Becoming Mrs Jones.....

This is a little diary I kept on the journey to becoming Mrs Jones.  I wanted to capture the last months of being Drew's fiance to becoming his wife.  A journey that I honestly truly never imagined in my wildest dreams would come true, to meet someone I love with all my heart, to share my life with.  To love each other daily, to cherish each other and to be that person's everything. 

26.06.13

Today I brought MY wedding dress!!  After finding out Lisa Ho was going bust I thought "best I have a look at her shop in Strand Arcade" and so in my lunch hour with the help of my gorgeous Maid of Honour Anita, I purchased my wedding dress.  In true Donna style, quick, easy and organised, no faffing around.  This was a huge relief as I truly did not want a Muriel's Wedding Style dress or wasting many hours trying on big frilly, fluffy fru-fru dresses in the stores you drive past on Parramatta Road. Not for me. I love my dress, it is me. That is what I wanted, something that reflects me - simple but classy. Yeah.

22.10.13

Honeymoon booked and paid for! Off to  Thailand for two glorious weeks. Staying at the same hotel we did on our first trip overseas together in 2012... the Twinpalms Phuket.  Gorgeous five star resort with an amazing pool, spacious rooms and access to the Beach club across the road that has divine cocktails & food on the beach, everything just gets charged back to your room.

Webcam here for the view of the Beach club http://twinpalms-phuket.com/catch-beach-club-webcam.html - then we head to Koh Samui for seven nights staying at Rocky's Resort. Looking forward to trying somewhere new!

19.11.13

In a weeks time, on the 26th November,  my wedding will be only five months away. In five months time I will marry my best friend, the man I fell in love with two years ago and the man I will grow old with & continue to laugh with at fart jokes until we are 99.9 years old.  The man who makes me feel confident, sexy and comfortable in my own skin. 

A month before I get married I turn 40.  I remember feeling sad a few years ago that by the time I would of reached 40 I  might not of met someone fabulous to share my life with, so happy that I finally have.  Having kissed a few frogs in the past I had never really met anyone that made me feel alive, happy & most importantly myself. I always wondered why do relationships have to be so HARD?  Well they aren't meant to be... and this one has shown me that.

My first date with Drew was on Saturday 5 November 2011.  We had met online on RSVP and didn't spend too much time on the emails back and forwards, which was a big relief for me, I like to meet people face to face.  I remember asking him who would play him in a movie, one of my favourite questions to ask, to which he replied 'Liam Neeson'. I remember thinking AWESOME, he will be funny and sexy.  Which is he is. 

I have learnt so much in this relationship about myself, my expectations and really understanding that men and women are always going to be different, they are always going to have that different angle on things, which is what makes us love each other and comfortable together, because we can laugh about pretty much anything.  I love how I keep falling in love with Drew more and more as we move into being with each other longer, day by day.  We don't need to see eye  to eye on absolutely everything and I love that we can be independent within our relationship, because I think that is important.  We love and support each other and that is key.  Plus he has the cutest um dimples.

26.11.13

Five months today until I get married.  They say you don't fully understand what planning goes into a wedding until you are indeed planning one yourself!  I swear everyday I hear a song or see a dress, shoes or flower and my mind is racing to work out how it all will fit together, then I think to myself, as long as Drew is standing there smiling at me (gosh tears starting to well - big sook) I remind myself, that he is all I need.  I ask myself "what will be the one thing I will cherish about my wedding day", and the answer isn't about flowers, cake or how many chairs to have at the ceremony.  The answer is sharing our celebration with our closest family and friends (and eating cake!!). Did I mention there is cake?

3.12.13

Just heard Good Feeling - FloRida on the radio, that is our song. When I hear it I just grin from ear to ear, amazing how songs remind you of certain events, for me this song was huge when we first started going out, would hear it all the time on MTV, the radio and we used to change the words and Drew would sing "ooohh sometimes, Donna gives me a good feeling".. only sometimes hey? ahaha.  Looking forward to putting that in the dance mix for the wedding reception.

24.12.13

Christmas Eve

This is my third Christmas with Drew.  Our first Christmas together I had been going out with him for about 5 weeks when he asked me to spend Christmas Day at his parent house.  In true girl reaction I freaked... but of course it was because Drew wanted to spend Christmas Day with me and he was going to his parents house. So logical.  Of course it was a lovely day and we managed to have our second Christmas together with both our parents at our unit in Alexandria. It rained, I was sick, but it was a fun day getting everyone together.  This Christmas Eve we spent at Drew's parents house again.  It was truly so much fun as the neighbourhood in Camden have the annual competition of the Christmas lights and house decorations.  Boy they don't disappoint!  Every year we admire the Christmas lights on the house across the street and this year they had a Michael Jackson impersonator, a huge Santa sleigh with Santa and Mrs Claus all dressed up.  The house next door had a snow machine, it was madness but so much fun. We sat outside after dinner on the hill driveway with our drinks and just watched the hundreds of people taking in the sights.  The street was packed, there was sausage sizzles, ice cream vans, coffee trucks... what a great way to start the Christmas celebrations. Black and white piccie is sitting on the hill driveway and Drew is enjoying his niece's paddling pool.

 

26.12.13

Boxing Day

Drew got golf clubs from Santa this year and we headed off to Moore Park Golf Course to smash some balls. Was so much fun, the driving range is easy to use and there actually were a few people there on boxing day obviously getting away from the house or using their new clubs. I love that I get to use the clubs too! Love that we both play golf.

31.12.13

Today has been one year since we got engaged!  We had a quiet evening with dinner for two at our local pub and then watched the fireworks on TV with a bottle of bubbles together.  This is the first time I have had a quiet night in for NYE since I was under 18.  It was perfect.  I was asleep by 12:30pm.  No hangover and we spent New Years Day down the beach.  Perfection.

18.01.14

Today was a gorgeous day walking out and about - had driven with Drew to his work and I was heading to get my hair done at Prema in Surry Hills and meet friends for lunch.  I saw this drawn on the pavement and shared it on Instagram.  Love is all around me. It's everywhere I go.

26.1.14

Off to Melbourne this weekend to see my fabulous friends David and Michael and their gorgeous twins Rose and Cooper.  So great to see them, has been too long (well September) & meet the babies!! Loved being Aunty Donna for the weekend.  Michael is doing hair and make up for the wedding which is truly special to me as these guys are truly part of my family, love them to bits! So excited to see what Michael would be doing to my hair.  He mentioned extensions and I knew it was going to be a fun day.  After adding pictures to pinterest for Michael to see what hair styles I liked and what colour schemes I was keen on for make-up he went to work.  Champers, a gorgeous salon and my beautiful friend Michael chatting away and creating magic, perfection.  Curls, extensions, powder and wallah, I looked amazing.... so very happy. Perfect timing also with three months until the wedding.

Everything is coming together nicely. I am so lucky to have such a great bridal party who are supporting me so much and organising the Hen's night and also coming up with some fabulous ideas for the ceremony & reception.  Truly feeling loved & blessed.  RSVP's have continued coming in and looks like most are able to come which is so exciting.  It was really hard to do the final invite list as I would of loved to invite everyone I know,  but I have never wanted a big wedding and  I think I will be happy with keeping the numbers to a minimum.  I want to enjoy the night and know that I have talked, danced, socialised with everyone in the room.  I hope my other friends understand, I am sure they do because they are amazing people.

Flowers have been organised and I really just fall more in love with Drew day in and day out with the discussions that we have in regards to the big day. He just keeps me calm and collected.

3.2.14

Exciting conversations with Mum about the "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue: for the wedding, such a lovely idea to pin Nana's wedding ring to my dress somewhere and having the garter as something blue.  My Nana and Pop are no longer with us and I was very close to them both, so to have this symbol included in my wedding will truly make me feel they are with me on Drew & my special day, sharing their love & wishes and I hope our life together is half as good as theirs was.  Butterflies are another symbol that my Maid of Honour Anita will incorporate into my day for Pop, this is a reminder of the butterflies he used to make with his hands, such a crafty and creative person, which is fitting that Anita is helping me make them as she too is very talented and creative. There is going to be tears but I know that Nana & Pop will be with me on my special day.  When people asked me about changing my surname i was like "of course", it will be changing to Jones which is my mother's maiden name - what a awesome tribute to my mum's side of the family and for the most part I am a Jones at heart.  Fitting.

As mum and dad have been travelling for the past 22 months around Australia Mum will wait until she comes to Sydney to buy an outfit for the big day, shopping day on Dad's VISA! whoo. I am sure the lads will be heading to the golf course a couple times that week to get away from the wedding madness. 

11.02.14

Drew sent me this today to get us excited for our Honeymoon in Thailand.  We stayed at the Twinpalms for our first big trip together and we are so excited to be going back there for our first five nights as husband and wife.  The webcam was hard not to look at the last few weeks before our trip but it rained all the time but was beautiful sunshine when we arrived.  We are hoping for the same again.  They have the best pool, beach club, cocktails and feels like you are in the middle of heaven. So looking forward to going back with my new husband.

http://twinpalms-phuket.com/catch-beach-club-webcam.html

14.02.14

Valentine's Day!

Never really got the hype, VD used to make me feel sad & alone when single but I also felt the pressure and expectations for those in a relationship. Don't get me wrong all girls love to be spoilt with flowers & gifts but I prefer simple things like having a quiet romantic dinner with my man. Call me simple,  but buying me something over-priced doesn't impress me or tell me that you love me more than you did yesterday. Today was our third valentine's day together & I didn't buy  Drew anything thinking he wouldn't either (not even a card, for me that was so hard) but he was so sweet & played our wedding first dance song & gave me two CD's - Bruno Mars & Best of INXS ♡♥♡♥♡♥ now that is showing the love.

17.2.14

68 days to go (two months & 9 days) - holy smokes. They say it comes around quicker than you expect but 68 days. That is madness. Luckily we have 90% organised.

01.03.14
Food Tasting @Cafe Morso!

Today we had tasting for our Wedding Reception at Café Morso. Divine little café on Jones Bay Wharf (awesome name, don't you think?).  We found out yesterday that they had a kitchen fire earlier in the week, thank god everything is ok, the kitchen has been fixed, plastered and a lot of work done to ensure that we could not only get our tasting done (had the place to ourselves, but they could cater for the 60th Birthday party event they were hosting tonight.  Amazing food, amazing wine and I think all our guests are going to be happy that is for sure, full bellies! 

Café Morso I found on the Polka Dot bride site after trying to work out where on earth we were going to get married (Thailand and the Hunter Valley were on the list also) I loved the page as Jess & Brendan had captured their day beautifully, it showed me exactly the look and feel I would like our day to resemble.. simple but beautiful. No over the top madness for one day.  Just people coming together to share in our celebration of our love. awww. 

8.03.14
Flowers!

Saturday's are really my day as Drew works. I tend to go to the gym, see friends, do domestic stuff for the house (shopping, cleaning etc) and my favourite part of the day is knowing that my gorgeous man is going to walk through the doors at 5:30pm after a hard day at work, sometimes I have dinner ready and a glass of vino and I just love that time of the day.   Well today Drew walked in with a bunch of my favourite flowers!  So sweet.

10.03.14
S is for Stressed out!

Now I can tell why some people get SO stressed planning a wedding. I think my anxiety levels have risen significantly over the last week or so with the little things that keep popping up to test my patience and sanity.  In the back of my mind I know the day will go well, as long as Drew & I are both there with our friends and family things will go well. I am trying not to get stressed over little things but for some reason I feel the need to stick my head in a brown paper bag today and take some deep relaxing breaths.  Why is it the little things we cannot control are the things we stress about?  The main things are booked, we have the dress/suits and rings. Off to the acupuncturist on Wednesday to try and relax me a little. I know I am a natural stress head, or as my mum calls me "worry wart"... but you know what calms me and relaxes me whilst typing this? That the man I am going to marry is someone who can calm me down (most days) even though if we had of communicated a little better about cake types and tie colours maybe the anxiety wouldn't be so drastic, but then who really cares about cake and tie colours the day after you marry your best friend, when you have drank so much champers and spent time with those you love? I bet no-one gives a royal shit about tie colours or cake (well cake they do)!.

18.03.14

My perfume arrived from Slovenia. You know because we order everything online I saved nearly $96 by purchasing from some remote store, seemed pretty cool at the time.  It arrived today and I am super excited. I love Chanel - Coco Mademoiselle - truly beautiful scent that makes me feel confident and sexy.  Drew brought me a bottle when we first started going out (nearly three years ago now) and this is the second bottle I have had... special perfume for special occasions. I look forward to seeing the photos of me getting ready with Chanel in the background.

24.03.14

A Saturday 1 month and 2 days from today

Tirty-tree (in best Irish accent) days today until the big Wedding!  Having celebrated my 40th birthday on the weekend with cocktails, brownies, rocky road, champers & the most amazing friends - I am feeling very lucky in life today even in my tiredness. So for the next month I just want to relax,  eat well, sleep lots, mix up my training between weights and yoga and look after myself.  Everything is pretty much done except for my vows. I am glad I won't get to read or hear Drew's vows until the day but the highly organised person within me wishes she knew so she could ensure they match. Ahh being an Aries perfectionist some days is draining.  I will just write them from my heart and my funny bone. Short, sweet and simples.

29.03.14
Drew's Bucks Night
The lads had a great Bucks for Drew today... they started off playing barefoot bowls in Randwick before heading to Russ's rooftop in Coogee to play beer pong and drink, drink and get entertained by topless waitress and a couple of strippers, they all had a blast and I was very happy that he arrived home in one drunken piece just after midnight. 

31.03.14

Cannot believe that in three more Mondays I will be off work for a month & married!  I also cannot believe at how much I still have to do at work and bits and pieces for the wedding - my dress doesn't fit me. The back at the top won't zip up, damn lats, it just doesn't fit up as I haven't been disciplined enough with nutrition whilst training and haven't lots any weight or cms and am feeling very disappointed with myself.  Trying to keep positive and realistic and planning meetings with an alteration place to see if they can assist me.  So stupid I have had months and KNEW what I needed to do to make the dress fit. SO ANNOYED at myself and trying to reassure myself that all will turn out ok and things will work out but today I can just see the "to do" list and feeling very anxious. I have a temp covering me at work and lots is going on whilst I am away so I need to make sure that is covered, wedding dress alterations.  Boxing tonight and cycle tomorrow. I will fit into this dress. No crazy diets, just clean clean and exercise. God help me this all turns out ok.  Honestly this is madness. 

01.4.14

Dramas

April is here. 25 days until the big day. I honestly am so amazed at how much time, focus, talk and money is spent on one day. Totally amazing.  I am super excited and looking forward to it but will be so glad when the day is here and I can just dress up and have a super time with my gorgeous man, family & friends.  Had a late lunch today to take my Lisa Ho dress to the alteration place, they can definitely help me and fix up the back to lace-up nicely, so glad it is only one tiny section, the rest fits beautifully.  I have to remember that all will be ok, to enjoy this exciting time preparing for marrying my best friend, who quite frankly wouldn't care what I wore on the day.    The dress fitting went well and then I had the biggest scare ever. If you hear stories of a tall girl running up and down Market Street near Pitt Street mall like something from Lord of the Rings asking if anyone had seen her ring, that would be me.

So, after seeing the fabulous Joanna at Sew Designs, a fantastic lady with a little team of magical seamstresses,  I didn’t want to catch my engagement ring on the dress so I took it off and put it on top of my bag in the dressing room (on a stool).  I got dressed, paid the deposit and said “toodles" to Joanna and her ladies, I started walking down the street back to work.  Her shop is next to Rip Curl and Jigsaw on Market Street, at TopShop on George Street I realised that I didn’t have my ring on. Heart Attack and panic.  I ran (legged it) all the way, it is only 260m but felt so much further. Ran upstairs checking the lift and floors, it wasn’t in the change room or anywhere, so dumped my bags and ran back outside looking up and down from Jigsaw to TopShop, eyes scanning the ground, muttering “have you seen a ring” over and over like a mad woman.  Up and back I searched, went upstairs and Joanna abruptly said “calm down and look properly in your bag”, so I started looking stating “but I put the ring on top of the bag” and then felt the side pocket and somehow magically it had fallen into the side pocket, what on earth are the odds. My HR is still high. Oh my goddess. The angels are so looking after me today. Thank F*ck.

4.4.14
Bruised Affair
After a crazy week (full moon) I decided to eat my lunch outside and sit in the sunshine to recharge the batteries and have some time away from the office.  There are these cute little deck chairs at St Andrew's Cathedral that I have walked past for months on my way to and from work and thought I will finally get to sit here and enjoy them.  I have a thing for churches, always admire them.   So I got my salad from Bullpen cafe and proceeded to sit on the chair thinking "god I hope this doesn't break on me" and sat on it and "snap". The material broke, wedging me into the wooden frame of the chair on my upper arms. Literally was so wedged that I couldn't use my arms as leverage to get myself out of the darn chair and away from all the people that had just witnessed my embarrassing public event. So glad I had clean underwear on and that no-one really was at the "front' of the chair with my skirt hitched. Ahhh. This is the bruise after a few days of cream added furiously. You have to be kidding me!! stupid relaxing in the sun... why on earth.

 10.04.14

One More Week of work to go!

I am super excited that this time next week will be my last day in the office for a MONTH!  I cannot express (well maybe I can) just how much I need a break.  I am so looking forward to seeing my family and catching up with friends visiting for the wedding and am super excited for our wedding day.  Don't get me started on the Honeymoon (massage, sleep, cocktails, swim, repeat)!  Today I got our wedding topper for our wedding cake - says Mr & Mrs Jones, quite small and will be a great little keepsake for us to have at home.  Maybe we can whip it out for special occasions.  SO excited. So very excited. So tired and stressed but all excited energy. Mostly.  Will come back as Mrs Jones.

12.04.14

Donna's Hen's Day

Thanks to my gorgeous MOH and Bridesmaid Anita and Justin I had the best Donna's Day celebrating with my closest girlfriends at the Loft with high tea & champers.  So much fun.  Good laughter, great friends, good food and cocktails.  Really was lovely having everyone there to celebrate me getting married!!  I wanted a big night, you know because it is my last night out as a single gal hahaha.  Ended up at the casino at Rock Lily, great band & awesome espresso martinis with more champers, dancing and Smirnoff's black ice..... hic.  We continued to Marquee nightclub thanks to my future husband-to-be's connections, dancing until 2:30am to The Potbellez live!!  Awesome. Standing in the taxi line swaying happy with my Donna's Day I met the ballroom dance/choreographer extraordinaire Jason Gilkinson. My day was complete and I headed home to pass out.  

The sad thing to mention is Tiggy has been missing since 9 April and I am so worried I will never see my gorgeous fluffy ginger boy again, I am hoping he has found another place to hang out and is having a good time but you just never know in Sydney.  So many bad things happen to cats/animals.  I am just hoping and praying that he is ok and comes home soon but also being realistic that he might not ever come home.  So sad. So very sad. I miss that little fecker.

17.04.14

Happy Holidays, oh and Easter

Today was my last day at work, not back until Monday 19 May. The  first break I have had for a long time at work (not counting the four months I had off when made redundant). I truly got spoilt from the crew at work with some gorgeous Australian native flowers, DJ's voucher and a gorgeous ECOYA candle. Truly beautiful.  Feel so spoilt and so good to work with lovely people.  So comforting to know that Annie is looking after my post whilst I am away and I know I will come back to an organised inbox/calendar!

21.4.14

Parents Arrive

The folks arrived today from Perth, so good to see them as it has been over a year since they last came to Sydney when they were travelling around Australia.  Had a nice early dinner at the Newie and a few drinks to catch up.  Dad and Drew are playing golf a few days this week whilst mum and I just chill, get some pampering done and relax before the wedding.

23.04.14

Pampering Day

After a lovely morning of yoga in my room, I had myself a homemade bodyscrub to rejuvenate the skin ready for some fake tan action (no spray tans for this lady).  Heading into Newtown today to get a mani/pedi and think we are pretty much ready for Saturday.  I have my dress getting pressed, my shoes and other little bits and bobs are all packed.  I have worked out outfits for dinner Friday night and keeping up my water intake and eating well - have been fighting off a cold the last few days, so lots of rest, kiwi fruits (my multivitamin) and eating lots of protein and veggies and green tea!  Want to look refreshed and relaxed, not tired and stressed.  

Drew and Dad are collecting the suits today and having a game at Moore Park for a couple hours. Works out well really for everyone.  Hopefully they have a better day today on the course than they did on Tuesday at Eastlakes.  So cool having my folks stay with us for the few days before the wedding.  Really lovely catching up with them.  My sister and her boyfriend arrive on Friday, so looking forward to seeing her and meeting her new man. 

25.04.14

ANZAC DAY

It is raining up, down and sideways today. Really should of known it rains on ANZAC day.   Checked into the Blue Hotel and the LOFT ROOM is AMAZING! So huge... cannot believe that we have this for two nights (well I do, Drew only one ahah).  It is gorgeous. Great views and a nespresso machine. Simple things that please.  Had lunch with the family at the Woolly bay which had amazing two-up atmosphere even if it was bucketing down outside.   Had a lovely afternoon with my bridal party taking pictures and posting them to social media (the rain had a break and the gorgeous sun came out to play).  We checked out the yachts moored at the W'Mooloo Wharf and tried to work out which apartment belonged to Rusty (Russell Crowe).  We had a nice dinner at Manta Restaurant near the Blue Hotel which was delicious, great service and some good red wine to make me feel more relaxed ready for a good night's sleep.  Drew headed home and I headed back to the HUGE ROOM with Anita and Justin and we just chilled in our pj's watching TV and managed to get to sleep (from exhaustion and red wine) around 11pm! Last night as a single lady.

26.04.14

Wedding Day!

Woke up feeling very excited, nervous and wanting coffee (somethings never change) and we headed up to La Buvette for breakfast and it was truly a gorgeous morning. Nothing like a nice walk up those stairs to Victoria Street in Potts Point to start your day. We headed back to the hotel to have showers and start getting ready for the biggest day of my life. My fantastic friend Michael arrived, cheers, laughter, excitement and champers to prepare us for a few fun hours!  Dave S our talented photographer arrived and I remember feeling very calm, chilled and enjoying my day.  My mum, dad and sister would pop in to say hi and see how the transformation was going - my future sister-in-law Rachel came for a vino to say hello and chill with us for a little while.  I remember thinking we have SO much time, we are on schedule and there are NO dramas, no rain, just friends and champagne.  

Michael did some make-up and hair touch ups on my mum and sister Kerrie whilst I was eating the chocolate fondue the hotel had sent up for the happy couple ha ha it was all gone before I put the dress on, poor Drew! Justin and I ate it all. nom nom.

The last 15mins was a little frantic as we had been so relaxed for hours we still had to get me into the dress with the vintage ribbon laced back, we had to fix the gorgeous emerald sash Anita had created and I had to work out how to pin Justin's lapel onto his jacket (no buttonhole)!!  But we got there, Dad was all in his suit looking very dashing and we were ready to go and get pictures done in the hotel. I felt amazing, nervous, excited and happy. I felt beautiful and was ready to go marry the man I love.  

Driving with Dad to the ceremony I started getting quite anxious... but managed to calm down just as we got to the park in Glebe and I saw the group huddled in the park where Drew and I had pointed out to our celebrant Leisa and I was thinking "I am going to be married soon"! It was awesome.  I couldn' t wait to see Drew and the nice slow walk down towards my friends and family was truly special.

The ceremony was over quite quickly, suppose the build up over five or so hours makes 30mins very quick, Drew looked so handsome in his suit! We both teared up during our vows to each other, Drew's words were truly gorgeous and so heartfelt, how much I love that man.

Once we signed our life away I remember thinking "we did it!", there is a great picture of us hugging each other and I was like time to celebrate and party with everyone.  We got a few shots of the group and set off to the ferry stop for the guests to head to Star City Casino for a few drinkies as we headed to Cocktaoo Island for our wedding pictures. The lighting was perfect, the scenery at Cockatoo Island perfect and we got some amazing shots.  The ferry ride back to Jones Bay Wharf had the most breath taking sunset, a mix of deep oranges and purples. Still not a drop of rain and drinks were flowing and lots of laughter was had.  

The reception was fun! Lots of good food, friends, full glasses with a divine lolly bar for all to enjoy it was time to celebrate and dance the night away, which we did & there are MANY MANY photos of the drunken dancing awesomeness.  There was a lot of emotional speeches and some funny ones too but the best speech of the night goes to Drew's best man Russ, truly heartfelt speech.  We are so lucky to have amazing family and friends help celebrate the beginning of our life together as husband & boss, I mean wife.

Some sneaky shots of the day.. other shots to come soon! 

Mrs Jones xx

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