Frock it!

I very rarely write about clothes. Dresses even less often. But there's a family wedding on the horizon, and it will still be summer (stop laughing) and the usual black elegant breeks seem ... well, black. And besides they've been round the block a bit, beginning with the time they climbed out of an Argyll ditch after a car crash, and that wasn't yesterday. The good news, I suppose, is that they remained elegant and that they still fit. But I digress.

In the interests of trying, I send for a dress that caught my eye in a sale. Lovely material - silk/cotton - lovely  subtle slatey colour, potentially flattering lines and length. And it arrives, and it fits. But there's the rub. I don't like myself in it. I hitch up the skirt to see if the new knee-length would have been any better, but find it as unflattering as ever. (I don't think knee-length cuts it unless you wear killer heels and have a long tibia. Or two.) I realise my ankles are looking ... well, old. The bump from the sprain a month ago doesn't help, and I daresay they'd be improved by tights - another horror. Loathe tights.

I think I'm in danger of looking like the matronly aunt-in-law that I actually am. I can't bear myself in this mode. What to do? I shall give the shops one last try. I'm not holding out much hope. But I'd like to issue a warning to any of the generation that might be having any ideas: I'm not up for this dressing-for-a-wedding caper. It's not me.

Now, what about a nice little fascinator ...?

Wedding!

Small attendants
Originally uploaded by goforchris.

It may seem strange to illustrate a post about a wedding with a picture of two small children, but the very young attendants at the wedding I've just returned from were such a feature of the ceremony that this lovely vision of them let off the hook seems appropriate. The wee boy, incidentally, should hereafter be known as Frodo - he did a great job with the rings!

It's been a lovely day. The weather defied last night's predictions of rain, and instead gave us gentle sun and no wind. The church looked wonderful - more pics when you click on the above - and the service was beautiful. This was my first experience of the marriage rite I've been involved in debating the past two synods, and I have to say that the practice of it far exceeds any of the arcane quibbles of the liturgists. And the hymns! I've never seen these words before, but the new words about marriage and commitment, sung to folk tunes, complemented the mood of the liturgy perfectly.

Donna the bride came into church to the music from a movie - "The Day after Tomorrow". Mr B at the organ performed the miracle of turning a DVD soundtrack into a piece of organ music which worked amazingly well. (I don't know how many people knew it was a disaster movie, but no-one blinked). And later, much later, she and Paul did a cracker of a first dance which had us weeping with mirth.

It was great to meet up with some of my former pupils - and to see what lovely adults they've become. Even if dancing the quickstep makes me feel I've dislocated my femur ....