August 15: Champagne + Wine + Gin and Tonic + Sambuca = badness
We left for Windermere in the southern Lakes Friday afternoon following a trip to the spa for manicures and pedicures. Windermere is both a town and a lake, the longest lake in England. Before it became part of the National Trust, the lake was routinely used to set the world watercraft speed record because it is very long (over 10 miles). Rachel and Adam's wedding was held at the Merewood Country House Hotel which sits on a hill overlooking the lake. The house was built in 1812 and, as you can see from the picture below, is a stately mansion fitting the first son of the Earl of Lonsdale who lived there.
The Merewood Country House Hotel
My room at Merewood.
View of the lake from my room.
Friday night everyone staying at Merewood attended a five course dinner in the Hotel. Dinner was at 7:30pm. At about 6:30pm while I was getting ready, Rachel sent a bowl of strawberries and bottle of champagne to my room. This is when the badness started. I drank a bit of the champagne by myself but then, upon a call from Rachel, brought it down to her room to share with her Cambridge (UK) friend Jim while Rachel finished her makeup. So in the end I only drank half of the bottle, I suppose. Dinner was outstanding: salmon risotto, sorbet, local Lakeland lamb, the most unbelievable panna cotta ever, chocolates and wine, wine, wine. Post dinner we all hung out in the bar, library or drawing room on the first floor of the hotel, drinking gin and tonics and getting to know the collected friends of the bride and groom. I quickly became known and referred to as "the American girl". At about midnight Adam's sister Abbey bought me a shot of Sambuca. To say the least, my head was spinning by the time I went up to bed at 1:00am.
Rachel was kind enough to share her massive bridal suite with me (Adam, of course, was relegated to a room on the opposite side of the hotel). The bride had to be up early for various primping rituals and, since I shared her room, I was roused at 8am as well. Oh god, I felt absolutely awful. Worst hangover I've had since my 20s. Damn champagne, it excels at manufacturing hammer-pounding headaches. How I ate my breakfast-in-bed eggs and toast is beyond me. It seemed important to put some food in my stomach, despite the fact that I felt like, well, you know...
August 16: The Big Day
The morning of the wedding, guests had some time to explore the area before the ceremony at 2pm. I had promised Jim a walk around one of the nearby lakes, Grasmere, for 9:30am. Thankful Jim had been drinking as well, and he didn't show up until 10:30am. I took a shower, holding on to the walls with my head still spinning, drank a liter of water with two aspirin and hoped the cool air would chase the hangover away. It helped, a little. But I really didn't feel normal again until after the reception dinner (called, by the way, the Wedding Breakfast).
The walk was nice, despite my head. The town of Grasmere is where Wordsworth wrote the majority of his poetry, from a little house called Dove Cottage. As a result, the main attraction of Grasmere is walking around Wordsworth's backyard and exploring the land of his inspiration. We had an easy walk around the lake, taking about 90 minutes. Quite enough time to get back to the hotel, change and make the ceremony.
Grasmere lake, Wordsworth's backyard inspiration.
Jim and I at Grasmere, both quite hung over despite the smiles.
The ceremony was beautiful, Rachel looked radiant, and Adam was dashing in his morning suit. After the official registrar's bit, guests read several readings picked by the bride and groom including: Robert Frost's "The Road Less Traveled"; a passage from George Elliot's Middlemarch; a short story by Alan Bennett called "Mom & Dad's Wedding"; and a passage from E.M. Foster's A Room with a View called "Lying to Mr. Emerson". I didn't take many pictures during the ceremony or reception. I left that to the professionals on hand. But here are a few:
Flower Girl Megan and Page Boy William
Rachel's sister Cassie as Matron of Honor
One of two wedding cakes.
The lovely bride & handsome groom
listening to Bernie (jazz singer)
and Nathan (piano) perform Nina Simone's "Feeling Good".
The "Wedding Breakfast" was fantastic. It is so unusual for a hotel that serves its own food to have decent fare. The chef at Merewood is top-notch. I ate myself silly, which I think helped me get through the hangover. During dessert we were entertained by several speeches (Ritchie, father of the bridge; Carol, mother of the groom; Rachel, the bride; and Ian, the best man). Anyone who knew the newlyweds were open for some good-natured ribbing, including "the American girl". Rachel poked fun at my obsession with the local sheep, and her dad explained to guests my confusion over tea, supper, dinner and (now) wedding breakfast, the first three of which are all interchangeable English terms for a large meal at the end of the day.
Me, in my wedding outfit.
It was so fun to wear a hat!
After wedding breakfast, the hotel staff cleared the room and The Beat Beatles, a fabulous four cover band, provided the music. They were really good, role-playing as John, Paul, George and Ringo while they sung through the popular hits. Every song was danceable, which is so rare at weddings. I took it easy on the libations this evening, and was in bed happily sober by 1:00am.
August 17: Winding Down
With the big event behind us, my trip to England is coming to a close. We (Rachel, Adam and I) decided to stay at Merewod for one more night, enjoying doing nothing. Rachel slept the whole day. Really, the whole day. I didn't see her until Monday morning, packing before we checked out. Jim and I went sailing Sunday morning on Windermere in a very small Laser Pico boat. Though we didn't tip over (thank god) I was probably less than a stellar crew member. My only sailing experience is on a very small Hobie cat without a boom. I spent most of our time on the water worrying about hitting my head and falling over board. That afternoon Adam and I went for a walk behind the Merewood grounds (pictures below). It did rain a bit (of course) later that day, so I sat in the drawing room with a view of the lake reading until Adam and I met Rachel's London friends for dinner in town. I feel bad that I get to take Rachel and Adam back to the States. They have lovely friends who clearly miss them.
The grounds behind Merewood.
Atop of the hill behind Merewood,
looking toward Windermere Lake.
My last sheep photo. SO CUTE!