Ros & Dan’s Wedding Dinner & Dance

Image above: After some expert lessons and practicing lots, Dan and Ros wowed everyone with some great steps. [Sunday 06 June] | [View all photos]

After months of refined planning,  Dan and Ros finally tied the knot together at a beautiful ceremony in Northbrook Park surrounded by their families and their friends on a gorgeously sunny day.

I had the honour and privilege of serving as Dan’s best man on the day and it was very moving seeing the two of them exchange their vows before witnessing their marriage together. Kept busy for most of the day, I only brought out my camera for the latter part  to capture the newlyweds as they went around each table chatting with friends and family, cut the wedding cake, and impress us all with their first dance, followed with Ros rocking the joint at karaoke!

And in amongst all that I had to one of the scariest tasks in my life which was to deliver my first best man speech which I actually spent days beforehand refining and practicing. I have to thank Ian, Brian, and Jack for all their advice and help in putting it together. You can download the PDF of what I said (especially helpful for those of you who missed it as I was speaking super quickly!) and the speech ended as follows:

“To Dan: Thanks for the years of friendship. For the great moments we’ve shared together. It’s been a superb run so far and it’s been both a privilege and honour to have served as your best man today.

To Ros: As Dan’s first wife over these years I can’t think of anyone more perfect for him than you. You’re that type of girl that any guy would dream to be with and Dan is so very lucky to be that guy. So it is with a tinge of sadness, a lot of happiness, and even more relief that I hand him over to you – the proper Mrs. Pepper.

Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the bridesmaids and myself, I’d like you to raise your glasses to toast Mr & Mrs Pepper … to Dan & Ros. Congratulations to you both and all the very best for the future!”

With the celebrations over and the guests safely dispatched home, the evening didn’t quite stop there for the rest of us. The bridesmaids decided to use Dan’s shaving cream to write “Just Married” on his car  whilst I distracted him. Didn’t quite work out as well as we had hoped but it was a great laugh.

And even better than that, the taxi driver that Ros and Dan organised to take Arti, Melek, and myself back to London was hilarious and made the two hour journey just fly by. To this day I still don’t know if the stories of how he met his wife were true or not but I don’t care as they were hilarious yet sweet too. And at one point in his efforts to pair Arti and myself together he actually pulled over onto the hard shoulder so I could sit next to her in the back!

To end, my thanks to Arti and Melek for basically making me look good, to Dan for asking me to be his best man, and to Ros for looking simply stunning – and finally taking Dan off my hands!

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