Charlie and Lena Wedding - May 2018

Before the wedding

Three weeks after Charlie's stag weekend and almost four years after we met Lena in Bali, we flew to the UK for another quick holiday to help Charlie and Lena celebrate their wedding.  Shawna Ubered to the airport early so she had a better shot at an upgrade - and it worked!  Keith had been at the office - so we had about an hour in the BA lounge before going to the gate.  The flight was pretty quick with the jet stream in our favor - Keith watched Black Panther and Shawna All the Money in the World, we both slept well, and landed at Heathrow ready to go.  It was a quick trip through customs, we grabbed coffee and a scone at Café Nero, and then picked up the Avis rental.  It took longer than desired as Keith had booked through Expedia and they did not have his number.  But, we were eventually on the road and made it to Evershot by 5:30pm. 

Evershot

Shawna had booked us at the Acorn Inn that night - built in the 1600s and mentioned in Tess of the D'Urbervilles.   We went for a walk around the village (cutsie place) and stopped by the Summer House which Keith's dad had mentioned and was what got us to the village.  Keith had a few work calls - then we showered and ate at the Acorn Inn restaurant.  It was a pretty nice dinner - a casual room, where we were the youngest diners by far.  Keith started with the Gin of the month, split a bottle of wine, and for dinner we has Rabbit Lasagna and Asparagus Prosciutto Salad for appetizers, and for main we had Dorset Lamb, topped off with Port and a Cheese Tray.  All delicious, and enough to put us to sleep for the night!  It was a pretty good sleep before we got up the next morning - breakfast included with the room and then we were off.

Jurassic Coast

We had a few hours to burn before we could check in to the wedding facility so we drove to Lulworth Cove on the Jurassic Coast.  Our plan was a 2 hour walk, but the car had a problem locking so we had to take turns "babysitting" the car while the other did a short hike.  It was a stunning area: we definitely need to go back for a proper walk.  We then drove to North Cadbury and checked in to North Cadbury Court.  The wedding venue was first built in the 1300s, though it had been expanded many times.  It had only been turned into a venue 5 years prior when the current owner's mother died.  We stayed in the Oak Room - which was huge and quite nice - though the bath/shower was a contraption to deal with!  We had a nap and shower before heading downstairs - there was a tea/biscuit reception that was sparsely attended so we relaxed until the house tour started at 5:30pm.  The Friday night was a smaller group for dinner at the North Cadbury Court - a yummy Persian dish that was quite tasty!

North Cadbury Court

Our 'luxurious' bath

On Saturday, there was a hot breakfast served - we grabbed that and then went back to the room for another nap - our jet lag still had the best of us!  The service was at the church at 2pm immediately next door - built in the 1400s.  It was a beautiful day and the light filled the church.  After the service, we all walked back to the wedding venue for group photos before the champagne was served.  It was a beautiful cocktail hour - we spent much of the time chatting with Kathy and David from Australia.  Dinner was a sit down affair in the main event room, followed by dancing to the two bands that Charlie plays with.  We stayed up until 12:30 AM dancing!

Keith and Charlie

Sunday was also relaxing - we skipped breakfast and went down in time for the lunch BBQ which was cooked by Charlie's family.  We said our goodbyes and then drove to Hertford to see Ewan, Sharon, and the kids.  It was a fun dinner and drinks with them.  Monday am we were up and showered - followed by a hot breakfast c/o Sharon and then the hour drive to Heathrow.  We were early enough to get another upgrade - we convinced ourselves that the 11 hour flight home made it worth it!

The gorgeous couple - Charlie and Lena