Wedding of the year

After two years of preparation and waiting, the wedding of the year has been and gone, and i have now officially been in a wedding!  It was a stunning day, and everything went to plan, but best of all my cousin and her now husband had a great day!



The moment she had been waiting for for two years!

I have never had to smile for so long, wear so much make up and hairspray or been so exhausted in my whole life! I stayed with the bride and other bridesmaids the night before so we could wake up early and have breakfast and get all our hair and make up done together so we didnt get a lot of sleep to start with. It was pretty strange having my hair combed, pulled, twirled and sprayed (my hair hasnt been the same since) and then the makeup artist had to thin-lizzy me stating that the product should be my new friend because i was soooo white, especially in comparison to the other girls. I had refused to get a tan because apart from being against my values, i felt that id look silly with red hair, a red dress and orange skin, and i was glad i didnt, but i definitely felt the pressure because the other girls were so beautifully bronzed!

Spot the no-tan!

Our dresses were gorgeous, and the bride (and groom) looked stunning. The bride's friend who made our dresses did such a great job! and I was so thankfull that not only did it fit well, but it was a style that suited me- although i did pop the hook and eye clasp at the back when i sneezed oops. Much credit is given to the Bride for being able to stand not only the weight of her dress, but doing it in heels! I couldnt go past an hour without need to take my shoes off, and she went all day, although she couldnt move particularly far or without assistance, but she did an excellent job being the perfect bride.She also did such a great job in making everything work well and look great together. The red and white theme looked excellent, with the roses, the centre-pieces and just all of the attention to detail and time and effort that had been put in to make the day look so amazing.





 It was a fun day, and after the hours of photos were over we could really let our hair down and dance the night away. Although my high heels didnt last more than the church service before my feet needed to be freed. I was quite grateful that i had this opportunity which, apart from being there for my cousin, i really got to see weddings from a perspective that i probably never would have. I am quite surprised (although i probably shouldnt be) by how much businesses exploit weddings, and in particular, the insecurities brides, but it was interesting to see this first hand, because knowledge is power and i certainly wont be giving into any of that manipulation or intimidation, and im proud to say that my cousin was fairly cluey in getting a good deal. I was also pretty surprised on the day to see how much of the day is dedicated to photos! Unfortunately the particular photographer wasnt really interested in taking 'in the moment' shots, and preferred staged pics, but they got some great shots, especially when we went down to one of the city pubs and they got photos taken on the median strip in the middle of the road. I guess i hadnt really realised that a third of the day is dedicated to photos, (although our family is pretty big and it takes a while to get us together). It was pretty fun driving around in the old stylish cars, and again, i hadnt realised how much people turn and stare (even though im normally one of those who likes to see the dresses), people even wave and call out, and you certainly get that celebrity feeling, like youre in a movie- its quite odd, not bad odd, but just like your in someone else's life for a day all in the name of a wedding,

This whole experience was a bit of a whirlwind and despite feeling fairly inadequate for the role it turned out to be invaluable learning, and in putting my sociology hat on i can see the world's expectations of weddings and marriage alot more clearly- whether i agree with them or not. Wedding cost alot of money, there is no doubting that, its expected that they be stylish and perfect in every way, but at the end of the day i have been reassured in my long held belief that at $100 or $100,000 its not the 12 hour day, or the dress or the tans that count, its still the love between two people and the celebrating of this love with others that matters. With the two years of waiting over, and now the wedding past (but not forgotten) i am left with a warm and fuzzy feeling that despite always being quite the marriage cynic, maybe i have come out with a better outlook on weddings because ive been placed in environments way out of my comfort and had to question myself and my beliefs on a number of occasions because i was so different from those around me, which i wasnt really used to. I was comforted in knowing (no matter how many times i debated in my head) that you dont have to follow the trends or the expectations that come with the title of 'wedding;' and I even came to realise that maybe one day (hopefully not too far away) i might actually want to celebrate the love i share with a certain special person (much to the elation of my parents I'm sure)

 Embarrassing moment of the day: ThePartner had to pull me aside and remind me of how short my dress was because every time i went to pick up my cousins extremely heavy train in the church during my MOH duties, i was flashing everyone my bright green knickers, and didnt think the priest or my nonna would be too happy if they saw that! I was trying so hard to keep my legs together, but clearly this girl is not made for heels OR short dresses! Hopefully they edit that out of the video.

ThePartner reminding me to keep my knickers to myself



Highlight of the night: I caught the bouquet! haha, yep thats right, after positioning myself front centre, and focusing totally on the prize (I still dont know who was standing next to me) as the flowers started to go toward my right, i never left them out of my sight and then they were mine! alas, im a little nervous to watch the video. i didnt actually realise how much i even wanted to catch it until i was in the moment. Its certainly going to be a good laugh- and ThePartner still hasn't heard the end of it from my family =)