English Wedding

I know what your thinking, "Ummm Christina, wasn't it Cedric's first birthday last week? Where is the post about that!". Well good readers, I have decided to wait until after Cedric's one year appointment to post pictures from his birthday and that doesn't happen until next week. His pediatrician moved so we had to take a later appointment with someone new. Sorry

In the meantime I thought I'd post about our trip to England for our dear Cayman friends Alanna and James' wedding. 

We arrived on a Thursday and stayed in Windsor at the Windsor Macdonald Hotel (amazing). I'd very much recommend it, this was the view from the front door. 

Just Windsor Castle, no big deal. We had dinner outside at a cute Greek restaurant and then went to a pub for a drink. Welcome to England!

Over the weekend Bob and I split up to attend the Hen's and Stag parties for the bride and groom. I was off to Bristol for a fun weekend. 

The first night we celebrated Alanna's 30th at a Chinese restaurant and karaoke bar. It was definitely my favorite of the two nights!

Saturday we explored the town a bit and went shopping. We were all tired from the night before but we had a nice time! Here I am with the Bride/Birthday Girl outside our hotel. 

Saturday night was the big hen do and we dressed to the nines. We went to a cocktail mixing class, hit a pub then went to a huge dance club called Oceana. It was lots of fun but also a reminder that I am definitely too old for dance clubs. 

I'm afraid I don't have any appropriate pictures of the Stag do in Brighton to post. Bob only took a few photos and they were of the groom dressed in a very embarrassing outfit. Of course there were no photos of the town or the scenery. The boys were too busy being hard on James. 

Sunday Alanna and I drove to St Albans to meet up with Bob and James. We walked around the St Albans Cathedral and went to "the oldest pub in England" according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Turns out that fact is debatable and it may only be the 2nd or 6th or something. Anyway, it was super old. 

Side note- the sweat bees (wasps) were TERRIBLE in England, as were the spiders. I was constantly trying to avoid one or the other.

We ate lunch at a cute old pub on the High street. Here are Alanna and James outside of it, being adorable. 

The night before the wedding we stayed in Haslemere, another cute little town. 

The British don't have rehearsals or rehearsal dinners but Alanna did arrange for a group of us who were getting in town the night before to go to a fancy dinner. 

The wedding was on a Friday at Cain Manor, a country manor home near Farnham. It was very picturesque. 

Bob was a groomsman and I did a reading and was the general helper (personal assistant/guest book attendant mostly), so we ended up at the venue when it opened. After picking up the TEA and helping with the set up the groomsman group headed to the local for a bit of lunch. 

Finally it was time for the wedding. It had been in the works for so long, I could hardly believe it was time. Here are some photos of the prep, venue, and wedding. I won't say much but that the bride looked beautiful and the groom really wasn't as worried as he seems to be in the photos. That's just his face :).

The reception was great, dinner was very tasty and the band was excellent. There was a rumor that Alanna had unknowingly hired the same woman who did some of the royal wedding flowers. I wouldn't doubt it - the flowers were amazing!

Saturday it was time to head home but not before one final stop - Hampton Court. 

We ended up hiring a car for the wedding weekend instead of taking trains and taxis, so our plan to head to London was changed. Our new friends, Ros and Neil suggested going to Hampton Court as it is the palace that King Henry XIII lived. He's the one that was married to all the women, including Anne Boleyn. Here is his main hall or whatever. History. 

The castle had been added onto at some point and housed other kings, like William III and others I can't remember. The grounds were beautiful. It was raining and we both soaked our feet and jeans walking around but it was totally worth it. 

And just as quickly as it came, the trip was over. It was great spending quality time with Bob and traveling like the old days but I really missed Cedric. It was definitely bittersweet leaving as I don't know when I will see Alanna and James again or England. 

Of course, it wasn't a trip to England without a picture with the TARDIS. Thanks to Heathrow for helping to celebrate the 50th year of Doctor Who. Also, BIG BIG thanks to Alanna and James for the Doctor Who stamp collection signed by Tom Baker. It really was too much!