Irish Catholic Wedding!

Howdy diddly doo dah. How annoying I am being.

Recap:

Thursday flew to Southampton and stayed the night at the in-laws

Friday Drove up to Essex to attend the Church rehearsal at 11:00. Arrived just in time. It all went OK so then we spent the afternoon helping out the groom (James) by going with him to collect the suits and carting the wine to the hotel and other bits and pieces. After a few drinks out at a local pub we went back to his flat and to bed, after he & Nick enjoyed a serious bout of the new Resident Evil game. I declined to play as every time I do I end up getting shouty.

Saturday James & Donna's big day. Helped iron the dress shirts for James, Nick and the ushers Steve and Alon. Nicks jacket split at the seam!! So I had to do some last minute sewing. I got dressed. I ended up wearing a black Spanishy sort of skirt and pink silk top from Warehouse with a baby pink wrap I borrowed from Nicks Mum and a spectacular pink hat that I borrowed from Donna. The hat was excellent. I have never worn a hat to a wedding before, it made me feel very grand.
So, then to the Church. I was sat next to Nick on the front row! (Every must have thought I was a VIP what with the hat and all.) The bride arrived looking AWESOME. In a brilliant Jordan-esque massive dress that she somehow pulled off to spectacular effect. She could hardly get down the aisle! Sparkles. It was a Catholic ceremony and the vicar was very strict. He even told Nick off when he went up with the rings for using a videocamera, in the middle of the ceremony! Donnas family are mostly Irish and Catholic.
The reception was at a nearby hotel and was all rather grand with a lovely meal, speeches and then Irish dancing with a live band. I tried to get up for a dance with Nicks Dad and our group got it totally wrong and were skipping when we were supposed to be circling and it was a complete shambles but very funny. I met a load of Nicks old mates from Southampton who were absolutely hilarious. Eventually I drank myself sober and my feet were killing me so I sloped off to watch telly and drink water while Nick kept on partying into the wee hours. Nicks speech, by the way, was very good I thought. Although he thought it wasn't.

Sunday up for breakfast then drove back to Southampton. A very lazy day.

Monday Went into Southampton town centre for some shopping in the morning then popped to Winchester for lunch and to go a craft fair (bought some very overpriced but gorgeous pate) and see Nicks sister at work. Flew back to Guernsey in the evening. Horrible flight with a full packed plane which was far too hot. Home to a very loud, whingy cat who would not leave us alone. Had a lovely hot bath and early night. Nice to be back.