Sunday, September 09, 2007

...and They Lived Happily Ever After!

Friday, 7th September - a most memorable day which included nearly getting my car stranded on a dirt track, picking up a strange man in my car, being asked if I'd 'come out' but most of all, it'll be remembered for JH and Mark's fabulous wedding!

Lacking a partner to take to the do, JH had asked if the glamorous C had wanted to accompany me and it was just as well that she did, otherwise I wouldn't have had the lovely curls in my normally very straight hair - hey, I was nearly as glam as she was!

In glorious sunshine, we set off in separate cars, trusting my Tom Tom to navigate us to the church safely - how foolish I was!

We must have been minutes away from The Church of St Mary the Virgin when Tom Tom told us to take a left up Lower Greenshall Lane in Disley - it looked very leafy but um...it turned out not to be a proper road! My car struggled up about 30 yards in first gear, the glamorous C's car tentatively following and then I stopped, got out and admitted we'd been misled by the sat nav and we reversed back down slowly, back onto the main road. Later, we found out that had we continued, our cars would have gotten stranded in potholes!

Anyway, we drove around aimlessly, knowing we were close but not seeing where we needed to turn. We were about to do a U-turn when I spotted a young guy walking down the street. I wound down the window and asked him for directions. He replied that he was actually heading that way and that he could show me. So that was when I picked up a strange man in my car and was blasted by my friends later that he could have been some axe murderer (he turned out to be a Man United fan so he was nearly sent tumbling out of my car...!).

Anyway, the guy (no, I didn't find out his name) was local to the area, so he got us to the Moorside Grange Hotel without any mishap - phew. The Moorside is in beautiful Cheshire/Derbyshire (not sure of the borders) countryside - it is surrounded by breathtakingly gorgeous panoramic views - wow! We dropped off the glamorous C's car and raced to the church in mine, only to find that despite all that meandering and off-roading, we were among the first to arrive!

Anyway, the wedding itself - the bride was lovely and very calm (outwardly), I cried as I heard the groom stammer his vows, I struggled to reach the high notes of the hymns (in particular Jerusalem), I lasted just one hour in my new shoes before I had to put on a pair of equally high but more comfortable wedges (unlike one of the bridesmaids who put her trainers on...). The weather was bright and sunny, just right for some great photo opportunities.

The food was great, the speeches funny but they were also probably the most emotional and personal speeches I've ever heard at weddings. The company was excellent - in total, there were 4 of us from work (or who used to work with each other), so we had some good conversations going (not shop conversation) and the alcohol flowed.

In no time, the evening session started and we were joined by our boss and PA with his missus. PA has on occasion tried to make me embarrassed but he doesn't often succeed - I usually turn it round to make him go red! Anyway, someone taking semi-official photos asked who the glamorous C was and on hearing me reply that she was my 'wedding date', PA shouted over "Hey, I didn't know you were coming out!" I laughed and replied "Didn't you know - I already have!*" He didn't know what to say, so went rather red, haha! (*No, I haven't really!)

The friend of a friend in charge of the disco did an ok job but he didn't really have much of a clue on how to keep the people on the dance floor, so it was only when we started calling the shots and asking him to put on some good tunes that things started to liven up - namely us strutting our stuff on the dance floor to Booty Luv and Jocelyn Brown - fabulous!

The bride (and groom) were still dancing til the end and then the brilliant night was over. Crashed out at around 1.30am.

Next morning, had a really sore red wine head - it was funny how nearly everyone we met downstairs for breakfast was wearing glasses instead of contact lenses - all except for JH, now a happily married woman who was still capable of putting in lenses into hungover eyes after a large night out - what a gal!

Anyway, a most excellent do, probably one of the most enjoyable weddings I've been to! All the very best to the happy couple!

2 comments:

  1. Picking up strange Manure fans eh? A slippery slope my friend....

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  2. And you should be chastised for picking up strangers. Sounds like a wonderful wedding.

    ReplyDelete