A few weeks back (May 12) Dawn and Dale brought about an occasion which very rarely happens - my good self wearing a suit! They had chosen a gorgeous summer spring day at Marygreen Manor in Brentwood to finally tie the knot and open up their relationships to all the benefits(?) the current government choose to bestow upon married people. Everything from the invites to the dinner table had a Alice in Wonderland theme to it and it made for a unique, beautiful and relaxed day.
The buildup had been frantic. And that was just for us at FTC. I was honored to have been asked to provide the 'cake' in the form of choc chip shortbread biscuits and various flavoured macarons. There will be a blog about this in the very near future, but lets just say come the start of the week I was still yet to learn how to bake a macaron! I figured that if the Mad Hatter did macarons then nothing would taste as they would look and so that is the path I went down. I just wish I'd had Heston's mobile number!
We did a day trip down to Brentwood and were very pleased to see that upon our arrival most of the biscuits had arrived in a condition very close to that they left Arlesey. All that was left for us to do was unpack, change (cos you can't trust Alfie or I to travel in 'smart' clothes!), sink a G&T, and get ready for proceedings to begin.
Dawn looked stunning, Dale was terribly dapper, and with Alfie and young Imogen (Dale's niece) leading them I can't think of anything more perfect to get people in the gushy wedding spirit.
They had a lovely service, albeit slightly interrupted by a young boy who was unsure if he wanted to share his limelight ... he had a captive audience after all!
With fingers now wearing new bands it was time for photos. Tash set up an amazing spread for the 'tea party' whilst the snappers were at it and I think it looked better than either of us ever imagined it would do!
We were in a lovely little room which had a real intimate and welcoming feel to it. Before each course it was time for a speech with Dale, Dad and Simon (Dale's best man) all taking their turn. My Dad's speech was really good, and I'm sure Dawn was very relieved. There was loads he could have brought up but somehow slipped through the net ... Bec & Pen anyone!?!? It was sometime during the speeches (or more than likely the pass the parcel interlude!) that Alfie acquired a whistle ... that whistles a quack. Need I say anymore? He still has it in the Benz and creases with laughter each time he hears 'quaaaaaaaaaack' resonate off my windscreen. These stoppages between courses gave people the opportunity to enjoy a bit of croquet, sadly minus flamingos, and generally chat and drink in the sunshine outside - a sure sign of a wedding going well!
After food came drinks and biscuits aka the Mad Hatters Tea Party that Tash has so wonderfully laid out. Thankfully I am led to believe went down well although oddly enough I didn't really fancy one!
And finally the day was rounded off with a lovely reception all kicked off with a first dance. I was dead impressed with their choice of song, I know it off the film Juno which I suspect is where Dawn first heard it. My dearest wife excelled herself here and managed to get it all captured on the Powershot!
It wasn't long before the events of the day had caught up with Alfie and we chose to hit the road. It was a beautiful day and here's some of my other shots. All 100+ of my photos can be seen here.
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