the morning of the wedding was spent faffing; six girls and not enough power points - or fingers, if you were me, meant absolute chaos. we well-timed our showers and hair washing, our ironing and our primping, and were reading with barely minutes to spare. we had a small walk - all six of us in non-sensical shoes for our environment, up a gravelled path, on an incline, with a bucket of booze to carry behind us too. we made it though, with not a single ankle injury to our names too.
we mingle briefly with the ever-calm groom, before taking our seats on the bales of hay as we waiting for the bridal party to arrive. the minute we saw clare emerge from the car - in her feathered cape, vintage and sequined dress, and vivienne westwood heels, we knew this wedding was going to be one to remember. when you see a bride walk down the aisle to a pearl jam song, you know it's one that's going to stay in your memory for some time to come.
i don't want to write too much about the wedding, really, it seems a bit impersonal. i mean, it was clare and phil's big day - one where they made a massive commitment to each other in front of their 100 closest friends and family, and one i am tremendously honoured to have been a part of. what i will say is that the #braunderswedding is one of the most "personality infused" weddings i have ever been to. from the vintage outfits, to the "tying the knot" ceremony, the nontraditional music chosen for their first dance, the nods to both of clare's homes (nz and middlesborough) in the food and drink, the personalised gifts, the cake toppers, the photo booth, the "big name dj" - you name it, every little element of their big day really, truly celebrated the pair of them, and their entire life together. it was absolutely wonderful, and we had such a great day partying with them and their friends.
the walk back down that gravelly hill, in the middle of the night and in the rain was certainly something to write home about. keeping in mind we were essentially in the middle of nowhere, with no "street lights" or - any kind of lights for that matter, and we were sliiiightly tipsy, and still in the inappropriate shoes from earlier, it was quite the task. not wanting to fall and break another finger, we decided taking shoes ~off would be a better option... it wasn't until morning that we discovered just ~what we had walked through that night. what we'd mistaken for mud was... not. enough said.
the following morning we enjoyed a bit of a fry up of organic proportions before packing up and heading off, back to york to drop the car off. while there a few days earlier, we'd tried to pop into betty's but found it completely fullllll of people with a wait of over half an hour. we'd said to ourselves that we'd try again when we dropped the car off, and this time we'd found a much smaller queue, and so got in it - mostly to get ~out of the rain that had set in and not relented since we'd left the lodges an hour or so earlier.
before long we were seated and ordering our treats for the day; me, a raspberry ripple and a strong coffee (in a famous tea house no less - rebel!), and the others an afternoon tea. it's safe to say that none of us were disappointed by our choices, but if there was a winner that day it was clearly me. a giant raspberry macaron filled with raspberry buttercream and fresh berries? i mean, how does that not beat a stinky fruit scone? there's no way it doesn't, and so next time you're in york, and you're deciding what to do for afternoon tea, definitely go to betty's and don't order the afternoon tea. honest!
before long we were back at the train station and waiting for our return train home. it had been a successful weekend, that's for sure, and we'd managed to cram a whole lot in to not a lot of time, and we'd had a fantastic time doing it. i really do enjoy getting out of london on these long weekends, and just seeing a bit more of this amazing country, and so far i've yet to be disappointed by another city. i had so much fun in the north, that i'm planning a trip back soon.
so leeds people, watch this space; i'm coming for you.
