Supposedly the Best Day of My Life

The Loving My People Issue

OH dear, am schmooziewooozie tail-shakingly, claw-needingly, purrrrrfectly slushy about all my wonderful friends and family at the moment.Now we are in the final furlong of the much-awaited event I have never felt so supported and loved and made to feel like a special princess, like a fluffy kitten getting its tummy stroked while lying in the sun, outstretched having just eaten some roast chicken.
It’s weird that there’s been SO MUCH love, so much support and so much incredible good will towards David and I, not because we didn’t think that people liked us, but just that they liked us ... well, that much.
For months, I have to confess this whole wedding thing was veering between a highly-expensive inconvenience, a necessity to get to go on the holiday of a life-time (have I told you we have a private villa in the Caribbean, have I?), and a hysterical systematic conspiracy designed to subjugate womankind into every hideous stereotype known to man.
But, now, like any good vessel, I am coming about, I’m yar, I am about as ready for this journey as I could long to be - and it’s really all down to my people.
For example, my best friend Mollie, who, after much teary self-absorbption and pent-up wailing by me about having to organise my own hen do took me by the arms, gave me a good shake and shouted through the hysteria: “I SAID I WOULD DO IT BEFORE AND I WILL STILL DO IT NOW!”Which kind of stalled the tears pretty much as I looked at her and she smiled and said, “This is meant to be a happy time. You shouldn’t be feeling like this about anything!” So, I handed over the reigns and she has since been a star. To the point that, as she works for a national newspaper and was covering the bombings in Egypt, she was calling from there to ask about email addresses that had bounced back and saying in her distinctive Hampshire accent: “I just don’t have time for these bloody terrorists, I’ve got your hen do to organise!!”
Then there was the case of my friend who has a home cinema who has sorted a girls night in with Dirty Dancing, pizza and face packs, another group of friends has sorted a pink champagne and underwear evening and my parents have promised to bring over four crates of champers from France for everyone to dig into on the week running up to the wedding.
Another friend has hired out an entire tartan shop so her entire troupe (she and her husband have three sons and her dad is also invited) can wear kilts. And just today my pal Jenny helped put a smile back on my face after David and I had an argument.
Put this in with a friend who is making the cakes, buddies who printed off our invitations, our wonderful three mates who have offered to DJ - and one of them is bringing his own decks - and a whole host of other things that are acting like a big cotton wool hug, it’s already becoming one of the best days of my life.
God, I can’t believe I just said that!! My cynicism is waning, I can feel it draining from my body, I am practically willing to roll around in table confetti and stick a veil on.
Well, nearly, but not quite.

posted by Sadie Kenshall @ 11:47 AM