I got hardly any sleep last night. I was too excited. It was like being a kid and going to Disneyland. We all had breakfast kindly brought, prepared and cooked by Amanda – salmon and scrambled egg on muffins with strawberries and raspberries. After our filling breakfast we all showered/washed, dressed and got ready to move to the hotel.
We arrived in two cars and waited around in the reception for a while until the room was ready. Our hairdressers arrived while we were waiting and we all went up to the room together, laden with dresses, shoes, headpieces, makeup, suitcases… I had one hairdresser while Tara and Amanda had another – my hair took much longer to straighten then curl into place! I then did my makeup and waited around until the last minute to put my dress on. During this time Anna panicked about the buttonholes not arriving yet, Debbie phoned about missing a train and being late, Nanny’s room was not on the ground floor, and several rooms were in a state of not being ready or cleaned in time for people to check in and get changed. Oh, and I worried that the bathroom lights had been left on and could Steve go check? Poor old Tara and Amanda were running up and down the hotel seeing people and fetching things, it was mad!
Finally 2.30pm rolled by and Amanda tied me up into my dress. 3pm on the dot John the photographer arrived and things got rolling. We did a number of poses and Dad was called up for some shots too. John then left to take some photos of people arriving and I started to pace. My stomach tightens a little with nerves and Amanda does a last-minute tightening of the dress! Finally Iain came up to say everyone was ready and we started going downstairs.
Dad is patiently waiting by the doors that lead into the gardens. Yes, we are getting married outside in the gazebo (which is a permanent structure so the marriage is legal!). There are lots of people here. Lots and lots of people. I don’t think I know some of them. The music starts and Tara and Amanda start walking. And then Dad and I start walking. And I start to feel a bit choked up as its all fitting into place and finally (finally!) happening! Only 15 months of planning…!
I reach the gazebo and Reuben is standing there, looking a little nervous himself, and is just gorgeous in his morning suit! I somehow manage to get inside the gazebo and the music stops. Then the ceremony starts. Jenny’s poem was excellent and Sabina’s reading was really well done too. I did sniffle a little bit but only because I couldn’t actually believe that someone as wonderful as Reuben was actually getting married to me!!
Once the ceremony was over and the bans signed, it was drinks and snacks while speaking with everyone who came. John was stalking me so there are lots of photos with me with funny expressions on my face as I’m yakking away. Then the group photos started. And then Reuben and I went out the back to have our own photos done. And then we did mock-cake-cutting and champagne toasting. My face really started to ache from all the smiling involved!
We then went out and started a receiving line into the reception hall for the meal. This way we get to say ‘hello’ to everyone at least once! It was during this time that my dress tore. I’d greeted off the last lot of people and suddenly there was this ripping sound and my train was on the floor with the hook hanging by a single thread. I was mortified!
But no time to waste. I rip the hook off its thread and hold on to it as Reuben and I enter the reception room. We cut the cake for real in front of lots of flashing cameras. It was like being at a film premiere! We then sit down and my dad did his ‘father of the bride’ speech, which was very good. Reuben then made his ‘thank you’ speech and Jeshen did a hilarious ‘best man’ speech. Definitely one of the better ones I’ve heard!
Then finally we eat! Salmon and prawn roulade followed by lamb and veg for the meat eaters, and melon trio followed by celeriac and goats cheese rosti for the veggies. All the food was excellent and people made the most of the table wine! While wedding cake and coffee was being served, Reuben and I visited some tables to chat with people some more. I was then whisked off by Tara and Pete to get my hook sewn back onto my dress so I could have my train up for the dancing. Pete spent a good five minutes concentrating very hard on my buttocks while sewing the hook! No, seriously, he did a fantastic job. Some people trod on the train afterwards and the hook still held! I was very impressed.
Hook sewn and shoes cleaned to the best of anyone’s ability, I rushed back to the reception hall to find Kev’s very impressive disco set-up. Very large speakers were booming out music and powerful purple light beams were shooting around the room. I double check the music order and ask for a nice white spotlight! And then Reuben and I dance to my fave song, Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. We had Heatwave’s Always and Forever afterwards and our parents and Tara and Pete danced along to that too.
And then the Indian music came on. All of Reuben’s side were jiggling away for ages so I asked for a bit of Western stuff. Suddenly, they all sat down and my side were dancing instead! It was a bit funny actually. But the dancing went on until about 2am so everyone had a good time!! I had a few drinks and got to dance with some people I hadn’t seen in ages.
Admittedly we went to bed about 12:45 because my dress was killing me by that point, but the party was definitely still going strong after we left. We got upstairs and Reuben started to untie me. I had red lines all the way down my torso where the dress had been holding me in all day. I even thought I had some minor bruising at first but it ended up just being heat patches where my skin couldn’t breathe.
But it was a great day. I remember every single second and wanted to do it all over again!!
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