Wednesday, June 30, 2010

The Wedding - Part I



Every time I start talking with Derrald about our wedding day we end up needing an hour or two just to cover the bare minimum of things we loved about this day. Here is my abridged run down of the days events.

Friday, June 18th was a gorgeous, sunny day in Danville, CA. Our friends and family had flown in from all over the country, all over the world!

I was feeling good all glammed up, hair, makeup, dress, shoes, father and bridesmaids assembled, when I was practically pushed out the door. No, I was not late. I really didn't see the need to hurry but some of us were nervous... huh-hum FATHER.

We proceeded on our walk down the street, waving to neighbours, the excitement building, when, as I cleared the bushes to make our final approach on to the lawn where our guests would be waiting... there were NO guests!

(it looked a little something like this:)

Where on earth had our entire wedding party gone and where was the groom?!?!? And why was I being made to hide behind a bush?!? (yes, a bush!) I was told to hide behind a bush, while my sister went off to assess the situation. Turns out, everyone was gathered in the clubhouse.

"Places People!!!"



With everyone in place our ceremony continued with much joy, having both mothers say a word or two of welcome and introduction and Derrald's father leading the ceremony.



My sweet friend, Alyson, serenaded us with a love song and one darling child felt the need to vocalize an opinion, I'm sure many were feeling "I WANT CANDY". Me too, Lily. Me too.

We pushed through (despite the lack of candy), and then something about caring and sharing and always admitting the wife knows best was agreed to, do you - do you, we do, hooray!!

You may kiss the bride.



We hit the clubhouse for some snacks and photographs commenced.





Whilst I could have gone on for hours, by 7pm, with some three thousand (3,000!) photographs taken over the course of two days, we figured we probably had something "useable" ** and we were ready to move on with the days events. Round two. The reception.


Brendan was our designated driver for the day and I would like to take a moment to publicly thank him. Although I would not describe it as "service with a smile"... more like "service with a few short curse words and a little army attitude thrown in" ... we always arrived safely and on time... . ;) Thanks brother. I haven't added any pictures because although he looked truly stunning in his army greens (um, hello show stealer? talk about showing up the bride!) he's very sensitive about the sharing of public images/information. He WAS at the wedding. I assure you. You can take my word for it.

I leave you here, dear readers... (reader)... (alyson)... No cliffhanger. No witty remarks to have you coming back to see how our wedding day concludes. Just a promise that I will eventually get around to the second installment. Please be patient and occasionally share the love by leaving a comment or two...

**note: Jenna was uh-mazing and we'd totally recommend her. Did I mention we tried to pick her up at San Francisco airport when she had arrived at Oakland airport? Yup. Left her waiting for an hour and then told her to catch the train. Derrald booked her tickets. He knew. He forgot. She forgave. We all laughed. Jenna = trooper.


Thursday, June 17, 2010

War Zone

In the days leading up to our "conubials" (see "Kath and Kim" - the original Australian version) my father has been trying to out-do me in attention seeking by a) falling off his motor-bike and damaging his elbow/hand and b) stabbing himself in the foot with a cutco knife. UN-BE-LIEVE-ABLE.

Yes. I documented.

Offense Number One:
Offense Number Two:



Question: Will this bride be carrying her own limping father down the aisle? Maybe.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Nine Days

Today is my birthday. Happy birth! (yes, I did just wish myself a happy day. why not?) However, today is also the 9th day before our wedding. 9 days to go.

I have made it safe and sound to San Francisco and already successfully made one pavlova. Now we just need to make another 5-7 and hope that a) they don't flop b) I don't eat them. Someone please explain to me how I am NOT supposed to gain weight right before my wedding while simultaneously making enough food to feed a small army... everyone knows that a chef must taste his creations as he makes them... it's the only way to ensure it tastes good. We may be going to fat camp instead of Hawaii for our honeymoon.

I don't really have anything of substance to say. D, bless his heart, beat me to the "anniversary" post. I had it on my list but just never got around to it. Surprise! My husband rocks.

Here are a few photos from our OBX beach rendezvous (or as we call it "the beginning") that can accompany his post:



The house where we stayed (thank you Kuhn's).


The beach where we played.


The kite we tried not to crash.


The grand master and her apprentice. That's right. I said HER.


So far, so good.


Okay, so it's not as easy as it looks.


Empty chairs mean one thing...


We're in the water.


The night we celebrated Beth and Steve getting engaged. We can tell by D's leery stare I have him ensnared. He doesn't stand a chance.


Nor does the Grave Digger.


The setting was right.


Time to go home - sunkissed and happy unawares.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

One Year

Today is the one year anniversary of Hayley and I remeeting in the Outer Banks. One year ago today I was driving five hours to the coast after finishing the second day of my comprehensive exams. I had no idea what was about to happen. My first glimpse of Hayley was her bouncing over a sand dune while I chatted with her dad (Ross) and Mike Kuhn. On this trip I was able to overcome my tear-fest during Up (if you didn't cry in the first 10 minutes you have a heart of stone) by eating Hayley's lentils morning, noon, and night. A year later half of us have moved to a different country and both of us are married. Happy anniversary.