Colin & Eva are wed. These guys are serious party animals

The gorgeous cake made by one of Eva's 4 sisters who told me she doesn't make cakes!

By the time I was up and about on Saturday morning (wedding day) I had come to my senses and realised that there was no way I was going to survive the heels, so I downgraded my outfit to trousers and court shoes. I had been reassured by Eva that there was no dress code as, although her family would dress up, the likes of our lovely Diesel - aka Colin - would be hard pushed to get out of his overalls. I knew I was, therefore, in trouble, when Diesel went past helming the bride to her wedding.

 Blimey, he doesn't half scrub up well - that woolly hat has been covering up smashing hair as well!

 A wave from Eva as she passes our boat EARLY (a family trait evidently) no time to get the dress back on then.

 Arriving at the wharf across from Gas Street. That's Aiden above left who is a very close friend of theirs and gave Eva away. He is also a professional musician and plays the Iulleann pipes, guitar and goodness knows what else. He played during the ceremony and was joined by a drummer and fiddle player.

Eva looked sensational

Here I need to apologise as we had a bit of a problem with the camera indoors - we don't know why.

 Eva and Colin having just signed the Marriage Register

It is normal to have a reading or two; Eva wrote her own poem which I think is lovely, she has given me permission to publish it on our blog - I should point out that they live aboard NB Funky Fish with their 3 cats; Diesel, Weasel and Big Ginge

Three cats and a boat what a wonderful life

Now Captain and First Mate become husband and wife

Our family's the hull, water-tight and strong

Our friends are the fenders for when things go wrong

Of course we need diesel and we're lucky to know two

Our cat and our Warrior who warm our boat through

They keep us both going through watery miles

When things are getting tough they bring out our smiles

Our trusty cat Weasel always greets us on our way home

Big Ginge is on the run again finding new places to roam

Whose hand's on the tiller steering the way?

Deciding the route day after day

Jointly we hope we'll hold on together

To conquer the storms and inclement weather

Our waterway journey under bridge and through lock

Our lives can only get better now we're tying the knot

copywright Eva Bellamy

 One of the bridesmaids - I seem to have mislaid the other one

 All 5 sisters together

 Kevin - another friend and brilliant vocalist/guitarist who writes his own stuff - between Kevin and Aiden's sets, another boating friend, Paul, did some DJing. It really was the most fantastic day. The buffet food was sensational and Aiden was at his best encouraging everyone to jig about all over the place, with more enthusiasm than finesse I might add - who can resist fiddle and pipes? I was only too happy to take some of the guests back to Matilda Rose who were, like most people, intrigued by the idea of living on a boat. I had to go and feed the dogs and let them out for a pee and, shame on me, swapped the court shoes for my walking shoes. My feet just couldn't hack it.
G made two runs back to the boat at around 9; the first to see to the dogs and fetch my meds,  plus more wedding guests - the second to fetch my meds which he forgot - he still didn't manage all of them......bless.. but there was an awful lot of real ale swilling around. It was around this time that they came round with sausage and bacon baps to provide a little absorption - brilliant idea.
I was a good girl (but it didn't spoil my fun) and reluctantly dragged myself away from the festivities around 11 ish. G rolled home around 3.30am (they all ended up in The Prince of Wales) with a severe dose of hiccoughs and only just managed to get out of bed in time for the Rugby this morning!
The wedding played havoc with his weight loss regime, when he put his food and beer consumption into his 'app', look what happened! Oooops! The red bit speaks for it's self.

If Big Ginge comes home tomorrow, they are off for their honeymoon down the Farmer's and Aston flights to the Dog and Doublet and, possibly, Alrewas. So, if you see them, give them a toot.