I'm Back

Well after almost two weeks of time away from writing, here I am back again, and trying to play catch up with just over 2,500 emails telling me of all the new articles that have been published by those that I am following.

I am going to do my best to try and plough through these, especially for my team mates from the Page View Races, but it's likely that I may keep on slipping unfortunately. Still, the intention to try and catch up is there.

I started the Page View Races close to the end of January and only joined Associated Content in the middle of that month, giving me a two week handicap, and here I go again this quarter with another two week handicap. What better way to give me a reason to try and get writing at full speed.

Why Was I Away?

In a nutshell - I got married :)

Well not literally in a nutshell - I mean you wouldn't fit much of me into a nutshell would you...

On Wednesday 7th April I finally wed my soulmate Debbie, after three years of dating, and the knowledge that we were made for each other.

Then we went on honeymoon to Cornwall for a week, which was wonderful and so relaxing.

Two Weeks Of Bliss

We decided to get married on a Wednesday, since this is a special day of the week for us both, with many special events in our relationship having fallen on a Wednesday.

Also, since Debbie works in the school system, and the Spring Break here in the UK this year is the two weeks after Easter, we picked the first Wednesday, leaving us a week for our honeymoon.

Easter in the UK is a four day weekend, and so we finished work the previous Thursday evening, and we both had the whole of the Easter weekend, plus the day before the wedding to get everything ready.

Tuesday was a bit of a panic, with last minute bits of shopping, taking the cake and a flash drive with the music to the restaurant where we had the reception, but otherwise having almost a week off work to get ready and in the mood left us fairly relaxed.

A good friend of Debbie's had helped to work on her wedding dress, and she came round the day before the wedding, and it fitted perfectly. I wasn't allowed to see the dress until Debbie came downstairs on the big day, and true to form I did not peek, since spoiling surprises is one of the worst things you can do in my opinion.

On the morning of the wedding Debbie went to get her hair done, while we (her daughter, husband and baby, and myself) proceeded to get ready. When she returned we had a bite to eat, and then she got ready herself.

When she came down the stairs in her dress she looked like an angel , it was wonderful.

The Wedding

Since we have both been married before, we thought that we would break with tradition somewhat for our wedding day.

Having booked a Rolls Royce it seemed a shame for only the bride to ride in it, and so we both left the house together and drove to the Registry Office in luxury. It was lovely.

We also broke tradition by not having a Best Man, Maid Of Honour or Bridesmaids, but we wanted to do it our way, and we did.

When we arrived at the Registry Office, our families and friends were already beginning to arrive, and it was very unusual for the bride and groom to arrive together, but also to be rather early for the wedding, and so we were able to see all the guests arrive, and to meet and talk with them before the wedding as well as after.

Easter weekend had been really chilly, and the past weeks in the South of England had also been wet. The weather forecast changed almost hourly over the few days before the wedding, with anything from sunny spells to high winds and heavy rain. Finally it said intermittent showers, and before we went in to the Registry Office, the clouds were darkening and the skies looked a bit ominous. The weather however did not let us down at all, and other than being a bit chilly, there was not a drop of rain all day, which is really what we had been dreading, and we were most relieved.

Finally the time came to see the Registrar, who was very nice, and went through the service format and paperwork with us. Then the big event, and we both entered the Jubilee Room where the wedding was to be help, arm in arm, with our families and friends all there to witness the event.

The wedding was short, as they are in a Registry Office, but it was nice, with music that we had picked out, including a String Quartet version of "Chasing Cars" by "Snow Patrol".

Then outside for photographs, and across the road and down by part of the old city walls in Southampton for more photographs.

The Registry Office is next door to the Maritime Museum, which has a large exhibit for The Titanic, which of course sailed from Southampton. Down by the old walls is another memorial, to the Mayflower, which started it's voyage to the New World in Southampton, and this is in the background of several of our photos too. Maybe quite fitting, since I went to the New World in 1994, and returned in 2009 to be with my soulmate.

The Reception

Off then to the reception, which was at the Waters Edge restaurant in Hamble, a village on the river, right by a marina, with lots of boats moored, and from the restaurant windows, great views over the marina itself and the river.

The meal was lovely, with a "plate of weeds" with feta cheese and olives for an appetizer, followed by chicken wrapped in prosciutto with vegetables, and then meringue with a mixture of wild berries. We knew that people were enjoying themselves by the noise of all the talking, but then suddenly during the meal the sounds of silence, which told us that everyone was enjoying their meal.

After the meal just a short speech. I stood up first, then sat down. Debbie stood up and sat down, and then we both stood up, and gave a speech together - just to be different. It was all very improvised, and well received. If you can't have fun - life isn't worth living.

The Wedding Cake

My cousin Yvonne, who lives in Northern England, used to do all the flower arrangements for our family weddings years ago, but now she also makes cakes and does the most wonderful decorations for them. She is so artistic.

Unfortunately Yvonne could not be at the wedding, as on the big day she was traveling back from a three month trip to New Zealand to see her sister. However, she did want to make the decorations for us, and to avoid the decorations breaking, she made a "blank" cake, a fake inside but covered in icing, and we picked it up from her a few days before Christmas, with it sitting in the house ever since.

The cake that we served to eat was actually a separate one, and of course we couldn't be photographed "actually" cutting the cake or doing the American tradition of feeding each other. But it looked lovely - photographs to follow.

The Evening

We could only have close family and friends to the main reception, because of both space and cost, but we decided that in the evening we would have a buffet and all of our friends in addition. The restaurant was buzzing, with virtually everyone who was invited turning up and having a great time.

It was a shame that some people had to leave early, since they had to travel back home for work the next day, with my son and his wife, both in the police force, having to get up at 4am the following day.

Finally, it was time to head home, loaded up with presents, and time to unwind and recap before we went to bed.

The Wedding Night

Ha - I bet most people don't write about this, but I just have to include it as it was so funny.

At home we sat down with a drink and read through the wedding cards, which were lovely, and so many too!

We had originally asked for our guest to help "sponsor a spring" for a bed, but since we already had a bed in the spare room (see A Change Of Plans) we changed our request to sponsor a spring for some new couches, our existing couch and armchair being really worn and also uncomfortable.

So, most of our gifts were money, for which we were grateful, and one guest actually tied some money to a real bedspring with a bow. Very cute.

The funny bit however, came when we went to go up to bed.

If you remember, Debbie's daughter and her husband are living with us right now, and after we left for the wedding, they had gone up to our room, and completely covered the bed in confetti. When I say completely - I mean both on top as well as under the covers. That didn't leave anywhere for us to put our clothes, and since they had taken the light bulb out of the main light and put fairy lights in the room, there also wasn't enough light to do anything about them, and so we just spent the night in a bed full of confetti.

They had also put a bottle of champagne and a box of chocolates in the room for us, a lovely touch. Actually we were so tired by the time we got to bed, we passed on the champagne and chocolates and saved them for the honeymoon, which I will keep for another time, as we had a wonderful time and I have over 800 photographs to go through.

As for the confetti... The day after the wedding we swept it up, vacuumed it up, picked it up, and today, two weeks after the wedding, there are still pieces on the bedroom carpet. Every time we walked in and out of the bedroom and up and down the stairs, the confetti would stick to our feet and come along with us, so the stairs, hallway, kitchen and living room soon had their own collections building. I am wondering if it's actually breeding, because it just seems impossible to get rid of. Every piece we find though just makes us laugh some more and brings back good memories of a fun ending to a perfect day.

I hope you enjoyed this, and if so, look out for tales from the honeymoon as they unravel...