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Published: October 7th 2010
Its Janet and Chad's wedding day! Janet has been a friend of Tessa's for over 20 years and its wonderful that we can be here in England for their wedding. The day for us begins with fresh croissants and fruit at our friendly B & B. We're in the Cotswolds, a popular holiday area not far from London with rolling hills sprinkled with quaint little villages. We visit the village of Broadway, and run into Janet (bride) getting her hair done and friends Sarah, Rochelle and others. This is another one of the area's iconic English villages with beautiful stone buildings, great pubs and a good selection of shops. We race off to throw on a dress and kilt (Keith looking stuning in the latter) and, transformed, we head off to pick up Rochelle and Rick, then down the road to the wedding in the old stone church in the grounds of Stanway House.
Its a beautiful ceremony with lots of friends and family and Janet doing the gorgeous bride thing (and Chad the handsome groom, of course) and plenty of tears are shed. Janet and Chad walk down the aisle and out into the daylight, and the congratulations flow.
Scrubbing up OK
Keith and Tessa at the weddingWe follow them out into the courtyard and through into the grounds. Manicured lawns, rose petals, champagne, ponds and a croquet lawn. We mingle, eat wonderful food, catch up with friends, and then the fountain comes on, the top of the jet visible over the roof of Stanway House. We join the throngs of guests heading across the grounds to check it out. Its apparently the tallest gravity-fed fountain in Europe, fed by water from up the hill and the fountain shoots impressively high into the sky. With the grand house and rolling lawns, we feel we're in some sort of period movie.
The reception is in the 14th century tithe barn. The roof beams are huge and impressive and the walls are 4 feet thick. This is where the harvested food was stored in days gone by. Today there are amazing table settings, its a gorgeous venue and surprisingly warm inside. There is a lovely meal with great New Zealand wines, amusing but sincere speeches, a waiata from the kiwis that goes down really well, lots of catching up with friends and hours of dancing to a great band, which all makes for a fantastic night.
The
next day is a lunch put on by Chad's parents in the picturesque village of Stanton. Its a beautiful sunny day and this is a much more quiet affair, especially for the more jaded members of the group who are sitting drinking juice and soft drinks rather than the Pimms or wine. Its been great to meet some more of their lovely friends and family, to see Janet's family again and to catch up with so many friends, and we eventually drag ourselves away to begin our drive North. What a fantastic wedding!
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