maybe mezzo

Booking your celebrant  It can seem overwhelming can't it, once you start thinking about the actual day of your ceremony and all there is to do?! It is easy to get caught up in the flowers, the make up, the venue, the photographer - all the logistics associated with the 'look' of the day, yet right at the heart of your day, is the ceremony. the reason you are both here and the main event which sets off the later celebrations. And that ceremony has to be right for you. It needs to have heart and meaning and love flowing through it. Once you start thinking about it, you realise that the success of the day hangs on this moment and a poorly executed ceremony is often commented upon. Things I become aware of when sitting as a guest is the voice of the celebrant; are they speaking with lots of expression or is it a bit monotone? Do they seem comfortable in their role as a public speaker? Do they look like they are excited about the ceremony? Have they practised reading the ...

When disaster comes calling   Just when you thought you were going to be married This month I have had two calls from distressed and panicked brides who discovered they were unable to have their legal ceremony on the day they had picked. Venue is booked. Registrar is booked, Photographer, catering, bands - everything is booked and people are flying in from different countries to be there to celebrate on a specific date. Then out of the blue, the unexpected happens and suddenly all the carefully thought out plans are in disarray. While some things might mean that you do have to abandon plans and cope with the costing implications, love can find a way around others. Here are my thoughts on the subject from experience so far! Stop! Think! What exactly has gone wrong? Try to take out the rising panic and focus on what you are being told. For most scenarios it will not mean abandoning the actual day, but it will mean reframing how you look at it Can you keep most things in place? The la...

And so it came to pass that the single duct had been found  and removed and I had a tiny scar. Not that I could see it initially as I had dressings galore. I then discovered I was actually allergic to silcone dressings - good job I wasn't in line for a breast enhancement. The irritation caused some opening of the skin - thankfully not on the actual scar, but around it and I ended up visiting the local surgery for a nurse to remove the dressings and change the thinking around that.  Despite being told I would have to keep up the codeine to stop the pain coming back, that Fentanyl had done the trick and although I took a few tablets, something told me I was going to be ok and so it proved. I now have a huge jar of codeine and an entire bottle of laxative hidden away! I dutifully wore my bras 24/7 - well I obviously changed them frequently, ie daily - and this was not as onerous as I had imagined. I did g and buy a sexy leopard print number from 'cosabella' which slipped over ...

My apologies for not concluding my duct removal story and forgive a truncated version of it now. The late newsreader Peter Sissons used to say "You couldn't make it up" and that might be a fair comment upon the next stage of the processes.  After failing by the vegetables I got home and found solace and comfort in reaching out to friends. It is amazing how a few words here and there can be so helpful. useful for us all to know that although we may feel we are doing nothing to help at all, in fact even just engaging and providing solidarity means a lot to the recipient. You even gain strength from re-reading those words. Words are indeed powerful. Over the next few weeks I was called in to be further assessed and in a way this got me more used to the shock of this unexpected moment with my body. They didn't install a guider thingy - a fabulous tool which is activated by the surgeon to locate exactly where the offending duct lies. It turns out mine was very close to the...