Different times

36 years ago.  Seems like yesterday. 

I was looking through our wedding photographs this morning, thinking it might be a good idea to scan and upload a few so I don’t have to use the same old one I trot out every year on this date.  I couldn’t help but contrast our small album of 36 proofs and the big brown leather album containing the dozen selected enlargements with Seb and Maria’s Facebook “sneak peek” yesterday, uploaded by the photographer.

Lovely, spirited photographs of a special day, capturing the moment beautifully.  They make our photographs look so posed and our discomfort and awkwardness is clear in several of them, even if the first picture I used today is a hint of the way wedding photography was moving.  It’s the exception, though, and most of our pictures are what could best be described as traditional poses.

As you know from my previous post, I took a couple of pictures in the church during Seb and Maria’s wedding, but as I did, something I’d read online a few months ago was uppermost in my mind and I quietly put my camera away.   Seb and Maria’s celebration was a small, mostly family affair and though several guests took an occasional photograph, they were not intrusive and I don’t think they got in the way of the professional at all.  It’s a fine balance though, and though he was there to record the ceremony of course, at times I found his presence distracting.

It’s a dilemma, though, isn’t it?  Though we wanted photographs of our big day in the same way as every bride and groom, we’d have preferred a more natural record of the whole event rather than three dozen snapshots.  Actually, we did get a surprisingly natural recording because my Hero’s Auntie Joan hid a cassette recorder in her handbag and taped the lot – even if it was she and Uncle Tobe singing the hymns which came through the loudest!

For now, then, I’m so glad Seb and Maria didn’t put on a “performance”, ready to be uploaded to FB, YouTube and everywhere else, because a wedding day is so much more than that.  36 years later is probably a great time to reflect on that thought.

And the next big thing?  Oh my goodness.

Happy days

What a lovely couple of days we’ve had here, celebrating the wedding of a sweet young couple, Sebastian and Maria.  Seb and Edward have been the best of friends since they were in the pre-prep and we’ve watched both of them grow into fine young men.  Even so, when they are together, the spirit and characters of those two small boys remain and when Seb invited Edward to be his best man it was a lovely acknowledgement of their lasting friendship. 

For us, it was a real delight to watch them both.  Edward took his responsibilities seriously, doing his best to support the anxious bridegroom and most of our phone conversations last week began with “we’ve been thinking…”  The sweetest outcome of these chats continued “…that it’d be a good idea for Seb to stay with us the night before”, so on Wednesday night we had a houseful of slightly nervous but quite excited friends, full of anticipation for the big day ahead.

It was a beautiful day from start to finish. We weren’t sure what to expect from the Nuptial Mass ceremony, held in a local Priory church but knew that it was going to include quite a few personal touches to both families.  In particular, we knew there would be music, because our friends are great musicians and several of their friends and colleagues were going to play.  We also expected the ceremony to include some Mexican traditions, acknowledging Maria’s family culture, too.  So when the bride’s mother stepped forward to read from the Bible, it seemed natural that she read in Spanish.  All wedding services are special, of course, but this one was tailor-made and from the bi-lingual readings to the ushering-activities of five kilted cousins from the Scottish side of the family, this one was especially so.

For me, the most delightful aspect throughout was that the bride and groom spoke to one another, face to face rather than standing side by side as I seem to remember my Hero and I did some 36 years ago next week.  Now I understood why Seb had expressed a slight anxiety that they would both have a fit of giggles during the ceremony, because at times like this, when we’re nervous, that kind of thing occasionally happens.  But he needn’t have worried because both bride and groom were fully committed to the serious promises they were making and the sincerity of their words and love for one another was clear to see.

 

We knew from a conversation with Seb that morning that he’d been especially worried about one particular stage of the ceremony: The tradition of the thirteen gold coins which the groom passes to the bride at some point.  He’d envisaged dropping them, of them slipping through his shaking hands or Maria not managing to hold her hands steadily enough to catch them.  But all fears unfounded, for the thirteen coins were successfully presented and all was well!

It had been a cold and rather showery start to the day but the collected crossed fingers of friends, relatives and the hundred or so ladies at the WI meeting I’d spoken to on Wednesday evening (which included the now-retired boys’ reception teacher) worked the magic, because as the married couple stepped out of the church, the sun put in a brief appearance and those dark clouds held off for a while.

The wedding reception, in a local hotel, was a fitting celebration of the couple too.  The bride’s father spoke of his lovely daughter in Spanish with simultaneous translation provided by the groom, the bridegroom himself gave a typically modest and self-effacing but heartfelt speech which generously left the ground clear for the best man.  Edward did his friend proud and confirmed what we all know already: Seb and Maria are a very special couple indeed and we all wish them every happiness as they start their life together.

Practice practice

On the “About me” page, I describe myself as someone who wants to do it all perfectly in the next five minutes.  Though that’s pretty accurate, I recognise that if something does go right first time, then (in professional-speak) “opportunities for learning are missed”.  We’ve been watching the new series of Masterchef and noting how frequently the contestants who go straight through to the second round without the need to participate in the cook-off are eliminated.  It’s almost as though the weaker cooks gain an advantage from that extra time spent in the kitchen.

In the last few days, I’ve been gaining advantage from extra time spent with my sewing machine!

I accepted a challenge recently and thought that I’d get on and get ahead.  With a couple of days open on my calendar, it seemed a good time to prepare one or two things to have up my sleeve for when life gets busy again.  So, out came the sewing machine and a small gadget called the “Spanish Hemstitch Equipment” and I sat down to create some samples.

I’d not gone very far before I decided that it was a waste of time creating mere sample pieces.  Why not use the practice pieces to make something useful?  Actually, in the small instruction book which came in the box with the gadget, there was a small project for a table mat.  I had fabric and thread on hand (!) so I cut and prepared the pieces as recommended.

I even got out my overlocker and serged the edges.  My goodness, that was quite an adventure in itself!

I finished some of the edges too, but as I did, crisis struck.

I needed to refill the bobbin and when I replaced it, I got an error message.  The hook wouldn’t engage.  At this point, I didn’t panic – the same thing had happened before and I had been given advice about what to do. 

This time, though, I got a different message.  Oh dear.

Help!  Thankfully, I have a very good friend with considerably more experience than I have and several emails later, all was well.

I’d also added two or three other “tricks” to my repertoire of actions to take when things don’t go quite right.  Every cloud has a silver lining, eh?

I was going to need to use every one of those tricks in the next few days, because things didn’t go quite right.  Remember, I not only expect to be an instant expert but I’d like it all to turn out perfectly too?  (Even if this is only a sample; a practice piece!)

So I ripped it out.  Frogged it, as they say (ripit ripit, geddit?)

I decided that I needed to work a practice piece so that my practice project would turn out ok.  After all, I need a respectable piece of work at the end of all of this, please.  Second rate just will not do!

Even after much practice though, yesterday afternoon did not yield a single respectable sample.  More practice is needed.

A pity that most of my practice is in frogging it, though.