I'm feeling overcome with wedding excitement and love for my best friend today as we can finally say we're getting married NEXT YEAR

I can't believe I am actually about to type this... I AM GETTING MARRIED NEXT YEAR!!

Now that 2016 has rolled around (I think I blinked and missed 2015), I can finally say our wedding is next year.  This year is going to fly by in a haze of stationery, flowers, dresses and favours and, before I know it, it will be the year of the wedding.

The Chinese zodiac may say that 2017 is the year of the rooster, but it is definitely going to be the year of the wedding.  Not only am I getting hitched to the absolute love of my life, but my best friend (and other love of my life) is also getting married. Eeeekkkk, we're growing up!!

We've alway been really close have me and Soph, but simultaneously planning our weddings together will, no doubt, bring us even closer.  The next 12 months, and into 2017, will pass by us both in a haze of dresses, flowers, stationery and favours as we start going to wedding fairs, shopping for dresses and planning hen dos.

Just writing that list got me all giddy and excited!

Everyone plans their wedding with their best friend anyway, but me and Soph will be doing it all together which makes me feel so lucky.  I've not got a sister, but Soph is the closest thing I could possibly have to one.  We share everything - good news, bad news and gossip.  We laugh together, cry together, bitch together and are ridiculously close.  We sometimes are guilty of fighting like sisters too, which is only natural when you're as close as we are.  I'd be worried if we didn't bicker or disagree or rub each other up the wrong way sometimes.

Anyway, enough gushing about how much I love Soph and back to the matter in hand - weddings!

Still can't actually believe I am getting married.  The most unlucky in love, useless at relationships, long-term single person out of all of my friends and I am getting hitched!  And I get to do it the same time as my best friend woohooo!

I remember talking to my housemates at uni saying how it would probably be me to shock everyone and get married first. I was the only one out of the girls I lived with who was single the whole way through uni and, even though the girls were all in serious relationships, even they agreed I'd probably be first one down the aisle.

When me and Tom got together I could see me spending the rest of my life with him.  He was the only person I could ever spend a lot of time with and not want to punch.

At first, he was quite keen which freaked me out a bit (I wasn't used to being the one being pursued) but I didn't let it bother me and we soon became inseparable.  Now, we can say we will be hubby and wifey next year!!

I'm a super organised person so now the (almost) one year countdown is on I have lists upon lists coming out of my ears; money being scrimped and saved left, right and centre; and Pinterest boards galore!

If all of that wasn't exciting enough, I looked on my blog the other day (because sometimes I just like to sit and look at how pretty it is) and noticed that one of the adverts was for our wedding venue - which made me want to do a little somersault.  This is probably because I visit their website at least once a day, fawning over the wedding brochure and the pictures, but it still made me mega giddy.

I already feel a tad overwhelmed by the long list of things and I've not even started doing anything yet. I seriously do not know how them fellas on Don't Tell the Bride do it all in just three weeks.  I could have three years and would still probably have a stress-induced breakdown.

I'm hoping that my timetable of planning will stop me getting too stressy and evolving into a Bridezilla.  I know that Soph will keep me sane and stop me being a nightmare, though, and Tom is so keen to be involved in the planning which is so, so nice.  I know so many blokes who would just rock up on the day and be as surprised as everyone else at the cake/dresses/colour scheme/table centres.  My brill bridesmaids, my mum and Tom's mum will help loads too, I'm sure, so it will probably be an absolute breeze (please, God, I hope it is!)

I'm sure a lot of my blogs over the next 485 days (yes, I have a countdown on my phone) will be centred around wedding-y things and planning (and probably more weight loss and fitness as I jump on the 'shedding for the wedding' train).  

Our first task is to design our wedding stationery as we want to send our save the dates out in May, a year before the big day.  Tom's amazingly talented cousin is helping us to design them which I love because it will mean they are so much more personal to us than just some random company making them.  We will then have the awful job of drafting up a guest list.  I'm not sure I'm ready for the potential aggro that could come with that but, at the end of the day, it's mine and Tom's day.

I actually think drafting up the guest list is what I am most terrified about.  If anyone has any tips about how to swerve the awkward situations they would be much appreciated!  My cousin posted a really great flow chart which was to help you with who to invite so I'll definitely refer to that when I get asked why so-and-so isn't invited.

Less of the negative chat for now, this is about getting excited about weddings not worrying about tiny aspects.

And with just under 16 months to go until I am Mrs Natalie Jane Kershaw, I can not wait!!

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