Story of the day
 |
The
day started bright and early, in two camps. The Knight family drove to Skilton
Road, home of James' parents, to get ready. On the way they stopped near
Blewbury to photograph the sunrise. Meanwhile, James went with Dave to the
home of his best man. The bride got ready while the groom and his attendants
assembled at the church and argued with Direct Line. At times like this
it is extremely important to remain calm. |
We started the service a few minutes late. At about ten past
twelve the bride walked through the door, looking like a vision from heaven
(the groom's words!). Our minister , the Rev. Ann Barton, conducted the service,
while Anne Fellows - wife of previous minister Ric - did the prayers. Readings
were ably handled by our friends Beth and Kirsten, and three of the young people
from the church assisted the organist with some of the hymns. The vows were
the epitome of serious joy, but we managed a nuzzle during the otherwise-restrained
kiss.
The rest of the service ran as follows -
 |
We
trooped out of the church - the groom failing to avoid looking smug - and
then trooped back in again for the enormous group photo, taken from the
top of the balcony. I don't know how Richard Hanson did it. There were nearly
two hundred people, and somehow we managed to crowd them all into the bottom
half of the church, breaking all fire regulations in the process, but with
great results. |
| Outside
in the park, we assembled for an hour of group shots. It got hard to smile
after a while - your face starts to ache - but most people got
to appear on camera, and it didn't rain. Meanwhile, in the church Ruth Lownsbrough
and her team served refreshments, while her husband Richard trooped around
getting people to record video messages. There was also a big umbrella to
sign and a PowerPoint slideshow of photos taken over the last eighteen months
or so. |
 |
 |
After
copious amounts of confetti, we left for the reception at the Comfort Inn,
where people milled around in the bar for a while before taking their seats.
We'd adopted a Trumptonshire theme, and each table took its name after a
place in Camberwick Green, Trumpton or Chigley - with Treddles Wharf, Chippy
Minton's workshop and Mr Carraway's Fishmonger all making a welcome appearance.
(The top table was Colley's Mill, with an actual-size statue of Windy Miller
as its mascot.) |
| We dined on pate, turkey and cheesecake,
or the vegetarian equivalents, and then it was time for speeches: Mr Knight,
who spoke of King's Cross and Winnie The Pooh; Mrs Knight, who delivered
a bracing poem on the dangerous subject of leaving the bathroom door unlocked;
and then the groom - joined by his bride. (For the record, the groom's speech
is easy. You stand up, say "My wife and I", everyone applauds,
you reel off a list of people to thank, give out some flowers, and then
sit down again.) Finally, it was the Best Man's turn: suffice to say that
Jon did us all proud with his thoughtful rendition of the time James had
a tantrum in a supermarket because his mother wouldn't buy any pet food
for the imaginary cat. |
 |
 |
After dinner, we cleared
the room and then had the first set of open mic items - songs from people
at church (including a lovely rendition of S'wonderful, as performed by
Annie Owen) and the results of the quiz. Eventually the bride and groom
took to the floor for their first dance. Initially intended to be something
suave, sophisticated and romantic, we decided a few months before the wedding
that it would be more fun to just dance to Teletubbies instead. Emily handled
the choreography, and we were joined halfway through the song by Alice Owen
(who managed to outperform both of us). |
| The rest of the evening consisted
of dancing, drinking and generally making merry. The bride and groom did
a slightly tongue-in-cheek version of REO Speedwagon's 'Can't Fight This
Feeling', and the ceilidh band - the cheerily named Wheelwrights
Bane - performed a rousing set of dances that filled the floor to the
end. The whole thing drew to a close at midnight, although actually getting
to bed took quite a bit longer. |
 |
The next morning the hotel guests were given an
early morning alarm call - courtesy of the wailing klaxon that is the fire alarm,
which had been set off by steam from someone's 8 a.m. shower. After breakfast
we were driven down to Heathrow, where we caught an early afternoon plane to
Milan for a two-week honeymoon. Our luggage was full of confetti, thanks to
the efforts of various family members, and we were picking it out of our bags
for the entire fortnight. Still, at least it got us free champagne on the flight….
