Wedding Day

For bride and groom no doubt a host of arrangements and getting smart. For me, a brief trot around the hotel (bumping into said bride and groom for some dress rehearsal photos) and then a leisurely walk around the lake before the 2pm bus transfer to the church.

And gosh that lake is picturesque. Woods, lake, river, just so nice. With the hotel in the distance, although difficult to get a view of it through the trees. Lovely way to spend a morning. And they were going to have a beautiful day for it. The weather is one thing no degree of planning can help with.

As for the wedding, well you couldn't have a more stark contrast in a venue. Held in a baroque church, basically the epitome of 18th century bling. Flocks of  gilded angels and cherabim dripped from every surface (OK "flock" is probably not the right collective noun for angels, but you get the picture.) Bur surrounding the church are the remnants of communist utilitarian architecture. Prefabricated blocks of flats which are just so depressing to see.

The catholic wedding had the extra quirk of being bilingual. Glad about that as a ceremony entirely in Hungarian might have been a bit dull for us non-speakers.

Then back to the hotel for a second service in the grounds. The religious bit was just ceremonial. This was the legal bit. It had a slightly comic air as this was also bilingual in the sense that there was a translation. But in Hungarian it seemed to go on for ever, while the "translation" was only a sentence. Maybe "precis" would be the better term. Then, more alcohol, and we set off balloons with wishes tied to them. Sweet.

Then of course the reception. a 5 course menu (some of our table assumed there were choices of starter and main course, but oh no, we got the lot including two roasts). Followed by a huge slab of wedding cake. Only shortly followed by the midnight buffet of game stew to keep us going until 4 am. And during all this, of course there was the Champions League final. Well obviously it would be rude to sneak out and watch it in the bar. But, and I am sure this is correct etiquette, its fine to watch a penalty shoot out. So we (menfolk) did. God Chelsea were lucky. As is well known, Germans never lose on penalties. Until now.

A final thought. The old cliche is never work with children and animals. They tend to steal the show. And beautiful bride and groom dressed in finest waistcoat were still almost upstaged by 5 year-old page boy Charlie. A cute enough kid, but put him in his little top hat and tails, and he is just super cute. And pleasantly precocious, he rather dominated the dance floor up until midnight. Although sadly I suspect he is never going to be quite so admired by young women ever again. Tough if you reach your peak at 5!