the english wedding.

as amazing as the entire england trip was, we were actually there for a real purpose, a wedding! one of my best friends nate was getting married to an amazing girl named katie he met while studying for his masters at durham university. i had met her for a few hours when they came through las vegas about 2 years ago and knew they would be great together! soon enough we were all across the pond for the big day.

the bus came to pick us all up from st johns at 1130a to be to the church on time for a 1230p service. it was actually almost warm during the day and the sun was trying its hardest to poke through for a beautiful day. we arrived a bit early and were able to score great seats, i sat with alyses family! nate had taken his rightful place up front and looked cool as a cucumber. when they handed out the orders of service soon after we got our 1st clue this whole day was going to be quite a bit different than we were used to. it began with the bride walking down 1st and the bridesmaids after. katies dress was beautiful and it fit her perfectly:) after the vows there was actually a full sermon complete with hyms. the service was very thoughtful and the hyms went very well together with it (despite the wanna-be opera singer behind us who kept cracking me up, ha!). afterward the bride and groom walked down the aisle hand in hand to there new life. we werent allowed to take pictures during the ceremony, but i of course snuck a few.

theyre married!

once exiting the church i was super surprised to see the bride and groom outside talking to people! some of the boys had given us confetti as we left so i figured we would do that and be on our way. oh no. we did the confetti (which was soo pretty and fun) and then bride and groom mingled with everyone and took pictures with the guests. after hanging out for awhile the wedding photographer started with the official pictures, while we were all still there. it was a little weird, i wont lie. finally it was time to head to the hotel for the reception. we were super hoping for some food because it was almost 3p by the time we got there and we hadnt eaten anything since breakfast at 9a.

the families!

the whole wedding party!

there was full open bar at the hotel for cocktail hour with a super fun punch that was very citrusy and fun. we got the brilliant idea to start adding a shot of malibu to the punch which made it taste even smoother so we proceeded to suck it down like water. there were a few very cute appetizers floating around, a beef and potato puff pastry and a small pancake with a mango sauce and fruit to top. they were both delicios, but after about 2 hours we were starving! the bride and groom had arrived in their very fun car to mingle and take photos on the beautiful grounds, which meant more appetizers and drinks. once inside we formed a receiving line to make our way into the ballroom. that meant chatting with the brides parents, the grooms parents, and the newlyweds. about 45 minutes later we were finally through and able to see the beautiful room that was soo bright and airy.

alyses family!

nate and i :)

i got to sit with most of nates family that i had spent the week with so we chatted away and waited for the food. we discussed the differences in an english wedding and even met katies brother and his wife! the food arrived a bit later after everyone had sat down, starting with potato leek soup. i wont lie, i was a little leary because i had never tried it, seriously sooo good! light even so it didnt fill you up. next was the main course, a full pot roast dinner! complete with popovers, delicious veggies, an amazing potato thing, and of course the beef which was sooo good. we dove right in and im pretty sure i wiped my plate clean :) afterward there was dessert, not cake, full blown dessert. im not exactly sure what it was, but man it was good! then tea and coffee to top it all off. now i should have been stuffed but instead, nicely full. now in america the bride and groom always mingle during dinner, in the uk not at all. everyone sat firmly in their seats until we were all done. afterward they did speeches and cut the cake. then there was a whole second part we had no idea about!

her dad made a beautiful speech.

their speech was so full of love!

yay cake:)

 

we were cleared back into the cocktail area and found out they were changing the room around. now by this time it was about 8p and the bus we found out was actually going to return at 1130p. we had no idea english weddings were this long! once the ballroom was ready we returned to find a disco, haha! and there was a buffet line set up for more food, im not kidding. it was about this time though (830ish) alyses family and i decided we were going to call a cab to take us back a little earlier since we all flew out the next day super early, hadnt packed, and found out it was daylight savings time so they sprung forward! soon the bride and groom came in to do the 1st dance and it was just beautiful to watch them so in love:) 

the 1st dance as husband and wife!

for some reason at this point we actually decided we were hungry. so we would stay for the food and to try catching the bouquet. the buffet was mostly appetizers and cake! the cake was delicious as was everything else that day. we headed out soon after, probably around 930p back to the hotel. we were exhausted! these english weddings are like marathons. and apparently they are all just like it! 

the next morning i headed to the airport to begin my long journey home. i was very excited to see richard and sleep in my own bed. as well as not be cold every i went to use the bathroom and have some american food. but i love england, i would really move if i could. i got to know katie sooo much more and can not believe how either one of them were so amazingly calm all week with the craziness of that many people plus a wedding. i had an absolute blast that week. and i would not have been anywhere else but at that wedding to celebrate their love. i was able to not think about anything and purely enjoy the fantastic people i got to know and celebrate an amazing couple take the next step in their lives:) 

nate and katie
march 24th, 2012