Wedding bells in the air

Eight years ago I did the honourable thing and proposed to my beautiful partner, we’re still together so obviously she said “yes”, however we didn’t get married. It took me another seven and a half years to actually pull my finger out and start organising our big day.

In October 2012 I made a call to the Ceremony Room at the Cleethorpes Town Hall to see if it was available for a date in June 2013, it was! So I booked it.

Then disaster struck.

On the day we were going to announce our big day to the world my better half received the devastating news that her Granddad had passed away.  It would be ill-timed and inconsiderate to announce our happy occasion on the back of such terrible news so we delayed the announcement until a more appropriate time.

On the day after the funeral we decided it would be a good time to tell the families. Sadie’s parents have been dragged backwards through hell and back these past few years so naturally they were over the moon with the news. I think their exact words were “it’s about time we had some good news”. Sadie’s parents are two of the nicest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing and I’m proud and delighted to soon become their son-in-law. In fact I’ve known my future mother-in-law eleven years longer than I’ve known Sadie, she was one of the dinner ladies at the secondary (high) school I attended back in the 1990s.

Then we began in earnest the task of finding our reception venue. We visited several locations around North East Lincolnshire before deciding upon a fantastic hotel on the outskirts of Grimsby. It even had its own ceremony room!

“Ring Ring. Hello Cleethorpes Town Hall? Yes we want to change our wedding venue. Yes we still want the registrar but she’s now coming to marry us at a hotel instead of your tiny ceremony room. An extra hundred quid? Oh okay, if you must. Thank you. Bye.”

No that wasn’t the actual dialogue, we spoke to them face-to-face but you get the general idea. We’ve now booked this hotel for the entire day, ceremony, formal dinner, reception, evening do, the full works.

Then I went into hospital.

Fast forward two months and I’m well on my way to recovery. During this time Sadie bought her dress and shoes, booked the photographer, designed and created the invitations and booked the wedding car. I’m still to find the suits for myself, my soon-to-be father-in-law and my best man and I still need to book the videographer. Together we’re still to find the rings, order the cake and flowers and Sadie and her maid-of-honour (my niece Amy) still need to find her dress.

Another couple of weeks of recovery time and I should be fit enough to go suit hunting and as I type this Sadie and her mother are looking at the websites of local wedding cake makers.

So there’s still plenty of work to go before we’re ready for the big day but we’re loving every minute of it. It wouldn’t be a typical Spate wedding unless some things were left to the last minute.