Mother of the Bride (37 page)

‘I'll email you the exact costing on your menu,' Eve said, as she ran through the arrangements with them.

There would be a welcome champagne reception when people arrived, with cheesy nibbles and iced mini cupcakes, which would be served on the terrace overlooking the gardens and lake, weather permitting, and if not, inside in the main drawing room.

Ronan's friend Paul played classical guitar, and would entertain the guests before they went into dinner, and Amy and Dan had booked a great group called Surf Club to play after the meal and for dancing.

‘It all sounds perfect to me,' said Paddy. ‘Absolutely perfect.'

‘Yes, it's exactly what we want,' agreed Dan, excited.

‘Well, you can let me know whatever you decide.' Eve smiled as they thanked her and said their goodbyes.

‘Let's go for a stroll around the garden!' Helen proposed, as they stood on the front steps.

‘We all need to walk off that great lunch,' said Paddy, as they headed off down towards the lake. Amy and Dan had their digital camera with them, as they wanted to get a few photographs of the gardens and house basking in the beautiful July sunshine.

*  *  *

On the way home Helen listened happily as Amy and Dan went through all the lovely wedding plans for their reception in a few weeks' time, poor Paddy asleep against her. The local church choir and their regular soloist, who sounded like he should be on stage, had agreed to sing at the wedding Mass in St Mary's.

‘We're trying to pick out music for the ceremony,' Amy explained. ‘But there are so many songs. We keep listening to religious CDs of hymns and choirs on our iPods.'

Helen laughed. It certainly made a change.

‘And Bibi is back on board about making the cake; she's so good.'

‘I told you she would; she loves being involved with friends' weddings.'

‘Did I tell you that Carmel has offered to do all the church flowers?' said Amy, turning around to face her. ‘She's always doing fabulous arrangements at home in their house, and she's done a few functions and church things before. Mum, what do you think?'

‘I think it would be wonderful to have Dan's mum involved,' said Helen, genuinely meaning it. ‘Having Carmel doing the flowers will make them very special.'

‘She said that she'll try and do whatever I have in mind.'

‘And we've finally made a decision about our honeymoon and are off to California and Hawaii,' added Dan. ‘Great beaches.'

‘And great surfing,' added Amy.

Helen couldn't believe it when Amy showed her the wedding invitations that had come from the printers. She and Dan had decided to use a photo that he had taken of the swans on the lake, with Glebe House and gardens behind it.

‘Jilly in work helped me with my design and the print layout on it,' said Amy proudly.

Helen and Paddy were allowed to invite twenty-eight guests to the wedding, and without hesitation had gone for immediate family and their own close friends. Those who had stood by them during
Paddy's illness came top of the list. Carmel, much to their surprise, had without complaint whittled the Quinn guest list down to twenty-eight, too.

On Wednesday and Thursday night they opened a few bottles of wine as they sat at the big kitchen table in Blackrock writing all the invitations to the ‘end-of-summer wedding celebration' at Glebe House, and checking the list of names and addresses as they put them in their pretty gold envelopes.

Jess had wonderful calligraphy-style handwriting, and was coopted by Amy into writing the names on each invitation, while Amy and Helen packed the envelopes with a map to Glebe House and a brochure for those who wanted to stay the night.

‘All the people we love and care for will be there and that's what matters,' said Amy, as with only five weeks to go before the wedding the invitations finally went off.

Jessica Kilroy took her job of arranging Amy's hen night very seriously. As Amy's chief bridesmaid and very best friend she wanted to be creative, and organize something a bit different from the usual drunken hen party spent staggering around Temple Bar or Kilkenny, or Galway or some English city, with pink Stetsons and a pair of wings on. That was certainly not Amy's style! She wanted the hen weekend to be really memorable.

Jess had considered a pampering weekend in a fancy spa or hotel, with dinner, but even though it sounded lovely it wasn't very exciting. A shopping trip to Paris or New York was too expensive, and going over the border to Newry or Belfast certainly didn't have the same cachet!

After a brilliant weekend with her family down messing around on their old boat on the Shannon the idea came to her. Sailing was one of her favourite pastimes and suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, it hit her: the Shannon and a boat!

What could be more fun? Her mam and dad's boat only slept eight at a squeeze, but for a bigger crowd you could hire a fancy cruiser that slept ten to twelve, which would be ideal for a hen party
on the river . . . A gang of girls with food, wine, bunks, and a huge boat to steer and sail would be mad!

She checked it out with Aisling and Tara and Sarah, and they all thought it was a brilliant idea, too.

‘Most of the girls have never been on a river cruiser. God, can you imagine the laugh we'll have!' said Tara, telling her to go ahead and book it.

She emailed everyone to check dates and warn them to keep it a secret from Amy, and had gone ahead and booked the last weekend in July with the cruiser company. She'd also worked out a route taking in pubs and restaurants and other places to stop along the way.

Seeing the cruiser
The Emerald Princess
moored down on the marina at Carrick-on-Shannon, Amy couldn't believe that they were boating instead of going to a spa. Everyone screamed with delight, and the cruiser looked amazing, sitting there at the marina waiting for them.

‘Oh my God, is this our boat?' yelled Tara as nine of them assembled on Friday afternoon with their gear along the wooden jetty where the boats were moored. ‘It's massive!'

The cruiser had four twin cabins and a living area which could be divided up, the couches converting into two big double beds.
The Emerald Princess
was perfect, and very different from Jess's family's ancient wooden cruiser. It had a fancy power shower, an immaculate white-painted galley kitchen, and a huge deck equipped with loungers and sun-chairs, as if they were on the Mediterranean instead of cruising the Shannon.

Jess had to sign the form declaring that she was fit to operate the cruiser, and was glad that her father had insisted that she learn to sail their boat and do her Mariner's Certificate! Everyone in her family was well used to taking their turn at the wheel and navigating locks and the waterways. However, the cruise ship company insisted that the rest of the crew of girls took a quick navigation
course in a classroom, so they'd know how to manage locks and to moor up.

The next morning the other three girls would join them. Nikki hadn't been able to make it on Friday, and Sarah and Kerrie were both relying on husbands and mothers to help mind their small children as they escaped for the Saturday and Sunday away.

Jess had sent everyone an email advising them what to wear on board, but could see two pairs of sneaky high heels under jeans already. She had set a limit of one holdall per person, as storage was usually pretty limited, but this edict had been broken, too, with four of the girls toting bags more suited to a week in Marbella or Cannes than the inclement Shannon River. Jess prayed that they had at least all brought anoraks and rainproof jackets.

‘Oh, Jess, it's lovely. I can't believe that you found us such a perfect boat,' congratulated Amy, grabbing the biggest cabin for the two of them. ‘It's so big and comfortable.'

‘Oh, look, there's a dishwasher and a huge fridge,' remarked Mel, depositing two bottles of champagne in it.

The fridge was soon crammed, looking like an off-licence with a huge supply of alcohol, including lots of champagne, ready for tonight's pre-dinner drinks.

‘There's a massive flat screen TV and DVD player in the lounge,' cheered Tara.

‘And a great sound system,' informed Aisling, plugging in her iPod and giving them all a blast of Beyoncé.

Once they had thrown all the bags in their cabins and got themselves sorted out, Jess went up on deck to turn on the engine and cast off. She wanted to be out on the water and give the girls a bit of a sail up the river before they stopped to eat for the night.

‘Are you sure you know how to do this?' quizzed Orla, glancing around the crowded marina and the fleet of cruisers.

‘Yes, once one or two of you give me a hand up on deck, as I don't want to tip off another boat.'

Everyone was up ready to help as the engine roared into life and the boat began to move, Amy ready to cast off from where
The Emerald Princess
was moored, as Jess slowly manoeuvred the craft between the other cruisers and reversed out from the jetty and into open water to a huge cheer. Orla, armed with her mini-camcorder, recorded it all. Jess stayed calm as she steered the
Princess
upriver and let the throttle roar, giving everyone a sudden burst of speed.

‘Can I have a go?' begged Tara.

‘Later,' promised Jess. She intended making sure all the girls got a chance to take the wheel, but not here where the marina officer could still see them. She'd wait till they were miles away from another craft and it was safer.

As they moved upriver she could see the girls were impressed, as there was nothing like being out in the waterways, especially on a long hot summer's day! She had checked the weather forecast, and overall it was good, though there was a threat of rainfall by Sunday. Two bottles of wine were opened, and the girls stretched out on the loungers in their T-shirts and shorts, lathering themselves in sun block as the cruiser passed by fields and woods and the beautiful Shannon riverside.

‘Save me some for later,' Jess joked. She wanted to show them two little islands and give them a view of Claremount House, the magnificent restored Georgian mansion which was about a mile upriver and had its own formal terraced gardens and a wooden boathouse and little jetty. She didn't believe in drinking and driving, and would save having any wine till they were safely moored for the night.

‘This is bliss,' declared Mel, trailing her fingers in the water.

Jess took a break from the wheel and stopped the cruiser as they all lapped up the sunshine. They cheered as Tara and Mel, Lisa, Amy and Orla took an impromptu dip in the water.

‘It's freezing!' they roared, as they splashed around before hastily
scrambling back up on deck, teeth chattering and lips, fingers and toes blue with the cold.

‘You mad things! Where do you think you are?' Jess joked. ‘This is not Puerto Banus or Vilamoura! The water hasn't even heated up here yet.'

‘Now you tell us!' shivered Tara, wrapping herself in a towel.

Jess had it all worked out where they would moor for the night: the pretty riverside town of Tarmonbarry, which was a regular port of call for cruisers. There was a great little restaurant and bar called Donovan's just near the waterfront, and she had booked a table for them. She stood beside Lisa and Mel and Amy as each of them excitedly took a turn at the wheel.

The sun was beginning to dip from the sky as they pulled into Tarmonbarry and moored, everyone racing to change in their cabins for the night's fun. They kicked off the night with champagne toasts for the beautiful bride-to-be up on deck. Amy was certainly that, wearing a pale-pink figure-hugging dress and wrap, and looking absolutely gorgeous. They took turns recounting when they had each met Amy, and how they had become friends. Jess, Tara and Aisling had been at school with her, and were her oldest friends. Orla and Mel and Susan had been at college with her, and Lisa and Kerrie had gone on a Spanish course with her one summer in Barcelona. Amy was one of those people who just seemed to gather friends along the way.

‘One more bottle of champagne and then we'll head for dinner,' promised Tara. ‘We are all starving.'

Donovan's was packed when they got there, and they had to wait and have a drink before they could sit at their table. The Friday night crowd was in hearty form, and Jess recognized a few of her brother Eamon's friends at a table in the corner.

‘Wow, this is a great place!' said Susan, eyeing up the local talent.

‘And the menu is great, too,' added Tara, as she deliberated over the array of fresh fish on offer.

They took ages ordering, and the waitress was patient as the girls repeatedly changed their minds. There seemed to be a constant flow of wine as the meal progressed, and by the time the dessert menu came Jess had decided it was cocktail time. A spoon of ice cream or pudding nicked from someone's plate would do her, as she would prefer to treat herself to one of Donovan's renowned concoctions. Amaretto, grenadine, blue curaçao with vodka, or a rum-based cocktail. She opted for the Donovan's Delish, and almost licked the glass clean. The rest of the girls, curious, decided to try one, too.

‘Wow, this place is such a find!' slurred Orla. ‘I wish that there was somewhere like this in Dublin.'

Jess was arguing that she thought it was so great precisely because it wasn't in Dublin, as they ordered a last round of drinks. Then the restaurant staff gradually began to clear the tables, and the bar got ready to close.

‘Back to our boat,' teased Tara. ‘We have a fridge full of drink there.'

Before she knew it, they were all making their way towards
The Emerald Princess
.

The night was warm, and they all sat up on deck chatting and drinking for hours before eventually sloping off to their cabins.

‘I'm knackered,' said Amy, calling it a night, too, and falling on to her bunk in her bra and pants, ‘but it's been so lovely.'