Nice Day for a White Wedding - REALLY!!!!!!

And realistically with the British weather what was the likelihood that indeed it was not only a nice day for a white wedding it was simply perfect. The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky.

Andy and I had our breakfast together and parted ways at 9am when the hairdresser arrived to scuplt Charlotte's and my hair. I felt strangely calm.........while Janine did an amazing job pinning up my hair in a cascade of soft curls.

Tom looked fantastic wearing the suit 'his way' with converse sneakers. And when Charlotte came to the room I was speechless...she looked absolutely beautiful. Damn, why didn't pick that dress!

Right on target, Tony the photographer showed up at 10am and begin taking the pics and before long we were tucked in to the vintage rolls royce and on the way to the church.

Still calm, I slowly walked down the aisle on Tom's arm. I saw Tish and Dave and Janet and Julie sporting fascinators...... and I then saw Andy waiting at the end. He would not look at me as he was afraid he would start crying and yet I, at this point, was still calm. And then came the vows...Andy did a great job and was clear and audible...I on the other hand could barely push mine out for tears and Andy stroked my back all the way through it....he is sooooo wonderful. The words, heard so many times before are so different when you are saying them to the man you are going to spend the rest of your life with, the love of your life, your best friend, your everything. There were many tears shed in the church but I will not site these by name :)

AND, why did we pick the longest hymn in the world......All Things Bright & Beautiful.....my feet were killing me.

Finally we got to sign the register in a small room to the side and made our entrance out of the church as a couple. Then came the photos which seemed to go on forever but gave us a chance to chat to everyone. The photographer did a great job too as was subtle in direction and managed to capture all the shots we requested.

We finally headed off in the car and made a stop at the public gardens to capture a few more photos. By the time we got the White Hart the reception was in full swing and I managed to drink about three glasses of champagne in 10 minutes.......I was VERY relaxed now.

The speeches were heartfelt, fun yet brief and everyone seemed to have a great time. Andy toasted his Dad and shared that his Mum has actually bought the champagne with the coins she had been saving for him in a large Babycham bottle (which I broke). I toasted our friends which created a great tapestry of old and new, happiness and sadness and countless stories. Archie did a great job as Best Man and not only toasted the Bridesmaid, and Bride and Groom but gave a roaring toast to Chelsea with poppers.....hilarious.

The wine and champagne was plentiful, the food came out smoothly and there were lots of fun conversations that went on well in to the late evening. It was a relatively small gathering and there were people that we missed that couldn't be there but there is not one thing I would change about the day.

We called it a day at 10pm and laid in bed revisiting the days events......it truly was the most perfect day of my life.