Mr. and Mrs.

The much-planned day arrived at last, and I'm only just recovering from it three weeks later. A full-on day with canapes and fizz in the grounds, then formal civil service in the hall, then more milling around with the guests, then back into the hall now laid out for the wedding breakfast, then speeches from the two proud fathers, the best man and the maid of honour and the groom - 5 sheets of paper thanking lots of people and generally being soppy, which brought tears to my eyes as well as to his. Then - formal photos in the grounds, then cutting the (very elaborate) cake, then more mingling while the room was cleared for dancing (I went to get changed and have a little lie down), then a DJ and flashing lights - I managed to watch for an hour before my Apple watch told me that 90 decibels was a health danger - then a buffet (couldn't face more food), then people mostly moved outside onto the large terrace until it got too cold and dark - then people frequented the "photo booth", a setup where you could have 3 pictures taken with 10 seconds between, in which time you could choose props from a box - cowboy hats, rubber masks, silly signs etc, then at 11pm I had to call it a day two hours before the finish, to hobble back to the accommodation (the Stable) shared with daughters and their offspring and partner. As the venue was originally a sprawling farm, now very plush, the outbuildings had been turned into accommodation - the Piggery, the workers' cottages, the Smithy etc. Too many pictures to post, hard to choose which, so in extras there's (1) #1GD and #2GD on a swing, (2) #1GS looking very dapper, (3) the bride and her bridesmaids posing normally in the photobooth, (4) me and my 4 babies, and (5) #2GD sitting on a model sheep concentrating on a bag of sweets from the complimentary rustic sweet barrrow, while #1S tries to get a picture of her before one of the other Flower Girls tried to take over the sheep and the sweets.
It was the first time I've seen a bunch of my ex-inlaws for over 20 years, but rather than being awkward it was lovely - we had some nice chats and I met great-nephews and -nieces for the first time. I still remember their parents as children. This time-passing thing shakes me to the core.