 I woke up at 8:15am,
looked out the window and saw nothing!
I was staying at my sister's house in the hills and we
were surrounded by cloud so thick that everything was
white! I went back to bed, feeling a bit disappointed
- I knew that we wouldn't be having the photos with the
wonderful views that we had wanted.
My bridesmaid, Sinead, and her husband Paul arrived at
9:30 to take me to the hairdressers. I hadn't even showered,
so I leapt in and had a quick shower - nothing was as
I'd imagined it to be - I thought I'd have a nice, long,
leisurely shower and a hot day! For some reason, nothing
mattered - I was to be married!
We got to the hairdressers at 10:30 after a quick stop
to buy tights. At 11:30 when we emerged, the rain had
stopped and the ground was fairly dry (this wasn't to
last). Paul had driven through McDonalds and picked us
up some lunch to which I couldn't really do any justice.
We got back to my sister's place at 12 o'clock, and Sinead
and I went to put on our make-up. My sister had arrived
with three of her children who were to be in the bridal
party, and Mum was ironing their outfits and dressing
them while my sister did their hair. James, the 4-year-old
pageboy, was running around looking adorable in his morning
suit.
 Sinead and I were
nervously applying make-up, still in our jeans, when the
photographer arrived at 12:15! We finished rather hurriedly,
and went to put on our dresses when Sinead spotted a rather
ugly looking spider crawling up the arm of my dress. Mum
was called and she dispatched the unwanted wedding guest
while Sinead screamed and jumped around the room. Dress
and headgear on, we went downstairs for photos.
At 1:30, it was time to go. Sinead and I traveled in my
Uncle Andrew's BMW. I wasn't nearly as nervous as I had
expected and wanted him to go really fast so I could marry
my beloved!
 When we got to the
chapel and I saw my friends sitting at the back of the
congregation, I was even more excited and wanted to get
up that aisle! I hurried up to the strains of Peter's
Auntie Pat playing read Trumpet
Voluntary by Clarke. Peter was looking handsome and
giving me such loving looks that my sister Jacqui sobbed!
Father Mills was brilliant and we had a wonderfully romantic
Nuptial Mass. I didn't cry as I expected I would, but
was close to tears a lot of the time, especially when
we made our vows. I didn't want to look at Peter or I
would've cried. Our readings were On
Love by Thomas, read by Mum, and The
Blessing Of The Apaches, read by Peter's father. Our
five sisters each read a prayer of the faithful, so every
family member was involved.
 Craig, my nephew
and usher, had distributed the bubbles,
so the air was full of them when we came out of the chapel.
It was still raining heavily, so we didn't hang around
too long.
The venue for the photos was changed to the very beautiful
Arts Centre, and we had a wonderful time posing for Jon
and tucking into a delicious picnic packed by my sisters
and Mum. Peter and I especially enjoyed posing for the
photos when Jon told us to have a snog!
We arrived at the Old Stone House at 5:30 to find all
our guests enjoying champagne and canapés and choosing
where they wanted to sit.
At 6:00pm our MC began with a short speech, followed by
Peter who spoke brilliantly and shocked my sisters by
saying he'd got the pick of the bunch! Royce, Peter's
best man, gave a lovely speech and read the telegrams,
of which there were many, including one from Rufus, our
cat!
We then enjoyed a lovely buffet dinner presented by the
Specialty Spit Roast Company, who were faultless in their
service and presentation.
After dinner, most of the guests chose to stay seated
and chat and table-hop. Sinead, Shannon and I opened the
presents - Peter and I were truly lucky in the divine
selection we received.
I wilted at about 8:00pm - the week's excitement had caught
up with me. We left the reception at around 10:30-11:00,
and got to our beautiful suite shortly after.
After a leisurely breakfast the following morning, Peter
and I arrived at his parent's house at midday where our
friends and family were assembled for a more relaxed day
featuring a magnificent barbecue. We had a great day chatting
to everyone and sunning ourselves in over 30 degree heat.
The children let off steam after behaving beautifully
the day before and even the dog in his white bow tie enjoyed
himself.
We spent another night in the suite before setting off
on our honeymoon sea kayaking around the South Island's
beautiful Abel Tasman National Park.
Our month in New Zealand was truly a trip of a lifetime.
Do differently:I wouldn't worry about anything
in the build up - when it comes to it, it's such a wonderful
time that it's great to just let the excitement wash over
you - what could there possibly be to be worried about?
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If
you would like to contact Verity and Peter, you can e-mail
them.
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