This is grovestobewilson's Black Wedding!

So tonight I meet with one of my closets friends, we often go out for dinner to chat and catch up. Tonight I will be asking her to be my Matron of Honour.

Its a BIG deal for me and im really nervous.

I will be asking both my sisters to be my Brides Maids, before I meet with my friend as well as well as FH's sister. Its going to be a big wedding party, ive always had a really big family so im used to being around lots of people. Im really excited to get things on the go now :)

I have added a picture of the gifts which I will be giving to them. Each of them will recieve a pair of long gloves with a note saying "Lend me a hand with my BIG DAY planning . . . . . Please be my Matron of Honour/ Brides Maid"

So I need some advice girls.

I want to have an Engagement Party, but a lot of the guest invited to the wedding comprise of family and live relatively far. None of them will come for the egangement party.

Do you think it is okay for me to invite anyone that is not invited to the wedding. We have lots of friends, esp from school that wont be invited, but we still want them to celebrate with us. Would it be rude and cheeky to invite then to the engagement party and not the wedding?

Please help........

My Boyfriend and I have be talking about getting married for a couple of months now . . . . ok, maybe close on a year :) So eventually I felt I was ready to make the next step and then everything from his side stopped . . . . I just though that he wasnt quite ready so I left all the wedding talk alone.

To my suprise . . . . complete suprise, he booked us onto a Cruise Ship. He only announced this to me while we were standing next to the Ship, with both our families standing around (I thought his grandparents were going on the trip, so we were all there to see them off . . . . little did I know).

My mom had packed my bag and brought it along for me (it was HUGE as she didnt know what I would want to wear:)

We boarded the Ship after saying good bye's with lots of happy tears from both mothers, sisters and me. . . . . we all KNEW what was going to happen.

The first day on the cruise we got to know the areas of the Ship and had a few cocktails on the deck.

Later that evening, after dinner, we took a slow walk around the Ship (looking for the perfect spot) once Cole found a place that was empty he started talking and then knelt on one knee . . . . before he could say anything a crowd of people above us on the upper deck saw what was happening and started cheering and applauding us . . . . he was so nervous and got so overwhelmed by the amount of people looking on he couldnt complete his speak, but instead asked what he wanted to ask . . . . . . I said yes of course and the crowd started clapping all over again.

The moment went so fast yet as I reply it in my mind I see everything happening so slowly and perfectly. It was so romantic and perfect.

The second day on the cruise was amazing, we had a wonderful time enjoying each others company and being able to spend time together as we knew what a whirlwind was about to start.

The whole cruise was so perfect and the best thing about it was that he had planned it all secretly and months in advance . . . . so much thought and detail had gone into it.

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Hi, my name is Joleen Groves, my fiance` is Cole Wilson.

We are from Durban, South Africa.

We met in High school and have been dating for 6 and a half years. He finally popped the question and im delighted. I feel like im the luckest girl in the world.

Im looking forward to look through and find some inspiration on these pages so that I can create my dream wedding!

Good Luck to you all.

Jo***