Husband joined to wife

Bless this day, pinnacle of life, husband joined to wife

Bless this day

Ok so I’m a little slow with this blog but the last few days have been hectic, finalising plans for being out of the country for nine months.  My final weekend saw me heading off to the English countryside for a friend’s wedding.  The happy couple have a great story, more of which later.

The bride, Jess, is a girl I used to work with.  We didn’t start out as friends. We had a mutual work friend, Sarah, who decided one evening years ago that the three of us should go out for a drink after work.  The evening was going well, I think we had got onto our second (maybe third) bottle of wine when Sarah popped to the toilet.  It was at this point that Jess turned to me, looked me straight in the eye and said, “Just because I am friends with Sarah and you are friends with Sarah doesn’t mean that we will be friends”.  However, over the years we did become friends and a few group holidays later we perhaps know each other a little too well...   

Pinnacle of life

Friday, the day before the wedding, I met Sarah for lunch during which time I catch up on all the office gossip as we got through a nice bottle of white.  After lunch we headed to Liverpool Street to get the train, stocking up on the travel essentials en route. We got some Percy Pigs (original and pals) and a nice bottle of Merlot – there is nothing better than a spot of “vin de train” as we like to call it. Sarah and I watched Dirty Dancing on the journey, a film we've both seen countless times.  It’s got to the point that if I hear the opening lyrics to “Big Girls Don’t Cry” I can’t help but think “That was the summer of 1963 when everybody called me Baby and it didn’t occur to me to mind.”  It also gave us a chance to refresh our memories of the dance moves for the wedding disco the following day.  Our journey involved a change at Marks Tey and as we pulled in the station name was announced. Cue us both simultaneously bursting into a bit of Mel and Kim – “Tey, tey, tey, tey, tey-tey tey tey tey tey tey”.  It is quite clear that we ain’t ever gonna be respectable. At least not after a bottle of Merlot.

We arrive to find the bride and groom having a drink in the hotel bar. I gave Jess a big hug and said that it is great that we have this weekend to all catch up and have a last goodbye drink before I leave. Jess gently reminded me that we are here for her wedding and it’s not always all about me…

Husband joined to wife

The wedding day. The bride and groom went to the same school and were boyfriend and girlfriend aged eight. Having gone their separate ways after school the pair lost touch until a chance meeting years later in the centre of London.  They spent the evening talking but didn’t swap numbers. Using the modern wonder of Facebook and some mutual friends Craig managed to track Jess down, and the rest, as they say, is history.  The wedding was lovely, the bride stunning, the groom a charming mix of beaming smile and slight nerves.  There were a couple of humorous moments too – Craig forgetting the line he had to repeat, saying “I do” a little too early and then dropping the ring.

The disco gave us a couple of Dirty Dancing songs. I escorted Sarah to the dance floor for “Hey Baby” and we did our log dance routine. It was probably for the best that they didn't play the finale as we hadn’t practiced the lift. Sarah would probably have dropped me.

“Bless this day, pinnacle of life, husband joined to wife” 
Lyrics from Getting Married Today from the musical Company