Wedding

I haven't ventured into Blogland for a few days, but I'll catch up soon. (Oh, hm, think I've said that before?) Lots has happened here, but of course the wedding was the great big event.

K and F decided not to put too many details online, but I would love to give you some snatches of the event.

They arranged and prepared it themselves, and the pic below shows the flowers for the bouquet, bought direct from a flower farm by K, the day before. She and her sister, plus a friend, made them into bouquets and posies. (The cup of tea is mine, as I lazed about and watched them work)

The flowers were so fine that I had to touch some of them to make sure they were real (they all were).

And we all loved the headdress, from her new sister-in-law. It was made by Lady Gaga's milliner, but it's less extreme and prettier than anything Lady G might wear. Of course everyone wanted to try it on! here it is on my head. (below)

K looked Elizabethan in it, like someone from the Tudor section of the National Portrait Gallery. She'd wanted shades of russet and gold, which suited her well and also suited her friend Matthew, who is Scottish, with lots of wavy ginger hair and a kilt. Matthew looked gorgeous, like a character from "Midsummer Night's Dream," He declined the honour of wearing it on the day :)

K had a plain off white dress with an antique gold and pearl brooch lent by her aunt, and she wore a long cream shawl embroidered with gold which my grandmother got in India many years ago.

The ceremony happened in Westminster Registry Office with a really cool registrar who seemed to love his job. Afterwards we cheered them down the steps with bubbles and confetti and had a tour of the city in a couple of red London double-deckers...

,.. ending up at the reception 45 minutes later. The hall dates from about 1930 in art deco style. T and I know it well, since before K was born we used to go to a lot of concerts and meetings there. In ye olde days when we went, it was a bit run down, but now it's right back in fashion and well painted up.

All the decorations were home made. K's friends had a paper cutting workshop and the style harmonized with the 1930s decor. (Here's a mermaid)

The wedding invites were in origami and a pretty mobile hung over the band. Those are origami cranes. The mobile was smaller and more impressionistic than a Japanese couple would have done it, apparently. But although it was definitely a Western "take" on the Japanese idea, it was a beautiful object, swaying and rustling in the slightest breeze.

The cake didn't come from Choccywoccydoodah after all. A baker in trendy Hackney did a delightful one, with three layers in different flavours, based on things they like. For instance, they love their canal boat ....

and they support Aston Villa football team, so the cake was themed around those things, in canal-art style.

LOTS of speeches. The English ones were touching, heartfelt and rather serious, the Irish ones were great and crazy and hilarious. Now we've got the Irish link, T and I will have to start being eejits too. Songs, stories, dancing around and general fun, with a delivery of chips at 11 PM and more partying the day after.

It was nice chatting with friends and relatives old and new, And we had such fun that some of us are getting together to see the flotilla on the Thames on 3 June, in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, (of which more later.)

T and I helped with the day-after clearing up. And the washing up. These boxes are full of glasses and I've personally washed every single one.

And T. got on the ladder and put up a hook for the origami mobile. We've hung it in the living room as a reminder of a really good day.

Now life has whirled on, but we will always remember what a great wedding it was, a warm, friendly and happy time.