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Yorkshire #2 (or the Lakes & the wedding of the year!)

So from complete solitude to the hive of activity that was the pre-wedding venue for the last 2 days. We arrived from the Dales feeling a bit wind swept and rural into the most pristine of locations - all spruced up for Chris and Jessica's wedding. We were staying in some beautiful lodges - ultra cool with lots of wood and glass - the complete opposite from what we had just come from - with Liz & Dave in one, Mum, Dad, Amanda, Alex and the boys in another and finally us with Simon and Audrey in another. The kids were already excited and even more so when they discovered that each lodge had its own hot tub!!

The festivities kicked off immediately - Mum, Dad Amanda et al opted for going out but we decided to stay and we had a wonderful evening of catching up over a pizza and a glass or two (well, make that a few bottles) of wine. Glenn very sensibly said he wasn't going to drink due to wanting to ride the next day, only then to make his way happily through half a bottle of gin on his own while discussing the finer points of Brexit with Audrey. Simon and I left them about midnight, still talking politics - fab evening all round.

The day of the wedding dawned warm (for the Lake District) and overcast but not wet or windy. The sun even made a show once or twice which was great given so very unexpected. After a discussion with the kids that 2 hours in the hot tub does not constitute a pre-wedding wash, we had showers and bacon sandwiches and got ready. I hope somewhere, someone got a photo of our whole family dressed to impress - its unlikely to happen again! We set out on a coach down some particularly windy roads (Laurie getting paler and paler as we went) into the beautiful Cartmel Priory for the ceremony. Jess looked stunning, as did her (many) bridesmaids and Izzy had dress and flower envy from the start! We managed to get seats near the front so had a great view throughout which made all the difference. The next entertainment was trying to get coaches back out of the village without crushing the surrounding cars or upsetting the neighbours - we managed it - just!

From here up to the reception at Jess's family home - Bigland Hall - which looked absolutely beautiful. The house, the marquee, the lake, the decorations, the food was all wonderful with some really lovely touches including photo place names and the basket of flip flops for sore feet later on in the evening... or straight away if your name is Abi!

Highlights for the kids included the fact that no-one was monitoring their consumption of fizzy drinks, there was unfettered access to the photo booth (which they made enormous use of while we listened to the speeches), lots of people wanting to dance with them when the band started, and no-one telling them it was time to go home until they were ready. Izzy wilted about 10pm and suddenly announced she needed to go home. Abi opted to stay on with Simon and Audrey (immediately appointing Audrey her Mummy for the evening!) and they rolled home after midnight. It was a very tired little girl that finally appeared this morning! What a lovely weekend, we were truly spoilt by Jess, Chris and their families.

So after a good run home we are now happily back in the house - dogs are on their beds (we've missed Freya's snoring), kids are washed and ready for bed and we are looking forward to waking up in our house with normal service resumed. It's been a lovely week away, but there is no place like  home.






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