Phil
and I met at a pub quiz in March 1997. He pursued me for
six weeks before I succumbed to his charms! Two and a
half years later, after a proposal in St Mark's Square,
Venice, and a year of living together, we finally became
Mr and Mrs Benson. It was the happiest day of my life.
The day started early. The previous day I'd been extremely
giddy and like a kid on Christmas morning but that day
I woke up at around 6am after having had five hours sleep
feeling surprisingly calm.
I had a cup of tea with my mum before she went off to
the hairdressers and then spent some quiet time on my
own before my brother and sister-in-law and my dad got
up. Phil had spent the previous night at Trevor's (both
his brother and Best Man) house and he rang me at about
10.30am and we had brief chat.
He then rang back as he was worried we wouldn't have enough
Order of Service sheets. Consequently, my mum - having
returned from the hairdressers - ended up going out at
11am to meet Phil and Trevor at my dad's office so they
could print some more sheets. As it turned out we hardly
used any of the extras but he thought it better to be
safe than sorry.
 My hairdresser arrived at
my parents' house at around 12.30pm. The rollers were
put in then it was time for some lunch. I was still feeling
very relaxed at this point although I was slightly concerned
as I had expected my cousin's fiancée, Kaye, to
arrive to do my nails and make up by that point.
Then my flowers arrived - they were absolutely beautiful
and even better than I could have hoped for. I had decided
to have my bouquet and the three bridesmaids' bouquets
made in silk so we could all keep them after the event
and they were fantastic. Looking at the photographs afterwards
it was hard to believe they weren't real flowers.
Helen, Janet and Sarah, my bridesmaids, arrived shortly
after 1.30pm. They had been to have their hair and make-up
done and they all looked absolutely stunning.
There was still no sign of Kaye and my nerves were finally
beginning to fray. She eventually arrived at about 2.30pm
after being stuck in traffic and managed to transform
me in about 10 minutes flat. The photographer was due
at 3pm so I just had time to put my dress on and have
the finishing touches put to my hair. Assembling the veil
and tiara was a major task but I was so happy with the
finished result and I'm sure the rest of my family was
stunned too.
 We had a few photos taken
outside my parents' house before the cars arrived. As
we all climbed into the cars and set off for the church
it was starting to rain a bit but it didn't last long
and it wasn't very heavy. Our main problem to contend
with was the wind, which caused my veil to misbehave.
Unfortunately, the wind also meant that we couldn't have
the top down on the car but nothing mattered at that point
- I just wanted to get to the church.
I was so eager in fact that I arrived 15 minutes early
and surprised even the minister. Luckily the chapel was
upstairs so I waited in the lobby until the last minute
guests had arrived.
This was really nice as it meant I got to speak to some
people who I wouldn't get a chance to later. Everyone
was amazed at how relaxed I seemed but I didn't even think
about being nervous. After all, I was marrying the man
I loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with -
what was there to worry about.
 I managed to climb the stairs
without tripping up and entered the church to The
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Phil had had strict
instructions not to look back and he was very well behaved.
We managed to get through the vows without any tears although
it was a struggle for me. The tears came later on at the
reception when Phil made his speech.
We both managed to sing both hymns - Lord of
All Hopefulness and And
Did Those Feet in Ancient Times - with feeling. Neither
of us were showing signs of nerves.
As part of the ceremony, my brother read the Apache
Blessing which everyone thought was lovely. Several
people even asked for a copy of it afterwards.The ceremony
seemed to be over very quickly and before I knew it I
heard Allegro Maestoso from Handel's Water Music playing
and we were on our way outside.
We had some photos at the church and some at the reception
venue. It was difficult to get everyone we wanted because,
as many of you probably know, wedding guests are never
in the right place at the right time and some people had
to be recalled later to get in the pictures. Looking at
the photos, we seem to have managed to get everyone in
at least one shot and Trevor did a wonderful job of rounding
people up.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the reception. The food was great
and the hotel had done everything it could to make sure
the venue was perfect.
We danced our first dance to Harry Connick Jnr, It
Had to be You. We were pleased with our performance
as we'd only had one lesson from my mum and only practised
once since. We danced to the same song at the end of the
night and I have to say we did it better second time around.
 The night went on until about
1.45am. We had intended to go round the room and say goodbye
to people then go to the Valentine Suite where we were
spending the night. Instead we ended up standing at the
door saying goodbye to people so we were in fact the last
to leave. There was only the DJ and his friend left and
they were friends of ours too so we had to say goodnight
to them.
The next day dawned and we had a lovely champagne breakfast
in our room (we didn't drink the champagne though - it
is now in our fridge) then we spent sometime with some
friends who had stayed overnight at the hotel. During
the course of that day we opened more presents and then
set off down to Gatwick where we spent the night before
flying out to Barbados on the Monday morning.
Everyone involved did the best job that they could and
I feel really lucky to have so many good friends and family.
It was definitely worth all the stress and panic beforehand!
Do Differently: Not worry so much - not one thing
that I was worried about spoiled the day. I was too happy
to notice any of the minor hitches. |
If
you would like to contact Gina and Philip, you can e-mail
them.
|
