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A fine day in Ruislip
Sunday 22nd June 2014
I drove a bride from Watford to her wedding in Ruislip on Friday. It is quite a journey, about as far as I travel for weddings, but I am really glad I took the job. From start to finish, the families and guests couldn't have been friendlier. We were all immediately on first name terms and chatting away as if they had known me for years.
We started out a little early so I drove along at a fairly sedate speed. Annoyingly, there were no delays along the route and all the traffic lights seemed to be green so we reached Ruislip High Street much too early. The bride suggested we pull over to kill some time, just as we were approaching a large pub. "That will do" she declared so we pulled into the pub car park. Instead of sitting patiently in the car, she jumped out and headed off, with her escort, into the pub. They emerged ten minutes later ready to continue the journey. Apparently, every head turned and all conversation stopped as she swept into the bar, resplendent in her bridal gown.
We made it to the hotel in good time and everyone posed for photographs. I always try to keep out of wedding photos but they were having none of that. "We must have Bob, wearing his chauffeur's hat, in the pictures. He is almost like one of the family anyway". After the ceremony, the bride insisted I had a drink with them and set off to get an orange juice for me. Some couples are quite distant and it isn't unusual to depart without anyone saying goodbye, let alone thank you. But the wedding this week was such fun and everyone was incredibly friendly and sociable. It reminded me why I enjoy my job so much.