VLOG: Hen Party weekend…1 Of 2 – With The Mother..

Anyone who knows my mum will know that she certainly doesn’t do things by half. She puts 100% in and so much effort in to everything and I will admit that she does spoil me a little! So when it came around to me having a hen party I knew it wouldn’t just be a small thing. I didn’t actually really want one if I’m honest. I had nightmares of what it could be like and I only seemed to know what I didn’t want but not sure what I actually would enjoy if I did have one. We decided to organise a girly weekend away with a group of us in a beautiful big house (blog post to follow) but my mum didn’t seem to think that was enough. So she wanted to organise a whole separate hen weekend for just her and I! And well, why not! My mum is my best friend (yes I am not ashamed to say that!) so I actually loved the idea of a weekend away just her and I.

The makeup artist I have booked for my wedding is someone who I used to be good friends with years ago before she moved to Manchester. She has really made a name for herself in the makeup industry and has done makeup for lots of celebs including Michelle keegan and regularly does model’s makeup for publications. I knew the moment I got engaged that she had to do my makeup and she agreed that she would travel to Durham for my wedding day. I had to go to her salon in Manchester however for my trial so this was the perfect opportunity (and excuse) for my mum and I to have a girls weekend away on our own. I also needed to find my wedding shoes so it was the perfect place to go looking for them.

We had been looking forward to it for a while and were really excited and then the week leading up to it there was news of a devastating terrorist attack in Manchester. It was the weekend after the attack that was at Manchester arena that still to this day hurts to even think about. I am a big worrier and I know I shouldn’t live my life in fear but to be truthful, this was enough for me to just cancel my trip completely. Don’t get me wrong, a cancelled trip is nothing in comparison to the devastation that families felt who had lost loved ones and I am certainly not that selfish to feel sorry for myself because of being inconvenienced that’s for sure. But I do remember feeling annoyed that not only had the terrorists killed and ruined lives but they had also made people like me (and many others) scared and live life in fear once again.

One of the main reasons I also felt uncomfortable going to Manchester after the attack was because it felt wrong going there on a nice happy trip after what had just happened. But clearly my brain likes to think of things negatively because everyone else told me that it’s exactly what I SHOULD be doing after something so devastating. I should be carrying on with life and I should be doing nice things and I shouldn’t be giving terrorists what they want, which is fear and misery. I realised that they had a point and after really thinking it over I decided the best thing I could do was go and it would be my way of sticking two fingers up to them! Don’t get me wrong, I was terrified and panicked and constantly on alert but I didn’t let it stop me! And it was definitely the right thing to do, I know that now. I felt heartbroken for those who had been affected by it and I certainly didn’t forget that but at the same time I knew that doing something nice and happy was what we need to be doing more of in times like these! I did actually stop by the huge memorial bit to pay my respects and although unbelievably sad it was actually amazing to be there. Seeing the effort people had gone to and the sense of community and people pulling together was so lovely to see.

From the moment we left the house I decided to just embrace the weekend and go with it and I promised to enjoy myself. My mum started things off by turning up at my house with hen party banners on her car and the most cheesy girly music I’ve ever heard playing really loud. She also made me wear a veil and some glasses whilst in the car and although all completely cheesy and silly it was actually rather hilarious. We did have an amazing weekend, even if it was absolutely manic and we were on the go non stop! We even booked in to a last minute ‘hen party-esque’ show for the saturday evening which was fun, awkward and a little cringe…you can see everything we got up to in the vlog at the top! But warning, there may be some drunk chat featured in the video!

Hotel – Royal Victoria & Albert Hotel
Makeup artist – Olivia Naylor

Show – The Dreamboys