A Christmas Wedding LOVE Story

By Pauline Parry

The wedding was on a Tuesday, December 22, twenty nine years ago and the night before the temperatures were 22 below and it was the first SNOW fall of the season! We woke up wedding day to a perfect blanket of snow the sun shone through and temperatures rose. At Bristol, England Magistrates Office Dennis and I married at eleven o’clock in the morning. It was a second marriage for me and Dennis his first I had two children so the wedding was family and a few friends. It was a marriage that was not going to last they said!

No wedding gown for me this time! The dress and hat were made by a little known designer (can’t remember the name) and the shoes were Kurt Geiger. As you can see the tradition in England is signing that registry! My smile was nervousness.

We are showered with colorful confetti as we left the Registry. This is a tradition that is still used to this day.

How to embarrass our children Joanne and Ross – they are the ones on the right and Eva and Ryan are there cousins on the left. Children give horseshoes to the Bride which is a symbol of wishing the couple a lot of good luck and happiness…always a good photo opportunity.

Our first formal photo in the courtyard of Thornbury Castle – I was not prepared for the snow so Pam my girlfriend and we still are today even though we are 6,000 miles apart, let me use her outrageously furry boots for this shot, they were three sizes to big….but LOVE was in the air who cared!

It was here at Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire where we had our Wedding Luncheon. I was the Manager at the time and also lived at this Chateau Relais Restaurant and Hotel. It was indeed a beautiful place that was castellated by Henry the eighth in the fifteenth century. We talk about green commitment these days but at this time Thornbury Castle Restaurant grew and served our own vegetables and herbs. We had chickens and of course used the eggs. We made our own bread and of course served as much local fish and proteins as we could. We had grapevines and we produced our own wine (not very nice wine I might add). Kenneth Bell was the owner and Chef. The most fabulous part of this Castle was the wine cellar…AMAZING and it really was my introduction to my wine education. Those that know me know I LOVE Red Wine!

Our WEDDING LUNCHEON
the menu card we hand wrote it and
over the years it has deteriorated in condition
so hence could not scan
Selection of Hors d’oeuvre
Bollinger RD 1975 Champagne

First
Cauliflower and Celeriac Soup
Swirl of Roasted Chestnut Puree
River Oaks Loire 1978

Second
Feuilletee of Smoked Salmon laced with
Ginger Shallot White Wine Beaurre Blanc
Chervil Garnish
more River Oaks wine

MainRoasted Tenderloin of Pork with
Grainy Mustard Cognac Sauce
served with Caramelized Apples,
roasted Parsnip, Haricot Vert Beans and Duchess Potato Rosette
Chateau De Neuf Du Pape 1981

CheesesSt Andre Triple, Stilton and
Caerphilly White Cheddar
continuation of the red wine

Dessert
Simply Crème Brulee
Muscat Beaumes De Venise

THE WEDDING CAKE
made and stylized with my own fair hands
A Traditional Fruit Cake injected with
cognac wrapped with marzipan
and finished with a royal icing
More Bollinger RD Champagne
Don’t you love the big cake stand (Rented for $5.75)
and the silver vase with baby carnations!?

Pressed French Roast Coffee
with mint chocolates and fudge
Taylors LBVR Port and Champagne Marc Cognac

Lunch took us to seven o’clock and then we left our thirty one guests
who had tied cans to our bumper and wrote MARRIED on the back window in the snow. We journeyed fifteen miles to No 16 Royal Crescent where we parked the car
right in front of the entrance (one could do that in those days). We registered for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Parry! We left two days later, the car was still in the same spot. It was Christmas Eve and we drove home to Mum and Dad’s where Joanne and Ross were to celebrate our first Christmas together as a family!

As we fast forward twenty nine years here we are living in California which we journeyed to the following June of our marriage. My life is now filled with Celebration and Weddings and I often think to myself how could I of got married this time of year, it is our busiest time in my industry! But then it was the right time! Today our anniversary we will share it quite differently but the memory is still full as is our lives. I visited SRR winery today to say “hello” to the event director and it was here that Ross got married to Lauren this past year and it brought a smile to my face of this memory and of course my memory. Today our GG! Kitchen and Joanne is now our Chef are making us some Mince Pies (Dennis loves them) and some Boeuf Bourguignon for our anniversary dinner tonight at home. Dennis will have chosen a great bottle of red wine, I will probably skip the mince pie and have a glass of port, the tree lights will be lit and the fire will roar, what can I say my man knows how to light a lovely fire! We will watch a Christmas movie hopefully “Love Actually”, we sometimes have different opinions on our movie selections but….he likes this one!

So let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...continuing the LOVE
M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S
Love…….LOVE!