The Rings

If you live in Dubai, you have absolutely no excuse not to have a diamond dealer on speed dial. I mean, this is the city with a Gold souk AND a Gold and Diamond PARK! The latter is not an open green space with trinkets hanging all glittery from the trees (but wouldn’t it be great if it was!) but more like a small shopping mall made up of jewelers. Oh, the SPARKLE when you enter can fair burn a girl’s retinas out!

As with all things wedding related, I hadn’t spent my whole life leading up to this moment, so hadn’t given a wedding ring much thought, other than anything conventional really isn’t going to work for me. I don't wear much jewellery per se, and the stuff I do tend to wear is big, statement style pieces. Which doesn't really work when it comes to a wedding ring. That hen's egg ruby ring might be oh so Alexander McQueen now, but will you still happily wear it in the years time?

I'll just cut in here and make the (maybe obvious) point, that he didn't present me with a ring when he proposed. Despite my husband (ahem) having exquisite taste and being the most stylish man I know, he knows me very well. And he knew that something as important as this was best chosen by me. He gave me a very generous budget to work with (I checked as we entered the Gold and Diamond Park!) and off we went.

Despite the jokes about needing Xanax (him not me) the whole thing was done and dusted in under an hour. Turns out I shop for diamonds like I shop for clothes: I enter, I make a clean and quick sweep, I decide almost immediately what I like (if anything), I exit.

I chose an antique style ring from Monili and they made me a beautiful wedding ring to fit round the bling. I know you want to see it....so here's a pic. Gorgeous, hey! Amazing how quickly I got used to wearing it. And yes, I do still catch it sparkling and it makes my heart fill with joy.

Joy!

The Dress

I’m not going to lie, this part did give me a few palpitations. As per my earlier posts, a big white wedding dress was completely out of the question. 

Have you seen that episode of Sex and the City where Sarah Jessica Parker tries on a big white dress and comes out in hives? That would be me.

That said, I did like the idea of something white, or off white. Despite our completely non-traditional approach I thought that this would be a nice element to incorporate. 

After a few failed attempts via mail order (thanks Net a Porter but they were just all wrong) I hit the mall after work one night with grim determination. After an hour in Temperley where I oh-so-nearly bought a dress (Grecian, gorgeous, but really just too wedding-like) I stumbled across the perfect frock in Galleries Layfayette. (Mental note to spend more time in Gals Laf, tis fabulous).

You may have seen it by now – if not, it’s a gorgeous, mid length, mid sleeved, clingy-in-all-the-right-places without looking trampy (no one likes a vicar with a hard on) stone cocktail dress. 

It’s a dress that just screamed ‘wear me’, sassy, sexy, elegant, with a whiff of old-school Hollywood glamour - exactly the look I was going for. And I just happened to spy the perfect fur stole through another shop window, so schnaffled that up and was good to go. Nude peep toe pumps and my grandmother’s vintage alligator clutch bag and we were all set.

What’s that you say? What did HE wear? You’re really interested?! Oh, okay then. The groom wore a beautiful bespoke black suit with waistcoat (the brief to the tailor was the Tom Ford/Daniel Craig suit), with black patent sneakers (no really, and they looked fabulous). No handbag.

The treat for me was seeing him in a suit. As a creative entrepreneur, it’s rare to see my husband (oh so strange saying that!) in a suit. In almost 3 years this is only the second time (the first was at a friend’s wedding.) Dear reader, he scrubs up well, let me tell you.

The suit. The waistcoat....it deserved a snog.

Finding a venue/location...

No trawling locations the length and breadth of the Emirates, no getting 20 different quotes from wedding planners, no looking at lawns or beaches or hotels or churches. 

It was all very simple:

• Me: “You know I’m not a big white wedding girl. Do you want a big white wedding?”
• Him: “Absolutely not. I’ve always assumed I’d HAVE to have one as every girl I’ve ever met has been crazy about them.”
• Me: “Well let’s not have a big white wedding then.”
• Him: “Amazing!”
• Me: “Fancy getting married in Vegas then, just the two of us?”
• Him: “Amazing, when are we off?!”

See? Completely and utterly easy.

Flights were booked, hotel was booked (The Wynn, obviously, the ONLY place to stay in Vegas) and a chapel was booked.

As it was just the two of us, there was no need for a complicated reception, seating plans, or speeches. 

This went something along the lines of:

• Me: “What do you fancy doing after we’ve got married?”
• Him: “Dunno. Whatever you like.”
• Me: “Shall we just head to a casino with a decent bar and see how we feel?”
• Him: “Fantastic!”

And so we did. 

Our beautiful little Vegas chapel.

Britney’s Guide to Tying the Knot

Well well well dear readers. 

Yes I’ve been quiet, again, for which I apologise profusely. I think the large majority of you know why and will forgive me. It’s not easy blogging whilst PLANNING A SECRET WEDDING AND RUNNING AWAY TO LAS VEGAS!!!

To be fair the wedding planning was actually pretty easy as it involved me, my gorgeous husband, and…well that was it. So the only truly necessary things were: flights, hotel, chapel, outfits, rings. And obviously my outfit was the most crucial!

I have zero intention of turning into a *shudders* wedding blogger or anything of that ilk, but due to popular demand, I shall post a few bits and pieces about what happened when, where and why. Just so you’re up to date.

Watch this space!

So. Fabulous.