Right now I’m on my way to Paris. I’m sitting in bus class on a Malaysia Airlines A380. It’s dark out (even though my laptop is telling me it’s 10am Melbourne time). I have a feeling this is going to be a rather sketchy post as I’m pretty tired but I’ve only had about four/five hours sleep – I think. It’s been a really long day!
Still, having fun playing with the seat and working out what all the settings do.
So, 18 months in the planning and the wedding just flew by. I woke up on the day feeling very grumpy – mostly because I was so nervous. I’m not good under pressure and this felt like a whole lot of pressure. Actually, that’s not true. I’m great under pressure in most situations but this was one I had no clue how to deal with. Except by being grumpy and irritable. And then deciding to clean my BMC, which has been sadly neglected for about six weeks.
The flowers were duly collected and I was shocked at how heavy my bouquet was. I think it had about 40 roses in it and it had some serious heft to it. I would’ve concussed someone if I’d thrown it. But I was never going to do that, I was always going to keep it. It was utterly stunning though and I’m glad I went with something simple. Enormous but simple.
The hairdresser and make-up artist arrived. And it was all systems go from then on. It took a lot longer than I thought it would. I’m surprised I managed to sit still for that long. But they both did a brilliant job. I looked like a proper 1920s lady.
Finally the moment arrived. We all piled into my dad’s Subaru and off we went! I flat-out refused to spend any money on hiring a car when we didn’t need one. We weren’t going anywhere else for the photos/reception and I only had one bridesmaid so it’s not like we needed a limo or anything. It was a bit weird though. I’ve never been one of those girls who plan their wedding to minute detail but I’m pretty sure when I did think about it, it didn’t include rocking up in a Subaru station wagon.
I was about 20 minutes early. Kinda sucks being early to your own wedding and you have to hide from everyone. The plan had been to spend a few moments with Richard before the ceremony started but that was thwarted by a determined photographer who was racing about. So I hid out in the bridal retreat with my bridesmaid and waited for the minute to tick by.
And then we were married. It went by in a flash. The celebrant was funny and put on a real show. Nice things were said about us. We did the obligatory legal bit, exchanged vows and gave each other rings. And that was that – we were married. Well, technically you’re not married until you sign the paperwork but you get the picture. Loads of photos were taken, we didn’t have to climb up the scary spiral staircase to the attic for any because mother nature was kind to us and gave us a beautiful sunny day.
Food was consumed, wine and beer was drunk. The cake was cut. People talked and mingled. There was no dancing (which was a bit of a shame) but we simply ran out of time. It was amazing how quickly the time passed and I didn’t get to talk to nearly as many people as I probably should’ve. Then it was all over and we were whisked away by our photographer to our hotel. Another hours’ worth of photography and then we were finally on our own.
Husband and wife.
I’m still getting my head around the fact that I’m married. Five years ago I was adamant I’d never get married. It just didn’t seem like it was in the cards for me. But now, here I am – a married woman. I have a husband! I must admit I love seeing the wedding band on his finger.
All the movies and tv shows tell us that getting married is supposed instantly fix any problems that you have as a couple and that you’ll be so in love it’s ridiculous. But for me, it feels like nothing is different. We didn’t really have any problems in the first place, I was a rather reluctant bride who was more looking forward to the marriage then the wedding and we were pretty lovey-dovey beforehand. I’m not sure what’s supposed to change or what’s meant to be different now.
It was pointed out during the ceremony that things happened really fast between us and it’s true. We were engaged after about nine months and married at just over two years together. But as the celebrant said – you get to certain age and you’re pretty certain about the things you don’t want in a partner. You have a much better idea of what you’re looking for and if you’re lucky enough to find it, why not get married?
I also think that if we hadn’t gotten married now, we probably wouldn’t have. We’d have been just as happy living together in our house (last time I saw it, it had the frame for the third floor!) and never worried about it. And I think our relationship would’ve been exactly the same. Being married doesn’t change your relationship. If it was shaky beforehand, it’s going to be just as shaky afterwards. If it was solid, it’ll still be solid. Having a nice piece of paper that says you’re legally tied to each other is still just a piece of paper.
