A wedding...

This past weekend we celebrated the wedding of our business partner and his beautiful wife. Unfortunately, it was 39 degrees in the shade. Fortunately, it was not raining.

Dr D (as we shall refer to the lucky man) has long known where he wished to be married. Long before he had met his future wife. His family has a beautiful country home on the Bellarine Peninsula, which has been passed down through a few generations. It overlooks gorgeous waterways and is really quite spectacular. It was lovely to see him marry there, as he had always dreamed of doing.

In the winter months it is beautiful, overlooking velvety green countryside. After the punishment of an Australian summer, it looks a little more like this...

Unfortunately I don't have any photos that really do this place (or the panoramic views) any justice. Well I do, but all of the other shots include people, and you know how I feel about publishing unsuspecting faces on the information superhighway and all of that.

The ceremony was held in their home. Quite remarkable considering there were 240 of us to be situated. The reception was then held in a beautiful marquee. I've always loved marquee weddings. However, this is the first time I've attended one on a damn near 40 degree day. The bottles of water on the tables had reached almost boiling point by the time we found our way inside and it had indeed become more of a hot house than a marquee. And let me tell you, this particular English rose wilted.

I may have even held a chilled bottle of champagne to my decolletage at one point. I do hope that no one recorded that for posterity; though I was certainly not the only guest making use of the French nectar in such a way.

I realised how grateful I was that we were holding our wedding at a venue which would be cool if it is hot outside, or warm if it is cold outside. I am a fan of climate control and given Melbourne's unpredictable spring weather, I think being able to ignore the elements will be beneficial.

Above everything, it was a very happy day and the bride and groom seemed scarcely aware of the heat.

One snippet I have to share is a little surprise that we spotted in the Order of Service. A duet to be sung by the bride and groom directly after the ceremony. The boy and I exchanged a few glances. We knew they enjoyed karaoke, but we were still unsure what to expect. There was indeed a duet. A heartfelt rendition of "Tonight I Celebrate My Love". Yes Indeed. Many of the older guests seemed quite uncomfortable when the lyrics turned to "love making" and many others seemed quite perplexed. I for one admire their courage and regardless of what anyone else thought, it obviously meant a lot to them and they'll always have the memory of their moment in the sun.

I can confirm however that there will be no duet to be found on our Order of Service.

And here is the best I could do in terms of an outfit post.

I wore a beautiful Resort Report cotton dress that was I think the most comfortable option I could have gone with on the day. Oh and an old faithful Alannah Hill bag that just happens to work very well with it. Given the above photo just looks like a tablecloth, here's a photo of what the dress actually looks like...

It is actually a style that is more suited to my figure than the model's. Imagine that? The proportions look much better with the waist cinched in to create a proper silhouette. It was a great find!

The dress code was semi formal and I almost wore something much more dressy. I was concerned that among the crowd gathered I may be too overdressed and once I saw where the mercury was headed, I decided to play it safe. I was SO thankful that I didn't wear my first choice. I would have stood out like a sore thumb! I think that semi formal had been translated to cool casual by most of the guests. Phew. Close call.

In other exciting news, the swatch of my wedding dress arrived in the mail today! Exciting!!! The ivory is actually not as dark as I had remembered or as it looks in some photos, but it's still perfect. At least now I can unleash my Matchy Matchy Disorder! The good news is the shoes I had thought I may wear (and already own) look to be a very good colour match *YAY*

I hope everyone's week is off to a good start!