The Wedding Recap

Our wedding photographer posted our wedding on her blog yesterday, so now that I’m all done with “little things,” what better time to write the wedding recap that I promised you two weeks ago.  Go here to see all of the photos she posted, and I’m hoping she doesn’t mind if I steal a few “teasers” to post in here, as well.

Back in Florida, before we came to Australia, Partner-in-Crime and I held a small engagement/commitment ceremony on the beach that was inclusive of some of our American friends and family. We worked out rituals that had meaning to us. We even had a friend play the didgeridoo: the Australian connection was a coincidence, but an amazing one. So, that was our chance to share our commitment with our friends/family at home.

We decided to hold our official/legal wedding one year to the date of our beach ceremony, and to incorporate a lot of the same elements, as well as some new ones. Traveling to Australia was not in the cards for our family and friends back home, but it was still important to us to symbolically mark the beginning of our life in this country, so we invited the small group of friends that we’ve made to our little wedding so that we could celebrate with the people who inhabit our new lives.

Our morning ceremony was at McKell Park, this hidden gem of a “secret garden” that overlooks the Sydney Harbour. There was once a mansion here, and pieces of the foundation still scatter the grounds. There are wonderful architectural details and a view of the Bridge and Opera House. It is such a lovely and hidden away spot that it felt perfectly suited for our intimate ceremony.

Worst thing that can happen to a garden wedding? Rain, of course. … And, man, did it rain! But, we managed, regardless. My decorations turned into wet, grungy, mushy hunks of bunting/balloons and my dress was covered in spots of mud … maybe there’s a certain charm? We’d warned our guests ahead of time to bring umbrellas and dress warmly. They were such good sports. Even when our celebrant was half an hour late, and they had to stand in the rain chatting each other up. The whole day really was about rolling with the punches. Our CD player did not come through – a casualty of the weather - so we could not play our carefully selected pro/re-cessional music (P-i-C and I jokingly tried to sing the songs ourselves). Our wedding papers were dropped on the wet ground in the middle of the ceremony. Oh my goodness, it was at that point that I knew that we were just going to laugh at every foible, and that as long as we ended up married in the end, none of the other ornamental elements truly mattered. And you know what … we were married in the end!

A little bit about the ceremony (the things that did work):

-We opened with a smudging ritual, to “cleanse” the air and symbolically waft away any bad energy. After the crazy morning we’d had, I’m glad that we opened with this. I, for one, needed it, and it put me back into in the right mindset.

-We conducted a “ring warming” ceremony, where we passed our rings around to all of our guests and asked them to bestow a good wish or thought upon them. We’d done this in our first ceremony, as well, so it feels like our rings are just full of the kind wishes of our friends and family.

-After putting rings on each other, we had our hands bound in ribbon (“tying the knot”). Handfasting is a custom in many countries, including the country where P-i-C originally comes from; and I wanted to include a tradition from his homeland. We said our vows with our hands bound to “strengthen the bond.”

-We followed our ceremony with a champagne toast. We’d planned on playing Gershwin’s “Our Love is Here to Stay,” but no-go on the music, so we just sang and danced on our own. And then we toasted to marriage.

One of my favorite little details was our wombat. I’d wanted to get two little wombats to make cake toppers with, given our affinity for the little guys, but I only ended up with one. So, I smuggled him away as a secret guest in the bouquet I put together the morning of. He was such a sweet Australian tie in, and he lives in our house now, and guards our front door.

(Play "Spot the Wombat")

Following our ceremony, we had a great lunch at the nearby marina. It was supposed to be a barbecue, but they found a covered space for us and cooked all the meat on the grill inside – no small feat for a little café! Everyone lingered and enjoyed food, Hunter Valley wine, and each other’s company. It sealed what lovely friends we’ve been lucky to make so far here in Australia.

Let me finish by making some public thank yous:

-First, to our guests, who completely understood the spirit in which we were holding this little wedding, and kept bright moods, even in ugly weather. Among our guests were fellow expat blogger and fellow expat blogger, and Australians we know through travel, sports, and church. Thanks for getting wet, hanging in there with us, and being such wonderful company!

-Flybridge Marina café. They shielded us from the rain, provided us with the most glorious view of Rushccutters Bay we could ever ask for, gave us great food, and excellent service. Steve and your team – you rocked our world.

-Our photographers, Angie and Ben of Peady Photography. I’d seen their evocative, artistic work ages ago and, even when I knew no other details of our wedding, I absolutely had my heart set on having them as our photographers. I was over the moon when it worked out, and they were an absolute joy to work with. They came out early in the morning – in the rain – and were so enthusiastic and friendly, as they practiced one-handed photography (the other hand, of course, holding their umbrellas!). They caught all the little details that I never would have thought to mention and got the most glorious images. When we, at the last minute, decided to move the location of our ceremony from one part of the park to the other, they jumped in to help us gather up our wet decorations and reset – way above and beyond, but they’re just nice people. Nice people who take beautiful photos.

-My best girlfriends, who all sent me charms for my “Charm Bracelet of Honor.” Man, I love my buddies, but there was no way that they could come to Australia. So, I asked the people who I would have designated “bridesmaids” (or “maids of awesome,” or whatever you like) to mail me a charm that represented them or our friendship. They came from all over the U.S. and Europe. Whenever I’d get a charm and slip it on my bracelet, I’d just sit with it for awhile and think about my dear friends and how much they mean to me. Megan, Kristin, Tracy, Leah, Veronika, Ariel (and Eric, my dude of awesome, who didn’t quite get the charm to me, but wrote us the loveliest note on the morning of), I heart you guys.

-My mom, and P-i-C’s mom; both of who are the most wonderfully kind and generous people. They were most definitely there with us in spirit, and have welcomed us into our respective new families.

-Amelia, who altered my wedding dress while I was home. She's the daughter of my college professors, and the last time I saw her, she was maybe 15. She's grown up into a lovely, sweet, amazingly talented young woman, and she took the most incredible care to transform my dress into something I felt so-so about to the vintage-style piece I'd been dreaming about. 

-The Offbeat Bride Tribe (the social network of the amazing Offbeat Bride Blog). Planning a wedding, even a little one, far away from family and friends can feel insular; and I’m  grateful to be part of an online community of the most creative, accepting, intelligent women you could ever meet (or, “meet,” as it were). Whenever I needed an opinion or just wanted to share excitement, I turned to the Tribe, and they were there for me.

-And, of course, of course, of course … Partner-in-Crime, who never for a second wavered from keeping the meaning of the event in sight and maintaining his beautifully even keel and good humor. He hates when I talk about him on here, but he deserves his props. That’s my guy, and he is one in a bazillion-million. I think I’ll keep him.