Wedding!

Eek! I leave tomorrow and I just realised that I haven't finished my posts on my trip to Jakarta! So here is a very hurried overview of my cousin's beautiful wedding...

The morning, to be honest, was a bit of a disaster. The whole extended family travelled to the opulent Shangri-La Jakarta with the intention of getting dressed with more space. Unfortunately, it turned out to be closer to a refugee march, with all of us moving from one room to another. Three rooms later...we found our home!

The ceremony was a simple Christian ceremony, with the reception within the hotel itself. It was nice to meet up with cloes relatives that I haven't seen for years. Although it appears that we're related to half the guests in the room...The evening ended quickly and I had to return home the next day. But not before doing some shopping!

We stopped at a local craftsman expo and it was amazing. Local products including batiks of all kinds from different regions of Indonesia were on display and for sale. Being the last day of the expo, there were great bargains to be had!

Jonah and I were dropped off at the airport and the rest of the family continued on their holiday in Bali. So jealous!!! The flight home was uneventful. Jonah was a champion, falling asleep when the plane was taxi-ing and stayed asleep until we landed. Phew.

The flower girl

The groom's mum and the groom's uncle, my aunt and my uncle

Jovela, the bride and her brother walking her down the aisle

My very tired niece!

How many people can fit into one hotel room...

Ready for evening festivities!

My parents part of the welcoming party

The massive cake!

Content to eat and watch

A happy groom singing to his bride

Happy greetings all round

Family and friends

The groom's brother

Alright...here's a photo of me with my cousin

A Vintage Garden Wedding

Last weekend, our family celebrated the wedding of Airin, our cousin and Dave. It was a very special event as family members from interstate and overseas flew in to join the festivities. They were blessed with a beautiful day to mark the beginning of the rest of their lives together. The Scouts Hall at Frenchs Forest lent a beautiful backdrop to the ceremony, and the Hall decorated DIY by family and friends was a great setting to the evening of merriment. It was a day of good food, laughter and fun.

A long way to walk...

Signs to encourage guest to continue!

Just a little more...

Yay! We're here

The amazing sign made by my Uncle!

Blue and yellow was the theme

My mother was happy to have her siblings in Sydney

Her eldest brother all the way from Holland

Could it be... An Asian Johnny Bravo?!?!

The beautiful bride

Man and wife skipping down the aisle

The proud parents of the bride

The Brides familiy. My Uncle Andrew, Tante Chiko, Dave, Airin, Rion and Carly

Gorgeous decorations

Handmade decorations

Beautiful touches with family photos all throughout

The sign was made by the Groom's very talented sister!

Cakes also baked by family

The very fun photo booth

Complete with props

Everyone took part! My parents and Uncle Benny

Malcolm unleasing his inner princess. I'm trying to channel my inner teenage  mutant ninja turtle

My siblings and cousins

Amazing desserts

Dad and the 2 crazy brothers

We've had food...all good Asians know its now time to gamble!

Out come the poker chips

Michael still wondering how he lost

Speeches

The bridal waltz continues despite the loss of a shoe!

Exhausted after a night of partying!

Cover blown!

Alas, the days of anonymity, all two of them, are no longer. At a dear friend's wedding today, Malcolm disclosed the start of my blogging career. My immediate thought was whether or not this would change the way I write or if it would change the contents of my pages. Would I still write about the woman who wore one too many bright colours all at once (who I discovered later is the sister of the groom)? Should I comment on the fact that I think the celebrant may have had slight control issues? Would the bride one day discover my blog and be insulted? Should thoughts just remain as that, thoughts, and not be committed to words? Does refraining from voicing your thought make thinking about your thought ok??!?! I am not sure what the answer is.

Let's talk about the wonderful bits. My friend looked absolutely stunning and radiated happiness. The wedding has been a long time coming and we felt privileged to be a part of it. The venue, the groom's parents' home, was beautiful and was a lovely backdrop for the ceremony. The speeches were great to listen to, and it was nice to catch up with friends.

The sad bit is that I had to veer away from Disney for the day. And it appears that I may have to do this for a few days yet. For in my current Disney focused state, I had nearly forgotten to organise my little baby's first birthday. Bugger me!

Oh, and that reminds me. I'd better go to the garage to wrap the sucker-blower that Mal bought for himself so the children can give it to him first thing in the morning tomorrow for Father's Day.