We couldn’t let the wedding of Meghan Markle to Prince Harry go past without our own event to help them celebrate. Jill, one of the, ‘walkers who lunch’ opened her house for a ‘ladies only’ gala event.

The invitations to our party included a dress code – recycled wedding attire. It could be your own wedding dress, your own mother of the bride outfit, your own bridesmaids gown, or a recycled retro wedding outfit, including of course any posh wedding guests garments. I love an excuse to play dress up for a party. It builds the anticipation for the actual event over how ever long it takes to find and get one’s outfit ready. In my case for this event, that took several weeks.

The build up to the wedding had most of us either trying on things from our own wardrobes or trunks, seeing what we could borrow, or hunting through charity shops, or retro recycling shops for something suitable to wear.

I chose the charity shops, and was lucky enough to find a wedding dress that had some elements similar to my own wedding dress from 1982, (I haven’t still got my original dress, nor would it fit me anyway). The charity shop dress was made of the same butter cream satin (used as a lining in my original dress), and the bodice was adorned with pearl beading, as was mine. Importantly, it wasn’t size 10. In fact it was probably around a size 20. I could have worn it as is, and said I’d lost weight – that would have been fun, or alter it to fit. I chose the later.

From the outside it passed (just). The inside would have had the original owner mortified with the lining ripped out, and seams taken in with 5 inch seams, not cut, not neatened – just whizzed in on the machine. Taking the heavily beaded bodice in on the machine wasn’t feasible, so that was roughly tacked in. With the help of a couple of safety pins it held together.

I’d enlisted Paul to play to Chauffeur for myself a few others. Our event was to kick at 5.30pm, two hours prior to Meghan and Harry’s. Linda and Dianne were dropped off at our place at 4.30pm for a quick glass of champagne and a couple of photos prior to leaving to pick up Beth.

After picking up Beth, we drove by Brian and Kayes so as we could travel in convoy. Brian and Kaye will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next year. Can you believe it – she still fits into her wedding gown (and didn’t have let out the seams).

Then on to the party.

Sadly, Paul left before the rest of women arrived – so apologies to the ladies who missed out being included in this group photo. I’m disappointed not to have slipped my own little camera in so as to have been able to take a bigger group photo once all the guests arrived.

We watched the wedding whilst sipping champagne, kindly poured by Jill’s partner John who appeared at intervals from an adjoining area, dressed suitably to play butler to us for the evening. Canapes` were passed around, followed by smoked salmon, and Coronation Chicken (a royal dish first created for the Queens coronation) with an asparagus salad.

We watched the wedding live on TV.  Those poor wedding guests who had to contain their looks of boredom, annoyance or amusement as the infamous sermon was delivered by American preacher, Michael Bruce Curry, the 27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the world watching them all. Who will ever forget that speech – to say it stole the show is an understatement…… I just wish it was in a nice way. Anyway it was certainly memorable. Hellalujah!

At first we laughed, then we jeered, and finally we yelled at him (on the TV) to get off – and still he went on, and on, and on…… I’m sure if we’d had some rotten tomatoes we may have flung a few his way, as I’m sure would some of the actual wedding guests (at least in our minds anyway).

Finally he finished, the ceremony finished, and we finished off our own royal dinner with the most delicious cakes, home made chocolates, and tea served in fine bone china regency cups.

It was a wonderful evening, full of love and laughter. It was a pleasure to celebrate the wedding of Meghan Markle to Prince Harry in our little corner of the world, with our gorgeous hostess, Jill, and with the ‘the walkers who lunch’.