Wedding! Wedding!

When hearts are full to overflowing, words do not come easily.

Richard and I were, as usual, up early on Jonny and Adele's big day.

We whizzed down to The Old Hall to put up the last signs, put out the drinks on the tables and set out the lights. Hanging lanterns and tea lights in jam jars would light the way late in the evening for guests, as they made their way across the field and back through the orchard to their cars. Then, up to the church to leave flower baskets full of petals.

There really WAS nothing more to do...

Wedding Day!

Finally.

Yesterday we all pitched in to prepare the marquee.

The tables were set with pretty blue table runners, blue and country flowers in charming antique glass bottles and candles.

Fairy lights draped the edges of the marquee while tea lights in jam jars and an hanging lanterns were to light the way from the car park, through the orchard and across the field.

The toilets arrived. A serious upgrade, they no longer deserve the label 'portaloo'.

Signs point the way, drinks are set out, food is being prepared.

Tissues are to hand. All is ready.

Finally.

Wedding preview..

The day before...

we have collected and delivered drinks..

....set up the marquee with tables and chairs...

...and waited for the generator and the portaloos. The latter arrived, but retired in disorder after an unfortunate encounter with a cherry tree. The portaloo lost its head and the tree lost a limb.

Still, the toilet sign is there ready waiting..

#wedding break

In the middle of this (delightfully busy) week, we took a break and had a day out with Phil and Judy, our future daughter-in-law's parents. We are sharing a cottage together just a couple of miles from the venue, helping Jonny and Adele with their preparations. What a delight and a blessing to be together - heart friends who will soon (very very soon) be family, too.

We went on an expedition to discover the Norfolk Broads.

First stop was Horning, on the river, with an impromptu - and very detailed - tour of an old wherry. Fascinating to think of lives long ago and the joys and hardships of river life.

The Albion, a preserved but still working Norfolk wherry

We thought of hiring a boat but made our way up to Irstead, a lovely country church with a thatched roof. Walking along a boardwalk through a pretty wetland to Barton Broad, where sailing boats of all sizes skimmed back and forth, there were dragonflies, woodpeckers and all kinds of wild flowers and herbs. Beautifully peaceful.

Judy and Phil inside the tiny cabin

Love the Norfolk Tudor architecture!

Near Barton Broad

Irstead church with its thatched roof

Barton Broad

Rural Norfolk yielded a gated level-crossing, where we had to phone for permission to cross and an idyllic lawn by the river, with ducks and geese and canoes and rowing boats and... a veritable Ratty heaven.

Add in a cream tea and good company - a real Day Out...

And I am officially In Love with Norfolk In The Summer. Paradise.

#wedding

We look - semi-anxiously - at weather forecasts, wondering if the rain threatening to come on Saturday will arrive.

Meanwhile, the sun blazes down on our rural retreat and we enjoy the peace and quiet.

Our hearts are calm, our hands busy.

We have all spent more hours than we can count on preparing the grounds of The Old Hall at Barnham Broom, where the reception is to be held. The Old Hall is a beautiful Tudor mansion with an Elizabethan addition, the home of a good friend of Jonny's, whose parents have kindly allowed them to hold the wedding reception in a marquee on their land. In preparation, Jonny has manfully cleared rubbish, cut back bushes, made a crude bridge over the remains of the moat of the Tudor house and strimmed grass from the orchard.

We have put together the order of service and rose petals, lavender and hydrangea flower confetti into paper cones.

The table cloths and table runners have all been ironed, too.

And the marquee goes up!

Wedding countdown

It is only four more 'sleeps' until The Wedding.

We have arrived in Norfolk, after a hectic weekend of lovely visitors and preparing the house for our absence and kind friends coming to look after Pickle Dog. The summer has been absolutely fantastic, so the joy of sunny days has seemed endless. It has been too wonderful being outside to write a blog.

But still, I have written in my mind as I have dried rose and flower petals, gathered childhood photos for creating bunting for the marquee and gathered Jonny's belongings to bring over.

He is marrying and leaving his home, his father and his mother to be united with his wife. How good, how right, how happy...

My mind and heart are full to overflowing.

A June Bride: book review A Year of Weddings

Our June Bride, Wynne Hardy, suffering from rejection when Callum broke her heart, agreed to let her friend Picky send a video clip of her to reality TV show The Rejection Connection. Surprisingly, she is selected and on it, she meets Andy, who, catching her unawares, proposes to her on air. She accepts, and the wedding machine, accompanied by a huge amount of publicity, is set in motion.

Yet Callum suddenly reappears, and Wynne's life is thrown into confusion. Add in interfering Meredith, a 'star' from TV programme Marathon Mom, hectic plans for a very public beach wedding, lots of conflicting feelings and a 'June wedding' is thrown into doubt. Will it really happen, in spite of all the plans?

Wynne is surrounded by secrets and intrigue, particularly from Meredith, her new-found friend. Can she unravel and understand what is happening, not least, within herself as both Andy and Callum claim her affections?

I enjoyed MaryBeth's writing, though I worked out what would happen fairly early on. I found the clues rather too obvious and would have liked to have been kept guessing a little more. Still, what did I expect? This is a light-hearted, short, romantic novel, perfect for whiling away a couple of summer hours on the beach. Good fun.

About the author: Marybeth Whalen is the wife of Curt and mom of six children. She is the director of She Reads, an online book club focused on spotlighting the best in women's fiction. Marybeth is the author of The Mailbox, She Makes It Look Easy and The Guest Book. Marybeth spends most of her time in the grocery store but occasionally escapes long enough to scribble some words. She's always at work on her next novel. Marybeth and her family live in North Carolina. You can find her online at www.marybethwhalen.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLookblogger program. I was not required to write a positive review.