Our wedding anniversary :)

This photo makes me smile. We were so lucky, July was like a monsoon month but I just knew it'd be a perfect day for our wedding - people kept mentioning umbrellas, I just knew we wouldn't need them - and on the 7th there wasn't a cloud in the sky all day long.

We didn't have long to plan our wedding, we loved the Barn and this was the only date they had free so we got some funny looks when looking for wedding dresses - one lady said someone had just ordered her dress for 2010 - this was in December 2006!! But it suited us not to dwell on the planning for long, we were moving house, decorating, working, I was doing training courses, my MA, trying for a baby -oh and we got burgled 2 months before the wedding too so it was all a bit manic! But I loved planning things together and it was our relaxation! We made CDs for each guest and had rustic devon food (fish pie, veg pie, sausages and mash) and Phil's band playing. My sister made our gorgeous cake and my mum learned calligraphy to write all the placenames. Phil's step-mum did the flowers and one of his sisters sang during the ceremony. It was lovely having all our families together and it really was an amazing day.

This is the moment that my gorgeous hippy, festival-going, van-dwelling sister realised that she looked like a real bridesmaid - we hadn't planned on this at all and she was surprised when she fell in love with a real bridesmaid's dress!

Walking up the aisle to 'The Rose' by Bette Midler. The lyrics to this song were just so perfect after all that had gone before us and brought us to each other and to this day:
And walking out to Madness' 'It Must Be Love' :) Then we escaped for a bit to walk around the gardens:
This was the first wedding cake my sister had ever made - now she's made loads but I still think ours is the most gorgeous ;)

And the evening - I only sang with the band for half a set but Phil was attached to the guitar for most of the night - I had to tear him away when our taxi arrived, and then he complained he hadn't had any wedding cake!!

And lastly, a photo of us with our beautiful bridesmaid, who deserved this day, and this daddy, so very much. She shone all day long, laughed and raced around in the flowers, and danced until she fell asleep on a bench at 10pm. A wonderful, amazing day.

The Rose - Bette Midler

Some say love, it is a river

that drowns the tender reed.

Some say love, it is a razor

that leaves your soul to bleed.

Some say love, it is a hunger,

an endless aching need.

I say love, it is a flower,

and you it's only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking

that never learns to dance.

It's the dream afraid of waking

that never takes the chance.

It's the one who won't be taken,

who cannot seem to give,

and the soul afraid of dying

that never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely

and the road has been too long,

and you think that love is only

for the lucky and the strong,

just remember in the winter

far beneath the bitter snows

lies the seed that with the sun's love

in the spring becomes the rose.