumbles I am afraid! We have been harsh I tell you!

On another note my bridesmaid (you know the one who wasn't getting on with the maid of honour?) well we have kind of gone separate ways, heart breaking but at a stressful time like this, the last thing I need is someone bringing me down, was a difficult choice to make and some harsh words were said, but I guess everything happens for a reason!

I am really looking forward to seeing my family and I am hoping my big sis and Mother will be coming down a bit earlier to help with all the nitty gritty towards the end........ (this is a hint by the way) I have my sisters, my niece and my oldest friend as my wedding party and I want them to be in awesome dresses, maxi dresses and all different to each other, super chilled! I am also thinking karaoke! I am a sucker for a bit of a sing song after a few vinos! I also wanted a photo booth for guests but not at the price they are asking, so maybe a Polaroid???? I have so many ideas that my mind is racing at 100mph, I love it! I know its early stages but I love planning more than anything, I used to work for an Events company and as stressful as it was I thrived on it (the control freak coming out of me!)

As much as I would love to carry on with all the news and ideas I have in my head, I really should get back to work!
So adios amigos, love you long time!

PS. We have another new member added to our family! Seba aka Big Bear, he is a 4 year Old Labrador, him and Bella aka Terrorist love eachother to death!

"Holiday, Celebrate"

So we took a holiday!
I Booked 2 extra days off from work over the Easter Weekend, packed the car and drove to Jeffrey's Bay, the guys surfed and the girls shopped! Was a divine weekend! To be honest I really didn't want to come home! Every time Ashley and myself go to the Eastern Cape it steals bits of my heart and I get heartbroken leaving! 1 Day we will pack up ship and head that way, its relaxed, the people are amazing and there doesn't seem to be any issues! I felt so safe! Sleeping with the doors open listening to the ocean was just mind blowing!

Bella the Bassador also had an amazing time! The drive up however was not too great for my friend Leanne as she shared the backseat with a very excited 6 month old and us having to stop as much as possible for her to make a putty which she never did until we got to a beach! Bella is now a professional aqua turd'r!! Nice! When we finally got to J Bay she was in seventh heaven! Found many boyfriends for herself and ran like a mad woman in the rocks and on the beach, so much so that her poor paws were split but it never stopped her! She was also a hit with all the gorgeous men on the beach! Well Done my girl!

We stayed at a divine place called Lorna's Lodge that is on the beach and we got a very nice surprise when we arrived, they had revamped the house from the last time we where there! Looks great! Well Done Tara! I was surrounded with great company the whole weekend and it made the whole trip so worth while! If only we could do that every weekend!!!

Now its back to reality for me, me no likey!!!

On a positive! I am waiting patiently for Thailand flights to open until all can be finalised! I am bursting to get it all done! Railay Bay resort has been amazing and Timmy has been so helpful! Putting packages together for us to suit our budget! I will be having fire dancers and all!!! So exciting!!!!

I have my first driving lesson today with a new instructor, I have my test on Tuesday and I am not at all confident! I have never had the need to drive when I was younger and living in the UK because the public transport is AMAZING, however here in SA, public transport doesn't really exist! So please send lots of positive vibes my way and hopefully I finally pass my drivers!

Love to you all xxxx

Bella the Bassador

Here is a pic of the worst guard dog (Jeremy Clarkson voice here) IN THE WORLD! However she is too gorgeous for words and brings us allot of joy and entertainment! We are thinking of getting a Golden Retriever and found 1 that is looking for a new home, so hopefully soon she will have a brother to entertain her! These photos are pretty deseptive, she looks like a Lab but has very short legs and a long body! Very cute!

Did you miss me?

Did you miss me? Its been a few days since I blogged, I am so sorry!
As mentioned previously, I went to try on my first wedding dress, hhhmmmm, how can I say this in the nicest possible way????? I DO NOT LOOK GOOD IN A WEDDING DRESS!!! All the pleasures of take aways has not done me any good! So from no on I am going to make a huge effort in eating better and doing some exercise! This is easier said than done! Ashley has the metabolism of a child and can eat everything and anything and still looks like a Greek God! I however left my metabolism behind when I turned 24! I love everything bad and could eat Biltong all day every day, not good! So now is the time to look after myself!! I am not put off by trying on any more dresses though and I look forward to having a whole day of fittings and champagne (I think they try and get you pissed and then sell you the most expensive dress, I am sure that's how it works!)

Thailand plans are coming along nicely! I have decided to spend most of the holiday at the Sunset Beach Resort in Phuket and then plan to spend a few days at Railay Bay Resort and Spa where we will be getting married! I am still waiting on flights to open to get rates but hopefully that can be all sorted next month! Railay Bay resort and Spa have been so helpful and accommodating that I just know we will have an amazing time there! I am provisionally looking at 25th March 2011, we would like to get married on the 2nd April 2011, which means that our anniversary will always be over a long weekend and we always go away for that! Whoo hoo for long weekends!
I am still collecting lots of brooches for my bouquet and I am sure its going to look out of this world! As soon as we are all booked up then my invites will go out to all!

On a crappy note!!! We have had 2 attempted breakin's at our house in the last 4 days! Seriously not cool! 4am This morning was the most recent and I actually saw the 2 shits running towards the house from our front garden, we are all fine, however I don't think my PJ's made it through the tragic event! We have a furry family member Bella who is a Bassador (Labrador and Basset Hound mixed) she is totally gorgeous and very spoilt, however the worst guard dog (insert Jeremy Clarkson voice here) IN THE WORLD!!!! Luckily all the neighbours have seriously vicious dogs so they warned us in good time! Very surprisingly the SAPS were there in 2 minutes and were very helpful! Thanks Boys, you may have restored my faith in you, for the time being any way!
We have Easter weekend this weekend and I have decided to take 2 extra days off from work so I have a majorly long weekend ahead of me! We have all decided we are going to the Eastern Cape to the legendary surf spot that is Jeffrey's Bay, so the men can surf till their hearts content and the ladies can shop till they drop! So excited I could wee a little!
So for now all you beautiful people I will ask you all 1 favour....... stay beautiful
Adios!

So Happy Excited!!!

Well, my last few posts have been a bit, hmm, how do I put this? Depro!! So on a very positive note........ Thailand plans are coming together slowly but surely! I am pretty set on Sunset Beach resort as it is near the hustle and bustle but far enough so you can at least have a good nights sleep! I have heard wonderful reviews on it from close friends, its always nicer when some one recommends somewhere! However, this is not where we will be having the wedding, I still need to find that spot! I found a gorgeous resort in Railay to get married at right on the beach, even in the bloody water if I want it to be, waiting on rates to come back but the reviews I have found on the web have not been amazing, in fact very mixed!! So will keep you updated on the actual Wedding venue!!

On an even better note........................... I am going to try on my very first wedding dress!!! I wanted to have 2 made, yes 2!!! 1 For our gathering here and another for Thailand, my Mom recons I should have 1 made in Thailand and take a back up with me just incase! But when I saw this dress I am trying on today on the web, it was calling my name, seriously, "Jen, place your boobies in my princess cut, come on! You know you want to!" Its a princess cut (for the boys who are reading,m a princess cut is when it makes like a top of a heart shape by your boobies) and as most of you know! I love my Boobies (all real, thank you very much) and any dress that will show off how amazing they are (yes! Blowing my own trumpet!) the better! So Off I go in 30 min to try it on! I am so excited I actually have butterflies in my tummy!

I will let you all know how it goes, for the mean time though, here are my first options of dresses that I want made! 1 Word AWESOME!!!

MWHA to you all xxxxxxxxx

Not good news

So unfortunately It does not look good for the little puppy we rescued! She has very advanced tick bite fever and as she is so weak it looks doubtful she will last! However at least she had 1 night of yummy food, a good clean, warm bed, toys and lots of love!

Something like this could have been prevented! Please support local organisations! Even if you donate R1 or a bag of food! Every little helps!

Hopefully my next post will be a little more uplifting!
Laters! xx