So, we went to this wedding...

[Ian]

Yeah, almost a week ago, I know...

But here (http://www.imsmultimedia.co.uk/Gallery/thumbnails.php?album=1) are the pics. Note that there are more pics of the castle & grounds than of the wedding itself, & I actually took more than I put in the gallery, but I left some out because they were basically duplicates, or not as good as the ones I included. LL, BM, & H took plenty too, & I know some of theirs are different to mine.

[Dux]

Is that Leeds Castle? Your friends had their wedding there? That's so cool! I'm incredibly jealous. I was there back in 1998 and it truly is one of the most beautiful castles in the UK.

Did you get to stay on the grounds for the night? I remember strolling through the aviary with my mom and being trailed by an overly friendly duck as we wandered the grounds. (I even have a pic of the duck somewhere I should prolly scan it in the compy for avatar creation purposes).

The ladies looked lovely btw - where are the pics of you?

[Jax]

Awesome!! I'm glad the wedding turned out spectacular for Maed! :good: :wub:

[Pernita]

What a wonderful set of photographs!
You do youself an injustice by thinking you do not take professional quality pics, Ian!
And the explanations are great to see too
It looks a fantastic occasion for all

[Wolfegar]

Great photos, Ian!

[Ian]

Dux, yes it was at Leeds, and yes, we did stay on the estate (our cottage was only about 5 minutes' walk from the castle itself).

Pernita, I didn't say I don't take good pictures, just that none of them did justice to that maginificent dress ;)

A brief history of time (well, two days anyway): we left York just after 10am on Sunday (BM & H had gone down on Friday to spend a couple of days in London first), got to Kings Cross & met up with them, then took a tube to London Bridge station, a train from there to Sevenoaks, & another from Sevenoaks to Bearsted, arriving there around 3pm. Bearsted is essentially a suburb of Maidstone these days, but still has the feel of a village, with a cricket pitch on the green, & nice old houses surrounding it (there wasn't any cricket being played when we passed through though). There's a shuttle bus runs hourly from Bearsted station to the castle, journey takes around 7 minutes.

Once we'd got to the castle we just told the guys on the gate that we were there for the wedding, & they just waved us through, & then when they saw we had luggage (well, H had a suitcase, LL & I were travelling light ;) ) they sent a car (more like an overgrown golf buggy) for us, so we felt like VIPs & I'm sure the people walking around the estate wondered who we were ;) Once we got to reception a very nice lady showed us to our cottage & explained a bit about the Culpepper garden (lots of herbs in there as well as roses & stuff, very much a traditional cottage garden) & the Mediterranean Terrace. Time to catch our breath, get all poshed-up & head over to the gatehouse for the wedding, which was at 5pm.

The ceremony itself didn't take very long & there was plenty of opportunity for pic-taking before we all spilled out into the sunshine (it was a perfect day weather-wise) while they got the place set up for the meal. The official photographer did all the customary group shots in front of the castle (we got in two, one as friends of the bride, & then the final one with everyone), & lots of unofficial ones were taken too. Plenty of time to walk around looking at the castle, gatehouse, old barbican & mill, & all the swans, ducks, & geese, as well as watching all the ladies get their heels stuck in the grass (the front of the lawn would be pretty well areated by the time we were done ;) ).

7.30, back indoors & we finally get to eat, having first been officially received by the wedding party (Bride, Groom, Best Man, Matron of Honour & bride's brother). The room where we ate was just off the one where the ceremony took place, so again dated from the 13th century.

The menu:
Potted smoked trout with horseradish cream
Mead sorbet (aka mead slushie ;) )
Roast pork with apple & sage compote, carrots, swede, & pearl barley
Rhubarb & cinnamon crumble with buttercream ice cream
Coffee & chocolates
Also very nice wine, & plenty thereof ;)

The tables had flower arrangements with candles in them, & when we'd finished the meal & done the pics with the cake (they didn't actually cut it) we, at the suggestion of the lady from the castle, (and sticking two fingers up at Health & Safety) who was organising things, took the flowers, with their unshielded candles, & walked (unsteadily in some cases & with much giggling & off-key singing) around the moat from the gatehouse to the terrace. LL was the only one whose candles didn't go out during the procession :)

Once we got to the terrace & restaurant there was a chocolate fountain set up, with marshmallows, strawberries, grapes, pineapple chunks, & mini-doughnuts available for dipping into it (yum!), as well as a table with crackers & various types of cheese. There was also a disco playing suitabley-themed songs if anyone wanted to dance. Having met KT's own Lady Wolf there (a nice surprise), we eventually staggered back to our house (all of 50 yards) at around 1.30am.

Next morning we reconvened for breakfast & said our farewells to those who were leaving straight away, before taking the opportunity to explore before the place opened to the public. It rained a bit at first but soon brightened up, & we went through the aviaries, the maze & the grotto, before heading to the castle itself, by which time hordes of French tourists had invaded! Once we'd "done" the castle (and picked up a few things at the shop, including a bottle of mead) it was time to head back to Bearsted station, by taxi this time, & make our way homewards.

Again it was a change of trains at Sevenoaks (there's no direct service between Bearsted & London on weekends or bank holidays), but this time we went to Charing Cross, rather than London Bridge, & had lunch at Garfunkel's on The Strand (just a few minutes' walk from Charing Cross station) before heading back on the tube to Kings Cross to catch the train home. We finally got home around 7.30pm.

So there you have it ;) It was great to see Maedhbh & Garry again (their first face-to-face meeting was at our place), & to meet Lady Wolf, & Ellis (Maedhbh's brother, or at least one of them, I think she has three), as well as their friends (one of whom was a friend of Maedhbh's from the US who was the only person there that she'd known longer than us!).

Oh, and for the camera geeks among you, I used a Fuji Finepix S5800 (8Mp, 10x optical zoom).

[Kugai]

Cool

Glad to see Maeve's wedding was at such a cool place and went so well.

:)

[Ryuu]

Damn! That must've set someone back a few pennies!

Beautiful setting for a wedding. Great photos, Ian!:applause:

[Master Harper Andrea]

Lovely pictures. It's great to see the bride so glowing and happy.