I got hitched!

Here I am committing the 21st century sin of blogging on my honeymoon.  Well.... at least I am doing it in the company of my beloved husband, Spud, who is sitting on the super cosy sofa reading a book while we both sip a glass of pinot noir.  We had such a wonderful wedding that I just want to write it all down before I forget the small details!  Where will I start?  Possibly with the icy cold weather that greeted us when we arrived in Mullumbimby, the day before the wedding. It was absolutely glacial, the wind was blowing in from the south and leaves & branches were flying about.  Of course, having had a few weeks of intense heat, we had not packed a single woolly or warm article of clothing, so had to raid mum's wardrobe, resulting in Spud wearing a Street's ice-cream man delivery shirt (where did she get that?)

Spud, Elaine & Jess enjoying a walk on Brunswick Heads Beach

On a more controversial note, I woke two mornings before the wedding with a stiff left shoulder that would hardly move and was extremely painful.  After some NSAIDs and a hot shower, it resolved, only to return on the wedding morning.  We were coming up with alternatives to applying the wedding ring, it was that bad! 

Brunswick Heads on our wedding eve - dolphins in the river and all

Absolutely incredibly (or maybe due to Divine Intervention?) the day of our wedding dawned sunny, calm and warm so that all the emergency emails I had sent out the night before, advising our guests to bring anoraks and beanies were for naught.  

My lovely boss and his wife bought us our wedding cake as a gift.  Intensely chocolate with a layer of rose-flavoured sponge.  Heavenly!  The cake topper epitomised that well-worn message:  You Have To Kiss A Lot of Frogs Before You Find Your Magic Prince

I had been warned over and over about how important it is to enjoy every minute of your wedding day and savour the moment but I just don't know what happened to the day.  I can't speak for My Husband, but certainly for me, the event became a blur.  I so much want to do it all again.  In slow motion.  I want to do it all again....  It all happened so fast.  I do recall moments of the day but really, it's like you are in some kind of mental void.  It's like your brain switches off and things are happening around you that you are not absorbing.  

Sydney girls Manda, Chels & Lizzy

My beautiful (inside & out) god-daughter Alana was my bridesmaid.  It was her 21st and I think spending it together the way we did was extra special.  I wanted to involve Spud's grand-daughter Jess so she & my other semi-godchildren Bella & Morgan were included & the extra treat was little Dove, who came from Los Angeles with his dad (my cousin Jonathan) & his lovely wife Kim.  I don't currently have a lot of photos but will get some soon I'm sure.  These are photos taken on my camera after the ceremony.

My darling friend Annie who came from Sydney!

I really wanted to be sure to talk to everyone & spend time with friends who had travelled so far to share our special day but, as I have said, the whole event was a blur.  Why can't I remember more?

Spud & Alana looked so gorgeous!

Most horribly, I'm not sure we have any photos of just Spud & I together!  We were both having so much fun talking to all our friends that we hardly spent any time together... We DID dance together though xxx

Sam (post-Schoolies fortnight), Swell (who came from Cairns) & Chris 

Simon from Eat Drink Catering was there to help serve the most DELICIOUS food, prepared in mum's kitchen.  We also had a sensational Singapore noodle bar which was really fun and dramatic, with leaping flames and woks and tasty, tasty stir-fry in little cardboard boxes.  Meanwhile, our guests sipped all variety of beverages.

Len & Leigh 

The little band played some very cool tunes accompanied by a songstress with the smoothest voice. I offered to sing something but the idea was quashed as there was nowhere for people to run and hide!  The wedding had started with Etta James singing "At Last"

and then the band sang "Too Marvellous for Words" for Spud, which pretty well outlined how I feel about him! 

Plastic surgery nurses unite - Miranda, Susie & Carolyn enjoying the evening

The band was so great that a few people got up and cut a rug (on the tiles).   I just wish I could remember more ...  It was all so much fun!  I want to do it again!!!

Sydney girls Chels, Annie & Manda

Spud and Alana both gave fantastic speeches - funny, sweet and short - which were truly marvellous expressions of their feelings about the whole event.   Then it was cake time & I barely remember cutting the cake other than to recall how difficult it was!  So thick and delicious and heavy with chocolate-ness....  I DO remember that I was just starting to enjoy the evening when the buses arrived to take everyone away!  Noooooo!!!!  So sad.  I wanted the party to go on and on.  As Spud says though, "the party ended on a high" and I guess he is right because I was just about ready to go to sleep within half an hour of that.  Apparently one of our friends was terribly car sick on the way home and had to actually be offloaded onto the side of the road.  The bus took off to drop a few people home & left him there, lying on the grass in his suit!  He tells us that quite a lot of young people came by & were very concerned about him, a well-dressed older man doing a very Schoolies-type of thing, and stopped to offer assistance.  

The next morning we held a casual recovery brunch, once again with Eat Drink's help (thank the heavens for THAT!) and everyone started to arrive just after 10am, while I was still wandering around trying to work out what happened the night before.  A major part of the problem was that my shoulder was well and truly jammed and I was in terrible pain & couldn't move my arm at all, rendering me as useful as a ... um.... one-armed paper hanger?  Two hot showers, two Nurofen, two Panadol and an hour later, I was improving - just in time for everyone to arrive.  

The recovery was actually a really good idea because it gave us more time to catch up with our friends.  We were much more conscious and aware of our surroundings - well, I was anyway.  I think Spud had been in good form all along.  The day was hot and sunny too and the tasty punch and ham sandwiches were just what everyone needed.

Chelsey & Rohan from Sydney

Chesley and her lovely daughter Merryn made frangipani leis for us and the day had a really great tropical feel.  The kids all came along and played quoits and other crazy games in the garden while we sat in the sunshine, guzzling water and punch.

The Mona Vale girls - we all studied nursing together at Club Med Mona Vale!

My brother Hugh was determined to have us do a Jumping Photo and here it is! 

We gave mum this colourful Camilla kaftan as a thank you gift for offering up her house & garden as our venue & for tolerating the complete loss of her normal life for a few days.  Thanks mum.  You are The Best xxxxx

Spud and I can't thank mum enough for all the work she did to make her garden so magnificent for our wedding and for handing over her house to us & the caterers, our friends, the kids...  She just shut her eyes & kept smiling.  And my brother Hugh was amazing in his help to prepare the house, to make sure everything was perfect and for helping us with our plans - and for walking me down the aisle.  Thanks bro' xxxxxxx

And a HUGE thank you to my cousin Jonathan, his wife Kim and little Dove for making that epic journey across the Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles to Australia for our wedding.  We can't wait to spend some more time with you after our (currently wet & cold) honeymoon is over.  We are SO GLAD you are here! 

Ahhhh.... the honeymoon.  That would be the one where we are by the beach, with this super pool & all those deckchairs.  The one where the weather has once again deteriorated so that it is raining, cold & windy.  The one in which Spud's new bride had morphed into a Musculoskeletal Disaster.  Not only the shoulder, which is again jammed as I type this letter, but whose knee went dodgy yesterday & wouldn't bend (it's fixed now).  Meanwhile, Spud's right hand has swollen up & is very tender due to an over abundance of hand shaking!  What a pair.  Luckily we can just stay in bed all day & recover!  Too late for any trade-ins.  Will post more photos as they come in!  Meanwhile, time for a walk on the beach - with our raincoats on.  Adios for now .... love from Mrs King  :o)