MY, OH MY...

So it's been more than a month since I updated this. I apologise- so, in order to play catch up quickly and not to ramble too much, I shall be recounting what happened every week rather than every day…

Week One- 12th June to 19th June

Meher went to London to attend a Welcome Night for her Masters :) I don't know how Meher managed to apply and get accepted whilst planning a wedding. Only she could. We're all very excited and proud of her <3 <3 <3 <3
she will be gone for the weekend and get back in a few days.

Also, every year, my Aunt and her family spend their summer holidays with us. This year, because of Ramadan, they won't be able to stay for longer than a couple of weeks but my Aunt will come back for the wedding in August..

On the 19th- the day my Aunt arrived, I took Lauren, Lynsey, Freya and Kat to get dresses for the reception. They couldn't believe their eyes- or their stomachs- we went for dinner afterwards ;) I hope they're all happy with their purchases and as we all left with our purses considerably lighter, there was a  happy and content feeling in the air- mostly due to the food. :P

(50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43)

Week Two- 20th June to 27th June

This week was spent opening and reading all the lovely RSVP cards we received. It's Ayesha's job to collect all these cards and notes and paste them into an album Mum got for Meher and Carl's wedding as a memento.. The postman must think we are crazy- not only are we getting a shed load of 2-D mail, but we have been receiving many packages as well- countless items and objects "WE HAVE TO HAVE AT THE WEDDING" which I hope won't be forgotten on the day(s) including garlands of fake flowers, fake petals and crystals for table setting, and fairy lights. Also, it seems Mother Dear has taken it upon her self to buy all of Ayrshire's stock of garden plants. Douglas (our gardener) and Mother Dear have been planting plants left, right and centre…
Another thing that came by post this week was Emma's present- it's her birthday on the 25th and she's hosting a soiree on the 27th :) It'll be nice to let my hair down ;)

(42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35)

Week Three- 28th June to 5th July

My friend Mairi is leaving Scotland and moving to NORWAY!! Tonight (28th) is her leaving party and I made her a little elephant as a keep sake. Photos will be up soon on my art blog.

And this week has other big news- the ENTIRE Nur family is going on holiday… together… for the first time in over a DECADE. Two out of three of our visiting cousins will be coming with us too :) All of Sunday (29th) was spent packing for our week away :) We have booked a Centre Parcs Getaway and that's exactly what it turned out to be - a perfect getaway to escape the mounting tension of planning the wedding. We only went for five days but it was fabulous. Everyone there was lovely and so accommodating for Jeju's needs- she loved the swimming pool! Unfortunately on the last night, both Jeju and I were extremely unwell and spent lots of time bringing up all the food we ate during our time at Centre Parcs. Thank God it happened on the last night we were there and not the first!

(34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27)

Week four- 6th July to 13th July

The 4th was our last day in Centre Parcs- we left on the 5th… Spending almost an entire week without phone signal can be tricky when there are so many of us who was to do different things and need to stay in touch to meet up again but somehow we survived :P we came crashing back down to reality on the 5th as we travelled back to Maybole- we stopped at Gretna to meet up with my Aunt, Uncle and third cousin to swap over children and suitcases. My Aunt and her family drove down to London after we met up with them and then flew back to Pakistan. Next time we see my Aunt, the wedding days will be upon us!

Once we got back home to reality, Father Dear reminded Meher to get the paper work for the wedding sent off. We went in to Ayr to take them to the county buildings but they informed us that since the wedding will be taking place in Glasgow, we will have to take all the paper work to the Glasgow office. Sigghhhhhh… More trips to Glasgow. No paperwork, no wedding- and so Meher set off to get it all done early next morning but her train was delayed an HOUR! Our poor bride-to-be reached the Office in time for her new appointment and everything is settled. Let's hope we're not late for the actual ceremony...

This week also woke me up to all the work I still have to finish for a client! I contacted her and found out my next deadline and have been making work ever since.. or trying to find time and space enough to do so. Between re-arranging all the rooms every three or four days for guests, and planning the wedding of the year, it's been difficult to sit down and create ground-breaking work. But i'll try.

On the 11th, I FINALLY got to see the inside of Ayr Racecourse, Princess Suite- where the reception will take place. WOW. IT'S AMAZING. I got chills when I saw the space and couldn't wait to see it on the day. The caterer, who is also in charge of decor, gave us all the information about how the space will be set up, where the guests will arrive from, where the bride and groom parties will get ready etc. etc. and everything started to fall into place. I suddenly found myself hyperventilating as I realised two things-
1. The wedding is really close now
2. The Princess Suite is too big a space and I won't be able to do all the running around in heels and I'll have to re-think my shoes.

12th June- We took MORE people to the Asian shops today, including Kathryn and Lauren, who had to pick up their dresses, Dawn, who wanted to get one and Mark who became the first (and only) Non-Asain male friend to buy clothes from the Asian side of Glasgow. We got many odd looks in "Laali Fashion" - where we went to choose Mark's clothes. Maybe it was because I'd brought in four Non-Pakistani friends, two of whom were male. Or perhaps, it was due to the fact that Mark, un-elasticated trousers fell down in front of a few people as he modelled them in front of his friends. Whatever the case, we had a ball and later we all went for dinner. As everyone went their separate ways, Meher, Ayesha and I went to see the caterer/decorator at his warehouse to choose our decorations for both events. It's tiring work and we got back at 10.30 pm. Everything is organised and we couldn't be happier.
All that is left is confirming the DJ and meeting with the photographer.

Remember our original list? CLOTHES, CAKE, CATERER, CALLAWI… well we can tick off ALL of these items on the list. It feels good :)

(26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19)


NINETEEN DAYS??? WHAT.