From the top

To all the ladies (and gentlemen) out there who have a very similar lifestyle to myself and are/may one day be in the same situation as me.

On 30 July 2009 my boyfriend of 4 years asked for my hand in marriage. Needless to say I was thrilled. Extremely excited. Furthermore, he had asked me during our three week holiday in my motherland: South Africa.

Both families were happy for us and the day after the proposal there was even a gathering where we celebrated our engagement alongside my father's birthday (for whom this party was originally planned for).

That was almost three months ago. My new fiancee and I are back in the Netherlands and life goes on as usual. We had already gotten a basic idea of which venue we wanted to pick (South Africa, yes)... but that's about it.

The wedding is planned to be in about two years, mainly due to my fiancee's university and also due to the 2010 Football World Cup. It also has further perks such as allowing us (and those from Europe who wish to attend) to save up a little more money and advance planning might give us first picks on venue dates ect.

My little problem is the following:

- My fiancee and I, alongside his family, all live in the Netherlands

- Both my parents currently (and I MEAN currently) reside in Paris, France

- My sister/Maid of Honour lives in the UK

- The rest of my family either live on the outer edges of the globe or in South Africa!

(friends have not been included otherwise my list may have gone on forever!)

How I'm going to manage planning a wedding in this way, I don't know! I'm quite disorganised... okay, that was an understatement. Luckily my fiancee is all about list making and budgeting (yeah...), which I think my father will approve of. Planning to both of them is like managing a business. I wish I had that state of mind. I don't think business... I think party!

My mother manages to come over to NL every so often and she's single handedly one of the most competent people I know. Mum is also great with sending the best online links when she isn't in the country. I don't know how much of her phone bill I drain monthly by sitting by behind the laptop with her on the other end fawning over the same site!

When my funds allow it, I can also call my sister/M.O.H. She's another list maker but more extreme than my fiancee. She's basically someone whom I can trust my entire wedding planning to (come to think of it, I think she already did... two years ago).

Not to mention my in-laws, aunts, grandparents, godmothers, cousins and friends who have already offered to help on and/or the planning of the big day!

So I'm not alone. Never said I was. And we are blessed with today's technology to keep in touch with updates. Hence this blog. It's for all those involved to keep in touch with the plans and all those who wish to share their stories. Something tells me that this is definitely going to be a rather original wedding planning experience.

Here goes!