Mr & Mrs - Take 2

My visit home this time was arranged as soon as both brides announced their wedding dates at the end of last year. They were to be a week (and the length of the M4) apart. Phew!

My second weekend was therefore dedicated to Vicky, who I met only in 2007, when we were both posted for work, in Chennai. Our friendship is one that grew, with a holiday in Vietnam the following year and ongoing correspondence as I remained overseas with work. It was Vicky's "Henanigans" weekend that I arranged back in June and here we are, at the wedding day, which at that time, seemed such a long way off!

I picked her up from her flat in Tooting yesterday and drove her to our home for the next two nights - a swanky 5* hotel in the city! Very plush, and very smug with my cunning lastminte.com secret deal that I bagged a few months ago, 95% sure that it would come up with where lots of the wedding party would be staying.
After finally getting rid of the hire-car, which I was relieved about after an afternoon of stressful London driving, we went off to get our nails done and then kicked back. The evening was a fairly quiet and early one, although I left her to it for a couple of hours or so - catching up with rellies and the like, while I popped down to St. Paul's to meet up with my friend Gordon and his other half MK, who I couldn't recall when I last saw... What we did manage to recall however, was that it was 9 years ago to the date that we first met, on my first day of my new job at Heathrow, where he was to be my 'mentor' for four weeks. He's had a tough year, so it was good to see him looking so well. We caught up with the news and gossip over a couple of ciders, which was just lovely.

So, in complete contrast to last week's wedding in Wales, after a fairly relaxed but busy morning of breakfasting, a quick walk, hair &makeup etc, Vicky & Tom said "I do" in Chelsea Registry Office (in glorious sunshine) and white (black)cabbed it to Clerkenwell, while the guests went by an old Route-master, to the Portal restaurant, which they'd hired for their reception.

The whole day was just exquisite. Very relaxed and informal, but with top-drawer food and excellent service in glorious surroundings. Another stunning wedding, which I thoroughly enjoyed and will remember for a long long long time!