 The
night before the wedding, I went out for a meal with my
parents and no fewer than nineteen assorted friends and
family. It was an excellent start to the celebrations
and I was amazed when the restaurant manager presented
me with a magnum of champagne.
There was quite a gang staying at my parent's house that
night. In addition to four of my six bridesmaids, there
were also my two cousins from Australia and a cousin from
Cornwall, not forgetting my sister and her family. All
in, eight girls between the ages of 12 and 28. Despite
the fact that the sensible part of me was thinking 'get
an early night', I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway
and it was just too much fun chatting and giggling with
everyone.
I really wanted to phone Dan to tell him how excited I
was but we had agreed to stick with tradition and not
speak until the wedding. Despite Dan joking that he wouldn't
marry me if I turned up in anything other than white or
ivory, I was going to surprise him with a gold dress.
I had left a present wrapped up for him so that he'd have
something to wear that would match.
On the morning itself, I managed not to wake Fiona, my
chief bridesmaid, until the 7am call she'd insisted upon
- but I can't pretend I was asleep until then. I was just
too excited! We needed to be at the hairdresser by 8am
so after a quick weather check (cold but clear) we took
the car down the road. I was grateful for the trial we'd
had a month previously as I never would have stayed calm
if I was hearing the words 'barrel curls' for the first
time that morning! The mood in the hairdressers set the
tone for the rest of the day - it was just so much fun!
At one point I was in there with four bridesmaids and
my mum; we had virtually taken over the whole salon. My
hairdresser insisted on attaching the veil to her creation
there and then and when I finally looked into the mirror
I couldn't believe my eyes. I would happily have gone
to the wedding like that, with no makeup, still in my
denim shirt, because I was so astounded with how she'd
made me look. I later discovered that she'd been aided
by 27 hair pins, 25 kirby grips and 4 pieces of wire (and
I've kept them all!), but you'd never have thought so
to look at me!
My sister came to pick me up and back at my parent's house
things were in full swing. The flowers, which had been
delivered the night before, were being inspected at one
end of the house, and in my old bedroom the makeup lady,
was working miracles with a production line of bridesmaids.
I was certainly glad of all the planning I'd put in beforehand.
Dan may have laughed at my 'military precision' lists
but with so much going on I didn't want to take any chances.
While the girls were all running around and cackling,
my wonderful mother had slipped off and pressed my dress.
When we'd picked it up on the Thursday afternoon, the
shop had suggested that we might do it and I had adamantly
insisted that the morning of my wedding wouldn't be the
day that I took to such domestication! I'm glad, though,
that my mum made the effort because the already gorgeous
dress looked even more stunning - thanks!
 Suddenly, everything seemed
to be ready. The cars had arrived. Everyone was fully
lipsticked. My mum's hat was on. My dad even appeared
from his hiding place in a new tie bought especially to
match my colour scheme.First my sister left with some
of her family, then my cousin drove off with my mum. I
was left standing in the hall with my dad and six gorgeous
bridesmaids and still the butterflies hadn't started.
The bridesmaids squeezed into their limo and left - and
then there were two!
The drive to Danesfield House seemed to take forever.
My dad was determined to keep me from getting nervous
and was chatting away about anything and everything under
the sun.
It worked a treat until just before we arrived. Mid sentence,
I cut him off with the rather obvious, "Dad, I'm
getting married," as if he hadn't noticed! Five minutes
later we were there and already the butterflies had gone.
I posed for a few photos and met the registrar and suddenly
it was time!
I stood in the doorway and looked into the room. It looked
fantastic and as the string quartet started to play the
Bridal
Chorus (here comes the bride). I could feel a tear
in my eye. I was still grinning like an idiot, though,
as I walked down the aisle on my dad's arm.
Dan looked gorgeous and his reassuring wink made my grin
even broader, but I must confess that my first thought
was 'brandy?' when I sat down next to him. It transpired
that he and the best man had calmed their nerves a little
in the bar beforehand, fortunately to not too great an
extent.
The registrar introduced the venue and the ceremony began.
My mum read The
Art Of A Good Marriage by Wilferd Arlan Peterson followed
by a close friend reading If
by Rudyard Kipling.
 Throughout the ceremony
I was oblivious to everyone else there. After we had taken
our vows Dan's sister read Marriage
Joins Two People In The Circle Of Its Love by Edmund
O'Neill. When Dan lifted my veil and kissed me, our guests
burst into applause and as we walked back up the aisle
we were both grinning like mad.
We only had time for a quick glass of champagne before
the photos began, but our guests didn't let us down and
didn't let the fact that we were elsewhere inhibit their
celebrations! Trying to organise family groups and other
photos between the Great Hall and the gardens with six
freezing bridesmaids and imminent rain was no mean feat
but Rob, Dan's best man, did a grand job. It wasn't until
we watched the video that I realised that everyone except
me was on the verge of hypothermia in the December weather
- I think the adrenaline carried me through!
 The receiving line
gave us the opportunity to say hello to our 95 guests
and I was so proud to show them into the room. Each table
was decorated with a gold pot filled with lilies and a
church candle, and this combined with the chandeliers
made the room look magical.
The food was exquisite, the wine flowed freely and it
was everything I could have hoped for.
The speeches were hilarious. Fortunately Dan didn't look
too worried to be welcomed into my family by my dad. We
were both in full agreement with his advice: to make time
at least once a week to eat out, just the two of us, and
really listen to each other. I managed not to strangle
Dan when he said he'd married me because he couldn't use
the washing machine. And Rob, despite my fears, only made
a couple of veiled references to anything scandalous from
Dan's past.
 We had about 45
minutes between dinner and the evening party which was
just enough time to put on some more lipstick and coerce
two of my bridesmaids into helping me go to the loo. It's
not easy squeezing into a cubicle with that much netting
under your dress!
We greeted the evening guests while the band, Midnight
Hour, were setting up and after the ritual humiliation
of the first dance, I'm pleased to say we were joined
on the dancefloor by a huge number of people. The band
were absolutely fantastic and made sure than everyone
was on their feet for the rest of the evening. While the
band took a well-earned break, I discovered Dan and his
brother giving an impromptu concert on the piano and I
was reluctantly persuaded to join them. I managed to get
everyone back for some more dancing and needless to say
Dan and I had to make a quick phone call to put our car
off for a while. Even then, we had to be pushed out of
the door just before midnight.
Our plans for changing before we left went out of the
window as Dan decided another speech would be in order.
I finally prized the microphone out of his hands and as
we walked through the archway of hands I thought to myself
that life just can't get any better than this.
I had a hilarious attempt at throwing my bouquet and then
we were off to Cliveden House for our first night before
we flew off to St. Lucia for two weeks. Drinking champagne
in the lounge and accepting congratulations from the other
guests, we reflected on the most fantastic day of our
lives so far.
Do Differently: Worry less beforehand! Other than
that, it was just perfect.
Groom's Comments: It was an excellent day, but I'm
glad that the organisation, especially the never ending
'lists', are over! |
If
you would like to contact Jo and Dan, you can e-mail
them.
|
