John and Gwen
What's when ...
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Tuesday: Castle and Great House Day, Part One
9:00 am
Stansted, England CM24 8SP, United Kingdom
Today we are going to take the kids out for the day! The young at heart may want to join us too. In the morning we'll make the 40-minute drive to Mountfitchet Castle, a wooden Norman Motte and Bailey Castle and Village, reconstructed on its original historic ancient site, providing a unique insight into community life in Domesday England. http://mountfitchetcastle.com/ Mountfitchet's most famous resident is Fred the dog, who recently became an internet sensation when he adopted nine orphaned ducklings! https://youtu.be/7ffEShRDhGY Admission is £11 for adults, £9 for children aged 3-13, and £10.50 for OAPs
Tuesday: Castle and Great House Day, Part Two
1:00 pm
After our visit to Mountfitchet Castle in the morning, we'll have lunch in historic Saffron Walden. There's a fantastic pub there, The Eight Bells, which has a dining room made from a converted medieval barn. There are also loads of great picnic sites, and the oldest, largest turf labyrinth in Europe, as well as a fantastic public garden. http://www.visitsaffronwalden.gov.uk/ In the afternoon, we will visit Audley End House, one of England's best preserved Jacobean great houses, and an English Heritage site. The garden was designed by Capability Brown, there's a Victorian stable wing to explore, as well as the servants' wing and the rest of the house. Re-enactors show how life was lived in the era of the grand British estate house. If there's enough interest and we have a big enough group, the staff at Audley End can arrange a private tour for us. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/audley-end-house-and-gardens/ Admission is £18.10 adults, £10.90 children
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Wednesday: A Very British Tea
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
47 Mill Way, Grantchester, England CB3 9ND, United Kingdom
A favourite place of rest and refreshment for students at the University, the village of Grantchester and its famous Orchard Tea Garden is a perfect place to spend the afternoon before the wedding! Please join us if you'd like for tea and a ramble along the Cam. http://www.theorchardteagarden.co.uk/ Let us know by the 25th of July so we can make a reservation for you. Grantchester is a short drive from Cambridge, or you can go the traditional way - on a bicycle!
Wednesday: Rehearsals
7:00 pm
We have got approval from the chaplain at King's for the wedding choir, director, and organist! We have scheduled Wednesday evening for a ceremony music rehearsal time. There's an organ recital in the Chapel that evening, ending at 6:30. Liturgical rehearsal will be at 7. Choir rehearsal at 7:30. We know many of you want to sing or play at the reception also - we've arranged for a piano to be in the Cloister. We have asked if we might have a room with a piano available to us during the day on Wednesday, for anyone who wants to rehearse. Bear with us as we negotiate the channels of administration in the great institution that we are so privileged to have as our wedding site. And what is the best part about a good rehearsal with fine fellow musicians and a superb music list? Going out to the pub afterwards! Please join us, even if your musical contribution is singing the hymns from the congregation! Watch this space for updated info!
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Thursday: Hair!
2:00 pm
The bride is getting her hair did! So is her mother, and several of her friends. And possibly some of her sons. If you also want to get your hair styled by someone professional for the wedding and want to join us for croissants, coffee, gossip, and a ton of hairspray, please do let Gwen know soon and she'll add you to the list!
Thursday: Greek Bridal Procession
Thu, Aug 2, 2018, 4:00 pm - Fri, Aug 3, 2018, 4:45 am
75 De Freville Ave, Cambridge, CB4 1HP, United Kingdom
John and Gwen are staying with their dear friend Alix in Cambridge the week of the wedding. The night before, John will stay at King's, and Gwen will be with friends at Alix's house. Alix has a Greek background, and she's organized a fantastic event from her tradition. Here's what we're doing: At 4pm on the wedding day, the bride's friends and family will gather at Alix's house. Once we're all there, we will walk together to the Chapel. It's a 25-minute walk. There will be singing, music, and shenanigans. It will be so much fun, and everyone there will get Gwen to the church on time! You don't have to be 'on Gwen's side' - everyone's invited. Except John! There is no parking in Alix's neighbourhood - it's all permit-only. We suggest you get a cab or an uber from wherever you are staying to Alix's house.
Solemnization of Matrimony
5:00 pm
King's Parade, Cambridge, England CB2 1ST, United Kingdom
Reception
6:15 pm
In the Cloister under the beautiful Wren Library, we will eat, drink, and be merry. Instead of a stuffy sit-down meal, we are being treated to a lavish French country spread, along with passed hot canapes. There will be plenty of seating at the lovely oak refectory tables from Trinity's Great Hall, as well as some soft garden furniture seating we're hiring for the evening. If you wish, make a plate and take a punt out on the Cam to eat! We'll have punts and punters there for that very purpose. After we've all had our fill, we'll cut the cake, have a speech or two to satisfy tradition, and then the real fun begins! Many, many of our friends and family have expressed a wish to provide music on our wedding day. Trinity is furnishing us with a piano, and we intend to use it all evening. We'll enjoy hearing some special pieces from special people, and then settle into dancing to piano music focused on the songs which John's Mum Joan (who is 100!) remembers dancing to in her youth.
Thursday: After party party
9:00 pm
8 Benet Street, England CB2 3QN, United Kingdom
For those who want to stay out late! We've asked for a space at one of the bars in this historic pub (Francis Crick interrupted patrons' lunchtime here on 28 February 1953 to announce that he and James Watson had "discovered the secret of life" after they had come up with their proposal for the structure of DNA) quite near the wedding and reception. You don't need to RSVP for this - just tag along after the reception if you'd like to come have a pint.
Friday, August 3, 2018
Friday: Punting and picnic
12:00 pm
Garret hostel lane, England CB2 3QN, United Kingdom
A hearty sandwich is the best antidote to the previous night's overindulgances, right? The day after our wedding, we are planning to meet at one of our favourite local lunch spots, Bread & Meat, to pick up a few sandwiches to go, and then we'll head to the Trinity Boathouse where we've reserved several punts for the afternoon. We will picnic wherever the mood takes us. Please join us for a relaxing and fun day-after on the historic River Cam.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Saturday: A Day in Ely
12:00 pm
Today we are venturing north of Cambridge to the tiny medieval city of Ely. We are planning to set out around noon and we will have lunch at The Cutter Inn alongside the River Ouse. (Let us know by 25 July if you'd like us to make you a reservation too.) In the afternoon, we will enjoy Ely. You may want to visit the Stained Glass Museum or the Oliver Cromwell House. If you're a horse person, maybe the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art at Newmarket sounds fun. Or explore the fens and birdwatch either on foot or by boat. There is a chartered General Market on first Saturday of the month, as well as a Craft and Collectables market. This would be a great opportunity to buy gifts and souvenirs to bring home. Join us at 5:30 in the Cathedral with its stunning and distinctive octagonal lantern for Evensong. Gwen's choir sang Evensong here in 2015, which was a fantastic experience. They sang one of the anthems we are having at our wedding!
Sunday, August 5, 2018
Sunday: Faith, friends, family, and farewell
10:00 am
King's Parade, England CB2 1ST, United Kingdom
For those of you still in Cambridge on Sunday, we'd very much like to have you join us for church. Since the chapel where we were married has no regular services during the summer, we're planning to go to another church which has held special significance for John, St. Bene't's. In our tradition, having communion after the wedding ceremony together is an important part of sealing the covenant of marriage. We'll have had fun together, we'll have celebrated in many ways, but at the heart of our marriage is God and the love and grace He has given to us in bringing us together. After church and a bite to eat, we will depart on our honeymoon to begin our married life together.