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Nine years (and two days) after meeting the love of her life randomly in a book shop, my younger sister finally tied the knot yesterday. It was an absolutely lovely day and one which I hope I will remember fondly for the rest of my life. I'm not sure when the photos will be available as the happy couple will be jetting off tomorrow for a week in Morocco. I hope they come out well as I want everyone to admire my gorgeous curly hair. My hair is normally so straight that it was brilliant having bouncy curls for a day. Obviously it will be nice for everyone to be able to see the bride and groom as well but this is my LJ and I'm self obsessed!
The day actually went really smoothly in the end. I stayed at my sister's flat on Friday night. Neither of us slept very well so we were up at 7am. We finished in the hairdressers at 10am and had time to grab breakfast before everyone else started arriving. My sister's friend did a lovely job on the the flowers. All the flowers were white and they looked very classy. I had to leave my bouquet on the side at the reception venue as it was attracting wasps outside then forgot to bring it home which was a bit of a shame. The makeup lady, a friend of a friend of my sister, also did a sterling job and I would highly recommend them both to anyone getting hitched in South West London or Surrey.
Mum did a great job lacing up the bridal gown. Fortunately for us sis chose a dress which didn't have loads of different parts to it. The only fiddly bit was the lacing up the back. Mum's patience and constant calmness shone through and it was sorted in no time.
It all got a bit hectic in the fifteen minutes before we left the flat. My sister scuffed the nail polish on one nail and mum had to do an emergency repair job. I then bent over to put my shoe on and the hook on my dress broke off. Fortunately, the zip held it up and I think breaking the hook may actually have helped me as I think it allowed me a bit more freedom to breath! Then I realised that my necklace had a knot in the chain but mum is an expert and managed to sort it out in out in the nick of time.
We were transported to the wedding venue in mini cabs. The driver transporting me and mum was a bit grumpy and didn't really seem to know where he was going. It wasn't very far but he started taking a really strange route which confused us. Then we found a closed road which made things worse. We did finally make it to the chapel on time. Dad and sis had already arrived and were hiding round the corner as lots of people were still arriving. The chapel is on the Kingston one way system and has absolutely no parking so the driver had to park in a bus stop over the road and I had to wait for the green man to cross a really busy road in full wedding gear.
The ceremony itself was lovely. I'd never been to a non church wedding before and had been told that civil services could be bland. However, I thought the wording used was great. Not too official sounding and not too mushy either. The chapel was lovely too. I had my reservations when they originally told me that they were getting married in a chapel beside a really busy road but inside it was actually very quiet. The chapel was just the right size for eighty guests (and a toddler in a pushchair) to sit comfortably on a hot day. I managed not to cry. The groom almost broke down at one stage but he managed to save himself and laughed instead. I wanted to sob but I sucessfully held back and averted a mascara related crisis! The registrars and the venue manager couldn't have been better. The mums were the witnesses (I told my mum to make sure she wrote her name in full for the benefit of future family historians!) and managed this without any problems. Sis almost forgot to collect her bouquet on the way back down the aisle but I got it to her just in time which made the audience giggle. The flowers were so pretty it would have been a shame not to get lots of pictures of the bride holding them. After the ceremony we retired to the garden for a champagne reception. I managed to hook the bride's train up without any problems. Everyone socialised nicely before the cabs came to take us to the pub they'd booked for the evening do.
The evening reception was held at The Waggon and Horses in Surbiton. It really was a great Reception venue. They'd sectioned off part of the ground floor and reserved part of the beer garden for us. The outside space was much needed as it was a hot day and there was nice cool breeze outside.
We had Pimms and afternoon tea when we arrived. The afternoon tea was brilliant. One of the best buffets I've attended for ages. There were mini fish and chips wrapped in real newspaper and lots of other treats like smoked salmon on posh toast and beautifully marinaded kebabs. The best bit was strawberries dipped in chocolate with a cream sauce. They were blissful!
After the food I had to loosen the bride's dress a bit so she could still breath. She was able to go to the loo by herself which was fortunate as the cubicles were on the narrow side and I'm not sure I could have fitted in with her.
In the evening we had a hog roast which was OK but wouldn't have been my personal choice. I'm a proper city girl and didn't particularly enjoy seeing the baby pig turning round on the spit. By this point the timings had started to drift a bit. The first dance was due for 8pm but then evening guests started to arrive and it got delayed. In the end it didn't take place until nearly 10pm. I did my bit and danced with the single best man (who is a giant - he must be about 6 foot 6). It was probably the most participated in first dance I've ever seen at a wedding. The dance floor was absolutely packed. Must have been down to my enthusiasm! Unfortunately, I had to leave shortly after the dancing started as the other people coming back in my direction were ready to go and I didn't want to get into a row with anyone about getting the bus on my own (there wasn't space for me in my dad's car. I hope the bride and groom continued having a brilliant time after I left.
I've spent the whole of today relaxing (and doing a bit of laundry) as it is still very hot in chez i-just-hide. I watched most of the second series of Spaced (brilliant), the latest episode of Ugly Betty (back on top form) and the final two episodes of series 2 of The Sarah Jane Adventues (excellent). Couch potato or what?
Also, I've just found out that one the girls I shared a house with at uni (and possibly the nicest person I know) and her husband are currently <i>cycling</i> home from South Africa where they have been working at a hospital in Zululand for 18 months. This makes me feel very proud and very, very boring all at the same time. They are blogging their adventure here http://longwayhome.travellerspoint.com in case anyone wants to follow them. They're only two weeks in and have already posted some amazing photos.
Right, I'm off to iron a shirt for work. Back to reality with bump!
The day actually went really smoothly in the end. I stayed at my sister's flat on Friday night. Neither of us slept very well so we were up at 7am. We finished in the hairdressers at 10am and had time to grab breakfast before everyone else started arriving. My sister's friend did a lovely job on the the flowers. All the flowers were white and they looked very classy. I had to leave my bouquet on the side at the reception venue as it was attracting wasps outside then forgot to bring it home which was a bit of a shame. The makeup lady, a friend of a friend of my sister, also did a sterling job and I would highly recommend them both to anyone getting hitched in South West London or Surrey.
Mum did a great job lacing up the bridal gown. Fortunately for us sis chose a dress which didn't have loads of different parts to it. The only fiddly bit was the lacing up the back. Mum's patience and constant calmness shone through and it was sorted in no time.
It all got a bit hectic in the fifteen minutes before we left the flat. My sister scuffed the nail polish on one nail and mum had to do an emergency repair job. I then bent over to put my shoe on and the hook on my dress broke off. Fortunately, the zip held it up and I think breaking the hook may actually have helped me as I think it allowed me a bit more freedom to breath! Then I realised that my necklace had a knot in the chain but mum is an expert and managed to sort it out in out in the nick of time.
We were transported to the wedding venue in mini cabs. The driver transporting me and mum was a bit grumpy and didn't really seem to know where he was going. It wasn't very far but he started taking a really strange route which confused us. Then we found a closed road which made things worse. We did finally make it to the chapel on time. Dad and sis had already arrived and were hiding round the corner as lots of people were still arriving. The chapel is on the Kingston one way system and has absolutely no parking so the driver had to park in a bus stop over the road and I had to wait for the green man to cross a really busy road in full wedding gear.
The ceremony itself was lovely. I'd never been to a non church wedding before and had been told that civil services could be bland. However, I thought the wording used was great. Not too official sounding and not too mushy either. The chapel was lovely too. I had my reservations when they originally told me that they were getting married in a chapel beside a really busy road but inside it was actually very quiet. The chapel was just the right size for eighty guests (and a toddler in a pushchair) to sit comfortably on a hot day. I managed not to cry. The groom almost broke down at one stage but he managed to save himself and laughed instead. I wanted to sob but I sucessfully held back and averted a mascara related crisis! The registrars and the venue manager couldn't have been better. The mums were the witnesses (I told my mum to make sure she wrote her name in full for the benefit of future family historians!) and managed this without any problems. Sis almost forgot to collect her bouquet on the way back down the aisle but I got it to her just in time which made the audience giggle. The flowers were so pretty it would have been a shame not to get lots of pictures of the bride holding them. After the ceremony we retired to the garden for a champagne reception. I managed to hook the bride's train up without any problems. Everyone socialised nicely before the cabs came to take us to the pub they'd booked for the evening do.
The evening reception was held at The Waggon and Horses in Surbiton. It really was a great Reception venue. They'd sectioned off part of the ground floor and reserved part of the beer garden for us. The outside space was much needed as it was a hot day and there was nice cool breeze outside.
We had Pimms and afternoon tea when we arrived. The afternoon tea was brilliant. One of the best buffets I've attended for ages. There were mini fish and chips wrapped in real newspaper and lots of other treats like smoked salmon on posh toast and beautifully marinaded kebabs. The best bit was strawberries dipped in chocolate with a cream sauce. They were blissful!
After the food I had to loosen the bride's dress a bit so she could still breath. She was able to go to the loo by herself which was fortunate as the cubicles were on the narrow side and I'm not sure I could have fitted in with her.
In the evening we had a hog roast which was OK but wouldn't have been my personal choice. I'm a proper city girl and didn't particularly enjoy seeing the baby pig turning round on the spit. By this point the timings had started to drift a bit. The first dance was due for 8pm but then evening guests started to arrive and it got delayed. In the end it didn't take place until nearly 10pm. I did my bit and danced with the single best man (who is a giant - he must be about 6 foot 6). It was probably the most participated in first dance I've ever seen at a wedding. The dance floor was absolutely packed. Must have been down to my enthusiasm! Unfortunately, I had to leave shortly after the dancing started as the other people coming back in my direction were ready to go and I didn't want to get into a row with anyone about getting the bus on my own (there wasn't space for me in my dad's car. I hope the bride and groom continued having a brilliant time after I left.
I've spent the whole of today relaxing (and doing a bit of laundry) as it is still very hot in chez i-just-hide. I watched most of the second series of Spaced (brilliant), the latest episode of Ugly Betty (back on top form) and the final two episodes of series 2 of The Sarah Jane Adventues (excellent). Couch potato or what?
Also, I've just found out that one the girls I shared a house with at uni (and possibly the nicest person I know) and her husband are currently <i>cycling</i> home from South Africa where they have been working at a hospital in Zululand for 18 months. This makes me feel very proud and very, very boring all at the same time. They are blogging their adventure here http://longwayhome.travellerspoint.com in case anyone wants to follow them. They're only two weeks in and have already posted some amazing photos.
Right, I'm off to iron a shirt for work. Back to reality with bump!
