Lego Love

One would think that since all the wedding planning is behind me now that I'm a Mrs, that I would have lost interest in all things wedding related. If anything my interest has peaked and now that my own wedding day has passed by, I enjoy perusing forums and offering help, which definitely puts the fun back into wedding planning, crafts, DIY ideas and everything in between!

As one half of a nerdy couple chez Ree, we're big fans of all things Lego (off the top of my head, we have Creationary, a wall of Lego made by our wedding guests, Lego Marvel Superheroes, a big Legoman torch, the list goes on..)

Our happy Lego wedding couple - Zombified!

So you can only imagine how inspired I got by creative couples making their own wedding cake toppers out of Lego. The only limitation is your imagination. Here's a few ideas to get you thinking:

Create your doppelgangers out of Lego

Team it with a ruby red love heart?

Why not team Mrs & Mr Pacman (not pictured) with Lego?

And that's just ideas for Lego fans, there are plenty of creative options which I've written about that might work for you. Check out my top wedding cake toppers here.

I am a Mrs!

After the years of plotting, planning and Googling, I am now officially married.

Everyone had warned us how quickly time would fly by on the day and it was so true! The morning preparations went by in a blur. It was an absolute hive of activity. There was a make up artist, photographer, florist, neighbours, bridesmaids, family and friends fluttering around the place!

The night before, I (along with one of the other bridesmaids) slept a grand total of three hours. I was so excited and wondering how the day would unveil. I ended up getting up at 5am and pottering about til the rest of the house woke up. My Dad had organised for hot breakfast food to be brought to the house whilst we were at the hairdressers getting our 'dos done.

In the middle of all the madness, I even made time to vote! On the way back from the hairdressers with my veil fastened to my head, I trotted to the local voting centre with my Chief Bridesmaid in tow to help keep my veil off the ground. Got a few strange looks, but it was my constitutional duty, wedding day or no!

Before I knew it, we were all heading to the venue which was an hours drive away. It was only then the nerves started to hit! We chose a Chrysler 300c from Blue Ribbon, which was one of the most comfortable cars I've ever traveled in (even better when there's a Champagne accompaniment, but more about that later!)

The lovely wedding car

The running joke for most weddings is how late the Bride is going to be. I was ready to get wed at 1pm, on schedule. By the time we got pics taken and the Piper (Yes! There was a Piper, and he was awesome! It was a huge surprise and made the day even more special. I'm half Scottish, so it was very important for me to have my heritage play a part on the day) had played a few tunes to signal my impending arrival, we were ready and waiting to go into the ceremony room.

The Piper playing us into the Reception

I was a little weepy when I saw our Page boy decked out in his kilt, but I kept it together. (Surprisingly!) Here's a little secret about me. I am a softie. An out and out softie. I cry at Disney movies, soppy TV ads, a moving song, and weddings. I bawl at them all! So there was a lot of  people waiting in the room for my waterworks moment.

And it didn't happen!

I didn't cry during the ceremony at all. Little misty eyed yes, but no tears!

Instead it was my lovely new husband that got emotional. And I'm dying to see all the photos!

The Sylvanian Family wedding on the ceremony table

Our Zombie wedding couple, also on the ceremony table!

The Bridal party walked into Hoppípola, one of our favourite songs. It was only when I heard the opening bars of the song that it really hit that this was real and happening right now! We had opted for a Spiritualist ceremony and everyone came up to us afterwards and said it was absolutely beautiful. Our solemniser, Miriam did such a beautiful job in creating the ceremony and letting our personalities shine through, including a spontaneous high 5, a reading about dinosaurs and Sylvanian families and Lego decor.

Spontaneous High 5 FTW!

Little snap of our ring cushion

 After meeting up and chatting with our guests, we headed to the Japanese Gardens to get our photos taken with the Wedding party. We also had a fingerprint tree, a Lego wall, mulled cider and lots of mini scones and biscuits for our guests to enjoy whilst we were out gallivanting.Thankfully the weather seemed to work in our favour for the most part, so we made the most of it! On the way back, my new husband and I were ferried back to the hotel with champagne in the car before getting showered with confetti by our excited family and friends!

Confetti! All over the place!

The Lego Wall.. No naughty words on these ones!

By then, we were famished and ready to eat! We were escorted into the room by the Piper and after some kickass speeches from our Best Man Lady, both Dads, Mr. Ree and myself, the manging commenced! The food went down really well and there was lots of empty plates heading back to the kitchen, which is the best compliment in my book!

Wedding cake noms!

My talented sister-in-law made our cake for us, which was an array of champagne and strawberry cupcakes with a beautiful sponge cake on top. She had also created our wedding favours which were origami cranes, each holding a card with a poem she had written about the day and forget me not seeds for our guests to bring home and plant. It was such a lovely touch, and something which we hope everyone enjoyed.

One of the beautiful cranes

After all the dining and chatting, we all gathered in the lobby and bar, grabbing our inflatable Batman who had dutifully waited at the Reception desk for his big moment. After all the meeting and greeting, it was only fair that he should partake in some of the fun!

Batman on the dancefloor. He lost his head 5 times but still kept going! The trooper.

Mr. Ree's sisters (My new sisters-in-law) ushered us into the room where we had a surprise waiting for us! They had secretly put together a sweet table and even more nerdy cupcakes! The table was heaving with jars filled with fizzy saucers, jellies, marshmallows and so many more yummy treats! It went down a storm with the kids, and big kids alike! Later on we had lots of tea and coffee served with traditional Scottish shortbread. Needless to say, our guests were on a total sugar high!

Two big kids attacking the sweet table!

Just two of the wedding cupcakes on the sweet table - More pics as we get them!

A last minute purchase was some inflatable musical instruments. I found a company on eBay which were wonderful to deal with so we ordered some guitars, saxophones, banjos and microphones. Everybody had so much fun with them, which was great to see! There was a mix of kids with saxophones, grown men hopping around with guitars and karaoke fans warbling into the microphones. A must have for parties and weddings alike methinks.

The one element of the day that everyone was absolutely blown away by, was the band, Full Moon Boogie Band. They. Were. AWESOME! From the moment they started playing to their encore, the dance floor was never empty! When Batman was airborne and being danced with, they even broke out this tune, much to everyone's amusement. How can you not "Na-na-na-naaah!" along with it?

There was dancing til the wee hours, before whoever was still standing headed to the resident's bar for a traditional sing-song. By that point, shoes had been kicked off, cupcakes had been stashed in handbags and jackets had been discarded. By that point, I'd almost been awake for 24 hours, so it wasn't long before I could hear bed calling me!

A blurry pic of some musical instruments enthusiasts

All in all, we had an absolute ball! You hear Brides and Grooms look back on their wedding day and say it was the best day of their lives. So I won't say that. But it was definitely the best day of our lives so far! Mere days after our wonderful wedding day, we went Honeymooning with Mickey Mouse. But more on that next time!

I've planned a wedding, alongside my new husband. Will I stop looking at wedding things online and sniffling over wedding TV shows? Probably not. Watch this space!

Wedding Invitation madness

I'll be the first to hold my hands up and admit I have taken my foot off the pedal recently when it comes to wedding planning. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to marry Mr. Ree and have a fun filled day surrounded by our nearest and dearest as we say our vows as man and wife. But there's only so much enthusiasm one can muster for 'wedding talk' beyond a point.

Time is ticking on though so I have to pull myself together (which is no mean feat when you're working two jobs and trying to fit in time for family, friends and Mr. Ree of course!) Apparently we're meant to send out 'Save the Date' alerts to our guests. I'm not entirely au fait with this, I just presumed we told our friends the wedding date and sent out an invite. Badda-bing-badda-boom, done!

Or not.

I have learned that 'Save the Dates' are important, so it's another thing on the ever-growing to-do list. Whilst researching all this, I checked out a few websites and stumbled upon something else that I had overlooked.

Wedding Invitations.

*Cue Dah-dah-DAAAAH! music*

We were at a wedding show recently and there was suppliers for everything you can imagine, seriously..

Wedding balloon people, it's a thing now.

I had a look at wedding invitations there and didn't like any of them. They were all pastel, diamantes with a bit of ribbon. I don't like pastel. I really don't. This got us thinking about what we DID want. Step forward Google and it's every-expanding wisdom.

Here are some of my favourite wedding invitations which I hope to pull some inspiration from:

1. Mario Wedding Invitation -  The attention to detail on this one makes it my favourite. Such a clever design and nostalgic to boot. What's not to love?

2. Comicbook Invite - Anyone who knows Mr. Ree and I knows how much we love our comic books. (It's only a matter of time before we buy another much-needed bookcase) The fact that the graphics are customised just makes it cooler in my eyes.

3. Pacman - Waka waka waka waka! Now it's in your head, you're welcome.

4. Photobooth Invite - Granted these have been out for a while, but think of all the fun you could have with the concept. You could do it in costume, get friends and family in on it, get some fun props that show off your personality. Your imagination is the limit!

5. Ouija board invite - This is something a little darker, but it'll definitely be something that your guests will remember!

6. Viewmaster - This doesn't strike me as something that would come cheap, but if money was no object... Really cool idea, and who didn't love playing with these when they were kids? (and beyond!)

7. Ticket invites - This is an idea we were mulling over when we first got engaged. Let's face it, for a festival/carnival themed wedding, you won't get cooler invites than these!

8. Scrabble - Always a favourite chez Ree, think of the fun you could have with this concept? Plus it wouldn't cost the world to do either.

9. Message in a bottle - This is a fun idea for a nautical themed wedding, not sure if I'd have the patience to get the note out without being tempted to break the bottle though. Patience is a virtue...

Bonus Invite - OK, this one made me giggle. I love movies, love movie posters and fair play to the couple for recreating it. But I just don't think these work, unless you either go all out or have some fun with it, a la Bride of Frankenstein or something.

In short, looking around at different types of wedding invites ultimately left me a little more confused. I think the most important thing is to choose invites that you both like. They might not be everyone's cup of tea, but mine sure as hell won't be pastel.

Wedding resources

Getting married is meant to be an exciting time. I remember when we announced our engagement to our families and friends, it was a hub of joy and excitement. It wasn't long after we got engaged that my family and I excitedly bought loads of wedding magazines. Discussed pros and cons of what time of year to get married. What dress styles did I like? Ivory, Cream, Champagne, Colour or a variant of white?

However, the novelty of flicking through the glossy pages of wedding magazines quickly wavered. I had spent €5 on a shiny paged brochure of all things wedding related flogging their wares. It was then I realised that the wedding industry was bigger than I had ever thought possible. (Seriously, Google 'wedding' and you get 1,150,000,000 hits!)

Recently we attended a wedding show with many different vendors offering a multitude of services. I thought releasing doves, fireworks and free flowing champagne were considered personal touches to your day. Instead it has exploding into so much more. We were presented with customised glasses, balloon people, a meat wagon, sweet tables and so much more. All these added touches cost money, whether or not they would make your wedding day better or enhance your marriage? I wouldn't bet on it.

There seems to be a lot of pressure put on your wedding day as 'The Best Day of your Life'. Personally, I don't agree. I think it is a very important day when you and your partner vow to love and care for each other in the paradigms you set for your marriage, but expecting it to be the 'The Best Day of your Life' puts unnecessary pressure on a day where you should just relax and have fun with your guests. The best day of your life may be when you travel somewhere you've always wanted to go, succeed in your career goals or hold your child for the first time. Everybody is different.

People must be buying stuff like this, wedding flip flops for life yo!

Shit happens. Your dress might get dirty, guests might be late, someone who is not the bride might wear cream, someone (or several people) may get drunk and make fools of themselves. Is it really going to matter in the long run? Really?! Let your wedding day reflect you. Who cares if felt flowers aren't traditional? Or Lego isn't considered appropriate table decor? Don't want to wear white or a similar shade? Then don't. Just because something is considered 'the done thing' doesn't mean you have to do it. It's a long way down that rabbit hole so look before you leap!

After wasting money on the glossy wedding mags, I soon realised that I could get the same information and even more ideas online, for free! I read reviews, looked at forums of real brides up for discussing their experiences. No glossy magazine can do that. So why do we buy them? Well, when else are we going to? It's an exciting time, and it's hard not to get carried away with all the giddy excitement, but don't forget to explore all resources. Chat to family and friends, get information from real brides, talk to colleagues. These kind of resources are priceless.

Top wedding cake toppers!

If you're anything like me, you can appreciate a nice cake. With icing, and chocolate... And sprinkles... Ahem! So in the spirit of all things 'wedding cake' I've gone on the hunt for cake toppers.

I was blown away by how creative some couples can be when it comes to how they choose to top their wedding cake. Here are my top 10:

1. Lego cake topper
You may have gathered that we're big Lego fans chez Ree, your imagination is the limit!

So cool! Would be tempted to put some LED lights in there too!

2. Alien couple
Love the Alien movies? Why not pay homage to the creations of H.R. Giger by putting them on top of your cake? Aliens need love too!

There's something so cute about this, even in biomechanoid style.

3. Zelda and Link love
We very nearly bought an 8-bit wreath this Christmas, so this is high up on our wish list!

There's something timeless about 8-bit graphics.

4. Marvel Zombies for life.. Erm.. sort of!
This was one that Mr. Ree put forward. We've got a healthy and ever-growing collection of comic books, and love all things zombie related. Combine the two and you've got a pretty awesome cake topper!

Spiderman and Mary Jane zombie style!

5. Memes for every occasion
On the internet, there are things called Memes, so why not put some of your favourites on a cake? When else can you use 'Me gusta' with such zeal?

Which memes would you choose?

6. Lightsaber wedding
Sick of all things cute, white and fluffy in the wedding world? Cut through the crap, and possibly other things with the help of Darth Vader.

Dark, but I like it! (Mwa haw haw!)

7. My friend Totoro
A wedding often brings family, friends and lots of different characters together. How could you possibly leave out your friend Totoro?

It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

8. Not just for Muppets
I've always thought that Miss Piggy was one of my earliest Feminist role models.. She was strong willed, vocal about what she wanted and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Quite a character, for a pig puppet, I mean Muppet!

Granted they look a bit wrecked, but maybe this was later on in the night!

9. Burton related goodness
I fell in love with 'The Nightmare before Christmas' film the first time I saw it. I loved the ghoulish feel of the characters, the music and the art of stop motion film making.

For the love of Jack and Sally

10. Room for Space Invaders?
For extra nerdy joy, you could make the Space Invaders out of Lego! Cheap as chips to do, plus you can customise it to suit your wedding colours. Sorted! I'd be tempted to stick a veil and top hat on them too.

Love this idea!

BONUS: I came across this one in my searching and snooping. I have no clue what the background is. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Mermice? Is this a thing?!

Lego - Just imagine!

We're big fans of Lego chez Ree, so you can only imagine our excitement when we found out there was wedding lego in the world!

Not only that, but it seems that people are bringing their creativity with Lego into their wedding days too!

Check out these Lego boutonnieres!

 I love the boutonnieres, plus you could create the characters to look like the wedding party, use themed Lego, add feathers or flowers, the possibilities are endless!

Really love this as table decor

This is definitely a great yet simple way to keep guests occupied, but also bring out their inner child!

It's not just decor and boutonnieres that can get a Lego twist, why not go the whole hog and have a Lego cake? (Ooh the temptation!)

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM!!

Must keep remembering that dreaded B-word. BUDGET! Although, we DO have a large collection of Lego between the two of us..