(Part One)
When Steve Berry proposed to Holly on Easter Sunday in front of a packed pub it set off an unstoppable chain of events which consumed not just Steve and Holly but everyone around them.
Rather unconventionally, instead of picking a date, or a number of dates, and then checking if the church was free Holly went to see the Reverend Marshall to see what dates he had available.
She was fully expecting St Mary’s to be fully booked right through the summer and she was correct, but as luck would have it there had been a cancellation only that afternoon and September 23rd was free.
It was cutting it a bit fine but she thought it was doable so even without checking with Steve she booked it there and then.
Steve ever the bean counter was supervising the installation of solar panels on the rear aspect roof which would make a significant reduction to their electric bill.
Although in truth supervising was actually just him sitting on the patio looking up at them working while he drank a pint.
The Pig and Whistle was a big pub and as he sat looking up to the roof it was patently obvious that it had once been a hotel.
When he and Holly finally got around to fully exploring the accommodation they were amazed at how many rooms there were.
There were some rooms upstairs that were used as little more than storage space.
In fact there were sufficient rooms for Holly and Steve to have a self-contained apartment and still make four decent size bed sitters.
“They could be a useful additional source of income” Steve suggested
“Not if we offered them to the staff at a reduced rate” Holly suggested
“Hmmm” Steve responded
“Hospitality is not the best paid job in the world” Holly continued “and they’re paying ridiculous rents for a room half the size”
“Agreed then” he said so that was settled they would offer them to the senior staff.
Petra and Ausra jumped at the chance as they were living in a very dodgy street with some very unsavoury neighbours, Stephanos was less keen until he realised it was twice the size for half the rent.
Debbie declined as she was already well fixed up living with her parents rent free and you couldn’t get cheaper than that.
“Save it for when we get a cook” Steph suggested
He and Steve did the food between them
“What do you mean?” Holly said
“I’m a good pub grub man” Steph said “but I’m not a chef”
“What do you think Steve?” Holly asked
“Well we can both cook ok, but our repertoire is limited, what we do, we do well” he replied
“What we need is a “chef” who can take us to the next level and broaden our horizons”
“Well I’ll put that on the list then” Holly said and grinned
Steve was taking a short break before the lunchtime rush while Holly was upstairs trying on her wedding dress.
The date was set for September 23rd at St Mary’s church just down the road.
Followed by the reception at the Pig and Whistle which would keep the cost down.
He was thinking about the guest list, it wasn’t substantial,
There weren’t many family guests on Holly’s side, her parents, if they could be found, and two cousins, and none at all on Steve’s side.
The only relative he had was his father and apart from the fact he didn’t know if he was still alive he didn’t want him there anyway.
One person who would definitely not be there was Uncle Phil who had passed away two months before the wedding.
Up in Holly and Steve’s bedroom she was opening a large flat cardboard box the kind where the lid fitted over the base like a very large jigsaw puzzle box.
She was accompanied by her bridesmaids.
Petra and Ausra were cousins and had come to the Britain from Lithuania, they were the same age as Holly and they had known each other for almost ten years. And the three of them were the best of friends.
When she had the lid off, she cast it aside and unfolded the tissue paper covering the contents.
Holly slipped her hands inside and removed the beautiful white silk wedding dress trimmed with Belgian lace.
“Wow that’s beautiful” Petra said “was it your mamas?
“No” Holly replied and laughed “my parents got married in a registry office and the bride wore denim”
“It’s lovely” Ausra added
“It was my grandmothers” Holly said proudly
And when she tried it on Holly looked stunning.
Steve’s thoughts turned to his best man, six months earlier he wouldn’t have hesitated for a second.
His best friend Graham Chatfield would have been the obvious choice for best man.
But they had fallen out, as it was Graham who had been the most vociferous about him burning his bridges and ruining his life over some “silly tart”.
At the point Graham referred to Holly as a “silly tart” Steve hit him and they hadn’t spoken since.
Which meant the obvious candidate was now Stephanos who he hadn’t got around to asking yet.
He went back into the kitchen
“Steph!” he called “I need a best man”
“Of course you do” he replied
“And you’re it” Steve said
“Cool” Steph responded
So that was settled.
Having returned the wedding dress to its box and safely hidden it from Steve’s prying eyes her thought returned to the day itself.
The wedding breakfast was problematic as the cooks were also the Groom and Best man and the waitresses were the bridesmaids.
Of course it was easy enough to get outside caterers for the day, Holly had enough contacts in the business to get someone that would do a good job and at a reasonable price.
It wasn’t in their budget but it looked like they didn’t really have a choice.
The other thing they couldn’t really afford to take was a honeymoon, in terms of time away from the pub and financially.
But their staff ganged up on them and insisted they go, if only for a day or two.
They could quite easily manage while they were away, so they agreed on a short break in the New Forest, a B&B would keep it affordable.
(Part Two)
A few weeks ahead of the big day Holly and Steve were in the apartment eating breakfast and going through the mail.
“I’m a bit worried Steve” she said
“What about?” he asked
“The wedding” she replied
“Why? Have we forgotten something?” Steve said
“No everything’s arranged, everything’s booked” Holly confirmed “Apart from my parents”
“So what’s the matter?” Steve asked puzzled
“The cost” she said “it’s twice as much as we budgeted for”
“That’s because we budgeted next to nothing” he corrected her
“I’m still worried” she said stubbornly
“Well maybe this will set your mind at rest” Steve said and handed her a solicitor’s letter.
It was from Uncle Phil’s solicitor detailing a bequest and a cheque for the stated amount.
“That should cover it” Steve said and stood up, he walked around the table and kissed the top of her head
“Now you can get back to worrying about whether I’m going to turn up or not” He said and left the room whistling
“What do you mean?” Holly said rushing after him
The week of the wedding was a little tense as Holly still hadn’t heard from her hippie parents.
She had left messages at their various stopping off points and with friends she knew they were regularly in touch with but had heard nothing back.
Also during that week were the Hen night and Stag do though neither of them were reckless exhibitionists so strippers and silly stunts were never on the cards.
On Wednesday night the boys when out for a meal and a few drinks while the girls held the fort and the following night they swapped.
On Friday night Steve took Holly out for a romantic dinner and after delivering her home he went across the road to the Abbeyvale Court Hotel for the night.
Saturday arrived and Holly got ready at the pub while Steve dressed at the Hotel which would serve as his abode for his last night as a single man and his first as a married one, albeit in a different room for the nuptials.
The morning was very relaxed, he took a leisurely bath and performed his ablutions but by lunch time when Steph arrived with his suit and shoes etc. the nerves had set in and the joke he made to Holly about not turning up was suddenly ringing hollow, what if she didn’t turn up?
Holly despite having been a wreck all week was calmness personified, and she had resolved to enjoy and savour every moment of their special day.
It was everyone else who were all at sixes and sevens.
But she managed to impress her calmness on everyone around her and they got through the morning unscathed.
Steve was sat at the front of the church with Stephanos and his stomach was doing somersaults.
“Have you got the ring?” he said
“Yes” Stephonos said “but if you ask me again I’m going to throw it out of the window”
“Sorry” he said “Nerves”
When they had arrived the Reverend Marshall had said
“Just sit down and relax, when it’s time I will walk past and touch your shoulder and that’s your cue. Ok?”
Steve just nodded
After about five minutes he heard the Vicars footsteps and then felt his hand on his shoulder which was his cue to get to his feet
“It’s alright I’m only kidding” he said “she’s not here yet”
Steve could have killed him at the time, but it actually stopped his stomach it its tracks.
The Vicar was on the dais when he caught Steve’s eye and nodded and the bridal march began.
Steve and Steph got to their feet.
“This is it man” Steph said “now where’s that ring”
Steve just gave him a sideways glance.
He could hear Holly processing up the aisle and he was desperate to turn around and look at her, but he daren’t, he thought his legs would give way under him if he saw her.
Then he could see her in his peripheral vision, a splash of white.
Steve stepped to his left to join her and took a deep breath before he turned to look at her.
And there she was standing before him, a vision of loveliness, in a dress of antique white silk.
“You look beautiful” he whispered
Holly smiled and giggled
Then as they faced each other there was a crash at the back of the church and without taking their eyes off each other they said in unison
“The hippies”
Then after a second or two they both turned to look at a middle aged couple at the back of the church, Steve had no idea who they were but when Holly squeezed his hand he knew it was her parents.
On Sunday morning Mr and Mrs Berry left for their honeymoon in the New Forest, not however bound for a B&B but courtesy of Uncle Phil’s bequest, to a Country House Hotel.
And when they returned a week later they brought with them a new chef.
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