An outdoor wedding in the English Summertime – what could possibly go wrong?

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With two weeks to go before the big day we still had serious shopping to do as Cheryl hadn’t been able to find that special outfit.  The event was to be held over a weekend on a farm with converted cottages, a large barn, wooded glade for ceremonies and a glamping field.  Dress code was informal, which made it harder to know what to wear, and if the weather turned out to be really bad the outfit would have to look good with wellies!!

We finally hit lucky with the outfit whilst staying near Ilminster in Somerset where we also visited Lyme Regis, Crewkerne, Beer and other pretty places, before moving on to Sussex in readiness for the event.  Cheryl took a couple of days out to head to London for the registry office legal bit at Islington Town Hall while Neil babysat the caravan.  Cheryl’s son Alex and his partner Freddy had always considered the wedding weekend at Hawthbush Farm as the main event and regarded the legals as a formality.  They were totally unprepared for how moving and emotional the short ceremony would be.  It was also one of the hottest June days on record so with 5 days to go before the wedding things were looking good. 

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Friday arrived and it was time to head to the farm.  Our first job was to collect the wine from Freddy’s sister who lives in Eastbourne.  Then, having loaded the white and the bubbly into the fridge we set about helping Alex, Freddy, Lawrie and Jackie with the wedding venue.  Bunting was strung up, lights draped in the trees, table runners were cut, family photos stuck on walls, glasses arranged, and other helpers greeted.  Guests came from Osaka, Hong Kong, New York, Prague, Germany, Spain and, of course, all over the UK. 

Alex’s best man Lawrie is an events manager so he was able to keep us on schedule.  Mr Bouncy Castle arrived followed by Mrs Deckchairs.  Tables and chairs were set out in the barn, fairy lights strung to guide the glampers to the camping field and LED uplighters that change colour to light the trees near the hot tub.  Nothing was left to chance with blankets provided in case the evenings got cold, umbrellas in case it rained and plenty of wood for the campfire.  To keep the 100 guests amused over the weekend there were games including table tennis, croquet, a bouncy castle, inflatable instruments for air guitar/sax and microphone for the wedding party and a giant jenga.  For early risers and those that couldn’t sleep there was a yoga session early on Saturday morning in one of the fields.

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The caterers arrived and for the Friday it was just the Illustrated Chef (he was heavily tattooed), Darren, with his helper, a tall bloke with a splendid beard that WG Grace would be proud of. They lit a huge BBQ before starting the slow cook of the whole lamb…….mmmmm…….it smelt so good.  The guests started to arrive and adopt their accommodation – cosy tepees with beds, swanky barn cottages and safari tents that slept 6, had a wood burner and kitchenette……very nice!  Of course, we had the caravan with our own private facilities but we also managed to have virtually private use of a steaming hot shower which, unlike the caravan, has endless amounts of water pumping through. 

The lamb continued to cook and a beer tasting was set up with beers from Gun Hill, the micro-brewery that’s run by the farm.  There was also a local English white wine which was very good and guests were given name badges to help break the ice.  A relaxed evening and a great start to the weekend.

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We woke on Saturday morning to grey skies, which was OK as the forecast was cloudy, but soon after breakfast the rain started, light at first, but then it got heavier.  With 10 minutes to go, and no message that plans had changed, we decided to head for the glade.  It was a bit of a walk, and Neil decided he would drive Cheryl in her heels down the lane, along with the Japanese girls who were wearing kimonos.  The glade was beautiful despite the drizzle and the drips from the trees.  Guests assembled, put towels on the soggy benches and put up their white umbrellas.  

The grooms arrived and the ceremony started.  It was moving and emotional, especially as same sex marriage was only legalised 3 years ago.  As the celebrant said, this was a union of two people who love each other, and what can be wrong with that?

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Alex & Freddy left the glade and instead of confetti all the guests were given bubbles to blow at them which looked wonderful.  Cheryl held it together well, but, when asked to lead the way after the happy couple, the floodgates opened as she walked past all the guests.  Thumbs up for Boots waterproof mascara – it really works! 

The rain stopped, it was still grey and chilly, but that really didn’t matter.  The Illustrated Chef, plus staff, did a wonderful job with the food.  The speeches were long, and there were a lot of them, but, they were moving and entertaining.  Instead of a traditional cake the boys opted for a ‘croquembouche’ which is a French desert consisting of choux pastry balls filled with flavoured cream piled into a cone and bound with threads of caramel.  You don’t ‘cut the cake’, you wallop the top off with a samurai sword!

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The evening finished off with an all-girl band, more drinking, dancing, crowd surfing for Alex and Freddy, silly games, bouncing on the bouncy castle (only one minor injury), campfires with chubby bunnies competitions, chatting and hot tubs.  A fantastic day despite the great British Summertime weather and even Neil, who doesn’t ‘do’ weddings, had a great time.

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Alex, Freddy, it was a wonderful day………Enjoy your hubbymoon in Koh Samui.