The online diary of Caroline
Westbrook and her forthcoming marriage on September 6 1998 to Leslie
Bunder.
Monday June 1 1998
Staying up for the whole day (after being caught in New York
thunderstorms) was clearly not my cleverest move as I started to feel very ill this evening. Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure.
Tuesday June 2 1998
Clearly it isn't. I currently have no voice. Which is no good for
phoning florists and asking them to work for us! I can't even take time off work as I've only just got back! How annoying!
Wednesday June 3 1998
Feeling better, but the voice is still very dodgy. I'm trying to rest
it, but it's not working - my will to speak is too strong!
Thursday June 4 1998
Much better today. The replies have started coming back - I think we
will hit our hundred fairly quickly, which is good news.
Friday June 5 1998
My thoughts have to be diverted from the wedding for a couple of days
as my father's 60th birthday is this weekend and we're having a big surprise party.
Well, actually he knows about it - it's an interesting new concept in
surprise parties - but he knows nothing about who is coming, what we're having to eat, and whether there'll be any speeches or the like. Anyway, we're giving the Kiddush in synagogue tomorrow, so I stayed with my parents in order for us to all go together in the morning.
Saturday June 6 1998
The Kiddush was very successful, as was lunch back at my folks'
afterwards. Unsurprisingly the wedding was a hot topic.
Sunday June 7 1998
But it wasn't as hot a topic as it was at my dad's party today! It
seemed that everybody we had invited is coming out to New York, or thinking of coming out to New York.
We spent most of the party trying to convince guests that
the cab fare to anywhere in New York costs two dollars. None of them believed us.
The party went well - we had a huge buffet lunch, and champagne and
speeches, and birthday cake, (as you might expect from a birthday party) and Leslie filmed the whole thing on the camcorder.
My dad got pretty much into the spirit of things, he had no idea who the guests were so it was a very nice surprise when people kept turning up on the doorstep he hadn't seen for ages.
Monday June 8 1998
Right. All ailments cured, parties finished with. (for the time being,
until my brother's London party in about four weeks time, that is). This is
the week when we confirm everything with the photographer and florist.
Or at least it would be if either of them worked on Mondays. Never mind, there's always tomorrow . . . We've now had quotes through from both florists, and Dalsimer, the one we want to use, works out as a slightly better deal - plus they'll do us silk bouquets for the bridesmaids, so they'll have something to take home. I do like the fact they're neighbours. It somehow makes the whole thing so much easier.
Tuesday June 9 1998
Have now been in touch with both parties, who needless to say are
delighted to be on board. Now all they want is vast amounts of money . . .
Wednesday June 10 1998
It's the start of the World Cup! Which means the entire country is, of
course, going soccer mad for the next few weeks. I do, of course, have a passing affection for the USA, (oh and England, naturally), but I have to boast loyalty for Jamaica, as I have drawn them in the office sweepstake (owner of the winning team pockets about £50, or so I'm told).
I look unlikely to see any of my humble five pound stake again as Jamaica are, I am reliably informed, one of the worst teams in the tournament. But they do dance around the pitch whenever they score a goal. And whenever they do win a game, a public holiday is declared. Which kind of makes it all worthwhile really (and
yes, you're absolutely right, no wedding things happened today).
Went to see my Uncle Anthony's play this evening, Steinberg's Day Of
Atonement. It was a small production, about a teacher who is forced to
question his faith (well, it was far more complicated than that, but
too much so to go into detail here).
I'd seen it a few years ago, but this was an actual professional production at a North London theatre, extremely good, hard-hitting, thought-provoking stuff, and very well acted by its small cast. Looking forward to the next one already!
Thursday June 11 1998
Why oh why won't the weather get any better? And where oh where is my wedding dress? It was supposed to be here mid-June, and it's getting dangerously close to that now.
Granted, it is supposed to be coming from Spain, but Spain
isn't that far away. How long can it take? Oh well, had better concentrate on other matters, such as the florist and photographer. We should have cheques for them in the next couple of days, which will fully secure their services for the day.
Friday June 12 1998
Way too preoccupied with work to think about anything else today.
However, my mum did receive the two cheques this morning, so they'll be going off to their respective parties very soon. Which is good news.
Saturday June 13 1998
Poured with rain for the majority of the day, which sort of put a
dampener on things (ho ho) . . . the good news is the guest list is getting longer by the day, with lots of cousins/relatives we haven't seen for years or didn't know we had coming out of the woodwork.
The big question is . . . will we know anybody at our own wedding? Rounded off the evening with some very good sushi (our new favourite thing) in Golders Green.
Sunday June 14 1998
Went out early to Temple Fortune (that's next door to Golders Green, by
the way), to try and choose my mum a dress for the wedding. Amazingly
enough, we hit on just the right one within about half an hour, and were able to buy it straight off the peg - the colour and size were absolutely right, all it needs is a tiny amount of taking in at the back.
It has a lacy, beaded top and a chiffon skirt, in a kind of mint/turquoise colour. By coincidence, Leslie and Lorraine, who were shopping in the area, stopped by to help us pick it out.
We all agreed immediately it was absolutely perfect.
Watched my five pounds go swiftly into someone else's pocket this
evening when turning on to a mere five minutes of the Jamaica/Croatia game saw the latter take the lead in spectacular fashion. Have decided not to watch any more of their matches.
Monday June 15 1998
Oh Ok then. I had to watch the England game, which was well worth it as we swept to victory against Tunisia. Can't wait for the next one.
Anyway, cheques went off to respective floral and photographic folk
today. So we now officially have their services.
Tuesday June 16 1998
Press day at work, so pretty much taken up with that. The guest list is
growing by the day, which is good news. So many people are saving up to fly out to the States, which is lovely. Looks like we'll get the 100 we're aiming for.
Went with Leslie to see The Truman Show, the new Jim Carrey film, for a second time tonight. Yes, I know I've already seen it, but it's so good! I can't resist! And I'll probably end up seeing it again.
Wednesday June 17 1998
Still no sign of the dress, which is a little worrying. Must find out
what's causing the delay, as this is beginning to bother me. Made a list of everything we have left to do - place cards, limos, finding a
hairdresser (Charles Worthington, my favourite salon, has just set up shop in Bloomingdales in NY, so let's see what kind of deal they can do) and, of course, buying wedding rings.
We haven't decided where yet, but they'll probably be platinum and fairly straightforward. After all, given the size of the engagement ring, anything bigger than a band would swamp my finger!
And that is practically it. Apart from paying huge amounts of money to
lots of people . . .
Thursday June 18 1998
Finally! Frock news! My dress has left Spain, where it is being made,
and should apparently be in the country by next week. Provided it clears customs, that is.
This news has made my day. I shall book an appointment for later that week or early next to have the first fitting, see if alterations need to be made (quite possible, as I've lost a bit of weight since I ordered it!)
Friday June 19 1998
The apartments are all booked! We seem to be taking over half the
building! It breaks down something like this:
My parents, me, Catherine and Samara in a two bed
Leslie and assorted cousins in a one bed
Lorraine, Stephen and Jacki in a two bed
My brothers, wives, child in another two bed
My aunt and uncle in a one bed
That's how it goes for now, although we may even need a couple more.
But it'll be damn good fun, being neighbours with everybody else for a couple of weeks.
We're going out there on September 1 and we'll be back in the country on September 11. Now all we have to do is book some flights. We'll
probably go United, they did us proud last time (and we get loads of mileage out of them)
Saturday June 20 1998
Heatwave! One minute it was raining and windy like it was the middle of
winter, now it's about 88 degrees. The entire country is now incapable
of moving.
We just about managed it in the end, going off to see some
comedy tonight at the Chiswick Comedy Club in West London, with Samara. Four acts, only one was no good. Great value for money at £6 though.
Sunday June 21 1998
The hot spell is continuing. We went to a party at Jacki and Stephen's
place for Leslie's Canadian cousin, Shauna, who is over here working (at Teletext, of all places) for a few months. It was her 21st this week, so Jacki threw her a small party and invited some of the family and her friends.
Good fun, very nice lunch and, of course, it was a chance to talk about the wedding, show off the rings etc. It was insufferably hot - spent half the time in the garden but that was warmer still. Tried to spend much of the party huddled over a fan.
But still couldn't escape Jamaica's crushing 5-0 defeat at the hands of
Argentina. Honestly, there's defeats and there's defeats, this is just
ritual humiliation! My chances of seeing my £5 ever again are getting smaller by the second.
Monday June 22 1998
Ah, heck. What's £5 in the grand scheme of things? And besides,
Wimbledon starts today and that's far more interesting. And my dress is due in this week - once it's cleared Spanish customs, that is.
My attempts to get through to the florist to discuss the fax I sent him are not going well - we keep missing each other, or I keep calling too late, or I call on Mondays when he's not in! I'm sure our paths will cross eventually.
Tuesday June 23 1998
We will need to book our flight in the next couple of weeks as all the
planes are filling up! Can't believe it's a month since we went to NY. It'll be September before we know it. We want to go on the same flight as we did last time - the United Airlines one that leaves Heathrow at 1.55 pm in the afternoon, as it gets into JFK around four in the afternoon.
Trust me, this is much better - as you take off in the middle of the day and arrive in the middle of the day, you actually only feel as though you've been flying a couple of hours - plus you don't have to complete throw your body clock out of sync by getting up at four in the morning to catch the plane at some ridiculous hour. Believe me, we've tried this and it is not good for the old jetlag.
Wednesday June 24 1998
I think the summer has ended already. Well, both days of it were fun
while they lasted. Still no dress.
Thursday June 25 1998
We now have around 60 people confirmed as coming to the wedding and many more who have yet to send their invites back . Hopefully we should have no problem hitting our target of 100 guests. If we don't, well, everybody'll just have to have two dinners!
Friday June 26 1998
No dress! I am now fretting, something I said I would never do. Went
over to my parents' tonight and bemoaned the lack of dress, but my father was too busy watching England vs. Colombia in the World Cup to pay much attention. Actually, come to think of it, so was I.
It's amazing how something like soccer, which you pay no attention to all year, suddenly becomes hugely exciting in the event of a World Cup. Anyway, England won and go through to the next round. Ha!
Saturday June 27 1998
Can't ring Virgin Bride today as their office is understandably closed
at the weekend. So I have to wait till Monday to find out whether my dress has been confiscated by the Terminal Two powers that be.
Turns out Berketex, suppliers of my bridesmaid's dresses, are in a similar predicament. I am now fretting about those as Catherine can't come to London the whole of August and needs her dress seeing to as quickly as possible!
Took my mind off it with a little trip to Karen and Edward's new pad on
Saturday night. It's beautifully done up, lots of antique furniture and
impossibly valuable dictionaries. We went out for pasta and talked
wedding things. What else?
Sunday June 28 1998
Once again, things are put on hold for one day as there is another
wedding in the family - Hugh and Melissa's London party, to be precise, for those who couldn't make it to Australia. No ceremony, no black tie, just a nice slap-up tea in Ealing Synagogue Hall.
It was a pretty good do on the whole, firstly because Leslie ended up
filming it, secondly because the tea really was pretty good (sandwiches, cream cakes, strawberries, scones, and lots of other things I shouldn't be eating on my current low-fat kick, but am allowed to today), and also because we got to surprise Lorraine, who turns 75 on Wednesday, by presenting her with a really beautiful birthday cake.
She was taken aback, as were my Aunt and Uncle, who got a similar cake for their birthdays and wedding anniversary. Theirs was swiftly cut up in the kitchen, but Lorraine is unsurprisingly saving hers for Wednesday.
Finally, it was a good do because guests who can't come to our wedding kept coming through the door and presenting me with parcels. I love this new concept in wedding parties - my brother and sister-in-law have the celebration, and guess who gets all the presents?
Also I was able to catch up with people I haven't seen for ages, like
Judy for example, who also happens to be a friend of Hugh and Melissa's. We haven't seen each other for months, very remiss of me, but happily she is almost certainly coming to the wedding. Well, she has to as we sent her two invites by mistake!
Monday June 29 1998
OK, the waiting is over. The dress has arrived and is safely in the
hands of the folks at Virgin Bride as we speak. In my frantic worry about its non- appearance, I phoned them and chastised them horribly when it
transpired the dress had in fact arrived late Friday and nobody had called to tell me it was in.
As it happens, I got home tonight to find a message on my
answerphone from the store telling me just that. Anyway, the main thing is it has arrived. I shall be going for my first alteration on Friday.
Tuesday June 30 1998
Finally got hold of the florist, who assured me everything was going
fine and he had received the cheque we sent him, so they are now confirmed for the day.
As, indeed, are the photographers. I feel a lot has been accomplished
in the past few days, and things are now falling into place. I am breathing a lot easier.
England went out of the World Cup tonight, losing to Argentina on
penalties. Astoundingly, I watched every moment of the two and a half hour game, even hiding behind my scatter cushions when our final player stepped up to take his penalty. It was very exciting. Sad we went out, of course, but we still have Tim Henman winning all those matches at Wimbledon.
