Friday, August 22, 2014

Frock Fridays: English Garden Wedding

It goes without saying that I was delighted to be reunited with Jon, but the official reason I flew to England two weeks ago was to celebrate another love: our dear friends Tom and Auriol were getting married!

The wedding was held in beautiful East Sussex, where Tom grew up.  The Domesday Book records a church at the spot where Tom and Auriol exchanged rings, though the building in which we gathered last Saturday was rebuilt in the 19th century.  The churchyard was peaceful amongst the bustle of the village and looked out over the soft hills of the South Downs.  I had to step out a few times during the ceremony because I had a bad cold and the incense was a bit overwhelming and, as I sat on a bench on the grounds, I repeated the vows they'd pledged as a sort of mantra to calm my breathing:

With my body I honour you, all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you.

Jon and I didn't use phrasing as delicately poetic at our own wedding, but it was a poignant reminder of what we'd promised each other nearly a year ago and of what we were working towards as we struggled through the visa process.

After the ceremony, we all hied ourselves to Tom's parents' garden, where Auriol had created the loveliest reception: bunting, pompoms, and hearts hung from the trees and giant lawn games were set up on one side of the marquee.  We feasted on a buffet that friends of the family had cooked, drank local beer, and enjoyed chocolates from nearby Brighton.  The weather was mostly gorgeous all afternoon, and it was simply wonderful to be amongst friends, cocooned in such steadfast love.










The outfit I'd originally planned to wear to the wedding was held hostage in my luggage - I now have my bag back, but I had to do some quick thinking and even quicker shopping while I was in London!  Jon and I dashed into the Anthropologie on Regent Street earlier in the week, and I have to give him credit for finding the dress I wore.  Most English shoe stores don't carry my size (a women's 11 in the States, which works out to a 9 in the UK and a 43 in Europe) so I searched online and found tallgirls.co.uk, which offered next-day delivery on these sandals.  The clutch was on sale at Accessorize, and I bought this necklace at the same to complete the outfit though I didn't wear it in the end because I was coughing too much to bear the thought of something around my throat.  Luckily, I had all of my real jewelry in a bag in my carryon, so I had earrings (similar to these) with me.  I was afraid I'd be too casual, but it was perfect for the relaxed atmosphere of the reception!

english garden wedding

 photo 866de425-8336-4c63-9efd-1c4dd8bf0e62_zpsafe0d56b.jpg

14 comments:

  1. You look lovely and Sweden would be a great place for shoe buying for you they always have those larger sizes!

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  2. You looked great and of course the wedding looks beautiful as well. I'm glad you were able to find something so nice, but I'm sorry you had to deal with that extra stress!

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  3. I love this dress! A great last minute find. Maybe it's pinterest overdone but a small church/garden wedding is my ideal. xx

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  4. What a picturesque & quaint little wedding! So lovely!!


    xo
    Alice
    www.TrendyinTexasBlog.com

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  5. Your dress is beautiful. Jon has great taste!

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  6. Beautiful dress and the wedding looks lovely! I like the photo of you and Jon together. It is the best feeling to be with the person you love - especially after so long apart.

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  7. thank you! the wedding was GORGEOUS - any stress just melted away as we steamed down on the train :)

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  8. no such thing as overdone when this much heart is put into it :)

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  9. yay thanks! all credit to Jon... and to Virgin Atlantic, who is going to pay for it....

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  10. haha that he does, but let's not tell him in case in goes to his head :P

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