Hywel & Jenny's wedding

---

We got up early on Friday morning to catch the Eurostar back to Ashford, England. At least that was the plan! Unfortunately the train didn't stop, and the trip between Ashford and London that took 20 minutes by Eurostar took 2 hours and three different trains back to Ashford.

Tomos, one of Hywel's brothers, took us to the wedding venue, a cute little church in the country, so we could "help set up". True to tradition, this consisted of many people standing around confused about what to do, while a couple of people actually got things done. Hywel's misty-eyed mum played the church organ while we set out chairs. Hywel is the eldest of five boys, and was the first to marry.

Jenny's father Bernard hosted the rehearsal dinner at a great little pub nearby. The wine flowed freely and we all stuffed ourselves on fabulous food. Jenny and Hywel performed a couple of songs including "Get Me to the Church on Time" from My Fair Lady. Both families are very musical, and the music was a highlight throughout the weekend.

Late in the evening, we headed back to Bernard's to continue carousing. As Hywel made last-minute preparations, we filled paper cones with dried petals for throwing after the ceremony. Spirits were high, but they had learned from Jenny's sister's wedding the year previously the perils of having too big a night before, so we went to bed before things got too silly.

George got up early on Saturday to perform his Best Man duty of keeping the groom calm. I was 5 minutes late to meet the Davith family in the lobby, and finding they weren't there I worried they might have left without me. I learned there is "Dafydd time" - much like "Bunch time", the lateness of the group increases exponentially according to how many family members are present.

However, we made it in plenty of time for the ceremony, which was lovely. Jenny's brother-in-law Al trumpeted her down the aisle, and a choir of school friends and family sang the hymns beautifully. Hywel's grandfather, a retired Welsh minister, performed part of the ceremony, which was in English and Welsh.

The reception was "a barbeque in Jenny's Grandma's back garden". When I first heard this, I imagined men in stubbies and jandals standing round the barbeque with a keg of beer and some salads on a trestle table. It turned out to be the poshest barbeque I've ever been to.

After the ceremony, there was a champagne hour while photos were taken. A great Latin band had a few people dancing while the rest of us mingled and munched yummy salmon and Parma ham. The smell of the barbeque wafted tantalisingly round the pretty gardens as the sun shone. It only rained once, with perfect timing, just briefly as we were supposed to be heading inside the marquee for dinner.

The speeches were excellent all round. Hywel's speech and funny and touching, and it was great to see Jenny take over when he forgot to mention about half the people he was supposed to thank. George's speech, which he had been working on for months, went down very well indeed. He had a great mix of stories about Hywel, and ended on one very rude pun. The Dafydd brothers loved it and Hywel's mum didn't slap George, so all in all it was a great success.

Later in the evening, Tomos, who is a newsreader for BBC Wales, played a fantastic "news report" video he'd made, including some very famous people wishing Hywel and Jenny well. It was followed by an impressive display of fireworks set to music, and lighting inflatable lanterns that drifted off into the starry sky.

We all had a boogie to Hywel's funky playmix, and when that ran out George took over the laptop and played cheesy 80s for the die-hard dancers. They said we could stay as late as we wanted, but when we weren't showing signs of slowing down at about 1.30am they packed us into minivans and took us back to the hotel. It was an awesome, awesome day.

On Sunday morning we returned to the venue to "help clean up", much in the same manner as we'd "helped set up". Then we went back to Bernard's for a fabulous cannelloni lunch. Nobody seemed to want the weekend to end so we lounged around, watching the boys play cricket, until it seemed a respectable hour to go to the pub. After a few drinks, more chatting and games of pool, we returned to Bernard's for a barbeque dinner. All the partying was fantastic, but it was with a certain sense of relief that I crawled into bed for a much-needed sleep. Having fun can be so exhausting!

I met some lovely, interesting people during the weekend. I wasn't on top form socially, mainly because I was very tired, but people were so welcoming and friendly that I didn't feel too awkward and managed not to follow George around like a lost puppy. It was great meeting some people you'd just never encounter in New Zealand, for example Jennie's sister-in-law, who teaches fencing. In New Zealand, if someone's reply to the "what do you do?" question was "I teach fencing", we would assume they worked at an agricultural polytechnic in Palmerston North. The Dafydd boys were funny and entertaining and it was a privilege to be part of an important event for the two lovely families.

After a busy weekend partying it was nice to spend a quiet last couple of days in England with Peggy, George's half-brother Radley and his wife Lindsay. Rad had just hosted his retirement party on the Sunday, so we helped him finish packing up and polished off the leftover food and wine.

We went to Canterbury for the Kent vs. Warwickshire 2020 cricket final on Monday afternoon. I'm no cricket fan, but even I couldn't complain about spending a couple of hours on a warm summer's evening drinking beer and watching the occasional big hit.

Sadly the holiday had to end, and Rad drove us to Heathrow for the long flights home. It was lovely seeing everyone on our trip, and I'm looking forward to people coming to New Zealand next February for our wedding.

---

Photos

Kiwis
Moira, Jude, George, Fiona and Clare