Kirstie and James

06/01/2018

Having imagined my wedding at Prior Park since the day I first stood on the mansion steps, it’s no surprise that my actual wedding felt like a fairytale - Hayley’s Reagan gown made me feel like the princess I could only have dreamed up with Walt Disney himself! The ethereal glimmer, the blush, the tulle, the florals - the dress lit me up inside and everyone could tell, I’m told. Our wedding ceremony was held at the infamous Royal Crescent itself, filled with the history of real live princes and princesses, and now me - standing there with my Dad in his Fathers top hat, as proud and happy as a girl could ever be. The marquee at the school was placed where I always imagined it, filled to the brim with flowers by my Mother and rosé from the wine shop I work at on weekends (because, why not?) and the air was filled with gold dust and love from all my loved ones surrounding us with happiness.

For me, having my wedding at the school was showing everyone a part of me that they only have imagined through my countless stories (some bad, some good!) about boarding life there. I’m sure my chief bridesmaids & past pupils would all agree that the more distance we have from our time at the college, the more fiercely proud we become of it; and what a marvellous and rare thing it is to be proud of the school you attended!

Having our old school Chaplain return to the Chapel to bless our nuptials, standing in the chapel singing our hearts out to hymns without needing words (and catching the eyes of all my old school friends) through the sea of relatives in hats & fascinators and loved ones was a memory I will cherish forever.

On those famous mansion steps at the end of the night, my dress glittering in the light of the sparklers and moonlight, I couldn’t help but think about the words of Pixie (James’ cousin, 11 years old) who said when visiting the gardens at at Prior before the wedding, that really I was “surrounded by my past, present and future all at once” - what a profound thought that summarises an experience that both James and I will treasure for the rest of our lives.