Wedding Day Diaries

To sum up the beginning of J&D's wedding day last weekend I think the words "It Rained" would have to come into it.

I was at the wedding reception venue around 10:30am setting out all the place cards, bombonniere etc. and a storm front came through that literally had the roof and windows of the venue rattling and shaking. Zoe (my dedicated assistant) completely lost the plot and insisted on being physically attached to my leg for the duration of the storm, so I kind of gave up on what I was doing and just sat and enjoyed the show for 20 minutes or so.

Once the worst of the thunder had passed and I managed to locate the light switch for the room, we finished up setting out all the final touches and then had to head out to pick up a few other items. I can't believe how flooded the roads were from such a brief downpour! Still, through rain, sun hail etc. as I believe the saying goes...

Once we had the final touches it was back to the reception venue for a final check. Good thing we did, too, because the function staff had just set out all the wrong cutlery for the menu, were missing a place setting on one table and had mysteriously left off water glasses from assorted seats. Hmmmmmmm.

Then it was off to the church for a check that the flowers and bows had survived the night, and that all was well for the ceremony. I had never been to this church before so, once I managed to actually find it, it was a pleasant surprise to see what a beautiful little place it is! There was one stained glass window in particular at the back of the church that was absolutely gorgeous! The bows were all still snugly in place, and flowers looking stunning, so nothing more was needed here.

Fortunately the weather brightened up considerably during the afternoon, so by the time we returned to the reception venue just prior to the pre-dinner drinks, the roads were all dried out. I met the lady who had done all the flowers when I got there - she had just come early to bring the church flowers across to the reception room. I don't envy her that job - those big arrangements are scary to shift!!

Anyway, I waited until the staff had put out all the wine, candles were lit, the background music was playing and the bride's family had arrived and then Miss Z and I were out of there, leaving them to their celebration.

I wasn't even sure if I really needed that final check, but again, was glad I did, as the staff were putting out chilled bottles of white wine on the tables at 5:30pm, with no ice buckets and the guests weren't going to be sitting down until 7:00pm. WT? I don't know about you, but personally I like my white wine COLD, not tepid!

I thank J&D for letting me be a part of their special day, and can't wait to see the pictures! Oh, ok, I guess I can wait until you get back from the honeymoon!!

*J*

Wedding Reading of the Day

What is Love?

Love is just not looking at each other and saying "You're wonderful".There are times when we are anything but wonderful.
Love is looking out in the same direction. It is linking our strength to pull a common load. It is pushing together towards the far horizons, hand in hand.
Love is knowing that when our strength falters, we can borrow the strength of someone who cares. Love is a strange awareness that our sorrows will be shared and made lighter by sharing; that joys will be enriched and multiplied by the joy of another.
Love is knowing someone else cares that we are not alone in life.

Walter Rinder

Random ramblings

I've been slack this week with posting here, I know that. It's just been a bit of a slack week all round! Miss Z has had gastro for the last 2 days, so she, I and the washing machine are all exhausted. She's back to her chirpy self today, so all is well. Wish I could say the same for the washing maching, but it's making some strange noises. Rebellion, I suspect.

It's pissing down with rain (again) so I'm thinking it's soup time. I want to share the recipe for my favouritest soup in the universe just because I want to share the love!!

SPICY THAI PUMPKIN SOUP

Butternut pumpkin (as much as you want)

Red Thai chilli paste (homemade much, much better)

Onion, chillies, garlic and coriander (as much as you want)

Olive oil

Stock (chicken or veggie, whatever floats your boat)

1 tin coconut milk

• Peel the pumpkin and cut into large chunks


• Drizzle lightly with olive oil, s&p if you like it and roast in oven for around 20 minutes


• While this is roasting, chop up the onions, chillies, garlic and the roots of the coriander together with the chilli paste and stir fry in large pot until soft.


• Add pumpkin when roasted, and stir around for a bit to coat and mush all the yumminess together.


• Add stock to cover and simmer until it goes even mushier, I usually do it for 30 - 60 minutes on low.


• Let it cool a wee bit and whizz the crap out of it with a bamix until relatively smooth, but not too smooth, as a few chunky bits are yummo.


• Return to heat, add coconut milk and re-heat, but try not to let it boil or the coconut milk can go wonky.

Serve with toasted garlic Turkish bread and eat until full.

Repeat until no soup left.

I often make a huge vat of this stuff at the weekend and live on it for most of the week!

OK, so there's a soup recipe. What else shall I ramble about? Oh, I know. I meant to post this other favourite picture of Miss Z the other day but couldn't find which file it was buried in. Now I've found it so here you go...

Well, the kitchen is screaming at me to please clean it up and then make soup in it, so that's it for now. I found some great wedding readings online last night, so will share them later.

*J*