(Written on January 9th)
Today (the big day,) began in an unexpected way, with me lying in bed and seeing Hugo trying to do something to the alarm clock by the bedside table. I was literally lost in thinking what he was doing, and just as he walked away moments later, what sound like the loudest ticking time bomb ever, began to make a horrible noise. But of course, it was the alarm clock that Hugo had set literally only moments earlier.
(To say there were a few expletives being bellowed out at just after 7am when this happened could be called an understatement.)
Following this charade, we went and had what would be the final breakfast in the life of Hugo as an unmarried man! We then began getting ready for our departure time to the venue of 10.30am.
There genuinely were no problems with any of us getting ready. At 10.30 we did get a phone call explaining that there was apparenty a marathon taking place very close to the venue, and that we might need to be let through a police blokade!
Luckilly for us, this marathon didn't affect our journey at all.
When we arrived at the venue (Second Empire) it was quite simply, a fantastic place! It was beautiful, had won so many awards for it excellence service over the years according to the many plaques being displayed, it's phenominal interia design, basically it was brilliant!
We were greeted by the our reverend Kayelilly Middleton for the service and also given a run through as to what will be happeneing during the ceremony. The ceremony began at midday, and lasted for around 20 minutes. Vows were exchanged, and There was a reading from the the happy couple by Kayelilly using the lyrics of a Willie Nelson song, and an extract from the Japanese manga 'Bleach' expressing the devotion they have for each other. It was a really touching service, with aproximately 20 people (including the gromsmen) in attendance. I really did start welling up towards the end. It was a service that really touched me, mainly because it included content (for lack of a better word,) they wanted that had a strong conection with them. To know that they both got the service they were truely happy with added even more emotion to it in my opinion.
Another great thing about the service is that we were able to get Hugo's younger sister venetia on the phone to listen in for the whole ceremony through skype on my iPhone! There was no Internet available at the venue, but there was an unprotected wifi signal from the building next door! So I used that to get Venetia to listen in through skype (for free as she was using skype at home in the UK! I know they wished they could have streamed it live over the net (be it audio or video,) but given I only discovered this wifi connection 30 minutes before the ceremony began, it couldn't have been sorted.)
(I would also like to point out that Kayelilly actually keeps an ongoing blog about the weddings she reverends. Although at the time of writing this blog she has not updated with this one, her blog can be found at http://raleighweddingblog.blogspot.com )
Following the service, we went outside to take the photos, and afterwards headed downstairs inside Second Empire, for food. The quality of food was phenomenal. The starter was a salad that was very nice that I believe had a vinegar style dressing on. For my main course I selected to have a chicken pasta with vegetables. This so so nice, but honestly, after all the food I've indulged in over the past few days, I just couldn't finish it. But I can safely say it's perhaps the best pasta I've err had! And for desert we had cake (which was awesome), but not before the speech from the best man (Dan) gave his speech! It was a really good speech that painted a picture of the great man that Hugo is and how truely lucky Madison is to be married to him, and a funny story from their childhood which showed a 'cheating' side of Hugo in a game of pin the tail on the donkey.
In terms of the arrangement of guests, Madison and younger sister Morgan arrange it all. I was sat next to a man by the name of steve (who was a long tim friend of Ray, Madison's dad) along with sitting across from Taner (the official photographer) and Nicole (the wife of Steve). It almost felt like we were the wild card section of guests but this turned out not to be the case when it turned out Taner was a big football (soccer) fan, particularly European football (I'm an Arsenal fan). Nicole like American tv shows (amongst other subjects) and Steve, was a big fan of pro wrestling dating back to the 1980's with the legendary Jim Crockett promotions based in the Carolinas, as well as current pro wrestling also! I mentioned to Steve I hosted Dropkick Radio, and before you knew it we were talking wrestling non-stop for at least 20 to 30 minutes. He was testing me on my knowledge from the 1980's and I did not dissapoint!
(Honestly, the last thing I expected to be doing at Hugo's wedding was talking 1980's pro wrestling in depth with a close family friend of Madison! You can't predict things like that!)
From there myself, Lawrence and Dan departed back to the hotel and the happy newlyweds also did the same in their own vehicle. However it didn't take them long to end up in our room to finish an epic battle of... 4 WAY CHESS! Yes it does exsit and it's quite different to say the least!
It's a battle that went right down to the wire, with many occasions where someone (*cough* Hugo) forgot when his go was, it ended up being a stale mate, where there were laughs, tempers flared, and lots of strategy to be had in a game I actually wished I had played as it does seem quite brain teasing to say the least. They were planning on playing Risk! But we had to head to Madison's house for dinner. Now that last sentance may have sounded like I wasn't looking forward to it, but quite the opposite! I was really looking forward to it! I get on really well with all of Madison's family that I've met, so this was sure to be a fun evening... and that it was!
We essentially just chilled out with some finger food, some ice cold drinks (beer for me,) and some fun casual conversations! Most of the food we got in was from a fast food outlet called 'Bojangles' which is prodominantly chicken (like KFC) but in many ways better. And we just sat around and chatted about a whole variety of subjects. In fairness probably what we all needed really. It just a really fun evening, however I
starting to think that I'm getting acustomed to Budweiser/Bud Light. I've had a fair amount by my standards over the the last few days.
Tomorrow it's a brunch at 9.30am, Dan flies home at about 6pm, and who knows what else could happen!
Until then, take care!
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