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Ben and Lauren’s handcuffing ceremony!
Being back in Santiago after our week and a half stint in Portugal was fantastic - almost like we had come home! Ben and Lauren had even booked the same unit for everyone to stay in so we even had our old room again!
For dinner we caught up with everyone who was already in Santiago for the wedding, being Ben’s folks Ross and Caroline, Lauren’s parents Kevin and Sue, Lauren’s best friend (and twin*) Penny and her partner Corey. The rest of the wedding guests, Ben’s friend’s Stu and Happy, and Happy’s partner Polly, are due to arrive tomorrow. (Happy’s first name is Grant, last name Gilmore, hence Happy ie Happy Gilmore - the movie)
*
Penny is not actually Lauren’s twin, nor are they even related, although you wouldn’t think so to look at them. Even more coincidental is the fact that they have the exact same birthday, even down to the year.... crazy! After a great night’s sleep in a real bed, we met up with everyone in town for lunch, and again for dinner. Lots of eating and drinking!
The Unofficial Bucks and Hens Nights!
The next day, the day before the wedding, we all met again for dinner, with the guys heading off to do ‘boy things’, while us girls headed off in the different direction on Lauren’s unofficial ‘hens night’. Our night was lovely, with a massive meal and then a mini-pub crawl. The boys, complete with cigars, met us at midnight, the curfew to ensure the bride and groom (particularly the groom) got to bed at a decent hour!
The Wedding Day!
Tuesday 2nd June The ceremony was held in the park in Santiago, at the bottom of the stairs looking back up to the quaint little church (and the ferris wheel, still there from the circus).
Dav and Ben set off for the park a little earlier as the plan was for they, along with Lauren and Penny, to be at the park and welcome the remainder of the guests as we arrived just before midday. And so we eventually
made our way up through the park, following the white and orange ribbons the boys had painstakingly pinned to the trees to mark the way. Dav was gently strumming the guitar as we arrived - a beautiful entry!
The actual ceremony was really touching, with barely a dry eye among us. Lauren’s Dad, Kevin, and Ben’s step-dad, Ross, ran the ceremony, which was really moving. It included a few speeches as well as a hand-fastening, which involved everybody each tying a knot in a length of ribbon around Ben and Lauren’s wrists as a symbol of our commitment to their relationship. Kevin had researched it and apparently it is a common component in many European matrimonial ceremonies, and so was a lovely touch.
After the reception wound up, we all made our way down into the Old Town to a restaurant where we had a great table outside in the garden area. The food was unbelievably delicious, with Ben and Lauren just ordering a multitude of different dishes and we all helped ourselves. Jugs and jugs of sangria and beer to wash it down completely topped the meal, and we all had a lovely
time into the early hours of the evening, including all signing their mock certificate where they promised to be really nice to each other forever or ‘for into the foreseeable future’. Ben and Lauren also presented us all with our very own figurine, which was meant to represent us. Dav was a little guitar man and I was a nurse, for all the health info I dished out on the Camino.
After the reception wrapped up, Ben, Lauren and the parents all retired back to their rooms for a nap, while Dav, Penny, Stu, Happy, Polly and I kicked on, heading on to another bar to have some more drinks and play some cards. The rest of the crew joined us later in the night, where we ate (delicious garlic mushrooms) and drank some more into the wee hours of the morning. What a great day!
The days after...
You guessed it... more eating and drinking!
We left Santiago for Madrid on the Thursday, and it was a bit emotional, with both Lauren and I having a few tears. It has just been such
a fantastic last few months and it is sad to think that we won’t see each other for so long... But we will have so many stories to tell each other from our next leg of travels... as well as hundreds of shared memories to laugh about!
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