The cocktail hour took place at James' grandmother's house, which is literally called, The Old House. Love it. It was a beautiful, scenic background with old buildings, rolling hills, and sheep. We had a wonderful time talking with other guests, and making some new friends. One of the guests went to Croatia when he was younger, and was so happy to tell us about how amazing it was. It made us even more excited for our next destination (if that was even possible)!
The hats!
Quite possibly my favorite picture from the day.
Everyone's best friend should get married in England to so they can have pictures just like this one.
Colette reused the initial charm from her bridesmaid bouquet in my wedding on her own bridal bouquet. This makes my heart smile so much.
After the cocktail hour, we took a trek through the sheep pastures to get to the wedding reception at the Howgills Bunk Barn. It's not everyday you get to walk along sheep to get to a reception!
The other wedding well-wishers.
They wanted to join the party after they finished their dinner of grass...
Over the river & through the sheep fields to Colette & James' wedding we go!
I can't wait to see the professional pics of this walk. I bet they are gorgeous.
Almost to the wedding reception!
Guest Book
Bunting & Pictures. The couple hung pictures of themselves with all of their guests throughout most of the reception area. It was such a thoughtful touch and meant a lot to the guests who travelled near and far to celebrate the day.
More pictures throughout the reception site.
And even more pictures! I can only imagine how much time and effort it took to do all of this!
There was an entire wall of paper (in addition to the guest book) for people to sign and leave longer messages.
Pretty Bunting
View of the room right outside of the reception tent.
Colette & James took a year off from work and traveled around the world together from 2009-2010. The tables were named after the different countries that they visited.
We sat at the Fiji Table, and it was awesome! You know how there is always that one, loud, boisterous table at each wedding where you wish you could be seated? Well, that was the Fiji table, and we were very happy to be seated with some amazing, fun loving guests!
Colette and I designed our wedding bands on debeers.com during sophomore year of college. Most likely during fall finals. Remember that fad? Don't deny it...you did it too. Luckily our husbands did a better job picking out our rings than we did when we were 19!
Reception Room
I love this pic.
And this one. I just love the joy on our faces.
One of my favorite parts of the reception was the speeches. Both fathers spoke, the groom spoke, and then the groomsmen gave a powerpoint presentation. The reception was really laid back, and didn't adhere to the super tight timelines that you typically have with American weddings. That in and of itself was really quite nice.
Colette's dad's speech was priceless.
The groom gave a sweet, touching speech about his new wife.
Oh my goodness, the best men's speech...or should I say roast. They took their duties seriously and made a powerpoint presentation which chronicled the tales of James' poor sense of direction, penchant for catching salmonella poisoning (twice), and ability to be just a little to trusting of strangers (a bunch of friendly students left him with a bill of a couple hundred dollars in a tea house in Hong Kong. Yes, hundreds of dollars spent on tea.). Best (Best Men's) speech ever. Really, the power point presentation put it over the top. I think all weddings should have speeches like this!
Me & My Dashing Husband
The cake. It was a fruitcake, made by the groom's mother, I believe. Seriously, one of the most lovely cakes I have ever seen. I adore everything about it.
Yes, the topper is two sheep on a couch drinking tea and eating cucumber sandwiches. Does it get any better than that? I think not.
Close-up of the details on the cake.
Cutting the cake turned into quite the adventure, but eventually they were successful. By all accounts given to me (from the husband and the rest of table Fiji) it was delicious!
Cake swap.
First dance.
I asked Colette how she picked her first dance song, and she told me that the band only knew one slow song, so that was it. It didn't mean anything to them, but now it would. I love this... sometimes you just have to go with it!
Adorable. I wish I looked that good when my husband dipped me. I lack any semblance of coordination.
Dancing with bestie Colette.
Not quite sure what is going on here, but it seems typical for both of us.
Same with this picture.
Oh, and this one.
Soon it was 10:30, and we had to head home (for reasons I'll get into in my next post). It was by far one of the most gorgeous and fun weddings I have ever seen or attended. Hats of to you Colette & James for all of your wonderful work, and for putting together such a spectacular event! Cheers!
The sheep that greeted us on our walk home.
Here is the video of our pictures from our time in England:
Enjoy!
2 comments:
What about your luggage! You must have gotten it because you look lovely!
Nope...no luggage yet! That story is coming though! It's a doozie! At the last minute, I packed 2 dresses in my husband's garment bag,"just in case." Best decision ever (although I do wish I packed more sweaters...it was quite cold!).
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