John's Adventures

Archive for August 2006

A Celebrity For A Day

Me, a white suit and a cigar (not mine)The funny thing about attending your own wedding is that it’s like being a celebrity for the day. My friend Scott told me at his that it was like going to a nightclub where you know everybody and he was quite correct. From the moment I arrived and donned my white suit (right) I was talking to people and mingling. Before I’d wondered how I’d cope having to get around everyone but it turned out to be really easy as they were my friends who I wanted to spend time with. The frustration is that I’d have happily spent the entire day with each of them but I had to keep moving on.

It was exhausting and we were knackered for a few days afterwards. We barely had a chance to sit down and were constantly on the move. I don’t know how these celebrities do it (well okay I do, but let’s not go there!).

After such an amazing day at the centre of attention that went without a hitch (for all those future brides out there, if you stay relaxed and laid-back about the day, then you won’t get so stressed and everything will go a lot more smoothly) it came as a bit of a shock to the system to go to a service station and just be a regular nobody again. Ah well, it’s the quiet life for me!

The venue – Comlongon Castle – really was amazing. From the hall in the castle where we got married (much better than some boring church) to the gardens and fishpond (to keep the kids entertained) to the hotel itself we couldn’t have asked for more. You got to choose your food from a menu (not just chicken and beef) and the quality of the meals was right up there with the best restaurants I’ve eaten in. Since everybody was there for the day, there was no sense of a bunch of people turning up for the evening only having missed out on the ceremony. And the staff made it look easy. I used to work in a hotel as a student and know that managing a wedding is a tricky business – these guys made it look a lot simpler than it actually is. And the weather was perfect – sunny but not too hot. Everybody said they really enjoyed it and a few said it was the best wedding they’d been to – including their own!

Even my speech went well. I didn’t actually write one but knew pretty much what I wanted to say so made it up off the top of my head. I also finally got the chance to make up for having missed two of my best friend’s weddings. But you’d have to have been there to see how! :)

I haven’t seen the official photos my friend Ade took (I get them on Thursday) but I’m sure I’ll be uploading one or two of them when I do. In the meantime, here’s the happy couple enjoying beautiful weather in Glencoe!

Newlyweds At Glencoe

Aren’t they sweet?!

My Honeymoon

Classic Rain

Our honeymoon was a trip around some of my favourite parts of Scotland – so plenty of interesting scenery! Our friends Ben and Anna joined us for the first couple of days which made it even more fun.

This album contains 15 photos and 2 comments.

It’s Raining, But I’m Smiling

Well, here I sit in a café in Portree on the Isle Of Skye. It's been raining pretty much non-stop since my wedding on Friday but how do I feel? I'm the happiest man alive.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the whole wedding idea, it turned out to be the most amazing day of my life and about a million times better than I ever could have dreamed of. Some friends even told us that they never thought they'd go to a wedding to rival their own (your own is always the best apparently and mine is no exception!) but with ours it did.

A colleague warned me that the wedding vows are "more than just words" and he was absolutely right – as I was repeating the vows to my wife (woo hoo!) the gravity of the situation hit me along with the emotion of it all and I broke down. She looked absolutely beautiful and as I was looking her in the eyes I meant every word and they came from the bottom of my heart. The rest of the day was a blur that flew by in a flash – and when we get home and look at the photos I'm sure it'll all come flooding back. To spend the day as the centre of attention with all my friends and family there to witness us tying the knot was truly wonderful and I only wish it could have lasted longer.

It may sound corny but already I feel like a different person. I left Yorkshire a boyfriend but I'm returning as a husband. Anyway, I'll write more when I get home and put up some photos, but in the meantime my wife is putting on her jacket – it's raining outside and we've got scenery to go and look at! Later.