So This Is Romance

My Dear Princess and Dear Fellows,

Ellie's big day was finally here and preparations were underway. Caro had bought me smart but casual summer clobber and she had determined her outfit already (see the extras).

HOWEVER. Cat hair is a problem in our house, so I decided to sit around in underpants until Shenée and Craig came to pick us up. 

At around noon, I popped upstairs to tell Caro that Shenée was running a little late due to a make-up debacle and found her standing still and doing nothing. 

"What's up?" I asked. Accidentally photo-bombing her as she took a photo using the timer on her phone so that she could ask Feefs for her approval on the ensemble.

Which is why Feefs received a picture of her sister with a perplexed looking little bad man in his shreddies stood behind her. (Again, see extras).

Honestly. I was CRYING. There were tears of laughter for several minutes. 

It is a good thing I was not wearing mascara or I would have been having a make-up debacle of my own.

Preparations aside, we drove up to Waikawa Beach. Shenée kept me amused the whole way by being as Shenée as possible:

1. She has an actual stegosaurus handbag. Complete with upright plates all along his back. "And look at his little beady EYE!" said Shenée with complete delight. "Oooh! He's SO grumpeeeeee!"

2. We passed a small dairy where you can turn up and they fill your bottles with milk fresh from the cow. "You actually go into those little sheds, and the cow puts her udder through the gloryhole," suggested Shenée. "Only there are five holes HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!" she laughed at her own joke for quite some time. 

I honestly LOVE Shenée. 

At Waikawa, Ellie's parents have a large house with a lot of land attached. It was the perfect venue for a wedding, and a lot of thought had gone into it. There was even a "sun-block station" for those of us who burn easily and a catering truck for free booze.

For the ceremony, we were all sat upon blanket-covered hay-bales in front of the house and then Ellie ascended a set of stairs to give her vows to AJ. 

It was actually very sweet, they gave alternate vows instead of delivering them all at once. It was like a conversation. Ellie had hers written down on pieces of paper that she threw over her shoulder with a flourish as she delivered them. Almost like she was throwing her own confetti.

She looked lovely. Very pagan-ey with flowers in her hair. And the ceremony ended with binding their two wrists together to symbolise the bond between them. As they descended the stairs together, she was handed Aubrey and even Aubrey seemed in the spirit of the thing and punched the air with a chubby little hand.

Afterward, we retired to the pavilion where we continued the fun chat with Shenée and Craig. Shenée took a picture of her attempting to plant a kiss on the (much taller) Craig. She showed us the result which is today's main blip. "This! This is my life!" she complained.

You may be disappointed that today's main blip is not of Ellie. Well, I did manage to get some lovely pictures of her, but she asked we don't post them ANYWHERE until she's released the actual photos. And even though this isn't exactly "social media" and even though I only have thirteen followers, I still feel inclined to follow her wishes.

The speeches and dinner followed. The dinner and dessert were VERY generous and we all felt very fat. And the speeches were funny and touching and Ellie wrote a poem all about her relationship with AJ that included a fart joke. 

And I just felt very smooshy and full of love inside.

But then we had to leave. The unfortunate thing about hitching a ride with S&C is that they have a farm with animals to feed so we had to go before the first dance. 

All the same, I felt nice all day. It was a beautiful wedding and a lovely, wonderful, funny friend I saw married. 

AND my clothes stayed clean! All day! 

S.

p.s. Here's Ellie's poem for AJ...

I tried to write a poem, a letter, a reading. 
Something with warmth, love and meaning. 

I realised there aren’t enough words to describe, 
The way that my chest feels with butterflies inside. 

We met on an app, we had set our location. 
Earning our keep at our chosen vocation. 

Bored out of my mind, my phone pinged with a match. 
I scrolled through your pictures, yep, quite a catch! 

I drove up to pram and we went for a curry, 
We carried on drinking, you spot me a durry. 

Conversation was great, we were hardly apart. 
Even after that time I ripped a massive fart. 

My number one fan, in any achievement. 
I love all of you even your belly lint. 

One team one dream! You announce every time. 
You’re always there with a fresh glass of wine. 

Reliable, funny, driven and kind. 
It’s no wonder you’re always on my mind. 

I tried to write a poem, a letter, a reading. 
Something with warmth, love and meaning. 

But after all this, I realise I now have a lifetime to tell you 
All the ways my heart sings for you. 

Like a flashback, all of our memories are the real reason I chose to say, I do. 
I can’t wait to share the rest of my life with you.