The wedding day was lovely... as you all probably know, Qld has been suffering badly with rain, but we were so blessed that the weather was gorgeous - if a little humid. No rain though, which is exactly what we had prayed for.
Us girls started the day at the hairdresser, where our hair was teased within an inch of its life, then french-rolled, and gorgeous Grace Kelly-inspired make-up was applied. Bethanie went for a very elegant Audrey Hepburn look. We enjoyed the girly experience, and made it back home in plenty of time to get dressed and ready for the wedding.
It was a little frazzling trying to play the role of Mama and Bridesmaid... especially when my lovely happy was off being a groomsman. Mayana made an adorable flowergirl, and was beside herself to be wearing her pretty dress, gorgeous new shoes, hair clippy and sparkly jewellery.
After getting ourselves and the bride dressed, and posing for photos for our lovely cousin and photographer, Louise, it was finally time to go. We couldn't believe that it was already nearly 3pm, and time to hit the road!
Bethanie and my parents left in the Rolls Royce that Beth and Lachlan had hired, while us girls were chauffeured by a friend from church in her spunky red Mercedes. (Except for Maysi who hitched a lift with the photographer!)
The ceremony was a blur. We did our walk down the aisle... Mayana and I walked about half way down the aisle together, then she ran to Lachlan the rest of the way, and greeted him with a big cuddle and a kiss before being handed to her Papa. Once she and I were in position, she suddenly realised that she had forgotten to throw her flowers, as she had so painstakingly practiced the day before. "Oh no Mummy!" she exclaimed, "Flowers, throw!". And she proceeded to frantically throw handfuls of flowers from her position on my hip at the front of the church. She would totally have stolen the show, had the Bride not made her dazzling entrance. Bethanie had chosen a gorgeous tea-length Audry-Hepburn-esque gown, and it was like nothing anyone had expected of her. She wore our mum's lace gloves from her wedding, and a gorgeous jewellery set my Pop had bought for my Nana when she was about 16 and they were courting. She carried white roses, and we wore gorgeous orange roses on a pearl-banded wrist corsage.
Our Papa serenaded her with the same song he sang to Peter and I on our wedding day, and everyone choked back tears as his voiced cracked on occasion. The vows were sweet and heart-felt, and it was a special moment when the couple's first act together was to share in communion.
Before we knew it they'd promised, ringed, signed and kissed and were making their way back down the aisle.
We all shared in a light afternoon tea - this was about the time we realised that in all the kerffufel, we had neglected entirely to feed our daughter any lunch! Oops! She made up for it by pigging out on cake and biccies.
We had the family photos, and chatted and hugged, then we were off to the reception venue, for bridal party photos. It was Louise's first ever wedding shoot, and she did a fabulous job and we all had lots of fun with her. If you pop over to her blog, you can see a sneak peek of some of her amazing photos, and keep an eye out for more, coming soon!
The reception was lovely - the food was delicious, the atmosphere great, and the dancing was so much fun. The speeches were beautiful and very meaningful, and some aunties and a cousin wrote a hilarious song for the couple, which was a highlight of many people's evening.
Before we knew it, the evening had whirled by, and it was time for the bride and groom to hit the road. I think it was probably the best wedding-car sabotage I had ever seen. The car was plastered with toilet paper, sprinkled with glittery confetti, and the Pièce de résistance was a car horn wired to the brake light, which meant that every time poor Lachlan put his foot on the brake, a loud and obnoxious horn would explode! Oh it was so funny, and I giggle every time I imagine Bethanie elbowing him telling him to stop beeping, and him incredulously holding his hands up swearing it wasn't him!
We danced a little longer after they'd left, before finally heading home and sitting for an hour or so digesting the day. We were in bed by about 1am, exhausted, with sore feet, but oh-so happy.
And now, the part you've been waiting for... here are some piccies!!!
I hope you've enjoyed the story of the wedding from my point of view - and our few photos. Like I said, make sure you keep checking back at Louise's blog for more of her gorgeous photography. Her link is always over there ---> in my list of favourite blogs!
What a beautiful day. Your sister's dress is just gorgeous, as well as the maids dresses and you look beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI love how simple but beautiful and elegant everything looks and how happy everyone is.
Oh gosh her dress was AMAZING!!! Little Mayanna looked so gorgeous and the bridesmaids dresses look fab
ReplyDeleteYour sisters dress is stunning! May I ask where she got it from. I am getting married in November and am looking for a similar 50s style dress. My email is ksultanie(at)yahoo(dot)com. Thanks!
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