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I am an aspiring writer living and working in Hull. I working on a novel, as well as writing short stories to keep my writing skills fresh. I decided to start a writing blog to connect with other writers. So please, take a look around and leave some comments - I'd love to read some of your writing blogs too. Nari X

Thursday 21 July 2011

Will and Kate, move over... (Part Two)

So, the venue:                                           Rowfant House

(C) Alex Lewis
We held the reception at Rowfant House in Crawley/Rowfant. As you can see, it is a gorgeous 18th century manor house, now owned by the Latvian Church. It is breathtaking from the outside, quite possibly because of the stretches of lawns and the lake. The interiors are just as impressive - dark wood paneling, an open fire and gorgeous furniture. 
Anyway, enough of the advertising. We had a drinks reception, during which the lovely Heather Wrighton played the harp (she's a genius) and we explored the grounds with Alex to find good photo spots.

After lots of mingling, we made our way into the hall for our meal, and it was absolutely divine. The wine flowed freely, and everyone seemed to get on really well, which is always a plus. We cracked out the champagne and listened to three wonderful speeches, during which I both laughed and shed a few tears, so well done and thank you to the three men in my life - my Dad, my lovely husband, and the brother I never had (the fiance of one Nikki Jackson) :).

And then began the party. 


Despite a communication problem with the DJ (he apparently didn't get the playlist), we had a great night. Samm (the afore mentioned brother creature) saved the first dance by downloading the song we had asked for (which of course the DJ didn't have) - Man and Wife by Michelle Featherstone. Thanks again, Samm. And that's why he was best man. 

You have to see the cake:
(C) Alex Lewis
My Dad's friend, Ann, made this for us, and it was beautiful and delicious. Tatty Teddies on the top - couldn't have been anything else. The bottom layer was fruit cake and the top was sponge. We had two tiers, and ordered the sugarcraft roses and ivy online. Don't you think they look good?
I think my parents still have a good half in their freezer for our next visit. 

(C) Alex Lewis
The first dance. 
Now. Neither Rob or I can dance. This was the element of the evening that worried us both the most. We decided that the safest bet was to go with the sway and spin, and do you know what, I didn't fall over once. I hate to sound slushy, but we both got so lost in the dance that we didn't even think about whether we were any good or not. Nobody laughed or saw us treading on each others toes, and we had fun. 

I know it sounds cheesy, but I don't think I have ever had that much fun in my life. Wearing that dress, I felt like royalty. The only thing that even came close to that feeling was Graduation. 
Which reminds me, I've not properly spoken about the dress and shoes etc. 

(C) Alex Lewis
The dress was from By Design on Princes Avenue, and the lace shawl belonged to my Grandma. When clearing out their house, my Mum came across a couple of gorgeous lace scarves and suggested I could use one as a shawl. When we showed the one I'd picked to Jenny (the dressmaker), she was both terrified and excited by it. Terrified because it was so delicate, and excited because it is gorgeous. She worked her magic, measuring, playing about while I had another excuse to stand in my dress and stare at it in the mirror.

When I went to collect the lace and the tiara, I was breathtaken. she had made the scarf into this beautiful shawl which attached to the front of the dress, and had sewn in lots of little crystal beads so it sparkled in the light. I like to think that Grandma would have approved.

The Shoes. Oh, the shoes. 
(C) Alex Lewis
I am not a shoe person. The extent of my shoe collection has always been Vans, Doc Martens and Converse, so when I was trying on all these tiny white things, I was nonplussed. I felt like I was shopping for school shoes aged seven. I even considered bridal Doc Martens, and so many people said 'that is so you'. However, when shopping in Leeds with two of my bridesmaids, Nikki and Hannah, I stumbled across these beauties. For anyone who doesn't recognise the style, they are by Irregular Choice. It was the most I had ever spent on a pair of shoes, and considering I aodre Doc Martens... well. You can imagine. And I wore them all morning, not taking them off until the meal (which no-one saw), and then finally at about 10 o'clock they defeated me. 

Our last dance consisted of Queen and Thirty Seconds to Mars, which completely topped off the night. When we retired to our room, we found a lovely big bunch of flowers waiting for us, as well as a cleverly short sheeted bed. Thanks Trish. (The one with the pink hair). 
One final picture to demonstrate the amount of fun I had:

Now, can I get an award for most pictures crammed into a blog? I will now let you lovely people get back to your lives. It has been lovely sharing this wonderful day with you, and reliving the day. Thanks for reading,


8 comments:

  1. Awww, I've loved reading all about it, even though I've never met you. Weddings make me so happy. Praise God! Though it makes me a little sad that I don't get to wear my dress again. Perhaps if we ever meet up we can have a Princess Day where we wear our wedding dresses again? (Please!)

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  2. Thanks, Chloe :) glad you enjoyed hearing about it. It's nice to finally be able to talk about the dress - I've been dying to tell you all about it, but Rob is possibly my most frequent reader...
    That would be, quite simply, brilliant. It is such a shame, spending so much money and time choosing the perfect dress, and then you only get to wear it for one day.
    So I'm well up for a princess party :)
    I've probably asked you this before and forgotten, but how long have you been married?
    Nari X

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  3. I've been married two and a half years now. I know it's a bit slushy but it still gets better every day!

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  4. Belated congratulations Nari, to you and Rob. You may have been MIA for a month but with good reason. I can be totally unbiased and tell you that you looked stunning. The lace shawl idea is the sort of thing you see on TV programmes and think, 'yeah, right ...' but it obviously worked for you on so many levels.
    Try not to worry about the happiness lasting. We've been married 37 years this year and wouldn't change a thing. Just enjoy every moment of every day.
    Just looking at your write-up and the photos I reckon you've got enough material there for a couple of short stories too. There is a large cast of characters to choose from - apart from the two important ones!

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  5. Oooh yeah you could write a story about that foxy guitarist =P These photos never cease to make me smile =) x

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  6. Very belated congratulations to you both. You looked gorgeous on your big day x :-)

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  7. I'm extremely embarrassed to admit that it's taken me so long to actually comment on your lovely wedding posts. But every time I tried to read them and comment I found myself getting so giddy that I couldn't post anything sensible. I probably can't now, but I'm going to try anyway.

    It's like a fairytale - it all looks so perfect! Every bride deserves to look and feel like a princess on her wedding day, and you managed that. You looked so beautiful - all of you did - and the story behind your shawl just made it all the more amazing.

    Before I start gushing too much (I have an obsession with weddings at the moment) I wish you and Rob all the best for your married life together.

    HC x

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  8. Thank you John, and Thank you HC. I'm touched that you were so excited to read bout it all :)
    I think you're allowed to be preoccupied by weddings, to be fair.
    So far so good on the marriage front - I haven;t thrown him out yet and vice versa...that's good, right? Haha, no really enjoying married life, especially now I have a job too, so I'm not sat at home being a housewife. It was fun for a bit, but I needed to get out :P
    thanks for your comments anyway :)
    Nari X

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