Wedding Weekend

Blimey I didn't realise I had been away for so long.
Not sure where to start really.
I suppose last weekend would be a good place as it was a special and very happy occasion.
Earlier in the year  I had been invited to the wedding of one of my mums oldest friends and someone who has known me since I was a little girl.

I had also been given the honour of making the wedding cake....EEEK!
In between the chaos of making the cake and decorating our little garden room I decided it would be a good time at having a bash at making a dress for said wedding....... I really don't know what I was thinking!
 Anyway our little jaunt started on thursday when we travelled up to a rather blustery Cumbria, the cake had gone on ahead a week or so prior, so no worries there - or so I thought but that's  another story.

The Old Vicarage at Ravenstonedale was to be our home for the next two days.

I can highly recommend this place and the lovely owners were so welcoming and friendly, they even made tea and brought cake for us on our arrival.

The wedding itself was to be an intimate gathering of family and close friends, some who knew each other and some who didn't so Thursday evening the guests met at the couple's home for a little gathering.
I have visited their beautiful cottage  a couple of times before (you can read about it here) so I knew it was going to be a lovely evening. Everyone got to know each other a little which meant by the time the wedding came around on friday everyone seemed to be very relaxed.

This gorgeous vintage bus picked us up along with most of the wedding party to take us to the church.
However my mum and I along with another friend had been asked if we would go back to the cottage and escort the bride down the lane and to the church. This was a lovely moment especially for my mum and the bride's brother who was to give her away.
Unfortunately I had chosen to wear my battered old converse to walk down the lane as not to get my wedding shoes dirty, sadly I didn't get the chance to nip back on to the bus for my 'proper/grown up lady' shoes and ended up walking to the front of the church in my old faithfuls

After a beautiful service we all boarded the bus to head off to the reception, this was kept top secret right up to the very last minute, even the destination on our boarding ticket threw us off the scent

We were kept in suspense until the bus eventually came to a stop in the grounds of the very beautiful Augill Castle,  the most perfect place for a wedding

even the loos were amazing despite being unisex!

As a friend of mine pointed out when she saw the photos, it does actually look as though I was the only guest at a pretend wedding but the couple are very private and I wanted to respect this privacy so no I hadn't gate crashed an empty castle, there were other people there honest!

The celebrations didn't end there because after the wedding breakfast we were taken back to our B&B  for a quick wash and brush up before heading back on our little bus for the very last time back to the bride and grooms village hall for a ceilidh.
I have to say I didn't get up and dance because  a) I had eaten far too much and   b) I hadn't drunk anywhere near enough!

It was a beautiful couple of days but I missed my boys and it was lovely to see them both when I finally returned home. I am such a home bird!

Oh yes remember I mentioned the cake...well despite the fact it was dropped before it even left Sheffield (NOT by me I hasten to add) it didn't look too bad and the bride and groom were very pleased, I don't even think any of the guests saw me whip out my cake tool kit  and do a spot of emergency repair!!!

well that was my weekend