BeautyDupe: Wedding Series: An Introduction

My fiancé (Doug) and I celebrated our 8 year Anniversary in October, and Christmas marked 3 years of engagement and now we are finally counting down to our wedding in September! I have decided to do a wedding series so that I can share with you all my planning successes and no doubt stresses along the way. Before I jump into that I thought I would introduce you to our relationship to give you a bit of background of us.

We started dating way back in 2006 when we met through a mutual friend. Doug had just turned 23 and I was a few months shy of my 18th birthday. 7 months into our relationship it because a long distance one when Doug joined the Royal Marines and I later moved to University.

After a short stint in the Marines, Doug started a job which kept him moving all over the country and I continued my University Studies. We saw each other for 1 day every other weekend, so our time together was valuable and we tried our hardest to make the most of every minute. But even though long distance was hard and at times it was a serious struggle, I wouldn't change this time in our relationship because it really makes us appreciate the amount of time we see each other now. The distance didn't break us because from day 1 we were smitten with each other. I am really close to my family and Doug became part of that family. The relationship he has with my mum, dad and sister is everything I could have wished for. Although I have always thought that if we ever did break up then my family would keep Doug instead of me!

After graduating University I moved back home and started a full time job. Doug was still moving around so our routine didn't change much. It wasn't until a year later, when we had been dating for 4 and half years, that everything changed for the better. Doug was offered a permanent position in the North West of England and asked if I would move with him. We were both ecstatic! This move felt like a long time coming. It felt like a whole new chapter in our relationship. Seeing each other every evening after work was like heaven after all this time. 7 months later Doug finally put a ring on it, in front of all my family whilst we were celebrating Christmas. The way he proposed, with all my family there was so perfect for me and the fact that he asked my dads permission before hand was just the icing on the cake. I knew I was blessed to have found a true gentleman (soppy).

We knew the wedding would be a while after we got engaged as I was in the process of applying for my Masters Degree and we also had a lot of saving to do. So after 3 years of counting down, this year just after midnight on New Years Eve, Doug kissed me and said "we are getting married this year!". At which point I felt a mixture of excitement and then pure fear of all the planning ahead!