The wedding guests were asked to assemble at the Lancaster House Hotel before 4pm, with the service to start at about that time.Tara looked lovely in her dress - what bride doesn't? She came in to Pachelbel's Canon (which is was me and Yorkie are having for our wedding too), and was almost in tears through the vows. Very sweet. There were also some funny moments, the reading were sweet and funny (done by Gary and Ozz), and registara made a few amusing comments, and some one on the front row let off a massive trouser ripping fart half way through the service!
However, I was sat next to Kathy! She and her feller (who was best man), and Gary and Andy were outside having a smoke when we arrived so we stopped and had a natter before we were all called in to take our seats for the service. As we walked though Jill came over to Gary and the others (Fran & Simon, Ray & Sarah, Olly, Ozz and Ozz's new gf) followed too and we walked in together. Jill, Gary, Ray and Sarah took up the last seats of one row, and Kath started on the next, so I followed and Yorkie gave me a very quizzicle look, shugged and followed me. Olly, Ozz and Ozz's gf took up the rest of the row, Simon and Fran took the end of the next.
One thing that struck me about the service was how quickly it was all over. They used many of the same vows that m and Yorkie have been considering (you only get so many unless you want to write your own) and the whole thing was over and done with in 15 minutes!!! There was more time spent on signing the regsiter and posing for those photos than any other part of the wedding.
The couple smiled and waved as they led us out of the suite and went off to have the other photos taken and the rest of us milled out drinking champers with strawberries and finding places to sit and natter. We (Yorkie, myself and our usual crowd) found some seats near the recption desk and were happy having a natter and woundering when we'd get fed when someone said "Look, there's Gordon Ramsey!" and sure enough, there he was! In the flesh! There was a sudden blur of white as Tara zipped up to him, and got a photo and a kiss with the man himself!
Eventually we were called back into the suite and we found our places (me and Yorkie shared a table with Gary, Jill, Sarah, Ray, Fran and Simon, which was suprisingly close to the top table too! Very honoured!) and the speaches were spoken, including a real tear jerker from Tara's brother who had given her away (She was ophaned by 14 and from then till she went to Uni she lived with him and his wife, there are more than 20 years between them. Many other things that had not been common knowlege were also mentioned and I swear there was not a dry eye in the house - Very moving), and they cut the cheese stack "cake" (which we are also having along side our cake) and we were allowed to feast!
There was a Jazz band playing while we ate (no DJ, disco or dancing at this wedding) and the wine was flowing merrily, but the lack of music and restrictions of smoking had people drifting away from the suite and back out into the foyer before too long, and it's here that me and the WAGs wound up eventually. Presently Kathy came and joined us (having been rather hacked off that while her feller was on the head table as best man, she was stuck at the back with people she didn't know) and annouced that she had been looking for me... Dunno why. She joined us but looked thoughly unhappy.
By about 10pm people started to leave. Olly, Ozz and his gf were the first of our friends to leave. Our men wandered through the foyer and periodically stopped and nattered with us for a it before heading to the larger bar to get drinks and then back to the food. They got steadily more and more drunk (with the excetpion of Gary and Andy who were drivers for the night- we'd booked taxis!). Simon looked like he was going to either pass out or fall asleep, Ray stared coming onto me (and probably every other girl in site) and handing whisky out to anyone who would take one, and Yorkie started reminising about his Uni days (the Uni backs onto the Hotel).
We made it out just before midnight, and only then because the bride was trying very hard to get the groom to come to bed, his was fighting her off, and I didn't want to witness either the pending fight, or the making up!
All in all, it was a good do!
But the WAGs have made me promise that there WILL be dancing at our wedding next year!
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