updates

If anyone had told me that it would take me til Wednesday to feel 'recovered' from the wedding, I would have laughed at them. No way!! But that is pretty much how it feels.
Friday we went down to set up the venue, it looked awesome, the girls put in a lot of hours helping us get it right. It was actually a lot of fun for the most part though I was pretty tired by the time I left the squash club at 3.30. Then it was off to get my nails done, and then pick Ivy up from daycare, back home to meet and greet Simon's sister and her family, then out to see his parents at their hotel, back home for dinner and getting the kids to bed. Then to Dad's to catch up with all the aussie/out of town people, and then over to Mum's to make sure she hadn't messed up the sleeves on the guys shirts. And then home again, to try and sort the music play lists out - and then of course the kids woke up throughout the night several times, so it wasn't much of a sleep when I did finally get to bed.
I woke up just after 7, normal time, and we had a few hours to kill until we had to start getting ready, so I fiddled with the play lists again, did the dishes (stuffing my nails up, good work! lol only the non ring finger hand so it wasn't too bad, forgot I had them done!), popped up to the shop and cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast. About 10 his family went out for awhile, and we got Ivy sorted for a nap.
I headed out at 11 to pick up the flowers and then grab some food for while we were getting ready, and arrived out at our hotel unit just before 12. The hairdresser and make up woman were early as well, so it was just as well I was! My BM, brother and their little one showed up shortly after that and things got kicked off. Hair in curlers, everyone busy.
Mum arrived with the dresses about the same time that Leisha and Auburne made it out there with Ivy - who was horrified by the things which appeared to be trying to eat my head. She wasn't too keen on all the people floating around me either and made that hugely clear. Leisha and Aubs did an awesome job of distracting her though and we managed to get through the preparation fairly painlessly, she was a lot more happy when it was her turn to get her hair done and she could have some cuddles with me.
The boys arrived just after that, along with my Dad and stepmum, Nana, and Uncle who was doing a little bit of videoing. The photographer as well, and it was all on. I got my dress on (and then ended up having to carry Ivy down two flights of stairs in my wedding dress) and we got into some group photos.
They were done so quickly and then it was out the door and onto the rest of the photos!
Jase had a hard time getting my car started, lol every time we had to get moving again I'd have to lean across and get the key turned for him, it was quite funny really! Ivy was really well behaved the whole time and I am sure we are going to get some lovely photos. We went down to east end first and had some beneath the bridge there, and in the sand, and then went to the foreshore - I think most people who get married in NP have some foreshore photos! there are some lovely spaces there for taking pics, I can't wait to see them all.
Anyways, time flew by, and I was getting quite tired of smiling, and hungry too! because of course I forgot to eat a lot while we were getting ready. 4.30 rolled around and we made it to my brothers place just after that, only to find that the MP3 player which had all the dinner and ceremony music on it was suddenly not working despite the fact I had fully charged it the night before.... all good, I decided not to stress about it and told Sam to pick something for me to walk into, and just put some easy listening music onto it for playing during dinner. So the boys headed off, at 445 - remember the ceremony was meant to be 5pm - they had to pick the best mans wife up on the way and I was keen to leave myself. So we gave them 5 minutes, and then piled into the cars. Mine was awesome, man, it was so sweet driving down to the wedding in that baby. Beautiful lime green/almost yellow 1936 Chevy Coupe. Hot!!! We followed my Dad down, who had Paula-Lee and Ivy with him, though we paused for a couple minutes a km down the road to make sure that everyone else made it there before we did. I was excited then, not nervous at all like I expected to be, I was actually getting married, in mere moments!!
Everyone was milling around down there, of course they could hear us coming before they saw us, so they were poised with what felt like a million cameras waiting. Never felt more like a star than then, as they flashed away, I climbed out of the car and refused to walk down to the break in the fence, simply stepping over it instead, gave the crowd a bit of a giggle! They all moved into place and I could hear OpShops 'no ordinary thing' wafting through the air, it was perfect, they couldn't have picked a better song!
The ceremony was really nice, though, I have to confess there were bits I didn't listen to, I rewrote the thing, I knew what was in there! So I shared smiles with Simon, made sure Ivy was ok, and passed on smiles to those who caught my gaze in the crowd. Soon enough it was time for the vows. And the moment I'll never forget!!
Jason pulls out the box with the rings in it, and the necklace that we were giving to Ivy is so tightly tangled around my ring that it takes them 5 minutes to get it undone. I laughed so hard, lol triumphantly pulled Simon's ring from the box and held it aloft. It was soooooo funny, lol though i think Jason felt like it was his fault, I hadn't even thought about the fact they might tangle when I had given it to him!! hehe. Will be a good story for years to come. Anyways, they finally got it free, and Simon said his vows, which were so perfect, I don't know why I had worried about how they might turn out. He slipped my ring onto my finger, and it felt so good. That was the first time I cried. The second time was when I said my vows, declaring to the world that this was the man for me. Simon shed a tear as well, and then we were husband and wife!!!
It was quite short, but so perfect. So good for us. The sea behind us gave a beautiful ever changing backdrop for it, sometimes light, sometimes dark. Calm and turbulent - a good metaphor for life really.
We did the group photos after signing the register, I made sure to hug everyone and thank them for coming, then we had a couple more photos of just Simon and I before heading back to the squash club for dinner.
We spent about 10 minutes sitting around inside one of the rooms out of sight, waiting for my mothers side of the family to show up, when it was just after 630 though I made an executive decision to just go in!! I have no idea what song we walked into, I doubt that anyone else could tell you now - and I wonder just why I spent so much time thinking about those things, when it came down to it, the music barely mattered at all. So we sat, and the speeches began, I think I cried a little during each. My Dad said all the things I have waited so long to hear, my mother in law confirmed my place in her family, my Mum put everyone at ease and made them feel so very welcome, and Jason did a fantastic job on his speech as well, I can't forget to mention my brother who was a fantastic MC, really easy going and laid back - he was even told he was better than our Dad heh. Simon and I did brief speeches, which both went really well, I think by the time it got to us neither one of us felt nervous about it anymore, and we hadn't prepared anything so we just said what came to mind.
Dinner was awesome, SO much food, all so tasty. Spit roast is always so good, and this was no exception, everyone loved the mix of relaxing atmosphere while still a sense of formality. It was beautiful overlooking the sea, and all I can really say was that it was an amazing night. Everyone had a great time, people mingled and mixed beautifully, there were no dramas. The cake was a massive hit, most people seem to love carrot cake and my Mum and stepdad had done a phenomenal job on it.
I am just so blessed, to have so many wonderful people in my life, so many people pitched in to help with such a range of things before the wedding, and then throughout the day of the wedding as well. It was definitely a group effort, and according to the woman at the club one of the most organised ones she has ever seen happen down there, which was nice to hear.
We left the reception around 1130, only a few of my close friends stayed on, enjoying the music and the wine. We chilled out for a good long while before getting some sleep, and we both agree that it could not have been better.

And now for some pics!