Interesting picture to the left -
man in white gown directs bride to landing spot in the porch.

The way he's pointing his arms -
you'd think that the bride was a helicopter.

Oh well,
I've sometimes heard of vicars described as sky pilots . . . .

 

unless his arm signal is a magic spell . . .

you can just imagine . . hocus pocus . .

ok . . that's enough . . don't go there alan . . . .

Emma must have landed in the right place,
cos she found her way to the aisle.

Photographer perched aloft in a loft
(aloft in an organ loft to be precise).
Such places are often dusty and filled with the most amazing junk.

Lurking in organ lofts is becoming my favourite weekend activity,
I even snatched a hurried lunch in one last week.

(I probably shouldn't have mentioned that -
but hey - some church services can last an hour or more . . .
and I have to eat sometimes to keep energy levels high !)

Man in white gown now does tricks with oversized playing cards.

now you see it now you dont . .

the best man to the right, tries to attract everyones attention
with a simple card trick using standard sized playing cards.

but no one looks - you need the oversized ones mate . . . . .

Anyhow -
after the vows and the church thingy are done - everyone scoots down to Seaham Hall.

The family pictures are taken in a trice,
(a trice is a small bicycle)

we pedal the trice so quickly -
that the final picture (of the brides pals)
leaves the brides father a little bewildered.
he's the guy at the back, waving his arms in the air,
he thought he ought to be on this picture.

nope - family ones all done - we move pretty quickly.

We cant have a wedding at Seaham without involving
the magnificent water sculpture.

 

Seaham hall is filled with modern sculpture.

to the left we see a life sized baby elephant

It looks like a bronze casting,
you come across it as an interesting surprise at the end of a curving tunnel,
where you walk on a wooden boardwalk,
with water running over pebbles on both sides.

Surreal or what !

A reflection in a lily pond to the left
hints at the frontage of the building.

which features in the picture below.

 

O.K. I admit it, the pose to the left isn't original .
This pose is a favourite of lots of photographers.

But it works really well at this place and with this lady.

Emma looks an absolute stunner.

We return to sunshine,
Emma and Neil become occupied . . . .

 

Breadsticks . . staple diet of Aunties in Hats nationwide.

good to wave at people when you're making a point too . . .

(could also be used as a weapon in place of a handbag)

A helicopter suddenly swoops past,
the pilot took some pictures of the whole scene from above,
which ended up in the wedding album.

Then Emma and Neil calmly walk to the base of a lily pond sipping their Pimms,
as if this helicopter photoshoot was an everyday sort of thing.

The helicopter did really turn up - it looked pretty cool and was a heck of a good idea.

So If anyone wants to hire one for me to take some of their pictures from . . ..
I'm game.
I ain't afraid of heights - I've done parachute jumps & dangled off microlights & gliders etc (when young and daft) . . .

I think that the expression says it all.
she's really happy.

and that's the way it ought to be.

Emma and Neil were determined to get down to the beach.

Seaham beach is a little bit pebbly,
so pebbly that you'd have to be careful
not to twist an ankle in satin bridal shoes.

It's lucky that I wasn't wearing mine.

Oho. . wotsis ?

 

little pressies. .

 

signs of the party that's to follow

Deep dark reflections in the lily pond.

the pictures that I took on this day
were pretty informal
and didn't take up much of Emma and Neils time.

More telltale signs of a wedding breakfast.

 

A cake standing in a dominant position.

Staff standing tidily in pairs awaiting the guests.

Yep. I was right.

the signs were read by an expert wedding reception spotter.

this is indeed a reception,

and the guy standing up to the left,
is the best man, whose job is to ritually embarrass the groom.

oops. have you seen his hat ? own goal !

Quite a character this one !

He had the capacity to laugh at funny things

but also to laugh at himself.

 

Alas, the day ends all too soon,
it fairly whizzed past.

but time flies when you're enjoying yourself.

just as well there are lots of pictures
to remember it by . . .