Well, there is only one week to go, so we are really into the final countdown now.  I hope you are all as excited as we are!

If you remember nothing else, then just make sure you are at Vila Bled at 12:45 sharp on Friday. We will take care of you from there.

There will be some nibbles in the early afternoon and a big dinner to look forward to so I would suggest that a late breakfast or a light lunch would probably get you through the day.

See you all soon!

1. RELAX! All of the large hotels have spas and saunas and provide wellness treatments. Thermal springs feed the pools at Hotel Toplice, Park Hotel and Golf Hotel and are said to have healing properties. Or you could just take a relaxing stroll around the lake.

http://www.wellness-ziva.com/

2. EXPLORE! The Vintgar Gorge is about 4kn north-west of Bled and looks beautiful

http://www.bled.si/en/default.asp?id=466

Lake Bohinj is well worth a visit. It is huge and surrounded by natural beauty.We plan to head there to do some canoeing on the Saturday and would love you to join us.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/slovenia/julian-alps/bohinj

3. EAT  BLED CAKE! You can not leave until you have tried this.

4. VISIT the CASTLE and ISLAND CHURCH. Of course we will be taking you there on Friday so wait for us and you won’t be disappointed.

Slovenia is on the Med but Bled itself is in a mountainous area, so the weather can be a little tricky. Average max temperatures in July are in the high 20s, so nice and warm, but the overnight min will be around 13-15 degrees so it is probably worth bringing something light to wear in the evening, especially if you are used to a warmer climate or feel the cold.

Lake Bled itself is a small bit of water and warms up to a lovely 25degrees in Summer which is perfect for a swim. I certainly recommend you throw a pair of togs in the suitcase in case you are tempted to cool off.

Finally, they started building Bled Castle in 1004 and and the Island Church was build in the 1400s. By comparison, the Stiletto Heel made its first appearance in the 1950s… draw your own conclusions. Now, I know that I will probably not be able to dissuade all you ladies from wearing high heels, but please keep in mind that our wedding day will involve cobblestones, limestone steps and a couple of boat rides. So, perhaps leave the 5inch Jimmy Choos at home and bring the wedges or sandles instead hey? The gladiator sandle is very summer 2009 anyway…

Well, it is now less than one month to go to the wedding. Exciting stuff!

Seeing as many of you will be extending your stay in Slovenia by at least a few days before or after the wedding, I thought it would be a good idea to tell you about a few of the places that we can recommend you visit.

First up, the caves. Slovenia has some of the most amazing caves anywhere in the world. The two famous ones are Postojna and Skocjan. Postojna is bigger and is very well developed for tourism whereas Skocjan is a slightly more raw experience that is focused around one particular, massive chamber. For my money, if I could only visit one it would be Skocjan as the main chamber is absolutely mind blowing.

Next, there are a great selection of castles and monuments that you can visit. Obviously, Bled itself has a castle and plenty of other buildings that you will see while you are at the wedding. There are also some fantastically dramatic castle in the karst cave area. Such as Predjama castle pictured here.

Slovenia is also considered to one of the great “adventure holiday” destinations in Europe and there are plenty of places to go white water rafting, paragliding, canyoning, skiing, etc. All of this can be washed down with amazing food and wine that is reminiscent of parts of Italy but generally for less money.

Finally, even though I would generally recommend that you go to Croatia for the sea and the beach, there is a lovely section of coast in Slovenia with a very picturesque town called Piran that is certainly worth a visit.

If you would like to see some other photos from our Slovenian visits you can have a look at them here and here.

The day will go as follows

1245 Meeting of Groom and guests at hotel Vila Bled
1300 Departure of groom and guests by coach to Bled Castle
1315 Departure of Rachael and Joe by horse and carriage to Bled Castle
1400 Civil ceremony at Bled Castle
1420 Toast, canapés and photos
1520 Bottling of wine and visit to castle print house
1600 Departure from castle by horse and carriage for Tony, Rachael,
Rosanne and Debbie, guests will follow in the coach and everyone will
meet by the boat
1635 Departure from Vila Bled by pletna boat to Bled Island
1645 Arrive on Bled Island
1700 Church wedding followed by ringing of the wishing bell and photos
1800 Depart Bled Island for reception at Vila Bled
1900 Reception dinner and dancing at Vila Bled

Please let us know if you will be on the Wednesday afternoon flight so we can work out how many people have hired cars and whether we will also need to get a mini bus to transport everyone to Lake Bled. It would also be great to confirm who is arriving on Thursday and what time your flight lands so we can coordinate getting you to the lake. Can we also get a show of hands from those of you arriving on Thursday and the time your flight lands.  Also can you please remind us of where you are all staying?

Thanks!

Well, it’s just over 7 weeks until the wedding day which is very exciting. If anyone is having difficulties with accommodation please get in touch so we can assist you. Also, don’t forget to put your music requests up on the blog so we can dance the night away.

I have checked Easyjet and flights are now selling for July 2009. For those wanting to fly out on Wed 8th July from London Stanstead it’s £45.99 and if you want to return to London on the Sunday it is £70.99. The flight back to London on Saturday is cheaper at only £31.99. Prices will only go up as summer approaches so it’s time to start thinking about it.

http://easyjet.com/en/book/index.asp

What I want to know is, what is the song(s) that is 100% guaranteed to drag your, slightly tipsy, bad self out onto the dance floor?

You have to create the content for this entry, so please leave a comment listing the tracks that you would like to boogie the night away to. If someone else has already posted some of yours then just add in another vote. I will leave one to get us started.

You are getting months of notice here, so there will be no excuse for wallflowering on the night.

Update: Thanks for all the suggestions below. If you have any more then keep em coming but here is a playlist that I have put together. Let me know what ya think:

Abba	Dancing Queen
Abba	Waterloo
Aretha Franklin	Respect
Bangles	Eternal Flame
Beatles	Hard Day’s Night
Beatles	Hey Jude
Beatles	Twist ‘n Shout
Beck	Loser
Beck	Devils Haircut
Ben E. King	Stand by Me
Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes	(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life
Billy Idol	White Wedding
Billy Joel	Piano Man
Blondie	Heart of Glass
Blondie	Call Me
Bryan Adams	Summer of ‘69
Cake	Short Skirt/Long Jacket
Cake	The Distance
Cake	I Will Survive
Cake	Italian Leather Sofa
Chia Pet	Don’t You Want Me Baby
Coldplay	Green Eyes
Corona	The Rhythm Of The Night
Counting Crows	Mr. Jones
Dead Or Alive	You Spin Me Round
Dean Martin	That’s Amore
Dusty Springfield	Son of a Preacher Man
Eagle-Eye Cherry	Save Tonight
Elvis Presley	Suspicious Minds
Eric Carmen	Hungry Eyes
Franz Ferdinand	No You Girls
Franz Ferdinand	Ulysses
Gabriella Cilmi	Sweet About Me
Green Day	When I Come Around
Green Day	Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
Groove Armada	I See You Baby (Fatboy Slim radio edit)
Hunters and Collectors	Holy Grail
Hunters and Collectors	Throw Your Arms Around Me
Jackson 5	Blame It on the Boogie
Jimmy Barnes	Working Class Man
Joe Cocker	You Can Leave Your Hat On
John Farnham	You’re The Voice
Kaiser Chiefs	I Predict a Riot
Kings Of Convenience	I’d Rather Dance With You (radio mix)
Kings Of Leon	Sex On Fire
Kiss	I Was Made for Loving You
Kylie Minogue	Can’t Get You Out of My Head
Lady Gaga	Just Dance
Madonna	Like a Prayer
Maurice Williams	Stay
Moloko	The Time Is Now
Neil Diamond	Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon
Nena	99 Luftballons
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds	Babe, You Turn Me On
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds	There She Goes, My Beautiful World
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds	Into My Arms
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds	The Ship Song
Noisettes	Don’t Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go)
Norman Greenbaum	Spirit In The Sky
Patti Smith Group	Because the Night
Prince	Little Red Corvette – Dance Mix
Prince	Cream
Queen	Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen	Killer Queen
Queen	Don’t Stop Me Now
Queen	I Want to Break Free
Robbie Williams	Rock DJ
Soft Cell	Tainted Love
Stevie Wonder	Superstition
The B-52’s	Love Shack
The Dandy Warhols	Godless
The Dandy Warhols	Horse Pills
The Dandy Warhols	Bohemian Like You
The Five Satins	In the Still of the Night
The Fratellis	Chelsea Dagger
The Killers	Human – Main Version
The Killers	Spaceman
The Killers	Mr. Brightside
The Killers	Read My Mind
The Knack	My Sharona
The Pussycat Dolls	Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)
The Shins	Australia
The Weather Girls	It’s Raining Men
U2	Wild Honey
Village People	YMCA
Violent Femmes	Blister in the Sun
Wham!	Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
Yazz	The Only Way Is Up
Young MC	Bust a Move

Just thought I would put up the Google Map of the wedding venues and a few hotels. I will probably update it from time to time so you might want to check this post closer to the date.

I hope it gives you a bit of a feel for the place and maybe helps you decide where you might like to stay.

View Larger Map