It has been a wonderful weekend. Yesterday we were up early for the drive up to Yorkshire. Mum and Dad had driven up the day before and had taken Nat with them but it had taken them over six hours to get there so I was worried that we might miss the wedding if we got stuck in traffic.
We were communicating with my brother on the M1 motorway and learned he was a couple of junctions ahead of us. We tried to catch up but didn't manage to reach them.
However, we were fortunate and the drive took us only 4 and quarter hours and somehow we managed to arrive just before my brother (think he missed the turning!)
We checked into the Premier Lodge and joined my parents in the restaurant.
As David and I went to unload the car I saw my cousin David and family and my Aunty Margaret arriving. I was so excited to see them I think I nearly knocked my cousin David over.
We had chance for a quick chat with everyone before we went up to the room to change for the wedding.
I couldn't believe how fantastic the weather was. A beautifully sunny September day. The church was lovely and was crammed full of people.
It was great to see all my family and to say hello to everyone. Stephen, his brother Paul who was best man, my uncle Rob and the groomsmen all looked really smart in their morning suits and purple cravats. I was just disappointed that my cousin Christine and her husband Richard and my cousin Dawne could not be there too as it would have been nice to have us all together.
The bride - Laura was fashionably late so Nat was getting a little fidgety. However, when they arrive the bridesmaids were dressed in stunning purple dresses and Laura was wearing a gorgeous white strapless dress with a small train.
It was a lovely service and I had an excellent view of Stephen and Laura as they exchanged their vows. Laura looked lovely and the crystals on her veil were twinkling beautifully.
The choir sang while they signed the register which was really enjoyable.
Outside the kids were really excited to throw confetti at the bride and groom and we were able to chat in the sunshine while the photographer took some photos. We took the opportunity to take a few photos of our family but there were too many people and I was sad to realise we hadn't managed to get any decent photos of the bridal party as there were too many people blocking the view.
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| Sam, Susannah, Nat, Seb and Joshua |
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| My brother Luke and I |
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| David, me, Luke and Carolyn and my parents Phil and Ruth |
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| My cousin Simone and Tori |
We crossed the road to a pub where we relaxed in the beer garden chatting and catching up with everyone.
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| Me and Keeley |
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| Kimberly, me and Keeley |
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| My cousin David, Keeley, Matthew and Georgia |
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| Seb, Tori and Grace - all looking so smart and grown up |
There was a buffet and the speeches which were great. Laura's dad gave a touching speech and I was really impressed with my Cousin Paul's best man speech which he gave without any prompt cards. He was very funny and I hadn't realised what a natural speaker he is.
It was nice to get to know Laura little too and I thought she was such a lovely girl. My cousin Stephen has clearly landed on his feet.
Nathaniel had a great time chasing his cousins around outside. It was really nice to see him playing with the other kids and he was clearly having a fantastic time.
In the evening we moved on to the wedding reception venue which was in a local rugby club. The room was beautifully decorated with purple bows on the chairs and balloons on the tables. The wedding cake was three tiers with two black Labrador dogs on the top.
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| Princess Brooke |
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| The Bride Laura |
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| The groom, my cousin Stephen |
The music was great although it was so loud that it made it difficult to speak.
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| Matthew on the decks |
Unfortunately my Aunty Shirley and Uncle Martin had to head back to Manchester before the reception as Shirley had only been allowed out of the hospital for a few hours.
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| My cousin Robert and Chrissy |
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| Katy and Matthew |
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| Amy and Aunty Brenda |
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| My cousin Paul and Sam |
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| Riley |
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| Azmir and Paul |
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| Uncle Rob |
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| My cousin Kathryn |
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| Rachel |
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| Robert |
I had a really great evening hanging out with my cousins and dancing badly.
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| Aunty Margaret and Keeley |
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| Me and Terry |
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| My cousin Simone and me |
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| Seb with his Uncle Luke |
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David
I was sorry to have to go home but I could see David was tired and as he had to drive back the next day I thought it was only fair he had chance to get a decent nights sleep.
This morning we had breakfast at the premier lodge with the other family members that had stayed there and then we met up with Stephen and Laura and the rest of the family at a Toby Carvery for a drink and to say goodbye.
We then got in the car for the drive home. It was another beautiful and sunny day so it was a shame to be cooped up in the car but it was a good opportunity to do some Biology and Physics revision with Seb (he has tests this week).
It has been a really nice weekend and I have had so much fun. Just as well really because I have a couple of difficult and busy weeks coming up at work that I am really not looking forward to.
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