My Best Friend's Wedding

Hello.  It's me again, seeing what I can knock out in the last half hour of The Husband's working week before he gets in the and weekend begins.  He had a day off yesterday, and oh! how the sun poured down on our garden like pale liquid gold.  The Lodger took the afternoon off as well, all of a coincidence, and we sat on garden chairs on the lawn and shared a bottle of wine, a gentle leisurely sipping and chatting all overlaid with a joyful astonishment that March could be quite this warm.  So I am touch thrown out, temporally, by the day off, and feel like the weekend has been well underway since about Wednesday.  Not NOT the weekend.  A short holiday.

Lucky me, not being a wage slave, and having retired already in my fifties. Well you too can have my luck, but you have to have suffered from serious Bipolar I for two decades and had breast cancer in 2006 as well.  It's all part of the deal, I am afraid.  Still interested?

I have been e-mailing back-and-forth with the daughter about her July wedding.  She and her intended went to the Registrars with their passports this morning, and paid their fees (an eye-stretching amount for a 30-minute time slot) and tried to organise such music, readings and personal vows as they will have.  The registrar was stroppy about some of the words they wanted, saying some of it too closely resembled church vows (although there was a scrupulously studious avoidance of any mention of God) in including honouring and cherishing and staying faithful for life.  The Daughter asked me to help rephrase what she wanted, and I also downloaded part of a suggested humanist ceremony.  I came up with some acceptable synonyms for honour (value) and cherish (esteem or nurture) and added quite a few mentions of "always" to imply a determination to stay married for good and stay faithful one to the other.  She now feels their vows will have some dignity and solemnity, provided they are permitted.  I guess she has still to double check that.

As they are marrying on a summer Saturday in the centre of a city they are allowed only ONE reading.  Weekdays, they could have had three.  It's a conveyor belt, I tellya!  I suggested having the others at the lunch, but they might just let that go.  Her dad wants to say a few words about her at the lunch (that'll be jolly interesting.  We divorced in 1999 so I shan't be privy to what he wants to say until the words are out of his mouth).  The Husband (this one...) will be one of the witnesses and The Intended's dad will be the other, and his brother will be taking care of the ring.  Think that's it.  All done and dusted.

I have two best friends - one male and one female.  The male one is The Husband, for obvious reasons that should be plain to you if you have been following this blog with any degree of particular interest.  The other is The Daughter, my only child and all round Good Egg. To see her safely wed will be a Big Day indeed for this blogger.  Although all that is planned is a Small Wedding, the great love that will abound will enlarge it immensely.