 Everything
went wrong the night before the wedding. The photographer
rang to say he was in hospital, the men's suits had yet
to arrive and, according to the weather forecast, it would
be dull and rainy!
Then Richard left and I could not believe that the next
time I would see him would be at the altar. "This
is what it is all about," I thought. I slept well
and woke up to dull, overcast weather but at least it
was dry.
I had a cup of tea and a bath with a huge number of bubbles
thanks to my sister (the bubble bath expert).
Then me, Mum and three of my bridesmaids descended on
the hairdressers. I was last and Mum was a bit worried
when the curlers came out and I closely resembled Mozart
on a bad wig day! However, it all went up first time and
I remember driving home with this enormous tiara on my
head, much to the amusement of the other drivers.
 When I arrived back more cards were waiting
for me and my sister Jo had poured me a glass of champagne,
having started without me! I went upstairs to do my make-up
and panicked when Mum came upstairs and told me that the
flowers had arrived and were the wrong colour… they
were pinkish rather than the shade of gold they were supposed
to be. Then, in the background, came the tap, tap, tap
of raindrops on the window.
There comes a stage where you just don't care anymore.
This happens after a lot after champagne!
Suddenly everything was 'go'. The wedding cars arrived
as well as a replacement photographer and three people
were trying to pour me into my dress. I saw myself for
the first time as a bride and couldn't believe it. Coming
downstairs to everyone was amazing. The photos started
and just kept coming - somebody had warned me that one
of their lasting memories of their wedding day was a sore
jaw from all the smiling and it's true!. After lots more
buzzing, everyone disappeared and it was only Dad and
I left. I said goodbye to the cat and stepped through
the rain to the car. Some of our neighbours braved the
rain to see me off which was really nice.
 I
walked up the aisle to Arrival
of the Queen of Sheba and saw Rich for the first time.
He looked fantastic and I relaxed when he smiled. During
the ceremony we did everything wrong - much to the amusement
of the vicar. The best mistake was when Rich tried to
put his ring on my hand! Richard's Dad performed the reading,
his second cousin performed the solo and, after what seemed
a minute, the ceremony was over. I was officially Mrs.
Etheridge!
We were too busy talking to everyone to get back down
the aisle and had to be pushed. We had our photos taken
in the church because the heavens had really opened but,
as we left, the monsoon season stopped, if only for an
hour. We climbed into the car through a hail of confetti
and, as we arrived at Hollins Hall, Roger (our wonderful
chauffeur) took the soft-top of the car down for some
more photos.
Many thanks to the lads who cattle-herded all the wedding
guests into the group photo - done in record time because
the respite was over and, once again, it rained! By now
it could rain all day because we were indoors, the company
was great and the wine was flowing. Everybody was determined
to party, not least of all the bride and groom.
 The receiving line turned out to be hilarious
as the large-brimmed hats of my Mum and my now Mother-in-law
hit the large-brimmed hats of the guests! We were clapped
in to the reception and sat down to a great meal. It was
not the meal that we chose but who cares? We managed to
get round nearly all the guests during the meal and prepare
them for the speeches - namely the best man, Mark's, speech.
Mark is a very nervous public speaker and one table in
particular (you know who you are!) really teased him by
running bets on the length of his speech. I had two minutes
40 seconds. As it turned out, it took four minutes, including
reading out five telegrams.
After the speeches the staff transformed the hall for
a disco. The room was beautifully lit by little tea-lights
all over the place. We chose We
Have All the Time in the World by Louis Armstrong
for our first dance. Everyone was singing and swaying
along with us, which helped Rich who hates dancing and
was dreading that bit.
 The
evening party is still discussed to this day mainly because
of a series of events performed by a number of key bridal
party people and guests… again, you know who you
are! It is safe to say that a good time was had by all
and we have the photos to prove it! Rich and I went to
bed about 2.00am. We would have stayed up longer but we
had a flight the next morning, so we left a few die-hard
party animals to it and went upstairs for the first time
as man and wife.
Do Differently: Nothing, apart from probably have
the wedding in Jamaica - that rain!
Groom's Comments: He will kill me for this, but
he told me on our honeymoon that he nearly cried seeing
me walk up the aisle. |
|
