Wedding weekend

Last weekend saw local couple Andrew and Duffy celebrate their marriage with a blessing on Samson and a festival of fun on Bryher. 

The bride looked beautiful, the groom handsome and the partying went on until daybreak the following day. The Big Hoolie looks set to be replayed every summer with bands, booze and lots of dancing making for a most memorable evening.

Sasha wins the family prize for stamina as she danced until 5am. On an evening where four different bands played sets, once the 11am curfew arrived the revellers donned their headsets and a silent disco continued until daybreak. 

My niece Zoe of Bryher Bakebox fame made the cakes, including her much loved tattie cake.

Steve and Jamie made the wooden cake stand, a rustic take on the standard version.

The marquee was decorated with the help of friends and family alike to create a colourful backdrop for the celebrations. The weather was changeable outside but the huge marquee was windproof and big enough to accommodate eating, drinking and dancing for all.

Steve scrubs up well, doesn't he? My feather trimmed pyjama suit shed forensic evidence all evening, even the ladies loos were documented with my visits.

There is a point where dressing up can be mistaken for fancy dress... A friend, on seeing this photo, asked me what the wedding theme was and I had to explain. The lady on the right had attended the hen do on the mainland, at Rattlerfest for those who might have heard of it. Anyway, the theme for the hens was to wear the worst bridesmaid's dress. This mint green ensemble is the remaking of her hen dress. My feather trimmed pyjama suit cannot be explained away apart from the fact that I always feel I have to try a little bit harder to create the wow factor on these occasions. Dressing up daily for work does set the bar a bit higher than most. That said, I did receive many compliments, one being from a young friend of Sasha's who told me she had been taking in all of the elements of my outfit and had decided that's what she would aspire to at my age. The sandals are from Vinted, the feather trimmed pyjama suit is by River Island but was from Vinted earlier this year.

My one regret of the evening was that I wasn't there for Jamie's speech. Andrew and Jamie grew up together, bonding at the hostel when they were teenagers and having this easy, steady friendship that has matured as they have grown into men. As one of the groomsmen, Jamie had written is thoughts down and somehow managed to reduce the entire company to tears with his story of their lifelong friendship. I've lost count of the number of people who approached us to say what a wonderful speech he delivered. Proud parent moment.

Steve and his sister Gill...

...and with Jo-Jo, one of his great nephews. 

We came home on an 11pm boat, a gentle crossing between the islands on a moonlit evening. It had been a special day, an island gathering for a much loved couple.

On Sunday, we met, a much smaller gathering of family, at the Ruin Beach Cafe for lunch. Somehow Sasha was there despite only having had one hour of sleep!

Oh how I have pizza envy! Even though I can't eat 'em I do love to see them...

Pizza cooked in a wood fired stove - yum yum!

We had a long, lazy lunch and afterwards found the perfect shot to capture my outfit of the day.

Details are: Steve Madden handbag (from TK Maxx), white trousers are a recent buy from Number36 in Penzance, sandals from TK Maxx and top is from Vinted.

The weather was glorious and Tresco was looking pretty perfect in the summer sunshine.

Many thanks to Steve for being my photographer of the day. Despite the heckling, he did a good job. I do hope you've enjoyed the latest catch up from Tresco and the Parkes family. Leave me a comment if you have. 

                                                                    Anna x