***Long overdue - REPORT - Soon 2 b Mrs McLean***

Friday 25 May

Phone call from MIL at 8.20am (waking us up 40 minutes before the alarm was set for may I add), asking OH to take a saw over to his dad and help him with laying wooden flooring!!! I was a bit miffed at this, as we were supposed to be getting organised for our wedding the next day ye know?! Anyway spent the morning tidying the house – myself– I wasn’t coming back to a messy house!OH arrived back to take me to pick up my dress, which was a good job for him or there would have been hell to pay! Anyway, I picked up my dress at 10.30 and dropped it off at my mum’s house before going home and organising some bits and bobs.

At 12 o’clock I headed off to meet CBM to have our nails done. I was back at the same salon but this time had my usual beautician and (thank God) she fixed the disaster of a tan for me after doing my nails!! An angel! I then went home and had lunch and a wee drink in the garden with OH (it was roasting hot and far too nice to sit inside), before heading into town to get last minute bits and pieces (including gift bags for the dads cos the ones I bought were too small!) and to pay for our mum’s flowers! After doing that, we headed home again, to sort out all of the gifts etc and delivered the stuff for the venue and all my BMs gifts etc to my mum’s house. Then home again!!! All this toing and froing was making me dizzy! Got the bags packed for staying at our respective parents house that night and a bag for the hotel after the wedding.

All organised, and so it was time for our last job of the day - to pick my mum and two sisters up to go and see the flowers and make any last minute adjustments to them. I panicked in the car as I thought I had left my granny’s eternity ring at home (it was being attached to my bouquet) but I had it in my bag so panic over!! OH dropped us off outside the florist, I was totally calm, gave him a quick kiss and even made a joke about “don’t make me circle the block tomorrow” and off he went.

After approving the flowers we made our way to a Chinese takeaway and picked up dinner. By this point I was starting to feel a bit sicky, but wasn’t sure if it was hunger or nerves – devoured dinner though so I think it was hunger!! After dinner I gave out gifts to my dad (a hip flask for on the day) and my three sisters, I wanted to give them their BM presents separate and privately from the others, they absolutely loved them.

Anyhoo, somewhere during dinner, I remembered I had no PJs and no razor to shave my legs in the morning, quick call to my Granda to take me home (AGAIN) and picked up my stuff. Back to mums, just sat down for 5 minutes and getting all relaxed again until my sister said “have you got a pen for your guestbook?” …….. I didn’t have the flaming guest book never mind a pen! Which also reminded me I didn’t have the cake knife OR the frame for the poem for the sweetie buffet, another jaunt home it was then!! Finally got back to mum’s and settled down for the night about 8pm with a movie and a wee drink, I think I deserved it after all my running about that day! Was nice to just chill out as a family just the six of us, we really don’t do it enough and it was a really nice last night as a Miss!! We all went to bed around 11.30pm. I was sure I wasn’t going to get any sleep especially as I was sharing a bed with my rather excited CBM but sure enough I very quickly drifted off into a very sound sleep indeed!!

Loving this! more more more!

Saturday 26 May – The Big Day!

I woke up about 7am I think. My alarm had been set for 7.30ish but my CBM had gotten up to go to the loo and woke me up. She then came back and started rooting around the bedroom looking for eyedrops. I ignored her, knowing if I spoke to her she wouldn’t let me back to sleep, and I really fancied that extra half hour, but in the end I sat up and asked her what the hell she was looking for at that time in the morning – that was it, my wedding day had begun!

We lay in bed chatting for a short while until my other two sisters came in, eventually my mum popped her head around the door and told us it was time to start getting up and organised, my sisters went off for their showers while I sat downstairs watching telly myself or with my dad, can’t quite remember…I think my mum was cleaning something, she does that when she’s nervous! My mum tried to get me to eat breakfast but I wasn’t hungry.

My two other BMs arrived at 8.30. I gave them their bridesmaid hoodies and their wee gifts which they loved and immediately put the hoodies on to match my sisters. Off they went to the hairdresser. I would really advise future brides to send their BMs off to the salon, it was nice to have a bit of peace and quiet to get ready without them constantly asking me things and getting me more nervous. After they left me and my mum sat chatting and watching telly, before she finally said, right you better get in the shower. I had a quick shower and dried my hair before my cousin arrived to get started on hair and make up. I sat down to get started and my mum popped up to get her shower, she didn’t go earlier cos she didn’t want to leave me on my own, bless!

My hair and make up was just about finished when my BMs came back. We popped some bubbly at that point, my mum made toasties, hot dogs and had bought the most amazing cupcakes – I had half a half of a toastie…..I was beginning to feel sick! My BMs went upstairs to do their make up and since I was all done and my mum was now getting her hair done I pottered about between my BMs upstairs and my cousin and mum in the living room. When my cousin was all finished I gave her a lovely bouquet I had got her to say thanks for doing hair and make up and she got all filled up, which got me a bit filled up, first time of the day. With my hair all done and by BMs getting themselves all organised, I decided to help my littlest sister with her make up – thought I might as well make myself useful!!

The plan was for my two sisters to get me dressed, but in the end I needed all 4 adult bridesmaids. They decided it would be easier to get me ready while they were still in their PJs so as a result I was the first one ready!! While I was putting my dress on I heard my aunt, uncle and wee cousin arrive. My uncle and cousin were ushers and had come to pick up the men’s buttonholes. My uncle has been saying for a year “I hope I don’t cry” and we have been winding him up about it. When I came downstairs though he was the first to go, like proper full on sobbing tears, that set my aunt off and then my mum and then me. We were all just standing in the living room bubbling, it was actually quite a nice moment and I wish someone had captured it on camera. My TOG then arrived and started snapping endless pictures, I actually got a bit fed up with him in the end but the photos turned out to be perfect.

When the car arrived for my BMs they all excitedly piled in, I had a peek out the window and this was the first I had noticed the huge crowd outside, I was mortified but secretly feeling a bit like a celeb! Haha. Next thing we knew my car had arrived, but my mum’s hadn’t – cue the panic. Turns out there had been a delay at the grooms end and the car doing a double run to pick up my mum was still sitting at H’s mums house. I was not amused! Eventually we all got going and I started to get really nervous at this point! The driver left the top down cos it was such a nice day, but no matter how nice a day it is, driving 40mph is going to cause a windswept hairdo, so I spent most of the trip asking my dad if my hair was still ok! On the way there random strangers in the street kept shouting good luck to me, it was really nice and I would never have imagined that would happen!

Meanwhile, hubby and his ushers were having some photos taken at the Church:

We arrived at the Church and……………….everyone was standing outside I just yelled at my driver to keep driving. My ushers weren’t ushering apparently and everyone was still standing outside enjoying the sunshine! So in the end I had to DRIVE AROUND THE BLOCK(!) til they got everyone inside. When we arrived back at the Church we got some more photos took and then headed in. My BMs started down the aisle with my two page boys who were thankfully well enough to join in after having chicken pox the week before and then me and my dad were off. An unbelievable calm came over me at the back of the Church and by the time I got to OH I was nothing except excited and happy. The ceremony went by quite quickly, it’s a bit of a blur. My voice didn’t wobble once when saying the vows which I was chuffed about, kind of forgot there was anyone watching!

this one of me and my dad is one of my faves!!!

After the ceremony we headed off to have some photos taken. It was such a glorious day I didn’t mind the incessant picture taking, and my two wee nephews were having a ball running about the grounds where we had chosen for photos.

a friends little girl giving me a horshoe, her mum told her I was a princess and the excitment from her made me actually feel like a princess!!!

We headed to our venue, it was amazing. Everyone was standing outside again, but this time it was to see us arrive and give us a big cheer, it really was lovely.

We had the speeches before dinner. H was really good, I was rather impressed actually and with our best man who acts the big man, but he was shaking like a leaf during the speech, he did hubby proud in the end it was a great speech. My dad’s was good too, short and sweet with a few funnies thrown in I was really proud of him as he is so, so quiet in general. He also did the toast to absent friends. I knew this was coming and started crying before he even said it. I lost my granny when I was 18, we were very close and I miss her every day and it really killed me she couldn’t be at our wedding. So before the “absent friends” bit I had already started sobbing. I couldn’t even say the toast, just raised my glass. I composed myself quite quickly but I just couldn’t help it at that particular moment. Dinner was yummy, but I was very, very hot in my dress and think the only thing I finished was desert! We were also mingling around the tables between courses so didn’t have time to eat!

The evening reception was amazing! My band – who I would recommend to any Scottish brides – Reload, was immense. The dance floor was full all night and they mixed old and modern stuff like Jessie J, it was perfect. I hardly saw H all night cos we were so busy talking to various guests, I was dancing with different people all night, never sat down, my feet were broken but I had a ball!!

The night ended in typical Scottish fashion with the big circle on the dancefloor and us in the middle singing to Proclaimers and Auld Lang Syne!

The day went by so quickly, I can’t believe it is 2 months ago now! I thought my report would be so short but turns out I had looooads to say, hope it wasn’t too boring for you all!

love from Mrs McLean! X

Fab report and fab photos! You looked gorgeous. Congratulations to you both x

Love it! Amazing report, you look soo lovely. Congratulations x

The bottom half of your dress is really unusual, its lovely!

Lovely pictures, your reception venue looks huge!

Lovely Pictures! You looked really gorgeous!

Swampy

Lovely.

Thankyou! I loved the fact my dress was a wee bit different!

The venue was our Town Hall and it was huge, but we both have big families/extended families and friends so we had almost 200 people in the evening, turned out to be just the right size for us and the big dancefloor space was filled all night, really great day/night.