Mawwiage is what bwings us together

So, last Saturday saw me marrying the day when the lovely Tara Watson (now Court) agreed to marry this old duffer, making me the happiest man in the world.

It was a spectacular day, the only hitch being an incredible cock-up from the coach company due to transport the wedding party from the Registry office to the reception venue - but that's a blog post for another day.

I'd been kicked out of my house the night before by my bride-to-be and had prepared myself for my impending nuptials by a night at the pub followed by Rock Band 3.  The next morning my best mans lovely girlfriend Fran cooked us all a full English breakfast, and I imagine our preparations were considerably more stress free than those taking place with the bridal party.  The queue for the bathroom alone at my house must have been record-breaking.

I was completely composed during the ceremony itself right up until I saw Tara.  She looked absolutely beautiful, and I'm not ashamed to say that I was a little bit overwhelmed with emotion.  I managed to make my vows without my voice going completely, and that was it - we were married.

The reception (at Hatton Village Hall) was fantastic.  The caterers had done an incredible job of setting the room up to our specifications - every guest had a fortune telling fish and a fortune cookie (which it could be argued should have cancelled each other out) and the tables themselves were laden with confetti, finger frights and lanterns.

The meal (what little I had of it - I was too excited to eat) was brilliant, and everybody seemed to have a blinding time.  The booze was flowing, the music and DJs were brilliant (who wouldn't want a bit of AC/DC played at a wedding?) and the night couldn't have gone better.  Taras Dads and my speeches were short, but my best man Tom White did a blinder of one.  The most hilarious part was where he gave gifts of Belgian beer to all the stag-do party, except for my dad who received a crate of Carling and Sticking Plasters - those who know either from their attendance at the stag-do or my earlier blog posts about it will quickly know the relevance of that.

We'd made our own Zombie bride and groom and pumpkin cake toppers (as in the photograph) and these also appeared to go down well - I'd been desperate to publish photographs of these before, but had (rightfully) been not allowed.

Afterwards the wedding party went back to the Brittania Hotel in Coventry (where a huge section of us were staying) and continued to drink until the early hours of the morning.

Overall, an absolutely fantastic day.  My wife looked beautiful, my best man performed over and above the call of duty and I got to celebrate this wonderful time with my best friends and suddenly-dramatically-increased extended family.

So, I'm a married man and an incredibly proud one at that.  Thanks to you all for your best wishes, gifts and simply for being there for us.  It means a great deal to both my wife and I and we love you all.