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On 20th. February 1999, Vanessa and Robert were married at Highbury Hall, the family home of the Chamberlain family.

        "I had decided to get ready actually at Highbury Hall rather than negotiate our two excitable cats & a possibly rainy or snowy driveway in my wedding finery. My father drove us there and I was able to prepare in "Miss Hilda's Room" overlooking Highbury Park, where both Robert and I used to play as children. 
                Getting ready at the hall and then just having to walk down the stairs was so much nicer than having to go outside to a waiting car and I would certainly recommend it to anyone else. It was very relaxed and gave me the opportunity to calm myself before the ceremony. As I walked down the stairs on my Fathers arm I really felt like the "daughter of the house" going down to be married in the family home. 
                It would be wrong to say that I didn't feel nervous, but I certainly felt calmer than I  had expected. This was partly due to the calm professionalism of the Registrar and his assistant from the Birmingham Registry Office. He was wonderful and made everything run smoothly, while at the same time made the whole thing seem very personal to us both. 
                I was a bit concerned as I had never been to a civil wedding before and we thought it might be over too quickly, and not feel special enough, but I needn't have worried. You can add as much or as little to the legal ceremony as you like and the registry office were very helpful in providing suggestions of additional vows, declarations, and poems etc... 
                We had great fun choosing suitable music (anything is allowed as long as it has no religious content or connotations). We chose Pachelbel's Canon to begin with, and it's hard to describe how I felt when I walked in to that lovely music and there was Robert waiting for me. 
                We had chosen to say extra vows to each other :- 

   " I bring to you my love, my loyalty and my trust as we begin our new life together.  I will be faithful and honest, will share with you my hopes and fears, will seek your help in troubled times and will respect and support you, as we walk through life together." 

and also when we exchanged rings we said:- 

    "I give you this ring as a constant reminder of the promises we have made today.  As you receive this ring, receive my promise of eternal love and faithfulness to you." 

One of the most emotional moments for me, in a day full of emotional moments, was when my mother who had been very ill read Elizabeth Barrett's "How do I love Thee" 
                We also read poems to each other, which made the day even more personal and special. 
                Although Highbury Hall is a large important house, the feeling throughout our wedding  was of an intimate family occasion. 
                We were very lucky with the weather in view of the time of year and so were able to have most of our photos outside in the lovely grounds.  The photographer did his job well and, as neither of us particularly enjoy having our photos taken, and it was rather cold, we were glad that he didn't take too long. 
                I was very pleased with the flowers and the cake which were beautiful and exactly as I had hoped. The reception went off without a hitch and we had a super meal with plenty of lovely food for everyone. 
                The speeches were all good and each was very different, from the best man, Rob Sutherland,my father (a short and amusing speech given apparently without any notes) and Robert (a lovely speech);but the most touching was that given by Robert's mother,Hilda. 

                We spent our wedding night at Anstey Hall, near Coventry, another very lucky choice.  We felt a bit disappointed at first when we were told that we were booked into the stable block but it couldn't have been better.  It was like having our own little house but with beautiful food cooked for us and served in the restaurant. 

                Considering we had only taken a few months to plan and organize our wedding, everything went like a dream and it couldn't have been better if we had had it all booked for years in advance.  Many of our guests said it was the nicest wedding they had ever attended - it was certainly the best I have ever been to!  In the words of the song that was played as we walked out of the marriage room, it certainly was our "Perfect Day". 
 
 

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