Last week we reached our 10th wedding anniversary, having been together for almost 18 years. I’m not sure how we made it this far, but I’m keeping this post positive and want to show you the beautiful hotel we got married in and returned to last week to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.
On the morning of our anniversary, my husband passed me an envelope with an anniversary card in. Within this card was a note instructing me to pack the children’s bags and take them to my mum and dad’s house along with Mister B. Miss M would be picked up from school and I was to wake the husband at 1.30pm (as he needed a bit of a sleep after coming off night shift that morning).
So we set off and as we drove I had my suspicions as to where we were headed. We soon turned in to the long, winding entrance lane to the hotel we married in exactly 10 years earlier – Kitley House.
Immediately I could feel the memories flooding back as well as feeling incredibly relaxed. The building hadn’t changed, apart from a bit of the decor which had naturally been updated. I love the beautiful double sided staircase which I walked down with my dad to the room I got married in, the dining hall where we had the afternoon wedding meal in, and the peaceful ambience of the whole place.
The stairs haven’t changed but they do have a new red carpet! It got me looking back at old photos and I found this one of me and my dad walking down the stairs into the ceremony room back in 2004!
After checking in to our bedroom, “the bridal suite”, where we stayed 10 years ago, I felt so relaxed and away from everyday life. I found out the room has literally just been refurbished in the last few weeks and my husband had only seen it in a mid decorative state when he booked it so wasn’t sure on the final finish.
Gone was the four poster bed and in it’s place was much larger queen bed, which although I like the idea of a four poster, the luxurious queen bed was definitely more indulgent being three whole pillows wide and littered with rose petals – a treat I’ve never had before.
The view from the bedroom window is one I won’t forget in a long time, it looked so tranquil, I felt I was a million miles from home, although only 7 & a half, but felt like I was in a different place and time. I love this picture and can’t believe it was taken from my phone through an old little pane of glass on the panelled bedroom window.
When we arrived in the room I was overwhelmed to find flowers and wine from my mum, and champagne waiting for us due to my husband having ordered the indulgent package for our overnight stay.
We then explored the room and I couldn’t forget the enormous bathroom that I’d got ready and dressed in for my wedding 10 years ago, before arriving a fashionably ten minutes late to the ceremony! It had the same sink and bath but was revamped with new wallpaper, wooden style flooring and some lighter dressing table furniture which really lifted the room giving it a lighter, French feel to it.
A then and now picture below, although I must stress that the now doesn’t mean I’m single – we just didn’t have anyone to take a picture of us both and couldn’t stage the camera in the middle of the doorway to get the same view!
After dropping our bags off it was time to go down to the bar for a cream tea, I had hot chocolate with my warm scone, jam and clotted cream – a proper bit of indulgence for the afternoon that I hadn’t been expecting!
We then enjoyed our bottle of champagne before freshening up to go down for a three course meal in the dining room. I loved the little bread rolls that were served to us in flowerpots and my meringue dessert was amazing!
The next morning we took a stroll around the grounds, down over the little bridges across the lakes. It turned out that we were staying for lunch and you never guess who turned up – my beautiful children accompanied by my parents who were celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary that day! A lovely lunch followed before it was time to head home and leave the idyllic surroundings of Kitley House behind us…
The day doesn’t start well with it pouring of rain, then Horrid Henry trips in a muddy puddle which covers his pageboy outfit before losing the rings in the church. It’s never ending with Horrid Henry as usual but his constant antics are what keep children entertained. Miss M enjoyed reading this and was amazed at all the things Henry got up to. The book is an Orion red Early Reader which is perfect for her current reading ability and the writing is interspersed with plenty of colour pictures which helps maintain her interest and motivation to carry on reading.
We enjoyed this book and have already read it several times. I would definitely recommend the Orion Early Reader series for young readers, they never fail to disappoint, are of a high quality and always full of colour illustrations that help bring the stories to life.
