In March Darren and I were lucky enough to spend a weekend in Stranraer at the amazing Corswall Lighthouse. It was in this totally remote setting with no phone signal or wifi (eeek!). It was so lovely just to spend some couple time together and enjoy exploring the beautiful surroundings. We even hopped on the ferry across to Belfast for the day where it poured down with rain the whole day! I even tried my hand at vlogging - check it out here 
In April we moved out of our little one-bedroom apartment. This picture makes me laugh - we were trying to carry as much stuff as we could because we had 5 flights of stairs to walk up and down! We moved into a slightly bigger place with a spare bedroom...and only one flight of stairs!
Not long after we moved, Darren's parents came up from Gloustershire for a visit. We took them to see The Kelpies, two massive sculptures of horses built beside the Forth and Clyde Canal. It was such a beautiful evening and they looked stunning in the fading light.
In May I picked up my wedding dress and this was me trying it on for the first time! I fell in love with the dress when I initially tried it on in a size 12, but wasn't quite expecting the extra amount of fabric on the skirt once it was sized up to my correct size. Regardless of this, I still loved it and it really started to feel like I was getting married!
In June, I volunteered as a Steward for the Commonwealth Games Baton Relay as it made it's way towards Glasgow. It was such a great day - everyone was buzzing!
In July it was time for my Hen Do! My bridesmaids excelled themselves organising it. We stayed in a beautiful apartment in the Duchally Estate in Gleneagles with it's own balcony. As you may be able to tell from the picture, one evening we had a Country theme and everyone got right in the spirit! It was a brilliant night which ended with a show and tell where everyone brought something and shared a story about me and them, it was amazing! During the day we chilled out at the spa, played rounders, ate brilliant food and at night we all got glammed up and headed to Gleneagles Hotel for a meal - perfect weekend which I will treasure.
In August I got married! I struggle to put into words exactly what the day meant to me. Our ceremony was outside in my aunts garden and the sun shone as we said our vows. Darren looked so handsome in his kilt, even though he isn't Scottish is was a lovely guesture for him to wear it for my benefit. Later on everyone filled the dance floor and I literally danced the night away. It was our perfect day.
In October, we jetted off on our honeymoon! Our was a bit non-traditional as instead of two weeks by the beach we headed off for a road trip of Southern USA! We started in Atlanta, Georgia before heading to Talladega in Alabama to watch the NASCAR. Then we went to Memphis, where we explored Graceland, Sun Studios and drank way too many cocktails on Beale Street! We then headed to Nashville. Now if you ever have the opportunity to visit, do it! It is an amazing place. We even took in an NFL game at LP Field which, although I don't understand the game, was a great experience. We stayed at an Airbnb in East Nashville which was an annex to a bigger house. It was super cosy and our hosts baked us fresh cookies every morning. Our next stop on the road trip was Pigeon Forge which is famous for being the birthplace of Dolly Parton! She has her theme park there, appropriately named Dollywood. It was such a pretty setting, up in the mountains with all the autumn leaves. On our way back, we had 24 hours to spend in New York City. We had agreed on the places we wanted to fit in - The 9/11 Memorial, Times Square and Empire State Building. We also saw Taylor Swift perform at Times Square! We were both completely knackered when we got back home, but we have so many happy memories and experiences to look back on it was totally worth it!
So there we have it. 2014. I'm kinda sad to see the back of this year so it was bittersweet wishing my husband a Happy New Year as the clock struck midnight. I can't wait to see what adventures 2015 will bring!
