Billed as ‘the wedding of the century’ (by me just then) rarely if ever have I been this excited by a do. Unbelievably I’ve been friends with Katy for fourteen years and with Ben for seven. Yikes! At some point in the morning I begin to get terrible nerves and find it almost impossible to mingle with anyone I don’t already know. Worried I’ve come across as aloof I make amends later by getting drunk on two glasses of champagne and startling complete strangers by grilling them with unprompted questions about who they are and how they know Ben and Katy. Everyone is absolutely lovely in the face of my pink-cheeked interrogations. Having spent the weekend boasting that it was I who introduced the bride and groom , when Ben gives me a special thankyou in his speech, which of course makes me cry, I only wish I’d been a bit more humble …
Everything goes beautifully, it’s like a model in how to throw the perfect wedding, so much work and planning makes the whole thing seem effortless. The weather is summertime at its best, the church is quaint and charming, the dress is beautiful, as is Katy’s hair and long tanned back beneath it, I audibly sob during the service, the bridesmaids are adorable, Katy’s brother Pete sings ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ accompanied by his wife Claire on the piano, which sets the last hard-faced bitches off sobbing aswell. The speeches are spot-on, always the scariest bit for me, but they are all done with genuine love and humour and good old belly-laughing throughout. The meal is divine and we dance like utter maniacs afterwards. If the tape of us punk-Morris-jiving to ’Don’t Stop Me Now’ ever comes to light I want it burned. A highpoint comes when almost every single person on the dancefloor seems to know all the words to ‘Ask’ by The Smiths and those who don’t look on visibly mystified by the drunken horde hugging one another and wailing ‘If it‘s not love then it‘s the Bomb that will bring us together!’ Brilliant. Gotta love a wedding and this was the best.
