Wedding III

Wedding I
Wedding II

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Whilst the rest of the family were eating their cake and drinking their tea and chatting to each other, I gave the bridesmaids their presents.

Somehow they had managed to squash themselves onto a sofa to drink their tea so it seemed the perfect opportunity to hand over their gifts and also to stop the questioning of what they needed for the next day. They all seemed to be pleased with the contents of their bags and, indeed, the bags themselves.

In fact, if you look carefully, on the arm of the sofa you can see the last minute additions I made to each bag: a bridal party survival kit, containing tissues, mints, safety pins, plasters, paracetamols and a nail file.

So, after about 10 minutes of peace and quiet it was rush rush rush as M and I led a 5 car convey to the chapel for the rehearsal. Previously, our Chaplain had indicated to us that this might be a very emotional run through, that people often cried and so on. We all arrived at the chapel and after some milling around we did a walk through of the service.

And then a walk through of the vows and ring exchange. Much to M's surprise, we added the words "etc, etc, bla bla bla" instead of 2 lines of the vows. Quite obvious when you think about it however, no point having the wedding the next day if you have already done it all the night before!

The rehearsal ended with a prayer for the next day and a round of goodbyes. Our photographer arrived and had a look at the chapel and then we looked round the university for good places to take photographs the next day. This done, we embarked on our last journey together unmarried: delivering champagne to our ushers who by this time had all arrived in Exeter.

Driving around the back lanes of the countryside gave us some time to reflect together on the day ahead and what we were looking forward to, as well as expressing our surprise that the rehearsal had been surprisingly mundane. No tears, no disasters {aside from forgetting the orders of service}. Having been warned we might be very tearful we were both a little flat that it hadn't been like that at all. Privately I started to wonder if I would ever find it emotional, as usually I am a very emotional person. Even the marquee hitch hadn't upset me or bothered me, as it usually might.

By 8.30pm we were back at the wedding reception venue, Fursdon. No long drawn out goodbye here either; a quick kiss and good luck, and with that, M headed back to his parents' cottages for his last family evening and I headed inside to see mine, for lasagne and for an evening of work which ended at 12.30am with Mum, Dad and I making the bouquets.

{All images by Alex, my sister's boyfriend}

Back to Reality

It is hot in London. I walk through the streets of Finsbury Park on my way to the job centre. It is early morning and I still have to stop to buy water. Finsbury Park is the nearest I have felt to Morocco in London: in the early morning the passersby are mainly women; by the time I re-visit the job centre mid afternoon, it is only men around, gathered in groups outside the cafes and shops.

London smells hot and dirty with the occasional high notes of rubbish, hamster bedding and exhaust fumes. The air is close and heavy by mid afternoon and is about as far from the Cornish air we breathed for two weeks as I can imagine. The sound of seagulls mewing and protecting their babies has been replaced by buses, by shouting, by the disconnected voice of the tube station as I pass the entrance.

Real life asserted itself at precisely 9.01am when I arrived at the job centre. I hate the f*ing job centre. No one seems to say the same thing, everyone treats me with the same practiced air of at once disinterest and patronisation, as if I am some kind of moron who may not be able to follow their imprecise instructions. In any other world I am more qualified than them. But today I am the idiot who dared to get married and needs to update her details.

I spend the afternoon alternating between washing, tidying, sorting out wedding presents and compiling lists of people who need to be thanked. In amongst it all, I watch the tennis. Listen to the tennis. And wish that if I can't be at Wimbledon, I could be back on the beach with my new husband, eating freshly caught fish with freshly picked vegetables and handpicked and handmade gooseberry compote, on vintage china in the evening sunshine.

{All images by me}

Wedding II

We set off from London on the Thursday before the wedding with more things than I thought possible packed into M's Dad's car, including but not limited to boxes and boxes of crockery, wine, a picnic hamper and a barbecue to take on our honeymoon. M and I spent our last night together as single people crammed into the bottom bunk of a tiny bunk bed set at the cottages his parents had rented for the weekend.

And then it was the day before the wedding. We drove together to the wedding reception venue to meet the marquee men who were supposed to be erecting the marquee. Only there was no-one there. The place looked beautiful in the misty rain, but not exactly what we had been hoping for.

As we waited for the boys from the marquee company my flowers arrived. Sadly I did not have a camera to hand so I never got an image of the 100 white peonies all lying together in a box. We decanted them into a large bin of water, where they smelt gorgeous and I opened the first of many cards and presents we were handed that day: a photograph showing me at the first wedding I attended {my aunt and godmother's} and a beautiful calligraphy print featuring some of the words from the reading she would be doing during the service the next day.

Eventually the marquee boys arrived and after some hitches involving problems which would have been solved by carrying out a site visit {eventually we realised that the marquee was never going to look like our quoted plan and so accepted an on-the-spot solution which although didn't ruin the day, wasn't quite what we had in mind} and some more involving vans and mud and then tractors, the marquees went up. Despite these issues and the fact our schedule was now 2 hours out, we managed to keep calm and did what all British people do in times of strife and rain: made cups of tea.

It was then off to the supermarket to purchase all the soft drinks and beer for the reception; a supermarket sweep style race round the nearest Sainsbury's {being on a boycott of Tesco since the hen party fiasco} which we drove back to the reception venue and loaded into the marquee just in time for afternoon tea with all of our combined families, hosted by my grandparents. If it sounds like a mad rush, it really was. We had to be at the chapel for a rehearsal at 5pm and had hoped to get much of the table set up done before the rehearsal.

Yet at 4pm, the marquee had only just finished going up and the tables and chairs were still in stacks on the floor, dirty. Unwilling to forfeit the family get together/tea party we opted to leave the sorting out and we all piled upstairs into the holiday cottages to drink tea and eat 'granny sponge' and, for the grannies and grandpas, meet for the very first time.

{All images by Alex, my sister's boyfriend}

Wedding I

Before I begin telling the story that was our wedding, my favourite (so far) of the official wedding photos, taken as we were leaving the chapel.

{Image by Katie Thompson Photography}

And my favourite quotes (so far) from our guests: "it was the best wedding I have ever been to; it was just like an enormous house party" and "you know what made it so special, Rachel? It's that its all handmade".

DIY How-To: Lavender Eye Masks

{All images by me}

In case anyone fancied making their own version of these eye-masks, here is the how-to.

First of all, choose your fabric. This is a chambray which is easy to sew, is soft and cosy and rather pretty. I started off by making a template (9) and then cutting out the fabric. I then used white thread and my sewing machine to sew round the fabric staying about 5mm from the edge and leaving a gap at one end (6). I then turned the fabric inside out {correct side out} (4) and ironed it flat (7). I then filled the bag with dried lavender {although I have made others using cushion stuffing which is still comfortable just does not have the smell appeal of lavender} using a paper funnel (3). I only filled the bags half full so that the lavender can move about and mold to the face. I sewed up the end so it looked like the one at (2) and then added ribbon of a suitable length to tie behind the head (5). The finished eye masks are at (1).

A relatively easy project but are super comforting.

Bridesmaids Presents

{all images by me}

And so, finally, I can let you in on the presents for the bridesmaids which I have been making and collecting all year but have not been able to show you as I wanted the bridesmaids to be the first to see them!*

Each bridesmaid was given a tote bag with her initial appliqued on the outside (1). The bags are cotton tote bags which my Mum had left over from a Christian Aid fair she was organising and the letter are made from felt which I had already. As with all of the wedding we tried to re-use and recycle wherever possible, so I was pleased that these were made entirely from things I (or my Mum) already owned. Essentially, to make these, I printed out a template from the computer, cut it out of felt and sewed it onto the bag using a sewing machine. Some of the stitching is not absolutely straight but I hope that adds to the homemade feel rather than detracts from the overall effect.

Inside each bag were a collection of items (2), some for the day itself and some things simply as presents. The blue pashminas (5) were in case they got chilly and the purses (6) were to use on the day if they wished, but also as a present as well. These purses were handmade by Etsy seller Claire at The Brit Boutique and matched the clutch bag that I used, save for different linings which I chose to suit each of them individually. Inside each purse was a pair of earrings to wear on the day and a little sparkly brooch which I found at a jewellery stall (3).

I then made each bridesmaid a lavender eye mask (4) to use to relax after the wedding, and to scent the contents of their bag beautifully! The last present each bag contained was a retro perspex photo cube which had a print by Etsy Seller Peonies from Peonies and Polaroids: The Shop on one side, photos from the hen party on some of the other sides and some blank spaces for their own photographs as well.

So, a few practical things, a few pretty things and all of them representative of my favourite things. I hope that they enjoyed them!

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*These photos do not show the earrings which were added just beforehand, but they were not finished when I was writing these posts!

Guest Post by A1- The Big Day

Now the big day is over, and what a wonderful big day it was!

As you can see from the pictures, Rachel was an absolutely radiant bride, and M didn't look too bad either! She put huge amounts of work into her outfit, which certainly paid off. As her sister, I may be biased but I have never seen a more beautiful bride - I am sure you will all agree! The peonies perfectly complemented the dresses and colour schemes, and came out exactly the right amount in the car on the way to the chapel.

Contrary to earlier fears, Rachel didn't need her wellies. The weekend started with mist which added a certain atmosphere, and cleared on the wedding morning, progressing to beautiful evening sunshine. The only spots of rain occurred at the chapel but simply aided the process of moving the guests on up to the reception.

The choice of reception venue was perfect. The marquee acted as a beautiful blank canvas onto which R and M created a perfect concoction of decoration which reflected their tastes and ideals exactly. It was set of wonderfully by the backdrop of rolling countryside as far as the eye could see.

Rachel and M were "touched by many people" (as M said in his speech!), and R especially requested that you were all thanked for your many lovely messages, cards, texts, emails and comments. It has been wonderful how many people have shared in this event in one way or another.

Perhaps I shall share some more later, but I would like to make sure that Rachel herself gets to tell you more of the detail once she returns.