Wow!
Who knew wedding preparation was so busy! busy! busy!
My dear friends, Tanya and Nick have been doing 'wedmin' for the past year, since their engagement and let me tell you - it is hard work. Tanya has hand made decorations, Nick has built 3D models of the reception hall layout, Tanya's mum, Christiane has cooked over the past few months enough meals to feed the British army for a year as this week she has housed and fed about 27 family members!
I came onboard only 2 days before the big day and there were still jobs a plenty going on for each person who dared walk through the door. The organisation took precision military planning and it was executed to perfection.
The day was fabulous. I stayed in Lewes which was only 10 minutes from the wedding venue. The hotel that myself and a group of my lovely friends were staying called The White Hart Inn.
It was the funniest little place. Tripadvisor had already advised me that it wasn't the best place in town, however Booking.com told me that they were the only place in town that still had rooms available! So we booked our rooms and thought - it's 2 nights out of our lives, we can deal with it.
What we weren't ready for was the 60° angle slant the floor and therefore the bed were on. My bed slanted sideways, so I had to cling to one corner of the mattress and sleep on a diagonal in order not to slip off. Another friend's bed was facing the right way, however their feet were above their head.
This picture does not do the slant justice!
The hotel creaked and the floor moved and you could hear everything 2 rooms down. My friend Saskia was in one room that had a funny half sized, thin door that she assumed lead into the next room. In the other room was my friends, Kat & Shaun (who Saskia hadn't met yet) and Shaun was just as curious about the door, so he went to open it. Saskia, who was sitting in her pants, screamed. It wasn't until we all went downstairs and met each other that they realised that Shaun and Saskia nearly met under slightly awkward circumstances!
We all got trussed up in our finery and headed out to the village of Firle, which had been voted "England's Prettiest Village"
Thinking that we were quite early we popped into the nearby pub, the Ram Inn for a quick G&T.
With only 10 minutes until the ceremony, we realised that there weren't any other guests in the pub and that we'd better get up to the church and indeed there was nobody in the pub because the church was packed! We sat at the back, but it was only a small church, so all was good.
Tanya and Nick had asked me to do a reading during the ceremony and I, of course accepted. Nick had adapted a poem they had found to make it more personal them.
When Nick sent me this reading I read through it thinking oh how lovely to have a bit of humour in your ceremony until I read down to the line that says "Some fool says Picard is better than Kirk." I took some issue with this and told Nick that I wasn't happy about reading it. His response to this was most appropriate - he chose not to reply. Therefore I was forced to read it as it was.
Picard and Kirk, for those of you who don't know are Captains of the Starship Enterprise from different series. Kirk being Nick's fave and Captain Jean-Luc Picard being mine.
I've moved on now. I know who was right.
The Vicar of Firle is Peter Owen Jones. He's famous and even been on the telly! He was quite eccentric and once the wedding was over he popped on his long drysabone coat and this hat - which made him look exactly like Dr Who's Tom Baker and went off to his next wedding! It's a shame he had another ceremony to preside over, which made it tricky for him to attend Tanya and Nick's reception otherwise I think he would have been an absolute hoot to talk to.
So, we made it to the church and not long after the music started, the side doors opened and there stood a vision. Tanya was beaming and her Dad, Tony looked a perfect blend of proud, nervous and debonair. They were followed by three very gorgeous bridesmaids, Kathryn, Becky and Amanda.
The ceremony was lovely and was sealed with a perfect kiss. This picture is a little creepy as the vicar is right there staring..... but otherwise, it was perfect and I don't think Tanya nor Nick would have noticed.
Nick was such a gentleman, helping Tans to kneel down and helping her up again. He very rarely had his hand away from her waist. But I guess that's just how Nick rolls!
Not only was it a momentous occasion for Tanya & Nick, it was fabbo for me to be able to catch up with lovely friends, like this idiot, Kevin!
What a beautiful smile.
Somebody just married the love of their life......
As the happy couple emerged from the church we got to throw potpourri confetti at them.
Then we wrote their names on a piece of ribbon and tied it onto the Wish Tree which was in the church grounds.
The weather held out beautifully and we were all able to enjoy the grounds of Firle Place which included a croquet area (just behind the peeps) and a never ending pour of Cava Champas.
These people here are some of my most favourite people in the world.
Saskia, Kat, Trish, Matt, Kate, Shaun, Kevin and Me
The Bridesmaids and significant others.
Nick, Phil, Kathryn, Becky, Amanda and Andy
As usual there were lots of laughs and even more drinks.
Another one of my favourite people is Adam Hammond, Tanya's lovely brother.
Sweet! Gorgeous! Hilarious!
Two very lovely ladies
Two more very lovely ladies
I glanced over to where two of the husbands of the bridesmaids and Uncle Roland were standing and noticed Nick appeared very comfortable with his bouquet of flowers. So much so that the other husbands wanted to get in on that action as well.
Very dapper boys.
Nick and Becky were married early this year and seem to still like each other, so that's a good omen for Tanya and Nick!
The theme of the wedding was 1920's vintage, hence the peacock feather lapel pins on the groomesmen and also in the table decorations.
This was the only photo taken of me with my camera. I think I'm trying to get my eyes to resemble a peacock feather. Keeping it all in the theme!
Then we moved inside the gorgeously decorated horse barn for funny, heartfelt speeches, scrummy food, more wine and laughter and .......
Dancing!
At the end of the night Tanya was ready to throw her bouquet and I was thrust forward by a group of ladies who desperately wanted my wedding to be the next one they went to. It appeared there were only 2 or 3 single ladies at the wedding and one of those ladies was an 8 year old girl. We all lined up for the toss and I thought to myself, I can take this little girl, easy! So I stepped in front of her and out of nowhere Tanya's mum, Christiane grabbed my arm and with the power of Greyskull pulled me aside just as the flowers fell at the feet of the wee young lass who scooped them up and claimed them as her own.
There were slow motion cries of sorrow and disbelief from my supporters, but alas today was not meant to be my day. There weren't any Turkish men at the wedding anyway!
It was an absolutely beautiful wedding and much fun was had by all.
The day was fabulous. I stayed in Lewes which was only 10 minutes from the wedding venue. The hotel that myself and a group of my lovely friends were staying called The White Hart Inn.
It was the funniest little place. Tripadvisor had already advised me that it wasn't the best place in town, however Booking.com told me that they were the only place in town that still had rooms available! So we booked our rooms and thought - it's 2 nights out of our lives, we can deal with it.
What we weren't ready for was the 60° angle slant the floor and therefore the bed were on. My bed slanted sideways, so I had to cling to one corner of the mattress and sleep on a diagonal in order not to slip off. Another friend's bed was facing the right way, however their feet were above their head.
The hotel creaked and the floor moved and you could hear everything 2 rooms down. My friend Saskia was in one room that had a funny half sized, thin door that she assumed lead into the next room. In the other room was my friends, Kat & Shaun (who Saskia hadn't met yet) and Shaun was just as curious about the door, so he went to open it. Saskia, who was sitting in her pants, screamed. It wasn't until we all went downstairs and met each other that they realised that Shaun and Saskia nearly met under slightly awkward circumstances!
We all got trussed up in our finery and headed out to the village of Firle, which had been voted "England's Prettiest Village"
Thinking that we were quite early we popped into the nearby pub, the Ram Inn for a quick G&T.
With only 10 minutes until the ceremony, we realised that there weren't any other guests in the pub and that we'd better get up to the church and indeed there was nobody in the pub because the church was packed! We sat at the back, but it was only a small church, so all was good.
Tanya and Nick had asked me to do a reading during the ceremony and I, of course accepted. Nick had adapted a poem they had found to make it more personal them.
When Nick sent me this reading I read through it thinking oh how lovely to have a bit of humour in your ceremony until I read down to the line that says "Some fool says Picard is better than Kirk." I took some issue with this and told Nick that I wasn't happy about reading it. His response to this was most appropriate - he chose not to reply. Therefore I was forced to read it as it was.
Picard and Kirk, for those of you who don't know are Captains of the Starship Enterprise from different series. Kirk being Nick's fave and Captain Jean-Luc Picard being mine.
I've moved on now. I know who was right.
The Vicar of Firle is Peter Owen Jones. He's famous and even been on the telly! He was quite eccentric and once the wedding was over he popped on his long drysabone coat and this hat - which made him look exactly like Dr Who's Tom Baker and went off to his next wedding! It's a shame he had another ceremony to preside over, which made it tricky for him to attend Tanya and Nick's reception otherwise I think he would have been an absolute hoot to talk to.
So, we made it to the church and not long after the music started, the side doors opened and there stood a vision. Tanya was beaming and her Dad, Tony looked a perfect blend of proud, nervous and debonair. They were followed by three very gorgeous bridesmaids, Kathryn, Becky and Amanda.
Doesn't a church look much warmer with people in it? Especially lovely people that you know and who are getting married!
The ceremony was lovely and was sealed with a perfect kiss. This picture is a little creepy as the vicar is right there staring..... but otherwise, it was perfect and I don't think Tanya nor Nick would have noticed.
Nick was such a gentleman, helping Tans to kneel down and helping her up again. He very rarely had his hand away from her waist. But I guess that's just how Nick rolls!
Not only was it a momentous occasion for Tanya & Nick, it was fabbo for me to be able to catch up with lovely friends, like this idiot, Kevin!
What a beautiful smile.
Somebody just married the love of their life......
Then we wrote their names on a piece of ribbon and tied it onto the Wish Tree which was in the church grounds.
The weather held out beautifully and we were all able to enjoy the grounds of Firle Place which included a croquet area (just behind the peeps) and a never ending pour of Cava Champas.
These people here are some of my most favourite people in the world.
The Bridesmaids and significant others.
As usual there were lots of laughs and even more drinks.
Another one of my favourite people is Adam Hammond, Tanya's lovely brother.
Sweet! Gorgeous! Hilarious!
Two very lovely ladies
Two more very lovely ladies
1.... 2.... 3.....
Works every time!
I glanced over to where two of the husbands of the bridesmaids and Uncle Roland were standing and noticed Nick appeared very comfortable with his bouquet of flowers. So much so that the other husbands wanted to get in on that action as well.
Very dapper boys.
Nick and Becky were married early this year and seem to still like each other, so that's a good omen for Tanya and Nick!
The theme of the wedding was 1920's vintage, hence the peacock feather lapel pins on the groomesmen and also in the table decorations.
This was the only photo taken of me with my camera. I think I'm trying to get my eyes to resemble a peacock feather. Keeping it all in the theme!
Then we moved inside the gorgeously decorated horse barn for funny, heartfelt speeches, scrummy food, more wine and laughter and .......
Dancing!
There were slow motion cries of sorrow and disbelief from my supporters, but alas today was not meant to be my day. There weren't any Turkish men at the wedding anyway!
It was an absolutely beautiful wedding and much fun was had by all.
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