After the wedding

Yesterday myself and Stephen went to a wedding out in Faithlegg House Hotel. I don't go to a whole of weddings because not a whole lot of people I know very well are getting married so its been quite a while since I have been called to attend one. I didn't know the bride or groom because they were friends of Stephen's from way back and they hadn't lived in Ireland in years so they had come home for a few weeks to get married. We were up early yesterday morning getting ready for the big day myself in the the flouncy dress and Stephen in a three piece suit.

Here I am all dolled up 

My hair looks a bit meh and flat but I had realised far too late that I actually should have gotten an updo and my own hair styling talents are incredibly limited so I felt it was best to just play it safe. Besides I had just survived a complete dress disaster moments before we were due to leave I discovered a stain on my dress which was possibly hair dye. I had dyed my hair the other night but I hadn't touched the dress so how it happened is a mystery but I am a bit of disaster so its the kind of thing that happens to me. My quick thinking saved the day and I sewed the dress to hide the stain and luckily it fell in such a way that you'd have to look closely to really notice. Fortunately I was going to an Irish wedding which means lots of drink would be consumed and people were unlikely to notice.  We headed out early enough to the church and got a lift in The Goon Squad Limo thanks to Stephen's friend Derek Butler. The limo had recently been painted by Louis Masai when he was over for the Waterford Walls festival and we had to ask Derek to leave us out just beyond the church so that people didn't assume really important guests were arriving.

I did ask him to take a few photos but the light was right in my eyes for all of them so I am mostly turning my head and squinting, this really is the best of the bunch and because I didn't think to put on sunglasses I have bitchy resting face here. Its best to just look at this one from far away where you can see the lovely church as a back drop to our fancy limo. We did not arrive at the same time as the Bride which is a good thing so we had plenty of time to find ourself seats towards the back of the church. As soon as  I sat down the corset type thing I had under my dress decided to turn up in the middle and the dress was too long for me to do anything about it without showing the entire church my underwear. I also realised how long its been since I have been in a church and why I am not likely to be seen at mass any time soon. It was a lovely ceremony but there was a whole lot of prayers and we were asked to stand, kneel or sit every few minutes. The priest managed to crack a few jokes throughout but I thought it would have been nice if there had been better snacks. I can't eat communion wafers (silly gluten) and Stephen had suggested that perhaps they could look into giving cheese as well and calling it Cheesus. He was very proud of that terrible joke.

Once the church bit was over we all headed over to Faithlegg House for the reception. We had seats at the bar at first and we went between there and outside because it was lovely and sunny out. It was my first time out in Faithlegg and its a really lovely spot so I think they made a good choice in selecting the wedding venue but I can only imagine it cost a small fortune. I did regret not eating more before the wedding as there's a long gap between when it starts and the sitting down for the meal. I drank a whole lot of coffee to keep me going and Stephen had lots of wine. I was a bit wary of going to a wedding sober but for the most part it was fine, no one really noticed and I didn't have to claim I was on antibiotics for the day. I did get some fries at one point because I really was starving and that helped curb the hunger somewhat so I didn't have any outbursts of hanger or fall off the sugar wagon. 

I did get to meet lots of new people plus we took some nice photos on the grounds. Look how suave Stephen looks in his suit. I think he should wear it all the time but I  might be a little biased. And then he took this lovely one of me, mostly I just like how bright my hair looks. I dyed two nights before the wedding and my bathroom looked I murdered someone in it after (because I am ridiculous at spilling things) 

When it was time to go in for the meal I think there may have been cheers all round. I guess I wasn't the only one who didn't eat enough before heading in. All the tables were called after band names which was a nice touch. Ours was called The Chemical Brothers. The waiting staff came around to check what main we would be eating before all the speeches began. I had phoned ahead to check I'd be able to eat something on the menu because of my gluten intolerance and being a vegetarian and the lady I spoke to on the phone was absolutely lovely about it so my waiter had been told about me. 

I don't really like drawing attention to myself but its unavoidable when you have food intolerances and you want to eat out without getting ill. 

After seeing the menu I was going to go for the fish 

But I did need to check about the wheat content and when I asked the waiter he said oh you're the wheat girl, cringe. It was nice that he had been given advance notice and he said there was a coating on the fish but I ordered it without.

Before our food came we had the speeches. They were actually all really good. The Bride's father was very funny and had us all laughing but it was quite sweet as well. The Groom's mum had the entire top table in tears with her heartwarming speech. The Groom was both funny and romantic and then the Best Man was last and apparently incredibly nervous but gave a really lovely speech so it seemed he had no reason to be worried.

Now I thought the starters were an either or and I was waiting for someone to ask if I wanted the chicken salad or butternut squash soup but it turns out we were getting both. I was happy to wait for my soup but the staff very concerned about me not having the salad. The alternative was melon which I'm not nuts on so I was okay to wait for the soup to be served. I think three serving staff and their manager approached me about the fact I had no salad. It was definitely more attentive than anywhere else I have ever eaten which is probably part of the reason it has such a good reputation. When the soup did arrive, mine came with a gluten free roll and both the soup and bread were lovely. After that I got my non breaded hake and it was really nicely done plus I got to feel good about myself for eating fish twice in one week. As I'm off sugar I wasn't going to have desert but they brought me a gluten free creme brulee with two gluten free biscuits on the side and I gave them to Stephen who was happy to have two deserts. 

With the meal over we went to sit in the bar while they cleared all the tables and got the place ready for some dancing. I was starting to feel a little tired but it was still early in the night so I wasn't saying anything. Its a big disadvantage to being out sober and yet not enough of an incentive for me to drink. I was keeping an eye on himself who'd had quite a bit of wine. I probably shouldn't have asked for wine during the meal and then given it to him. At my suggestion Stephen got a glass of water and nursed that until we were able to go back to our tables. The Band for the night were Lebowski and they put on a great show. I think everyone bar me got up for a bit of a dance but I get too self conscious dancing unless I really love the song and I could barely feel my feet in the shoes. Stephen started saying he wanted to go around 12 because he had meetings the next day and I think he had hit a bit of a wall after taking a break. I immediately regretted my coffee consumption. I had assumed I was in for a late one so I'd drank plenty.

So we went home where he fell asleep and I was up till 2 reading. He does have a sorer head than me today though.