The Ceremony
I made it to the end of the alive without disappearing into a giant puddle of mud (like in The Vicar of Dibly). Our celebrant, Gail, greeted me and showed me where to stand because I was in the middle of the aisle looking rather lost.
She started her introduction while Lindsay and I whispered to one another about awesome attire/music/guests etc. But I was still paying attention, she told all the guests who she was, explained the Australian Salute to all the international rellies, which was a nice touch.
For the asking, Gail asked both my parents, Lindsay’s parents and my brother Jacob if they gave their blessing. I liked how we were able to involve our families.
She then read out the introduction which Lindsay and I had written:
Julia and Lindsay went to high school together, sharing classes from the age of 12 but it took them 5 years to have their first conversation! It was in year 11, at the age of 17 their friendship started to develop. But they were too shy to talk to each other at school.
For 6 months they spoke daily for hours at a time over the internet, giving each other frequent shy smiles over their maths text books and English essays. By April 2005 Lindsay and Julia had started talking to each other in person!!
By mid April, Julia felt it was high time that she and Lindsay became an Item and she asked him out! In the time they have been together, their love, friendship, understanding, and respect for each other has grown and matured.
(Lindsay and I listening to the Introduction)
Lindsay and I wrote our owns vows and read them out to each other, it was very romantic! The guests all laughed at the right parts which is nice!
Julia: I Julia Joy May Decates, call upon those present to witness as I choose you Lindsay Justin Holmwood, above all others to be my husband. You are my best friend and my confidant. You make me laugh and cry, you are honest and wise. You are my strength and my support. You always love me no matter what. You have always helped me through bad times and I cannot imagine my life without you. Today, I want to make a promise to you and to myself, in front of our friends and family. I promise to care for you, laugh with you, cry with you, honour you, respect you, go on adventures with you, bake for you, annoy you, and most of all, I promise to love you.
Lindsay: I Lindsay Justin Holmwood, call upon those present to witness as I choose you Julia Joy May Decates, above all others to be my wife. You are my best friend, you make me smile, you stick up for me, you take care of me, and you are always interested in what I have to say and do. Today, I want to make a promise to you and to myself, in front of our friends and family. I will take you in my arms when you need to be held. I will listen when you need to talk. I will love you for who you are, and help you to become all that you can be. I promise to care for you, laugh with you, cry with you, encourage and inspire you, navigate for you, fix your computer, and try to never run late and most of all, I promise to love you.
The giving of rings was cool, David our page boy was holding the rings for us, and when the time came gave them to Will the best man, who then gave us the rings. I could see David the best out of anybody throughout the the ceremony and he kept looking at me a gorgeous, massive grin on his face.
(David is the page boy at the front of the groomsmen)
The ceremony was over pretty quick, I am pretty sure the guests were very happy to keep the ceremony short. Lindsay and I were shaded by the gazebo, but all the guests and bridal party were standing in the full, sweltering fun.
We then went into the Gazebo to sign the marriage certificate. I saw the gorgeous big pen Gail had brought and said “you didn’t forget to bring a pen did you Gail?”. Poor Gail!
Here she is reaching for the pen to prove to me that she didn’t forget, while I am laughing and trying to explain the joke I played on her.
Our mothers signed as our witnesses while we chatted/head-butted each other.
Lindsay and I were in our own little world!
We then stood in front of the Gazebo, and were announced as husband and wife. We had instructed our parents (not well enough it seems) to then step forward and hug, congratulate etc which would prompt the rest of the guests to go so. But they didn’t. All the guests stood there staring at us, and us at them. So we decided to walk down the aisle, followed very formally by the bridal party.
No one knew what to do. Fortunately the flower girls saved the day by threatening to throw the leaves in their buckets into the air. I began to worry that a leaf might disappear down my dress never to be seen again. This prompted people to step forward and help me talk the flower girls out of such an idea.
We posed the a big group photo:
And then Jacob stepped into MC mode and announced to everyone that we were serving “free” champagne and canapés by the pool. I demonstrated my conversion to geek-ness by yelling out “free as in beer?”.
Next up, Photos!