Finally - the Wedding!!
Jun. 14th, 2005 10:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alixandreaMuch of this is hazy – it all happened so fast I can barely believe it. I'll try to be faithful to events, since this is as much for my own memory as other people's enjoyment.
Thursday
Spent rushing around like a mad thing trying to find presents and finish various details. I was not in a good mood, especially when Erik let me know he'd had no joy getting in touch with our jeweller about our rings. Having only had some breakfast, and not much of that, I finally gave up on my detox diet at this point and got a giant veggie spring roll, a loaf of bread and a tub of freshly-squished peanut butter at the Cambridge Health Food shop. I sat on the corner of Bridge Street and Trinity Street and proceeded to eat pretty much all of it. I felt a bit better afterwards, although still stressed, and rather full. That evening was the Church of Noise, where the landlord and lady gave us a bottle of champagne, which I drank with orange juice of course! The bubbles and peanut butter combined in my stomach to make me somewhat nauseous (don’t think the stress helped either!) so I didn't dance as much as Erik. We left at a reasonable time and went home to bed.
Friday
I was up early again Friday, stressing about rings and to do lists. I rushed around town again for a while, then went home, packed, had something to eat, sent a text to our so-called friend the jeweller (who Erik still hadn't been able to get in touch with) asking what the hell he was playing at, and had a good cry. Mum called me at this point and after a moment of horror on her part at the prospect of everything going horribly wrong, she calmed me down, made me realise it wasn’t the end of the world and generally helped make me feel better. My Mum rocks my world. :-)
Erik and I met up in town a little while after this to go to Past Times and buy our replacement rings, a silver Celtic-style band and a silver Norse-style one. The girls in the shop were very interested in the whole proceedings and made us promise to bring in photos to them after the big day (note to self, don’t forget!!) We then went to the Cambridge Cheese Company (hoping to see Dave 'Cheese', one of our boat-friends who runs that shop – he was off ill at the time) and got nice cheese and olives, and bread from the market. Then we went back to Helena and sat on the roof with our picnic, adding some dried meats Erik had got a while before. This made me feel better also.
Lucy showed up not long after, as well as Tariq with Erik's gorgeous silver shirt (Tariq's wife Mandy made it for him, as well as taking in his doublet), Tim and Fiona. We loaded up Fiona's car with all the Handfasting paraphernalia at some point, using a wheelbarrow, but I can’t remember exactly when that happened!! By this time it was too late for a sauna, so I had a shower instead, during which the jeweller showed up at the boat with our rings! Erik's wedding ring seemed fine, but I had no engagement ring still, and my wedding ring was enormous. I’m not sure where he got the size for it, but it certainly wasn't from me! Erik took it back out to jeweller (along with my fake engagement ring, which is exactly the right size) who disappeared once more. I'm glad I had been otherwise occupied when he showed up, otherwise there could have been blood.
Keir text me not long after to say he was running late, which was perfect as so were we!! Erik went off to his B&B to check in, I finished packing, and then Lucy and I went to Pretoria Road to meet Keir who was picking us up there in his car. Not long ago, I found a two-wheeled frame trolley in a hedge (really!) and rescued it. It came in handy now, as wheels for my suitcase!! We trundled over the bridge with our mountains of Stuff (tm) and waited a few minutes before Keir arrived.
I was feeling pretty relaxed all evening as we sat discussing pregnancy, hairless cats, crisps, marriage and a myriad of other things I've since forgotten. That magic guy was on TV in Whitby (waaahhh, I miss Whitby :-( ) doing crazy things that I was mostly ignoring while industriously adding the finishing touches to my coat. Lucy decided to finish making the confetti and sat for several hours with a hole punch and heaps and heaps of black tissue paper. My hero! I got terribly bored halfway through my coat but carried on anyway. Keir made us reindeer pizza which was very very nice, almost like lamb but apparently much less fatty. He and S eventually went to bed but Lucy and I sat up for ages afterwards, listening to the music on Keir's Ipod thing, chatting and finishing our various tasks. I ran up and down stairs too many times hanging clothes in the bedroom and finally (finally!) finished the coat! Tried it on. Saw that one of the buttons was lower than its partner (they’re frog buttons) and sat down to unpick it. Luckily it only took a bit of jigging to get it to look like it was in the right place - it still isn't, but by this point I had really had enough!
Saturday Morning
Luce and I finally got to bed at around 3am, but I kept waking up every couple of hours panicking about weather and rings and various other things! I got up around 8 or 9-ish in the end, once I realised other people were stirring. Outside was grey but dry. I felt a little disappointed, but so grateful it wasn't raining! Keir made us 'Eggs Comberton' for breakfast, with the best veggie sausages I have ever tasted, and asparagus from his garden. I was very disappointed the whole day as the asparagus failed to make my wee smell funny (it usually does - http://www.studentbmj.com/back_issues/0800/education/277.html for why). Maybe I was just too busy to notice! Anyway, we ate in a leisurely manner, with large cups of tea to set us up for the day, then I went upstairs to get ready.
I stupidly used my inhaler before starting to put on my make-up – meaning I had the shakes throughout the procedure. Nevertheless, I was happy with the result - at least I didn’t have to wash it all off and start again! I had a candle spell to do before I put my clothes on, during which Lucy got ready and I spilt wax on Keir's dressing table (sorry cuz. :-\). It did help me to feel a little more focussed though – even if my hands were still shaking! Anyway, I finished it, dressed, did up my own corset (Lucy’s not too good at laces!) and headed downstairs.
The outfit, in full:
Purple velvet knickers (for my spell). These had a diamante back which (surprisingly) was far more comfortable than I had been anticipating.
White fishnet hold-up stockings
Black lace garter with marabou feather and black ribbon dangly bit (I also tied the lucky purple ribbon from my spell around this).
White full-length net underskirt (part of my 'something old' as I got it in a charity shop in Whitby).
Big black satin overskirt with a train that hitched up into a bustle with dog clips and D rings. This also hitched up at the front so you could see the bottom of the net skirt under it. To the clips I tied the lucky rainbow coloured ribbons from my spell. The skirt would have been part of my 'something new', but I wore it at Whitby in November!
Purple satin and black velvet corset. I got this custom made by Absolute Corsets, and it is stunning! It and my boots were my 'something new'.
White leather lace-up cowboy boots with black soles. These were perfect for the terrain as they have low-ish Cuban heels and being leather would have been easy to clean if they had got muddy. I love these boots so much – when Lucy first saw them she thought they were dance roller skates, as they look so much like the classic white dance skates worn by ice/roller skaters. I laced them up with purple and green ribbons, and put my silver sixpence in them. I originally wanted to put the sixpence on an anklet, but didn’t have a drill to make a hole in it. I could have asked our jeweller to do it, but if I had, I doubt I would have had a silver sixpence at all for the day!!
White cathedral-length veil. This was my 'something borrowed' as S got it for when she and Keir got married in Finland. It's floor length on her at 5'10", so as you can imagine it was trailing the floor on me!
Green, purple and clear Swarovski crystal tiara. This is gorgeous, although it got somewhat flattened in my bag after I took it off to mosh later in the evening. All the crystals were on twisted silver wires, giving the impression of a wild fairy crown.
Green satin coat (the one I was finishing the night before). This was made from an old dress I got from a charity shop years and years ago, and I used to wear it every year at Beltaine. I figured it would be appropriate to wear it when I got married on May Eve so decided to turn it into a tailcoat. I designed it and cut the basic shape from it, adding two darts in the sides to make it flare more. Silver (my other bridesmaid) helped me cut it to the proper shape and kindly leant me her sewing machine and iron in order to hem it. I then added four black frog buttons, purple satin roses at the cuffs and down the back to cover the zip from neckline to waist, a green swarovski crystal bracelet that matched one of the necklaces I got for the day on the back of the waist, and dog clips and D rings to match the skirt and hitch up the back of the coat into a bustle. Apart from a couple of bits that need re-positioning, I'm ridiculously proud of this!! It was the other part of my 'something old'.
Jewellery-wise, I had three necklace sets (green, lilac and a smaller purple one) to choose from! I chose the lilac necklace, with the earrings from the green set. Plus all my usual rings and a silver arm-ring I don't wear often enough.
My 'something blue' was, of course, my hair – blue fringe with purple, green and more blue through the rest of it on the top and black underneath. I put it up in lots of little plaits the night before, so it was wild and crimped-looking on the day!
By this time, it was 1:15pm, so we packed everything into Keir's car, took a few photos of us outside, then headed off. The sky cleared for a bit, then we drove through a rain shower! Somehow this cloudburst cleared as we entered Grantchester, and by the time we got to the Orchard, the sun was shining.
The Ceremony
Everyone else, including Erik, was already there, and had all met up. More photos were taken in the car park, and I panicked about various things – would the weather hold? Did I bring everything? Where on Earth were our rings? Once I was certain all was in order and there would be no panic-stricken runs back to Keir's, I headed down to the circle that had been set up near the wood in the bottom corner of the field. Various people were already there – Sarah (Erik's mum) told me that she'd spoken to Erik, and that he was fine but shaking like a leaf. At this point my resolve to remain as calm as possible crumbled and I burst into tears!!
I calmed down fairly quickly, with hugs and reassurances from everyone, sorted myself out and set out the bits I had brought on the altar. Other people arrived from the Orchard, and a crowd of onlookers also gathered. Many many photos were taken by everyone, of everyone, which was lovely as we didn’t want an official wedding photographer – photos taken by participants and witnesses who are friends are always far more personal. My bouquet was handed to me, a really beautiful waterfall creation with black silk roses, purple freesias, white roses, baby’s breath sprayed silver, trailing ivy and peacock feathers to honour Hera, the Greek Goddess of marriage (as well as being a perfect colour match for my outfit!)
People gathered and Mum, my Handmaidens and I went down to the far corner of the field as Erik came down from the Orchard. When the music started, I cursed myself for not explaining the (fairly badly laid out, but ultimately cool-looking!) stereo we had brought along. I couldn't hear the music! Mum calmed me down again and told me to just breathe, wait and savour the moment, try to remember every detail. I remember it being hot, the sky was stripy but the water meadow we were standing in sucked up the heat and moisture in the air until it was almost buzzing. Or maybe that was the sound of insects, bees and butterflies. The first swifts of the summer flew overhead. The colours were bright – the greens of the trees and grass, yellows of flowers and light, blues of sky and water. Grantchester Meadows was playing in the background in more ways than on our little stereo.
I decided I could wait no longer and walked, arm in arm with Mum and with S, Lucy and Silver behind me, up to the edge of the circle. Grantchester Meadows is a long song, and was by no means over! I found myself wishing I'd had a copy of Cool Edit on my work computer so I could have cut and faded it, not to mention putting Martha's Harbour (my 'procession' song) on the same CD straight after it! Still, it didn’t matter, I was there at the gate of the circle, about to enter it and be handfast to my beloved. Time stood still for a moment, the song faded, and suddenly Tim was speaking. I said my lines, was welcomed into the circle, and finally stood beside Erik. He looked amazing – tight black jeans, fold-over black pirate boots, silver satin pirate shirt with lace-up open front and ruffles at collar and cuffs, and a black doublet with silver piping. Around his waist was a 'bedazzled' belt that Mum had got him for Solstice, and on this Keir hooked the black and silver rapier sword Erik had been adamant he wouldn't get married without. His long red hair was half tied up with a big black satin ribbon, and it spilled over his shoulders and down his back like a waterfall. Standing beside him I felt tears welling up again, but fought them down, asking him quietly if he was OK and telling him how amazing he looked.
The ceremony went so fast. I was trembling the whole time and so hardly felt the power created around us as Tim and Marcie cast the circle. I do remember the breeze as Lucy called the East (Air) quarter, dropping pure frankincense into the burner on the altar; the sun coming out and the temperature notching up by several degrees as Tariq stepped forward and called the South (Fire) quarter, bringing a candle to the altar; the humidity and the proximity of the Granta as Silver called the West (Water) quarter, pouring mead into the decorated horn Erik and I were later to drink from, and bringing it to the altar; the smells of the trees and the soil beneath us as Aussie Paul called the North (Earth) quarter, slicing the special bread we got to go with the mead as a sacrament, and bringing it to the altar. Erik's Mum (Sarah) and Dad (other Paul) then called lower and upper respectively, and finally Tim and Marcie called Odin and Frigga to witness our rite. Hanna and Mum challenged myself and Erik and we both answered as well as we were able, stumbling over our words in our nervousness. I’m glad we only had two challengers in the end! We were bound together with our Handfasting cord (a plait of wide purple, silver and black ribbons I had made a few days before) by Mum and Paul, then Keir came forward with our rings on another smaller ribbon. Erik told me later that our jeweller had shown up at the Fort St George at 10pm the night before with the rings resized and ready to go. They still weren't perfect, but right now it didn't matter. Exchanging rings is no mean feat when your hands are tied, but we managed! Erik said his piece first, then I followed suit, choking down tears of emotion as I said the words;
"I take thee for my wedded husband, in Darkness and in Light, in Winter and in Summer, in Weakness and in Strength, through all of our days in Midgard. I promise to share with you all that I am, for as long as we both shall live. With this ring, I thee wed and with my body, I thee worship."
We were pronounced husband and wife and I was at last allowed to kiss my beloved new husband! Next came the sacraments – bread dipped in oil or honey, and mead or fruit juice for the vegans/teetotallers. Erik and I shared a horn of mead, still tied together, and some bread and oil. Mum and Sarah had collected glasses for everyone from charity shops for the ceremony, so each person got to keep their glass as a reminder of the day. Once everyone in the circle had had their fill, the broom was presented to the company, held out (rather too high!) and dropped to the floor as Erik and I jumped over it. Quite how I managed to keep all my skirts out the way I don’t know, especially as we were still bound!! Finally the quarters were thanked and dismissed, the circle un-cast, and we all adjourned to the small fire-in-a-bucket burning just outside the circle for a picnic.
The Registry Office
Mum and Judith left to book into their B&B and make sure Nana was OK decorating the Portland Arms where we would be having our reception. We gathered a group of people who wanted to come to the registry office to witness us signing the official marriage documentation. In the end we had Lucy and Keir as our main witnesses, as well as S, Hanna, Aussie Paul and J. This was possibly the most stressful part of the day, I knew they were going to ask me details of my father's name and employment – I also knew that I didn't have to have his information on our wedding certificate. I still experienced a small moment of panic when they asked me, and probably answered, 'I don’t want his details included,' a little too forcefully. We also hadn’t agreed music with them beforehand, but decided on 'One Way' by The Levellers as the easiest (it was the first track on the CD we had with us) as well as being important to us. I was somewhat annoyed with it by the end of the registration, but only because I was irritated with the empty, wooden ceremony. The same thing happened when my Great Grandmother died – the Christian priest who did the funeral barely knew her, had hardly ever met her and read from his Book in a bored droning monotone. I wanted to recite some stuff from one of my Witchcraft books, and a poem I had written, but Mum put me off, worried how the priest guy would react. The registry office was the same – we'd already exchanged rings so said to the registrar that we didn't want to do so during our ceremony, yet she still started reading the, 'now you have exchanged vows, together with rings,' before she thought about it, caught herself and apologised. She must do this ceremony thousands of times a year, yet she still read all her lines from a book. Saying vows to Erik again was a little emotional, although not nearly as much as the vows I had written myself to say to him earlier that day. I'm so glad we had our Handfasting first, it made it so special, whereas the registry office would have taken away the edge we had of saying our vows for the first time. The whole thing just seemed so pointless after the amazing ceremony we had just had in Grantchester, I had to keep reminding myself of the benefits of being legally married and recognised as Mrs Finlow.
Anyway, we got out of the registry office alive, Keir taking charge of our Wedding Certificate for safekeeping. The wedding party about to go in looked at our outfits in bemused amusement and I smiled and wished her luck. I hope she got to have a blessing ceremony of some description as well – a registry office wedding on its own is soulless. Keir drove us to the University Arms hotel to check in, and waited for ages (bless him) while Erik and I checked in, refreshed our make-up (Erik was somewhat sunburnt from the Handfasting) and sorted our luggage. We then drove to Lucy's B&B (once she remembered where it was!), checked her in, and finally headed a little further down the road to the Portland Arms for the reception.
The Reception
Quite a few people were already there by the time we got to the pub, including much of my family, Erik's parents and many of our friends. The place looked amazing, decked out with bouquets that matched mine and various other streamers and banners. On a table in a corner sat our three wedding cakes – two vegetarian and one vegan – along with several other miniature cakes to give to people. Mum made all of them and they were so delicious, as well as beautiful. She got some purple food colouring while in Cambridge some time ago and had used this, along with black feathers and roses, to create some lovely Gothic confectionary. I got myself a quadruple vodka and orange in a pint glass, resolving to drink steadily throughout the evening. This turned out to be wishful thinking, I got so distracted by people and things, and so hot (it was BOILING in the venue that night!) that I ended up drinking most of this and then no other alcohol, drinking pints of water instead! Never mind, I didn’t need the alcohol to feel dizzy and light-headed, the sheer number of people and conversations that night made up for the lack of drink many times over! Here things get hazy – I remember all the photographs being taken of myself, Erik, both of us together, us by the decorations, us by the fireplace, us by the bar, my coat, Erik with sword... Lexi’s friend Richard had come along with her – he’s a professional photographer so we got some professional photos taken after all. :-) I remember collecting all the presents together into a pile as I didn't want to open them then and there in a room full of people, with so much going on. I did open the present Nicole and Vince gave us – the most beautiful glass vase etched by Nicole herself with a gorgeous Witchblade portrait. I cried (again) when I opened this up!! Later in the evening we also opened Keir and S's present – a small solar panel ideal for trickle feeding our batteries. Members of Erik's family turned up all the way from the Lake District and I finally got to meet some of the people we had got cards from every Winter Solstice. The food came out at some point and the pool table was covered with the most mouth watering free-range meats, cheeses, vegetarian couscous, hummus, vegan chilli, along with many many other gorgeous things, most of them veggie. I was outside directing one of the friends of a member of Jack's Family to the venue when it turned up and had already missed the Thai green chicken by the time I got back in. But as it was, the plateful of food I did get filled me up almost instantly, and I struggled to make it through a couple of profiteroles (which I had specifically requested for the day!). It took me a while to eat too – I'd left my drink on another table, and every time I got up to get it, I ended up talking to a dozen people, forgetting what I'd got up for, sitting back down and remembering! We cut the cake a little while afterwards, first posing with Erik's sword before using a proper knife to cut through the thick icing (I had requested no marzipan as I hate the stuff!) to the yummy spicy fruitcake beneath. Then the presents were handed out – a way of saying thank-you to all the people that made our day possible – the stag night crew, Marcie, Tim and Fiona, Paul, Sarah and Chris, Mum, Nana, Pops and Pam, Lucy, Silver, S... Eddie then read out a poem for us which was funny, clever and very very sweet. We didn't go with speeches in the end, but I don’t really think we needed them.
The Bands
We put the bands on not long after the food so that those who didn't want to hear them had something else to do. The 4Fit were first, they'd had no sound check but that's part of their sound anyway and I really didn't care by this point!! Erik (who had been downing quantities of various alcohols) got up on stage to do Ziggy Stardust but I missed this (as I always seem to manage to do) having been caught up in conversation outside. It didn't last long anyway – the band forgot the song and Erik forgot the words, and it ended in a glorious shambles! We moshed, we danced (I untied my corset a little) and generally had a wonderful time. Jack's Family headlined and put in the most amazing performance for us, despite having only just replaced their bass player. I forgot the name of my favourite song by them (Hand Me A Vision), they played it anyway and I danced my little heart out! :-) After the bands, I announced that Erik and I were going to have our 'first dance' since we hadn't actually danced together all evening. We had chosen 'Gone With The Sin' by HIM for this. What can I say? I felt amazing whirling around the dance floor with Erik, my own dandy highwayman and beautiful angel. There are far too many photos of us dancing, but every one shows how much love we poured into one another during this song. In fact, the long day and strong emotions took their toll on me after the song ended, and instead of dancing more I decided that having a sit down was what I really needed! Erik and I retired back into the front room and sat down with Tariq, Keir and S, Aussie Paul and others. I had a bizarre and somewhat scary conversation with Lucy at the bar, which I wish I'd had more energy to concentrate on, but by this time I was running on nervous energy alone. I had tried my hardest to get around to everyone during the night (but still missed the chance to have any more than brief chats with anyone), dealt with my family as best I could (seeing Mum's cousin Toby again was lovely, even if he was only there briefly), and had more photos taken than even I could handle! It was well past closing time (we were on a lock in by now – Hayley had told us that as long as we were happy to buy drinks, she was happy to keep the bar open), and it was time to go. Erik and I gathered together the things we needed (leaving presents behind the bar to pick up later) and called a cab to the hotel.
The Hotel
The University Arms is a grand-looking hotel situated almost opposite our PO Box address and alongside Parkers Piece. We had booked the Regent Suite which had two rooms and a 'sleigh'-style bed (not a four poster unfortunately, but you can't have everything!). The best thing I can say about the hotel is that the staff are really really amazing – they are friendly, professional, helpful to the extreme and generally lovely. They make the place what it is, never mind the grand décor downstairs. The room(s) were OK, not fantastic, not worth what we paid for them, but OK. I wasn’t impressed that the wardrobe door wouldn't open (at all) or that the bolt on the bathroom door had been screwed on in a completely different place to the hole it was supposed to go into (it's all in the details – especially at that price), but I was impressed with the view and, of course, the wonderful staff. We got into our rooms, I finally took off my beloved wedding outfit and put on something cooler and more comfortable, and went down to the bar for a nightcap. Erik got there before me and met a group of rowdy Aussies, who (thankfully) disappeared not long after I arrived. We had one drink, looking out over the park, then went back to the rooms where Erik opened the champagne and I turned off the radiators – quite why they were on in the first place I have no idea! We opened the window as best we could and ordered a movie on the TV. During the opening credits of 'The Incredibles', we became aware of the rumble of thunder from outside. We opened the curtains and tied up the nets to get a better view of the amazing light show over the park. I toyed with the idea of going outside and dancing on the grass, but the long day had conspired against me and getting out of bed seemed a feat in itself. We contented ourselves with lying together in each others arms, one eye on the TV, one on the Gods playing outside in the sky. Erik fell asleep eventually, but I stayed up to watch the sky get lighter and the storm fade away before I turned off the TV, pulled the curtains and drifted off beside my new husband.
A few hours later the alarm I had set went off, and not long after that the breakfast in bed we had ordered showed up at the door. Erik was still fast asleep, so I took the tray and woke him up myself. We ate a lovely breakfast then went back to bed, knowing we'd asked to have an extra hour before checking out. I'll leave it to your imaginations what we did with our time – suffice to say our marriage got consummated at this point... ;-)
Sunday
We had arranged to meet up with those who had stayed in Cambridge at the Fort for lunch, so got a taxi with our luggage to the cattle grid on Midsummer Common. Many people met us here and we all shared a table outside in the sunshine. Erik and I had a surprise when we went back to the boat to drop off our suitcases – Helena was covered with balloons, streamers and banners! Lucy crept up with a camera to take photos of us and the boat, we posed some more, then the three of us joined everyone else at the pub. My dear kender friends Dominic and (other) Lucy were there, I gave them a present of two shiny stones I had liberated from the plant pot in the hotel room (you have to come home with something from a stay in a posh hotel!). We sat and chatted, ate and drank – several bowls of chips went round us and I had ice cream as well. Paul went and got our wedding present from him – the most beautiful Viking prow for Helena, a carved dragon head with a knotwork pattern down its neck. We stood under the willow tree in the beer garden for the unveiling of it, before taking it back to the boat to see how it would fit. In the end we decided it would make a great upright for the cratch we will shortly be building. Erik and Dom did some fire poi, Erik setting fire to his raggedy jeans in the process and scaring his mum half to death in the process! People trickled away slowly and eventually we went back to the Portland Arms with Tariq, Paul, J and Marcie, where we sat in the new beer garden, finished off the profiteroles and some of the cake, picked up the presents and sat discussing various things throughout the afternoon and evening. Erik and I eventually peeled off (for some proper food I think, but I'm not quite sure!), apparently Paul, J and Tariq went on a bit of a drinking spree into the early hours!
So that's it. We had been planning on going on our honeymoon that Sunday afternoon, but the companionship of people conspired against us and we didn't feel like going until the Monday afternoon. I'll try to write up what I can of the honeymoon at a later date – suffice to say we didn't get as far as we had been planning but we did have a wonderful (if rather interesting in places) time cruising through some very beautiful countryside. I'd like to thank everyone who contributed towards our wedding in one way or another for their help, presence and presents, and to apologise to everyone I didn't get a chance to speak to properly at the reception. Erik and I still have a whole cake left from the day, it's sealed to the base it's on, so it'll remain edible for a long time. We've decided to eat it at another party next year for my 25th and Erik's 30th, so watch this space for the details when we've organised them. This time we'll have an all-day event somewhere local so hopefully we'll actually be able to catch up properly with everyone! If anyone out there still has any photos we haven't seen yet, can you let me know? If they're on 'reel' film, I'm happy to pay for them to be developed if you'll send/give me the reel – I'll send you back the negatives and a copy of the photos either on disc or paper. If they're digital, please could you email them to me on alixandrea AT norse DOT org DOT uk? We're trying to put together a scrap book of photos at the moment, and I'd like to have all of them to choose the best ones from. :-) Photos currently up on the web can be found at: http://petal.fotopic.net/c523063.html courtesy of the lovely Peta. :-)
Thursday
Spent rushing around like a mad thing trying to find presents and finish various details. I was not in a good mood, especially when Erik let me know he'd had no joy getting in touch with our jeweller about our rings. Having only had some breakfast, and not much of that, I finally gave up on my detox diet at this point and got a giant veggie spring roll, a loaf of bread and a tub of freshly-squished peanut butter at the Cambridge Health Food shop. I sat on the corner of Bridge Street and Trinity Street and proceeded to eat pretty much all of it. I felt a bit better afterwards, although still stressed, and rather full. That evening was the Church of Noise, where the landlord and lady gave us a bottle of champagne, which I drank with orange juice of course! The bubbles and peanut butter combined in my stomach to make me somewhat nauseous (don’t think the stress helped either!) so I didn't dance as much as Erik. We left at a reasonable time and went home to bed.
Friday
I was up early again Friday, stressing about rings and to do lists. I rushed around town again for a while, then went home, packed, had something to eat, sent a text to our so-called friend the jeweller (who Erik still hadn't been able to get in touch with) asking what the hell he was playing at, and had a good cry. Mum called me at this point and after a moment of horror on her part at the prospect of everything going horribly wrong, she calmed me down, made me realise it wasn’t the end of the world and generally helped make me feel better. My Mum rocks my world. :-)
Erik and I met up in town a little while after this to go to Past Times and buy our replacement rings, a silver Celtic-style band and a silver Norse-style one. The girls in the shop were very interested in the whole proceedings and made us promise to bring in photos to them after the big day (note to self, don’t forget!!) We then went to the Cambridge Cheese Company (hoping to see Dave 'Cheese', one of our boat-friends who runs that shop – he was off ill at the time) and got nice cheese and olives, and bread from the market. Then we went back to Helena and sat on the roof with our picnic, adding some dried meats Erik had got a while before. This made me feel better also.
Lucy showed up not long after, as well as Tariq with Erik's gorgeous silver shirt (Tariq's wife Mandy made it for him, as well as taking in his doublet), Tim and Fiona. We loaded up Fiona's car with all the Handfasting paraphernalia at some point, using a wheelbarrow, but I can’t remember exactly when that happened!! By this time it was too late for a sauna, so I had a shower instead, during which the jeweller showed up at the boat with our rings! Erik's wedding ring seemed fine, but I had no engagement ring still, and my wedding ring was enormous. I’m not sure where he got the size for it, but it certainly wasn't from me! Erik took it back out to jeweller (along with my fake engagement ring, which is exactly the right size) who disappeared once more. I'm glad I had been otherwise occupied when he showed up, otherwise there could have been blood.
Keir text me not long after to say he was running late, which was perfect as so were we!! Erik went off to his B&B to check in, I finished packing, and then Lucy and I went to Pretoria Road to meet Keir who was picking us up there in his car. Not long ago, I found a two-wheeled frame trolley in a hedge (really!) and rescued it. It came in handy now, as wheels for my suitcase!! We trundled over the bridge with our mountains of Stuff (tm) and waited a few minutes before Keir arrived.
I was feeling pretty relaxed all evening as we sat discussing pregnancy, hairless cats, crisps, marriage and a myriad of other things I've since forgotten. That magic guy was on TV in Whitby (waaahhh, I miss Whitby :-( ) doing crazy things that I was mostly ignoring while industriously adding the finishing touches to my coat. Lucy decided to finish making the confetti and sat for several hours with a hole punch and heaps and heaps of black tissue paper. My hero! I got terribly bored halfway through my coat but carried on anyway. Keir made us reindeer pizza which was very very nice, almost like lamb but apparently much less fatty. He and S eventually went to bed but Lucy and I sat up for ages afterwards, listening to the music on Keir's Ipod thing, chatting and finishing our various tasks. I ran up and down stairs too many times hanging clothes in the bedroom and finally (finally!) finished the coat! Tried it on. Saw that one of the buttons was lower than its partner (they’re frog buttons) and sat down to unpick it. Luckily it only took a bit of jigging to get it to look like it was in the right place - it still isn't, but by this point I had really had enough!
Saturday Morning
Luce and I finally got to bed at around 3am, but I kept waking up every couple of hours panicking about weather and rings and various other things! I got up around 8 or 9-ish in the end, once I realised other people were stirring. Outside was grey but dry. I felt a little disappointed, but so grateful it wasn't raining! Keir made us 'Eggs Comberton' for breakfast, with the best veggie sausages I have ever tasted, and asparagus from his garden. I was very disappointed the whole day as the asparagus failed to make my wee smell funny (it usually does - http://www.studentbmj.com/back_issues/0800/education/277.html for why). Maybe I was just too busy to notice! Anyway, we ate in a leisurely manner, with large cups of tea to set us up for the day, then I went upstairs to get ready.
I stupidly used my inhaler before starting to put on my make-up – meaning I had the shakes throughout the procedure. Nevertheless, I was happy with the result - at least I didn’t have to wash it all off and start again! I had a candle spell to do before I put my clothes on, during which Lucy got ready and I spilt wax on Keir's dressing table (sorry cuz. :-\). It did help me to feel a little more focussed though – even if my hands were still shaking! Anyway, I finished it, dressed, did up my own corset (Lucy’s not too good at laces!) and headed downstairs.
The outfit, in full:
Purple velvet knickers (for my spell). These had a diamante back which (surprisingly) was far more comfortable than I had been anticipating.
White fishnet hold-up stockings
Black lace garter with marabou feather and black ribbon dangly bit (I also tied the lucky purple ribbon from my spell around this).
White full-length net underskirt (part of my 'something old' as I got it in a charity shop in Whitby).
Big black satin overskirt with a train that hitched up into a bustle with dog clips and D rings. This also hitched up at the front so you could see the bottom of the net skirt under it. To the clips I tied the lucky rainbow coloured ribbons from my spell. The skirt would have been part of my 'something new', but I wore it at Whitby in November!
Purple satin and black velvet corset. I got this custom made by Absolute Corsets, and it is stunning! It and my boots were my 'something new'.
White leather lace-up cowboy boots with black soles. These were perfect for the terrain as they have low-ish Cuban heels and being leather would have been easy to clean if they had got muddy. I love these boots so much – when Lucy first saw them she thought they were dance roller skates, as they look so much like the classic white dance skates worn by ice/roller skaters. I laced them up with purple and green ribbons, and put my silver sixpence in them. I originally wanted to put the sixpence on an anklet, but didn’t have a drill to make a hole in it. I could have asked our jeweller to do it, but if I had, I doubt I would have had a silver sixpence at all for the day!!
White cathedral-length veil. This was my 'something borrowed' as S got it for when she and Keir got married in Finland. It's floor length on her at 5'10", so as you can imagine it was trailing the floor on me!
Green, purple and clear Swarovski crystal tiara. This is gorgeous, although it got somewhat flattened in my bag after I took it off to mosh later in the evening. All the crystals were on twisted silver wires, giving the impression of a wild fairy crown.
Green satin coat (the one I was finishing the night before). This was made from an old dress I got from a charity shop years and years ago, and I used to wear it every year at Beltaine. I figured it would be appropriate to wear it when I got married on May Eve so decided to turn it into a tailcoat. I designed it and cut the basic shape from it, adding two darts in the sides to make it flare more. Silver (my other bridesmaid) helped me cut it to the proper shape and kindly leant me her sewing machine and iron in order to hem it. I then added four black frog buttons, purple satin roses at the cuffs and down the back to cover the zip from neckline to waist, a green swarovski crystal bracelet that matched one of the necklaces I got for the day on the back of the waist, and dog clips and D rings to match the skirt and hitch up the back of the coat into a bustle. Apart from a couple of bits that need re-positioning, I'm ridiculously proud of this!! It was the other part of my 'something old'.
Jewellery-wise, I had three necklace sets (green, lilac and a smaller purple one) to choose from! I chose the lilac necklace, with the earrings from the green set. Plus all my usual rings and a silver arm-ring I don't wear often enough.
My 'something blue' was, of course, my hair – blue fringe with purple, green and more blue through the rest of it on the top and black underneath. I put it up in lots of little plaits the night before, so it was wild and crimped-looking on the day!
By this time, it was 1:15pm, so we packed everything into Keir's car, took a few photos of us outside, then headed off. The sky cleared for a bit, then we drove through a rain shower! Somehow this cloudburst cleared as we entered Grantchester, and by the time we got to the Orchard, the sun was shining.
The Ceremony
Everyone else, including Erik, was already there, and had all met up. More photos were taken in the car park, and I panicked about various things – would the weather hold? Did I bring everything? Where on Earth were our rings? Once I was certain all was in order and there would be no panic-stricken runs back to Keir's, I headed down to the circle that had been set up near the wood in the bottom corner of the field. Various people were already there – Sarah (Erik's mum) told me that she'd spoken to Erik, and that he was fine but shaking like a leaf. At this point my resolve to remain as calm as possible crumbled and I burst into tears!!
I calmed down fairly quickly, with hugs and reassurances from everyone, sorted myself out and set out the bits I had brought on the altar. Other people arrived from the Orchard, and a crowd of onlookers also gathered. Many many photos were taken by everyone, of everyone, which was lovely as we didn’t want an official wedding photographer – photos taken by participants and witnesses who are friends are always far more personal. My bouquet was handed to me, a really beautiful waterfall creation with black silk roses, purple freesias, white roses, baby’s breath sprayed silver, trailing ivy and peacock feathers to honour Hera, the Greek Goddess of marriage (as well as being a perfect colour match for my outfit!)
People gathered and Mum, my Handmaidens and I went down to the far corner of the field as Erik came down from the Orchard. When the music started, I cursed myself for not explaining the (fairly badly laid out, but ultimately cool-looking!) stereo we had brought along. I couldn't hear the music! Mum calmed me down again and told me to just breathe, wait and savour the moment, try to remember every detail. I remember it being hot, the sky was stripy but the water meadow we were standing in sucked up the heat and moisture in the air until it was almost buzzing. Or maybe that was the sound of insects, bees and butterflies. The first swifts of the summer flew overhead. The colours were bright – the greens of the trees and grass, yellows of flowers and light, blues of sky and water. Grantchester Meadows was playing in the background in more ways than on our little stereo.
I decided I could wait no longer and walked, arm in arm with Mum and with S, Lucy and Silver behind me, up to the edge of the circle. Grantchester Meadows is a long song, and was by no means over! I found myself wishing I'd had a copy of Cool Edit on my work computer so I could have cut and faded it, not to mention putting Martha's Harbour (my 'procession' song) on the same CD straight after it! Still, it didn’t matter, I was there at the gate of the circle, about to enter it and be handfast to my beloved. Time stood still for a moment, the song faded, and suddenly Tim was speaking. I said my lines, was welcomed into the circle, and finally stood beside Erik. He looked amazing – tight black jeans, fold-over black pirate boots, silver satin pirate shirt with lace-up open front and ruffles at collar and cuffs, and a black doublet with silver piping. Around his waist was a 'bedazzled' belt that Mum had got him for Solstice, and on this Keir hooked the black and silver rapier sword Erik had been adamant he wouldn't get married without. His long red hair was half tied up with a big black satin ribbon, and it spilled over his shoulders and down his back like a waterfall. Standing beside him I felt tears welling up again, but fought them down, asking him quietly if he was OK and telling him how amazing he looked.
The ceremony went so fast. I was trembling the whole time and so hardly felt the power created around us as Tim and Marcie cast the circle. I do remember the breeze as Lucy called the East (Air) quarter, dropping pure frankincense into the burner on the altar; the sun coming out and the temperature notching up by several degrees as Tariq stepped forward and called the South (Fire) quarter, bringing a candle to the altar; the humidity and the proximity of the Granta as Silver called the West (Water) quarter, pouring mead into the decorated horn Erik and I were later to drink from, and bringing it to the altar; the smells of the trees and the soil beneath us as Aussie Paul called the North (Earth) quarter, slicing the special bread we got to go with the mead as a sacrament, and bringing it to the altar. Erik's Mum (Sarah) and Dad (other Paul) then called lower and upper respectively, and finally Tim and Marcie called Odin and Frigga to witness our rite. Hanna and Mum challenged myself and Erik and we both answered as well as we were able, stumbling over our words in our nervousness. I’m glad we only had two challengers in the end! We were bound together with our Handfasting cord (a plait of wide purple, silver and black ribbons I had made a few days before) by Mum and Paul, then Keir came forward with our rings on another smaller ribbon. Erik told me later that our jeweller had shown up at the Fort St George at 10pm the night before with the rings resized and ready to go. They still weren't perfect, but right now it didn't matter. Exchanging rings is no mean feat when your hands are tied, but we managed! Erik said his piece first, then I followed suit, choking down tears of emotion as I said the words;
"I take thee for my wedded husband, in Darkness and in Light, in Winter and in Summer, in Weakness and in Strength, through all of our days in Midgard. I promise to share with you all that I am, for as long as we both shall live. With this ring, I thee wed and with my body, I thee worship."
We were pronounced husband and wife and I was at last allowed to kiss my beloved new husband! Next came the sacraments – bread dipped in oil or honey, and mead or fruit juice for the vegans/teetotallers. Erik and I shared a horn of mead, still tied together, and some bread and oil. Mum and Sarah had collected glasses for everyone from charity shops for the ceremony, so each person got to keep their glass as a reminder of the day. Once everyone in the circle had had their fill, the broom was presented to the company, held out (rather too high!) and dropped to the floor as Erik and I jumped over it. Quite how I managed to keep all my skirts out the way I don’t know, especially as we were still bound!! Finally the quarters were thanked and dismissed, the circle un-cast, and we all adjourned to the small fire-in-a-bucket burning just outside the circle for a picnic.
The Registry Office
Mum and Judith left to book into their B&B and make sure Nana was OK decorating the Portland Arms where we would be having our reception. We gathered a group of people who wanted to come to the registry office to witness us signing the official marriage documentation. In the end we had Lucy and Keir as our main witnesses, as well as S, Hanna, Aussie Paul and J. This was possibly the most stressful part of the day, I knew they were going to ask me details of my father's name and employment – I also knew that I didn't have to have his information on our wedding certificate. I still experienced a small moment of panic when they asked me, and probably answered, 'I don’t want his details included,' a little too forcefully. We also hadn’t agreed music with them beforehand, but decided on 'One Way' by The Levellers as the easiest (it was the first track on the CD we had with us) as well as being important to us. I was somewhat annoyed with it by the end of the registration, but only because I was irritated with the empty, wooden ceremony. The same thing happened when my Great Grandmother died – the Christian priest who did the funeral barely knew her, had hardly ever met her and read from his Book in a bored droning monotone. I wanted to recite some stuff from one of my Witchcraft books, and a poem I had written, but Mum put me off, worried how the priest guy would react. The registry office was the same – we'd already exchanged rings so said to the registrar that we didn't want to do so during our ceremony, yet she still started reading the, 'now you have exchanged vows, together with rings,' before she thought about it, caught herself and apologised. She must do this ceremony thousands of times a year, yet she still read all her lines from a book. Saying vows to Erik again was a little emotional, although not nearly as much as the vows I had written myself to say to him earlier that day. I'm so glad we had our Handfasting first, it made it so special, whereas the registry office would have taken away the edge we had of saying our vows for the first time. The whole thing just seemed so pointless after the amazing ceremony we had just had in Grantchester, I had to keep reminding myself of the benefits of being legally married and recognised as Mrs Finlow.
Anyway, we got out of the registry office alive, Keir taking charge of our Wedding Certificate for safekeeping. The wedding party about to go in looked at our outfits in bemused amusement and I smiled and wished her luck. I hope she got to have a blessing ceremony of some description as well – a registry office wedding on its own is soulless. Keir drove us to the University Arms hotel to check in, and waited for ages (bless him) while Erik and I checked in, refreshed our make-up (Erik was somewhat sunburnt from the Handfasting) and sorted our luggage. We then drove to Lucy's B&B (once she remembered where it was!), checked her in, and finally headed a little further down the road to the Portland Arms for the reception.
The Reception
Quite a few people were already there by the time we got to the pub, including much of my family, Erik's parents and many of our friends. The place looked amazing, decked out with bouquets that matched mine and various other streamers and banners. On a table in a corner sat our three wedding cakes – two vegetarian and one vegan – along with several other miniature cakes to give to people. Mum made all of them and they were so delicious, as well as beautiful. She got some purple food colouring while in Cambridge some time ago and had used this, along with black feathers and roses, to create some lovely Gothic confectionary. I got myself a quadruple vodka and orange in a pint glass, resolving to drink steadily throughout the evening. This turned out to be wishful thinking, I got so distracted by people and things, and so hot (it was BOILING in the venue that night!) that I ended up drinking most of this and then no other alcohol, drinking pints of water instead! Never mind, I didn’t need the alcohol to feel dizzy and light-headed, the sheer number of people and conversations that night made up for the lack of drink many times over! Here things get hazy – I remember all the photographs being taken of myself, Erik, both of us together, us by the decorations, us by the fireplace, us by the bar, my coat, Erik with sword... Lexi’s friend Richard had come along with her – he’s a professional photographer so we got some professional photos taken after all. :-) I remember collecting all the presents together into a pile as I didn't want to open them then and there in a room full of people, with so much going on. I did open the present Nicole and Vince gave us – the most beautiful glass vase etched by Nicole herself with a gorgeous Witchblade portrait. I cried (again) when I opened this up!! Later in the evening we also opened Keir and S's present – a small solar panel ideal for trickle feeding our batteries. Members of Erik's family turned up all the way from the Lake District and I finally got to meet some of the people we had got cards from every Winter Solstice. The food came out at some point and the pool table was covered with the most mouth watering free-range meats, cheeses, vegetarian couscous, hummus, vegan chilli, along with many many other gorgeous things, most of them veggie. I was outside directing one of the friends of a member of Jack's Family to the venue when it turned up and had already missed the Thai green chicken by the time I got back in. But as it was, the plateful of food I did get filled me up almost instantly, and I struggled to make it through a couple of profiteroles (which I had specifically requested for the day!). It took me a while to eat too – I'd left my drink on another table, and every time I got up to get it, I ended up talking to a dozen people, forgetting what I'd got up for, sitting back down and remembering! We cut the cake a little while afterwards, first posing with Erik's sword before using a proper knife to cut through the thick icing (I had requested no marzipan as I hate the stuff!) to the yummy spicy fruitcake beneath. Then the presents were handed out – a way of saying thank-you to all the people that made our day possible – the stag night crew, Marcie, Tim and Fiona, Paul, Sarah and Chris, Mum, Nana, Pops and Pam, Lucy, Silver, S... Eddie then read out a poem for us which was funny, clever and very very sweet. We didn't go with speeches in the end, but I don’t really think we needed them.
The Bands
We put the bands on not long after the food so that those who didn't want to hear them had something else to do. The 4Fit were first, they'd had no sound check but that's part of their sound anyway and I really didn't care by this point!! Erik (who had been downing quantities of various alcohols) got up on stage to do Ziggy Stardust but I missed this (as I always seem to manage to do) having been caught up in conversation outside. It didn't last long anyway – the band forgot the song and Erik forgot the words, and it ended in a glorious shambles! We moshed, we danced (I untied my corset a little) and generally had a wonderful time. Jack's Family headlined and put in the most amazing performance for us, despite having only just replaced their bass player. I forgot the name of my favourite song by them (Hand Me A Vision), they played it anyway and I danced my little heart out! :-) After the bands, I announced that Erik and I were going to have our 'first dance' since we hadn't actually danced together all evening. We had chosen 'Gone With The Sin' by HIM for this. What can I say? I felt amazing whirling around the dance floor with Erik, my own dandy highwayman and beautiful angel. There are far too many photos of us dancing, but every one shows how much love we poured into one another during this song. In fact, the long day and strong emotions took their toll on me after the song ended, and instead of dancing more I decided that having a sit down was what I really needed! Erik and I retired back into the front room and sat down with Tariq, Keir and S, Aussie Paul and others. I had a bizarre and somewhat scary conversation with Lucy at the bar, which I wish I'd had more energy to concentrate on, but by this time I was running on nervous energy alone. I had tried my hardest to get around to everyone during the night (but still missed the chance to have any more than brief chats with anyone), dealt with my family as best I could (seeing Mum's cousin Toby again was lovely, even if he was only there briefly), and had more photos taken than even I could handle! It was well past closing time (we were on a lock in by now – Hayley had told us that as long as we were happy to buy drinks, she was happy to keep the bar open), and it was time to go. Erik and I gathered together the things we needed (leaving presents behind the bar to pick up later) and called a cab to the hotel.
The Hotel
The University Arms is a grand-looking hotel situated almost opposite our PO Box address and alongside Parkers Piece. We had booked the Regent Suite which had two rooms and a 'sleigh'-style bed (not a four poster unfortunately, but you can't have everything!). The best thing I can say about the hotel is that the staff are really really amazing – they are friendly, professional, helpful to the extreme and generally lovely. They make the place what it is, never mind the grand décor downstairs. The room(s) were OK, not fantastic, not worth what we paid for them, but OK. I wasn’t impressed that the wardrobe door wouldn't open (at all) or that the bolt on the bathroom door had been screwed on in a completely different place to the hole it was supposed to go into (it's all in the details – especially at that price), but I was impressed with the view and, of course, the wonderful staff. We got into our rooms, I finally took off my beloved wedding outfit and put on something cooler and more comfortable, and went down to the bar for a nightcap. Erik got there before me and met a group of rowdy Aussies, who (thankfully) disappeared not long after I arrived. We had one drink, looking out over the park, then went back to the rooms where Erik opened the champagne and I turned off the radiators – quite why they were on in the first place I have no idea! We opened the window as best we could and ordered a movie on the TV. During the opening credits of 'The Incredibles', we became aware of the rumble of thunder from outside. We opened the curtains and tied up the nets to get a better view of the amazing light show over the park. I toyed with the idea of going outside and dancing on the grass, but the long day had conspired against me and getting out of bed seemed a feat in itself. We contented ourselves with lying together in each others arms, one eye on the TV, one on the Gods playing outside in the sky. Erik fell asleep eventually, but I stayed up to watch the sky get lighter and the storm fade away before I turned off the TV, pulled the curtains and drifted off beside my new husband.
A few hours later the alarm I had set went off, and not long after that the breakfast in bed we had ordered showed up at the door. Erik was still fast asleep, so I took the tray and woke him up myself. We ate a lovely breakfast then went back to bed, knowing we'd asked to have an extra hour before checking out. I'll leave it to your imaginations what we did with our time – suffice to say our marriage got consummated at this point... ;-)
Sunday
We had arranged to meet up with those who had stayed in Cambridge at the Fort for lunch, so got a taxi with our luggage to the cattle grid on Midsummer Common. Many people met us here and we all shared a table outside in the sunshine. Erik and I had a surprise when we went back to the boat to drop off our suitcases – Helena was covered with balloons, streamers and banners! Lucy crept up with a camera to take photos of us and the boat, we posed some more, then the three of us joined everyone else at the pub. My dear kender friends Dominic and (other) Lucy were there, I gave them a present of two shiny stones I had liberated from the plant pot in the hotel room (you have to come home with something from a stay in a posh hotel!). We sat and chatted, ate and drank – several bowls of chips went round us and I had ice cream as well. Paul went and got our wedding present from him – the most beautiful Viking prow for Helena, a carved dragon head with a knotwork pattern down its neck. We stood under the willow tree in the beer garden for the unveiling of it, before taking it back to the boat to see how it would fit. In the end we decided it would make a great upright for the cratch we will shortly be building. Erik and Dom did some fire poi, Erik setting fire to his raggedy jeans in the process and scaring his mum half to death in the process! People trickled away slowly and eventually we went back to the Portland Arms with Tariq, Paul, J and Marcie, where we sat in the new beer garden, finished off the profiteroles and some of the cake, picked up the presents and sat discussing various things throughout the afternoon and evening. Erik and I eventually peeled off (for some proper food I think, but I'm not quite sure!), apparently Paul, J and Tariq went on a bit of a drinking spree into the early hours!
So that's it. We had been planning on going on our honeymoon that Sunday afternoon, but the companionship of people conspired against us and we didn't feel like going until the Monday afternoon. I'll try to write up what I can of the honeymoon at a later date – suffice to say we didn't get as far as we had been planning but we did have a wonderful (if rather interesting in places) time cruising through some very beautiful countryside. I'd like to thank everyone who contributed towards our wedding in one way or another for their help, presence and presents, and to apologise to everyone I didn't get a chance to speak to properly at the reception. Erik and I still have a whole cake left from the day, it's sealed to the base it's on, so it'll remain edible for a long time. We've decided to eat it at another party next year for my 25th and Erik's 30th, so watch this space for the details when we've organised them. This time we'll have an all-day event somewhere local so hopefully we'll actually be able to catch up properly with everyone! If anyone out there still has any photos we haven't seen yet, can you let me know? If they're on 'reel' film, I'm happy to pay for them to be developed if you'll send/give me the reel – I'll send you back the negatives and a copy of the photos either on disc or paper. If they're digital, please could you email them to me on alixandrea AT norse DOT org DOT uk? We're trying to put together a scrap book of photos at the moment, and I'd like to have all of them to choose the best ones from. :-) Photos currently up on the web can be found at: http://petal.fotopic.net/c523063.html courtesy of the lovely Peta. :-)
