On the 28th June this year Roy and I will be celebrating twelve years of marriage. TWELVE! It may have been some time ago however I remember the run up to the day, the day itself and the honeymoon in perfect detail.
We were married here in Sowerby, Thirsk in the unbelievably lovely St Oswald’s Church. Despite it raining (buckets) the day before I woke up at my Mum and Dad’s house to lovely clear blue skies and bright sunshine. My sisters and I then all trooped into town for a cooked breakfast (no nervous stomach for me when there is bacon waiting!). As we weren’t getting married until 4pm I had plenty of time to hit the hairdresser’s with my Mum, sisters, sister in law etc, to get home again and then into my dress.
I have never been so nervous as I was walking down the aisle. If I remember right I might have tried to frog-march my Dad down the aisle rather than be delicately escorted. I barked at Roy at the alter NOT to look at me as I squeezed his hand because I was so happy I knew if he did I would cry. As it was I nearly burst into hiccups of laughter and when Roy put an arm around me to keep me steady (6 inch heels may have sounded like a good idea on a 5ft 2″ bride not wanting to look like a gnome next to her 6ft 5″ husband but as we had to kneel a couple of times I was getting wobbly in my big dress). A sweet gesture I agree however he managed to stand there with his hand on my backside without realising it and all I could think of was that my Gran was sat behind me….
Emotional but absolutely magical! After the ceremony and the signing of the register we all spilled out into the sunshine for photographs then up to the wedding reception. It really was an amazing day surrounded by much loved family and friends.
The honeymoon was equally magical, despite my spending time in the local A&E (let us just say that a romantic surprise horse riding lesson is not as fun as it sounds when one of you has an unknown nasty allergy to either the horse or something near it!). I can laugh now, we both can but what a carry on!
While I can remember in fabulous detail every minute of our wedding it is still nice to have a collection of wonderful keepsakes. I have a wedding box which has my tiara, the scented rose petals that we sprinkled over the tables, one of the centre pieces, good luck wedding gifts and keepsakes, my blue garter belt (something borrowed, something blue….) and much more besides. We love to open the box from time to time for a nosy and fond smiles as well as spying special bits around the house which remind us of that time.
For our anniversary my plan is to find a print or painting of where we went on our honeymoon (a gorgeous place that has a lot of history for me) up in Scotland called Findhorn as a joint present. Never underestimate the power of happy memories!
What do you remember most about your wedding day?
