Wedding diary
On Saturday 23rd November, my wife and I finally got married in Buenos Aires after 10 years of being together. The whole week of the wedding was very special for me, not only because I married the woman I love, but also because I had the opportunity to spend time with all of my British friends and family in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I’m very happy to share these memories with you guys, my students, as your kind words and well-wishing before my wedding really put a smile on my face.
Thursday 21st November
I arranged a private tour of the city for my friends and family. From 2pm-6pm, we were driven around Buenos Aires in a bus, with narration provided by our tour guide for the day, Hernan. Overall, the tour was enjoyable, however, at times Hernan made us feel slightly uncomfortable with his politically incorrect comments/ jokes. I say ‘comments/ jokes’ because Hernan spoke in broken English, making it difficult to determine whether he was joking or being serious.
- Do you think that doing a guided tour is a good idea when you first visit a city?
- Are there any types of comments/ jokes that you think a tour guide should avoid?
After the tour, I had an intimate dinner with my family and my wife’s family. This was a beautiful and significant moment for me, as this was the first time that both families, in their entirety, had met each other. My charismatic father-in-law barbecued Argentinian steak, both families got on like a house-on-fire, and I think that everyone sat at the table could feel in their hearts that this was a special evening, where the bonds between the two families were strengthened.
- Do you remember the first time your family and your partner’s family met?
Friday 22nd November
On Friday, I invited all of the British guests to eat out in an Argentinian steak restaurant. The dinner went well. After this meal I felt like I had perhaps overdosed on steak over the past 3 days, and if I ate any more, I may well turn into a cow.
Following the dinner, we took a short walk to a tango club. In the tango club, we had the opportunity to take part in a tango lesson, then we could watch a live tango band. Of the Brits, the older generation relished the opportunity to take part in the tango lesson, whilst my generation preferred to sit down and watch from the comfort of a table. Each to their own.
- What would you have enjoyed more, the steak or the tango?
Saturday 23rd November - Wedding day
At 5:30pm, we got married in a catholic church in front of all of our friends and family. Interestingly, the priest who married us is also my wife’s uncle. My wife looked stunning.
After the ceremony, we made a short walk to the beautiful party venue, where we partied until the early hours.
One thing that I didn’t properly anticipate was how much of the wedding party I would have to spend posing for the photographer, Emiliano. Posing for photos is not my favourite activity. I spent most of the evening trying to hide from Emiliano, but like a hungry shark, he hunted me down. Even today, whenever I open the microwave, fridge or oven in my house, I worry that Emiliano will jump out, holding his camera.
In keeping with British wedding traditions, I made a speech at my wedding party. I had been dreading this moment for months. Battling through my nervousness, I spoke from the heart and finished by saying ‘looking back, I see 10 beautiful years of shared history side by side with Mel, and looking forward, I see a bright future, because she will be my wife.’
Both the ceremony and the party went swimmingly, and our guests had a whale of a time.
By the end of the party, my wife was absolutely knackered because she had organised the entire wedding almost single-handedly!
- When was the last time you dressed up nicely?
- Do you enjoy organising big events?
- Do you enjoy weddings?
- Did you enjoy your own wedding?
Sunday 24th November
The day after the wedding, I invited all of my British wedding guests to a British pub called ‘The Gibraltar’. We sat in this pub for 9 hours, from 12pm-9pm. Sitting in this pub, I bathed in the friendship of the people I love most in the world, my best mates, family members of all generations, and my lovely wife, it was bloody brilliant.