Well it’s been a lovely month chilling in the family home, hanging in the Yorkshire countryside and spending a lot of time playing on ‘Gardenscapes’- building a garden combined with candy crush…what’s not to like? The summer at home has been leading up to the wedding of  one of my best and oldest friends Lindsay, to the wonderful Loz (we share the same name so we’re both cool by default). How could I not write a blog post about such an important day for a friendship group?!

Linz and Loz met 8 years ago, and got engaged 2 years and 4 months ago. We’ve all been waiting a long time for this day to arrive. Loz is exactly the kind of a guy you’d want for your best friend and I’m so happy for them both. Honestly, I aspire to have a relationship like yours. As I was brushing my teeth the evening before the wedding I suddenly had a moment of realisation about what was happening the following day. I was staying at Soph’s house, a house I’ve been to for years and years and years and it suddenly dawned on me that one of us was actually marrying someone. Shit we’re 27. Shit we’re actually adults. When did this happen?! I still talk about school like it’s 2005 and my Amazon music play list reflects that this is the time period I’ve stopped in mentally. Apparently we are nearing the late 20s and people are marrying and reproducing left right and centre. If any of us are ready for it Linz, it’s you and Loz.

So the day began at 5.45am, although it was more like 4am due to excitement preventing me from sleeping. Our main issue for the day was when we were going to eat so we had stocked up on a variety of breakfast items the day before. 5.45am to 5pm is a very long time to not have any food plans. We picked up Ness and arrived at the Upper House for 7.15am- bang on time! Linz came to reception to meet us, cried, and so by 7.17am emotions were high. 

The morning was spent getting hair and make up done and was actually a very casual affair. As a girl who is pretty awful at being a girl as far as hair and make up goes, this was a new experience for me. I’ve been growing my hair for one and a half years in preparation for this day! I’ve never seen any of us wear so much make up and I felt like a completely different person. Who knew I could look like that? 

After we all got hair and make  done I felt like we were about to go on stage…and I guess we were in a way! Much anxiety about whether my dress fit ended in a huge sigh of relief when it did and we all got dressed with zero dramas. The registrar gave us very vague instructions about what pace to walk and where to sit and just after 2pm we were ready to go. Ellie, Linz’s niece, was the cutest flower girl in the world and was in the zone about her role in things. Linz was nervous but cool and I felt quite hyper active and slightly overwhelmed. All morning it had rained, stopped, rained and for Linz getting married outside was something she really wanted. Luck was on our side and the sun came out just before 2! Wedding ceremony outside…hurray!

When we walked down the aisle it was a tad surreal. I was very aware that this was a big deal and everyone was watching us. Linz looked amazing and held it together, we all found seats to sit on and all was well. A wasp landed on my bouquet but I dealt with it. The ceremony was lovely, everyone was in awe and Linz and Loz were relaxed and no one stumbled over any words. 

After this we spent a lot of time taking photos, chatting, smiling at Linz and Loz and basking in how great they are. Here’s some favourite photos:

Dan definitely wanted to be a bridesmaid and had the poses down to a tee. 

Highlight of time spent outside…OATCAKES AND CHEESE. What an absolutely great idea for wedding canapés. Good call guys.

Later on it was time to sit down and eat food. The food was all swell, the only issue was the swelling of my stomach as a food baby formed in my very tight dress. Then, as it had been a drama free wedding up to this point obviously I decided to cause one…by going for a wee. Now there’s a strategy to weeing in the bridesmaid dresses. Shimmy Shimmy, carefully does it. One gin down I got frustrated and yanked my dress…the zip popped off. I stood in shock, then swore loudly and then decided who to ring. Linz…pretty busy. Soph…not great in a crisis. Ness! Sure enough within 5 minutes she had come to rescue me with a very calm attitude and THE SPARE DRESS. When we got the dresses we didn’t know that Ness would be mega preggo by the time of the wedding so we had her old dress! Thanking my lucky stars for this as if we didn’t have this dress I’d have been wearing flamingo pjs for the rest of the day. Nothing like an absolute panic on a wedding day. 

Next up, bridesmaid speech. I’d just like to say how proud I am of everyone for standing up and making a speech. I was sweating at the thought of it. The bridesmaid speech was funny, Dan laughed A LOT next to me so I laughed at lot and Linz loved it. The other speeches were wonderful; Loz’s was funny, heartfelt and made everyone beam. Before we knew it it was time for the evening! Time flies when you’re absorbed in a wedding. 

The evening was a blur of prosecco, dancing and sausage sandwiches. The first dance was cute. I thought Linz and Loz were having a romantic chat but apparently they were just asking one another “When will it end?”

The cake was cut and Soph took an entire plate of it home. Apparently some of it has ended up in the freezer as there was so much!

Highlight of the evening was the year 8 dance routine to ‘Scandalous’ being performed, and the Eminem rap battle. Boomerang got some serious attention.

Shots were shot, shoes were discarded and some people got a little merry. We talked a lot about teenage memories, laughed a lot and I felt so grateful for my wonderful friends. The night ended with me ripping off my fake eyelashes and breathing a sigh of relief at scrubbing off the make up. Soph and I fell drunkenly asleep. 

The next morning I ate a full English, shuddered at the transformation in my appearance and then said farewell to my best friends. This feels weirder every time I say goodbye to someone. I drove to Huddersfield and arrived at Liam’s to a surprise ‘Bon voyage’ party! 

Balloons and a caterpillar cake!!! What a fab Friday afternoon/ evening. And so it’s the final week before Malaysia! 

Next up, mother’s birthday and then Portugal with Imogen, Rob, James and Belle. Family holiday a slightly different vibe to what I’m used to! 

I’ll leave you with Tilly, Linz’s other adorable niece. Linz and Loz, thank you for choosing me to be a part of your special day. I loved every minute of it. You mean the world to me Linz and you deserve a lifetime of happiness.