22.5 days to go: Last orders, please

It’s my stag do this weekend. A tremendous job by the BM Steve to organise, communicate, chivvy and chase, ably abetted by the FBIL Ferg. Looking forward to it and I’m honoured by the number of guys who can make it. Either that or lots of them are feeling the same as Chris B said to me this afternoon: “I’m really quite excited – I mean, I don’t often have big weekends where you do things like this any more.”

Fi’s hen do last weekend was a cracker, by the sounds of it.

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She came back elated and overflowing with the love her friends had poured out. The master-stroke was the board-games theme and the excellent work put in to create “Fiopoly… or Fiona and the Ginger Ring”. That plus the imported follicle extensions… good work ladies. I’m sure that the chaps have put equal creative thought into, er, how many pints they’re going to buy. which is nice.

Last time for everything: It’s when you’re in the run up to something that you start counting the time left. 12 more sleeps ’till we go on holiday, christmas eve eve, the last time i’ll go to the office before i’m made redundant, the last time i can go to the loo before I have to sit through yet more interminable warbling from the soprano oh why oh why did i ever agree to come to the opera i hate the opera, etc … you know the kind of thing.

I’ve not been getting any of these realisations, but I can feel they’re coming. Fi, on the other hand told me she has. So, over dinner, I asked “what kind of things?” “Well,” she says, “like just the other day I thought, that’s the last time I’m going to have my bikini-line waxed cut as a single woman.”.

No, not what I had expected either.

In other news, my dreams are getting weirder. Yesterday’s was a mishmash of inappropriate and embarrassing sexual relations, the problematic launch of a google product (why specifically a google product, i have no idea) and dealing with the fact that I was terminally ill. Other than that, it was a perfectly pleasant night’s sleep. I blame it on the copious amount of parmesan I had eaten before bed. cheesedreams rock.

Also, met the photographers on Tuesday – and they’re cool. The best thing  – AND THIS IS FOR ALL YOU GUESTS – they don’t want to be standing around so they’re more than happy to be taking family portraits or pictures of couples during the evening. It’s all digital, naturally, so getting good shots is what they’re about, and Susie and Harley wanted us to actively encourage you to go up and ask them.  We get a copy of everything they do whatever happens and however many pics there are – so if you’ve ever fancied having a serious professional (and usually advertising/fashion) photographer take a snap of you, dive in.

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And finally, never mind the photographer, there’s a futurologist in the family, and an artistic talent, to boot. I’m so impressed with Stella FNIL (5)’s vision of what the wedding will look like – I particularly like the attention to detail of the high heels and hair lengths, and I’m now seriously thinking about a bow-tie and two-tone blue suit.

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Week 11: Photos & #rifiwedding

The half-way point is passed with 11 weeks to go till W day. Don’t know what all the fuss is about really, everything’s under control.

Photographer decided. Susie Barker and Harley Evans of www.barkerevans.com are the winners. Although there wasn’t much decision in the end. Their, er, pitch to the FMA was so successful I think they may be hiring her for marketing in future. But with an excellent track record and having shot no less than TWO of our friends’ weddings with great results, we can relax and put ourselves safely in their hands.

Speaking of photographers, I came across this story from our friend Helen of Finsbury Park: Helen went to some friends’ wedding in Birmingham. They’re black and they found their photographer on the web. Somewhere in the conversation it came up that they’re black and the snapper commented “oh, I’ve never done a black wedding. Not a problem though.”

A little odd, you might think, but they let it pass. Until, that was, they got the photos back. All of which showed the people framed against Carribean backgrounds. Which he’d photoshopped in, one assumes, to make them feel more at home than they would do against the grey skies of Droitwich or the subtle colours of Solihull. Yes, beaches. And waterfalls.
“I’ve never even been to the Carribean,” said the newlywed.

He refused to change them or hand over the original files. They didn’t pay him and made do with the audience material. We may enter into a contract of some detail just in case I’m against the background of a raging sea, and arctic expedition or The Cloughs are pictured against a scene from Highlander.

The site’s changed. Better or worse? Comments below please.
New “Wedding Info” page too.

And finally: thank you @AndyGardiner for the hashtag. It’s a Twitter reference keyword. Ours is: #rifiwedding