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Sophia, this one is all about you.


Take an English castle, buckets of romance, an unseasonably sunny Saturday, a stunning ivory frock, sniffles in the church and inappropriate jokes in a speech.

Sounds like a right Royal Wedding.

Of course I am delighted for Miss Middleton, but this weekend, it was about a slightly more local breed of celebrity. The wedding of my dear friend, Sophia Potter.

She was complaining this weekend (it was her wedding day, she’s allowed to be demanding) that she had not yet featured in my blog. Well, Potter (now Ridley) – this one is for you.

I have just spent the weekend at a wedding that would not seem out of place in Jane Austen. But think slightly less demure women, more free-styling on the dance-routines and a few additional jager-bombs.

As a bridesmaid at said event, I am delighted to report that Sophia just about managed to stay on the right side of bride-zilla.

There were no hideous peach dresses, no ‘table-plan’ parties and no ridiculous demands.

Why do even normal girls go so gaga over weddings? It is beyond me. Even my sensible friends have done strange things, like growing their always-short hair long so it looks ‘weddingy’ in the shockingly expensive photos. The whole thing is a giant, frothy white puzzle that I just can’t crack.

A friend’s sister has even put limitations on the colour her skin can be for the wedding day. No sunshine or (horror) fake bake permitted for any of the bridesmaids, lest they upstage her golden hues. Best get inside and cover up then huh?

Sophia’s wedding was, of course, absolutely wonderful. Grand and ancient church, a vision of white floating down the aisle, dramatically throwing the bouquet over her shoulder and cutting into a giant cake. (I feel I should add that the wedding cake was made entirely of cheese. Not a cheesecake, you understand. A cake made of cheese.)

She even had Royal Wedding Top Trumps on the tables for the Wedding Breakfast, (meaning dinner, served at tea time) which she had blagged for free, pre-release from the publishers. Bravo, Money Saving Madam doth salute you.

She did the big day with style, grace and a drink in her hand.

However, I’m not entirely sure that The Big Day is for me. Maybe it’s a money thing. Maybe it’s media saturation (did you know that there are whole TV channels devoted to weddings now?). Or maybe it’s celebrities.  I mean, what on earth were Katy and Russell doing with those elephants and tigers and turbans?

I am happy to be proved wrong, but at this moment, the selfish notion of eloping for a two person ceremony followed by a fabulous five star holiday sounds like a far better option to me. I’ll buy my own toaster, thanks.

Sophia was slightly worried that one of my earliest posts, I don't was aimed at her. Well my dear, I did warn my engaged friends to look away, and Money Saving Madam has a duty to her readers to state the costs associated with attending these grand affairs.

But my dear, it was worth every penny. It was a magical weekend.

I do however have Potter-Ridley commemorative mugs available for sale.