The Big Day

Ahh… so the wedding day arrived.

I thought the morning was going to be lovely and relaxing, a right old pampering day for me.  What was I thinking?  This is me, I know how the rest of the wedding planning went, and it wasn’t really smooth, was it?

Nope, no wedding morning bliss for me, we had to go shopping.  Not shopping for lacy undies and bridal accessories, the nice kind of shopping, but bloody groceries!  We had to find a Costco so we could pick up beers, cakes and anything else we had forgotten – all the necessary party stuff.  Yes, we could have gone there the night before but the other half had just driven three hours to Vegas and had a cold, so you know ... men. [*sigh*]

I also remembered I was responsible for decorating the suite.  Yes, we went all fancy and a got an actual suite – mainly because we were having the reception there and thought that having people squash into a normal room would be a bit tacky, what with not being able to swing a cat and the only actual sitting area being the bed.  So decorate I did….[You might see a theme here]

Yes, I went full on American/British.

Well that all got done and I did a bit of faffing around (as you do) and suddenly it was 2:00 p.m. Oops… I had to be at the chapel at 4:00 p.m. and there I was not showered, not thinking about getting ready and actually, not doing anything.  The ‘girls’ showed up and it was mass hysteria for a full on two hours!  Can you imagine, five women, one tiny girl and a 6 year old boy who insisted on taking photographs of everybody and everything every twenty seconds.  Not the calmest of places in the world.

I was stressing, crying, laughing and crying some more.  Then I started shouting at everyone and at that moment, I realized it was probably time for me to leave.  Actually it was past the time I should have left  as it was now gone 4:00 p.m. and I was late.

I jumped in the lift and ran through the hotel to the chapel.  Thank God I wasn’t in all my finery as I ran around a corner smack dab into my husband-to-be and all his groomsmen who were supposed to be there 20 minutes after me.  [another oops moment].

Finally making it, I was calmed down and shoved into a dressing room, which in all honesty was a bit fab.  Private toilet, lots of mirrors, perfumes, powders and potions and my dress and shoes were there ready for me.  The only thing missing was a couple of shot glasses and a bottle of tequila, which in hindsight would have probably been a disaster.   Oh, and it turns out my shoes were actually too big and I had to stuff the toes with toilet roll – very classy!  Thank goodness I didn’t opt for open toed shoes.  [*smiles*]

Eventually everyone got there, final primping was done, pre-wedding photographs were taken and it was time to get this thing going.  Obviously, I was still bawling and shaking like a leaf, which made my dad tear up and we both ended up walking down the aisle with wadded up tissues – again, quite classy.

Then, in what felt like twenty seconds, it was all over and I was a married lady.  I’m sure it was longer than that, but who knows?  It was Las Vegas after all.

At about that time we all subconsciously let our breath out and the party began.

Do I look happy? (that it's all over)

I’ve now been married for six weeks (not that I’m counting or anything) and for the lack of something better to say and not really wanting to sound like a McDonald’s advert…. I’m Loving It!!

Sticking to my roots!

Holiday Photos

I've been away on holiday for a couple of weeks, so haven't been able to post for a while.  Not because I didn't have access to a computer or internet, but because I went "home" and there was just too much joy in my life for me to be able to think about anything else.  There were also many, many pork pies, sausage rolls, Marmite flavour Crisps, Mini Cheddars, Flakes and Lucozades to be consumed.  Well, pretty much anything I hadn't seen in the last few years was up for noshing.  I don't think there was anything I didn't eat, to be honest!

 

I'm back now and have been a bit busy the last couple of days.  Not lazy, busy.  I have not got jetlag, no I don't (no really, I don't).  *smile*

 

So because you might have been missing me... here's a few holiday photos.  Did I say I was acting like a tourist while I was there?  Yup - totally touristy and brilliant.  The weather was even lovely and I am not joking about that - it was hot!  (and very, very muggy and sweaty - but who cares, eh?)

 

 

The Shard

Yes, sunny Brighton Beach!

 

 

Quintissential London Phone Box



 

Does it look touristy enough?  I was with my American fiance who's never been to England, so I could endulge in all of the tourist stuff without looking like a muppet!  It was the best time - I just wish I didn't have to come back.  (But here I am)

I Don't Know the Queen

All the interest currently being given to Prince William, Kate and baby George is having a terribly negative effect on my well being.  I think we all know by now the English do not like to be put on the spot in a conversation (or even in any kind of conversation, if the truth were known), but as soon as anyone knows you’re English, the topic is open… “Have you seen the pictures?”  Huh?  “You know, have you seen Wills and Kate in New Zealand?  And isn’t George just Daaahhling?”  “Such a cute baby, he looks just like his daddy”

I’ve even had people I’ve worked with for the last ten years ask me if I’d seen the photos and what I thought.  These people have never heard me talk about the Royal Family, let alone seen me drool over their photos.  So why, all of a sudden am I the font of all knowledge?  I know, I know, I’m English and I should know everything about the Royal Family.  I lived in London so we must have been neighbours.  Probably popped in every afternoon for a quick cuppa and a catch up.  Not.

Yes, I did see the photo of them in the window with the dog, but quite frankly, I was a tad more interested in the dog.  Dogs and babies make lovely photos, it doesn’t matter if you’re royal.  And yes, the jumper was a nice touch, with his name on and all.  I wonder if there was a photo we didn't see of the dog giving the baby a slobbery kiss.

We all have romantic memories of Princess Diana and little William back in the day, going about their lives under the microscope.  Nobody can say anything bad about Princess Di because she was so, well, pretty.  I remember getting a day off work for the Royal Wedding in 1981, the best bit of the day being when Saturday Night Fever was on the telly that night.   Oh, and having the day off work (did I say that already?)

But I’ve never been what you could call a “Royal watcher.”  It was incredibly, incredibly sad when Princess Diana died, I think I even kept the newspaper articles for a while.  It certainly brought the country together so we could all say how horrible the “family” had been to her.  But apart from that, the Royals have just been there in our lives.  Kind of like a distant relative that you don’t really know.

And yet Americans are fascinated with the Royal Family.  I may be generalizing a bit here, but I’ve rarely met an American woman who doesn’t seem to know all the ins and outs of what they're doing and where they’re going and where they’ve been.  Chas and Di, Wills and Kate – they all have little nicknames.   Oh and don't forget Buck House. 

My favourite bit about the Royals (apart from having the aforementioned days off work for special occasions) is when they actually do something that makes them look positively normal.  This photograph of Kate is a perfect example.  You can see right up her skirt and yes, she has scrawny legs and knobbly knees, just like any regular person.  There's hope for us all.

Oh .. and then there's Harry of course!! Who doesn't like Harry with all his antics?