Weddings, Elbows, Anything!

The big wedding day was here at last and yet after the night before's chilled out festivities, the indulging just continued! As the wedding was not until late afternoon, we had alllllll day just to get gorgeous and get dressed! Hmmm... not too hard a task, right?! We did our best! ;) So we strolled downstairs for a delicious buffet breakfast (mmm fresh pancakes, pastries, cappuccino, yummo!), then sat out on our room's balcony enjoying the mercifully clear blue sky and tree top view while wearing our robes (of course!) and sipping champagne with strawberries (well, I don't drink champagne but had to hold a glass for photos!). Yep.... BLISS! If anyone is getting the idea we are getting just a leeeeeeettle too used to this decadent celebrity lifestyle, errr.... you would be right!! ;)

The bride combs her hair and faces her wedding day!

A final drink to the single life, before the bride becomes a wife!

Mama knows how to chill when she gets a chance!

Cheers, ladies!

The talented Anna was doing the Bridesmaid's hair and we were spoilt in having the make up artist come to us, so Anna and I didn't have to leave the hotel all day - lucky us! Bel popped out for an hour to get her hair done but apart from that, got to just chill... it sure made the day less stressful not having to do any running around!

Hair and makeup done... and now for the dresses!

And then it was action time. The clouds had threatened to pour all day, but cleared and allowed the sun to shine through for the wedding - it was glorious. I made the nerve-wracking walk first down the steep grass aisle, I just had to keep reminding myself the focus was on the bride and not me, so I didn't get soooo nervous that I tripped over!! Obviously only have a few pics of the wedding as I was a little pre-occupied on my duties in tending to the bride. However there are plenty of stunning, whimsical, relaxed photos by the super lovely Belle Photography that you can check out here - much better than my amateur shots anyway!! It was a simple and sweet ceremony, which I'm sure passed in a total blur for the nervous bride and groom.... ahhh young love! :)

Of course, after all this indulgent pampering and swanning about, there had to be a moment of reality... a parent's reality, that is! Yes, the first rule of parenthood is to expect the unexpected. So... Lily. She had been excited beyond words about Bel getting married - yes, a real life 'Wedding Girl'! Mark and I had decided that, because she loves Bel and was dying to see a wedding (and had hopes Bel would have a tiara and wand like any good wedding princess!), Mark would bring her to the ceremony to see us all dolled up, then whisk her home to my parent's place, then he would return for the reception. It was magical seeing her beaming face as I walked down the aisle and I knew she was dying to come and hug me, as I was dying to hug her too! Yes, I did tear up a little seeing her.... my sweet girl.

Half way through the ceremony, during the signing of the marriage certificates when people were moving around a bit, I noticed Mark had her up the back of the lawn and she was crying. Oh dear. I thought she was just sad to not be able to come see us. My heart strings were pulled as I tried to focus on the task at hand (standing in front of 100 people!). After the ceremony ended and people mingled, Mark came towards me with a hysterically bawling Lily in his arms. She was holding her arm in a funny way.

She had dislocated her elbow during the ceremony.

Oh yes, really!!

She had been standing next to Mark, holding his hand and kinda twirling and dangling around as she loves to do when she must have twisted it the wrong way. She has unfortunately done it twice before (though not for a long time) so we knew the routine. Mark had to take her to the ER. Yup, this is parenthood, people! Cue wretched mix of emotions - concern for Lily, hating seeing her in pain, embarrassed at the scene at Bel's wedding, not wanting to bother Bel, not wanting to shirk my bridesmaid duties, not wanting Mark to spend the evening in the ER and miss the wedding, not wanting Lily to miss seeing Bel. As Lily sobbed, her first concern was the wedding - she bawled 'Mummy, after the hospital, can I come back to the wedding!?' !!! She really did not want to miss out. I knew she would be ok physically after they popped her elbow back in, and to be honest was more concerned of how she would cope if she was in the ER too long and couldn't come back and see Bel!

Ughhhhhh.... I felt rather stressed while trying to slap on my happy face for photo time. Oh, a heart can be torn into so many directions, can't it? Yet I realised that although I wanted to be in a dozen place at once to 'fix' everything, I could not and had to simply hand it over to God who could be and of course already was - so I was praying fervently that Lily would be ok and everything would turn out somehow.

Well, an hour later as the bridal party photos were wrapping, all of a sudden there was Mark and Lily, grins a mile wide. I just about burst into tears with relief! Hooray for our health care system, Lily was seen within 5 mins and either this time her elbow wasn't fully dislocated or had slipped back in itself by the time they got there, as when the Doctor saw her, though still sore, she could move her elbow again. Phew! Relieved hugs all around, Lily was in awe of Princess Bel and they got some lovely cuddles and kisses and even photos! I hated to have my family drama impinge on Bel's beautiful day, but she was so caring and understanding even with everything else she had going on, I was so touched. Yet I didn't want my child's drama to be the main thing she remembered from her wedding day!!

A sigh of relief so deep it came from my freshly painted toenails.....

And so... Lily was popped home to celebrate with Nana and an ice-cream, a happy little girl content to have seen her princess fantasties played out in real life before her! Mark came back and even got to sit at the bridal party table with me, thanks to the considerate bride. Soooooo relieved and with our official duties done, we were free to celebrate the newlywed couple!!

Lovely Anna - amazing friend, all-round talent and funnest co-bridesmaid ever!

In true fairytale form, the weather held clear for the photos and once we got inside for the reception it absolutely bucketed down - a wild and fierce downpour that we were glad to be inside to witness.... yup, everything came up roses for the loved-up newlyweds!

The only task left of the night was to do a speech - thankfully shared with Anna. We were super nervous but thankfully we both got through it without totally breaking down in tears or lost words!! 

True to her name, Bel the Bride was bella indeed, huh! Her dress was stunning and sophisticated - and how cute were our bridesmaid dresses? We loved these sunny little numbers and were so happy the Benevolent Bride wanted us to wear such genuinely nice dresses (that came from a regular dress shop, not Bridesmaids 'R' Us!)... and yes, I totally will be wearing mine again - can't wait to in fact!

I spent 4 hours 'hole punching' the table scatters!

A photo with my honey!

We danced the night away, celebrating a new commitment made to love and life together... which the sentimental among us (me!) always rejoice to see and remind us of our own blessings and relationships. A beautiful lead up to a beautiful day - cheers to the Bride and Groom!