 On
the morning of our wedding I woke up at 7am in my parent's
house. I was absolutely delighted with the brilliant sunshine
shining through the window.
I got up and to my horror a cold sore had decided that
it also wanted to be present for the wedding, but I was
determined not to let it spoil my day. I tried to have
breakfast but couldn't due to all the excitement going
on. So, while everyone else tucked in I was lucky enough
to be the first in the bathroom. By 8am I was leaving
the house with my two sisters still rushing around trying
to get into the bathroom!
My first journey was to pick up my two younger bridesmaids,
Megan and Gemma. I then went back to the house for my
two sisters, Stacey and Laura. Finally I met up with my
chief bridesmaid, Emma, at the hairdressers. We then had
a couple of hours to sit back and relax before getting
back to the house for 11.30am. It was great to be pampered
and I loved what they had done with everyone's hair. When
we were finished we went back to my parents' house for
the make up lady to transform all six of us into beautiful
belles. The make up took quite a while which set us back
in our time schedule.
The
florist arrived a little later with some amazingly beautiful
bouquets and buttonholes. To me this was a sign of how
beautiful and perfect the day was going to be. My bouquet
was made up of Elderberries, Arum Lilies, Bianca Roses
and Ivy. The bridesmaids held a hand tied bunch of Bianca
Roses and Ivy, which went quite well with my colour scheme
of gold and ivory.
When the photographer turned up we were still sitting
around undressed, aarrrggghhh! Eventually, when we were
all dressed the videographer arrived. Filming immediately
started with the camera also clicking away. After the
photos were taken the photographer and the videographer
both made their way to the church to capture some photos
of the groom, best men (x two), ushers and pageboys.
Meanwhile, the first car was ready to take the bridesmaids
to the church. Suddenly the house wasn't hectic anymore
and it was just my Dad and I. He took the opportunity
to say how pleased he was with my choice of husband and
that his little girl would always be his little girl!
A little later the horse and carriage turned up. We then
embarked on our journey to the church. Everyone was out
in the street waving us off and passers by were wishing
us luck.
 We arrived at the church at 2.05pm and were
greeted by my five bridesmaids and two pageboys. The Vicar
then got us all lined up and we proceeded into the church.
I walked down the aisle to Trumpet
Voluntary by Clarke. However, while walking down the
aisle I managed to get caught on the end pew and ripped
a huge hole in the back of the train (quite amusing in
the video!).
I looked up the aisle and saw Jeremy standing there with
a huge grin on his face, looking as gorgeous as ever.
At that moment all the stress leading up to the wedding
seemed so worthwhile. When I approached the altar he leaned
over and said how lovely I looked and then the ceremony
began. Our vows were said without any mistakes and they
just seemed to fly by. Our three chosen hymns were, Praise
My Soul, The
Lords My Shepherd and Lord
of the Dance. The Vicar read out a beautiful reading
about the joys of marriage. While we were being blessed
a few giggles were heard from behind us. During the signing
of the register I found out why, Jeremy's sister had decided
to write "HELP" on the bottom of his shoes.
The guests were quite amused! We also had a friend, who
is an opera singer, sing during the signing of the register
after which Jeremy and I finished the ceremony by walking
out to Mandelssohn's Wedding
March.
Outside
we had a few photographs taken. However, because it was
the hottest day of the year we decided to get the majority
of them taken at the reception so people could have a
drink and relax. My new husband and I, along with his
niece and nephew, Gemma and Kyle, (who came all the way
from Canada for the wedding) got in the horse and carriage
and made our way to Old Deer Park, Richmond. The journey
took about 30 minutes but it gave us a chance to cool
down.
 At
the reception we finished our pictures off outside in
the glorious sunshine. The photographer had made all the
confetti throwers wait until we got to the reception.
The guests lined up, facing each other while Jeremy and
I walked through the middle as they threw the confetti.
The photographs turned out fun and natural.
At 4.45pm the guests were taken through to the Pagoda
room where we began the receiving line. The line was made
up of both sets of parents, Jeremy and I. When everyone
was seated the food was served.
All 120 guests sat down to a traditional wedding breakfast
with a lot of red and white wine and, of course, lots
and lots of champagne! After the meal my Dad started the
speeches off, embarrassing me in front of everyone with
those cringing stories about when I was a child. (don't
you just love them!) Dad ended his speech by saying what
an excellent choice my new husband was. Everyone seemed
to really enjoy the speeches and the telegrams.
 The excellent venue enabled everyone
to proceeded out into the grounds of the park or sit on
the terrace drinking champagne while the room was being
transformed into a disco.
This gave Jeremy and I a chance to walk around and say
a few more "hellos", as you don't get a chance
to speak to everyone when there are so many people. At
7.30pm the 80 evening guests began to arrive.
When most of the evening guests had arrived we cut the
cake. The cake was a four tiered traditional fruitcake
with a matching flower display on the top. We then made
our way onto the dance floor for our first dance. For
this we chose From
This Moment by Shania Twain. The song is perfect for
weddings, and Jeremy's tearful Mother seemed to enjoy
it (bless). After
our first dance the videographer left. Jeremy and I were
really pleased as the videographer was totally unobtrusive
and nobody seemed to mind him being there. Everyone seemed
to be in high spirits and kept saying to us how much they
had enjoyed the day.
We left the reception at 11pm and made our way to the
Christopher Wren Hotel in Windsor. Jeremy and I had stayed
there before, it was actually the night that Jeremy proposed
to me (aahhh!).
 The
next day we left the hotel and made our way back to our
house to be greeted by both of our parents, along with
all our sisters and the best men. We had a champange breakfast
and opened all the presents.
It was really nice having a chance for everyone to see
each other and chat about the wedding. It was particularly
special for Jeremy as most of his family is from Canada
and would have returned home by the time we came back
from our honeymoon. We eventually said all our goodbyes
and made our way to the airport to catch our plane to
the Maldives for three weeks of wedded bliss as Mr and
Mrs Powell!
Do Differently: Nothing except worry less about
all the little things that really aren't important and
enjoy all the preparation and the build up of the day,
as you only ever get one chance (hopefully)!
Groom's Comments: Vicky did an excellent job organizing
our wedding and looked absolutely stunning on the day.
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If
you would like to contact Vicky and Jeremy, you can e-mail
them.
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