Wedding Party
Garreth Howes-Webb
Best Man
I have been lucky to have had many great friends and companions over the last 30 years. Each of them has enriched my life in various ways and made me the person I am today. From the age of four however, my best man has always been Garreth. We met on our first day of primary school, but at that stage, Garreth could only manage half days as he would get sick with anxiety every morning. We stayed together all the way through school, and even mirrored each other’s out of school hobbies. Still the name in the back of my passport (he may not know this), I know I can always depend on Garreth no matter the situation and I am very proud to have him supporting me on this day.
Sarah Ng
Maid of Honor
Literally a 'sister from another mother' ...and father, Sarah is my cousin. Born only 33 days apart, she has endured me since Day 1. Together we've enjoyed countless sleepovers and dance sessions – at home and in the nightclub. The stars aligned in our favour and we ended up attending the same junior college, where we routinely got up to mischief and brainstormed the ways we could take over the world. One of those brainstorming sessions resulted in us going door to door in the hot sun, trying to sell jars of honey. (We sold a grand total of two jars. One to her mother and one to mine.) Rah has always been there for the LOLs as well as the ugly crying and I'm glad to have her with me on a day when there's sure to be both!
Andy Sproston
Groomsman
I met Andy on my second day of university. I was an eager beaver, so turned up a day early. After a quiet day exploring a new city alone, I went for an evening walk around the halls. As I was about to head back, I got heckled at, asking if I wanted some pasta. Although I had just eaten, I seized the opportunity to meet humans. When I got inside, Andy was sat in a freezer showing how much space the university had given us for frozen goods. From that point on, we were inseparable, living together for the next 4 years. We spent our days watching 24, drinking cheap whiskey, and drunkenly booking flights, train tickets and gigs, and generally making plans for the future. We have been lucky to see a few of those plans through, and have a few more on the list to see us through retirement.
Valerie Teo
Bridesmaid
Val, also my cousin, is the little sister I never had. She is a couple of years younger than Rah and myself, but we have always played together and gotten along well since we were kids. Although the days of building forts in her living room and playing with her mutilated Barbie dolls are long behind us, we still have a ball of a time whenever we get together. My favourite memory of Val is when us cousins went out for lunch and had a round of Long Island Iced Tea to celebrate her turning 21. As we walked home from lunch, she had to lie down in a patch of grass by the side of the road on the way home. (This was a contributing – but not deciding – factor in our choice of wedding venue.)
Beth Crandon
Groomswoman
The rose amongst thorns on my side of the aisle is Beth. We have known each other since starting secondary school, but only really grew close in the last 2 years or so of school when we realised we had very aligned interests, usually music and tv. We stayed close throughout college and attended the same university, Beth starting the year after me. After finishing university, we shared a flat together in Taunton where we jointly took on parental responsibilities for Tai, the perfect hot water bottle dog who would keep us safe by barking at people from a safe distance, and roll on to his back for belly rubs the moment they get close. We’ve come a long way from the entry in Beth’s diary when she got sat next to me in Math (I think as a punishment) and wrote how “even Scott won’t talk to me”.
Emily Teo
Bridesmaid
Emma, Val's younger sister, has always been the baby of the family and will always be the baby of the family – ya hear that, girl??! Despite being the youngest, Emma has weirdly always been the voice of reason and the most responsible among us cousins. We are not proud of this, but we (Rah, Val and I) had to borrow money from Emma (13 years old then) so that we could go out clubbing. It wasn't until Scott and I visited her in Edinburgh where she is currently at university, that it became apparent to me that Emma had become her own person. She never fails to make us laugh – or laugh at us. And I look forward to her helping me keep things real and calling me out on my shit. "Errr..... That's so last year. Nobody does that anymore....."
Matthew Hodge
Groomsman
I have known Matt since we were around 14 but we really started talking when we took math together at college, and started working together in a restaurant near to where we both lived. We stayed close even after we each moved away to separate cities and would regularly catch up to shop for trinkets, wear fancy shoes, and share stories, often of Matt’s latest adventure or venture (Matt is the official eyewear sponsor of our wedding day - check out www.goldenhourvision.com). Am looking forward to many (many) more stories to come.
Charlotte Ng
Bridesmaid
Charlotte and I went to the same school since we were seven but only got close in junior college when we were in the same form class. It was our propensity for skipping lectures, love of sushi and general disdain for authority that finally brought us together. No doubt we were often getting into trouble, it was always fun. I will never forget – or let her forget – her 17th birthday party where she threw up like the Merlion. We have weathered bad hair and bad boyfriends over the years, but now that we've found better halves and our hair looks f-ing awesome, I am excited about what the next chapter brings for us both.