Mum In Town Means Things Really Get Done

Planning a wedding in the UAE means we are often put in the sometimes lonely position of dealing with a lot of the organisation ourselves, since close friends and family are often many miles away. Luckily, our real Bride, Anna Lucas, had a recent visit from her Mum, meaning that she was able to tick lots of boxes in the run up to her Spring wedding. Find out how Anna’s Mum is getting her back on track below. Enjoy!

My parents visited in the last week of October meaning LOTS was done.  Myself and Tom tend to live in a world where there is no urgency for a single thing until it has been and gone. We’re the type that rush to Spinneys as guests are arriving – who think that being organised is having an up-to-date passport ready for a trip and nothing else. So, when my Mum, Dad and Tom’s Mum turned up wanting answers – we did not have many to give them.

The first stop was our wedding venue.  Even though my parents have been to Al Qasr and the Madinat umpteen times, Layali and Magnolia, in my eyes, are really the next level. They were really blown away! The drive in to Al Qasr, the lobby, the journey to the venues, the views, the atmosphere – it’s all just unimaginable to me! It gave that exact feeing to my parents also, and reminded me once again why we chose the venue and how excited I am for April – hurry upppppppppp! Our wedding planner, Mounia, greeted us, walked/sailed us through heaven and then we popped for a much needed toast for the seal of approval from the gorgeous ‘rents.

Next stop was the mall, in search of Mum’s dress. Back when I lived at home, Mum and I would go shopping every single Saturday without fail. It was tradition. Obviously, being 3000 miles apart means that this now happens less often, but when we’re reunited, it doesn’t take any time for us to get back to our old tricks and get things done :-) . In Harvey Nichols at Mall of the Emirates, we found Mum’s outfit in the very first dress, after only about 30 minutes! Of course, we then travelled to Dubai Mall to double check in all the shops, but we had found it, so happy days!

On to wedding shoes. We scoured the shops of Fashion Avenue, to find that nothing was jumping out at all. It was then that we overheard another bride in Jimmy Choo saying very boldly to the shop assistant that she was merely trying the shoes on there, and intended to purchase them in London, where firstly there would be GBP 100 off, plus she could then claim the tax back at the airport for a further 20% off. That plan has now become my plan also – a spot of Christmas wedding shoe shopping it shall be!

My Mum, as mums are, is so organised and amazing that she really despaired when her many questions regarding the wedding planning were answered with “I don’t know”, “haven’t thought about that yet” and “ahhhhh we’ve got ages” from us. So she has self-appointed herself a new title – ‘Wedding Director’ – and is now dealing with the Project Management of the entire thing and steamrolling everything so that things actually get done. Everyone needs a steamroller – appoint yours now!

After feeling shopped out, it was accommodation time. My parents would really love to be as close as possible to us during the wedding week to help out with stuff and chit chat until the early hours over the fun I’m sure we’ll be having, so what better than them being on the same floor in our apartment building! Royal Apartments have over 50 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments on the Palm, and one is conveniently located opposite my front door – so yay, we went to view and booked two of them next to each other for immediate family members to stay for the week.

Next month, you’ll hear more on my Mum’s Project Management skills, I have a birthday and a trip to New York for more wedding shopping!

xX Anna Xx

Don’t forget to log on next month to see Anna’s latest bridal diary post!