One of the loveliest days ever....The Wedding

It's two months since my darling daughter was married. It's gone by in a flash, and there isn't a day that goes without me smiling or laughing at some memory of the day itself.

We woke to rain. I 'm not just talking about a soft refreshing shower. Or  a steady teeming of rain. Or even a heavy shower. This was an angry, persistent rain which showed no signs of stopping.

And it didn't. The windscreen wipers in my car couldn't keep up with the water and spray as Mama and I made our way to the hairdressers, and again on journey home. I'd also picked up my friend Dimple who was going to make up Lucy, Mama and I. She saw Mama's distress at the rain and told us that in India, when it rained on your wedding day, it was said to be heaven's way of showering you with blessings.

Mama smiled and said " We will be very blessed today indeed!"

And do you know what ?We were. There was one moment at midday when I saw Lucy's face looking through the window, and I nearly cried. How were we to get her to the church, and everyone across the field to the marquee?

I didn't cry but my son Billy did as he saw his big sister in her wedding dress. As did Mr Thinking of the Days too. She looked beautiful, stunningly lovely in her old lace wedding dress.

 

But miraculously, the rain stopped ten minutes before the wedding ceremony, and as planned we were able to walk down to church.



 

 

 

My boys and I 

 

 

At the church gates

 

And I simply adore this picture of Harry and Lucy with their bridesmaids, Ellie, Sarah, Emma and Grace as they walked through the village to the marquee

 

 

And this one is another favourite by the field gate...

 

 

 

 

And that's where I'm going to stop with the photos. There are so many of them, all so well taken by Matt Horan , if I included all of my favourites , this could just become the longest blog in history.

 

 

Instead, I'm going to leave you with a video taken by my gorgeous nephew Ollie. He's a photographer and videographer who made a short video of the highlights of Lucy and Harry's big day.

It captures perfectly the very essence of the day....the anticipation, the emotion, especially when Billy sees his sister in her wedding dress, when Mr Thinking of the days sees Lucy dressed up for the very first time, the fun, the laughter, the love, and some of the shenanigans which occurred later. The dancing...oh the dancing, where we danced all night to a brilliant disco from Alex Wright.And sharing it all with our lovely family and friends who came from far and wide.

 

The video  arrived today, and I've cried and laughed each time I've watched it. And above all, each frame shows off my darling daughter...beautiful, vivacious, unspoilt and so much in love with her new husband.

 

Why not sit down with a cup or glass of something and have a look....

The track "Into the Mystic "by Van Morrison was their first dance, and the other tracks were featured in a wedding soundtrack which were given as favours to all of our friends and family

 

 

http://vimeo.com/101875518

 

 

So thank you Ollie....and here he is, strutting his stuff later....

 

 

Days in the week leading up to THE wedding of the year....

So, at the end of May, my darling daughter got married to the lovely man she met in Australia four years ago.

Within weeks of their romantic engagement in Florance, we were swept up in a whirlwind of wedding planning. Where would it take place? When would it be? What type of wedding? All seemingly big decisions , which were made without fuss and quite quickly.

It would be a wedding from home, in the village church down the lane where brides have been married since the twelfth century, carrying on an ancient tradition.

And the reception would take place in a marquee in the field behind our cottage, thanks to the generosity of Ian and Sharon, our friends and next door neighbours ,who gave us the use of  their field.

At the beginning of the week, the marquee men arrived and quickly set to work in the sunshine

My darling mum,  known to most of us as Mama ,had arrived the day before , so while the marquee went up she had a grandstand seat to watch the proceedings.

And by the first evening , when the bride to be arrived home, in a car
full of important things - the dress, the shoes, the bunting, the orders of service, decorations, etc, she gasped with delight  as we sat in the garden with a bottle of prosecco to look at such an important feature of her wedding day.

What happened during the next few days are a blur. A busy blur of frenzied activity, laughter, frowns, goodwill , hard work , pulling together , and a real sense of friendship as we all went about doing what needed to be done for the big day.

Lucy's brothers Billy and Callum took a few days off from work to help, and Grace and Ellie, two of Lucy's bridesmaids were here for three days, working their socks off, as was Harry the bridegroom . On Friday Sarah and Emma the two other bridesmaids had arrived and they were all in the marquee dressing the tables, stocking up the bar, and doing a hundred and one jobs.

Lucy had already made 108 metres of bunting the week before, and by Friday afternoon, most things were in place.....

And yes, the posh loos had arrived!

 

 

 

Meanwhile Mama and my friend Dot had finished decorating the church with flowers.....

Then back in the kitchen, after making about 600 canapés, I sat down with Mama and my friend Eileen who'd arrived to pitch in to hull 60 pounds of strawberries....

And we found that when you're sitting down , chatting and having a glass of wine at the same time as hulling, the job doesn't seem too bad!

 

By now, we all were tired .It was time to get changed, and go down to the pub in the next village for a meal..and to celebrate my birthday and the wedding anniversary of Mr Thinking of the Days. That's one birthday and anniversary I won't forget in a hurry....being with our extended family - my most favourite and most loved people in the world and with friends, knowing the next day was going to be the biggest day in my daughter's life so far.

But before we made our way home ,, I received an unexpected surprise....a delicious and delightful looking cake made by Grace, who I've known since she was a few months old, and who will always be part of our family.

 

By then I was nearly in tears of love and gratitude, not just for the cake, but for everything. But I was also excited and apprehensive at to what tomorrow would bring . After all, torrential rain was forecast, would I sleep, would everything be ok? Would Lucy and Harry enjoy their big day?


And yes, you'll have to wait for pictures of the bride, the dress and the wedding shenanigans until the next blogpost....!
 

A day which was meant to be

I went to a very special wedding on 24th May....that of my darling daughter. I haven't blogged about it yet because I'm waiting for her to do the honours first - after all it was  her special day! Later this week though, I will post photos and thoughts of the most amazing , emotional, beautiful day..


But this Saturday lunchtime, I 'm thinking of another wedding which is taking place today, thousands of miles away in Louisiana in the good old US of A.  My friend Shannon is getting married to James...and their love story is something out of a fairy tale.

Shannon and I have known each other for about six years....

and last February we met up in Ely in Cambridgeshire with her lovely daughter Lauren and two other writers  Denise and Susan. See here
http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/days-of-writing-talking-and-laughing.html

Let me tell you about Shannon. She's beautiful, fun, feisty, full of Southern charm, dynamic and a damn good writer. She also has an inoperable brain tumour.

When we met in Ely, although we laughed til we cried, there was also an underlying sadness for Shannon....and it wasn't just the brain tumour which was causing concern, things weren't going right in her personal life.

By June, Shannon was in the middle of a divorce, and received the worst news from her doctor, that surgery wasn't an option to get rid of the tumour.

http://www.shannonlane.com/letting-it-be/


She flew back to Louisana  the next day determined to live her life to the full. And sitting next to her on the plane was an airline pilot called James. They talked, they laughed, they kept in the contact, and as for the rest....well, dear reader, she is marrying him today!




So today Shannon, I wish you all the happiness in the world with your handsome pilot as later this afternoon as you walk down the aisle .

 James, you've made my friend so happy already...I can't wait to meet you.

Have a lovely day today and all the other days to come...

Today's track is for you both .....

 

Busy, busy, busy days

Well, it's been a while hasn't it?

No, I've not been lazing around on some far flung beach, busy doing nothing....I've been working hard, and living life to the full.

I've also been  worrying about my lovely Mum who's been seriously ill, and who's had two operations since January so have been up and down to the West Country ....

Here she is two days after she came out of hospital  for the second time, on Mothers Day

In March I went to my darling daughter's hen do in Brighton...a lovely, life affirming weekend full of laughter, love, prosecco and other shenanigans! Over twenty of us in  a huge house by the seafront, superbly organised by Grace, Ellie, Squeaky, and Emma, Lucy's four bridesmaids..it was simply wonderful.

Here's my gorgeous daughter and I

 

 And here's the bride to be , Ellie and Grace the morning after the two nights before....





Since that weekend, time has been spiralling out of control. I have lists, a master plan and two weeks today, it's the wedding! I'm waking up at 4am...lying awake for at least an hour or so, while lists, things to do and other various thoughts flit through my mind.

This morning, I was at our beautiful 12th century village church...for two hours cleaning with friends from the village, getting the church spick and span for a very important day...




There was one very special helper there too....Snow White, otherwise known as Iona Gilbertson Hart,



who was an absolute whizz with a vacuum cleaner





And outside, there was help from the mowing brigade......who are efficient, trained, grass grazing machines

 

Oh no, we don't bother with lawn mowers in our tiny English village in the land time forgot.

But even these have to have a break every now and again....






So, it's all systems ago go for a traditional English country wedding in two weeks time. There's just one thing now that's worrying me  - the great British weather!



Today's track is one which seems so apt at the moment...it's the Guess Who  with "No time". It was written in the sixties.....but I didn't become aware of it until years later. I was at a party in someone's flat, everyone was dancing on the living room floor (the neighbours must have been so thrilled), and there were some Canadians  there. Now the Guess Who are a Canadian band, so when this track began, they went ballistic....singing this song at the tops of their very drunken voices and playing air guitars. I think the song has stood the test of time too....I love it...