Weddings, holidays and Scottish dancing...

It’s been a lovely weekend and it’s not over yet! We have been uber organised, the sort of organised that makes you briefly flirt with the idea of trying to take over the world...

We managed to take our old computer monitor to be recycled yesterday. It had been in the hallway so long we had begun to think of it as an unusual piece of furniture. And then we stocked up on Hoover bags (no really, we’ve needed some for weeks!) Then we popped into Provinda (the organic bakery in Forest Hill) for large cups of coffee and a bite to eat. I picked up a carrot cake as well which is so good it’s now almost all gone. After which we tackled wedding stuff with a full belly and a pleasant caffeine buzz.

We are going to Cornwall for three weeks when we get wed. So we booked a small hotel for 7 days before the wedding, then we’re at the wedding hotel for 3 days and then we’re off to another part of Cornwall for a honeymoon! So we booked the pre and post wedding holiday, plus the dog’s accommodation for the actual wedding (he will be with us before and after, but isn’t able to stay with us in the wedding hotel). I also booked a massage for next week, and confirmed my new singing lesson. We paid bills, watched the rugby, walked the dog, did laundry and then headed out to go Scottish dancing!! Well, I sat and watched... it was a friend’s birthday and he wanted to do something different so he organised an evening with the Gay Gordon’s. A gay Scottish dancing group (now there’s a niche market!) It was a fantastic evening, really friendly and fun.

Today my partner’s brother is coming over for lunch so I’m doing a big organic beef roast – and no doubt several bottles of red wine will help the afternoon go with a swing.

This evening I plan to do nothing except watch Lark Rise (the last one in the series, but fear not I have inside information – there will be at least one more series, possibly more!)

And then Monday will appear with unseemly haste, but with a massage, a job interview, a singing lesson and a bank holiday to look forward to, I think I’m going to have a good week!

Wedding plans

Planning for a wedding is the first test of your future married life. It's deliciously exciting but hair pullingly frustrating at the same time. And it's remarkably easy to start snapping at each other as if it's our fault that places are booked or too expensive.

We've got a gorgeous hotel in Cornwall on the short list (the farm that we like never got back to us... bit rude but there you go...). Of course, it's more expensive but it looks fabulous and is right on the beach. There are lots of B & B's, campsites and even a youth hostel nearby for those on a budget but we've decided to do a bit more research before we take the plunge and visit. (Although they take dogs which made me very happy and instantly biased me against other choices that weren't dog friendly.)

So when and where we're getting married is still up for debate, but in the meantime I'm off to make the missus a cup of tea and tell her I love her...

Travel notes: the final chapter

Our final stop was in Yorkshire to visit my partner’s goddaughter. We crossed the Dales and for a while were transported back to the sort of countryside we had left behind in the Highlands. We had a fantastic final ‘holiday’ night with a lovely meal, beer and whiskey and lots and lots of wedding talk! (There is so much to organise!)

We stuck to the motorway on the way home and it took most of the day to get to Pluto’s boarding mum – who only lives 10 minutes away from us. He was so delighted to see us and happy to get home and root through suitcases and unfamiliar bags (anything for me?!). I couldn't stop hugging him - we missed him so much!

Since we’ve got back we’ve done lots of wedding planning and picked up a smaller engagement ring (it just looks so dam preddy on my finger…) We’ve also done 84 loads of laundry (I’m exaggerating but only slightly), eaten sausages from Edinburgh and enjoyed using our own bathroom again. We answered congratulations emails, texts and phone calls and popped in to see my mother and show off the ring (and take her some presents).

This was one of the best holidays I’ve ever had - Scotland rocks. But I guess any holiday is pretty special if someone you love asks you to marry them on a gorgeous beach on the longest day of the year ;0)