We are almost midway through 2016 already and I turn 25 in about a weeks time... I have no idea how time has flown so quickly! My last post was back at the end of 2012 on this blog! I did post a few times on my other Blushing Bride to Be blog, but again I lost track because it all happened so quickly and I was busy working full time and trying to manage the wedding planning.
2013 was a year full of ups and downs. That was the year in which I got engaged on April 28th at Tilgate Park in Crawley, one of the best days of my life until the wedding day arrived. I was extremely excited and got straight into planning... so much so that I'd found my wedding dress by July! 3 months after being engaged! It was great and a dream scenario as I tried on 4/5 dresses total and the one I chose was the first one I tried on. No other dress made me feel the way I did when I tried the first. A few days after our engagement we headed off to Florida with my parents which was amazing as Rob had never been before. It enjoyed it so much, particularly the food and the rides! However 2013 was also the year I lost one of my grandparents to cancer in August. My nanny Phyl was only diagnosed with lung cancer 2 days before she passed away. She was a strong lady with an incredible past, always sweet, friendly and willing to help. It was a very difficult time and I still miss her terribly but I know she's not in pain anymore and watching over all that's going on within our family.
2014 was a fairly eventful year in all honesty. The biggest events of the year were when I did the Race for Life in Tilgate Park in June in honour of my nan and Rob and I had our engagement photoshoot with Danielle Photography on September 27th. The Race for Life was incredible, I definitely want to do it again but I need to really push myself back into jogging and fitness in general as I've lapsed due to being exhausted after work.
Our engagement shoot with Danielle Photography was pretty spectacular, we walked a good 5/6 miles around Richmond Park on a warm, hazy but beautiful Autumn day.
She was excellent and made us feel relaxed throughout and we could be ourselves. We were so happy to choose her as our wedding photographer after how beautiful the photos turned out. Here's a link to her blog post showcasing some of her favourite photos:
http://daniellephotography.co.uk/wedding-pre-shoot-richmond-park/
The day started a bit disappointing though as we had an issue with our honeymoon to the Maldives, which we booked back in June, being cancelled. This was all down to BA (British Airways) cancelling the flights due to demand and our date was still in the winter season which is the season they were cancelling flights. So I was rightfully angry but by October we got our full refund back and we opted to book with Kenwood Travel to stay 10 nights all inclusive at Galley Bay Resort and Spa in Antigua. I also spent time with my bridesmaid and good friend at work planning and booking my hen party. I was very lucky because I had it split into 2 parts due to certain people not being able to make one or the either. So we opted for cocktail making in Portsmouth for Jan 2015 and a spa weekend in the New Forest for the end of March. not only that, but our DIY wedding invites went out and I took Rob to see Linkin Park in November as his birthday present. It was our second time seeing them and it was an amazing night.
2015 was incredible... for so many reasons. The hen parties were so much fun and a mix of both the wild and alcoholic side with the relaxation and pampering side. A good mixture and great memories made. Of course the lead up to our wedding day was still exciting but filled with stress and anxiety as I wanted to make sure everyone would have a great day, not just myself and Rob. He was a trooper throughout my upsets and worries and kept me as far away from becoming a bridezilla as possible... although he would tell you I probably was one! I disagree and think I could have been much worse!
But when our day came around I was elated felt amazing.
The day went really smoothly, the weather was great and at the end of the day we got married in the company of friends and family and I'm grateful to God that all went well and we are bonded in marriage through him. Here's a link to a few of Danielle's favourite photos that her and her partner Sergio took throughout the day:
http://daniellephotography.co.uk/wedding-photography-sussex/
Our honeymoon to Antigua was also a thought provoking but incredibly exotic time away. We learnt so much more about each other and enjoyed our time together in a new country. Once we got back to England though, I crashed back to reality hard. I got quite down on myself and what I was doing. Other reasons which I won't detail here affected my work and the way I was at work. I would say I was on the path to depression but thankful Rob kept me grounded and always has a way to make me smile and get me back on track. I was offered a chance of promotion a few times, but I felt so awful and not good enough that I turned it down. It took a good 6 months before I felt ready to take the assessment in October. I passed and went up to trainee section co-ordinator over Christmas. Normally you have about 9 weeks to become qualified and signed off. However because of budget constraints they couldn't take all 3 trainees up. Eventually by February I found out myself and another co where signed off and got the promotion! It was super hard work over Christmas and I've learnt a lot since being fully in this role but I still have so much to go through if I want to pursue a retail career.
So this year 2016, so far, we've had our 1 year anniversary in which we went to Longleat Center Parcs for 4 days and spent some time with Rob's mum and partner in Shepton Mallet Somerset. It's beautiful up there and a big difference in attitude and town/village life than to where we live currently in Crawley! We've got the rest of the year to really push forward in our dreams and I'm aiming to update this more, not just with updates on my life but any thing that pops up or some of my interests. So we will see how this goes! If any readers have gone through this entire post you my friend are a trooper! I do like to ramble but I promise my other posts won't be this long!
Is there anything you'd like to ask me? Then comment down below and I'll do my best to answer or if you have any topics or interests you'd like me to talk/ write about then please comment and I will get to it ASAP.
Thank you and until the next one.... enjoy your day!
Christine x
