- The Dress!

4-week deadline...

... to find the dress!

After a week or so telling our friends and family the good news, when I got back to London I bought a bridal magazine to commence the dress hunt.   I kept reading the same thing in the magazine: ''Your dress will take 4-6 months to make'' .....ermmmmm, what?!  I don't have this amount of time!  I have 4 weeks left in the UK and I'm going to the Middle-East, where my (Western)  style of dress will not be easily found, what if I never find one there? what if I can't afford it? Who will fit my dress? What if, what if, what if - yup, panic set in.

Working in Mayfair meant I saw lots of lovely designer dresses, reminding me daily that this is something I simply cannot ignore!  My dear friend N, who also works in Mayfair suggested a post-work catch up.  I told her my amazing news and then talked, and talked, and talked about my new stress: sourcing a wedding dress.  After, what seemed like a long time to be talking someone's head off, N nipped to the loo - probably desperate to run away from my verbal diarrhoea ha-ha, and she came back, sat down and just like an angel sent from the wedding dress gods said: 

''So!  When do you want to meet my mum?'' .... 

I said ''huh?''

''To help find you a wedding dress, she owns a wedding dress shop remember?!!!''

Of-course!!! How on earth could I forget? So consumed with worry, I forgot N's mummy has been in the wedding industry for years! My response was ''tomorrow!'' And with that we set up a date and time to go wedding dress shopping!! 

A few days later (yes, that quickly) I took my mum, sister to N's family wedding dress boutique in Edgware, where we met with N and her mum, Chris.

Chris asked: So, what dress do you want? ..... 16 dresses and 4.5 hours later , I found my perfect wedding dress.  It was not the same colour, style or design that I thought I wanted and that is where Chris's excellent skill lies.  You tell her what you want, she picks it out from the rack (of 100's of dresses) and you try it on.  Chris will then kindly offer her opinion and if you did pick the correct style for your body, colour for your skin tone and hair colour then you are a genius, but 99% of the time, unknowingly to us, we don't pick the right dress, but luckily for me, I had Chris's expertise on hand and I trust her 110% .

Along with a dress, we tried on different veils, again we found the perfect one to go with the dress.

Once dressed and ready to go, Chris turned around and said to me I’m not letting you buy this now, go home and think about it and phone me in a couple of days.... 12-hours later I woke up and text Chris and N, ''keep the dress, I still love it!''.  

I then went back with my dear friend V to collect the dress.  V sadly cannot come to my wedding, so I tried on the dress again and she kindly took photos of me.  

We left the shop and headed home with one, brand new Kate Sherford dress in tow.

Love,

International Bride 

xoxo

Notes:

Not only because Chris is the mother to a dear friend of mine, but also because of her experience and skills,  that I recommend you contact her.  Chris has three shops, the addresses you will find on her website below.  Chris sells beautiful dresses which you can buy and take away the same day - if you're allowed ! If you want a special dress, for less than £1,000- no that isn't a typo - and seek non-pushy, expert advice then visit Chris.  

Her website is: http://www.aisle-altar-hymn.co.uk/

- Once upon a time...

''Will You Marry Me? ...."

''.....Yes!''

21st December 2012, I was a very lucky girl because it was on this date that my wonderful boyfriend became by fiancée!   And here is my proposal ring....... the engagement ring is yet to be decided! 

Some people say that having a long-distance relationship never works, but I am about to prove you wrong, and here’s why.....

Taking a few steps back and to set the scene:  

I first met this wonderful human being around three to four years ago, and at the first sight of J,  I was instantly attracted to him - he had it all: he spoke well, had an amazing smile, an addictive sense of humor and of course, being from Trinidad, he was very charming indeed.  

We were both friends with the same couple, but had only now met one another; the girl, V, I worked with, and the boy, N, was J's friend from school. We spoke a little to one another - I was trying to find the right things to say (while playing it cool... ha-ha) but at the same time, I was genuinely lost for words.  I really liked him and so I decided to just enjoy my time in his company and hear what he had to say.

I didn't see again J for a long while, well over a year, not until Notting Hill Carnival.  The same couple we mutually knew, V&N, were going to Chocolate Mas and I joined them for my second year running, bringing along a dear friend of mine, G.  Now, to explain what Chocolate Mas is!!  As an extreme chocoholic, an event like this is something you simply cannot turn down.  You are part of a band (group) who walk the carnival in between two trucks: the one at the front supplies the music and the one at the back holds the alcohol and food.  The point of this group is that you walk the carnival while smearing, throwing, rubbing chocolate into your fellow band mates - very messy indeed.   Combine that with alcohol, the sun, music = an amazing time......

Giggling while G takes a pic of me next to J - subtle, eh?

PS: Yes, that is chocolate!! Yum ;)

The girls!  

The end result - G is officially a Chocolate Mas member :)

... I digress.

Anyway, it is here that we re-met and straight away I smiled and told my friend, G, OMG I met this guy a while ago and I really, really like him.  She laughed and decided to spend the rest of the time, threatening to push me into him, getting us close together and so forth - the usual childish things you do... at the age of 28!

While G and V screamed and ran away from me, with my hands cupped together and filled with melting chocolate, along came J - topless and smiling - so naturally I smeared chocolate all-over-him, trying to hide my HUGE grin while doing so! 

We soon got in touch with one another and as they say, the rest is history!  J lived in Qatar (close, right?) while I lived in the grey climbs of London.  We Skyped one another at least 3 times a day, talking for a min of 6 hours about anything and everything.  He flew out to London every two weeks and I then flew to Qatar, and it was on my second trip when he popped the question.  After little deliberation, we decided to get married in Trinidad, July 2013 - 7 months away.

When I returned to London, I quit my job and spent a month preparing for my move to the magical Middle-East......... oh and starting to plan our wedding!

Love,

International Bride

xoxo