Last week we were busy cleaning and organising everything for the wedding on the weekend. After a lots of bed making, dusting, vacuuming, mopping and gardening, the castle was looking its absolute best.
Saturday was the big day for the bride and groom! Sadly we couldn't really get any pictures.. We didn't know them at all so thought that might be weird if we were taking photos haha! Much to Jessica's disappointment, the day ran very smoothly - she wanted a big drama to unfold throughout the day.
The bride and her bridesmaids got ready in the morning and the groom and his groomsmen arrived, looking very classy in kilts, later in the afternoon. When all the guests arrived and after the groom had downed a pint of beer (to calm his nerves?), the ceremony began! It was so sweet and simple and the bride looked absolutely stunning. The best man did drop one of the rings but otherwise it all went according to plan. At about 1am we were able to start cleaning up and prepped the breakfast room ready for the next morning. It was such a long day but a good one none the less!
Here is the aisle we masterfully put together. Luckily for us the bride's dress was not poofy!
Lighting the candles!!
Aww so sweet!
Sunday morning we were busy serving breakfast to those who stayed the night and got the rest of the afternoon to chill out and take a breather.
Monday and Tuesday was our official weekend and we just vegged out most of the time. Although on monday arvo we took Hebe out for one last ride. It went well. Until she ran off. Without either of us on her back... As it turns out, Hebe can go much faster than a walk, the trick is to not be riding her when she wants to run.. Obviously I was too heavy for her liking. So rude! (It must have been all of those Tim Tams).
Never fear though, after at least a mile of running towards home, Hebe got hungry and stopped for some grass and a short breather. She stopped just long enough for me to catch up to her, grab her reins again and get on so that running was no longer an option. Wew I was pooped!! So we plodded back along the track and found Jess and then headed for home. That was enough exercise for one day!
Tuesday was 'Pancake day' and is an annual tradition in the Bigwood household (as well as a lot of places apparently. It is the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent). While our hosts aren't religious they see it as a very good excuse to eat Nutella crepes for dinner. We did not disagree! Francis, however, did make us have a savoury crepe first, full of greens and other healthy goodness before she cracked open the Nutella jar.
This is Francis nailing le crepe flip!
Yesterday and today were spent cleaning and preparing the rooms for when the next guests arrive which isn't for 2 weeks as our host family is going on a skiing holiday.
So we are all off tomorrow. Jess and I for Edinburgh and the Bigwoods for the French Alps. It is going to be hard leaving our new helpx family and this beautiful castle, our time here went so quickly and we loved every second! Had to say goodbye to Austin and Florence tonight as they won't be around when we leave in the morning which was upsetting. These two cheeky monkeys have entertained us so much over the past month or so. Oli and Francis have been so good to us too and we are going to miss them heaps! Oliver's constant teasing has provided us with lots of giggles and Francis' amazing cooking and beautiful nature has made us feel right at home!! We love it here so much and are very sad to leave, but at the same time are excited to start house/apartment hunting and job searching!
This next week should be a little more exciting with regards to blog updates as we are going to be hopping from one place to the next. We are even splurging on Saturday and staying in a Bed and Breakfast in a small town called Lilithgow (We couldn't get anywhere to stay in Edinburgh because of the Six Nations so had to change our plans a little bit haha).
Missing and loving you all so much and we hope you are all enjoying the warmth back home haha! Xxxxx
What a lovely way to end your time at the Castle - with a Scottish Wedding! Sounds lovely. Now that you have both learned to make beds and clean rooms, surely there must be some work in Edinburgh for experienced "housekeepers" at the hotels :))))) Enjoy your night in Lithgow, and happy apartment & job hunting in Edinburgh. Looking forward to seeing more pikkies from this next part of your adventure. Don't know about enjoying the warmth back home - we are waiting for it to cool down a bit (perhaps not quite as cool as Scotland though). So glad you caught Hebe - would have been embarrassing to have lost him on your last outing there :)
ReplyDeleteMuch love to you both. Take care in the "big bad city" of Edinburgh.
Grandmaa xoxo