How has this website made a difference to you? Please add your own thoughts and observations!

OK ladies, I’m posting this in the “Older Brides to Be” forum because I think that it’s probably because I’m an older bride that this site has made the most impact but it’s probably affected most of you positively in different ways for different reasons!

I’m 50 years old and marrying in March for the second time around and there’s so much I didn’t know about weddings these days and what the “done thing” is considered to be! I’ve learned SO much from this site and I’m so glad I found it one day when I was browsing around the Internet not long after we got engaged. So here’s three examples of the things I’ve learned that have been useful to me which I didn’t know about before .....

1 Save-the-Date notices – I’d never heard of these and to be honest I wasn’t going to bother. It seemed like an unnecessary expense if invitations were going to be sent out anyway. But then I found out about VistaPrint Save-the-Date fridge magnets.....! And I also found out that you could upload your own picture to the VistaPrint website when designing your magnet! We bought 50 magnets for a total of £11.75p which worked out at 23½p per magnet. They were well worth the money and went down VERY well with our guests. We’re now grinning out from everybody’s fridge so they spot us each time they go to get milk to make a cuppa!! I would NEVER have known about them but for this website!

2 Free Personal Wedding websites – I didn’t know there were so many free personal wedding websites available for couples to create, build and update. The most well-known one seemed to be Wedding Path but there are several others and despite my smarty-pants fiancé saying we wouldn’t bother with any of them but create our own from scratch, because he’s computer literate and “knows” his HTML (!) – I ended up doing ours from

www.momentville.com

because I’d have waited forever for him to set us up with one! (Mind you, he says he can never get near the computer cos I’m always on the You & Your Wedding website ....!) I even started my own thread about personal wedding websites which can be found here:

http://www.youandyourwedding.co.uk/index.php/chatroom/topic/129182

3 Arranging to get wedding congratulations from your favourite football club – this is the one that has meant a great deal! I never knew that such a thing was so easy to arrange! First of all I wrote to 2 teams to ask them to send wedding congratulations to my ex-partner – a lovely boyfriend I had before I met my fiancé. We always stayed friends and it was an amicable split plus we always kept in touch. Shortly before I met my husband-to-be, he met a lovely lady whom he married just a few days ago. He’s football mad and has 2 favourite teams, an English one and a Scottish one. I wrote to them both and both clubs sent special wedding congratulations to Joe & his fiancée. Furthermore, because I’d taken the trouble to inform them that his wedding was a destination wedding in Turkey, and they were flying out on a certain date from the UK, both teams ensured that their congratulations reached the happy couple BEFORE the date of their departure. It took 10 or 15 minutes of my time to compose and type those letters, print them off & sign my name, plus two 2nd class stamps (27p). So there you are, just a few minutes and 54p means that particular couple have a lasting souvenir of their big day which means a great deal to them!

So I’m also writing to my own fiancé’s favourite football team to get their personal congratulations for our wedding in March. And since he absolutely LOVES Formula 1, he asked me to try & contact the McLaren Formula 1 team to see if they would also congratulate us! I did this and was successful! Read all about it on my thread here:

http://www.youandyourwedding.co.uk/index.php/chatroom/topic/135189

There are lots of other things I’ve learned from this site and as I’ve gotten more “into” my wedding preparations I feel I’ve contributed well too. Please add your comments and say what YOU’VE LEARNED or how YOU’VE BENEFITTED from using this website!

Bambagirl x

[Modified by: Bambagirl on 20 May 2009 12:39:34 ]

Hi Bambgirl, I am 53 and getting married July 2010. My biggest problem is the dress. I want a lovely dress, but don'e want to look stupid with something for someone much younger. Have you sorted your dress? If so what type have you gone for? I agree with you about weddings now, so much different than my last one 31 years ago! I love this forum.

Hi Bambagirl,

I think the best thing about this site is it's kept everyone around me sane. I got baned from mentioning weddings at work a week after I got engage! You'd have thought at 41 and on my second wedding I wouldn't be quite so excited but I can't stop thinking and talking about it

Bladette,

My future MIL got married last year on her 60th birthday in a proper wedding dress. Initally she wouldn't even try one on. I bullied her into in and she tried quite a few till she found the one. Some were deffinatly too young but the dress she chose was very elegant and look amazing on her.

Bladette, I've not sorted my dress yet! I'm leaving it till later - like possibly the last minute as I'm trying to lose weight!

Bambagirl x

Here's something really useful I've learned from these chat forums on the Y&YW website something I'd have never thought of myself.

I wear glasses and didn't want to wear them for my wedding day but I did want to be able to see. I posted a special thread asking other contributors if they thought it was feasible for me to have my spectacles on a chain round my neck and just put them on briefly now & again when I really needed to be able to see something or read something.

The idea was that I go through most of the day WITHOUT my glasses and especially for photo's! But I have them near at hand for when I really need them.

They replied and first of all somebody suggested that I got one month's supply of the disposable contact lenses. I posted asking how much they were for one month's supply.

Then somebody said I should ask for the 5 day free trial pack! I didn't even know you could get these! So that's definitely what I'll be doing. This site is absolutely brilliant!

My thread on "Bespectacled Brides" is here:

http://www.youandyourwedding.co.uk/index.php/chatroom/topic/143226

It's fantastic how the ladies who are members of this website keep on coming up trumps for each other!

Bambagirl x

[Modified by: Bambagirl on May 20, 2009 12:40 PM]

I feel I come into the league of the 'older bride to be', esp. when you hear of the others..some in there early 20's.
I will actually be 33 when I'm married..but I'm lucky enough to not really look my age..and don't act it!(my mum say's it's cos i'm the younger sibling lol)My Fiance' is alot older who will be 44 when we marry..but yet again he never acts it(typical guy!)and not looks it too.
the forum does make a difference..feeling part of it, cos you know you can put things down and you have people in the same boat. It's hard to discuss things at this early time(only to mum really..marrying in may 2010)cos people still think it's too early.
By the way the bit on wearing glasses/contact lenses I thought was very interesting as I too hope to wear contacts on the day. I wanted an idea on some decent ones so they lasted well into the day not hurting my eyes.

This site really helped me in so many ways.

I had moved to a new town, so my close friends were not on hand to help me shop and give opinions on things. I didn't want to "bore" people around me, so I sought advise from other brides to be on here.

The advise and support a received from total strangers, was an inspiration to me.

I'm now enjoying poping back on now and then, and offering my suppurt and advise, as a newley wed, to those still in the thick of their planning.

Bravo to YAYW!

I'm 36 by the way!

I will be 38 when I get married and apart from giving me loads of info about the best places to go in Vegas, this website has made a difference to me.
I'm addicted to it and can spend hours reading all the posts. Need to get a life really!!

Well im still trying to find my way round etc but i've already picked up a few hints from ebay etc. Im hoping to learn from others who say try this cause this didnt work - and pixtures peopel post are really helpful. Heres hoping to fab weddings!

Quote:

This is not the topic of this thread but I just had to ancwer Bladette!
Hi Bladette, of course you want a lovely dress its incredibly importent to feel confident in it on the big day. I approached a local dress maker who advised me on the style I should go for and also helped me to pick the colour. It is a wine coloured background with a pattern of flowers that constently change colour when I move from blue to pink to black. Its a heavy duchess silk. Next the style she chose a 50's style and believe me it does suit me so well. I love the neck line which is wide rather than deep and very Audry Hepburn. It is a long dress and it has a fish tail/train. It didn't cost an arm and a leg and yet it is designed for me and the workmanship is supurb.

I can really recommend going to someone who will look at who you are and design accordingly. That way you can feel confident its right and you can enjoy it.

I'm a jeans and old jersey sort of person even though I'm now in my 60's so I did need the help my dress maker was able to offer me. The whole process took nearly a year so you have time!

Hi there Bladette & Bet Rothed!

I remember you posting a good while ago before I'd even thought about my own wedding dress. I'll be honest, it wasn't one of my priorities! We married at the end of March and I got a mail order gown from the Internet which cost me £195 - sent off my measurements and selected the colour scheme I wanted. It was actually an evening gown in a deep blue picked out with gold ornamentation. I asked them to adapt it to ivory with a pale pink decoration. It was A-line and 2 layers of satin with 2 layers of organza over the top - plus a single shoulder strap. I was undecided between strapless and thin straps so I compromised! Actually I wouldn't go for this look again, although I was happy overall and had a great wedding day. I'm a bit top heavy to be gambling with what can turn out to be a lop-sided presentation.

I went down the aisle in church as a size 22 bride, only 5½ weeks away from my 51st birthday. I didn't look too bad - even though I say so myself!!

Here's some piccies - firstly Earl & I pictured with 3 of my 4 children:

And here we are cutting our cake!

Bamba x