With the ceremony planned to begin at 2:30pm we still had quite a few tasks left. Graham and I went to Mittagong to purchase several bottles of wine, to replace those which had been imbibed the previous night, 20 large bags of ice and more bacon.
Then, after more setting up, the groom’s party, plus Graeme and myself headed off to Bowral for breakfast, a sneaky beer and a bit of a soaking from an uninvited rain storm.
By 1:30 the place was ready for the wedding guests, who started arriving, quickly filling up the car park and overflowing into the overflow car park. The iffy weather started to clear and the sun broke through the clouds.
When the guests had gathered in the meadow overlooking the lake, the wedding party made their entrance. There were two bridesmaids, to balance the two best men, two flower girls (Ava and Isla), and finally Rachel accompanied by elder brother Graeme.
After saying their vows to each other Rachel and Mike were duly married and the party began, with drinks in the meadow.
All of the wedding guests had been assigned two tasks by the official celebrant.
- Make friends with someone you don’t know
- Take a silly photo.
Here’s my attempt at task number 2.
The wedding party went on late into the night. We were watered and fed to excess. Some of us smoked huge cigars. We met many of Mike’s and Rachel’s friends and danced with quite a few as well. By the official end some were less sober than others. Bed about 1:30 am for me.