Long-Ass Wedding Update- Part One
Right, fellers. Finally, here is my run-down of mine and Matt's wedding, blow by glorious blow. :D
This will be long, with lots of pictures (taken by our photographer, my bridesmaids, Matt's Uncle Barry and various other guests). Unfortunately, I'm having to do this in two parts, as LJ is being a tool and not letting me post the whole thing- so this is everything up til the end of the ceremony. Even so, you might want to sit down with a cuppa and some jam sammies. Or a whole pizza. Or whiskey, if you prefer. Or a several course dinner, complete with cheeseboard and coffee, knowing the length of my posts. ;)
Here goes.
So, my story of our wedding begins at my First Stepmummy's place- where I woke up at 4.30 am on our wedding day feeling horribly sick. As in "going to my puke my guts out and then some" sick. But, I figured it was just nerves and I eventually managed to calm down by reading aloud from the periodic table on my brother Henry's bedroom wall (my brother the geek :D). So, that worked and I managed to get back to sleep.
Jane woke up me up at 7.40- and when I opened the curtains, my heart leaped upon discovering nothing but glorious and wonderful sun and that there was barely a cloud in the sky! The forecast had been looking suspect all week, and the best we were hoping for on the day was "cloudy with a bit of drizzle in the morning, clearing in the afternoon". Plus, the weather the night before was atrocious, and the wind had completely trashed Jane's poor rose bushes. :( But, we had sun for our wedding day and we were going to get the garden wedding we'd planned for!
I stumbled somewhat groggily into the kitchen, where Rose was already up and looking at hairstyles! Henry surfaced a bit later and joined me in polishing off cold Hell's pizza from the night before (breakfast of champions ;)). He very proudly tried on his wedding outfit that our Dad brought him, but was less than impressed when Jane insisted he both tuck his shirt in and put some mousse in his hair. After a lot of protesting ("but Erin says I don't have to!"), Jane got her way- and Henry sat looking positively murderous while his Mum styled his hair! Poor love. ;) Anyway, after me having showered, moisturised and re-caffeinated, Jane's partner Brent dropped Rose and I off at the hair salon for our first appointment of the day. :)
Upon arriving at the salon, we were greeted enthusiastically by Daniel, my regular sylist and the salon manager, and his crew- who commented on how much Rose and I look alike. :) However...the first big stress of the day happened early on, while I was getting my hair washed- as Rose's stylist rather guiltily snuck over to tell us that Rose had nits, and they wouldn't be able to do her hair. Oh holy fucking shit, thought I. Daniel, on the other hand, was brilliant and suggested they just do a few simple curls in her hair, and just disinfect the hell out of their curling irons later. So, there was no need to panic. ;P Rose took the whole thing in her stride- and her hair ended up looking great. (Jane told me later she didn't have nits after all- just dandruff. *facepalm*)
Isn't she gorgeous?!
My three big girl bridesmaids, Pip, Rosel and Sara arrived shortly afterwards, and were promptly swooped upon by their various stylists. The girls' hair dos were all done within half an hour or so and looked amazing. I was also thrilled with how the knitted rose hair pins I made for all my 'maids looked (though Pip's kinda looked like munted sea anenome!). As for me, it took both Daniel and one of his other stylists to blow-dry and smooth out my hair cos there's so damn much of it. But Daniel did a fabulous job of my ringlety hair do- and it turned out looking even better than the trial version. :D
At this point (about 9.30), I was starting to panic, mainly because the makeup artist still hadn't shown...and she'd predicted it would take her over three hours to do all our makeup. :/ Sara was a darling, and ran to the chemist to get me some Rescue Remedy- which Rose insisted on fixing for me with a glass of water! Luckily, Claudine the make-up artist showed up about 9.40, and got on to eveyone's makeup pretty quick smart. Paula, our photographer, also showed up around this point and got snapping away. :)
Ah, the nervous bride face! That's me, getting the A-OK from the bouncy castle guy.
Rosie and I, showing off our pretty hair (we have a similar "back of the hair" photo from Dad's wedding as well).
The girls and I hung out while waited our turn, and we all helped ourselves to the strawberries and chocolate dip generously provided by the salon crew. A super-duper awesome surprise occurred a wee while later, when Matt rang my cellphone (we'd done the traditional thang and spent the night apart, so I hadn't seen him since about 8pm the night before)! Hearing his voice immediately calmed me down and made my heart that much lighter- and he sounded like he was just about to combust with excitement! I was reminded that, in just a few short hours, we would be be married- so I was more excited than nervous. :D
Strawberries!
Rosel getting prettified.
Sara getting prettified.
N'aw, besties!
A truly awesome phone call. :D
Just after 11, my old friend Lucy arrived with a bottle of champagne and a massive platter of nibbles she and her husband and sisters put together. So sweet! Brent arrived shortly afterwards to take Rosel and Rose (whose makeup was all done) back to Jane's just as I was sitting down to have my makeup done. I got extremely nervous once again- but Claudine chatted to me about her recent wedding, her adorable three dogs and her hubby's new cheese maker, which helped the nerves for a wee bit. Anyway, my makeup looked fantastic and I felt like a rockstar! :D
I LOVE these ones of me!
Posers!
Once we were done, all the stylists gushed over me and my new look, which felt pretty special. Daniel gave me a huge hug and Mitch, who did Rosel's hair, kissed me on the cheek, and said, “you look a million dollars, my friend!” I got nervous again, and made Sara wait outside and gossip with me while Paula (who'd agreed to run me back to Jane's) went to collect her car. After that, Paula and I sped back to Jane's place, where we were greeted by Rose, Rosel and Jane who were all dressed in their finery!
Once we got inside, we discovered Jane had put on a MASSIVE spread in our honour and had decked the place out with balloons. :) We faffed about for a bit while Paula took artistic shots of the dress, everyone's flowers, my jewellery, my shoes and what-have-you, and Jane tried to get Jilly the Jack Russell and Tude the cat out from underfoot (though Rosel loved them!) Henry eventually emerged, after his Mum prized him away from the computer. ;) It appeared Jane had successfully convinced him to tuck in shirt- but he'd still refused to wear matching socks! Bless.
A wee while later, Auntie Sara (Jane's twin) and her daughter Lucy arrived (there's a few Saras and Lucys in this story!), and gushed over my hair, makeup and acrylic nails- which I think Lucy was a bit envious of. ;) Dad and my Pop (his father) arrived very shortly afterwards, followed by my Mum and Bill, who showed up in a beautiful old Ford they'd hired just for the occasion- and decked out with ribbons! Mum looked just lovely in her Mother-of-the-Bride outfit, and got amongst all the excitement, complimenting the kids on their outfits and fussing over the dress. I can't remember if she and Dad were ever in the same room at this time (Dad left fairly quickly, as he had to go ahead to help Catherine assemble the cupcake tower)-but if they were, they didn't seem overly bothered by the other's presence.
Suave brother is suave
Mum admiring the dress
Auntie Sara helping Mum with her buttonhole
Srns bsns!
My Pop and I :)
Around this time, I stepped into Bride mode, and started bossing around my two present bridesmaids, Rose and Rosel- and they were most compliant. ;) Seriously,
though, they were awesome- Rosie dashed about collecting everything for my overnight bag, and Rosel helped me with my petticoat and earrings, fetched me more Rescue Remedy and hassled me to eat- as I'd told her to do! Pip and (my bridesmaid) Sara arrived back from the salon about 2pm. Once they were changed, the girls helped me into my corset, we posed for a few more photos...and then it was time for the dress to go on!
Sexy undergarments ;)
Pretty side-on shot
My gorgeous gals and their gorgeous shawls!
Everybody chill the fuck out; I got this! (I think at this point I was getting mad at Mum for bossing my bridesmaids around!)
Mama and I :)
As it turned out, getting me dressed was an absolute MISSION. First of all, the dress got stuck while going over my head, which almost sent me into a panic attack...but Henry and Rosel were lovely, and offered their hands for me to grasp. After that, it took five people- all my adult 'maids, Mum and Jane- to get the dress laced up properly. THEN we discovered my corset was peeking out the top- and both Mum and Pip had to reach into my dress to yank it down! (It rode back up again during the ceremony. Oh well). AND THEN we discovered I'd missed some stray hairs while shaving under my arms, so Jane had to attack them with her hair-removal tool thingie. So yeah...stressful. Luckily, I had Henry and Rose to keep me entertained- Rose and I did some of the "handshakes" we taught each other, and Henry babbled on about some hilarious programme he'd seen on Animal Planet. ;)
Before we knew it, it was 2.40, and time to hit the road. But, just when we thought we'd gotten everyone sorted, it came to my attention that I really needed to pee. Greeeeeat. Jane outdid herself as Stepmother of the Bride- and actually accompanied to the bathroom, managed to untangle my underwear which somehow got pinned to the underside of my dress and held all my skirts up while I sat on the loo. Just like that scene in 27 Dresses.
After all that, us girls grabbed our flowers and it was time to go! The kids and I piled into the back of Mum and Bill's car (the big girls were riding with Jane), and I somehow managed to squish in with all my layers and big poofy skirts (though Rose had to help me with my seatbelt!). ;) The journey to the Botanical Gardens Ride was, despite me being almost ill with nerves, reasonably pleasant. Mum requested "a quiet ride"- but Henry and Rose nattered away, and kept me distracted. However, the closer we got to Thorndon, the more my stomach knotted up. And, there was yet more drama when got to the Gardens and couldn't find a bloody park! The only park was right by the Dell, which would have been way too close and everyone would have seen me in my dress before my entrance (I know. Bridezilla, right? ;)). Paula pretty much appeared out of nowhere and directed Bill to back up the car so I could get out close to the Rose Garden, where I could cut across and remain unseen. Because I am ridiculous, I was hyperventilating pretty much the entire time Bill was backing up the car!
After all that, I managed to get out and scurry away without being seen. Paula made me pose for a photo while walking through the Rose Garden- which I did somewhat reluctantly, as we were already running late (yeah, by five minutes. Bridezilla strikes again...)! We met with the bridesmaids, who were already gathered by the cafe. I'd calmed down a lot by this stage- but Pip seemed extremely nervous (as in, her hands were shaking!)- but I don't know if that was nerves on my behalf, or nerves about tripping while going up the stairs on the the stage (which were STEEP! Thankfully, no-one faceplanted!). Henry made a few cracks up tripping me up while walking up the aisle- but Pip threatened to belt him with her bouquet if he dared! ;) Margaret, our celebrant, joined us a wee while later, and very graciously stayed and chatted with us while we waited for Mum and Bill to park the car- cos we certainly weren't starting without them!
Posing through gritted teeth...
ARGH, WE'RE LATE!!
The stressed bride face again
Cute parentals <3
Eventually, Mum and Bill emerged, Margaret disappeared again...and the first strains of "All I Want Is You" floated toward us over the sound system. It was time. The bridesmaids walked in first, Rose followed just as the third verse was starting, with Henry and I bringing up the rear. I had been nervous about walking up the aisle- and to be honest, all I wanted to do was sprint down to Matt and married already! But seeing the smiling and loving faces of our friends and family (starting with Den's girlfriend Suzie down the back, who's face lit up when she saw me!) put paid to the nerves, and made me feel awesome. As my colleague John, who came to the ceremony, told me later, "You didn't as much walk down the aisle as bounce down it!”
Muh girls- with Sara leading the charge!
Me and my super handsome Bride-Giver-Awayer
And, then I saw my Matt- he'd come down from the stage to meet us! Cheesy though it sounds, my heart melted- he looked just amazing (and yes, extremely sexy ;)) in his suit and his awesome 1950s rockabilly shoes, and the look on his face when he saw me was...well, I just wish I could go back to that moment, press freeze frame and soak it all back in, over and over again. "Hello, my sweet!", he murmured, before wrapping me in his arms, squeezing me tight, and whispering “you look f***ing stunning, darling” in my ear. Funnily enough, him swearing made it all the more romantic! I just about burst- with happiness, pride, love, all the cliches!
Expectant husband is expectant- and hot. ;) (Ehehe, Summer in the background!)
Matt gave each of my girls a hug before they got up on stage, which was lovely :)
Here I come...
Cuddles!
After that, we gestured frantically to miriamus to kill the music, Rose and Henry "presented" me to be married to Matt (which was super cute :)), Matt helped me up onto the stage, we clutched each other's hand and snuggled in close...and it was time for our ceremony to begin! :)
The Ceremony was certainly one of both mine and Matt's favourite parts of the day- but it went by waaaaay too fast! Margaret did a brilliant job of delivering the ceremony and she raised several laughs, especially when she mentioned that Ellen (purplesparkler), our "Ring Fairy", would be supervising to ensure that the rings were warmed on "appropriate parts of the body" during our ring warming! Everyone cracked up again when Margaret talked about a marriage unfortunately involving rinsing the dishes and taking out the rubbish, and when she said that one of the things I loved most about Matt was his impressions of Loony Toons characters! One of the most precious moments for me was seeing Mum's face when Margaret mentioned the little piece of advice she'd passed on when I was young- that "falling in love is an act of faith, but staying in love is an act of will." She positively *beamed* - and just thinking about it now is making me grin stupidly. :D Matt confessed later that he was a touch nervous during the ceremony (I guess 120 people all looking at you at once will do that...)- but I leant over and whispered one of our favourite nonsense phrases in his ear (when Margaret talked about us sharing jokes only we understand), which cracked him up and helped him relax a bit more. :)
Awwww, leany on my husband...
Something was funny
The readings were awesome, and another big favourite. My mate Fran's reading of Robert Fulghum's essay on marriage (especially when it talks about lying cuddled up in bed with your partner, and just feeling content to be lying beside "your best friend, who happens to be the man you love") made me seriously tear up. Jane did a great job of our second reading- an adorable kids' book about the unconditional love between a big fox and a little fox! She got Rose to turn the pages for her, which was a lovely touch. :) I was also really happy to hear Mims do our final reading, a poem I wrote (as part of a collection) for Matt's birthday. Matt loved it as well- his face lit up when he realised it was one of the poems I wrote, and exclaimed that it was "so beautiful!"- almost loud enough for the audience to hear over Mims!
Fran doing her reading
Jane and her wee helper :)
miriamus reading my handiwork ;)
After Mims' reading, it was vow time! Unfortunately, this is where the snafu with the sound system happened, which meant that, apparently, only about half our guests could hear us say our vows. :/ Thankfully, however, Matt and I didn't notice anything was amiss- and those guests who weren't able to hear much were kind enough not to mention it to us on the day. The sound issues still niggle at me a bit, and I do feel like some of our guests were robbed of the whole wedding "experience" as it were. But, this is a happy post, so I'll shut up. ;)
Anyway, I loved saying my vows to Matt. His face was serene, and calm, and full of love as I read my vows...and I squeezed his hands tighter with every sentence. :) I was also thrilled to hear some laughter from the crowd- especially when I promised to fill Matt's life with "highly superior music", and not to whinge whenever he plays hip hop! I also loved hearing Matt's beautiful voice as he said his, and I just wanted to cuddle him to death when he cracked up as he he promised not to complain too much when the house is messy. And I think everyone loved his line about doing weird things to make me laugh when his cuddles don't cheer me up. :)
Awww, Rosel's face in the background!
Awwww, Matt's face!
Then it was time “for the ring fairy to bring the rings on stage.” Yup, the rings had managed to get warmed by 120 people in that time! Our rings went on without getting stuck (as I've seen happen several times!) and without us dropping them, and it was all very lovely. :) Then Margaret placed her hands over ours, and pronounced us husband and wife...and we had a huge snog! Not quite “November Rain” styles, but still fantastic. After we had our first kiss, I went back in for another! And I think I may have lent in for another peck after the second time. As my old mate Delia pointed out, it was certainly "elongated"! ;)
Ring time!
After that it was time to sign on the dotted line, and make it legal. Which started off with a bit of chaos, as the “signing table” (which Fran and Ellen managed to score from the cafe next door) had been placed right in the sun, which would have been way too bright for the photographs. Paula and Margaret managed to shuffle it along into the shade, and Matt got semi-jokingly told off by Pip as, while trying to get my train out of the way, he lifted my skirt too high, just about exposing my petticoat...which had a massive hole in the butt. Meh.
But yeah...we signed our names, cuddled up for the camera and shimmied off to the side while Dennis, Pip and Margaret did their bit...whereupon we cuddled up, made out some more and waltzed on the spot to “The Dress Looks Nice on You” (appropriate!), and posed for Cory with the video camera. Apparently, according to our photos, we also got hugs from the rest of our bridal party at this point- which I seriously don't remember! Sorry, guys!
Signing our lives away...
Our sexy witnesses!
I look SO much like my Mum here!
Must've been tired ;)
I look pretty here :)
After that we all came back together for Margaret's final words and the Irish blessing- which surprised everyone, as Margaret replaced “His” with “Her” in the final line- ie “May God hold you in the palm of Her hand.” I was slightly taken aback- though not as much as Matt's Irish cousin Dave, who apparently hollered "HER HAND?!" from right at the front! ;) I did wonder what some of my very devout Christian friends in the crowd would have thought- but no-one said anything!
And then...Margaret presented us to the crowd as “the newlyweds”, our exit music came on, I leant in for another snog, everyone went nuts, we climbed down from the stage without face-planting, I raised my bouquet in the air victoriously (which made people cheer louder) and we practically skipped down the aisle. :D Once we got the end, we squealed a bit and we had another massive cuddle- which was even more magical than our cuddle at the beginning of the ceremony! And, just like that, we were married. :)
VICTORY!
Just married :)
Dang, my body looks good in my dress!
To be continued...
This will be long, with lots of pictures (taken by our photographer, my bridesmaids, Matt's Uncle Barry and various other guests). Unfortunately, I'm having to do this in two parts, as LJ is being a tool and not letting me post the whole thing- so this is everything up til the end of the ceremony. Even so, you might want to sit down with a cuppa and some jam sammies. Or a whole pizza. Or whiskey, if you prefer. Or a several course dinner, complete with cheeseboard and coffee, knowing the length of my posts. ;)
Here goes.
So, my story of our wedding begins at my First Stepmummy's place- where I woke up at 4.30 am on our wedding day feeling horribly sick. As in "going to my puke my guts out and then some" sick. But, I figured it was just nerves and I eventually managed to calm down by reading aloud from the periodic table on my brother Henry's bedroom wall (my brother the geek :D). So, that worked and I managed to get back to sleep.
Jane woke up me up at 7.40- and when I opened the curtains, my heart leaped upon discovering nothing but glorious and wonderful sun and that there was barely a cloud in the sky! The forecast had been looking suspect all week, and the best we were hoping for on the day was "cloudy with a bit of drizzle in the morning, clearing in the afternoon". Plus, the weather the night before was atrocious, and the wind had completely trashed Jane's poor rose bushes. :( But, we had sun for our wedding day and we were going to get the garden wedding we'd planned for!
I stumbled somewhat groggily into the kitchen, where Rose was already up and looking at hairstyles! Henry surfaced a bit later and joined me in polishing off cold Hell's pizza from the night before (breakfast of champions ;)). He very proudly tried on his wedding outfit that our Dad brought him, but was less than impressed when Jane insisted he both tuck his shirt in and put some mousse in his hair. After a lot of protesting ("but Erin says I don't have to!"), Jane got her way- and Henry sat looking positively murderous while his Mum styled his hair! Poor love. ;) Anyway, after me having showered, moisturised and re-caffeinated, Jane's partner Brent dropped Rose and I off at the hair salon for our first appointment of the day. :)
Upon arriving at the salon, we were greeted enthusiastically by Daniel, my regular sylist and the salon manager, and his crew- who commented on how much Rose and I look alike. :) However...the first big stress of the day happened early on, while I was getting my hair washed- as Rose's stylist rather guiltily snuck over to tell us that Rose had nits, and they wouldn't be able to do her hair. Oh holy fucking shit, thought I. Daniel, on the other hand, was brilliant and suggested they just do a few simple curls in her hair, and just disinfect the hell out of their curling irons later. So, there was no need to panic. ;P Rose took the whole thing in her stride- and her hair ended up looking great. (Jane told me later she didn't have nits after all- just dandruff. *facepalm*)
Isn't she gorgeous?!
My three big girl bridesmaids, Pip, Rosel and Sara arrived shortly afterwards, and were promptly swooped upon by their various stylists. The girls' hair dos were all done within half an hour or so and looked amazing. I was also thrilled with how the knitted rose hair pins I made for all my 'maids looked (though Pip's kinda looked like munted sea anenome!). As for me, it took both Daniel and one of his other stylists to blow-dry and smooth out my hair cos there's so damn much of it. But Daniel did a fabulous job of my ringlety hair do- and it turned out looking even better than the trial version. :D
At this point (about 9.30), I was starting to panic, mainly because the makeup artist still hadn't shown...and she'd predicted it would take her over three hours to do all our makeup. :/ Sara was a darling, and ran to the chemist to get me some Rescue Remedy- which Rose insisted on fixing for me with a glass of water! Luckily, Claudine the make-up artist showed up about 9.40, and got on to eveyone's makeup pretty quick smart. Paula, our photographer, also showed up around this point and got snapping away. :)
Ah, the nervous bride face! That's me, getting the A-OK from the bouncy castle guy.
Rosie and I, showing off our pretty hair (we have a similar "back of the hair" photo from Dad's wedding as well).
The girls and I hung out while waited our turn, and we all helped ourselves to the strawberries and chocolate dip generously provided by the salon crew. A super-duper awesome surprise occurred a wee while later, when Matt rang my cellphone (we'd done the traditional thang and spent the night apart, so I hadn't seen him since about 8pm the night before)! Hearing his voice immediately calmed me down and made my heart that much lighter- and he sounded like he was just about to combust with excitement! I was reminded that, in just a few short hours, we would be be married- so I was more excited than nervous. :D
Strawberries!
Rosel getting prettified.
Sara getting prettified.
N'aw, besties!
A truly awesome phone call. :D
Just after 11, my old friend Lucy arrived with a bottle of champagne and a massive platter of nibbles she and her husband and sisters put together. So sweet! Brent arrived shortly afterwards to take Rosel and Rose (whose makeup was all done) back to Jane's just as I was sitting down to have my makeup done. I got extremely nervous once again- but Claudine chatted to me about her recent wedding, her adorable three dogs and her hubby's new cheese maker, which helped the nerves for a wee bit. Anyway, my makeup looked fantastic and I felt like a rockstar! :D
I LOVE these ones of me!
Posers!
Once we were done, all the stylists gushed over me and my new look, which felt pretty special. Daniel gave me a huge hug and Mitch, who did Rosel's hair, kissed me on the cheek, and said, “you look a million dollars, my friend!” I got nervous again, and made Sara wait outside and gossip with me while Paula (who'd agreed to run me back to Jane's) went to collect her car. After that, Paula and I sped back to Jane's place, where we were greeted by Rose, Rosel and Jane who were all dressed in their finery!
Once we got inside, we discovered Jane had put on a MASSIVE spread in our honour and had decked the place out with balloons. :) We faffed about for a bit while Paula took artistic shots of the dress, everyone's flowers, my jewellery, my shoes and what-have-you, and Jane tried to get Jilly the Jack Russell and Tude the cat out from underfoot (though Rosel loved them!) Henry eventually emerged, after his Mum prized him away from the computer. ;) It appeared Jane had successfully convinced him to tuck in shirt- but he'd still refused to wear matching socks! Bless.
A wee while later, Auntie Sara (Jane's twin) and her daughter Lucy arrived (there's a few Saras and Lucys in this story!), and gushed over my hair, makeup and acrylic nails- which I think Lucy was a bit envious of. ;) Dad and my Pop (his father) arrived very shortly afterwards, followed by my Mum and Bill, who showed up in a beautiful old Ford they'd hired just for the occasion- and decked out with ribbons! Mum looked just lovely in her Mother-of-the-Bride outfit, and got amongst all the excitement, complimenting the kids on their outfits and fussing over the dress. I can't remember if she and Dad were ever in the same room at this time (Dad left fairly quickly, as he had to go ahead to help Catherine assemble the cupcake tower)-but if they were, they didn't seem overly bothered by the other's presence.
Suave brother is suave
Mum admiring the dress
Auntie Sara helping Mum with her buttonhole
Srns bsns!
My Pop and I :)
Around this time, I stepped into Bride mode, and started bossing around my two present bridesmaids, Rose and Rosel- and they were most compliant. ;) Seriously,
though, they were awesome- Rosie dashed about collecting everything for my overnight bag, and Rosel helped me with my petticoat and earrings, fetched me more Rescue Remedy and hassled me to eat- as I'd told her to do! Pip and (my bridesmaid) Sara arrived back from the salon about 2pm. Once they were changed, the girls helped me into my corset, we posed for a few more photos...and then it was time for the dress to go on!
Sexy undergarments ;)
Pretty side-on shot
My gorgeous gals and their gorgeous shawls!
Everybody chill the fuck out; I got this! (I think at this point I was getting mad at Mum for bossing my bridesmaids around!)
Mama and I :)
As it turned out, getting me dressed was an absolute MISSION. First of all, the dress got stuck while going over my head, which almost sent me into a panic attack...but Henry and Rosel were lovely, and offered their hands for me to grasp. After that, it took five people- all my adult 'maids, Mum and Jane- to get the dress laced up properly. THEN we discovered my corset was peeking out the top- and both Mum and Pip had to reach into my dress to yank it down! (It rode back up again during the ceremony. Oh well). AND THEN we discovered I'd missed some stray hairs while shaving under my arms, so Jane had to attack them with her hair-removal tool thingie. So yeah...stressful. Luckily, I had Henry and Rose to keep me entertained- Rose and I did some of the "handshakes" we taught each other, and Henry babbled on about some hilarious programme he'd seen on Animal Planet. ;)
Before we knew it, it was 2.40, and time to hit the road. But, just when we thought we'd gotten everyone sorted, it came to my attention that I really needed to pee. Greeeeeat. Jane outdid herself as Stepmother of the Bride- and actually accompanied to the bathroom, managed to untangle my underwear which somehow got pinned to the underside of my dress and held all my skirts up while I sat on the loo. Just like that scene in 27 Dresses.
After all that, us girls grabbed our flowers and it was time to go! The kids and I piled into the back of Mum and Bill's car (the big girls were riding with Jane), and I somehow managed to squish in with all my layers and big poofy skirts (though Rose had to help me with my seatbelt!). ;) The journey to the Botanical Gardens Ride was, despite me being almost ill with nerves, reasonably pleasant. Mum requested "a quiet ride"- but Henry and Rose nattered away, and kept me distracted. However, the closer we got to Thorndon, the more my stomach knotted up. And, there was yet more drama when got to the Gardens and couldn't find a bloody park! The only park was right by the Dell, which would have been way too close and everyone would have seen me in my dress before my entrance (I know. Bridezilla, right? ;)). Paula pretty much appeared out of nowhere and directed Bill to back up the car so I could get out close to the Rose Garden, where I could cut across and remain unseen. Because I am ridiculous, I was hyperventilating pretty much the entire time Bill was backing up the car!
After all that, I managed to get out and scurry away without being seen. Paula made me pose for a photo while walking through the Rose Garden- which I did somewhat reluctantly, as we were already running late (yeah, by five minutes. Bridezilla strikes again...)! We met with the bridesmaids, who were already gathered by the cafe. I'd calmed down a lot by this stage- but Pip seemed extremely nervous (as in, her hands were shaking!)- but I don't know if that was nerves on my behalf, or nerves about tripping while going up the stairs on the the stage (which were STEEP! Thankfully, no-one faceplanted!). Henry made a few cracks up tripping me up while walking up the aisle- but Pip threatened to belt him with her bouquet if he dared! ;) Margaret, our celebrant, joined us a wee while later, and very graciously stayed and chatted with us while we waited for Mum and Bill to park the car- cos we certainly weren't starting without them!
Posing through gritted teeth...
ARGH, WE'RE LATE!!
The stressed bride face again
Cute parentals <3
Eventually, Mum and Bill emerged, Margaret disappeared again...and the first strains of "All I Want Is You" floated toward us over the sound system. It was time. The bridesmaids walked in first, Rose followed just as the third verse was starting, with Henry and I bringing up the rear. I had been nervous about walking up the aisle- and to be honest, all I wanted to do was sprint down to Matt and married already! But seeing the smiling and loving faces of our friends and family (starting with Den's girlfriend Suzie down the back, who's face lit up when she saw me!) put paid to the nerves, and made me feel awesome. As my colleague John, who came to the ceremony, told me later, "You didn't as much walk down the aisle as bounce down it!”
Muh girls- with Sara leading the charge!
Me and my super handsome Bride-Giver-Awayer
And, then I saw my Matt- he'd come down from the stage to meet us! Cheesy though it sounds, my heart melted- he looked just amazing (and yes, extremely sexy ;)) in his suit and his awesome 1950s rockabilly shoes, and the look on his face when he saw me was...well, I just wish I could go back to that moment, press freeze frame and soak it all back in, over and over again. "Hello, my sweet!", he murmured, before wrapping me in his arms, squeezing me tight, and whispering “you look f***ing stunning, darling” in my ear. Funnily enough, him swearing made it all the more romantic! I just about burst- with happiness, pride, love, all the cliches!
Expectant husband is expectant- and hot. ;) (Ehehe, Summer in the background!)
Matt gave each of my girls a hug before they got up on stage, which was lovely :)
Here I come...
Cuddles!
After that, we gestured frantically to miriamus to kill the music, Rose and Henry "presented" me to be married to Matt (which was super cute :)), Matt helped me up onto the stage, we clutched each other's hand and snuggled in close...and it was time for our ceremony to begin! :)
The Ceremony was certainly one of both mine and Matt's favourite parts of the day- but it went by waaaaay too fast! Margaret did a brilliant job of delivering the ceremony and she raised several laughs, especially when she mentioned that Ellen (purplesparkler), our "Ring Fairy", would be supervising to ensure that the rings were warmed on "appropriate parts of the body" during our ring warming! Everyone cracked up again when Margaret talked about a marriage unfortunately involving rinsing the dishes and taking out the rubbish, and when she said that one of the things I loved most about Matt was his impressions of Loony Toons characters! One of the most precious moments for me was seeing Mum's face when Margaret mentioned the little piece of advice she'd passed on when I was young- that "falling in love is an act of faith, but staying in love is an act of will." She positively *beamed* - and just thinking about it now is making me grin stupidly. :D Matt confessed later that he was a touch nervous during the ceremony (I guess 120 people all looking at you at once will do that...)- but I leant over and whispered one of our favourite nonsense phrases in his ear (when Margaret talked about us sharing jokes only we understand), which cracked him up and helped him relax a bit more. :)
Awwww, leany on my husband...
Something was funny
The readings were awesome, and another big favourite. My mate Fran's reading of Robert Fulghum's essay on marriage (especially when it talks about lying cuddled up in bed with your partner, and just feeling content to be lying beside "your best friend, who happens to be the man you love") made me seriously tear up. Jane did a great job of our second reading- an adorable kids' book about the unconditional love between a big fox and a little fox! She got Rose to turn the pages for her, which was a lovely touch. :) I was also really happy to hear Mims do our final reading, a poem I wrote (as part of a collection) for Matt's birthday. Matt loved it as well- his face lit up when he realised it was one of the poems I wrote, and exclaimed that it was "so beautiful!"- almost loud enough for the audience to hear over Mims!
Fran doing her reading
Jane and her wee helper :)
miriamus reading my handiwork ;)
After Mims' reading, it was vow time! Unfortunately, this is where the snafu with the sound system happened, which meant that, apparently, only about half our guests could hear us say our vows. :/ Thankfully, however, Matt and I didn't notice anything was amiss- and those guests who weren't able to hear much were kind enough not to mention it to us on the day. The sound issues still niggle at me a bit, and I do feel like some of our guests were robbed of the whole wedding "experience" as it were. But, this is a happy post, so I'll shut up. ;)
Anyway, I loved saying my vows to Matt. His face was serene, and calm, and full of love as I read my vows...and I squeezed his hands tighter with every sentence. :) I was also thrilled to hear some laughter from the crowd- especially when I promised to fill Matt's life with "highly superior music", and not to whinge whenever he plays hip hop! I also loved hearing Matt's beautiful voice as he said his, and I just wanted to cuddle him to death when he cracked up as he he promised not to complain too much when the house is messy. And I think everyone loved his line about doing weird things to make me laugh when his cuddles don't cheer me up. :)
Awww, Rosel's face in the background!
Awwww, Matt's face!
Then it was time “for the ring fairy to bring the rings on stage.” Yup, the rings had managed to get warmed by 120 people in that time! Our rings went on without getting stuck (as I've seen happen several times!) and without us dropping them, and it was all very lovely. :) Then Margaret placed her hands over ours, and pronounced us husband and wife...and we had a huge snog! Not quite “November Rain” styles, but still fantastic. After we had our first kiss, I went back in for another! And I think I may have lent in for another peck after the second time. As my old mate Delia pointed out, it was certainly "elongated"! ;)
Ring time!
After that it was time to sign on the dotted line, and make it legal. Which started off with a bit of chaos, as the “signing table” (which Fran and Ellen managed to score from the cafe next door) had been placed right in the sun, which would have been way too bright for the photographs. Paula and Margaret managed to shuffle it along into the shade, and Matt got semi-jokingly told off by Pip as, while trying to get my train out of the way, he lifted my skirt too high, just about exposing my petticoat...which had a massive hole in the butt. Meh.
But yeah...we signed our names, cuddled up for the camera and shimmied off to the side while Dennis, Pip and Margaret did their bit...whereupon we cuddled up, made out some more and waltzed on the spot to “The Dress Looks Nice on You” (appropriate!), and posed for Cory with the video camera. Apparently, according to our photos, we also got hugs from the rest of our bridal party at this point- which I seriously don't remember! Sorry, guys!
Signing our lives away...
Our sexy witnesses!
I look SO much like my Mum here!
Must've been tired ;)
I look pretty here :)
After that we all came back together for Margaret's final words and the Irish blessing- which surprised everyone, as Margaret replaced “His” with “Her” in the final line- ie “May God hold you in the palm of Her hand.” I was slightly taken aback- though not as much as Matt's Irish cousin Dave, who apparently hollered "HER HAND?!" from right at the front! ;) I did wonder what some of my very devout Christian friends in the crowd would have thought- but no-one said anything!
And then...Margaret presented us to the crowd as “the newlyweds”, our exit music came on, I leant in for another snog, everyone went nuts, we climbed down from the stage without face-planting, I raised my bouquet in the air victoriously (which made people cheer louder) and we practically skipped down the aisle. :D Once we got the end, we squealed a bit and we had another massive cuddle- which was even more magical than our cuddle at the beginning of the ceremony! And, just like that, we were married. :)
VICTORY!
Just married :)
Dang, my body looks good in my dress!
To be continued...