Up The Farway Tree

The Wedding

Ardanaiseig Hotel

I had a wonderful weekend at my friends wedding and I was so pleased that I was able to make it. We travelled up to the hotel on Friday afternoon - the wedding was in an old country house overlooking Loch Awe and it certainly was a beautiful setting. I had left my packing until Friday morning and I cannot begin to tell you how much easier this was compared to before the transplant. The last time I had to pack a few months ago I ended up in tears because I was just so breathless trying to gather all my belongings, not to mention the stress of trying to pack and remember all the medications, oxygen, overnight feeds etc. It really put me off going anywhere because the effort and stress involved almost negated the benefits of getting away. This time it was so easy and apart from my medications I had nothing else to worry about. What a great feeling!

The wedding itself was fairly intimate with around 40 guests, so the whole hotel was booked out for the weekend. Arriving on the Friday was really good in this respect as it allowed the guests to mingle and meet each other before the big day. We had a relaxed afternoon with coffee and scones in the drawing room before we all gathered again for a BBQ in the evening. I know I am not supposed to eat BBQ food, but not too worry because the chef prepared me a special plate with the meat well done so I wasn't taking any risks!

On the Saturday we had all morning to do our own thing so myself and Andrew took a long walk around the hotel grounds, gardens and down to the loch. The grounds were lovely with lots of little paths leading into the woodland, so we had a lovely time just exploring the area. We had some lunch before we got ourselves ready for the ceremony, which due to a fortunate change in weather, was to be held outside by the loch.

Out Exploring

Andrew made me pose for this!

The ceremony itself was lovely - we were all gathered in what I can best describe as a small stone amphitheatre which overlooked the loch. A harpist played as the bride arrived - looking absolutely stunning in a almost mediaeval style dress (I would post a photo but would need to ask for permission first!) The mother of the groom read out a poem she had written for the occasion which was very fitting. After the ceremony we gathered back at the hotel for a champagne reception while the bride and groom had photographs taken.

Loch Awe (view from hotel room)

The meal was amazing - sea bass and scallops for started followed by venison as the main, all of which were beautiful. I polished off all my courses including the large slice of sticky toffee pudding. Andrew says he has never seen me eat so much! The speeches were all very good and plenty of humour kept us amused - I even got a special mention from the brides dad to say they were pleased I could make it - it took me a second to realise they were talking about me, and I was really touched.

After the meal in true Scottish tradition there was a ceilidh band. For those familiar with ceilidh dancing you will know it can be quite energetic to say the least, so I had to be careful because of my wound. I did however manage to get up for one of the more sedate dances, which makes another first since my transplant. I can't even remember when I last danced - it might even had been at my own wedding almost 4 years ago. I have a few more weddings to attend later in the year and I'm sure by that time I will be glued to the dance floor :-)

My new dress
(which makes me look even smaller than normal!)

We had a nice breakfast this morning before heading back home. I would like to say we have been relaxing but Andrew ended up outside shovelling slate chips and I was unpacking, then repacking for Newcastle tomorrow - no rest for the wicked. I am organised now though, and myself and mum will head off about lunch time tomorrow so we miss the traffic. Clinic is on Tuesday morning so pleased keep everything crossed I get a good report. I am more prepared for an unexpected stay in light of what happened last time, but I do hope we will be heading back up the road on Tuesday afternoon. I will report back as soon as I can :-)