Adam Bird - My Personal Blog

Exactly a year today, Stephanie and I married at the Little Silver Country Hotel in Tenterden. I could sit and write about the whole day, how much it meant to us to be surrounded by our friends and family and having them enjoy the day with us. Or the romance, or the fear and nervous excitement in the build up. But then, pictures sometimes speak louder than words - here is a selection of photos that tell the story of a day we'll never forget.

Heading into October was a stark reminder of the month that had just past. A month that Stephanie and I have so many treasured memories, for it was of course the month of our marriage. The best way to describe our day would be "indescribable", but throw in the words, amazing, awesome, incredible, beautiful, joyous and we might just be getting somewhere near. We are indebted to all and everyone who came and made our day so very special, for which we will always thank you. As the day unfolded, and we had finally became officially known as Mr and Mrs Bird, Stephanie and I could start to look forward to the moment when Mum and Dad's greatest secret became open knowledge, which was of course, the grand unveiling of our honeymoon destination. Stephanie and I sat, alongside our parents and looked out at eight tables named after destinations which indicated where we would be spending a week together enjoying each others company and spending our first tentative steps as a ma...

It all seems so far away now, but before the eastern delights of Hong Kong and the greatest day ever, twelve blokes headed towards the Balearic Island of Ibiza, some not knowing quite what to expect, but all looking forward to some sun, beers and for me, finally sampling some of the legendary nightlife that the White Isle is famous for. Being my stag weekend of course, I wasn't going to have things entirely my own way. Perfectly demonstrated before I'd even left for the airport! Gareth, being my best man, gave me prior warning that I would be expected to wear something of his choosing to the airport. Unfortunately I nearly never made it! In an attempt to get some well needed sleep before our early departure I drank a small crate of lager as a tonic to get me off, but it nearly worked too well as I slept through my alarm and was woken suddenly by a barrage of voices shouting through my letterbox at some silly time in the am. To the people in the street who were also woken, I...

In a nightclub, on the dance floor. The room is packed and just ahead is a giant screen showing Mel Gibson in Braveheart running across the mountains of the Scottish Highlands. Had a bit too much to drink, but not so that I'm not enjoying it, I'm smiling slightly insanely. The speakers are playing at full volume. The classical soundtrack of the Braveheart soundtrack mixed in slightly with a beat. It gives it a dancier edge, I know I'm in a club, not the multiplex. It builds up, the pictures on the screen change. William Wallace has stopped running. He's lying down. Dead in a minute. The music draws out. Lights Out. It's Dark. Quiet. Left wondering what the hell is going on. Know it's gonna go mad in a minute. It does. William Wallace shouts out "Freedom" the music starts up and it starts up quick I'm jumping, dancing wildy at the same time four hundred gallons of foam flies out of a cannon hanging from the ceiling, I've lost my mates, can...

Last night Stephanie and I, accompanied by Pat and Colin, my soon to be in-laws, visited the Little Silver County hotel to confirm the final itinerary ahead of our big day and more importantly pay off our "big cheque". With everything now firmly set in stone there really is no going back and we can start counting down the days with a little less stress and look forward to our last days of freedom as specially arranged by our respective best man and bridesmaid in Ibiza and London! Last night was the starkest realisation yet that the plans of the past two years are coming to fruition and that finally after thirteen years Stephanie and I will finally getting married! It has been a long time coming, but we have put those years to good use. In fact, as Oliver, the hotel manager ran through the various questions he had for us, recommendations of things that we needed to do, we kept surprising him with answers of "done", "done" and "here you are". ...

Thirteen years Stephanie and I have been together before finally getting married! Why that long? I really don’t know, but like our relationship and the famous idiom which links us with our final honeymoon destination the comparison couldn’t be any closer. Just as “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, the foundations upon which our marriage shall stand upon haven’t been either. There has been a recurring theme within this series of eight blog posts and it may have come across as slightly repetitive, but history, culture, architecture and cuisine are the four staples of any tourist experience. Rome is the birthplace for each and every one of them. From the ancient Romans, during the times of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire, or even before that with the Roman Republic and Roman Kingdom, the historical significance of the Eternal City cannot be put into context by someone of such limited knowledge as myself, but it’s fair to say, that looking around, whether it be at our legal or economic...