So on an English wedding, the bride is supposed to have bridesmaids to help her with everything necessary. So instead of a godmother and godfather as in Portugal, I could choose several bridesmaids.

Unlike Russ, who set up a romantic scene to ask Johnno to be his best man, I just informed them selected few:’By the way you are going to be my bridesmaid, just thought I should inform you.’ No chance for a ‘No’

So they are (in alphabetic order):

Jemma: Although we’ve only met 2 years ago, she has been my best friend in this country, someone reliable, and my shoulder to cry on and my company for the crazy girly moments. She is even more organised than me

Sophie: Russ’s sister. Unfortunately I don’t know Sophie as much as the previous but I hope that can change. She was 16 when I met her and she immediately impressed me with her maturity, intelligence and,most of all, kindness. As she grows and I get to know her better, she keeps surprising me as she is turning into a fantastic young woman. And she is funny too. I say that she has Russ’s sense of humor but she is actually funny

Vanda: What can I say about Vanda? I’ve known her for more than a decade and we’ve been through so much from university to holidays, to so many moments together. She has been there for my bad and also for my good times. For all occasion she is a friend I cherish beyond words. I just wish she was here with me

I don’t think I could ask for better bridesmaids then these 3 young ladies. And I know I can count on them just as they can count on me (L)

So yesterday Jemma and I went hunting for wedding dresses. She had booked appointments in two shops, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The one in the morning was a very posh shop so we decided to dress up to it including high heels (big mistake). The afternoon one was a normal shop, the kind where I can actually afford to buy something.

We parked miles away from the first shop because we are cheap and the parking was free, and we walked there only to almost be blown away by the wind. It turns out that the lady was actually very nice and she knew what she was doing. She didn’t pressure me at all to buy anything and showed me dresses that were right for my body shape and the cheapest in the shop

Jemma took lots of pictures and I felt like a princess. The dresses were absolutely beautiful! There was one that the lady convinced me to try on and… It is The One! Oh my, it fitted beautifully and made me slim and gorgeous! There is only one problem. At £1100 it is way above the budget we agreed for the dress

We then went for lunch at Wagamamas (2 for 1 because we are cheap), back to the car and to the next shop. We walked miles in the rain on high heels and my feet are still killing me.

The next shop was small and a bit chavvy. The woman was horrible! Very rude. Didn’t like it at all. She didn’t even let Jemma take pictures except for my favourite one. In the end there were two that I liked very much. At around £700 the are a lot more affordable. But they are not The One. Every time I look at the pictures and see that dress, it makes me want to cry because I love it so much! I even dreamt about it. I wish I could put a picture here but Russ can’t see the dress.

Jemma was fantastic, really helped me a lot and got me into the spirit

I just wish Vanda could be here as well…