Party Time!

Jenn and Ed's reception was, in one word, a blast.

Picture courtesy of Paul Zoeller.

First - The food. Oh yum, the food. Considering the food in London as a whole was not the best we had ever had, Louis and I agreed the food at Jenn and Ed's wedding was the best wedding food ever. The British love smoked salmon and cheese... and luckily so do I.

Jenn and Ed cut the cake. There were five courses of delicious food.

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Note the Louie participating in the Jewish tradition!

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The best man and the maid of honor at the head table. The reception had 120 people, and the event felt incredibly intimate.

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Enjoying our last night in London. (We left for the airport at 4am that night....)

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Our amazing table mates and travel partners in crime, Christie and Paul. We're going to miss the family!

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My aunt giving her speech. In British tradition, a member of the bride's family spoke, then the best man, then the groom.

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Louis tells my aunt how to incorporate airplanes into a future speech.

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Paul continues his double duty as photographer.

Suave.

The handsome ring bearer.

Dylan and Josh did an amazing job toughing out the night.

A view from the top.

We bid you adieu!

Cocktails on the Lawn

Isn't that just crazy?!

Jenn and Ed's cocktail hour was just about the most exquisite event I've ever attended, and it was so amazing to live and breathe it. I smile just thinking about it.... what a special place it was!

There were several lawn tables and chairs out. The hors d'œuvre included smoked salmon sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, and some sort of delicious cheese sandwich. There were LIFE-SIZED gameboards of Connect 4, Jenga, chess and checkers scattered throughout the lawn.

The beautiful Mother of the Bride makes a grand entrance.

The orange juice was really fresh-squeezed and delicious. Dylan and I both gave it a thumbs up.


Jenn had a bolero coat made out of her dress's material. LOVED IT. All the men looked so dapper and very handsome in their tuxes. Ed’s tux had TAILS, which was completely cool.

Note the checkers game in the background. Very well-coordinated with the tuxes. Louis is talking to one of the masters of ceremony, Daniel. He and Damen served as co-masters of ceremony, and were quite the pair! They are planning their wedding in August, and were just completely fascinating.

Brandi is talking to Ed's cousin here. She was completely lovely and came up with her sister to get to know us better. The man in the middle is her father (Ed's uncle).

In the UK, it is customary for women to wear elaborate hats to weddings. Hearing that the wedding would be half-British, half-American, some of the women toned down their hats. However, I LOVED the hats (especially the one here) and wish I saw the even grander versions. All the European women were much more savvy with the weather, in that they brought shawls for the ever-changing temperature.

Group shot. And we're on to the reception!

The Ceremony

Jenn and Ed had a civil ceremony, performed by a registrar. It was the first time I had experienced this type of ceremony. It was short, straightforward, and very sweet in its simplicity.

All us bridesmaids walked down the aisle to the wedding march (ooooooh... practice!), played by a string quartet. Then Jenn came in, and everyone just sighed. She was a beautiful and emotional bride. There were no religious readings, though Brandi read Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare (great job, roomie!!!!). An official portion of the ceremony involved the signing of the register by two witnesses, Brandi and Toby, the best man.

We were not allowed to take pictures during the ceremony, though Paul and the other official photographers did get some snapshots.

After the ceremony, the family and the bridal party stuck around to take pictures. Here are some candid shots while we waited for our turns.

Please note the beautiful white angel Dylan, who doubled as the flower girl. She wore a sparkly tiara. Josh wore a James Bond-tux and looked CUTE (not handsome) while he served as the ring bearer.

Jenn and Ed's wedding and reception were black tie, and Louis and I assumed it was a British thing. We found out however that black tie is not the norm in the UK, and the black tie decision might have been due to the requirements of the Inner Temple. I could probably ask Jenn to clarify this.

This picture ended up on my camera. Figured it must be significant to someone....

Now, on to the amazing cocktail hour!

The Big Day: Getting Dressed

BREATHTAKING!

The Big Day: Hair and Make-up

JUNE 7, 2008 IS HERE!!!

We had the rehearsal at 11am Saturday. At noon, all us bridesmaids headed to the salon to get our hair done (and make-up for Jenn). We had the salon all to ourselves, and were able to munch on lunch and sip on drinks while getting pampered... so fun!

Jenn had her hair curled and upswept the layers around her faces. Her stylist was really cool and chic, though I couldn't understand her British accent at all.

Meet the bridesmaids!

Rocio. She and Jenn met when Rocio was attending university with Ed in Barcelona. Isn't she beautiful?

Brandi, the maid of honor and my amazing flatmate this week. She had an Audrey Hepburn-inspired bun, which we all LOVED. It stayed in perfect place the entire day.

Tessa. She and Jenn met in the Hague. Her hair was completely lovely and was like a work of art. She gave the stylist freedom to go wherever she wanted with the hair.

It's me! My hair ended up a bit more complex than I had envisioned... we compared it to a geisha style. "It" also contained appx. 75% bobby pins. The hairspray in all our 'dos made open flames a high risk choice for the ceremony and reception.

The BEAUTIFUL BRIDE, with hair and full make-up in place. We're ready to go!

The salon let us all out the back door of the salon. We allowed no risk of the groom or the groom's party to catch a glimpse of the bride. We bridesmaids also played secret service and swept the areas along the way to confirm there were no groomsmen present before letting Jenn come through.

On to the Inner Temple!

An International Affair

On Friday, Jenn's rehearsal dinner was at Butcher Hooks & Cleaver, an awesome bar in the Smithfield area of London. Dinner included the bridal party (and close relatives), and drinks followed with out-of-towners.
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The pub was just a ten minute walk from where we were staying. Smithfield is known for its meat market. It is also the site that William Wallace was executed.

Christie, whilst ordering some soft drinks for her and the kids, realized the London terms for Sprite is called lemonade. If you want the real lemonade, you call it a fruit lemonade, or some other distinguishing term from the soft drink. This pub (and even the Chinese restaurant the other night) made ample use of dumbwaiters.

Louis dives into the Fish n Chips.

When the out-of-towners started arriving, we met Jenn and Ed's extraordinary group of international friends. The handful of people I was able to talk to at length (both Friday and Saturday), were currently living in places like Pompei, Qatar, and your more "typical" locations like the Hague, Amsterdam and Madrid.

It must have been such a warm feeling for Ed and Jenn to know that all these people traveled from so many different countries to share in this time with them.... it was heartening for me to meet them all. Everyone was extremely friendly and the stories each person told of their background/experiences were fascinating. They were also completely interested in where we were from, and what we did, and where we've traveled.

We also met quite a few couples, like Jenn and Ed, that came from different backgrounds. From what I recall, there was one couple where the lady was from Germany and the guy was from Portugal. When they met at university in Barcelona, they spoke the best common language they knew, English, to each other. They informed us that American English was much easier to understand than British English, as Americans do not cut off their words so much.

Jenn's bridesmaid, Tessa, is a New England native that will be married in three weeks to Moranax, whom she met while working in Holland during the past six years. Louis found it fascinating that this guy was able to down 11 Guinesses like water.

The threesome. What a great night, and a fun crowd. Paul spent the night conspiring to take the beer glasses home as souvenirs.

Jenn looked great Friday. She was glowing and relaxed and that night was actually able to get some sleep. An update - Jenn received THE VEIL Friday night! Her friends from Barcelona arrived successfully at 10pm, and the box in which it arrived was attached to Jenn thereafter.

The rap sheet. (Proofs included.)

Portobello Road

Today FLEW by, and it is our last full tourism day in London.... very sad. However, this is because tomorrow is Jenn and Ed's big day!!

Louis and I spent an hour this afternoon at Portobello Market. (In the spirit of yepyep, Thanks Rhetta! :)

Portobello Market is a street market that lines Portobello Road, and features loads of different items, including antiques, clothing, fruits and veggies, even doorknobs. It is located in Notting Hill, made famous by the Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts film. (I am now anticipating watching it again for the backdrop.)

After asking around, we learned that the best days to visit Portobello Market are Fridays and Saturdays. However, we did not realize that the markets start to close up around 5pm or so (at least on Friday), as we arrived right around then. Therefore, we didn't have much time to wander around the market, but I was hoping to just glance around, with the chance to get some last minute deals from closing vendors.

Here are some of the rows of buildings we saw lining the streets in our walk to the market. Quite a contrast of sleek and modern, and quaint and charming.



Here is a view of the street market - a very cool atmosphere.


Just a note - We were able to haggle fairly easily with the two vendors we talked to with market set up on the street. (I think you can generally get at least 20% off the price shown.) For the shops in the affixed buildings lined up along the street, we were only able to haggle with one of the two vendors.

Louis is not a big fan of haggling. I LOVE IT.

Candy Cakes

This afternoon, we went to Covent Garden to get the boys fitted for tuxes... the girls went somewhere much more appealing...

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Right down the street on Monmouth, there was a wonderful haven called Candy Cakes. The shop was really serene and colorful and reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, less the ooompas loompas.

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Christie, Dylan and I grabbed six of the treats. I loved the Double Chocolate. Louis munched on the Toffee Banana. (You can see both in this picture.)

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Note to self: There are TONS of cool boutiques and sidewalk cafes in this area. I really liked the feel. I will come back when I have more money!

Buckingham Palace

MAN. I am PEAKED. It has been an exhausting week. I have not gotten adjusted to UK time yet, as I am going to sleep at 3am London time. But we're all still getting up at 8am or so. Yesterday, it was to catch the train to Bath. Today, it was to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.

However, it has been a FANTASTIC time.

The changing of the guards occurs every day at 11:30am. Today was the last day possible for us to go. We arrived early - Around 9:30am, and then took a perch in the fountain across from Buckingham Palace. (The official name is the Victoria Memorial.)


In front of the palace. All concrete, no green.

In front of the fountain, the Victoria Memorial.

Our perch.

Everyone's doing it, including Bac Hung.

It was interesting to wait and people watch. Louis is fascinated by the British accents. He likes to eavesdrop in on the conversations around us if any British people are involved. Add to this the various medical helicopters and airplanes flying around (which Louis informed me today he is homesick for), and Louis is in a helpless and constant state of distraction.

We all (Dylan, Josh, Brian and I) kept ourselves very occupied during the wait. We definitely threw some coins into the fountain for wishes. Unfortunately, I ran out of one-pence coins, so Josh threw in a fairly valuable ten-pence. We were assured it was a very important wish.

It turns out our early seats were not as ideal as we had thought. Before the procession started, security guards came around and made us get off the fountain ledges, which made it harder to see the events. When the procession started, Dylan and I developed a strategy where we pretended she was on a piggyback ride with me, but was actually on the fountain ledge. Josh joined soon after.

Dylan and I implement our sweet strategy.

Then security came around and cleared everyone off again. Dylan and Josh are very used to following the rules, and knew they had committed acts of rebellion (aided and abetted by me). Therefore, when he saw security come around the second time, Josh took a flying leap off the ledge and surprised the heck out of Christie when he landed on her back. We eventually inched our way up to the curb in front of the Palace.

The marching guards spent a significant amount of time playing various songs (including the Beatles). There was a bunch of marching and shouting of orders. Then the guards departed.

Paul learned from a guard that the Buckingham guards don't wear these red-and-black uniforms any longer... they are really worn for the tourists. Also, we were surprised to learn that the Malaysian soldiers (the ones in white) are the Queen's personal guard.