Rona Dougall: I love all the traditions of weddings… the dragons, massacres and fighting with jugglers

After the solemn weeks following the death of Queen Elizabeth, I thought I’d write about something joyful today.

My beautiful niece got married last week and how glorious it was to celebrate such a happy time. Weddings, like funerals, are such timeless occasions and so many of us feel connected and anchored by these traditional ceremonies.

But, best of all, weddings always make us smile, unless you’re a member of the Targaryen clan in House Of The Dragon, but more of that in a moment.

Weddings are a big deal and I love the way families have traditions that can go back decades. Like the Larsons, from Chicago, who we read about last week after they handed down a wedding dress through seven generations. Julie, the latest bride to wear it, is the niece of the woman who first donned it in 1950. It cost a $100 and is still going strong. All eight of the marriages have been long-lasting.

“I think that’s part of the legacy of the dress that each of us have been drawn to,” Julie said. “It’s connected each of us because we all value family and tradition so deeply.”

My dress, which by the way cost £60, as I think I told every guest after I’d had a couple of glasses of champagne, will not be handed down. It’s kicking around the loft somewhere, red wine stained after a great night.

On the way to my niece’s wedding, one of my daughters unhelpfully suggested that 80% of all marriages in the UK end in divorce. She was being grossly pessimistic there, as the real figure is actually 42%. Still, that’s quite a lot I guess.

I looked at my husband and wondered how we’d lasted the course. I’d recently suggested I could maybe have a little study of my own. “Why?” he asked. “That would be like giving a dog a mobile phone.” He was, of course, joking and maybe that’s why we’re still together. Who needs wine and roses when there’s comedy gold like this in your relationship?

The service was moving, the bride was breathtaking and the look on the groom’s face said it all. I always enjoy the speeches at these dos and I wasn’t disappointed. The father of the bride, aka my brother, made a fantastic one. Although he really enjoys the sound of his own voice, thankfully he’s a great public speaker. But I wish he hadn’t divulged the fact that my husband and I had once spent several days arguing over the right use of the words “pragmatic” and “phlegmatic”. (I know…my marriage. So much fun!)

I think he was trying to convey the fact that you can go through stormy times as a couple and still survive even the most heated of arguments about the correct use of an adjective.

To reach the milestone of 50 years of marriage is therefore quite an achievement. And recently 300 couples gathered at a church in the US to celebrate this milestone. The minister carrying out the blessing said that according to his maths “it involves more than 18,000 days, which is something to be proud of”.

Call me a romantic, but when I hear of people reaching their golden jubilee I think two things. One, they deserve a medal, and two, they must be sick of the sight of each other.

I mentioned earlier the trials and tribulations of the Targaryens. Yes, they’re fictional characters but I’m sure their wedding celebrations touched a chord with families the world over. The pre-wedding banquet descended into a massive drunken brawl and the groom’s lover was beaten to a pulp. And so the actual ceremony was quite a muted affair with the guests banished and just the parents present. Well, that would put a dampener on things, wouldn’t it?

I thought my wedding day was quite eventful with a guest getting into a fight with a juggler and someone falling through a window. But at least there were no dragons.