The one thing (actually, one of many things) Norwich does well is food. Before the wedding, I made my routine hairdressers appointment which I managed to follow with a lunch and then drinks and dinner.
Lunch satisfied my week-long fish & chip craving and of course, fish & chips have to be had at Grosvenor Fish Bar. We ate in the 'bunker' below, a cosy seating area on the forecourt where food is served in tin dishes with wooden cutlery; still very rustic and cutesy!
After lunch I wandered and spent far too much money as I always do, so decided I was in need of tea distraction before I regretted anything. The Bicycle Shop is my tea safety net; it (Moroccan Mint Green) comes in a teapot, you pour it into a mis-matched china cup and saucer, the atmosphere is cosy and the music's always good. My next order was a hearty glass of red wine then it was time for food. Tapas at the Bicycle Shop is a firm favourite but as we were sat at a table reserved for half past 7 and it was already nearing quarter past at this point, we took our cue to move on.
What I love most about Norwich is that despite its size, there is always something new to discover. For dinner we ended up at the Maddermarket Kitchen, somewhere I've always wanted to try!
You have to BYOB, but that just meant that we had the whole of Tesco's red wine selection to choose from which was hardly a problem! We went for two courses and for my main I tried lamb chump thus learnt the real meaning of 'chump'; it was delicious! For dessert, I chose (and tweaked) the cheeseboard; yummy camembert, cheddar, chutney, apple and crackers. Safe to say, I felt entirely satisfied when we were done!
With a wedding ahead of me, I was keen to avoid dark circles beneath the eyes or spots caused by alcohol consumption, so we retired to home, mint tea (or hot water) and bed.
After the best night's sleep, I awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to head to Hockering to see and help out at the venue. With a few hours to spare before I was required, I had a leisurely stroll into town where my tummy began to rumble. Another place I'd not visited before was Pandora's Kitchen, somewhere I've often passed and wondered about but never stepped inside. However upon seeing that they were offering breakfast, I decided it was the prime opportunity to stop and satisfy my rumbling tum! Eggs Florentine and an Earl Grey in the sunshine was perfection. I even found myself reading a little more of my book!
When we arrived, the sun was shining and most things were already taken care of (perfect timing by us) so I simply had a tour of the area then we headed to the bride's mum and dad's to meet other wedding guests before the big day. Apparently it's a tradition to get everyone together the night before, but having been a part of very few weddings, this was news to me. It was a lovely evening either way; drinks were flowing and food was aplenty! The actual house was beautiful too - a barn conversion with an excess of land for walking. I do miss the seclusion that Norfolk has to offer.
That night, the bridesmaids stayed with the bride and our partners were kicked out to the camp-site (well, yurts) where we would be spending the following night. In bed by a reasonable hour with a hot drink, we were soon fast asleep.
The day of the wedding arrived and as an overall summary I would simply say it was the most relaxed day! We were all up in plenty of time for the arrival of hair and make-up and the photographers (who got an inordinate number of photos of us in pyjamas which I'm hoping don't look as bad as they felt) so helped ourselves to a hearty breakfast of cereal followed by a croissant and washed down with a strong cup of coffee. While each of us took our turn to be beautified, we spent our time between the comfort of the sofa where one of the family dogs was snuggled beneath a duvet for petting and outside in the courtyard/garden in the sunshine, debating whether or not the weather would stay that way for the ceremony in the afternoon.
Sewn into my dress, it was the bride's turn and wow she looked stunning! I don't think the novelty of seeing your own friends in wedding dresses will ever wear off. It's a pretty special moment! Finally we were all out of our pyjamas and the photographers could take some attractive photographs!
The venue was literally a 1 minute drive away from the bride's family home so we were soon in Hockering House looking out on the seating area for the ceremony and the aisle. With my dress still a little long, especially as my heels kept sinking into the grass, I think I was more nervous than the ever-composed bride about walking along the aisle for fear of tripping, or worse, ripping the bottom of my dress!
The ceremony was short and sweet and immediately followed by Pimms as we all milled around on the grass waiting for the signing of the register. Once the newly married Mr & Mrs emerged from the building to lots of cheers, the bouquet was thrown (always stand at the front and hope that the bride's got a strong arm) and it was time for more official photographs.
As weddings go, many of the details were so me! At 4 o'clock we all had Afternoon Tea; perfection! There were a host of finger sandwiches, sausage rolls, cakes and scones to be had, all accompanied by tea (or coffee) and Prosecco. Our table absolutely demolished all we were given, to the point where the hostess flagged down one of the waitresses who was taking a full pot of sausage rolls from another table and requested that they be given to us instead. In addition to full tummies, we also gained two pet wasps (whoever sat us right by the entrance to the marquee, hey?) in a glass who we fondly named after the happy couple.
Following Afternoon Tea and speeches, there were garden games laid out on the grass outside the marquee, so we went to have a go at croquet... which we gave up on after all of five minutes when we realised it was not our forte. Instead, we moved on to quoits which we were equally as poor at. So we retired to hay bales to sit in the sun and have another drink (because alcohol always improves one's sporting ability).
Whilst sitting down, we noticed that Giant Jenga had been vacated by other guests, so we thought we'd have one more try at something. Turned out we were pretty spectacular at Giant Jenga as our game then went on until it was time for the cutting of the cake and the first dance despite there being many nail-biting moments where we were completely convinced that it was all over. Relentless.
Rather than having a cheesy and irritating (as they always seem to be at weddings) DJ, the bride and groom had opted for their own playlist as a means of luring people onto the dance floor, and it was definitely preferable! After a short boogie and the best wedding photo (if I do say so myself) of the bride and groom held by the bridesmaids and their partners (which, by the way, I can't wait to see), it was time for more food, this time in the form of a Hog Roast (so much yum)!
The rest of the evening passed in a bit of a blur as we drank the bar dry, ate sweets, danced 'til our shoes came off, waved sparklers around, took Polaroid pictures and generally had a very merry time! This time, we joined 'the boys' in the yurts, with a short time spent sitting around the camp-fire before retiring to our inflatable air beds in a 'tent' which we could fully stand up in; I 100% need a proper glamping trip in a yurt!
Very sad to leave, we made ourselves feel a little better with a massive detour to Cromer on the way home. A visit to the lifeboat house, the Henry Blogg Museum, lavender ice cream, a walk along the beach and of course a paddle filled a large void for a short time.
All in all, an incredibly beautiful, perfect wedding weekend <3
No comments:
Post a Comment