Two weekends ago we spent two days in Reading for a wedding in which we brought extra bedding. IAC and I awoke early on Saturday and picked up our friend K for the ~4 hour drive to Reading to attend the wedding of our new Aber friends T&C. Fortunately only one of us got car sick taking the Welsh backroads for two hours (that would be me). After checking into our hotel room early and sneaking one of us into the room for two (that would be me again with an air mattress and sheets, IAC and K decided they would be the legit ones), we drove to the site of the wedding, the Reading Grammar School. I know that for some of our American readers, getting married at your middle or high school may not sound that exciting, but keep in mind this school and building are old, really old. The school is 884 years old as it was founded as part of the Reading Abbey in 1125. It was since refounded in 1486 and this is the date when they started keeping track of who is in charge.
The wedding ceremony took place in the chapel. As this was our first British wedding, we were excited to see the differences between our familiar American weddings. All that I knew about British weddings was that Hugh Grant usually shows up sooner or later. The other thing I was told to expect was the presence of “hats” and kilts. I use “hats” loosely because I am sure that some of them may have just been wild birds that came to nest.
Hats and Kilts
The other differences between the two types of weddings were the order of events and the legal hurdles that were required to be jumped. When the rings were exchanged and the vows given, C lifted T’s veil and sealed their love with a kiss, I glanced over at IAC to comment on the quickness of the wedding but reviewed the program and realized that we were only half-way done with the ceremony. After more legal necessities spoken by the officiant, the signing of the registries (plural) took place.
Signing their lives together/away
When the ceremony finally ended, all of us walked over to the main school building to partake in mulled wine and hors d’oeuvres. The wine was good, especially in the cold, windy Saturday afternoon. The time before the reception was spent alternately finding more finger foods and where the warmest part of the school was. After a giant group photo was taken we took our seats at the reception. To appreciate the multinational flavor of the wedding, at our table were two Americans (us), a Welsh woman, two Dutch, an Aussie, and an English woman. It is possible we were the mutants at table 9 (start around 1:35).
The night finished off with some classic cake cutting:
T & C cutting the cake
and some good ol’ embarrassment:
C had the time of his life
As we filed out of the school to send off the bride and groom we heard someone fall around the corner behind us. We turn to see what the commotion is to find a drunk Scotsman being supported by his kilt wearing Father and brother(?) to a bench outside the school. What was most of note was not the fact that someone was so roaring drunk at the wedding, it was the familiarity at which the family (the Mother was there too) knew what roles to take in the situation. As I have said before, events like this don’t do anything to dispel stereotypes.
All in all it was a great weekend to share with friends on their wedding day and the beginning of their new life together. Congrats T & C.
