‘But you said I’d definitely get to be a bridesmaid again.’
‘I know. Come and look at this message from London Local. Apparently they’ve been inundated with emails, all wanting to get hold of you. Half the people London seem to want to rent you as their bridesmaid!’ said Dad.
There were at least twenty requests for me to choose from! My bridesmaid’s dress would be worn to shreds by the time Dad and Miss Hope made up their minds to get married. And I’d have grown a bit too.
So let’s end this story with another dress. Not any old dress. Not a checked school dress or a pinafore dress or a party dress or a princess dress. This is a bridesmaid’s dress.
But it’s not raspberry pink. It’s maybe sky-blue silk, patterned with white embroidered daisies, with white petticoats as fluffy as clouds. Or perhaps it’s lilac satin, reaching right down to the ground, like a proper evening dress, and I’ll wear purple sparkly shoes with real heels. Or perhaps it’s a winter wedding and my bridesmaid’s dress will be soft red velvet with a little white fur bolero. Whichever I choose, it will definitely be the most beautiful bridesmaid’s dress in the world.
Tilly’s Wonderful Wedding Facts
The Guinness World Record for the most guests at a wedding stands at 150,000! The guests were hosted by Jayalalitha Jayaram at her son’s wedding in Madras, India, in 1995. The record for the biggest bridal party is held by Nisansala and Nalin, a Sri Lankan couple who, on their wedding in 2013, had 126 bridesmaids, 25 best men, 23 flower girls and 20 page boys.
Around 240,000 people attended the Wedding Dresses exhibition at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in 2014 and 2015. The exhibition took two weeks to put in place, and six people were required to install one dress, designed by Norman Hartnell, due to its 5.5m-long train!
It is thought that the tradition of exchanging wedding rings was created by the Ancient Egyptians. Rings are worn on the third finger as people believed that finger contained a blood vessel which went straight to the heart, the loveliest internal organ.
One of the world’s most famous gowns is the wedding dress worn by Lady Diana Spencer when she married Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1981. The dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, who knew it was going to be a global sensation. They even created a back-up dress which Diana was to wear if details of the main dress had been revealed before the big day.
Queen Victoria is credited with making white the colour of choice for bridal gowns in Europe. The dress she wore to marry Prince Albert in 1840 is now in storage at Kensington Palace. It is not the only item to have survived from her big day – a slice of the huge wedding cake (it weighed about 140kg!), which was boxed as a gift for a guest, is still owned by a London collector, and was displayed at Christie’s auction house in 2014!
Make Your Own Wedding Favours!
Unlike Tilly, you may not have a calendar bulging with weddings to attend, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have all the fun of the party! Follow the instructions below to make wedding-style favours, which you can enjoy whether or not there’s a bride and groom in the room!
1. Copy or trace the template onto sheets of stiff paper or card. Cut out carefully with scissors – you might need help from a grown-up – and use a hole punch to make two holes over the dots as indicated. Use pencils, paint or felt pens to decorate your cut-outs any way you like – you may even want to use glitter!
2. When you’re happy with your decorations and your cut-outs are completely dry, apply glue to the strip to the left of the dotted line. Making sure there isn’t a hole at the bottom, twist your cones into shape, pressing down on the glued strip to seal them.
3. When the glue is completely dry, thread ribbon or string through the holes to make a handle.
4. Fill your cones with delicious treats – sugared almonds are traditional for wedding favours, but you can use whatever you like – raisins, popcorn or gummy sweets! Now all that’s left to do is share the beautifully packaged favours with your friends!
Miss Hope’s Quiz
What’s Aunty Sue’s favourite treat?
What colour are Matty’s special sparkly trainers?
What’s the name of Marty’s homemade snake creation?
What flavour cake do Tilly and her dad take to the lido?
What kind of flowers does Mr Flowers bring to Iris to say sorry?
Which delicious dessert does Tilly enjoy at Simon and Matthew’s wedding?
What’s the name of the school where Simon is the headteacher?
What does Mandy demand Tilly get replaced on her bridesmaid’s dress?
How long is Tilly’s TV interview?
What cake is Tilly going to make for Miss Hope when she comes round for tea?
Answers: teacakes; green; Basil; coffee and walnut; irises; Larch Road Infant School; the rosebuds; 3 minutes; cheesecake
Visit Jacqueline’s Fantastic Website
There’s a whole Jacqueline Wilson town to explore! You can generate your own special username, customize your online bedroom, test your knowledge of Jacqueline’s books with fun quizzes and puzzles, and upload book reviews. There’s lots of fun stuff to discover, including competitions, book trailers, and Jacqueline’s scrapbook. And if you love writing, visit the special storytelling area!
Plus, you can hear the latest news from Jacqueline in her monthly diary, find out whether she’s doing events near you, read her fan-mail replies, and chat to other fans on the message boards!
www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jacqueline Wilson is one of Britain’s bestselling authors, with more than 38 million books sold in the UK alone. She has been honoured with many prizes for her work, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award and the Children’s Book of the Year. Jacqueline is a former Children’s Laureate, a professor of children’s literature, and in 2008 she was appointed a Dame for services to children’s literature.
Visit Jacqueline’s fantastic website at www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk
RHCP DIGITAL
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa
RHCP Digital is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
www.penguin.co.uk
www.puffin.co.uk
www.ladybird.co.uk
First published 2016
This ebook published 2016
Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 2016
Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2016
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978–1–448–17179–8
All correspondence to:
RHCP Digital
Penguin Random House Children’s
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
Rent a Bridesmaid Page 22