Back in the saddle again

The wedding saddle that is.

And no, I'm not getting married. I'm the girl who's been in eight weddings and also assisted in countless others. So, in honor of weddings and people I love, I present you with the last wedding I was in. Unfortunately work and holidays hit so I wasn't able to bore, er, tell you about it before.

This one wins for furthest travelled. That title was previously held by a wedding in Maine but that wedding has now been dethroned.

If you're new to my blog, I'll give you a hint to where I was:

Yup, you guessed it, Tahiti. Oops, sorry, that's where I want to go, not where I was. Yes, we traveled across the pond.

Now, you might think to yourself, well, a British wedding would be easy. I mean, its a country where English is spoken and we've all seen "Four Weddings and a Funeral." That looks like great fun. And it was, but everything was different.

Actually, could you go watch that movie before you read any more? It sure would help the story. I'm sure you have the DVD. I can wait.

....

The language is different, the dress code is different, the bridal responsibilities are different...everything is well, different.

Lets start at the reheral, shall we? See that nice father daughter couple walking towards the house where both the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception were held? That's the bride and the father of the bride. Can you see that she's wearing a suit? (Click on the picture if you need more detail.)

At the rehearsal, Elizabeth was wearing pants (those pants you see right there) and when the vicar asked how long her dress was (to know if kneeling would be an issue) I said it was the same length as her PANTS. Yeah, everyone had a good laugh at that one, except for the 5 Americans who didn't know why they were laughing.

Britain 1, Maid of Honor 0

And, by the way, I was a Chief (and only) Bridesmaid, not the Maid of Honor.

Britain 2, Maid of Honor 0

The day of the wedding, there were a few traditional issues that we won't go into on the interwebs. But I will tell you this.

Britain 2, Maid of Honor 14,986

We all made it to the church on time, though a few of us might have been walking quickly due issues alluded to above. But, it gives me a good excuse to show you one of my three favorite pictures from the wedding (note Elizabeth is holding her wedding shoes so they don't get dirty on the walk to the church.

Don't we just love her dress? Off the rack ladies. Yes, you can find a dress for a reasonable amount of money. I bet someone really cool bought that. And yes we're going to ignore that the bride is gorgeous and completely in shape and could have worn a paper sack and looked fabulous and instead we'll focus on the fabulous dress, off the rack.

Britain 2, Maid of Honor 14,987

As luck would have it, the church they were married in is right next door to her now father-in-law's house. Again, you see this in "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Everyone walking from a fantastic old church to an equally fantastic old house for the reception. Fabulous, right?

Britain 3, Maid of Honor 14,987

Although this wedding has many British traits to it, the bride and groom did put their own spin on the most important element of the entire day.

Cheese.

Oh, you don't believe me?

That's cheese. That's cheese from France. That's cheese from France picked up by two friends of the bride & groom. (Only one person was sent but he invited a friend for the adventure.)

Seriously.

Of all the preparations for the wedding, this was the one single element that was key to the success of the event.

Now I think you fully understand the crazy of my friends and why I adore them so very, very much.

Part II coming tomorrow.