A Day to Remember

On a glorious April Saturday in the middle of the magnificence of Snowdonia our beautiful daughter Natalie (Tali) married her wonderful fiancée, James Ware.

We had our doubts about lots of things that they wanted to do - the remote venue, the bright green and yellow colour scheme and the huge guest list of friends from all over the world, but they did it their way. All the planning, discussing, ordering, speculating, inviting, beautifying, emailing and telephoning finally paid off and it all magically came together to become a truly memorable day.

It had been an exciting time and for months myself, Peggy and Mum have been sourcing the right outfits, hats, handbags and shoes. It's not been easy. What on earth can you wear to a wedding on a campsite, in a barn and on a field? I made my plans clear right away; I have only one daughter and I was going to be in full 'mother of the bride' regalia. So hats were to be large, shoes high and handbags decorative. So Peggy and Mum followed suite and both looked quite wonderful.

Correctly guessing that sleeping in bell tents was not a good accommodation choice for her grandmas, Natalie had sourced a lovely country house hotel nearby. Peggy and Mum were able to relax in lovely surroundings and over the weekend had the opportunity to sit up talking with other wedding guests. One night being asked to switch off the lights before they went to bed as it was past midnight.

Other members of the family stayed in holiday cottages nearby, this meant that I had my sisters, their children and my son, his partner and babies all close at hand. The fun we had socialising together, walking and talking before the wedding was a real time to remember.

As Saturday dawned - (the fixing up of the barns, setting up of the 5 tier cake I had made, the bars and booze, a very special marquee, bunting and the arranging of what seemed like 20,000 daffodils had been completed the day before by an army of friends) it was clear that it was going to be a gloriously sun-drenched day. The morning of the wedding the men went walking with the babies and the rest of us sat with the bride discussing whether she could get her vows out without crying with the emotion of it all. My son's partner Nina a yoga teacher was able to calm the bride with an impromptu session.

Then all too soon it was time to travel the 2 miles to the venue. I was resplendent in purple and the aforesaid large hat and felt rather like royalty as we swept into the car park to see so many smiling faces.

The ceremony went well with no tears...well that's not quite true. My son Nathan gave the performance of his life with a poem containing so many warm references to their gregarious Liverpool life that all of us had to reach for the tissues (even the registrar). It was particularly poignant for so many of the guests as Natalie and James have for the past 5 years run a household which was always buzzing with people as they held parties, Carol Singing sessions and dinner parties. This day not only marked the beginning of their lives together, but also the leaving of Liverpool and this crowd of friends as they start their married life in Copenhagen.

Mum, Peggy, me and Natalie on her beautiful Wedding Day-
memorable for all the right reasons

Then man and wife made their exit down the aisle skipping hand in hand to the riotous cheers and stamping feet of their guests. Outside to the accompaniment of their friends The Loose Moose String Band and they expressed the joy of their union by dancing on a nearby hillock as we sipped Prosecco and cheered.

The rest of the day passed in a delightful haze of music, food, drinking, dancing, cheering and talking. Some highlights - the father of the bride's speech (a huge success after a lot of nervous planning), the stamping of feet to encourage the bride and groom to kiss on the table top, all the men in the room lining up to kiss Tali when James left the room (a Danish tradition), the band playing four hours straight and the atmosphere of joyous partying as strangers and friends were united in their happiness for the couple as we danced until our feet ached.

It was lovely to see Mum and Peggy enjoy themselves with their families around them. Widows for many years, I wonder if they each missed their husbands? I pondered sadly how proud Noel and Gwyn would have been of their granddaughter. My dad would have loved the occasion's quirkiness and the socialising and Gwyn would have loved the venue and the presence of his small great grandchildren. Then I wondered whether of all the weddings Mum & Peggy had attended in their long lives whether this one will remain in their hearts and their memories as special? I rather think that it will......

All photographs  Alice Myers