Erin’s Hen (part one)

My lovely Erin is getting married this year! I can’t believe that the time is flying past so very, very quickly - it seems like hardly any time at all since she arrived in Singapore, armed with a great big sparkler and a lot of plans yet to be made. 

            Whilst there will be a big hen celebration in London later in January (the details of which I can’t yet reveal as it will be a surprise for Erin right up to the day), we wanted to make sure that there was at least one celebration that I was able to attend, so we sandwiched in a sneaky little low key hen during my trip back over Christmas.

            We took the ladylike approach, setting Erin up with a small amount of hen swag and then spending the rest of the day relaxing with massages, treatments, bubbles, afternoon tea and plenty of endless chatter. It was low key (as I think we all needed so close to the end of Christmas), and so it was a glorious chilled out celebration, which will be a stark contrast to what’s coming later this month, but it was just so lovely to be able to spend some proper quality time with my girls, and to make sure that Erin was well and truly pampered. I will be sad to miss the next round of celebrations, but the plans are laid and I've done all I can to make it as perfect as possible. Now I will just have to sit back and wait for the photos of the fun to start rolling in!

The beautiful hen, brunching!

A whole day spend in robes and slippers - luxury!

"Bride to Be"

Erin's uniform for the day 

CHEAT CHRISTMAS

I love Christmas, a lot! I love being at home, I love the decorations, I love that it’s time to wear layers and light the fire, I love the music, I love the days with nothing to do, and the days that are jam-packed. I just love Christmas!

            It’s always the most fun for us because the whole family returns from their many corners of the world and we get down to the proper job of being a full time family again, even if it’s just for a few weeks.

            Highlights from this years’ festive efforts include:

 

Soft play with the babies

Standing in puddles deep enough for the water to come into our boots

Hanging out with the munchkins, and sharing my comedy clothing with them

Attempting (and usually failing) group selfless

Nick loved his Christmas present this year 

All dressed up for Pop's 60th birthday 

Jeff 'helping' me prep Christmas lunch 

Gins for breakfast 

Touring the proper country pubs out near Petersfield 

Touring pubs, continued 

All the sparkles to welcome the start of 2016

Jeff and his haggis - it must be love!

A very rainy bus journey to Chichester 

CHEAT WEDDING AND MINI-MOON

Once our formal wedding photos have been gathered and send over I am sure that I will take a lot more time to go through and share all the amazing details and images from what was one of the most incredible days in my life!

            But for now, you get a couple of speedy photos, some of those sent to us from friends, and a quick insight into our amazing two days of luxury whilst recovering in Brighton once the fun of the wedding was all over and done with.

Thrilled to say that I married this lovely man on the 20th December, complete with a sparkler exit from the church and a lot of smiles all round!

We got caught in a sudden torrential rain storm just moments after this photo, but I am so glad it was worth braving the elements for. Lovely snap with all my favourite ladies! 

Mini-moon in Brighton, the weather did just as we expected; it went crazy! 

His'n'hers baths and an 8ft by 8ft bed. We did well!

Wine tasting in full flow. From what I remember, it was a delicious and educational (at the time) experience

CHEAT WEDMIN

First up, a quick little photo summary of our wedding planning and prep during our final few days back in the UK before the Big Day! 

Trying to be helpful while Jane puts her amazing flower arranging skills to work!

Beautifying en masse at the flat, with the lovely Laura making us all a whole more more presentable before the big day 

A girly brunch with all my favourites (while there was still space to sit!)

Bubbles in our new personalised champagne flutes. The most important stage of the prep, surely!

CHEAT BLOG ALERT

That’s right, I was doing so well at providing nice regular updates as the countdown to home time and the wedding dragged by, but all of a sudden it’s three weeks later, we’re back in Singapore, married and a lot fatter from all the festive feasts, and there’s not a blog post to be seen. There’s only one thing for it. Cheat posts. I’m sorry, but it’s going to have to do! Here they come.