dolljepopp
a "liberal neo-monarchist"
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 3,881
So 'ne Driss...
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« Reply #34592 on: July 01, 2009, 08:10:41 AM » |
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OK, in response to requests, the wedding...
(I'll try to keep this from being too gooey.)
First as regards my mother, she seemed to improve each day and was mostly fine once she got to the Cotswolds, although she'd fade a bit towards the end of the day. My sibling tells me she seemed to be fine once she got back home. She has a doctor's appointment in the next week or so. Her unsteadiness on her feet may be in part related to a recent medication change. So we'll see...
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Second, thank you all for all your well wishes both here in the fora and via PMs.
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Brit and I arrived in the Cotswolds on Friday the 12th, having taken the Eurostar across from Brussels and a train north. On Saturday morning we have a walk-through with the Vicar. We followed that by a chocolate themed lunch at the hotel where we had the recpetion. The hotel is renowned for its desserts and even has dessert themed rooms. Once a month they have an evening gathering that is mostly about sampling their signature "puddings" and periodically they have a chocolate day. When we saw that their summer one would coincide with our being in the village, we signed up. We gathered at elevenish for chocolate chip cookies and chocolate milkshakes -- more like what Americans would think of as chocolate milk really. There was a chocolate quiz and after a half hour or so we assembled to watch a demonstration. There was a chocolate fountain with strawberries and pineapple chunks and marshmallows for dipping while the chef taught us a truffles recipe, a chocolate mousse recipe, and a "pudding" recipe that could be cooked in the microwave. (If you're not familiar with traditional British dessert puddings, they are heavy, moist, gooey often dome shaped sponge cakes that are drizzled in various sauces, including fresh hot custard. Good ones are simply amazing, though one can feel weight being gained just by looking at them.)
Anyway, we were able to sample all the demonstrated goodies.
Then we retired to the dining room for a three course meal, with most of the items having chocolate used in some way. For example, I had as an appetizer, fresh steamed asparagus that was served with a butter and white chocolate sauce -- sort of like a sweeter Hollandaise. It was fabulous. The main courses included options like roast duck with some sort of dark chocolate sauce. I had a pudding of some sort -- chocolate, I assume, but having just now come down from the sugar high, I don't really recall...
After lunch we were given several large bars of Divine Chocolate and the winners of the quiz were given some chocolate designer bath soaps.
The next few days, we had a couple of appointments to sort out and, in my case, a couple of gifts to buy. I heard from my sibling on Tuesday, and Brit and I rode down to London to pick them up on Thursday. We had some hotel-room shuffling to do, but got everyone sorted out. Friday my sibling and niece went into Stratford for the day and I took my mom over to the next village for a walk and lunch and tea.
My oldest friend in Europe ("Myron") and one of my oldest friends from the States ("Seamus") both arrived on Friday as well. So did most of the other guests. We had a dinner in the hotel restaurant Friday night with everyone and my friends and I hung out until about eleven.
I had to be at the church at eleven Saturday morning, so after breakfast and getting my bags packed (so they could be moved from my little single room to the room where Brit and I were staying) and struggling a little with my bow tie (which normally I can tie both quickly and well), Myron and Seamus met me and walked to the church with me. (It's only about a block.)
It was cloudy and cool -- our photographer's favourite weather -- which was good to see, as we were hoping it wouldn't be too hot. The photographer took a few shots of me in and around the church and a few of me and Myron and Seamus.
Brit's mother arrived at about eleven-thirty, driven in the red 1965 Jaguar we had hired for the day. The driver then drove the block down to the hotel and picked up my mother, sibling, and niece in the same car. I was inside by then and didn't see these arrivals, or Brit and her father's who were then picked up in the same car.
The church is a beautiful old English village church. The main pillars date to the thirteenth century, with various other bits having been build over the next couple of centuries. We had three large pedestals of flowers -- the biggest at the front, with the two smaller ones in the entryway and at the top of the aisle. One enters from the side and follows a back aisle, then turns right to walk down the centre aisle, so we had a pedestal at the top of the centre aisle. The main flowers were big deep red Grand Prix roses, with big white lilies and smaller pink alstromeria. The greenery was interspersed with ivy, which also hung down, rosemary, eucalyptus, etc. The idea was to match the rustic atmosphere of the church, which it did beautifully. At the very last minute, the florist was able to track down some philadelphus (orange blossom or "mock" orange blossom), even though it was way out of season. I proposed under a philadelphus in bloom, so we had hoped she'd be able to find some.
Brit's dress was ivory silk, form-fitting (she has the figure for it), and a little flared at the bottom (no train). It was covered in a floral lace pattern that had a few pearl beads here and there. The three-quarter sleeves were of the same lace. She did not wear a veil. Her bouquet was a dome of the same red roses, ringed with ivy. I wore a dark grey suit, with an ivory shirt and a rose-red bow tie and matching suspenders and boutonniere.
She walked in and down the aisle to "As Time Goes By".
The Church of England doesn't do the "Who gives this woman?" thing any more, but Brit's father did walk her down the aisle. The Vicar went through the ceremony, we did the vows, etc, remarkably without either one of us crying -- we both did during the walk-through.
For the readings, Myron read Luke's version of the Beatitudes (chapter six). Then My sibling and Brit's cousin ("Mathilda") read Auden's "Oh Tell Me the Truth About Love". It's written in stanzas of two different more-or-less alternating metres, so that it works very well as a piece to be read by two. Finally, Seamus read the Prayer of St Francis, to which Brit and I have a lot of personal connection for reasons I won't go into here.
We did the ring thing, then retired to the side table to sign the register, while the organist played variations on the Welsh hymn "Blaenvern" (I think I am spelling that right). The same hymn was sung at Brit's parents' wedding fifty-two years ago and at her mother's parents' wedding however many years before that. (Her mother really wanted us to have it sung, but we opted to have no hymns, as the small crowd would likely have sounded anemic -- especially since a fair number of those present wouldn't have known the hymns.)
The Vicar's message was wonderful. He used the Auden poem as a point of departure and talked about the truths he had learned about love in his life and forty-plus years in the ministry. Finally he ended with a portion of Larkin's "An Arundel Tomb", evoking in particular the last line, "What will survive of us is love".
We cried then.
After the various blessings -- the Vicar did the wrapping his stole around our hands thing, which isn't so common any more and which we really liked -- we marched out to Mendelssohn's "Wedding March", while the eight village bell-ringers rang the (very loud) church bells. The guests threw their petals and walked (or were chauffeured in the Jag) to the hotel, while the various photos were taken -- first, the various family groupings, then just Brit and I in the churchyard and graveyard. The yard backs up to a pasture with sheep, the two properties divided by an old stone wall and a gate. The photographer got a couple of shots of us at the gate with a couple of sheep watching in the background -- can't wait to see those. We like sheep.
We were very lucky with the weather. There was a five-minute shower at about eleven-thirty, before any guests arrived and not a drop more until we were finishing the pictures. The guests were all indoors by then as we felt a couple of drops as we walked out of the churchyard -- under the big white umbrella we'd hired just in case. The Jag driver had hung around just in case, so we were chauffeured around the village the long way to the hotel, where the red carpet had been rolled out the front door for us.
Really.
The few raindrops had by then stopped, so the carpet (and we) remained dry.
We joined our guests for about a half hour before sitting down to more obscenely good food.
The cake was a traditional English fruitcake, minus the nuts (which I can't eat) and the alcohol (which neither of us drinks). The baker made the figures out of marzipan and they were sort of an inside joke -- a tiger bride and a lion groom (which really did look rather like me).
The grand total of guests at the reception was twenty-three, so we were able to circulate and talk to everyone. Much fun seemed to have been had.
We retired to the Chocolate Suite around eight, I guess. The whole room is chocolate themed, with bon-bon pillows, chocolate bath goodies, actual chocolates left as a snack, etc.
So, it was a grand day. We had exactly the celebration we wanted and had a great deal of fun as it all unfolded.
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Sorry for the longest post ever...
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