While it's always fun taking walks around our local oceanside park in summer there's one odd thing we've noticed about occasional visitors - namely, wedding parties. There are some very scenic spots in the park, grassy meadows near the water and a lovely old gazebo on a hill overlooking the harbor and out to sea. The problem is that private cars aren't allowed in the park and the best places for these romantic events are very far from the parking lots, bathrooms and fresh water.
I'm sure you can see the problem. It's all very well for the excited and healthy average bride and groom and their friends to get to these spots but not so easy for their more mature family members. It's sad to see a procession of elderly and often overweight wedding guests dressed in formal clothing walking a mile or two in inappropriate footwear along a gravelled path. A few days ago one lady 'of a certain age' was hobbling along barefoot and carrying her high heels.
It would be a fine thing if everyone could travel to the special scenic spot in a horse drawn carriage, or barring that, a rickshaw. Weddings are supposed to be reasonably relaxing occasions and not Bataan death marches for the friends and relatives of the happy couple. Don't people get married in churches or gardens anymore?
If anybody wanted my advice, I'd suggest holding the ceremony in a reasonable venue then sending the guests off to the reception where they could enjoy snacks and drinks while the wedding party went off to get the scenic view photographs. Heck, they could even get some exciting sky diving shots to remind them of their special day.
I'm guessing I'm not the only one to have wished things had been planned better. Meanwhile I'll have to keep looking away from the long suffering guests - never mind the bride with her tattered hems.
❤️
Does make you wonder, doesn't it, about who was in charge of the logistics at some of these events?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to print off the seagull's photo. There are days when that look expresses precisely how I feel!
Yes, Martha, I do wonder too. Social media celebrity is short lived.
DeleteI love that seagull picture too.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI am sure there are plenty of options for a horse drawn carriage for a bridal party wanting to take photos – if not here’s your chance to start up a little business! Fancy this: with apologies of my adaptions from Rogers and Hammerstein:
Aint no finer rig than was Susan’s buggy,
See them white horses do all their a’struten’,
Seats soft as silk, there ‘of genuine leather
Curtain’s pull down, nosy folks aren’t no bother
Powder your noses, privies in her buggy.
Sip champagne, serves cheese on a platter
Whip crack away, to a weddings picture party
Best wishes –PS - Crow could be the driver but I doubt he’ll need a whip.
Thanks, Lindsay! It's a wonderful idea but for the fact Crow and I have no idea how we'd get the horse upstairs and there's no buggy parking on our street. :)
DeleteHmm, it I get married again, I"m doing the pair jumping over the sword, then retiring to the nearest sheltered knoll.........
ReplyDeleteand no photographer, right?
Delete"Weddings are supposed to be reasonably relaxing occasions and not Bataan death marches..."
ReplyDeleteNow there are words worth pondering...
You won the brass ring for noticing, Andrew.
DeleteI was watching 'married at first sight' on catch up television.. I have been off work for three weeks so very bored... I am now having to keep watching it just for the horror of it.. lol
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard about that show, Claire, but now that I've read a bit about it I can understand your horror.
DeleteWeddings extravaganzas, like funerals, are a waste of money. Save the party for the twenty-fifth anniversary when you know it worked.
ReplyDeletethe Ol'Buzzard
I couldn't agree more, OB. Besides, at 25 years most of us are still in good enough condition for the pictures :)
DeleteWell my 40th anniversary arrives next year, and while my wife still looks beautiful and at least 20 years younger than her real age, I look... well, as if I have been on a Bataan death march. Hmm... You do make me ponder.
DeleteAfter so many years we all look attractive in our own ways, Andrew, and most especially to each other.. as in I'm quite sure your lady wouldn't agree with you about that. Oddly enough, and despite the fact ours is a second marriage for both of us, our 40th will be next year too. As you can see we're still marching together :)
DeleteDelete
Computer says I do not have permission to view that link in the last sentence but I am glad to hear you two seem to be skipping along still. Crow, I suspect, is generally more of a solitary beast, although I doubt he tells you everything.
DeleteA fine funeral enjoyed with fine spirits, music, talks & laughter – that would be Sean's Wake. No waste of money, at all.
DeleteA bit grumpy I could become,though, when thinking of that I shall not be alive then.
Thus, carpe diem the 41st next year, though, alive
Sorry that didn't work, Andrew. Still, I'm glad it was easily faixed.
DeleteAh, dear Sean, a wake is a different thing from the kind of traditional funeral that none of us would prefer. A fine old knees up would suit you well - and preferably while you're still around to enjoy it. :)
I shall trust we all see the next in good health.