Oxford University Wedding, Boat Race, and Hoopla

Two weeks ago, we arrived in Oxford. It was our first time in the quaint little town and it truly looks like a story book that has come to life. We walked around a bit and went shopping for some last minute pieces to complete the tuxedo that Dan required for Saturday evening. We got a phone call from Hannah saying that she needed to take us up on our offer to help with set up. We met her in Christ Church college, which is the college that Robin went to. It's similar to the American university set up where there is a college of Business, college of Engineering, etc. Their colleges just have names because... well, the place was established in the 12th century, so they do what they want. The grounds are absolutely beautiful and we were in awe of the idea that people actually go to college there.

We helped a bit and then went to meet some people for dinner. Hannah met up with us after the rehearsal and we went back to the college to help her put together bouquets and boutonnieres... a task which none of us had ever attempted before. At about 1am, we had finished up and headed back to the hotel. The next day the wedding was at 2pm at the Christ Church Cathedral.

After the ceremony, we all went outside and were handed Pimm's cups in mason jars while the wedding party did photos. Afterwards, we lined up outside the gate of the college for them to walk out. On the way out of the college they passed under 8 crossed oars held by his former teammates, then walked through a barrage of dried flowers before being greeted by two horse guardsmen in full get up with swords (Robin was also in the British Royal Army after college). They got into a horse-drawn carriage and were taken to the river, where two of Robin's rowing friends would row them down the river to the reception.

Off we went to the reception which was complete with food, drink, dancing and some hilarious toasts, especially from Robin's brother, who was the best man. We had a great time but had to head back to get some rest as we had part two of the party the following day.

We awoke and headed back to London for the 161st boat race between Oxford and Cambridge. Tens of thousands of people lined the banks of the Thames to cheer for their team. There were three races, the most important being the last one. We were watching from the start of the race, so we cheered until the boats went around the bend and then ran into a pub to watch the remainder on TV. The entire course is roughly 5km, and the race takes somewhere between 16-20 minutes to finish. Luckily, Oxford (the dark blues) smoked Cambridge and won easily.

When the boat race finished, we headed back to our hotel to get cleaned up as we were going to the Oxford University Boat Club dinner that evening. It was a black tie event, but it was enjoyable to see all the past rowers in their blazers together for this annual reunion. They introduced the rowers in the boats that competed that day, which was a sizable cheer as all three Oxford boats won their races. We had a formal three course dinner and wine and enjoyed chatting with the people at our table.

All in all, we had a fantastic time in England and are so pleased we could be part of Hannah and Robin's wedding day (and other festivities)!