Happily Matched

In our last post we said that Saabrina was well polished and we weren't joking. As you can see from our next photo, which is a close up of us all with her, we were able to use the bonnet as a very effective mirror to check our wedding appearances.


It was nice to have this time together relaxing and chatting before the wedding got properly underway. Us Norfolk Branch bears knew that, come the afternoon, Moose and his friends would be very busy in their groom support roles, and unable to spend much time talking with us, so we made the most of the moment. We would have lingered longer if it wasn't for the wind which kept blowing the smaller bears off the bonnet.

All too soon it was time to make our way to the Church. As our minder was the officiating minister, we were there early which meant we could choose a seat which would give us a good view, very important when you're the size we are. Here we are reading the order of service, especially the rather nice piece at the start which explained what marriage was all about.


After the bride arrived we waited to find out what would be the music for the wedding march. We were rather surprised when we heard, what initially sounded like interference, coming from the speakers. We were even more surprised when we noticed that the bride had started coming up the aisle to it. All of a sudden the sound developed into some wonderful African drumming music. How unique we thought, and also how appropriate, as the bride had worked in Africa for 7 years.

After the happy couple were well and truly married, we enjoyed some mulled wine while photos were taken, then it was off to the reception. We thought our Uncle Tim gave the most romantic speech we had ever heard and gave him lots of applause at the end. After the speeches we had a great time taking to the floor for a spirited barn dance. Sadly we couldn't stay to the end as we had to drive back to Norfolk.

Lots of love from the wedding party xxx

The Morning of the Wedding

As the wedding wasn't until after lunch, and we hadn't been allocated any wedding morning duties (yes it was a very well organised wedding), we thought we'd have a bit of a lie in, but in the end, the temptation of seeing what was on offer at the Holiday Inn Express buffet breakfast proved too much, and down we all went.

We were pleased to find cellophane wrapped muffins, which made them perfect for sneaking away for a mid morning snack (don't tell anyone though!).


Our picture of Yorkie and myself (George), with our muffins, should explain why we needed a mid morning snack. We were a short drive from Epping Forest and we had a free morning, so what better way to spend the time than doing some research for The Friendly Planet Guide.

We enjoyed our stroll through Epping Forest, and because the paths are so well marked, it is a good place to go if you are just passing through the area and, like us, haven't got a map. From all the activity we saw, it is also a good place for running, cycling and horse riding, as we shall report in the Friendly Planet Guide.

When we got back to the hotel we were just in time to help our Uncle Tim decorate his car, Saabrina (being a Saab), which is his pride and joy. As it was the groom's car not the bride's car, there were no bonnet ribbons, but some very tasteful bows on the doors.


We were particularly proud of the bow on the rear windscreen wiper which we thought of. It takes a spark of bear genius to think up a decoration like that. Saabrina really was looking very best, and we could see that her car bears had put a lot of time and effort into cleaning and polishing.

More to come, so keep reading.

Lots of love from the wedding party xxx

Wedding Bells

The weekend after Christmas was a rather special one for us. We travelled down to London for the wedding of our Uncle Tim who is a good friend of Bears Unlimited and the minder of some of our good friends including Moose, Boulder and Grommit. They all came to visit us in February and you may remember our outing of the time (Visitors welcome) and also, more recently, Moose’s email to us all the way from Taiwan (an email for Bris).

As we were going to a wedding it was natural that the 2 sets of Bears Unlimited newly weds would want to attend so look out for them in our pictures.

Our own minder was conducting the wedding service, so we arrived on the Friday afternoon in time for the wedding rehearsal. While the wedding party were busy with the rehearsal, us bears were free to chat to Moose and to look round the church which was very big and fine – much bigger than the Norfolk village churches we are used to.


We took a closer look at a large nativity scene, set up at the back of the church. It was all protected by a sort of plastic curtain which is why our photo is not as clear as it might be. The figures and animals were very life-like and we soon felt as if we really were part of the scene, rather than outsiders.

We also took a closer look at the flowers which were perfect in their joint role of wedding and Christmas flowers. The wedding bears though they were very romantic.


After the rehearsal we went to the hall where the reception would be held and helped decorate the tables with leaves and other things that drop off trees. We all felt very artistic. Then we settled down to enjoy some pizzas and a few beers with Tim. It was great to see him again and he was clearly very excited about his wedding. We were also very excited and pleased for him as he is one of our favourite non bear friends.

We’ll report on the wedding day itself in our next post.

Lots of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx