 We
decided to get married in Norfolk, where my parents live
and where I grew up. I had always liked the Sprowston
Manor Hotel and was thrilled when I found out they were
licensed to hold weddings.
Without exception, the staff were thoroughly helpful and
professional throughout the arrangements and were always
on offer to help with any questions or problems we had
both during the preparations and on the day itself. I
had been determined from day one to have a completely
stress-free wedding. I wanted to enjoy every moment of
the arrangements and the day. That was one of the reasons
why we decided to get married in a hotel - it meant we
could spend the whole day in one venue and wouldn't have
to worry about wedding cars and transport for the guests.
It also didn't matter what the weather was like which
was a blessing because we had torrential rain for the
few days before the wedding.
I had two bridesmaids, my 10-year old niece, Georgina,
and my best friend since school days, Deborah. David's
best man was actually a Best Woman, Lorraine. We had all
been friends for years and Lorraine had helped David through
some difficult times in the past. She was completely taken
aback when he asked her, but happily accepted, although
she had second thoughts when she came to write her speech.
She travelled all the way from Malawi, in Africa, for
the day, for which we are eternally grateful.
David
and I spent the night before the wedding together at the
hotel and we had a lovely wedding morning together. Later
on we went down to the hotel lobby and greeted the guests
as they arrived. Some of them were very surprised to see
us there together, but it was a lovely atmosphere. We
hadn't seen some of them for years, and we wanted to spend
as much time with them as possible. Everyone kept remarking
on how relaxed I seemed - and I was. I had no nerves at
all and was enjoying myself immensely, while popping in
and out to get my hair and make-up done.
 During
the morning the florist delivered our flowers to the reception.
I wanted something a bit different to a traditional bouquet
and with the help of a wonderful and innovative florist
(Anita Lawn of "Petals" in Norwich), I had chosen a single
giant Calla lily with bear grass, tied with folded aspidistra
leaves.
The bridesmaids had five long-stemmed sunflowers each,
again with the bear grass and Aspidistra leaves. I went
over to have a look at them, and was completely overwhelmed
- they were breathtakingly beautiful. I was so pleased
with my lily that the florist later put together an artificial
replica for me to keep as a memento of the day.
The wedding was at 3pm and at 2:30pm I was still in my
jeans chatting to guests when David, already dressed and
ready to go, reminded me that perhaps it was time that
I was elsewhere! So off I went with my Mum, sister and
bridesmaids to my parents' room to get ready. It was really
good fun, although my Mum told us off when she caught
my niece and I having a pretend sword fight with the bridesmaids'
flowers. A top-tip for brides- to-be, by the way, is to
go the loo before you put your dress on! Just before 3pm
my Dad came to join us.
The others were ready to go and my Mum took a moment to
give me a big hug and thank me - she had been worried
that she would be stressed but seeing me so relaxed had
helped her to really enjoy the morning. As we walked through
the hotel people kept stopping us to tell me how lovely
I looked and I felt a million dollars. I'd been looking
forward to this day for so long and now it was happening.
 When
the time came, we walked into the room to The
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. As the music started
up I saw everybody turn and look at me and I suddenly
panicked. I'm not used to being the centre of attention
and it completely freaked me out!
I don't remember hearing the music and have no recollection
of walking down the aisle. All I remember is seeing the
back of David's head and willing him to turn around and
look at me, but he didn't. The registrar had told him
it was bad luck and to focus on him instead, which is
exactly what he did.
The ceremony was very emotional. I had been so relaxed
and confident all day and yet my lips trembled every time
I had to speak. Even David's voice cracked as we exchanged
rings. To top it all, Georgina was so overcome when she
read Us
Two, from Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne that she burst
into tears. There wasn't a dry eye in the house, including
the registrar and his assistant. We walked out to Clarke's
Trumpet Voluntary, although I don't remember hearing
that either.
After
the photos and some mingling we sat down to eat. Our guests
were all keeping up with the informal approach we had
taken at the start of the day and were happy to get up
and mingle with people at other tables between courses
which was lovely to see - I'd been to weddings where people
kept with their own groups and didn't get the chance to
meet other guests. Before the deserts were served, Mum
pointed out that all three of the speakers had mysteriously
disappeared. It turned out they had gone to enjoy a last,
confidence-boosting cigarette before their times came!
Lorraine's speech was hilarious - based on the fact that
she wasn't a very traditional Best Man and had no intention
of kissing the Chief Bridesmaid at the end of the night.
Lots of people said it was the best 'Best Man's' speech
they had ever heard. David hadn't prepared a speech and
just said what he felt at the time - he said that of all
the things he had done in his life, this was the only
one that he had never had any doubts about. I thought
my poor Mum would have to leave the room when he said
how much he loved her and my Dad and how happy he was
to be a part of their family. I was so proud of having
him as my husband that I could hardly contain myself.
We had placed disposable
cameras on the tables, which went down really well.
We were worried that people wouldn't use them, but everywhere
we turned during and after the meal, a flash went off.
We ended up with some lovely and informal photos, which
we wouldn't have had otherwise, and thanks to some joker
I now know what the men's toilets looked like!
 Neither
David nor I are big cake fans so we hadn't been keen on
the idea of paying lots of money for a traditional wedding
cake that we wouldn't enjoy. Instead, we bought some small,
ready-iced cakes which Mum decorated with fresh flowers
and put one on each table. The guests were invited to
help themselves to the cake with their coffee after the
meal. One table used their disposable camera to take a
photo of each couple cutting the cake as if it was their
own wedding.
I had always noticed at other peoples' weddings
that the bride and groom never seemed to have a moment
to themselves. And it was exactly the same at ours. We
were so busy chatting and being dutiful hosts that we
hardly had more than a few minutes together at any one
time. Also, we didn't even seem to able to finish a drink
- our guests were very generous buying us drinks but there
always seemed to be somebody else to talk to and another
record to dance to and when we came back, the staff had
cleared all glasses and our drinks were gone! At the end
of the night I think we were the only sober people there
The
DJ packed up at about 1am and people started to drift
off. Eventually there were only about 10 of us left and
we decided to hit the hotel bar. The poor barmaid was
obviously dying to get to bed but she was happy to keep
us in drinks for another hour or so. Finally, the inevitable
happened and it was time to call it a day.
 We
all trooped up to our respective rooms and said goodnight.
David and I sat and opened cards and presents and went
over the day in minute detail, reminding each other of
all the best bits and telling each other about bits the
other had missed. It was the end of a wonderful day and
we were both immeasurably happy.
Do Differently: I can't think of anything. I really
enjoyed making all the arrangements and the day had exactly
the right mix of fun and emotion.
Groom's Comments: David agrees that the day was
absolutely perfect.
Comments: Tanks to all at WeddingGuideUK for the
help, advice and suggestions. |
If you would like
to contact Anne and David,
you can email them.
|
