Remembering a wedding day

A year ago today I married husband number two. I was five months pregnant but a carefully chosen dress and a large bouquet disguised that fact until I the moment I announced it during the after dinner speeches.

My bouquet of ivory roses

We had our marriage ceremony and our reception in a rural pub. Their license to perform weddings was due to expire imminently and they had no intention of renewing, so ours was the last wedding ceremony to be held there.

Arriving at the venue

We had had a few technical difficulties surrounding the legal part of the marriage owing to the fact that my husband's divorce was issued  in Switzerland, written in French and operating under a slightly different system to the English one. It was touch and go as to whether we would get it all sorted out before the day we had chosen and booked for the wedding so it was a great relief to actually pull it all off.

The Wedding Vows

I had another worrying issue in the fact that I left buying my wedding dress until the last minute on account of my rapidly expanding waistline. I took a chance on ordering a made to measure dress from a Bridal company in China. The website showed glowing testimonials and beautiful designs at a fraction of the price you would expect to pay here. As the day loomed closer and there was still no sign of my dress, despite it being well beyond their promised lead time, I started to panic a bit. We tried to contact the Company but without success. Eventually, I had to write it off to experience and did what I should have done in the first place. I was lucky enough to find a dress that made me feel like a princess, within budget, from a proper local shop.  (My dress from China did eventually turn up about two months after I had said "I Will" and was not a patch on the dress I wore in terms of quality and finish.)

Despite the difficulties in the run up to the wedding, we had an amazing day with family and friends, full of tears and laughter. I wear my wedding ring with pride, happy to have put the bad bits of an old life behind me and starting over as Mrs Virgo.

Liberty's fireman boyfriend was in charge of the confetti cannons

My daughters and niece provided the entertainment for the reception, including the music for the First Dance. They were amazing.

Our wonderful "in house" band

During the night, it snowed. We woke to a magical white world. Many of our guests came back to our house in the morning for a breakfast and croissants and coffee which culminated in a crazy snowball fight.

A white wonderland

I used a quote by Oscar Wilde in my wedding speech (I know it isn't entirely traditional for the bride to make a speech but I did have an important announcement to make!).

I am so glad that in my life I have allowed hope to triumph.