17th ~ 19th July 2009
Ceremony occurring on the Saturday 18th July 2009
Update: I’ve posted the Slideshow video from the DVD at the bottom of this post
What a fantastic couple of days; a good friend of 20+ years honoured me by inviting me to his very exclusive wedding located in Winchelsea near Rye in the UK.
They had converted a small hotel, into what can only be explained as an extended family home for 3 days. The whole hotel was reserved for the wedding group, and the setting and location was amazing.
We arrived late Friday afternoon and we shown to our room, the 18th Century building can only be described as unique, its exposed beams and low ceilings really brought home the historic charm of the building (I have the bruises to prove it).
In the evening we collected in the large lounge and too opportunity to catch up with old and new friends. Tim’s family has suddenly bloomed not only with lovely Belinda, but with her four sons; Matthew, Kaine, Thayne, and Jonathan.
After a rather late night, the morning of the wedding poor Tim was banished from the hotel where the ceremony would be taking place, so we all decided to walk down to the beach. We were assured by Tim that it was only a short walk but after walking a mile or so down the road, down a dirt track through several fields we finally arrived at the beach – there was considerable discussion on what Tim’s idea of a short walk was!
After throwing as many pebbles we could either further down the beach or into the sea, we jumped into cars some sensible guests brought with them and went into Hastings, where we grabbed some ice creams and discussed the history of the “99″ ice-cream.
Of course with kids of all ages how could you not visit the seaside without partaking in fish ‘n’ chips, the arcade and of course the funfair …
Returning to the hotel in the afternoon, we had an hour to get out our best togs on and get ready for the main event! Mark the best man, took time to talk to Tim as the reality of the ceremony finally hit him as soon as he set foot back through the hotel door.
The ceremony itself took around 40 minutes, a beautify event with lovingly crafted wedding vowels which demonstrated their commitment to each other. With the ceremony completed; we all retired to the large garden for champagne and nibbles while the new wedding couple and family posed for photographs.
The amazing afternoon “Wedding Breakfast” continued into the evening, where Mark as the best man dually gave the speech, carefully crafted the long standing tradition to embarrass the groom as much as possible. With the Tim & Belinda’s family expanding all the time, by the time is was to say goodnight it could easily be mistaken for the closing episode of “The Waltons”.
Sunday morning everyone we were honoured for the wedding couple to join us for breakfast, a break in tradition.
I think I can say on behalf of everyone that the whole weekend was an amazing experience, and we all wish both Tim & Belinda everlasting happiness in this a new chapter in their lives.
