The day was finally here……

 

Finally, finally, finally the day of Cass and Fletcher’s wedding was here!

Cass, Chris and I woke early, attempted to rouse Mel to no avail and so threw on our trackies and strode out into the crisp morning air for a walk.  Halfway up Tairua’s mount, Chris started complaining of a gammy knee and I of stomach cramps as we watched Cass flitting nimbly up the muddy track ahead of us. I tried to reason with myself that she was fuelled by happiness but shamefully I realise she was just far fitter.

An hour later and we arrived back at the batch to find it alive with people. 8am and the hairdresser was already busy pulling boxes of rollers and bobby pins from her car seat. The makeup artist was close behind and Mel and Odette were up, showered and knocking back coffee. While Don laboured over a fry up in the kitchen, Cathy moved with purpose through a list of last minutes and the boys wandered about on the deck looking sleepy trying desperately not to get underfoot.

The day had begun…

 

The hairdresser lady was just awesome. I never knew my hair could have such oomph. I felt like a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Coco the Clown and kept bouncing my head about like a nodding dog.

 

As morning turned to afternoon Chris and I calmed a few jitters by swilling back the last of the heavy on the gin, Gin Tea Sara had made that morning.

The photo below was taken just before Odette walked out through the ranch slider, bumped into something and tipped a glass of gin tea straight down the front of her dress. Her face was just like that moment in Jerry Maguire. Dorothy…. pacing up and down the kitchen, panicking about her desire for Jerry and she walks smack into a plate full of curry that her sisters holding. Her face is a perfect mixture of acute alarm and relenting resignation. We looked at Odette and gasped hands to mouths. Mum’s the first to regain composure, ‘no probs, it’ll dry’ she says slightly high pitched but with the wisdom and calmness of motherhood. Yes of course we all nodded wide eyed, sceptical. Thank god minutes later… it had.

Up until this day in Tairua it had rained.  Every day, the air had been heavy with moisture and then on the morning of the wedding the clouds began to clear and by midday the sun was pouring through them so ferociously it made me panic about my lack of SPF and large areas of exposed skin. 

3:25 we piled into our cars and seconds later we were at the reserve. 5 groomsmen met our 5 bridesmaids and we walked arm in arm through the crowd towards the estuary where Fletch waited for Cass looking happy, relaxed and incredibly composed.

 

The Nutes played their ukulele’s as Cass walked beaming up the aisle between Henry and Don. I didn’t need to look down the row to know each bridesmaid was desperately swallowing down tears and puffing out their chests with great pride at seeing one of ours looking  glamorous, happy and deserving.

 

 

If either of them were nervous it didn’t show. Both Cass and Fletch just seemed chuffed to bits with the moment and rolled off their vows with ease.

Then in a flash it was over, the bride had been kissed and they’d been pronounced husband and wife. Cass was no longer a Hogg but a Dunning. I never get over that, the ceremony part, the whole day seems geared towards this one moment and yet blink and you’ll miss it.

 

Beautiful mum xx

 

The maids. 

 

Then the bridal party took off for photo’s. While waiting about for the photographer’s direction we gathered on the edge of a wooden pier, the sun sinking in the sky above and the tide rising in the estuary below, Chris turned to us all and said, “what’s the difference between marmalade and jam?”. We looked at each other, silk dresses blowing gently in the breeze, the men hansom in their white shirts, “you can’t marmalade your cock up your girlfriends arse” she said. HA. The blokes let rip their laughter, I looked at Mel holding back my grin, she looked at me and let out a cackle. You can take the girl out of Beach Haven but you can’t take the Beach Haven out of the girl eh.

We hit the beach, the pier and an old tug for pictures and finally headed back to the bowling club for speeches and toasting, lots of toasting.

 

Getting drunk de drunk drunk drunk drunk.….

 

Cass is the only girl I know who can do ‘saucy minx’ face. Some of us just have it eh.

Fletch was a gem too promising me he’d have words with Pete about the joys of marriage. The days of the subtle hint are over.

 

Because he’s too hansom to leave out.

 

A rare moment off the dance floor. I love wedding music, it’s every good song you grew up with and know all the words to. I dance in a frenzied chaos at every wedding I’ve ever been too. You can imagine the type if you think of the dancer that people smile behind their hands at and oldies pat on the back and say ‘I like your spirit lass’.

 

Shame to have missed it photographically but the head table was lined up in front of the screen in the pic below. One of the bridesmaids Tui got up between speeches to duck to the loo. On her return the father of the groom was mid speech and as she attempted to slip silently past my chair she tripped and slammed hard into the screen with an incredible whack. It took every inch of my will not to dissolve into laughter as I drew both hands up to cover my mouth. I nudged Tui grinning and jokingly moved her champagne glass out of reach, she widened her eyes in pure innocence and tried to explain a previously unseen trip device but I didn’t believe her and nodded mockingly instead. Minutes later and still during speeches the photographer attempted to slip between my chair and the screen and smack tripped straight over the same obstacle. I looked at Tui, she raised her eyebrows at me knowingly, “vindicated mate” I said.

And at this point we wisely put the camera away.

 

The next morning Pete and I drove up over the hill to Pauanui where mum was staying with Lou and Nova. Poor Pete was so hung over he had red blotches on his eyelids. The neurons in his brain fired wantonly as he attempted to unravel the night with us women. Entertaining the baby seemed to be his only forte this day and we left him to it as we digressed all the important stuff like Cass’s dress, the hairstyles and whether our single bridesmaids found love that night……. if Odette were here this blog would get a lot more juicy right about now but best leave that story for her to tell ;)