I slept the entire morning away, and feel like crap - probably because the weather hasn't made it pasy 'gloomy' so far.
What a weekend!
Saturday morning, we got dressed into our wedding attire, packed the car and off we went. We'd travelled up to Gray's the night before, so at least that was a bit off of the journey.
We arrived early after a fairly good run up the country, and entered the church. I was introduced to the few people Gray went to uni with, including the groom, and took up a pew. I commented on the order of service, and how the surname of his friend was shared by some ex members of staff. The best man's girlfriend ended up sat next to me as she was also just a plus one. I was dressed in green; she wore shocking pink. It turned out that we had quite a bit in common and we chatted endlessly as the bride was a half hour later than expected. She reminded me of a northern version of another (slightly odd) friend.
After the lengthy service, it was confetti time! Outside, we lined the path. Soon after I took up a space, I thought a familiar face walked by... When I caught his eye, the look on his face was absolutely priceless!!! It WAS my staff member!! His parents looked equally as bemused...
I said hello to them as people dispersed. The sister, also ex staff, missed her train so would make the reception later on. Awesome! In an ironic twist of fate, I went from not knowing anyone to knowing more people than Gray!
The reception was nice. I got to catch up with people I knew, was sat on a table with some lovely, lovely, multinational (and oddly familiar) people and felt quite at home.
We made our exit at the interval in the ceilidh and arrived back at Gray's after a smooth 5-hour run back down the country.
After far too few hours sleep, we got up for wedding number 2 - Gray's half-sister this time. On went the same outfits, which had both miraculously survived the previous day. Gray was thankfully more awake than I, as he had to drive again.
We arrived for the pre-wedding meeting of the clan, but nobody was around to tell us which cottage to go to. We knocked on ALL of the doors - interrupting an early lunch for some - and no joy. Nobody was picking up the phone either, which was awkward but understandable! I lost feeling in my bare legs as it was so cold so suggested heading back to the car to thaw out, when the owners arrived home with shopping. They were most helpful! It turned out the cottage we wanted was a mile down a track...
We arrived mid-mayhem, and grabbed a bite to eat and a drink from the kitchen. I felt like a fish out of water, as there were 14 people I instantly met - all of them related in some way. I pretty much kept to myself amid the stress of it all, but everyone seemed really nice. Gray's mum appeared and although blunt in a northern way seemed nice. She was the only one I could take in, but figured out the rest during the day.
The wedding car was absolutely to die for!!! I am so pleased we got to glimpse it, and Gray's opinion matches my own on the subject.
Gray drove us to avoid sharing one of the many taxis, and we ended up following the first one to the venue. The venue had 2 buildings - a tithe barn and a watermill - with weddings in both. We were in the watermill, and it was absolutely stunning!! The renovation was done in such a spectacular way, with the workings still there in part, safely turning behind toughened glass panels and split over several floors.
The ceremony was lovely. Gray's half-brother gave her away as their father passed a few years ago, and he did such a beautiful job on the speech later on. Everybody did!
The reception saw us put on a table with random family members and partners. They were all awesome! I spoke to one of the guy's boyfriends who'd flown in from the U.S. He reminded me in looks to my ex a lot, but he was just superbly lovely like the rest of them.
I ended up with 2 desserts as Gray doesn't do fruit at all (except grapes). I swapped my mini custard slice for his gigantic glass of pistachio-topped rhubarb fool. Result!
We joined in the end of the first dance then sloped off to the photo booth. We spent time in the snug room alone, staring a the waterwheel turning under our feet, and some time looking through the many photos on a wall depicting family and the bride and groom through the years - we'd both made it to Gray's horror!
We mingled in the bar a bit more before searching out (many) family and saying our goodbyes. Despite feeling completely overwhelmed, it was another lovely day and am honoured to have been party to it.
