Right chaps, here it is... a little later than planned but I hope it was worth the wait...!
Friday 2nd September
My birthday, and as it was such a fantastically gorgeous day, HTB and I took the day off from the unrelenting organisation of wedding stuff and went to Stratford-upon-Avon for the day. We had a lovely lunch and wander round the shops, and we enjoyed playing the ‘this time next week’ game as we ambled along the river in the evening sunshine.
Saturday 3rd – Thursday 8th September
As I was making the wedding cake and all the favours, as well as all the decorative bits, I had wisely decided to give myself the week off before the wedding so I could concentrate on all things creative.
I had (much to the amusement of my HTB, friends and family) created for myself a laminated weekly and daily checklist of things I needed to do, but I tell you, that thing was my best friend, and would thoroughly recommend that any future brides or grooms ignore the sniggers of loved ones and create one for themselves.
I had already baked the fruit cake that would be our bottom tier back in March, and had been lovingly feeding it a fortnightly diet of brandy until it was smothered in marzipan about two weeks previously. It had smelt dangerous, and I suspected that one slice could get you a 12 month ban if you drove after eating it.
I had a tight schedule of when cake tiers were being baked, iced and decorated, and also had to work into this schedule time to go and get the last bits and pieces we needed for presents and the venue, pack everything up to take (we were getting married 200 miles from where we lived, so had to be really sure that we had everything before setting off!), and have all my beauty treatments.
It was a bit mental but I loved it, I am the kind of person who, as long as I have my lists and instructions, loves having about ten things to do at any one time! It was great to get everything done, tick things off the lists as I went, and to finally see everything coming together in the way it only can do so close to the day itself! I was also amazed at how calm I felt, even amidst all the madness, but I just kept thinking that the nerves would surely kick in at some point.
Whether it was luck or because of my alarming militarian planning, everything went according to plan and we were packed up and ready to set off to Devonshire on Thursday afternoon as we hoped we would be.
We had booked a lovely plush B&B in Ilfracombe, just a few minutes up the road from our venue, exclusively for our family and friends over the wedding weekend, but it was just us and my mum and step-dad staying there on the Thursday night, so once we had all arrived we ventured out for a curry.The whirlwind of the last week combined with the long journey however made us all a bit zombified so we pretty much ate in silence before heading back to the hotel and crashing out.
Friday 9th September
The day before!!! I got up at my usual 6.30am and went for a swim, and had a blissful hour swimming in a lovely heated pool with only a small frog for company, he had snuck into the pool room and was quite happy sitting on the pool steps watching me swim up and down! It hit me as I enjoyed a nice floating moment, that this time right now was most definitely the calm before the storm, the stillness before the crazy train of unstoppable wedding STUFF started. So I floated around for a bit longer.
Eventually I thought I had better get on with it and hauled myself out of the pool and up to our room to get showered before breakfast. I was amazed to see that HTB, who will happily sleep until noon if left to his own devices, was up. He hadn’t really slept as he was so worried about his vows and speeches, we had a cuppa and a cuddle and he started to feel a bit better. He is a bit of a sensitive soul and not used to public speaking, but despite my protests that he didn’t have to do a speech at all, or at least we could one together if he was worried, he was adamant that he wanted to do it alone.
After breakfast I walked down to our venue, Tunnels Beaches, to show my dad, step-mum and auntie around as they hadn’t seen it before, and were staying in a different hotel to us. It was really nice to have a wander round and see their reaction to this amazing place, and as we left it was very strange think that tomorrow we would all be there and I would be getting married! We had a quick coffee before I headed back up to our B&B to sort out the last bits and pieces for the next day.
As I was walking back up the road, a car comes careering towards me but it wasn’t a madman behind the wheel but my grinning bridesmaid D and close friend R from New Zealand next to her, who promptly jump out and we all bounce around squealing. We jump back in the car and when we get back to the B&B I notice that during the bouncing around I unfortunately landed in some dog poop, that I have now transferred to D’s car... cue much gagging and laughing.
Once shoes and cars have been cleaned, and we had sorted out the hotel rooms, D & R decide to have a lie-down as they had a really early start, so HTB and I decide to give my mum and step-dad their thank you present before everyone else arrived. We had got them a Red Letter Day experience for a tour and afternoon tea at Shakespeare’s Globe as well as a few other bits and pieces and mum had a bit of a blubbing attack, the first of many over the weekend!
HTB went to sort his stuff out, he was staying with some friends in Ilfracombe that night and needed to drop his bag off at their house before they went to work at 6pm, but I think it was really an excuse to have a bit of time away from the madness.
Mum, R and I camped out in the sitting room to sort out the favours. I had made three different types of chocolates; Gin & Tonic Truffles, Limoncello Creams and Chilli Chocolate Fudge that all needed portioning into little bags and tied with twine. The three of us sat like little buddhas surrounded by piles of little bags of chocolates and had a lovely few hours catching up.
When we had finished it was about 5pm and some of the people who were staying had started arriving, so we went up to say hello. The owners of the B&B had arranged a buffet for the Friday night and said we could invite people who were staying elsewhere over for a little pre-wedding warm-up. We loved this idea as most of our guests had travelled big distances to come to the wedding and so were staying in Ilfracombe on the Friday night as well, so it was just another excuse for a party!
HTB and I grabbed a moment to take my dad and step-mum to our room to give them their present, we had got them a Red Letter Day experience to go to Vinopolis, the perfect gift for a pair of old winos! I also decided to give my bridesmaids, D, K & L their presents as I knew it would all be a bit crazy in the morning. I had put together a little ‘Bridesmaid Survival’ goody bag of Liz Earle treats, chocolate, glucose tablets, tissues, necklaces and earrings, which they all loved.
It was a great night, and gave most of our guests a chance to get to know each other before the wedding, but any idea that arranging it to start at 6.30pm might mean that it would be an early night was optimistic... especially when it came to the best man B and the ushers J and W who stayed up drinking until 1am! We finally kicked HTB out at about 12.30am, and I felt a bit sad watching him walk down the road on his own.
I said goodnight to everyone still up and closed the door of my bedroom, it felt odd but very nice to have some peace. I did a bit of tidying up and then fell into bed. I sent HTB a text to check he had got to our friends ok, and answered a few messages I hadn’t had chance to during the day. I still felt completely calm and went to sleep wondering at what point the nerves may kick in...
