What a day!!

What a completely fantastic day we had!! The sun shone, there was much laughter and everything went without a hitch (unless you count confusing the Charlies!!) So many people were involved and were complete stars, giving time, help and money and much, much more - far too many to thank here but I'll be scribbling thank you notes for a few days yet!

Here are some photos to be getting on with. When the official ones come through I'll add a link to them so keep checking back.

Who's coming?

As there will be guests coming from various parts of the world and periods of our lives, it might be helpful to know who is coming and when (particularly those coming from far away)

Mike and Amanda - Flying in from Hong Kong!! (and it's his birthday on the 9/10/10!) staying at Dairy Barns

Jean bebe with Catherine and the brood from Belgium - Friday to Monday - staying at Dairy Barns.

Hugh and Nell - should be in the UK anyway, over from cloggy land.

Lawny and Sally - not sure where they are staying - hopefully Dairy Barns again!

Shane and Maria - managed to get time off and coming down from the far north.

Richard Mortimer - he's coming but where he's staying and when is unknown!

Shirley and Peter - Thursday to some time in the following week. Hopefully Shirley is going to be here all week staying with.......Elaine and Vito, John and Molly, Carol and Mark - Saturday to Saturday in the Piggery and Forge.

Lucy, Jody, Joan, Fiona and Simon, Julie and Colin all coming. Lucy, Jody and Joan all in the Forge. And possibly Pat and Jim will be staying there too.

Bob and Bernie representing the Aberford contingent. With Sylvie and Brenda representing other parts of that end of the A1! Bob and Bern staying at the Saracens Head at Erpingham.

My mum and Ken, Grandma, Marian all staying over in Dereham. John, Zoe and Charlie and Lucy at Dairy Barns.

Norfolk crowd. Peter and Lesley, Jenny and Steve with George and Eleanor, Sally and Colin and Emily and Laura, Capt Winter and Marilyn, Sarah and Andy, Suzie Wells, John and Joan Hellewell, Caz (Caroline) and Caz (Roger) and Sarah, John and Scoop and a few others from the village - Diana Hood and Fabian, Mick and Pauline, Dorothy and Fred, Bill and Jan, Mike and new lady, Sue and Rob Andrews. Plus a vet if anyone falls ill - Hilary with her husband Iain. Friend Rachel and hairdresser Damien and neighbours Sam and Lee and Des and Caroline with assorted offspring. Other neighbours - Stuart and Gill, Cecil and Muriel, Victor, Jane and Edward and hopefully their boys, Janet and Tony, Norman with Bev joining us later. Think the hog roast staff will be staying too as they are friends! Penel Malby coming in joint roles of photographer and guest! And hooray for the Hardimans coming too!

John, Zoe, Charlie and Lucy - Sat night at Dairy Barns.

Hunting crowd - Anne Green, Helen and Thomas, Emily and Tony, Sandra and Hugh, Maggie and John, Paul and Anne, Fiona Black.

Gems - I guess just the one night? Staying with Ma in Aylsham.

If I have forgotten anyone, apologies. Others may be added as they confirm.

Contact details

If this blog hasn't answered any questions you need answered, please get in touch.

Gothic Cottage
Mill Lane
East Ruston
Norfolk NR12 9HS

Tel: 01692 650083
Mob: (Sue) 077 6666 5684

email: sueallen.secretarialservices@virgin.net or
dermot.allen@virgin.net

If you want to comment on a post click on the 'Links to this post' at the bottom of the post.

Welcome to the wedding blog!

Welcome (or welcome back) to the wedding blog! Less than 3 weeks to go! Three months ago when I started it, it was at silly o'clock am. Now I am updating it at more silly o'clock, this time pm. Maybe I'm not as efficient as I'd like to think I am!

So I hope you can find most of what you need to know on here about where, when, why and how and don't forget to come back for another look after the event for the photos.

We started off planning to keep the whole thing local and low key. Very low key. And it's pretty much stayed that way - hoorah! No big white frou frou dress (not even for Derm!), no mis-matched bridesmaids in pastel shades, no top tables, no wedding favours, no chocolate fountain (hm, well maybe.....), no stag do (though there's still time!), no penguin suits, NO deafening disco and nooooooo stress! Scrap that very last bit!

What there will be .....
Lots of our favourite friends and family coming together for a bit of a party to celebrate with us.
A simple ceremony in a rural converted barn in Hickling
Party in the village hall
There's a pony and trap in there somewhere (weather dependent!)

A vintage Rolls Royce, probably being polished as I type (by a friend in the village who is also the chauffer on the day!)
A photographer friend, who came along last week to look at the venues

A hog roast is provided by a local company

Lots of salads and lovely puds provided by friends and family.
Drinkies galore.
The tunes had a bit of a blip when my laptop crashed but WILL be sorted!!
The hay bales and bunting and fairy lights are stacked up ready for the creative types to get cracking on the Saturday and an artist friend has been wonderful in working on some designs.

The ethos is local and inclusive, we love it!

The date - why a Sunday?

Quite apart from the fabulous symmetry of 10/10/10, we chose it because it is a date in the one week of the year that both the holiday cottages are booked by family. That might sound like rather a prosaic reason to choose a wedding date but Derm's family is rather extensive and the fact that up to 16 of them would already have accommodation was a major factor!

Couldn't make it a Saturday as that is changeover day and they would either be arriving after 4pm on the first Saturday or leaving by 10am on the last Saturday as there are bookings either side of this week. And (ok, I know, I know, grammar pedants - get used to it!) whilst many of our friends are not conventionally employed (in fact quite a lot of them aren't employed at all!), an equal number are slaves to a wage so choosing a Sunday meant that they wouldn't have to take the day off work for us. Choosing a Sunday also meant that the registrar is way more expensive but hey ho. So now you know why we chose a Sunday. Oh, and the village hall was available then too.

(and I am rather hoping to go hunting on the Saturday ....... really couldn't swing that if the wedding was on a Saturday!! Big thanks to the hunt lady field masters for sorting a local meet!)

The ceremony venue

For those of you invited to the ceremony it will be at the wonderful Dairy Barns at Hickling. http://www.dairybarns.co.uk/ 2pm kick off with photos, bubbles and canapes afterwards.

The lovely Hannah Deane is just a joy to deal with and the venue is really suitable. It's about 15 minutes from our house (well actually it's 17 minutes but that makes me sound a bit obsessive) and probably about the same from the village hall. They also can provide bed and breakfast accommodation so definitely somewhere to consider staying if you need to find somewhere. Quite a few people staying there already - sure they will love it! Only the ceremony (and some drinkies and canapes and photos afterwards!) will be held there. Hannah only holds so many wedding each year to avoid annoying the neighbours!

The party venue

The post wedding party venue is at the glamourous and nationally famous...East Ruston village hall (with a marquee!) Actually forget the 'glamourous' and 'nationally famous' bit but it is substantial and well known in the village! So please don't expect anything special. We'll dress it up best we can but it will be on a tight budget so we'll mostly be raiding the hedgerows and fields for materials! There will be a hog roast provided by local butcher with rolls and roast spuds (we are surrounded by potato fields so there won't be a lot of cous cous!) plenty of salads and a vegetarian option. We were considering using one of our own pigs for the hog roast which would have really fitted in with the keeping it local theme but all ours this year are boars and by the time the wedding comes they will be old enough to possibly have boar taint so it's not worth the risk. We'll leave it to James to provide us a pong-free pig!

We're planning on serving up around 6pm so if you're coming to the party bit, pitch up a bit before to get a drinkie in and a seat (no seating plan, first come, first served or you'll end up on an Uncle's lap!).

Obviously there will be a bar of sorts and some tunes, courtesy of my newly acquired ipod. Just easy stuff. Possibly a toast or two though could be a bit tricky to shut all 130 of you up!

Parking will be very limited. Only a small amount of gravel parking round the village hall and then on some grass on the edge of the playing field. Let's pray for dry weather! And if you could car share/walk/taxi/cycle to reduce the traffic that would be just soooper! We're looking at ways of ferrying people about to reduce cars - will keep you posted.

Just how low key is it going to be then?

Obviously the ceremony will be civil so not a lot of God stuff going on. There will be a ring but no official bridesmaids or page boys (though I will have my delicious nephew Charlie and his gorgeous sister Lucy to play some part in it cos they are just so cute). The dress isn't low key - no sirreeee - but there is no train, no veil, no sexy lacing up the back or fabric roses or diamante. No shoes. Joking. In a nod to convention I'll wear shoes! Big bad shoes! And my tattoo won't be covered up much either - quelle horreur!! Though I do have a fab little fur shoulder wrap to keep the goose bumps at bay.

I think Derm will be wearing a suit he bought in Shanghai for tuppence halfpenny. With a new tie (thanks Mr Roy. Yes, of Wroxham fame!) and shirt (courtesy of Shirley).

Actually the venue for the ceremony isn't low key either - it's not formal and posh but it is very lovely and atmospheric.

Back at the village hall is where it really gets low key! There might be a speech or two and a toast or three but nothing formulaic or over produced. Might just see who wants to say something on the day. No top table or any sort of seating plan - just sit with who you want! Just grab your hog roast (look up James Cawdron on facebook - you'll see just how good his hog roasts are!) and plonk yourself down with your chums or long lost family members. Children obviously welcome. Dogs welcome too but check that out with me first as I don't want any canine punch ups.

After that, no going away, no honeymoon. No point! We did all that last time, have lots of fabby holidays anyway and besides, we want to enjoy all our party, will probably have to help with the clearing up and we can then spend the next few days with all the relatives who are staying in the holiday cottages! Oh, and there will be hunting on the Tuesday so I won't want to miss that!
If you're wondering what to wear I can't really help you there. You wear whatever you want! If you like the sexy short skirt, high heels and stockings look, you get it on. Ladies too. You need to get the hat out of the box? Blow off the dust and hold your head up high! Happiest in jeans and wellies? Ab-so-lutely fine. Fill your boots!

How to get here and parking and taxis

Happily East Ruston is about 3 miles from the Norfolk coast so you can't get lost too far east without getting your feet wet! Very wet. The North Sea is quite deep in places.

The wedding venue is Dairy Barns at Hickling - postcode NR12 0BE The link to the website is here

I'm making the assumption here that, as you are already on a computer and literate enough to be looking at this website (and you are almost certainly a grown up) you are also quite capable of putting that postcode into Google maps (or your mapping site of choice!) and looking it up. Or clicking on the link and visiting the website itself and getting the necessary information from there so I'm not going to do a 'turn right, go 100 yards down this road and look out for the third postbox on the left' thing for you. Sorry. Lots of you will have sat navs too - though I wouldn't entirely trust them in rural Norfolk. I was about to give out my mobile number so you could call if you got lost on the day but I have just realised I may have other things to think about on the day and don't think there is a mobile phone pocket sown into my dress.......

The party venue - East Ruston Village Hall - has the postcode NR12 9JD - sorry, no website, it's not quite famous enough. But I have checked on the aforementioned Google maps and it does show the village hall in the right place! The parking here is going to be verrrrrrry limited so we would be really pleased if you can do all you can to car share/park elsewhere/taxi in etc. Use your imagination and if you are parking here you might want to bring a torch as we can't promise very efficient lighting to find your way back.

Taxis are few and far between in this part of rural (some say backwards!) part of Norfolk. You will need to book in advance. I am hoping to twist the arms of some friends to provide an ad-hoc taxi service back to local accommodation but this isn't set in stone .......yet. I need to employ at great many persuasive techniques before I can offer this!

Stalham cabs are on 01692 581 666 (oooh err. Never noticed that bit of the telephone number before!) There are others in North Walsham and Wroxham. Google now or wait for me to update this bit of the blog later!!

Wedding present list - such as it is.....

There isn't one. We don't need anything, we have each other! We got a lot of lovely things the first time and have managed to accumulate a distressingly large amount of stuff over the years anyway. In fact, the best present you could give us is to take some of it away!!

However, I have been advised that people do actually like to bring presents so I'll think of something we would like and update this blog accordingly. Many people will be asked to bring a pudding or make something for the party as a present. Or bring a bottle or two. That would be just fine!

Bird boxes are all I have been able to think of so far. We spend a small fortune on bird food here and have dug a whole bloomin' pond for them to drink from/bathe in/hunt over and we are rewarded by a garden full of the feathery darlings. In fact, I think I also grow soft fruit solely for the blackbird babies. That wasn't the original idea and they do let me have the odd berry and cherry for my own consumption. Believe it or not we'd like more, so bird boxes would be a very welcome gift as we've plenty of places to put them.

And how about some small things for the garden - you can never have enough plants, pots and amusing statuary!

Basket case!! I've been inspired to think of a few other things. How about basket ware - we love baskets for all sorts of things - any size. Would love it to be English willow though rather than imported stuff if at all possible but a present is a present!

Old crocks! When we first came to look at Gothic Cottage, the owners very kindly invited us for dinner and all the food was served on a lovely selection of old plates, all different, all charming. I've been taken by that idea ever since. We've never exactly had a matching dinner service anyway so if you want to fish about in your local antique/bric a brac shop for some pretty plates and just buy one then that would make a lovely present and I can add to the collection any time I get a chance to rummage too!

Posh crocks! Emma Bridgewater is a Norfolk based designer and pottery maker. All her stuff is lovely. And look - there is a sale section! ttp://www.emmabridgewater.co.uk/home/icat/sale Have to confess to getting slightly carried away when I investigated this link! Ahem. I'll put the credit card away now.

This isn't a list of things we must have turn up on the day or else we will never speak to you again! It is a list of things to help those who want to buy a present but we REALLY aren't expecting anything of anyone - we'd just like you to turn up and enjoy yourselves. REALLY!

Where you can stay

If you're needing somewhere to stay, you will forgive us, I hope if we don't get it sorted for you - we might have rather a lot to do between now and the event! However, here are some ideas.....
The actual wedding venue, Dairy Barns, does bed and breakfast click here

Our friend Anne Green has B&B just over the hill in Happisburgh and has her rooms reserved for the wedding so mention this when booking. click here

Seven Acres - we don't know anything about this place but it looks nice click here

And a couple of self catering places that might be able to provide a two night break
Boundary Farm click here

Wayford Bridge Hotel, just outside Stalham click here

Probably a few more I don't know about - google it! If you come across something and want to check it out before you book, let us know and we can go and take a look and make sure it's not next to a sewage plant or something!