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Saturday 24 May 2008

My first wedding..;-)

Ok, I freely admit that it took only two requests for me to gladly display some of my wedding photos. It's already one month later and I still can't wipe this big smile off my face..;-)

The only drawback was that none of our families could come down under. However, we'll have another - bigger - church wedding back in Germany in a couple of months. Therefore, with only a couple of close friends, this celebration was quite different from your regular wedding (if there's such a thing at all). I simply loved its hand-made, improvised feel.

Originally we had planned to get married directly on the beach so we booked holiday houses in a lovely small town called Copacabana Beach up the Central Coast. However, due to this year's rather cold and rainy autumn in Australia, the place didn't quite live up to its name and we opted for a more sheltered spot at the local lagoon. It still provides you with a view of the beach and plus the added benefit of an awesome sunset over the lagoon - if you're lucky, that is. Alas, the weather held up only for as long as we were posing for the formal shots. Just before the ceremony was about to start, we again had to swap locations - and the whole bridal party simply jumped the fence (ok, it was only a little wall, about one foot high) that surrounded the veranda of a nearby empty holiday house (we did knock on the window to check though). This lovely veranda provided a roof so we stayed all dry and could have some Sparkling Shiraz while listening to a saxophone player as planned.
We have no clue on whose property we got married in the end but we plan to go back there one day and rent this rather lovely house for an anniversary weekend...

But maybe now I should start from the beginning as our wedding was the affair of a whole weekend: We wanted to get away from Sydney to a more secluded spot and quickly decided on a full weekend - to make it worth it. T and I arrived on the Friday afternoon in Copacabana Beach, frantically collecting keys for three houses and just making it in time to our rehearsal with the marriage celebrant. Then our guests started to trickle in and the celebration began already, fuelled by a whole vat of home brewed beer courtesy of our friends George and Nadia. I kept running back and forth to accommodate all our 30 guests in the different places, we cooked loads of spaghetti to feed everyone - and then I decided that I need to relax and went back to the house I was sleeping in. My friends Romina and Nora took care that I started to relax by giving me a foot massage and hot milo as a night cap - aaahhh, I could have that everyday...

The next day, whilst most of our guests explored the area, went for a run along the beach or simply chilled out, I set to work to assemble the wedding cake, a Black Forest Cake. I had made the genoise two days in advance but it still took me a while to make syrup, cherry filling, and cover it all in whipped cream - I'm certainly no good at cake decorating. Anyway, after that was done, it was time to slow down, let the hair dresser do her thing and have a sip of champagne with my girlfriends. And in case anyone wondered - I did eat something during my wedding day..;-)

In fact, I managed to stay calm most of the time - until about five minutes before T was about to pick me up. What if he didn't like the way I looked (admittedly quite different from my everyday look)? Wouldn't that spoil the whole day or maybe even make him change his mind - well, luckily I only had a couple of minutes to spend on such nonsense... Of course it was all good, and when walking towards the location of our wedding, we had the rare sensation of practically everyone, regardless of age, looking at us, cheering and waving. The people in Copacabana Beach were so nice; some even offered us a ride in their car as it had started to drizzle.

Luckily, our friend Alex who took the official photos, managed to get lots of wonderful shots before it started to rain in earnest. And with a little spontaneity, all was fine and the wedding could go ahead. Afterwards we went back to the biggest of our three houses where the reception was being held. More sparkling red was drunk, lots of nibbles were eaten, and several speeches were given which made this occasion even a little more special for us. Then the main course (different spit roasts, roast vegetables, salads, and jacket potatoes) was being served by the caterer (food was a little so-so, unfortunately, we weren't able to taste-test beforehand and had to trust a recommendation). However, for a sweet-tooth like me this was all being eclipsed by the wedding cake anyway..;-)

The big advantage of a small wedding is that you really get to speak to your guests - so we talked, and ate, and drank until the wee hours of morning. The next day, T and I slept in whilst our guests took care of cooking a big Aussie breakfast on the BBQ for everyone. Then we all helped together to clean-up and the guests started to depart one by one. T and I spent the afternoon with a few friends in one of the surrounding national parks and then headed back to Sydney for a quiet end to our eventful wedding weekend.

I often wondered what would be different after getting married - if anything would change or nothing at all. Meanwhile, my life has gone back to normal but so far, the marital bliss hasn't worn out yet!

PS: Many thanks to my parents who made it possible for us to have not only one wedding but two!

PPS: Several people tried to count afterwards - I think the most reliable number was 30 guests representing 11 different nations (and that's not counting in all the Aussies with mixed parentage) - a lovely mixed crowd - and that's really what Australia stands for, in my eyes!

19 comments:

Y said...

What a lovely couple you two make. And you made your own wedding cake! Sounds like the perfect wedding - a relaxing day, amongst close friends.

Eva said...

Thank you, Y! Originally I had even thought about catering for the whole wedding myself but then I would have been quite tired in the end...

It was such a wonderful day, couldn't have been any better..;-)

Schnuppschnuess said...

Liebe Eva!
Ich gratuliere euch ganz herzlich zu eurer Hochzeit und freue mich, dass ihr auch mit den Eltern, Verwandten und Freunden in Deutschland feiern könnt - alles andere wäre doch zu traurig gewesen. Welch' ein schönes Paar ihr seid und wie glücklich ihr ausseht! Ich verrate etwas: morgen sind mein Mann und ich 16 Jahre verheiratet und nach all der Zeit haben wir, so wie Du nach beinahe einem Monat, ein dickes Lächeln im Gesicht, wenn wir beieinander sind oder aneinander denken. Dass es euch bis in alle Ewigkeit ebenso ergehen möge, das wünsche ich euch! Und Danke für die schönen Fotos!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Yes, what a nice couple you make! A great wedding!

Cheers,

Rosa

Eva said...

Liebe Jutta,

vielen Dank fuer die guten Wuensche! Ich hoffe auch, dass wir uns nach vielen Jahren immer noch gluecklich anlaecheln werden!
Und jetzt kann ich mich schon auf die naechste Hochzeit vorfreuen, in einem Vierteljahr ist es schon so weit.

Liebe Gruesse,
EVA

Rosa - Thanks so much, dear, and for not forgetting about this blog as well!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

You seem to have had a lovely wedding, Eva.
You enjoyed your wedding and you will always those lovely memories, so that's all that matters.

ostwestwind said...

Liebe Eva,

ich wünsche euch viel Glück und dass nach der 2. Hochzeit wirklich Schluss ist mit dem Heiraten und ihr euch auch noch nach 25 Jahren so schön anlächelt.

LyB said...

You both look so happy, congratulations! :)

Patricia Scarpin said...

Aren't you just glowing??
You look so happy, dear Eva, and you look so beautiful! Love the hair, the dress, the bouquet...
Congratulations and thank you for sharing this with us!

Eva said...

Aparna - I'll always remember that special atmosphere!

Liebe Ulrike, vielen Dank - ich wuensche mir genau dasselbe!

Thanks a lot, lyb!

Thanks, dear Patricia! I'm glad to hear that you like my outfit as there was no smooth sailing - apart from the usual hassle finding a nice dress, my florist canceled one week before the wedding so I had to find another one. And the hair dresser closed down her shop but luckily offered to still do it at our place - however, without a mirror I simply had to trust that she would do a good job. Luckily, it all worked out in the end..;-)

Unknown said...

Congratulations Guys!!! You look great and it seams like it was good fun. Cheers
Roma and Kacper (Pols)

Anonymous said...

COngratulations.
The photos are beautiful - a great setting for a wedding celebration.

Nora B. said...

Dear Eva,
Reading and looking at the photos brought back great memories. It was such a lovely wedding, even the rain made it even more romantic and cosy. And you two get to dress up again for the German wedding! I expect a full report on that as well :-)

nora

Eva said...

Thanks, Roma and Kacper, it was great! We'll have to catch up soon!

Thank you, Great Big Veg Challenge! they're all taken by friends, didn't shoot a single photo the whole weekend...

I feel just the same, Nora! And you can be sure that I'll tell you all the details about the next wedding. If you could only come - the food will be way better this time!

zorra said...

Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Ein wunderschönes Paar seid ihr! Und dein Kleid ist ein Traum.

Ich bewundere deine Nerven. Ich hätte an einem solchen Tag nicht auch noch einen Cake dekorieren können.

Eva said...

Dankeschoen, Zorra! Hat ganz schoen gedauert, bis ich ein Kleid gefunden hab, das zu mir passt - zum Glueck kann ich es nochmal anziehen..;-)

Erst im Nachhinein ist mir bewusst geworden, dass ich meine Nervositaet mit all den Dingen, die noch zu erledigen waren, eher im Zaum gehalten hab. War ganz gut so!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

You are such a lovely bride. I like your choice of cake. Congratulations and best wishes for much happiness!

Unknown said...

Wow! Ihr seid ein richtig schönes Pärchen! Ich wünsche euch alles-alles Gute für die Zukunft!

Eva said...

Thank you, Lynn, it was kind of weird but very nice to feel glamorous for a day..;-) And luckily we had the cake to make up for the other not-so-good food...

Dankeschoen, Maci! Ich hoffe auch, dass all Deine guten Wuensche und die der anderen Blogger wahr werden!