Amanda will be marrying Adam on 25th March 2018 in a Jewish wedding at Braxted Park, UK.
THREE FACTS: (1) Amanda & Adam met outside in a bar in Tel Aviv (2) Adam has a ridiculous sense of humor (as described by Amanda!) and we love him all the more for it (3) Amanda & Adam’s wedding is 100% focused on all the people and things that mean the most to them. You can click here to read all Amanda’s planning posts to date.
So here we are. My final post and the last week in my wedding planning journey. For those of you wondering, I most certainly did not follow all of the advice in my previous post and as a result, we’ve experienced a fairly stressful two weeks, culminating in a bout of flu in the Yaffe-Parker household at the end of last week!
I have no doubt that some of the virus can be attributed to the two and a half day stag do that Adam endured in Budapest, but I’m fairly certain this was more than man-flu! Fingers crossed that the terrible cough I’ve been listening to for the last 10 days disappears before the ceremony!
Image by David Pullum (STG’s Recommended Vendor) from Salena and Stefan‘s Jewish wedding in Spain
Still, despite this slight set-back, we’ve worked our way through (or should I say out from underneath) a pile of ‘to-do lists’. We’ve finalised the guest list, caught up with all of our suppliers, printed menus, ceremony guides and reserved seat signs and AT LAST, I’m feeling excited more than anything else. The strong feelings of anxiety we’ve been harbouring for a couple of weeks have slowly faded away, and with only a week left before Adam moves out, things have started to feel real.
Of course, there are a couple of things left to finalise. As a natural (and somewhat professional) procrastinator, Adam has left his speech to the last minute. In the past week, he’s made a start but I know that he has found it particularly difficult, not least because of the emotions that come with such a task.
This week, Adam had a moment of realisation that his grandfather wouldn’t be there to see him get married. Unfortunately, I never had the privilege to meet Adam’s granddad or his maternal grandparents and likewise he never met any of mine.
Because of this, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to try to honour those who can’t be with us on the day. Sadly, although there are 8 grandparents who were not spared to be with us on our wedding day, we are extremely lucky that Adam’s nan will be celebrating with us on the day. I hope that her beaming smile will represent all of our late grandparents, doing what they would have done best — beam proudly from the front row. All of this emotion will no doubt be our biggest challenge on the day, as we miss those who cannot be with us.
Image by Jeremy Standley (STG’s Recommended Vendor) from Tamara and Craig‘s Jewish wedding in Spain
On a more positive note, I’m looking forward to making my own speech. I decided fairly early on in the process that I wanted to stand up and speak, and that I’d want to say more than a few hurried shout-outs at the end of the night. Those who know me well know how difficult it is to keep me quiet for long and with so many of our loved ones in the same room, it was the perfect opportunity. But what did I even want to say? I didn’t want to repeat Adam’s carefully curated list of ‘thank yous’. I certainly didn’t want to speak for the sake of speaking. And I knew that this wasn’t just about making sure that there was a woman speaking at our wedding (even if that was an added bonus).
I spent a few weeks reflecting on it and came to the conclusion that my speech could be the piece of the puzzle that was missing for me. I’ve always loved listening to personal and handwritten vows at weddings. There’s something so raw and emotional about them that really gives you a sense of the relationship before you. Vows didn’t necessarily form part of our fairly traditional Jewish ceremony, which left me with no space to talk about my feelings towards Adam. Of course, traditionally, the father of the groom will speak about his daughter and new son-in-law, the best man will make fun of the groom and the groom will say thank you to everybody and talk about his new wife. There lay my opportunity. As the bride, I wanted to find a way to speak to Adam in the presence of our family and friends. So that’s what I’ve decided to do.
Image by Jez Dickson from Lucy and Matt‘s Jew-ish wedding (planned by STG’s Recommended Vendor Louise Perry)
It will be short and sweet, and my little ode to a man who I am so excited to spend my life with. Often at home, there aren’t opportunities to really articulate the things that you love about the other person, and as part of our wedding celebration, I’d really like to tell him.
So that’s all from me! Thanks to everybody who has taken the time to read my blogs over the past year. It’s been a load of fun, and I wholeheartedly recommend writing things down throughout the planning process. Not only has it been therapeutic for me, but I hope it will serve as a reminder to me of what the last 15 months has been like.
Image by Fred Marcus Studios (VIB Vendor) from Kira and Mark‘s Jewish wedding
Click here to read all Amanda’s planning posts to date.
Amanda & Adam’s Wedding Vendors booked so far:
Venue – Braxted Park
Photographer – Steve Carter Hewson
Band – LDN Party Band
Bridesmaid dress – David’s Bridal
Flowers – Urban Flower Farmer
Jewellery – Litzi
