What a week - no one can quite explain how emotional it is to see your child walk down the aisle and on Thursday we watched Kerrie do that with an enormous sense of pride and happiness. For me it was an absolute pleasure to see the two of them so ecstatically happy together and to be there on their special day. I am so proud of her - to have turned into such a beautiful bride - inside and out - and to see her day come to fruition after all her hard work and planning. More so to see just how much they love each other - nothing else mattered for a few hours.
For Glenn it was more emotional than he could possibly have imagined (although how he ever thought he wouldn't cry was beyond me!). Seeing Kerrie in her dress for the first time, walking her down the aisle, giving her away and then making a speech afterwards - he swung from having the biggest smile on his face to balling his eyes out throughout the day, as did Ryan - every time Glenn welled up so did he - clearly on the same wave length!
Abi and Izzy had a wonderful day. They loved being part of the main event - being there the night before (obligatory pre-wedding hot tub!), being two of the few people allowed into Kerrie's room beforehand so they could have their hair and make up done, walking the dogs down the aisle (Mia and Grace had to play a part of course) and then making the most of the rest of the day. It's lovely that they are now of an age where we had to provide almost no supervision at all. They made sure they were where they needed to be when they needed to be there. They got Kerrie to show them what they would need to do - I wasn't even allowed to come to that bit - and then carried it out to the letter. After the ceremony they went off with Ben and Laurie and played for ages without us even seeing them, coming and finding us every so often to let us know they were still in the venue!
Not everything went to plan of course, but you would need to know what was planned to have noticed it. Kerrie was due to come down the aisle to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri - a very emotional slow song. Instead they managed to cue up the track they were due to walk out to - Signed, Sealed and Delivered. This had everyone bouncing in their seats as she came in, singing along and loving it! I don't think it could have worked better to create a fun and upbeat atmosphere. It rained, but who noticed quite frankly (other than the kids who got soaked more than once on the bucking bronco). The wedding cakes looked amazing sitting on the side waiting to be cut... and did so even after Mia decided to give the nearest one a great big lick as she went by! Little things that go to make rather than break to day.
One part of the proceedings I'd completely forgotten about until it happened was Del Boy! Kerrie had asked me about this ages ago and said she was planning on him coming in and interrupting Glenn's speech. Eek! I made the point he was reluctant enough to make a speech as it was, don't interrupt him if he manages to get to his feet and say something! As it was she decided to get him to come in as Ryan started to speak (he is a massive Only Fools & Horses fan) and so just as he stood up (tears already starting to flow again) we heard a shout from the back and in came the most look-a-like Del Boy I've ever seen! He was brilliant - he knew which bridesmaid was which and which best man had done what (there were 3) and proceeded to do a very funny set with them all, as well as a few other members of the audience. It made for a brilliant entertainment as we tucked into the biggest afternoon tea I've ever seen.
So after all of this, a few people floated away and lots more arrived and the dancing started. Kerrie, who had been smiling from ear to ear (who knew that sulky 13 year old I first met so many years ago would smile like that in years to come?!?!), got onto the dance floor and that's where she stayed for the rest of the evening, drink in hand, glowing in every sense. Izzy couldn't resist and almost immediately joined her, spending the whole evening with her dancing away. Abi flitted back and forth, spending a lot of her time curled up by the fire with Ken, Kerrie's 88 year old friend, hearing all about his life. I'm sure that's unusual for an 11 year old but it was completely of her own doing and she loved listening to him, keeping him company.
After all of the happiness of the earlier proceedings, seeing the 3 of them together, with Kerrie so clearly loving having them at her side, this was the icing on the cake of what was a wonderful, wonderful couple of days.
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