The wedding in numbers

Age 26 years, 3 months and 6 days

Together for 3 years, 10 months and 26 days. 

Engaged for 9 months and 5 days. 

93 guests for the wedding day. 

102 guests for the evening. 

28 pounds weight loss since we got engaged. 

17 miles between church and venue

3 bridesmaids

1 flower girl

4 ushers

1 page boy

1 best man. 

Over 12,000 miles travelled by some guests to be here. 

Roughly £30000 on wedding and honeymoon. 

14134 page views since January. 

Less than 24 hours to go. 

This is Miss leonard posting for the very last time. 

Wedding dress refitted

Saturday saw me back at the beautiful brides of Winchester to try on my gorgeous dress once more. Thankfully this time I was in a much better mood than last time and was also on time! The appointment started a little late but mum and I happily whiles away the waiting time. Then it was mums turn in the spotlight as she helped me in to the dress, as she will on the day. 

Then the accusations started flying. It seemed I've lost even more weight in the month since I was last fitted. This is an assertion that I strenuously denied as I hadn't weighted myself in a week and had been gorging fairly determinedly. However there was no doubt that the dress, which has already been sinched in by 4 inches, was hanging loose and a further inch was pinned out of it. I can't say I was disappointed. 

It was an appointment full of giggles and smiles, not to mention a tear or two from mum when the veil went on to complete the look. I dread to think what she, or I, will be like on the day itself. Even thinking about it right now brings a tear to my eye, or possibly that's just the kitten digging his claws in! 

18 days. That's all!

The second fit

Monday saw me back at brides of Winchester for another fitting of my dress. Unfortunately horrendous traffic put paid to my relaxing morning and meant that I only just made it on time. Combining that with being pre-night shifts meant I wasn't my usual chatty self. 

The dress fitted much better this time. The bodice had been taken in by 2 inches meaning that it didn't fall down and made for a more flattering silhouette. This time the hem was taken up and some adaptations were made to cater for my bustier. The bespoke adaptations were also mocked up. 

All of this took almost two hours during which I felt more like a mannequin than a bride to be and my ankles went to sleep in the shoes. After all that we've had to schedule in another fitting aside from the one already down for September just to make sure that everything is perfect for the day. I suppose that unless I win the lottery the dress is the most expensive item I will ever wear so it may as well be perfect :-). 

Only 57 days to go... 

Dress fitting number two

At the end of my night shift today I went down to Winchester in order to try on my actual dress for the first time. I was a girl on a mission and went equipped with my shoes, underwear and carefully curled hair in order to experiment with the full bridal look. I not only wanted to see the dress but to decide once and for all on my hair accessories and veil. It's safe to say that the mission has been accomplished. 

On Our arrival at the shop, me escorted by my mum and mother-in-law to be, we were greeted warmly and one of the assistants shyly asked if I would mind her re measuring me as she's being trained to do it. I had no problem with this and was thoroughly gratified when she was flummoxed by the first measurement and apologised as she must either have got it wrong or i'd lost an awful lot of weight. I confessed to it being the latter, which was followed by many congratulations. 

The downside to this was that by the time I came to clamber in to my dress - yes that is the only way in - it would barely stay up. With the arrival of the seamstress and a number if carefully placed pins everything started to come together. Sadly while getting under the skirt to make adjustments the dress got pushed up into my face and now has a lipstick mark on the skirt - I was hastily reassured that they will be able to get rid of it and I've chosen to take them at their word! 

Ultimately the dress was in situ and all doubts as to whether or not it was too plain we're eradicated, particularly when I tried it with a veil and hairpiece. I thought I'd already decided on a modest veil with silk trim but I was seduced by something else entirely. Then I tried on multiple hair accessories ranging from sparkly tiaras through to silk flowers and came to a slightly unexpected conclusion. 

I am not one to flatter myself but today I have to say I could not imagine ever seeing a more perfect version of myself. The dress, veil and hair accessory complemented me and one another beautifully and I felt like a princess and more importantly a bride. By the end of the fitting I was absolutely buzzing with excitement and cannot wait for the wedding day to come around so that I really won't have to take my dress off. I can't wait to see James' face as I walk down the aisle on dad's arm in my outfit. I felt more than a million dollars and am 100% certain that the dress and the extras are completely perfect. I am one happy bride to be. 

73 days and counting!!! 

It's a good day!

Today has been momentous for a number of reasons. Probably the biggest reason is that I took delivery of the keys to our first home. To say this house ticks all the boxes is an understatement. It is everything we wanted plus all the bonuses and for £200 less per month to own it than we currently pay in rent. We're not due to move in for a couple of weeks due to our frantic schedule and I'll post more when we do. 

On the wedding front today's weigh in hit the momentous stone mark. Although I've not lost as much or as quickly as I would like I am pretty pleased with myself. If I lose another stone by September I will be ecstatic. 

For now though... 127 days and counting. 

Diet progress

Today, in the middle of night shifts and trying to buy a house I tried out the scales. To my utter delight they've lost 4 pounds. Seemingly house hunting and wedding planning really are that stressful!

What lies beneath

I have my first dress fitting tomorrow. As I am big busted they are making a mock up of my top half in order to fit the dress too it. This caused two realisations. 1. I needed to crank up the diet, which has gone remarkably well this week. 2. I needed to finalise my lingerie as every girl knows it can dramatically change your shape.

Therefore today I headed to the town centre and my trusted old friend for the last decade, Bravissimo. To say I hadn't done my research would be wrong. I had spent a number of hours looking online at the various options. I'd looked at everything from bespoke corsets down but drawn the conclusions that bravissimo was my best bet. I'd subsequently chosen a front runner from their options based on what I felt would suit my dress. 

I was slightly nervous that my tummy would prove an issue. As my waist currently goes out and not in I was worried that the basque I was trying on would fit up top but not at the bottom. Happily I was very very wrong. In fact I had to go down a back size and up two cup sizes from what I normally wear. This certainly didn't do my ego any harm! I left just £80 lighter but with three new garments and a beaming smile. 

The one drawback though is that practicality clearly wasn't top of the designers agenda. Thank god for bridesmaids or I would spend the whole of the wedding morning contorting myself in a futile attempt to do up all of the twelve fastenings at the back! 

Cruelty to the engaged

Last week the diet was overlooked in order to enjoy the cake tasting and the leftover cupcakes. I haven't checked the damage yet on the scales but I envisage a few pounds were gained.

This week the diet is resuming with a vengeance. I have found this particularly tortuous today as the desk at work is currently housing a tin of quality streets with all my favourite cremes in there. Damn diet! 

The diet

Most brides diet. At least that's what I understand. Some do it more successfully that others. In the past my weight has fluctuated quite a lot and I've previously had some success when it came to dieting. I will never be a stick insect. I accept that. As I've grown older I've also come to embrace having curves and I count them as one of my greatest assets. That said for the last 2 and a half years (about the same length of time that James has cooked for me with any degree of regularity) my weight has remained steadfastly high. That would be a full three stones higher than when I met James.

Unfortunately for my appetite that is going to change. As soon as James proposed I started being careful and as such managed not to gain any weight over the Christmas period. When midnight struck on New Years Day though it was out with snacks completely. No chocolate has yet passed my lips this year and I think it only will at the cake tasting and subsequently at the wedding, presuming that chocolate is one of our favoured flavours at said tasting (two weeks today!).

Finally today I started seeing results. I am now proud to announce that I am officially 3 pounds lighter than I was this time last week. Fear not it's not the result of a crash diet. I am eating three square meals per day and fully intend to continue doing so. I do now have the belief that I can lose that weight and after the joys of trying on my beautiful dress I have something to aim towards. True I've had my measurements taken but I'm told there's not a problem with losing an extra stone (or two) between now and the big day. Anyway dinner's being served. Goodnight!