When we were in Spain last winter, we had the pleasure of meeting Al and Isabel, Hamish and Lucy. Since then we’ve kept in touch and remained friends, to the extent that they were lovely enough to invite us to their Wedding.
Last year they’d mentioned the possibility of us dog-sitting so they could go off on holiday somewhere exotic, so when they asked us a while back we said yes so long as it was out of season. We’d arranged dates a while back, so when they asked us to call them to discuss things we were taken aback when they told us it would actually be their honeymoon!
We travelled down on Tuesday, despite Dean being poorly and the forecast being for strong winds. Dean went down with a cold then ended up in bed most of Monday afternoon, although that was probably down to spending four hours cooped up in the Smart car whizzing back and forth to Oxford. He’s been very thoughtful though and shared it with me later in the week – nice.
Isabel and Al greeted us warmly and the next day took us on a whistle stop tour of Bexhill and the surrounding area, ending up in a lovely garden centre called Great Park Farm Nursery, Catsfield near Battle (www.greatparkfarm.co.uk) where they have a Potting Shed Cafe. Amazing cakes are available to buy, all homemade and the tea cosies are worth checking out! In the evening we ate out at the Denbigh (www.thedenbigh.com) which is in Bexhill. Main meals range from around £8 through to £13 and the food was excellent. It’s very much like a good country pub (nowhere near the countryside) with wholesome food, with quite a diverse menu ranging from your traditional steak pie through to Lebaneses dishes, Moroccan and French cuisine.
Thursday saw Isabel and I heading off to the leisure centre where we had a swim, sauna and lunch. Then we both went for a manicure in preparation for the big day while Al took Dean on a tour of Hastings. Ribbons were bought for the two dogs, with much deliberation undertaken by the two of us.
When we returned we all set about getting ready for the big day, with Al and Isabel getting more nervous as time went on. A lovely Chinese meal was eaten then we all retired in anticipation of Friday…
Friday morning, friends started arriving at the house, flowers were delivered and the nervousness rose. Dogs were suitably dressed, as were humans so we then set off about 10.30 to the Registry Office.
The wedding ceremony was wonderful. Both Isabel and Al are two of the kindest, most genuine people you could ever wish to meet. With such caring attitudes you can’t help but wish them every happiness for the future. They’re on an adventure of their own in 2013 so we’ll be following their travels with interest.
After the ceremony (very romantic) we went to the Denbigh for lunch. The afternoon was very relaxed, just friends getting together having a lovely meal talking about everything and nothing. Al finally calmed down and enjoyed himself, and bearing in mind we’d never met anyone else before (except Carol) it felt like we’d known everyone for years.
Below are a few pictures of a great day for everyone concerned…
