Saturday 2 May 2015

No.9

I was sitting on the toilet ( with the lid down) in the Springs with just my underwear on and a pair of high heels. I stared at the dress on my lap and wondering how I was going to fix the zip that had just split open a few minutes beforehand......
       Friday weddings are always a challenge and as anyone who knows me can tell you, I am up for a challenge. I even attempted the Banff bay swim a few years back and had to get dragged out of the water by the local lifeguards, half way through the mile swim, in a very ungainly manner after getting seasick. I mean who would've thought it, hey, but at least I gave it a go. Phoebe and I still look at the sea and say, 'Now, this would not have been a good day for the Banff bay swim', as we look at the ever changing moods of the North sea and remember that fateful summer.
     I work at the local health centre every Friday morning. As I like to be up at work nice and early for opening at 8am, a Friday wedding means I  get up at 6am and do my hair, make sure that my dress is laid out and pressed and all my accessories are to hand, so when I finish at 12, I can nip down the road and slip into my wedding gear and do my makeup in time for heading off for the day's nuptials.I pride myself on being organised.
              Today's couple Stuart and Charlotte ( known as Charlie to her friends) live in Aberdeen but hail from Banff and Macduff. Most of their families still live in this area, so the Springs was indeed the perfect place to hold their big day.
        I had got a beautiful handmade brooch for my birthday from Robin. He had picked it up on display at the Cullen bay ( see wedding no.1) made by Cullen based artist  Oriel Manni.
I could visualise wearing it with my grey tartan dress (the one with the stuck zip), my new grey paisley pashmina from big sis Susan and my teal patent heels.
As I stepped into the taxi, Jan said 'My, you're looking dapper' and really, I couldn't argue...well, not for the next 20 minutes that is!
        We arrived at the Springs as Hamish the piper played, I grabbed my bag as I jumped out of the car and felt a sudden pop and a slide and a gush of air around my back...yes, my tricky zip had decided that this was the moment to die!
   There's a verse in the book of Psalms that says 'The Lord laughs in his heavens' and my initial thought was 'Ho, ho, very funny...now get me out of this one please!'. I turned to Robin and said " My dress has just split down the back, " while still smiling sweetly. He obviously thought I meant a small tear and looked behind to see my whole back revealed to the world from neck to knicker line and grabbed my pashmina to cover it as best he could.
     I walked as gracefully as I could into the hotel holding tight to my covering , headed straight for the toilet and stripped....
     I am usually the fixer upper at a wedding. I carry a supply of safety pins, a spare pair of tights, some paracetamol, a nail file....the list goes on. The one thing I'd forgotten to put in my bag was my mini sewing kit that my friend Sue had given me last year...Aagh!
   As I was trying to work out how to fix the whole thing together with safety pins and pondering if I could get away with a Liz Hurley, I heard a voice say,
"Lynda, could you use a needle and thread?"
       No, it wasn't God (though I'm pretty sure He had something to do with it!), it was Jillian. Robin had briefly filled her in on my dilemma and she came to my rescue. A disembodied hand came over the top of the cubicle bearing two little sewing kits and I sat for the next 20 minutes in a state of fear that I was going to miss the whole ceremony, sewing 2 foot of zip together from top to bottom. I can tell you that for anyone of my age, threading a needle is difficult enough in normal light, but in the confines of a toilet with ambient lighting, it is no easy task.
       I slipped back into the dress, praying that it would hold, powdered my nose and emerged to find Robin and Jillian waiting outside the toilets. Not for me really, Stuart, the groom had forgotten his specially made button hole and had to dash back to Macduff to get it. Phew, if I'd known that I would've spent a bit longer on my finishing!
        Stuart returned and the guests filtered through to wait for the bride to arrive.
   Charlie came in on her Granda's arm looking really radiant. She wore a cream antique lace gown  and was holding a brooch bouquet with a picture of her Grandma on it so she would have her at the forefront of this special day.
Their little girl Grace took pride of place as flower girl and stole the show for most of the ceremony. During the hand fasting she joined with them as they bound together for this new chapter of their lives as a family.
      We enjoyed our afternoon, while the wedding party disappeared for photos, leaving us with the option of ice cream from a van they hired to sit outside, a gift that all the kids, big and small took advantage of. We sat out in the new foyer, enjoying the view out over the Banff Links beach and the company.
          Charlie is 90 years old and he and his wife Chrissie sat with us for a while. It was great to hear how they had met during the years of World War 11 before Charlie got called up to the RAF to go to Burma. He was there for 3 years and wrote to Chrissie, bringing back an engagement ring that he had specially made while in Calcutta. He joked that  he would've kept it if she said no, but obviously she didn't and they rest is history.
       My own Uncle Lithgow passed away earlier this week at the age of 92 . He was also in the RAF and we had been sent some information by family about letters he sent home while in a prisoner of war camp in 1943. Through the wonders of Internet access, I was able to show Charlie the letters and a photo of my uncle's squadron. It was a fascinating conversation.
        Stuart is obsessed with Batman and as a gift a friend had made him his own Batman cake with him as the hero on top and Charlie in her dress. The actual wedding cake was beautiful with cascading dusky purple flowers trailing down the side.
 
We had a lovely meal, sitting at the Batman table, together with Stuarts Grandma and his parents. The rest of the tables had similar batman themed names which gave everyone a good laugh. The food and the service was perfect, a really good team that work together well.
          All the button hole and the bridesmaid bouquets were made of buttons. A lovely idea that was introduced to us a few years ago by my friend, Donna, who made my daughter Ellie's wedding bouquet. We gathered together beautiful buttons and brooches scanning all the charity shops for any interesting finds. Donna took all of these and put them on wire with small crocheted flowers and created a bouquet that not only was totally unique, but that Ellie can keep forever and pass on. Such a brilliant idea. I'm sure Charlie and her bridesmaids will love to keep theirs too and treasure them.
        
The evening guests arrived and the disco started. A sweetie cart was set up and a photo booth for anyone wanting a memento of their day, especially once you've decided to put on one of those wigs they supply! We decided to give it a miss and sit with  Morag and Colin, who had come along for the evening with their daughter Lenise and gorgeous grandson who kept us all amused with his fascination of the never ending supply of sweeties from the cart. Needless to say when the sugar kicked in it was hard to pin him down...I'll bet he slept well last night.
          We watched as the new Mr and Mrs Nicol danced, looking so comfortable and happy together.
Wishing them all the best for the future, we phoned Jan and waited in the foyer for her to arrive, hugely thankful that my dress had held together for the whole of the wedding, I even had time to do a quick shot of Robin and John the bouncer posing in the new flash reception area.
I'd like to thank Charlie especially for making me feel so welcome to her big day. I hope that having Robin there to marry them made the Batman theme perfect and that Stuart will be her superhero for all the years to come.
 


 



        


No comments:

Post a Comment