Congratulations to Gregor Dick and Alisa Koonce who were married today at the glorious 19th century gothic revival Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs in Cambridge - often referred to by the acronym OLEM. Fr Christopher Back was celebrant for the Mass, I was deacon, and Fr Bernard McNally subdeacon. MC was Dr Berthold Kress, a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge whose speciality is the history of art, especially late medieval and early modern art. As you can see, the Bride's dress was modest and traditional - and all the more beautiful for that.
A particular treat at the wedding and Mass, was the singing by Anglorum Chorus, a recently formed choir, directed by Christopher Hodkinson, which gathers talented young Catholic singers and musical directors to sing Gregorian chant to the highest standard. (The chant is their principal focus though they do also sing polyphony.) The choir are available for special occasions: I will pass on contact details when I have them. [UPDATE: you can email anglorum.chorus [AT] gmail.com]
The reception was held at St John's College; although I could not stay for all of it, I did go along for a short while and was glad to meet several friends there. The walk from OLEM gave me a chance to see a little of Cambridge which I do not know very well. St John's is a magnificent set of buildings and quads.
Cambridge has the "Backs": several colleges back onto the river Cam and have grounds both sides of the river. St John's has its own bridge...
... from which you can observe the curious spectacle see people punting from the wrong end:
11 comments:
Stunning pictures!
One can tell you're an Oxford man, Father; what in Oxford are called quads are called courts in Cambridge. I was once told off for making this mistake the other way round in Christ Church, Oxford.
The wrong end? Hmmm. Not for those of us who learnt how to punt in Cambridge, Fr. :)
Indeed, stunning photographs, Fr.
And, out-of-this-world architecture.
Any ideas picked up for the projected Blackfen Minor Basilica, perhaps ?
Also, Father, they punt from the correct end, as they do at Durham; only Oxford punt back-to-front.
What a beautiful wedding! But, ahem Father, I think you'll find that we Cantabrigians have got punting down to a fine art. The first time I went to Oxford I couldn't figure out what they were playing at: standing *inside* the punt? Pffft! I'd forgotten that you went to the 'other place' ;-)
What a BEAUTIFUL dress! Do we know who made it?
From Clare Underwood by email:
It is virtually impossible for girls to buy modest wedding dresses these days - most don't have anything on the shoulders, let alone sleeves; and most brides-to-be assume that having one made would be too expensive; which is where I come in. I claim the credit for making Alisa's dress - the fourth I have made in recent years, including my daughter's (images available on request). Anyone wanting a modest wedding (or evening) dress at a modest price is welcome to contact me : dorcas.gowns(at)ntlworld.com. It would mean 2 or 3 visits to Cambridge, but as your pictures show, that is no hardship really.
I can recommend Clare Underwood if you want a beautiful and modest wedding dress. She made mine because I was complaining that I couldn't find a single wedding dress in the shops that was suitable for church and in the last place I had been to, the woman had been unbearablly patronising, trying to rescue me from my Catholic indoctrination! The end result, needless to say, was perfect.
That was the first thing I thought too, Clare - "What a beautiful modest wedding dress, I wonder who made it!!"
I'm just about to get my first commission for a modest wedding dress, too, (once the proposal has been officially made!) but as I'm nearer Oxford, I don't suppose I'll be stepping on Clare's toes if I offer my services, again at modest prices, to those on this side of the country! http://zeliesroses.blogspot.com/
What wonderful news. Our best wishes to and prayers for the married couple!
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