A Very British Wedding
I’m a British girl, h2b and I are having a very British wedding, with a few hints of Chinese.
Our wedding will have three main elements: the ceremony, the wedding breakfast, the evening reception but there are other elements that guests won’t necessarily see.
The Morning
| When I wake up! | No doubt I’ll wake up early, being mega excited. I will have spent the night at my parents’ house while h2b will be spending the night at home with his best man and any other guests who are staying over. (I’d best make sure our apartment is spotless!) |
| After shower before breakfast | I’ll be attempting breakfast while my bridesmaids arrive for their hair and makeup to be done. I imagine h2b will be making breakfast for all our house guests. |
| After breakfast: | The hair and makeup lady will pop round closely followed by the florist who will deliver all the flowers not being used as decoration: my bouquet, the bridesmaids’ bouquets, the flower girl’s wand, the boutonnieres and the mothers’ corsages. I’m hoping that one of the people at my house will volunteer to take the flowers to the church that are needed there. |
| When the bridesmaids have arrived: | Hopefully the bridesmaids will all be ready and almost set to go, and I’ll be almost ready. H2b will arrive at the church to say hello to all the guests and to stand around looking really nervous. |
| 30 minutes before the ceremony: | This is the latest I can leave the house and guarantee I can get to the church on time. I don’t mind getting there a few minutes late. Hopefully guests will be arriving at this point and be waiting for me at the church. H2b’s family will be there waiting, I hope and saying hello to the people they know. |
The Ceremony
| The start of the ceremony: | I arrive at the church. There’ll be a bit of a buzz around the guests and the vicar, the bride has arrived! The vicar will come out to talk to me about how I’m feeling and if I’m ready, then he will signal the organist and the processional music will play. The bridesmaids will head down the aisle first, followed by my dad and I. The Service The vicar will welcome the congregation to the church and to the wedding of Fran and h2b! We will stand and sing our first hymn! Next is the ‘preface’ where the vicar talks about marriage in relation to a Christian God. It’s a huge undertaking in the sight of God and all that. The Declarations! (This is the bit where we will get religiously married!)  The vicar will say “I am required to ask anyone present who knows a reason why these persons may not lawfully marry, to declare it now.” The vicar will ask us to declare any reasons why we can’t be married and then he’ll say, “Warren, will you take Fran to be your wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honour and protect her, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?” I’m hoping he’ll say, ‘I will.’ The vicar will say the same things to me. The Collect This is where we say the lord’s prayer and things like that, and my cousin Sarah and my friend Chris are going to do some readings. Then follows the sermon where the vicar will talk to us about marriage. We will sing the second hymn. The Vows Then it’s the vows! The vicar will say “Fran and Warren, I now invite you to join hands and make your vows, in the presence of God and his people.” We will say our vows and then we’ll swap rings. The Proclamation The vicar will say, “In the presence of God, and before this congregation Fran and Warren have given their consent and made their marriage vows to each other.” Then he will bless the marriage, we’ll sing the last hymn while h2b and I sign the register. That means we’ll be legally married! The vicar will dismiss us from the church and we’ll proceed out the church to the special music we’ve chosen. Followed by our bridesmaids and ushers, then our parents, then brothers and sisters and finally the rest of the guests. |
| About an hour later: | Photos outside the church, calling on all the people who’ve been so kind to come to watch us get married. |
| Roughly 2:30pm: | This is where the timings get a bit shaky. Timings will depend on how quickly guests can get from the church to the reception venue. We will have photos outside the reception venue and I will throw my bouquet! Family members will be especially required for wedding photos! |
The Wedding Breakfast
| Roughly 3:30pm: | The guests will be seated at the wedding breakfast. We’re having a bride and groom receiving line to make sure we absolutely speak to everyone at the wedding! |
| Roughly 4pm: | We will start the wedding breakfast! If you see our wedding website you’ll be able to see the menu options for the wedding. After the main course, possibly before the desserts, or possibly after the desserts will be the speeches. The bride’s dad will say his speech first, introducing the couple followed closely by the groom who gives the thanks and tells everyone how beautiful his wife is. Finally, it’s the turn of the best man. |
| Roughly 7:30pm: | The meal will finish around this time and then the venue will set up for the evening reception. The DJ will set up now and everyone can go for a wee! |
The Evening Reception
| In the evening: | H2b and I will mingle with guests, thanking everyone for coming and telling them how happy but tired we are. Once most people have arrived, h2b and I will have our first dance. Once we’ve had our first dance, everyone else can join in with the dancing and we have a jolly old time! |
And that’s how our very British wedding will go!
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