STRANGER THAN FICTION

SPLIT ENZ

We went to a wedding on Saturday.
It was an outstanding setting on the beautiful eastern coast. We drove there Saturday morning and stayed the night at a luxury B&B not far from the wedding venue.

Oh the complexities of foreign exchange. We booked the accommodation back in December while still in the UK so the 110 quid seemed a reasonable deal. It's only when you actually pay the bill here that the 240 dollars (NZ) makes your eyes water. Still, it was a great place to stay and the owners were pleasant (pleasantly happy banking our $240).

The wedding was scheduled for mid afternoon and planned to run to late - very late. Sometimes it's good being old buggers as we had an excuse to slip away early at about 8.30. We'd been there nearly six hours though. The Old Girl had the designated driver turn so I could get plastered. As it was we didn't drink that much and I could have driven as it was only about a km along a country road to 'home' but better safe than sorry.



The wedding was very good. The setting was outstanding - marquees outside an historic hall with views out across the Pacific ocean. Very nice catering with plenty of gourmet-class appetisers being brought around while people socialised with drinks before dinner. A great (simple) ceremony, under a separate marquee for the 150 guests. Separate dining and 'bar' marquee so people could mix and mingle. Very good speeches from all concerned. Excellent dinner food. Good wine.

So, why stranger than fiction?

The bride is the daughter of some very old friends of ours. We've known her from when she was about 6 years old. She's now in her early 30's.
Her parents despaired of her ever getting married. She's stunningly beautiful, intelligent and has a good job. The problem is that she played for the other side. The parents for years had a series of girlfriends and lovers coming to stay with their daughter and after a time resigned themselves to the fact that this was the way that it was going to be.


Out of the blue though, about 3 years ago the daughter hooked up with a guy, a musician and they had a child together - a beautiful girl. The relationship has worked and the marriage vows they swapped were lovely and I sincerely hope that it all works out well for the future. She is a lovely young woman and he seems OK (for a musician).




Strange?

Not yet.

The strangeness could come in the fact that amongst the wedding guests were some of the brides ex girlfriends/lovers. Now these women were pretty bloody stunning I'll tell you and recognisable. There was also a large contingent of the sisterhood - all tattoos and boots which I don't mind though.
See here:

VIVE LA DIFFERENCE


Strange?

Not yet. I've kept contact with all but one of my ex girlfriend/lovers and my partner The Old Girl condones my going out to dinner with them as occasions arise and has met a couple of them with one staying with us up north. Not strange.

What is strange is that one of the brides ex girlfriend/lovers, the one that is the 'significant' one where the relationship lasted over 10 years (they stayed with us one holiday period) was there and was seen to be 'looking daggers' during the wedding vows and wedding dance.

Apparently (gush gush) but I'm not allowed to gossip there were some serious goings-on at the 'hen's night' as a result of which the groom forbade the ex girlfriend/lover being the bridesmaid as was originally planned.

The Old Girl and I discussed this afterwards and we both recognised stalker behaviour from the ex who incidentally on learning that the bride had hooked up with a guy duly found one of her own and bullied him into making her pregnant too.

Watch this space.