Upon deciding to get married abroad one thing became abundantly apparent. We were going to have to place our trust in other people. A LOT! We were fortunate; whilst in most cases couples are forced to trust their wedding to a glossy magazine and the odd review from couples desperate to show how their wedding was better than anyone else’s, Dom and I were able to place our trust and responsibility over the most important day of our lives in the hands of people we know and love, Kathryn and Peter, my future mother and father in law.
Now, Dom is very close to her family and we really do trust them implicitly. They would do anything for Dom and their help and guidance over the years have helped to shape Dominique into the woman I love today. They have taken me into their family and treated me like one of their own and I’m incredibly grateful. However weddings are hugely individual and a massive question of personal taste…and Peter, though not born in Sheffield, supports Sheffield Wednesday…out of choice…I can’t deny I was a little concerned!
We chose to have our wedding in a place that holds very fond memories for us. When Dom and I first started going out, all those years ago, La Palma was the first place we holidayed together and I remembered it like it was yesterday… the holiday of a lifetime, glorious and impeccable: as we walked the streets all gooey eyed over our love for one another, stopping in the local shops to purchase unique local products, travelling all around the island and basking in the tropical heat. Simply flawless. It really was such a perfect memory until, that is, Dom reminded me of a few basic facts.
Gooey eyed I was, though not so much over the purity of our love as the humongous stinging eye infection I had for at least half of the holiday. We stopped in the local shops many times looking for unique products, but all of these products had one thing in common: they were all various treatments for the jellyfish sting Dom had picked up after going for that tropical swim in those crystal clear waters, and each were accompanied by an intriguing mime act as we tried to work out the international sign language for “stung by a jellyfish” to great hilarity but little of the desired result. Travel the island we did, though in a backfiring bus rather than the idyllic “floating on air” kind of travel cushioned amongst my softening memories, and the heat was tropical…only without the tropical rain; in fact as I now recall at the time of our arrival it was roughly the climate of the Sahara desert in the midday sun, and as we walked the deserted streets in the blistering heat we saw fewer reveling locals and more mentally handicapped canines…though, come to think of it, even they were cowering in the shade.
So when Kathryn and Peter returned from their scouting mission we didn’t know quite what to expect. Were our fond fading memories of this tropical volcanic island really just the idyllic dreams of a young naive couple in love? Would our beautiful paradise wedding turn into an explosive lava of approaching dread lightened only by five star reviews of our internationally acclaimed performance of jellyfish based mime?
As Kathryn entered the room, iPad in hand, she looked both excited and frankly knackered. “We’ve done quite a bit” she said. “We got a little bit carried away”. I didn’t know quite how to take this statement; either she had booked and paid for everything the salespeople suggested and I could be about to walk down the aisle in a pink tutu and someone else’s choice of tights, or they had simply enthusiastically carried out our instructions.
“Now this is the church.” There was an uncomfortable pause as my trembling hand slowly grasped the edge of the Apple gizmo and pulled it towards me ready to make potentially false appreciative noises… “Aha…oh right yeah it’s kind of…erm….it’s… well it’s… …. show me the next one…. wow… so its, well it’s …and another… it’s…it’s… IT’S FRICKING AMAZING!!!”
The pictures showed an astonishing drive through the mountains, climbing ever higher until, under an almost ethereal light, appears a stunning white church perched upon the hilltop surrounded by breathtaking scenery, incredible forestry and sheer cliffs moulded by the spiraling flow of volcanic ash from the monstrous crater within. Peter and Kathryn had well and truly come up trumps. Paddington, not being one to be undone, had apparently also come up trumps but in a less constructive and rather more sprout-based fashion.
Evacuating the room we poured a fresh cup of tea and learnt more about their “relaxing holiday” organising more of the wedding details. They had booked a car: a sleek red 30’s style Ford to transport us in the style we had always dreamed of. They had bought outdoor candles for the guests to carry down and illuminate the beach once the formal reception was over. They had reserved virtually every apartment in La Palma, ensuring provision for both a cot for the my new niece or nephew currently named Embryo (or Embrya if it’s a girl), as well as beachside apartments directly over the bar to ensure my staggering groomsmen would always get home! They had even purchased enough champagne to launch an entire battle-fleet (though I remain unconvinced that this wasn’t just for personal consumption)!
In short they had done an amazing job and our wedding planning was well and truly in safe hands. The provisional scouting had been a massive success and, though we ourselves only have one week over in La Palma before the wedding to plan the big day, we could rest knowing that the wheels were already turning and the biggest decisions could all now be made.
So here’s to the people who work so hard to help make your wedding a massive success, to those that slave away behind the scenes to make sure every detail is as perfect as the bride tells the groom that he’s always wanted it to be. To those friends and family that stay up all night worrying the night before to the wedding so that you don’t have to and to those who slave away for the simple reward of seeing that beaming smile upon the face of the happiest bride and groom they’ll ever know.
Here’s to you all.
Cheers!
