I was at a wedding over the weekend and sat next to Una,whose brother Eamonn had been a school mate of mine.
He had got married a few months ago and his sister told me thst they had all enjoyed the wedding so much they had decided that weddings were wasted on the young.

I am inclined to agree with her.

My great childhood friend Isabel, we have been friends for over forty years, married another friend of mine, Paul,this time a friend of a mere twenty years, in Annecy last weekend.

The truth is that they didn’t at all get married last weekend, they had done the dirty in Cork about six weeks ago and that only to sanctify some sort of wierd Inuit ceremony which had happened in Canada some years ago with Isabel prone on her back with collapsed discs.
This was in the grand Irish tradition the “afters”, a little later than normal it is true.

Here are some snaps I took on the day.

After a Wedding Breakfast in a hotel we came back to the garden for the deserts. This was the cheese, before I got at it.

Their dual existance was celebrated by having two cakes.
This one is the proper French Croque-en-Bouche.

And this was the Irish tiered creation, made and brought over, as hand luggage, by Isabels sister Teresina. It tasted terrific too.

This is the bride and groom cutting same.

And this a shot of my old friends the Healy family.
Isabel with her brother Michael and sisters Olivia and Teresina

And this of my new friends the Duggans
Paul and Isabel with his sisters Maria and Pam and brother Dave.

We escaped to walk around the lake with more new friends
Mike O Flynn and Catherine Neville.
Mike was the best man and performed the job with bravura.

And this is Catherines daughter Leah with Sile.

Leah and Isabel’s daughter Lucy held the house together for the duration.
(I’m sorry Luce, I havn’t a decent shot of you, you were moving too fast!)

This finally is one of some of the guests attempting to soak up the alcohol with puddings.

I did of course write a poem for the occasion.

This time I had the sense to make it even shorter than usual and turn it into a toast.

A Toast

This is a rhyme I wrote for Paul
To give him welcome from us all

He knows all friends of Isabel
With all their hearts do wish him well

But still we are relieved at last
Because the time was passing fast

He finally pinned down his lover
And made an honest woman of her

So celebrate the bridal pair
As they stand at life’s hitching post
Lets lift our glasses in the air
And cheer them with a wedding toast