The Best Wedding Ever

This evening was a dull evening of hours of unpacking and clothes washing (tues) ... but it was all worth it because we've just come back from our first ever family holiday as a four, and the joint best wedding I've ever been to, joint with my own wedding.

So I'll start at the beginning: when I was about 11 a new vicar and family moved to my church. As children of the church we were forced to make friends with their children. I remember being at the Holt family house with my friend Bex ready to meet and welcome the Findley family. They had one 14 year old boy (yuk- obvs we wouldn't be friends wth him) and then a 12 year old and a 10 year old. I was in between the ages of Catherine and Ruth but as my friend Bex was older we decided between us that I would make friends with Ruth and she would make friends with Catherine.

I have many fond memories of our childhood, especially going riding on her horse. It wasn't actually her horse it just lived in the field behind her house and she had permission to use it. Another memory I have of her were when we had a competition to see who can fit though a croquet hoop. I was so middle class back then.
I remember that she had a really good rope swing. I teased her for having a southern accent (sorry) and we had clarinet lessons together until the teacher wanted to teach her separately because she was better than me. I really had little interest in the clarinet, that was obvious when I managed to smuggle my pet rat into my clarinet lesson. 

Ruth was good at asking me deep probing questions even when we were 12. Unfortunately she was very camera shy so I don't have any embarrassing childhood photos of her, but here's one from 2009.

We've not been that much in touch since I left home, but for a while both of our parents still lived in the same hometown, so we would normally see each other at christmas and whatever. Unfortunately both sets of parents have left now so we never naturally bump into each other. She was a bridesmaid for me in 2011 

 We both share the same terrible middle name, and Percy was born on her birthday.

Ruth meets tiny Percy

Anyway the wedding was incredible; it was a two day camping wedding in Ruth's minted uncle's garden. Ruth's uncle Paul seemed to be one of those rare types of people who is massively rich and also incredibly nice and fun. 

We hired a motorhome to go down in which was super fun and made a 2 day wedding into a 5 night camping adventure. 

So Day One of the wedding was a bbq, a pool for the kids, garden games, dancing in a marquee, a bonfire and fireworks.

Day Two of the wedding was the actual wedding, lunch on the lawn, 4 different kinds of cake, a sit down meal, a spot of stand up from me, speeches, and dancing.

Percy thought the wedding was the greatest thing ever because he was allowed to roam free and play with the other kids. It was nice to be out socialising without a babysitter in the evenings although we had to keep going back to the van to check on them every 20 mins.

It was so nice to catch up with the whole Findley family, I particularly enjoyed talking with James. I remember him as a low level goth (just the black hoodies not the makeup). He was 17 or 18 when I was 14 so I remember him being way too cool to talk to me but now we could have a lovely conversation as peers and parents.

I'd not met Andy (the groom) before but he seemed really nice (phew!). I would love to make the effort to see them again as a couple some time.

Love you Ruth x