Monday 14 August 2017

I Have A Wedding Hangover

Our leftover confetti, as seen the next morning when we went to clear up

I have the hangover from hell: a wedding hangover.

Two weeks ago today was the day Thomas and I had spent the previous three years planning and now I'm looking around my house, empty at last of wedding supplies, and feeling a bit empty myself.

Because it turns out that all of those old cliches are true.

It will go by in a flash.

Enjoy every moment, it goes so fast.

It's the best day of your lives.

This last I had been especially resistant to in the run-up to the big event. "Best day of my life," I scoffed, "I like to think my life is more interesting than one in which participating in an ancient patriarchal ritual is the best day I ever experience."

Well, don't I have egg on my face. What I should have realised was that, for us, the ritual isn't what makes it the best day ever, but the people who came to participate in it.

I can't properly describe to you how beautiful it was when I looked around the room and saw my family, who'd travelled from five different countries, the Nijmegen gang who'd decamped to Leicester for the weekend, Thomas' Scottish friends & family, and my local pals, all gathered together to celebrate with us. It's humbling to be faced with such love and affection: people who care so much about our stupid selves that they travelled hundreds or thousands of miles to share in our joy.

I'm tearing up writing this, realising that never again will that strange, wonderful combination of people come together, never again will we get to experience such a special day. So my advice to anyone planning a wedding at the moment? It will go by in a flash, enjoy every moment. And it is the best day of your lives.

Note: many more wedding posts to come, don't worry! (She says, as if you're all so desperate to read more of me boring on about it. Well tough cos I'm gonna). But I'm really sick at the moment so it'll have to wait until I'm better.

25 comments:

  1. Aw, I feel a bit teary reading this. And I AM looking forward to more wedding posts.

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    1. Glad to hear it (the looking forward, not the teary part) because there's A LOT to come!

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  2. I'm looking forward to some wedding posts too :)

    I'm glad it was a wonderful day for you!

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    1. Oh good, that's a relief because I have a lot more I want to share, haha!

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  3. So glad you had a great day, it sounds like it was wonderful! Look forward to hearing more about it, I imagine your body just needed a rest after all the excitement! Hope you feel better soon! xo

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    1. It really was wonderful, but yeah I could have done without my body just giving up completely immediately afterwards.

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  4. I am glad your day was so wonderful. And, speaking for myself, I am looking forward to reading more about it. I love reading wedding posts. I hope you get better soon.

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    1. Ooh good, cos there's lots more wedding posts to come!

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  5. Congratulations!!

    Of course you will have that strange combination of people all together again... that's why we celebrate anniversaries ;-)

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    1. Haha I did venture on Facebook that we should have a 5 year anniversary reunion!

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  6. Aww, lovely stuff. I am looking forward to more wedding posts as well. Hope you feel better soon xx

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  7. I hope you feel better soon!
    I had a similar feeling after our wedding. It all feels a little flat, but it passes. I helped mine along by inviting people over to dinner and boring them with our wedding photos, and watching our wedding video over and over and over...
    Bring on the wedding posts, I'll read every last one and tear up along with you. Write it all down because wedding posts are the best to look back on! I often read mine, but then I am a bit of a soppy saddo (and proud of it!).
    xx

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    1. I'm looking forward to getting our photos back and being able to look at them together, preferably with a glass of something fizzy.

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  8. Yay! Congratulations to you! I can't wait to hear more about your wedding day. I got married at The Guildhall myself 4 years ago on 2nd August so I can't wait to reminisce x

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    1. Happy anniversary for 2 weeks ago! You'll be able to recognise lots of our photos, when they're eventually shared.

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  9. yes to more wedding posts! I'm feeling a little anxious about mine mainly due to body confidence it lots left to do in 30 days so no time to dwell on it.

    So pleased to hear you had a wonderful day and can't wait to read about Wendy.

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    1. Sorry to hear you're feeling anxious - my nerves definitely kicked in with a month to go. Having been not entirely happy with how I looked on my wedding day, my best advice would be - if possible - to wear your dress before the day itself and even ask someone to photograph you in it, so you can figure out how comfortable it is and if it needs any adjustments (I could have saved myself a lot of hassle if I'd just sewn my bra to the dress, for example), and how best to stand in photographs. Good luck!

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  10. Congratulations, so glad it was a wonderful day!! Looking forward to the photos. Hope you're feeling better soon xx

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    1. I'm so impatient for our photographs to come back now!

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  11. Sounds like you had just the wedding you wanted. My husband and I went the complete opposite way, we eloped and got married abroad, didn't invite anyone (because they wouldn't have bothered to travel either way regardless of the location - we weren't fortunate to luck out with family members who cared or friends in general) and had the most relaxing wedding we could possibly have. It was more effort getting copies of the marriage license and everything else the next day haha!

    It was the perfect day and I'd never do it any different.

    Big, big, congratulations to you!

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    1. We definitely would have done the same - and in fact, for our legal marriage, intend to do so - if my family and his friends hadn't been able to travel. It sounds like your day was just perfect (and I loved the photos on your blog at the time!)

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  12. I know exactly what you mean, I definitely had a deflated wedding hangover thing going on last Summer! Now though, they're just the shiniest, happiest memories I have.
    I can't wait to read more wedding posts and see a few more snapshots of your day!

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    1. It definitely helped the next day to message a couple of friends who'd recently got married and say, "is it normal that I can't stop crying?" and they agreed that yes, it was completely normal!

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  13. All of the yesses to this, you've summed it up perfectly! I remember being really nervous as my wedding day was approaching and one of my university friends (whose wedding we'd attended a few years earlier) telling me not to worry as everyone in that room only wants good things for you and the warmth coming at you from all sides, from all these people from all different periods of your life...there's nothing quite like it! So yes, I understand entirely and there's no better way to deal with it than to share more wedding posts! Looking forward to them :D

    C x
    http://happygoluckycat.blogspot.co.uk/

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