Wedding, Wedding Wedding!

On my return to my friends house it was straight back into wedding mode. There was the cake to decorate, favours to make, labels to stamp and other usual pre-wedding prep like sorting out the plants. I know it was a rush but I did have fun playing with the wax stamp and cake. Husband and wife to be worked tirelessly but the rest of us had to admit defeat as midnight approached. I don't know how late they worked but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't get any sleep at all. When we woke up the following morning it was back to work until we left for London late in the morning Transit van packed with all the wedding paraphernalia, last minute supplies purchased and we were off. It was a fairly uneventful journey and we made good time. Before long we were in London and drawing up outside our rather lovely accommodation. Now for most of the wedding I was staying as a nearby halls of residence but my Thursday night stay was a last minute thing so for that one night I stayed at the lovely Good Enough halls where I not only had my own room but it was ensuite. Yes one night cost the same as a week in a dorm at the Hotel in Wellington but oh it was worth it. Not only was it a lovely room but I was on hand to help with the last minute wedding preparations.

When asked about the wedding my response has been this: Never have I been so involved in the preparation of a wedding and so uninvolved in the actual wedding! I loved it. I loved being with my friend as she panicked and tried really hard not to panic. I watched amazed as she reached the point where it no longer mattered. The important stuff was done and now she was going to enjoy getting married thank you very much. I loved knowing that though what I did was little bits and pieces each one was all one less thing for her to be concerned with. Most of all I loved watching her and her now husband declare their love for one another in front of all the people they most cared about. I can never explain how grateful I am that I was able to be there. Also the party afterwards was pretty damn good.

The ceremony was different, unique and totally the,. They had their friends contribute readings, character summations, singing and even an experiment. Nothing could have been more them. The ceremony, the venue and the band were just right. Their first dance was a swing dance and they looked great as well as extremely happy. It was an amazing day where my only disappointment was that it was over all too quickly.

The next day the happy couple were taking a quick trip to buy the Figaro we had seen at the beginning of my trip so other bridesmaid and her husband had brunch with me so we could have a catch up. Though I think I was a bit too hungover to contribute much it was nice to see them and spend time with them, after all it seems like only the other day that we had been her bridesmaids!

I wish I could say we went our separate ways and mine was to the airport but the difference in flight prices meant I had a whole day before I was flying out. The upside to this is that I avoided flying with a horrendous hangover the downside is that I had to amuse myself for a 36 hours. I solved the first day by returning to my room to sleep off my hangover. The next I thought I might explore London but since it was summer it was hot and I was wearing my travelling clothes which were decidedly NOT summer in London clothes. So I amused myself in the halls reading and relaxing knowing that on my return it'd be back to work and paying off that debt. The feeling was strangely comforting. I like the UK but I was looking forward to returning to Wellington to see what it had to offer now that I was going back to stay.