Happily Ever After

My wedding dress has dirt on the hem. Slung haphazardly over a wooden coat hanger, in the short section of my wardrobe. The bolero draped over its shoulders.

The shoes are there too. Back in their box, the tissue paper squashed up on one side. The bouquet tossed on top of the bookcase, almost completely dried. And our wedding cards are sitting in a white paper shopping bag, waiting for reply.

In other words, it’s over. The whole messy, beautiful, stressful, keep-you-up-at-night, make- you-swoon-with-excitement saga, tied up for at least another lifetime.  Sigh.

Strangest thing is that I don’t know if I remember it. Well certainly not in any detail, like the way you plan to in your head.  Mostly because you’re there; living it, breathing it, taking it all in. And so very busy!

What I can tell you though is that it was a day like absolutely no other. Terrifically fun, terrifically busy and terrifically full of emotion. There were not many things I didn’t feel in those twelve hours.

And just like everyone says, it goes so, so fast.

Like almost every other married person on the planet, we spent the week leading up to our wedding day praying to the weather gods. Cold we could deal with. Rain would be a game-changer.

Three days before, the temperature dropped several degrees. In the end it didn’t rain on the day (just the day before and three days after!) but just the same I was ridiculously glad for my last-minute shopping trip that snared me a perfectly hued bolero.  

My sister (and bridesmaid) even made herself a felt skirt/petticoat to wear under her dress!

I had been meticulous about our seating plan. Having been to my own fair share of weddings, I knew how much difference it makes to sit with people you get on with. But what I didn’t do is extend my planning to include table numbers and numbers of tables.

 I realised this on the Thursday morning before the wedding, when I woke around 4am in a cold sweat, trying to count on my fingers how it would all work out. Lucky for me, our wedding venue managers were exceptionally friendly and helpful and we had it sorted out over the phone in less than an hour.

The best bits were the speeches. We had four in the end. During preparations I was so worried that they’d drag on. But they were all so different and so entertaining; they made the night even more special.

I’m keeping copies of each one because I know they’ll take me back to special times when our wedding day becomes years and years and years and years down the track.

I also loved the dancing. By the end of the day, we felt so ready to kick our heels up and just enjoy the party, I was so glad we bothered so much with the music list.

The booze flowed and the food was prepared on time. These things are critical to the success of your night, because they make your guests comfortable.

Last of all I loved our guests. I have to admit to being a Bridezilla in this department and it totally paid off.

When I got up to make my speech, I looked around the room and all I could see were people that mattered to me. And now, that it really is all said and done, I know that is what I’ll remember forever.

See Lucy & Geoff’s Real Wedding!