The big event

I didn't speak for six days. Six days! And it turns out that when I quit talking, my soft-spoken husband does not step up to the plate. It was very quiet at our house, except for my vicious coughing fits, of course. But I'm feeling much better today. So without further ado, I present the following highlight of my holiday:

"Why my English Wedding was So Very English"

1. The reception was held in this beautiful building. The interior was filled with exposed wooden beams and fireplaces, and I'm pretty sure one room had a tapestry hanging in it.

2. The before-dinner drink was sherry. I know that we do drink this here, but at an American wedding, I'm betting the aperitif would have been a martini or white wine.

3. The wedding cake was fruitcake. Cool, huh? It's the traditional wedding cake choice in England. And it's rather practical, because instead of worrying about butter cream melting when the cake is delivered on the day of the do, they can give you the marzipan-iced cake a few weeks beforehand. After all, fruitcake only gets better with age.

4. The main course was meat (mushrooms for the vegetarians), veggies, and roasted potatoes. No silly pasta or rice.

5. It also the custom, apparently, to feed your guests until they explode. If you arrived early to the church, there was tea and biscuits. After the short ceremony, we all headed to the reception for sherry and appetizers. Followed by the soup, the main course, and dessert. Then it was time for wedding cake. If you were still hungry, don't despair! A few short hours there was a full buffet dinner. It was all very good, but I must admit that I didn't really pull my own weight by the time we got to the buffet.

Unfortunately, there was one disappointment. Observe the following photo:
Note that only one person, my dear mother-in-law, is wearing a hat. It turns out that it's only common to wear them to summer weddings. And I was so looking forward to a stunning display of British millinery.

And now I've had two weddings, so I must be well and truly married.