Well… the wedding is now a couple of months in the past and yet somehow we still haven’t managed to get the thank you cards out in the post! Don’t worry - we’re not ungrateful, we’re just lazy (well, lazy and really busy what with being in the process of moving house and all)

Worry not though, we will get them done at some point in the near future - maybe they’ll arrive with the Xmas cards!

In the meantime,  I would like to say a big thank you on behalf of my new wife and I - having our friends and family around us really made our wedding day very special - if you would like to see pictures, they’re all up on t’internet - check out the links below:

• Wedding photos by ourselves and various family members
• official” photos from the photographer (Simon Atkins - he was amazing!)
• Photos from the honeymoon 

Eeeek! Not long now until the wedding! I’ve started thinking about the thing I dread most about the wedding… No I don’t mean marrying Steph - I mean the speech!

I hate public speaking, so I’m not especially looking forward to the speech, but we’re having the speeches before the food so at least I won’t be so nervous that I can’t tuck in and enjoy the food!

I’ve had a few ideas for the speech but I keep forgetting them, so I’ve just purchased a fancy new Moleskine notebook thingy so any ideas I get can be written down when I have them. Moleskine notebooks have been used by some of the literary greats of the 20th century so I figured hey, if they’re good enough for Ernest Hemmingway, then they’re good enough for my speech notes!

Steph has been planning on keeping  box of wedding keepsakes, so hopefully be investing in a solid notebook there will still be something there for any little Kettles that come along in the future to read when I’m old and decrepit

Eeeks! Only a month and ten days until the big day! I’m I getting pre-wedding jitters? YES! Have I written my speech yet? NO! Anyway… enough about me… I suppose you’ll all be wanting to know how to get to Clearwell Castle for the wedding?

Well, you’ll be glad to hear that we’ve put some directions up - just click the link at the top that says ‘Directions’. I’ve also created an interactive map that you can use to take a look at the surrounding area, there’s also a link on the map to allow you to easily get directions from where you are, to the place we’re getting hitched!

Use your link clicker here for the map!

A few pics from my Stag party in Newquay

Click here to see all of the photos on Flickr

We’ve finally got the invites sorted! - Just got to get them out in the post now!

Not sure how to get to Clearwell Castle? It’s not too difficult, for your convenience there’s directions from various places below. Click here for a nice satellite map with a link to Google Maps for direct driving directions.

From London

• Take the M4 Westbound towards South Wales.
• At junction 21, turn onto the M48 towards Chepstow and go over the bridge.
• Turn off at junction 2 and at the roundabout above the junction, follow the A48 towards Chepstow.
• At the Highbeech roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the A466 towards Monmouth.
• Follow this road for 10 miles until you cross the River Wye.
• After the bridge, turn right into Stowe Road follow the road for approx 2 miles, turn left into Church Road.
• Clearwell Castle is then situated on your left

From Cardiff

• Take the M4 Eastbound towards the Severn Bridge.
• At junction 23 turn onto the M48 towards Chepstow
• Turn off at junction 2 and at the roundabout above the junction, follow the A48 towards Chepstow.
• At the Highbeech roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the A466 towards Monmouth.
• Follow this road for 10 miles until you cross the River Wye.
• After the bridge, turn right into Stowe Road follow the road for approx 2 miles, turn left into Church Road.
• Clearwell Castle is then situated on your left

From Birmingham

• Join the M5 Southbound
• At Junction 8, take the M50 towards Ross-on-Wye and continue on the A40 to Monmouth.
• From Monmouth take the A466 signposted to Chepstow
• After about 3 miles, turn left at Redbrook (onto the B4231)
• ontinue on and go through the village of Clearwell
• Clearwell Castle is then situated on your right after the village

From Gloucester

• Take the A48 south towards Chepstow
• After approximately 20 miles, turn right into Lydney, then turn right onto the B4231 signposted to Coleford and Lydney Hospital
• Continue on this road through the village of Bream then turn right at the T junction signposted to Coleford
• After approximately 200 yards, turn left and the Castle will then be on your left hand side.

From Oxford

• Join the A40 Eastbound towards Cheltenham and Gloucester
• From Gloucester take the A48 south towards Chepstow
• After approximately 20 miles, turn right into Lydney, then turn right onto the B4231 signposted to Coleford and Lydney Hospital
• Continue on this road through the village of Bream then turn right at the T junction signposted to Coleford
• After approximately 200 yards, turn left and the Castle will then be on your left hand side.

From Bristol

• Join the M32 Northbound and then join the M4 Westbound in the direction of South Wales
• At junction 21, turn onto the M48 towards Chepstow and go over the bridge
• Turn off at junction 2 and at the roundabout above the junction, follow the A48 towards Chepstow.
• At the Highbeech roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the A466 towards Monmouth.
• Follow this road for 10 miles until you cross the River Wye.
• After the bridge, turn right into Stowe Road follow the road for approx 2 miles, turn left into Church Road.
• Clearwell Castle is then situated on your left

Interactive map? Click here!

Click here to get driving directions to the venue at maps.google.com

We’re off tomorrow to see the lady that will be making our wedding cake! Supposedly she’s pretty good and makes cakes for some pretty big multinational corporations for their special events. Steph in her wisdom has decided to go for a plain white circular cake which will be decorated with small fresh flowers on the day by our florist.

We’ve also finally given up on the idea of making our own invites and ordered some from a local print company. They’re pretty snazzy and far better than our half arsed attempts! Should be with us early next week, then we just have to get them written up and posted and we’re away!

Wow! What a weekend… I’m not going to give away too much information but I can say that we had a bloody good time - lots of drinking, dancing and general being stupid. Steph’s still away at her sisters Hen weekend but should be back later today…

Must rest now… very tired!