Wedding Bells

To Have And To Hold, From This Day Forwards

I just got back from the sunny shores of Brisbane, where my uncle is now officially a married man! Much to the absolute delight of the entire family, who always believed that my uncle would die a bachelor, he is now joined in holy matrimony with the beautiful Sophia.

To please my mother, i dressed myself up in a hideous outfit which apparenlty (according to my brother) made me look like little Bo-Peep, in navy and brown, minus the crook and the hat. It was delightful. My little bro looked like quite the grown-up in his shirt and tie! We arrived at the beautiful church, to see everyone else in their wedding gear - some more appropriate than others. It's amazing, some of the stuff that people see fit to wear out in public. But Sophie looked gorgeous and Mark was very dashing in his full naval commander uniform. Very cool and intimidating, with the sword and all (my uncle looks like Daniel Craig, by the way :P).

The wedding was absolutely beautiful and everyone was sooo happy for the happy couple. Even though the service went for a loooong time - Sophie's family are very catholic, so it was incredibly traditional. The navy dudes raised their swords in a guard of honour as the bride and groom came down the steps at the chapel. We had all of the photos with the family that we hadn't managed to take before the wedding, seeing as we were all running late. Stupid taxi!

Back to our hotel where the reception was being held, and i rested awhile, as i was completely nuked. Eventually it was time for dinner. I was at a table of older people who i didn't know. With my whole terrified-of-almost-everyone-i-don't-know-incredibly-well thing that i do, this was a source of great panic. But, thanks to the fact that the people at my end were totally hilarious, it went ok. Food was yummy! We decided that we had to stuff ourselves, just to be polite; therefore absolving ourselves from feeling any guilt about eating too much! One of the men, Rob, was getting steadily drunker and wouldn't stop laughing. His wife, Michelle, was in hysterics about the tininess of Adelaide and my logic for why they let us drive so young. Nick, bright red from excess wine, offered to tutor me in law (which he is also studying at Flinders) from his unopened textbooks. Jess split her dress open and was a source of amusement as we tried to hide laughter and keep her from running home. Good times. When they found out that i was planning to skip out on the party for homework, they were appalled. Apaprently, i looked hot, should go out drinking and dancing with them and pick up some random brissy dude, seeing as Adelaide guys suck (Nick being the yardstick). Well, they did get me a glass of champagne, but by the time dinner, dessert, speeches and formalities were over, it was pretty late, so i was off the hook.

The happy couple cut the cake and had their first dance. Very sweet. I then spent an hour trying to stop my mother forcing me onto every nice man in the radius, as she tried to get them to dance with me. God forbid they were single, because then, no matter their age, she all but offered me up for marriage! It was very scary. Luckily, i managed to escape before Sophie threw the bouquet! Although, mum and nan did try very hard to make me sleep with wedding cake under my pillow - apparently it makes you think about the man you are going to marry.

I bid Mark and Sophie farewell and went off to bed - i was so exhausted! It had been a long day. But, surprisingly, i had a good time. It was fun! And, despite the people-terror, i did a good job at being the beautiful, well-mannered little niece.

Congratulations Mark and Sophie!

Annie