MY BEST FRIENDS’ WEDDINGS!! (Summer 06)

Clare & Mathew’s Wedding!!

One wedding in the girly gang is enough generally enough to keep me happy for the entire summer. But when Clare rang me at Christmas to gurgle that she and Mathew were engaged I knew this was going to a fabulous summer!! The wedding itself was again stretched over the weekend, as the traditionally Irish, O’Toole weddings are. The party continued till the wee (if 6.00 am can be described as wee) hours of the morning in the residents bar, accompanied by the O’Toole orchestra (4 guitars and an assortment of wind and string instruments led by Clare’s dad, cousins and uncles). Given the quality of the music by the end of the night, I had almost forgiven Clare’s dad for dredging up embarrassing stories of the University days (which unfortunately implicated a few more people than Clare) in the Speeches. All the O’Toole sisters (who formed the beautiful quadrate of bridesmaids) were almost as radiant as the bride. And I hardly recognised Clare, (in a simple but elegant full length dress and a frothing organdie veil) from the giddy and gurgling partner in crime who shared all my university adventures, from founding the Irish society, to all the various campaigns we were a part of (from friends of Ireland, completely lunatic Irish parades! SDLP, Tuition fee campaigns, Jubilee Debt to most recently war on Iraq research). Clare had been a member of the SU exec with me (till all the politics disillusioned her) as well as on the ‘Prophet’ editorial staff. When the union nearly went bankrupt we had stayed up late into the night debating over cutbacks for weeks on end, and when I ran for student Union President she had been there supporting my ludicrous cartoon campaign. Clare had kept my idealism alive and my taste for mad escapades satisfied. And now she had found someone equally idealistic to join her in her crusades to make the world a better place. I don’t know why I felt sad, or cried when they made their vows (the girly gang sniffling along side me didn’t help!!), but it felt like the end of an era, but certainly a crowning celebration of a fantastic decade!!

Christine’s & Steve’s Wedding!!

Given my secret ambition to become a wedding planner, this summer was a wish fulfilment where 2 of my best friends got married (among 7 other weddings- The world is going mad!!!). The weeks spent shoe shopping for Christine’s wedding itself was gala of girly giggles (sorry can’t help my self with alliteration). The unorthodox wedding shoes that went seeking all over Liverpool were finally found to the brides satisfaction after many an expedition (the groom nearly had a nervous breakdown- as he was dragged into EVERY shoe shop in Liverpool). Being the Brides best friends, it was our duty to aid and abet her to try every shoe in the shop on. Rachel and I helped ourselves to a few luscious shoes ourselves (as the photographs will betray!!) But more than anything else this pilgrimage to Chipperfield (a little village in Hemel) was a celebration of all the girly years of sharing our dreams and disappointments together. Having watched Christine and Steve muddle along over Oceans and mountains (quite literally) this fairy tale was truly a victory over distance and disaster.