Random weekend thoughts

Things that have made me very happy this weekend:

Pretty flowers for 1 pound



Very yummy cinnamon spice tea



Winning at football (and getting that much closer to winning the league and being promoted to the next division)



British Summer Time is finally here! It will be so nice to go for walks after dinner and it still be light.

Something that isn't making me too happy:



Studying for my Life in the UK test tomorrow!

I realize that I must do adhere to the rules and regulations of immigration but it really just seems another way that the UK government can suck more money out of me. I wonder how many British citizens could actually tell me what proportion of UK children live in single-parent homes (25%), or how many parliamentary constituencies there are in the UK (646), or how many women with children are in paid work (about 75%)?

I really hope the majority of the questions are like these: what is the Prime Minister's official residence (10 Downing street) or what does a 'gap year' describe (a year between school and university which students spend travelling or working). Fingers crossed I pass!

Saturday in the sun

I don't want to jinx it, but I think spring has finally arrived in the UK (well the Midlands at least!). Yesterday we took an early train to Droitwich Spa, the little town where Lee grew up and just one stop north of Worcester. We wanted to enjoy a leisurely walk and break in my new hiking boots, which I plan to use this summer in the Lake District.

We walked the 10 miles/16 kilometres along the unused canal system and then along the river Severn.









There were some beautiful houses along the way





and I think we may have disturbed the horses grazing along the river Severn.



We had some lunch beside the river with Lee creating a new flavour sensation: a jaffa cake-infused cornmeal muffin. Delish.





[As an aside, it has taken me 5 years of living in the UK to realize that one can buy corn meal here. It's just called maize meal. Duh.]

No pictures of the couple of pints at the end of the walk...just a bad sunburn to remind us of a pleasant day.

Pictures of us

Lee and I don't really like being photographed but Lindsay made us feel relaxed and not at all self-conscious.

I'm really happy with how the pictures of just the two of us turned out.













All pictures by Lindsay Parrish

Welcoming our guests

We had quite a few helpers who arrived at the reception venue while we were off taking pictures. I'm so glad that they agreed to help us out as there were quite a few people who arrived rather early and they made sure that all of our table numbers and place cards were in place.





As guests entered the reception venue our friends explained the 5 "rules":

1. Find your seat
2. Sign the guestbook
3. No smoking on the balcony overlooking the boats
4. No drinking at the entrance of the venue
5. Have fun!

Having my parents' friends there ensured that the majority of our guests signed our Edinburgh guest book. The book now sits on our coffee table and I still enjoy leafing through it and reading all of the funny comments.





The seating cards were strung on twine that we attached to an old door that my Dad varnished.





There are significantly fewer seating cards in the second picture. This is because quite a few guests used theirs as name badges, which I got such a kick out of! All of my Dad's colleagues were wearing them - I guess they thought they were at a business conference. I'm actually quite glad that people did it as there were some wives that I had never met before, but I was able to address them correctly by name!

Here are a few 'name tag' wearers:

Faves from last night

Last night I was a complete saddo and sat in front of the television for 4 hours doing work, drinking some red wine, and watching the BBC's Red Nose Day broadcast.

I did donate - how could you not? - and laughed out loud quite a few times.

My favorite skits were from the cast of Gavin and Stacey, which is one of my favorite shows.

Bryn and Nessa perform (Barry) Islands in the stream



Smithy inspires the England football team.



Tidy.

Shots of the wedding party

After some mingling, some candid pictures and a lot of hugs, the wedding party and our families travelled in our hired school bus for the short trip to the photo location.



We quickly took all of our family pictures so that our grandmothers could get inside to warm up and then Lindsay took a few more shots of Lee and his groomsmen.



We were extremely lucky with the weather - I was worried about the possibility of rain - and were able to get a lot of great shots. Erchless Estate happened to have an art installation of a moose and some wolves, so we just had to take full advantage of them.



I love how the estate photographed and the fact that they don't require any sort of permit to take photographs there!



And every wedding party needs a picture of blue steel! (I think Lee's brother's on the far left had the best one).



This is the last shot of the entire group before the wedding party headed up to the Oakville Club to get the party started. Lee and I stayed back with Lindsay to take a few more pictures...

Next Sunday

I really enjoyed Alexander McCall Smith's, The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - the whole series of books makes for such nice light reading.

I'm rather excited for the brand new series on the BBC, which starts next Sunday. Jill Scott is perfect as Mma Ramotswe.


I think HBO is broadcasting the series as well this March.

A little surprise

My Mom arranged for a fun surprise for us when we left the church. Somehow (I still don't know how she organized it) she arranged for a chimney sweep to be waiting for us once we walked out of the church. Apparently in England it is good luck for a bride to see one on her wedding day.

I love the looks on our faces when we first saw him.





I think our guests got a kick out of seeing him, although a large proportion had no idea why he was there (even the younger British guests).



Silly me failed to 'air kiss' the chimney sweep. Luckily one of my bridesmaids was there to wipe off the soot from my face.



All pictures by Lindsay Parrish

The ceremony

Unlike the majority of the day, I can clearly remember the ceremony. I remember feeling completely calm and just so happy as Dad and I waited for our turn to head down the aisle.



We decided to forego any flowers or decoration in order to help our budget. I think that the soft glow from the candles and the beauty of the church was just perfect for us.







Before we said our vows my uncle and Lee's aunt kindly read two readings: Union by Robert Fulgham and a traditional Irish blessing. We were so grateful to them.







I love how my Nana's bracelet looks in this picture







I spent so much time deciding on which song to recess to and have absolutely no recollection of hearing it. So my advice is don't stress about these things too much, you'll be too happy and too excited to take much notice. (Our recessional was Rondeau by Mouret).



All pictures by Lindsay Parrish