Well, the wedding was yesterday, and all I can say is WOW. It was fabulous, fabulous, fabulous! I am so proud of my little brother, and my new sister in law.
We started yesterday with breakfast with family in Perth city. Perth city constantly amazes me with their ‘shopping hours’…or lack their of. After wandering around for half an hour, we found an open cafe serving breakfast. Apparently people in Perth don’t go for breakfast before 9am. Chris was getting ready with his groomsmen, so we weren’t going to see him until the church, however, halfway through breakfast Elaine called and invited mum and I to come and join them and the bridesmaid to get ready. I was SO excited, and felt very priviliged to be asked.
Headed down to see bride. Elaine was part way ready, but the scene inside was so organised! There were videographers, photographers, hair/makeup artist, 3 bridesmaids, 1 flowergirl, 1 mother of the bride and us (the father of the bride was hanging out in the hotel reception, avoiding all the girly stuff!). Bridesmaids were getting made-up, and Elaine was still to get dressed. My wonderful little brother had organised for 3 surprises to be delivered to his fiancee that morning (at timed intervals – told you all he was super sweet!)… 1) 12 long stemmed roses, 2) a gourmet fruit & gift basket, and then lunch for the bridal party.
Mum and I had arrived at the room fully dressed, and thank goodness we did, as we were immediately photographed and videoed!!! Not my favourite thing! Though, I did follow the photographer around taking the exact photos he did with my fancy new camera. He started talking camera talk, so I just nodded like I agreed with him!
While the bridesmaids were getting ready, Elaine’s mum put a quick stitch in my dress – nice! See Annabel – told you it needed something! Nothing like irrelevant jobs for the mother of the bride on the day of her daughter’s wedding. Also,turns out mum and Elaine’s mum have the same taste…they both wore silver dresses!!
We headed to the church, and again, a scene of super organisation. All of Chris’s friends had EVERYTHING sorted, and were so welcoming of everyone. There wasn’t a detail missing. The church was decked out with a photo table, a photo montage of them on the screen behind them, and purple themed decorations.
Unlike most services, both the bride and grooms family were introduced first, and then the bridesmaids and the bride, as they came down the isle. The bride had arrived on time, and looked stunning walking into the church, her veil covering her face. My little brother couldn’t stop staring at her, or wipe the smile from his face.
The service was beautiful, and Pastor Jimmy was hilarious! He really lightened the mood, and made us laugh. He also conducted the service from his ipad – very modern! Only a slighly scary moment when the ipad froze, but quickly came back online! Pastor Jimmy’s wife was also part of the service, as was Elaine’s pastor from Malaysia who had come over for the service.
After the service, Chris and Elaine headed to the Uni of WA for photos, and the Mill/Moloney clan headed into town for a glass of champagne to celebrate before the reception. Only one for me though – I still had a speech to do.
The reception was in Kings Park. For anyone who has ever been to Perth, they will know how beautiful it is. For those who haven’t, it is a huge park that overlooks Perth and the Swan river. Stunning. The reception with in a marque, themed with purple decorations. After pre-dinner drinks, the bride and groom were announced, and the celebrations began.
I wasn’t sure how the night would progress, but I had the BEST time. Our MC for the evening, Harry, was a crack up, constantly making us laugh as he ‘add-libbed’ to the official parts of the evening. Chris’s best man, Mark, had a great speech, filled with stories and bad photos from Chris’s past. Chris’s friends from church (2 guys) did the most HILARIOUS impromtu skit of how Chris and Elaine met, giving me a much better insight to my brother! Chris’s speech though was one of the highlights for me, as he did it all in rhyme, with witty lines throughout. The crowd was in stitches! Finally, Elaine topped the night off with her gift to Chris. A song. She is a brilliant singer, and the whole room was frozen and she sang to him.
Other random facts from the evening include Pastor Jimmy challenging my extended family to eat raw chillies, my brother saying the lovliest things about my family and making me cry (caught on camera of course! The videographers were still filming!), and then both of them presenting us with a book of all their pre-wedding photos. Oh yes, my speech went down well, and I got a resounding cheer from the room for my welcome to Elaine’s family in Chinese at the end, thrown in for good measure 🙂
All up, and truely fabulous night, that will go down in history. Thank you Chris and Elaine for letting me be part of it.
Now, to get ready before we fly out tomorrow. Sent wedding clothes home today, then headed to Cottesloe for some serious beach time before we go. 6am flight = early start!!! KL tomorrow. Very much looking forward to the next wedding on Sunday – 8 course chinese banquet, 270 people and 3 dress changes for Elaine! Impressive!
