A Very English Wedding

To my surprise, I realize that the wedding that brought me to England might seem as glamorous to some as my trip to the Pyramids.

What made it so English? Well first all of the English accents! I was one of the half dozen guests from abroad, and coming from the west coast of Canada I was from the furthest away. I thought they sounded exotic; they may have thought the same about me.

Then there was the setting. The venue was a converted 17th Century barn, down a tiny country road (terrifying in the coach that brought us there from the hotel in Farnham, particularly when we met a lorry.) The gardens were, well, English country amazing, and after the ceremony we drank Pimm’s and lemonade there while the wedding pictures were taken.

Traditions are changing and a hat for the ladies is no longer required, apparently, although there were still many.

Other than that, very little differed from the weddings I have recently attended at home. The wedding party sat on chairs rather than standing beside the bride and groom, but that may have been preference rather than tradition.

And the similarities? The joy of the couple and their family and friends. The witnessing, the sharing of food, the cutting of the cake. The first dance, and the novelty dances that were the same as the ones Canadian young people have taught me over the last 20 years. Children running in the garden and on the dance floor, and the older guests (of which I am now one!) sharing stories of the young couple as children. The next day, the sharing of laughter and memories over a leisurely breakfast at the hotel.

I wish the newlyweds all the best as they leave on their honeymoon, and hope it is the start of many brave travels they take together.