UK Reception, and on to Honeymoon #2

When we were planning our wedding, we knew we'd have to do two celebrations to accommodate our families. After planning one wedding, I was pretty much over that, so I let Lawrence take the next one into his own hands, it was in his country and for his family after all.

Hour 8? 9? So tired...

Flying east to England from the US is always an overnight flight.  From Salt Lake City, it's about 12 hours, and I always have to switch planes because there are no straight flights from Salt Lake to London. It makes for some pretty heft jet-lag, but I've now started to invest in sleep aids; this time I must have slept more than I originally thought, because I actually made it through the entire first day after I landed, so my jet lag wasn't too bad this time. Which was good, because the reception was the day after.

The reception. I'll start by saying this: Shanelle is not a big socializer. Really. I don't like large gatherings or crowds, and I don't like being surrounded by a bunch of people I don't know. I also hate small talk, and I hate repeating myself; so needless to say, I wasn't much looking forward to this reception, but it went over alright. I mostly just wanted to eat, because I was pretty dang hungry. Lawrence did most of the talking, and I did most of the eating.

I did have the chance to wear my wedding dress again--though for some reason everything seems to think that is fun. It isn't. Wedding dresses are not comfortable, and they take up a lot of space in your luggage, but everyone insisted, so I did it. I had a stand-by dress to change into, though, after everyone saw me in the dress. (Sidenote: getting ready for a wedding event without your girlfriends is really not as fun, and kind of lonely, don't take those girls for granted!)

It was a pretty informal affair, not professional photographer, a cold buffet, no set schedule, Lawrence didn't wear his whole suit, and I wore a cocktail dress half the night. There were a couple of impromptu speeches urged by Lawrence's parents, but I didn't have to say one. We had a live band (well, duo, really) who were very friendly. Lawrence and I spent a good 20 minutes to half an hour chatting with them; mostly because they weren't asking us the same 10 questions everyone else was.

Lawrence's mother made us a traditional English wedding cake; a large fruit cake aged in brandy for two months, covered in a layer of marzipan and a thick layer of solid icing. She garnished it in candy ribbons and fresh flowers.  It was simple, but sweet looking. She also made cupcakes because not everyone (hardly anyone) likes fruitcake. 

We had so much food left over at the end of the night, guests were going away with doggy bags, even the band. (Lawrence and I joke that it was probably the best gig the band ever did, free drinks, free food, and a long break just chatting with us.) Everyone seemed to have a good time, and Lawrence and I were both thoroughly relieved when it was over.

It was pretty late when we got home, and we had to get up really early to get a taxi to the train station for our flight to Dublin. Also, a really long day. Stay tuned for the Ireland Adventure!


~SGC