Wedding Wednesday Chapter VI - The Evening Reception

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my last post. I'm looking forward to sharing this exciting journey with you all and will no doubt be looking for all sorts of advice from all the mummy's out there.

And now, finally, here is my last wedding post........ 

The Evening Reception

We wanted to start the evening reception fairly early so that we had as much time as possible with all of our guests. So, as soon as the meal and speeches were over there was just time to clear everything before 100 more guests arrived. Once everyone was there we cut our fabulous cake. 

Our cake was made by a family friend and neighbour who also works with the caterers at our venue. I loved our cake. I basically gave her a few ideas and described the sort of thing I was looking for and she came up with this beautiful creation. She even had her husband cut a log to use as a cake stand. It looked perfect sitting in the garden during the ceremony and garden party and afterwards we transported it to the Rugby Club for cutting. 

I loved the little details such as the ribbon around the base that matched the ribbon on my niece's flower girl dress, made by my mum. Also, the little hedgehogs iced onto the base that matched the hedgehog motif on our wedding invitations.

Not only did the cake look amazing but it tasted delicious too, a wonderfully rich fruit cake. We still have the top tier of the cake which we have stored for our baby's christening cake. 

 After the cake cutting we had our first dance for which we chose a traditional Scottish waltz to start off the Ceilidh.

From that first dance I think I wasn't off the dance floor all night! We had a traditional Ceilidh and even the Italian guests joined in with the dancing. It was so much fun and the Italians really got into the spirit of the dancing. 

Every now and again we had a break from the dancing and were entertained by various musicians. My mum sings in a folk band so they did a set as did my brother who plays the guitar and two or three other friends who are singers and musicians. It was a great way to get a breather from the dancing and for the Italians to sample some Scottish music. 

The Ceilidh part of the evening ended at around 11p.m. and then the disco started. At this point I was worried nobody would dance since everyone enjoyed the ceilidh so much but the dance floor remained full for the rest of the night. My brother in law even got the crowd going by performing a rap! I think I've never danced so much in my life. Needless to say I abandoned my 3 inch heels at around 10pm and spent the rest of the night in bare feet! 

Before our photographer left he took us out into the middle of the rugby pitch with a light and took some final photographs. It was another romantic moment being out there, in the quiet summer's evening, under a spotlight and looking in to the party continuing inside. 

The party ended at around 1a.m. and we were the last to leave. I was sad it was over but although most people say their wedding day goes by so fast, I actually felt like we'd had a really long day and I'd had enough time to take everything in and enjoy it all. 

I've really enjoyed sharing my wedding with you all and it's been lovely to go back through all of my memories. Writing these posts have helped to keep everything fresh in my mind. 

Once again, I must give a big shout out to our wonderful photographer Craig of Mcbeth Photography. Also, if any of you are in Scotland and planning your wedding then check out the Best Scottish Weddings Magazine - you might spot a familiar bride in the Spring edition! 

Hope you're all having a good week x x 

I'm back!

I've been away for a much longer time than I originally planned and I must apologise.......

I'm hoping that the following picture will excuse my long absence.............

We're expecting!! The past few months have been a rollercoaster of emotions. We're obviously over the moon and so so excited. The first trimester was luckily not too bad for me. I didn't suffer from much sickness, only extreme tiredness which is why I needed a break. Also, my mind is so full of baby that I haven't been able to concentrate on anything else! 

Now that I'm into the second trimester and Spring has arrived in Umbria my energy is starting to come back and I'm ready to get back into all of my different projects. I'm looking forward to catching up with you all and hearing what you've been up to the past month. Thank you also to all of my new followers - I'm looking forward to getting to know you all.

Have a great week everyone x x 

Festa della Donna - International Women's Day

Happy Women's Day everyone! Here in Italy it is tradition for men to gift the women of their lives a bunch of mimosa on this day. Tonight, in our village, there is a dinner prepared by the men for all of the women. This morning my wonderful man brought me breakfast in bed, but he does that every day! I'm incredibly lucky - it's Women's Day every day for me!

I'm going to be taking a break from blogging for a week, maybe two. I have other things on my mind and lots of things that need my attention. 

Have a great few weeks everyone and I look forward to catching up with you all when I feel more rested. 

Sarah Elizabeth x x  

Friday Photo - Rooftops in Orvieto

Happy weekend everyone x x 

Wedding Wednesday Chapter V - The Reception

After the 12noon ceremony we had a good 2 or 3 hours in the garden before it was time to leave for the reception.

We had the reception in the function suite of our local rugby club. It was an ideal location with lots of green space outside for all the kids to play. The function room is a bright and fairly neutral space so we could decorate the way we wanted.

We continued our country garden theme by arranging centre pieces of flowers from our garden in glass jars tied with tartan ribbon.

We used sweet peas, corn flowers, pansies and alchemilla and I loved that each table was different. As wedding favours we donated money to charity but we also made little origami cranes for each place.

I handmade all of the place names, table numbers and seating chart using paper made from sheep poo! (from here).

To eat we had a simple summer buffet with plenty of Scottish produce. It was delicious although I think I didn't eat very much of it! The meal was nice and relaxed and was followed by some great speeches.

The nicest part was a photo montage of Matteo and I which my sister-in-law prepared and projected after the meal. It had everyone in tears!(That's me on my 5th birthday)

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments about our wedding. It's been lovely sharing our special day with you all. There are still a few more posts to come before I get to the end of the day so I hope you're still enjoying reading them!