Countdown to I Do...

I’ve mentioned before how A had created a Wedding Countdown Calendar for me. This was one of the most creative and thoughtful things she has ever done in her life for me, and so for that reason – I'm going to tell you about the calendar I made for her wedding, instead! 

Let me brief you. She presented me with a fabulous box of goodies one evening over dinner. I had no idea this was coming, and so promptly burst into tears at her thoughtfulness! I used it as a base for what I wanted to do for her calendar, so here’s what I did:  

"Now is not the time to get cold feet!" Add some quirky captions to made your bride laugh!

A wedding countdown calendar is a personal touch you can do for a bride so that it takes the edge off the stressful weeks preceding the actual wedding day. I loved knowing that with two months to go, one week to go etc.  I had a little gift to open which was thoughtful and sweet! 

• 12 Weeks to Go: An engraved ring box for the new Mr and Mrs. I found these cute gold-rimmed glass jewellery boxes from Oliver Bonas and took the smaller one to get it engraved with an A & S and their wedding date. I knew she had been flapping over getting a nice ring box and since she loves anything gold and modern, I thought this was perfect!

• 11 Weeks to Go: A packet of cute patterned tissues, just in case! She could chuck them in her bridal bag if and when needed, then. She got me proper wedding tissues for my calendar, like these ones here! 
• 10 Weeks to Go: A Disney fanatic she is, I found some gorgeous Minnie and Mickey Mouse socks from Next. This was just an impulse buy, I found them and just thought YES! She needs these! Obviously, the tag on this gift said something along the lines of “Don’t get cold feet!” 
• 9 Weeks to Go: Another thing she was worried about was what underwear to wear. She had a couture Suzanne Neville gown that would have shown off any hint of a VPL, so just for laughs I found her a cute white lace thong from Boux Avenue. As it turned out, she ended up in Spanx (she was secretly 4 months pregnant!), so the thong ended up in her honeymoon suitcase! 
• 8 Weeks to Go: Also an impulse buy, I saw an adorable mug from Next. It said "You Are My Forever Friend" - which is so appropriate! She likes her coffees, so I had this in mind when I knew she’d need to sit down for 5 minutes with a brew! 
• 7 Weeks to Go: Stress levels were probably starting to creep up at this point, so I thought it best if she swapped the caffeine for calm. I wrapped up a box of Twinning’s Peppermint tea for her to enjoy in her new mug! 
• 6 Weeks to Go: Unbeknownst to me, our bride was about 8 weeks pregnant at this point! She’s a girl who loves her Baileys, so I gave her a mini bottle of this liquid gold for her. Obviously, she didn’t drink it! 

Here's some ideas for the countdown calendar I made - you can pick most things up cheaply from Primark etc.!

• 5 Weeks to Go: It was a few days to go until her Hen Do, so I made her wait until we were at the airport for her to open this one. We were off to Marbella, and what hen do in the sun would be complete without a Unicorn Pool Float?! I had about 3 members of staff trying to track this elusive pool float down, as this was the IN THING in 2017 (now, of course, you can get them anywhere!), and eventually one of them managed to get it for me in the next town! Talk about team work! 
• 4 Weeks to Go: Another stolen idea from her, I made her a personalised hanger for her wedding dress! I bought white wooden hangers from Primark and ordered personalised gold name transfers for the entire bridal party from eBay. I then added a sparkly gold bow for a finishing touch! 
• 3 Weeks to Go: Who doesn’t need a pamper with three weeks until their Big Day? Just a few face mask sachets were perfect for a top-up gift at this point. 
• 2 Weeks to Go: Our girl H had got married the previous year, and since I was the OCD bridesmaid that had a personalised itinerary and packing checklist for each member of the bridal party, I also made her an SOS Wedding Day Kit! I did the same for A, and bought her a monogrammed make-up bag from Next, and spent about a tenner filling it with bits and bobs you may find you need on your wedding day. Pop to Poundland and stock up on plasters, painkillers, tampons, condoms (you never know!), a mini sewing kit, chewing gum, hair ties, deodorant and energy tablets! I find that the more prepared you are for something to go wrong, the less likely it is to happen!  
• 1 Week to Go: The final gift I stole from A, too. My favourite present to open was a personalised phone case with ‘Mrs B’ on the back of it. I did the same for A and got her new name on the back of hers. I always get complimented for it when I’m out and have seen a few colleagues do the same to theirs, too! 

To me, this was one of the loveliest parts of our wedding planning journey. If you know a bride and think she’d benefit from the same to help her de-stress, do it! It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture, and could just include silly things like sweets and crap from Primark. God knows it doesn’t have to cost the Earth just to be half-decent! I made quite a few things myself, such as the hangers and SOS Kit, but remember not to overstress – eBay is your friend!

KEB x