My Wedding Memories

Mr CSW and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary this month and I went through the photos and thought I would share some of my memories with you.

I got married in my thirties.

I never expected to get married so when I finally did I didn't really have any ready plans on how to have a ceremony.

I wanted to elope but legally weddings in the UK need to have two witnesses.

But I thought it would be actually odd just having 4 people at town hall so I decided we would invite only a few close friends.

Only the close friends and not their partners.

I know.

Controversial.

But this was my wedding and I wasn't in the business to play diplomatic games and appease everyone.  It was made slightly easier as there was only one family member of ours who came and that was only because that person lived in London.

I was no bridezilla.

In fact, people thought I was joking when I went into wedding dress shops asking if they had a dress I could buy in a month's time which is the time we prepared for it.

I finally got a dress from Amanda Wakely.

It was an ivory version of a cocktail dress and the train can be tied up and it waterfalls.

Wedding shoes seemed simple but as most women will know, there is a huge difference between white and cream and ivory and very few shoes matched my dress fabric.

But I found these.

It also was my something blue.

I wasn't convinced with the muslin pom pom but they looked better on.

They were so high that it changed my foot arch for the next two days.

My last night as a single woman was spent just enjoying my own company in the hotel room where we would have our festivities.

I got upgraded to a huge suite which was a nice bonus but wasted on a single person.

 

I didn't have a hen night but instead 

I went traveling and was apart from Mr CSW for 5 months to make sure we were making the right decision.

Everyone thought I was nuts but my logic was

if we couldn't survive that then I figured that we wouldn't be able to handle married life together.

But the suite came in handy when my girlfriends came over the next day and got ready with me.

 We got married in the same town hall where I also eventually got my UK citizenship.

The wedding breakfast/dinner was in a special room that was designed by Oliver Messel who was a theatre set designer.  

He was commissioned to design the rooms and they were loosely based on the famous ballet set he created for Sleeping Beauty that made Margot Fonteyn a star.

The rooms were also project managed with his nephew 

Lord Snowdon who was married to Princess Margaret.

 

But what made me choose this venue wasn't necessarily the rooms but the terrace with views that also provided an intimate and comfortable setting for my 16 guests.

 

 This heart was already there and I didn't prepare this detail as some of the guests thought!

 

 Not did I organize orchids in the loos.

 Nor did I organize that bouquet in the town hall.

 

 I only knew what my bouquet looked like on the day of the wedding.

The florist said she had never met a bride that told her to do what she liked.

 But I did put in on the mantle as a form of decoration as I forgot to arrange flowers there during our dinner.

 

We had champagne and sweets immediately after our ceremony.

I had macaroons in the form of a tower.

And cupakes.

I did not realize there was such a waiting list for cakes!

I didn't blog back then but the signs were there.

Once again the florist did a nice job providing flowers without overwhelming the setting.

As it was a small group I was able to provide a menu where guests could choose rather than the standard chicken/vegetarian option.

I also did another controversial move.

Wedding meals can be long and I have experienced and heard many stories where guests are stuck with guests where there is no mutual interest except for the bride or groom.

I was once stuck next to the dullest man and the only mutual thing we shared was that we were both the plus one of the guest who went to school with the bride.

He was also a maritime lawyer and at one point I had to resort to asking stupid questions just to bridge awkward silences.

"So have you met any pirates?"

was one of my many reaches which included many glasses of wine.

I had been to enough functions to know that you could be stuck next to someone where it was such hard work that you would then hear the following week that they thought you were an alcoholic but you were actually trying to numb the pain.

Or was that just me?

So half way through the meal I had asked the male guests to change seats and that way if the guests got along they could cement their chat after the meal during more drinks and/or dancing.

But if you didn't get along with the guest and you had a friend-in-law relationship 
( where the only common bond is the one friend and you both ask them why they are friends with them!) then at least you would only be stuck with them for a few courses.

Convention has never really been my thing in many areas of my life.

But between you and me, the guests said it was nice to just enjoy the party without having to footnote past anecdotes and making sure and quietly worrying that your partner was being polite but bored.

It was a lovely day and I still joke around that I can't believe we are still married hehe.
You guys know I don't normally post pics of myself and I know this isn't a proper one.

But I love this picture because of the pearl chandelier I am sitting under.
Those white things are pearls!
Isn't it exquisite?