Chris & Eva's Wedding: Part II

Rising later than usual on Friday morning we were greeted with a decent fry, more toast than you could want for and lots of black coffee to wake us up. Today was not a day for lounging as there was still so much to arrange for the big day.

After meeting at Maggie's house we jumped in the car and made our way to the marquee to set up tables and arrange chairs. The weather outside was pretty miserable - light rain, grey skies and a strong wind whipping the flaps and making the chandeliers swing slowly from the ceiling.

We set up the tables and arranged the chairs until the layout was acceptable for the groom and as we had worked so hard we decided on a pub lunch to satisfy ourselves.

A short drive took us to Porthgain, which has an old slate quarry situated above a small port making it quite a picturesque coastal village.

Unfortunately after trying our luck at The Shed restaurant - which was far too expensive, humid and more importantly lacked anything on the menu we wanted - and trying the pub which was packed, we made our way back towards home and found an excellent pub on the corner of a road which had an excellent seafood menu alongside the usual fare which more than satisfied our needs.

By this time we needed to make our way back to St Davids for the wedding rehearsal and we made good time thanks to Chris's Alan Prost driving.

After quick introductions to a few people we hadn't met including the Dean who would conduct the service, we took our positions and it wasn't long before our business at the cathedral was concluded but unfortunately there was no time to relax as another major chore was about to be undertaken.

Glasses had been hired but unfortunately they required cleaning. I pictured spending the rest of the afternoon hand washing hundreds of champagne flutes, wine glasses and watching my sanity slowly slip away. Fortunately a friends father owned a restaurant with an industrial washing machine and after learning how to use it, Chris and I set to work and an hour later we were ready to bring them to the marquee.

The above tasks included many other minor ones and we were working against time as we were booked into a restaurant at 8 o'clock that night and none of us wanted to miss out on fine eating and the chance of relaxation.

If this was a movie, it would have been a race against time, action thriller and after being dropped off at the bed and breakfast with fifteen minutes to spare, I had only time to quickly deodorise myself, throw on some fresh clothes and head right back out the door again.

However, I was not to be disappointed. At Cwtch, I had a fantastic starter of finely sliced medium rare beef with beetroot compote and creme fraiche which was simply Divine. I could have eaten five times the amount and still wanted more. For my main I had delicious Slow Roasted Pork Belly with black pudding and forgoing a pudding, a light and refreshing White Russian. If you're ever in St Davids, I recommend making a booking.

Afterwards we met up with most of the Rees clan at the Grove bar and after a couple of drinks and chatting to people, it was time to hit the hay and despite the errand running, it was an enjoyable but exhausting afternoon which was more than made up for by a superb meal and drinks with friends.