Sarah entered the room on the arm of her very proud father wearing a stunning ivory, Benjamin Roberts wedding gown made of gilded silk. The Registrar welcomed everyone, and proceeded with the ceremony . One of Aaron’s colleagues Maj S Hill read a poem, the other Maj. S Grant a reading, after all the vows were made, the registrar , Geoff declared them Husband & wife and said, “Aaron you may kiss your bride”, … which he obliged, but Geoff did not think it was good enough, and rated the kiss 5/10…so made him do it all again, which amused us all, but Aaron did not take much persuasion .
The piper escorted them back up the aisle to thunderous applause, and the canapes reception, where everyone could greet the new Mr & Mrs Browne.

" I do" Sarah taking her vows. (c) A. Stonehall

It's official .... Mr & Mrs Browne (c) A. Stonehall
We all found the sparkling wine, supplied by Ian Harvey, very welcoming along with the delicious selection of canapes, which consisted of : Beef satay with bell pepper, mini fish & chips,(yum!) – thai veg pancakes, spinach Ricotta & provincial tart & tiger prawns & melon.
We were entertained by Margaret on her piano whilst our couple went to the beautiful Botanical Gardens to have some photo’s taken, our couple were applauded as they made their way back to the car to join their guests who were waiting their arrival at the Banqueting Suite.

Sarah & Aaron at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. (c) A. Stonehall
The Toastmaster announced the arrival of Sarah & Aaron, and the piper escorted the happy couple to their seats, where the guests applauded and cheered so loudly, that at one point you couldn’t hear the piper at all. We went straight into the speeches, where Sarah’s father Tom, told us all how Sarah always loved horses as a child, and how she used to get him to crawl around the room on all fours, as her pony…… and how when she met Aaron she told her parents Aaron reminded her of Ronan Keating…….. I think Aaron went a brighter shade of red than that of his tunic, i wander if his friends & Army colleagues will ever let him live that one down?
Aaron made his speech after Niall’s, and handed Sarah’s mum Judith, Aaron’s mum Margarite, & myself a beautiful bunch of flowers, and wine for the ushers & my husband . I thought it was very nice & touching to have Aaron say that he & Sarah looked upon Danny & myself as their third set of parents, as he thanked us .

Aaron making his speech. (c) A. Stonehall
Before the cake was cut, Aaron announced that it was also a special day for his father…..His birthday, to which we all sang Happy Birthday, be it some what out of tune!….on to the cake cutting.

cutting of the cake. (c) A. Stonehall
That was it, speeches over, gifts handed out & the lovely cake cut….or so we thought, Declan the front of house manager announced that they personally had a little surprise for our couple, ( even i did not know of this). They were presented with champagne glasses that had been engraved, & in a lovely presentation box as a suprise from Birmingham City Council . Personally i thought this was a lovely gesture.
As we enjoyed our wedding breakfast of Smoked Salmon starter, followed by Chicken breast in a mushroom sauce served with dauphinoise potatoes, Asparagus & a truffle dressing then dessert was a delicious brandy basket with berries & ice cream, our guitarist Stuart Toogood , played his guitar, which added a nice touch during the meal.

Stuart Toogood, Guitarist. (c) chocorococo
As time progressed, we had to leave out table to set up our chocolate fountain, ready for the evening celebrations , which was a shame as we were enjoying talking to everyone , but they were all looking forward to …the chocolate fountain.
Part three of the wedding blog – will follow shortly .(c) chocorococo2010