It’s been a holiday weekend here in the UK and a very special one for my friend Gavin. Following his stag night last month came the far more civilized celebration of his wedding day as he tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Savanna.

The traditional church wedding took place on Saturday in the small village church of Barnston. The seemingly unending rain, that has soaked Britain all summer long, broke and bathed the church in warm sunlight, just as it did for Gav’s stag do, and Savanna’s hen weekend.

In the morning Gav and ‘the boys’ all went to the Shamrock Cafe for a traditional English breakfast. Just as Phil did on the morning of his wedding last year, Gav elected to get the biggest breakfast he could, a huge plate of animal that would satisfy a giant, let alone “a little fella” like Gav!

Having eaten his final breakfast as a single man we didn’t see him again until he was sat nervously at the front of the church waiting for the arrival of Savanna – and what an arrival that was. She looked amazing! Her dress, well heck – what do I know about dresses! It was a spectacular brilliant white off the shoulder dress with a corset type thing going on at the back (I appreciate there is probably a technical term for that). As predicted Gav began to cry the moment he saw her in it. Nobody lost that bet!

After the church service we all headed off to a nearby manor house for the reception. There was the obligatory time spent posing for pictures, then the ‘wedding breakfast’ and the speeches. Jon, the best man, very kindly added a gag to the speech for myself, Fozzie and Si. Gav and Savanna didn’t have a wedding present list and had instead just asked for money, which while not unusual these days, did seem rather boring. So Fozzie, Si, and I decided we would give them what they wanted, but with a twist.

I contacted my bank and changed our money into small change; coins no bigger than 5p. Just to add to the fun we threw in foreign coins too! It weighed a lot more than I had anticipated, so much so that the best way of carrying it was between two people. So when Jon announced that we had decided to adhere to their wishes to give them money Foz and I carried the wooden box of change to the top table and placed it right in front of the happy couple.

In the end the entire day was over far sooner than I think any of us would have liked. Gavin and Savanna (or Gavanna as I think they should now be called) are quite simply made for one another and fit like hand in glove together. They were positively overflowing with happiness that day but in truth if you mention Savanna’s name to Gav on any day he can’t help but tell you how much he loves her, and long may that continue.

So right now they’re on their honeymoon in Mauritius enjoying the tropical sun and the beginning of a new life together. I doubt Gav’s grin will leave his face for weeks yet, and really, who could blame him.

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Fozzy’s pictures of the wedding

Top picture by Paul Crook.
Left picture by Joanne Simpson (converted to black and white by me)
Picture of ‘Gavanna’ with the bridesmaids by Joanne Simpson
Confetti picture by Paul Crook