The best laid plans.

Well we have visited two churches on our travels.

Church number 1 - is our Parish church. We quite liked the service and the people were nice and welcoming.

Church number 2 - is within walking distance but not in our Parish. It is in an altogether leafier part of town, whereas Church 1 is right in the town centre. We were met with "Have you come to hear your banns being read?" which implies that the only time that they have young(ish) couples is for weddings. It is quite a popular wedding church as it is very scenic and has a villagey kind of feel. We didn't really feel at our ease there though.

I think having the right kind of vibe from a church is more important than whether it is scenic or not. And Church no.1 is quite a nice stone church. At the moment Church 1 is winning, but there is still one more to see...

I have made my first weddingy purchase - 100 name place cards off ebay. Yes, we haven't even booked a venue, I know, but they were a bargain - £4.20 inc. postage. Confetti are selling them for £2.00 for ten. Bargain!

Ray has finally decided on best man - it's Dave who he used to work with. He called him this afternoon, and it turns out that he's done it before for his brother. My bridesmaid, Hannah, has also done it before. At least that's two people who know what they're doing, because we haven't got a clue!

Both of us really like red so we're going to have lots of red at the wedding. To say it is a "theme" is perhaps stretching the point, but we both like red so there it is.

We have fifteen months to go to the happy day save like mad so we can afford it. But we're planning to keep it nice and local, so that should keep the costs down a bit.

Decided to go ahead with the no kids thing. It's no fun for them, a hassle for their parents and they don't even bring gifts! I'm sure someone will be put out about it, but whatever we do, there will be someone whose nose gets put out of joint.

Ray has decided on a best man, but has to get round to calling him to tell him the happy news. Could take a while.