Hello and welcome to my first post in a new blog.
I’ll begin in the manner of Lovecraft/Poe by mentioning that
I think I may be going mad and then promptly going into denial about it. You’re
the mad one, not me.
I just happen to be getting married. Again.
But first, why the blog and why A Frugal Wench? Well, I did
have another blog over on Live Journal for my outpourings, but Live Journal is
currently working like an absolute dream – by which I mean an absolute dream
like a successful Lib Dem election manifesto promise.
My blog covered a number of things that interested me:
science fiction conventions, comedy, books, poetry, performing, my dad nearly
dying in a flash flood but being more put out that his sandwiches had got wet… loads of things. Lately though, I’d been erring
towards topics of money-saving and frugaldom quite a bit. I just failed a ‘no
supermarket shopping for a year’ challenge at the 9 month hurdle. So that’s why
‘frugal’.
‘Wench’ is a Middle English word for girl that is now used
archaically by a lot of people in a slightly derogatory way. Wench is a word
that has always made me bristle, but then I used to hear it quite a lot growing up because
I’m from the Black Country where it is still in common parlance, especially
among the working classes. As a teen, I may have used to tell my family to, ‘Shut
up, that’s sexist’, but I think I may have actually meant that such dialectical
speak might draw undue attention to our underprivileged origins. Although we’d
be mostly sitting in a working men’s club listening to the Jive Bunny Remix, so
I’m not sure changing our language would have altered perceptions much.
But now I live in Northampton where I have a smashing life
and some purple-tinted specs to look back at the Black Country with. It’s not
rosy, but hey, the place was not so bad really. They have a better bus service
at least. That said, I love Northampton – it’s such a fascinating place to
live, and there are so many creative, interesting and kind people around,
inspired by its pretty buildings, its industrial heritage and the beautiful countryside surrounding.
I lived by myself in the Black Country for a while which is
when I first got interested in downsizing and frugaldom. I loved my little
house and managed my small salary well, managing to travel to France on holiday
with my family, go to conventions all over the UK and fund my MA in English. But
I fell in love and moved to Northampton 4 years ago and since then life has
just got busier and busier. And when time goes out the window, so do all your
good intentions.
Last year, my OH and I both realised our lives were racing
away, we’d taken our eye off the boil and we had to take control. We’ve had some
success: I managed to have enough put by to cope when the boiler broke, and N tackled
his health and fitness and managed to lose 3 stone before Christmas (sexy!).
But the wedding… oh…
We managed to book our ideal venue, but for 3 months earlier
than we were expecting. We have eighteen weeks and 2 days to get everything
done and paid for. We want this to be a celebration of us and don’t want to
skimp, but fair to say money is a worry and it’s mainly worrying me. So, this
will not be a £200 wedding like I read of on other people’s frugal wedding
blogs, but that said I don’t want us to be shackled to wedding debt and miserable
for years to come. Champagne wedding on a lemonade budget? Don’t make the
mistake of thinking lemonade will do. Every time I mention something that even
whiffs of lemons, the atmosphere turns very bitter indeed (by the way, just in
case you hadn’t got it, the lemons are metaphorical. But not in a U2 –‘look we
spent loads of money on a giant lemon to walk out on stage from’ way. Hopefully).
But
anyway, I invite you to accompany me on this journey, share in my quest to save
the pennies while still having fun and turning myself from a frumpy, dumpy Mrs
Pepperpot to a stunning bride. Oh – and I have a sort of look I’m aiming for.
This
is Romola Garai in Crimson Petal and the White. I think she’s great. We’re
having a bit of a Victoriana/Steampunk theme for the wedding so yes, in case
you didn’t know what the book and her character, Sugar, were about, the look I’m
going for is ‘Victorian whore’. Of sorts…
And I’ll be looking for lots of tips and ideas, and maybe some help in creating some nice surprises for my husband to be.
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