![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Last weekend we went to a wedding I've been looking forward to - ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jpgsawyer and edith_hedingham .
Speaking for myself, it was a very relaxed event - we only had to pack one(!) extra set of clothes, and I'd finished my dress, hat and an unsuccessful attempt at a handbag well before 10pm the night before. (Yes, I'm still sewing the night before the event. Old habits...)
We travelled with Master P and Lady A, who were equally looking forward to a good party - we met them in blessed Wokyingham for a painless drive to Chip'ham where we could change at the hotel and roll in on time.
The wedding was a reaffirmation of vows already made - Thomas and Edith had married at the registry office earlier in the week, but spoke their vows, exchanged rings, then the vicar said, 'J you can now kiss the groom', which was well received.
Edith, of course, looked lovely - every bride should. She'd chosen a cream strapless corset that made the most of her curves - like an edwardian pinup! - with a dark blue skirt and cream sparkly blouse. The outfit matched her bridesmaid's outfit, who had a similar blue corset and skirt, thus supporting their azure and argent heraldic theme at the wedding - the hall was hung with 200m of blue and white bunting, stitched by Edith's mum.
Some pics are now posted on Flickr, for thems that have access: this is my favourite of the party so far - the lady standing with Thomas is his honour attendant, E.
Of course, I'm still dying to see pics of my own dress, since we once again neglected to bring a camera - I was charmed by compliments. Evidently I don't scrub up often, so any occasion I do is a surprise!
Speeches were short and flattering, organised bynusbacher , but what really stood out was the excellent food and drink - a reflection of the couple and their friends who catered.
Alaric, Nerissa, Edith's brother,kirieldp and others all came together to prepare a range of appetisers, then an astonishing cold supper - roast beef, salmon done perfectly, a huge salad spread, and then a fruit pav.
Most of us couldn't afford the quality of food that was on offer, not when it was prepared with such love.
The bar was staffed by the peers of the realm -goncalves, my sweetie and Visc Fionn, visiting with maryf. Mary had also made a dress for the occasion - a Vintage Vogue that I'd considered - and Edith's cousin S turned up in a brilliant red 50s dress with a huge crinoline, that gave her a super silhouette. S was also the source of the naughtiest rhyme in Edith's hen-party book...
I think it's the only non-family wedding I've been to that included so many shared friends, and it meant that there were loads of folk to visit with, catch up with, and dine with - Robert and I sat withpurpleperil (in a fab purple top hat) and her friends.
Thomas had scored a 5L bottle of red wine from a raffle, so after the champagne (of which there were literally buckets) we started on that. Took longer than I expected to finish!
After dessert Thomas and Caroline, the officiating minister, sang a couple of their prepared songs with a third musician, and then the evening was turned over to a dance mix born in the Australia of the 1980s. There were some cult hits that left anyone from the northern hemisphere utterly lost, plus lots of New Wave and New Romantics pop, with especial consideration given to the Proclaimers.
Robert and Ynes were the dancing hits of the evening - they brought an intensity to boogie-ing that I've rarely seen. He managed to look utterly intense and committed to dancing while wearing my lovely pillbox, which on his head promptly turned into some painfully camp fez.
It was really delightful to see so many friends, in modern clothes, celebrating together - and amazing to see how fast the hall was cleared and tidied, for full cleanup the next day. We're a remarkably well-trained bunch!
On Sunday, we squeezed in two castles that were new to us - Nunney castle, and Old Wardour - both in Wiltshire, and thus off our usual beaten track. Nunney is like a toy Lego castle, set in the middle of a village, and Old Wardour is the 14th c part of an estate where the owner did a new build in the late 17th, and opted to leave the old castle as a picturesque ruin, complete with 18th c luncheon pavilion and artificial lake. Capability Brown strikes!
Robert and I are both feeling our dancing muscles this week, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
jpgsawyer and edith_hedingham .Speaking for myself, it was a very relaxed event - we only had to pack one(!) extra set of clothes, and I'd finished my dress, hat and an unsuccessful attempt at a handbag well before 10pm the night before. (Yes, I'm still sewing the night before the event. Old habits...)
We travelled with Master P and Lady A, who were equally looking forward to a good party - we met them in blessed Wokyingham for a painless drive to Chip'ham where we could change at the hotel and roll in on time.
The wedding was a reaffirmation of vows already made - Thomas and Edith had married at the registry office earlier in the week, but spoke their vows, exchanged rings, then the vicar said, 'J you can now kiss the groom', which was well received.
Edith, of course, looked lovely - every bride should. She'd chosen a cream strapless corset that made the most of her curves - like an edwardian pinup! - with a dark blue skirt and cream sparkly blouse. The outfit matched her bridesmaid's outfit, who had a similar blue corset and skirt, thus supporting their azure and argent heraldic theme at the wedding - the hall was hung with 200m of blue and white bunting, stitched by Edith's mum.
Some pics are now posted on Flickr, for thems that have access: this is my favourite of the party so far - the lady standing with Thomas is his honour attendant, E.
Of course, I'm still dying to see pics of my own dress, since we once again neglected to bring a camera - I was charmed by compliments. Evidently I don't scrub up often, so any occasion I do is a surprise!
Speeches were short and flattering, organised by
nusbacher , but what really stood out was the excellent food and drink - a reflection of the couple and their friends who catered.Alaric, Nerissa, Edith's brother,
kirieldp and others all came together to prepare a range of appetisers, then an astonishing cold supper - roast beef, salmon done perfectly, a huge salad spread, and then a fruit pav.Most of us couldn't afford the quality of food that was on offer, not when it was prepared with such love.
The bar was staffed by the peers of the realm -
goncalves, my sweetie and Visc Fionn, visiting with maryf. Mary had also made a dress for the occasion - a Vintage Vogue that I'd considered - and Edith's cousin S turned up in a brilliant red 50s dress with a huge crinoline, that gave her a super silhouette. S was also the source of the naughtiest rhyme in Edith's hen-party book...I think it's the only non-family wedding I've been to that included so many shared friends, and it meant that there were loads of folk to visit with, catch up with, and dine with - Robert and I sat with
purpleperil (in a fab purple top hat) and her friends. Thomas had scored a 5L bottle of red wine from a raffle, so after the champagne (of which there were literally buckets) we started on that. Took longer than I expected to finish!
After dessert Thomas and Caroline, the officiating minister, sang a couple of their prepared songs with a third musician, and then the evening was turned over to a dance mix born in the Australia of the 1980s. There were some cult hits that left anyone from the northern hemisphere utterly lost, plus lots of New Wave and New Romantics pop, with especial consideration given to the Proclaimers.
Robert and Ynes were the dancing hits of the evening - they brought an intensity to boogie-ing that I've rarely seen. He managed to look utterly intense and committed to dancing while wearing my lovely pillbox, which on his head promptly turned into some painfully camp fez.
It was really delightful to see so many friends, in modern clothes, celebrating together - and amazing to see how fast the hall was cleared and tidied, for full cleanup the next day. We're a remarkably well-trained bunch!
On Sunday, we squeezed in two castles that were new to us - Nunney castle, and Old Wardour - both in Wiltshire, and thus off our usual beaten track. Nunney is like a toy Lego castle, set in the middle of a village, and Old Wardour is the 14th c part of an estate where the owner did a new build in the late 17th, and opted to leave the old castle as a picturesque ruin, complete with 18th c luncheon pavilion and artificial lake. Capability Brown strikes!
Robert and I are both feeling our dancing muscles this week, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
