A Summer Wedding.

This post contains some links to wedding businesses. These are not affiliated links. They are part of my #honestreview series.

Last week my son married his soul mate. I say my son, but he is not exactly my son. I met him many years ago when I was his boss and we became great friends. Like myself, he is ginger, and one day when chatting, he told me that he was born in 1987 – the same year that I started University. “I could be your Mum!” I exclaimed and from then on it kind of stuck. Being an honorary mother to someone is much like being a real mum. You share their joys and disappointments. When my son finally met his now wife, I knew she was the perfect match for him and seeing them get married was one of the proudest moments of my life. They share so much. Their love of Harry Potter, travel and dinosaurs.  Their love of individuality and their unique sense of style. They are so well matched with their exuberance for life and cheerfulness.  Their love of doing things differently. For why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary?

I have kept some of the details private as it is not my wedding to share. But I wanted to touch upon some of the things that happened, as it was such a joyous occasion and I’d like to remember it forever.

The wedding ceremony was held in a beautiful and traditional church in Owston, just outside of Doncaster. We had been told to wear our “finest, fancy, floral attire.” Many people were dressed in colourful outfits with an abundance of flowers; my husband had gone for a distinctly tasteless seventies style red rose shirt. The church was decorated in wild flowers with lots of poppies and sunflowers. At the bottom of each pew was an embroidered item representative of the couple’s love and life together. We sang hymns. “How come your Mum knows all the words to these hymns by heart?” my husband asked my daughter. I explained that my Mum went through a religious phase in the late 70s and having worked in many traditional Public schools, it is little wonder that I can recite by heart all the hymns and I know all of the traditional Church of England prayers and creeds. I decided that I was going to relish every second of this special day. The Church service was incredibly moving, and I found it hard not to shed a tear.

 

When it was time for the rings to appear, a beautiful owl swopped down to the altar and landed on the groom’s arm. It was such a special touch. I never knew that you could hire owls for such events. This was organised by a lady named Amy at a company named The Flying Squadron. I thought it was amazing that the owl was named Frank after the late, great, Frank Sidebottom. They can cater for any event such as school visits, parties, appearances, weddings, proposals, photography and film work.

The reception was held at Thornhurst Manor. The choice of venue had been decided upon since there was a huge garden which the bride and groom had filled with all sorts of games and activities. My daughter was the only child at the wedding – although I am not allowed to call her anything other than a teenager. She loved the Connect Four game, the Jenga and the mini lacrosse.

There was a photo booth in a 1971 campervan. This proved to be a huge attraction and was run by Picabo Photography. There were a range of crazy outfits and props outside of the van. You would dress up and then go to have four shots taken inside the van. This brought much hilarity to the wedding and I would really recommend it if you are thinking of having some entertainment at your wedding. I’d never seen my husband so much in his element.

The bride and groom made the wedding as informal as possible and this made such a difference to how relaxed and happy people were. The tables inside were decorated with beautiful touches of mini dinosaurs, magnifying glasses, old books, wild flower seeds and bubble wands.

 

There was a table on which the cake was displayed amongst lots of sweets and decorations. The cake was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers and was the work of a new baker, Catherine Yelland at the Little Polkadot Bakery. Have you ever seen any cake as spectacular?

 

The photographer for the day was Andrew Kelly. We thought he was one of the best we had seen. He was unobtrusive throughout the day and even tolerated my husband’s continuous posing and waving for attention. Towards the end of the wedding, he put up a large screen and we could see some of his photos of the day. We also had a visit from some beautiful alpacas. The bride and groom took them for a walk, and everyone was surprised by their arrival.

As afternoon turned into evening, it was time for the first dance. Bride and Groom are very musical, yet it was still a surprise that they had recorded a special track for their first dance of ‘Your song’. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room and the bride had such an incredible voice.

 

It was a wonderful day. The couple have now gone off on honeymoon to Paris and I wish them so much happiness for the future. I do love a good wedding, and this was one that I shall never forget.