.... to be my warfull wedded wife...

How did the wedding go? It was brilliant! However, it all feels like an almighty blur, so writing this down will hopefully clear it up for me.

I had a busy few days running up to the day getting various female maintenance jobs done (leg wax, acrylic nails etc.) so by the day before I was t-i-r-e-d. I had a 'hot rock' massage and felt 100 times more revitalised, though I did find the stones a bit of a shock when they were first applied.

Then I was off to the venue, I was allocated the bridal suite for the night before and it was lovely room with a four poster bed. When we checked in however, we discovered they'd manage to mess up the booking, with 2 reservations made for my parents. The hotel was full of a 'cat fancying' group, so the tables around us at dinner were full of people discussing neutering, breeding and scratching. 10pm found us putting bows on the rows of seats in the room and assembling the table centres with the help of some cousins. Tucked up in bed after a medicinal G&T I slept like a log, in fact sleeping in until 8am when I'd been meant to get down for breakfast by then!

The bridesmaids arrived early so I didn't get too stressed, armed with bottles of fizz and orange juice. The room was organized chaos, 3 girls in huge dresses trying to fight over mirror space and plug sockets for straightening irons. It was a lovely morning though, when the photographer arrived to take pictures of the groomsmen in comedy poses (jumping, running etc.) we got to peek through the curtains and giggle.

Then it was our turn for the embarassment and comedy of the photographer, Kenn and his put-upon assistant Grace. I personally didn't have any issues with Kenn, other than I felt he took ages doing the photos, so despite staying at the venue I was late downstairs. He was very brusque with his assistant and I was told that he'd been very impatient with some of the elderly relatives. However, some of his poses felt contrived, and having us jump up and down just before the ceremony probably left me with really crap makeup (Or that's my excuse when the photos arrive anyways)

The ceremony went almost without a hitch - I got a fit of the giggles when Mark's tummy rumbled really loudly and then in the vows he referred to me as his 'warfull wedded wife' which made me almost completely unable to say my own vows. The civil ceremony was very simple and well delivered Lesley from Bishop Auckland registry office. Then the photo agony began! 1 hour later I tell the photographer that I was tired and could we wrap it up please!

The dinner was lovely, well served and well cooked. The cakes looked fabulous on the cake stand (Many thanks to the Fanny and Johnny of the fairy cake world - Steve and Dorothy) The speeches were good, not toe curlingly sweet, not too edgy. It was great to look round the room and see so many friends and family that were happy to give up a bank holiday weekend to help me celebrate.

After trying to speak to as many people as possible, it was a relief when it thinned out for the half-time nap. Plonked on comfy settees in the bar, Sam (a friend and chief organizer of the hen night) and I sat there having afternoon tea and champagne. We had a good natter, and a good giggle at the events of the day. All too soon the night had crept upon us, so it was time to stress about the first dance.

We had the buffet and then it was the trauma of the first dance. We'd selected 'Let there be love' by Nat King Cole, as it was a short song, that would get people up dancing. I danced with Mark (obviously), my granda and Charlotte the bridesmaid. It was a happy moment after all the stress.

The remainder of the night was a blur, spending my time dancing when the DJ played something good sitting in the bar when my feet hurt too much. All too soon the DJ was winding down, obviously preparing to play the slow smoochy stuff. Not at my wedding sonny!!! A quick word in his ear and the remainder of the night was dance music, finishing off on the happy hardcore classic 'Children of the Night' by Nakatomi.

Photos will be posted once I receive them..

The day wouldn't have been possible without Mark (obviously) and the help of numerous friends and family who helped out financially and emotionally.


Lists
Makeup worn:-

• L'Occitane Eau des 4 Reines
• MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation NW20
• MAC Studio Fix NC20
• MAC Powder blush Satin
• MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil Lilacky
• Natural Collection eyeshadow Thistle
• MAC Eyeshadow Creme de Violet
• MAC Eyeshadow Beautiful Iris
• Maybelline XXL Brownish Black
  
• MAC Lip pencil Dervish
• MAC Lustreglass Morning Glory
  

Music played:-
Ceremony

• Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings
• Wagner - Wedding March
• Mendelssohn - Wedding March

Night

• Nat King Cole - Let their be love
• Mortorcycle - As the rush comes
• Moloko - Sing it back
• Lustral - Everytime

Dinner served:-

• Melon
• Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
• Trifle
  

Honeymoon Part 1

Or what I did on my holidays by Kitty aged 32 and 99 hundredths..

Our honeymoon was split into roughly 3 sections - Big Island, Maui and New York, the hope being that a few days in New York would dent the jet lag enough that we wouldn't be zombies by the time we got back to autumnal blighty.

We flew American Airlines to get to Hawaii, and the service was adequate, but you should note that now they don't feed you on any internal American flights so you might want to pick something up in the airport to eat.

Accomodation and Logistics

We stayed at the Sheraton Keahou Bay, about 15 miles from the airport. The hotel was very clean, very well maintained and were offering great upgrade deals as it was their first year opening so we had a partial ocean view (this meant that you were set back about 200 yards from the ocean, viewing it accross the lawns of an adjacent resort, but I was more than happy with that). When you check in, they offer you something called an 'Amenity Card' for $28 a day, which entitles you to breakfast (and lots of kiddie club type things), if you are going to eat breakfast in the hotel most days, it's worthwhile as the breakfast is $19 per person.

You have to hire a car to get anywhere on Big Island, there is no public transport, hotel shuttles are very rare and taxi firms are so small that they don't have dispatchers, you ring the driver direct on his mobile and he'll see if he can come collect you in a resonable time frame.

Snorkelling

I didn't think I'd like snorkelling, as I'm not the strongest swimmer and I panic easily. But, nothing ventured nothing gained, on our first day we went to the local WAL*MART and bought mask and snorkel sets (there are plenty of rental places around if you don't want to buy and they can rent you masks with lenses for short sightedness) $25 dollars poorer we went to Kealakekua Bay and I had my first ever snorkelling session. It was great. There were loads of pretty fishes ranging from bright yellows to iridescent blues. I did have a bit a scare though, as my mask lost seal and I ended up in my panic drifting towards the rocks.

The best snorkelling spot we went to was Kahuluu Beach. This is a sheltered cove where you can walk into the sea and see fish galore (even when crowded this place was full of almost tame fish - I can only dream what it must be like if you go there early morning). Green turtles (Honu) are around there to eat their lunch and bask on the rocks, though awkward on land when basking, they are beautiful as they swim around.

Horse Riding

My birthday treat! We booked with a company called Paniolo Adventures. The horses were fit and well cared for, they loaned you safety hats, boots and sunscreen and the rolling landscape of the ranch was fabulous. You got to canter the horses and were actively encouraged to ride the horses off the marked trails.





Other Cool Stuff

No visit to Hawaii is complete without visiting Volcanoes National Park. The Park is a good 2 hours drive from the Kona district, so be prepared for a late night drive home if you decide to drive down the chain of craters road to look at the lava at sunset. The lava gently glows at nighttime but remember to bring a torch (for the walk back) and something to sit on (blanket/towel) as the solidified lava is of the scratchy a-a type which cuts and tears your clothes.

Mauna Kea! Though you can't drive to the summit without a 4 WD, you can get as far as the Onizuka Centre for International Astronomy. From there you have fantastic views of the sunset from above the cloud level and once the sky darkens they hold star viewing programs. You will be stunned by the amount of stars you can see, making familiar constellations difficult to discern as there are so many other points of light. When we visited, the moon wasn't visible and you could clearly see the planets of Venus and Jupiter. The visitor centre sells hot chocolate and cup noodles to keep you warm as the temperature drops (bring a fleece or a coat). There are a lot of tours that offer you a visit to the summit and stargazing programs, but really, just pack a picnic and drive up to the visitor centre yourself, you won't be disappointed.





Food

After a week in Hawaii I was getting ready to scream if I had to eat in another 'Bar and Grill'. However, for location alone, Huggos is fantastic. Pricey, but the restaurant is set on stilts facing over the ocean and has wonderful views of the coastline.

Things I would do differently

Stay 1 night near Volcano National Park. The drive back was very dodgy as Mark was very tired and it had been a long day. If we'd stayed on there we would have spread the day out better and done at least one of the longer crater hikes. The payment to get into the National Park is valid for a week, so it's only the cost of a room.