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Wedding |
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Wedding Day |
The alarm went off at 8, but, to be honest, I'd been awake for a while. I managed to sleep ok
until about 6, and then kept on running through the day piece-by-piece in my mind.Percy was up first and jumped in the shower. Then he started to cook us a breakfast - eggs, sausage, bacon, tomatos and mushrooms. I had a very slow shave (I don't think I've ever shaved so carefully before!) before finishing off my packing and generally faffing around the house, tidying bits up and setting the video for while we were away.
The breakfast was really nice, although nerves got the better of me, so I had to leave half of it. I had a shower after that, and started to get my suit on. It was't until that point that I discovered the trousers came with adjustable straps, which was good as they did feel a bit baggy - nothing worse than standing up from the prayer-kneeler and having yor trousers fall down in front of the congregation!
We spent ages with my crevat pin as it just kept on breaking, but we managed to cobble it
back together. We packed the car with all the other things and Percy's suitcase and were
waved off by the neighbours and their kids. This was after we had to faff with Pery's crevat
after it just fell off him, of course.We got to the hotel and I booked into the four-poster room, while Percy talked to the bridesmaids about how things were going. By this point, my crevat pin had fallen out completely and one bit of it was lost, so I had to do without. After all that, there was time to sit down in the lounge (by the bar - that I resisted!) and read a newspaper. People came up and shook my hand/kissed me as a good luck, and then it was time to meet the photographer.
They decided to take a few casual and formal shots of the blokes outside while the girls
were still getting ready. The cars started arriving by about 11.40, so the group plodded
over to them and I spoke to the drivers, making sure the timings and drop-off points were
still ok.
Quite a few people had arrived at the hotel for the bus by then, but the car for the blokes
had to leave, so we hopped in and weaved our way across town (trying to avoid the roadworkds)
and got dropped off by the church. There were loads of shoppers milling around.....it was
rather surreal.We got into the church and people started milling around. The ringers had just finished ringing the bells up, so Percy and I went up to join them - I had a quick ring and then had to come back downstairs to do a bit of meeting-and-greeting. People wished me luck, we would chat briefly and then, unfortunately, I'd have to move on to the next group. It was great seeing people again - some I hadn't seen for some time.
The next thing I knew, there was a rumour going round that the wedding car had been spotted pulling up outside the church - this was at 12.50. My stomach lurched and I made my way down to the front of the church to take my position.
Steve, the vicar, smiled at me, and then made his way to the back of the church to meet them at the door. I just stood at the front, staring at the stained-glass window, and occasionally saying something to Percy.
Steve came back and stood on the stage and smiled at me again. He asked the congregation to stand, the music (Trumpet Voluntary - J Clarke) struck up and I turned around.......
Katherine looked absolutely gorgeous as she glided down the aisle with her dad. I remember saying "WooHoo! Tchluck!" to Percy, and then mouthing "She looks gorgeous" to my mum, who'd already seen Katherine in the dress. As she got closer, I could see her grinning at me.
She stood next to me and I turned around to face Steve. Penny lifted her veil and took her bouquet off her. The music came to an end, and Steve began the ceremony....