Wedding part two - the morning and ceremony

None of us got much sleep the night before and at 3:30am Steve and I sat up to talk, with his sister coming to our room shortly after. They decided to walk the streets of the city while I slept a little longer and I woke around 6am full of nerves. Around 6:30am, the boys headed home and us girls started to shower and get ready. I did my own hair and makeup, so I started to put some loose curls in my hair (they didn't last long!) and did makeup throughout that process.

Us girls were ready around 9am and caught a cab home to finish the house preparation. Half an hour later, my family arrived (an hour early), so we had to send them to the cafe nearby as the house had too many people frantically working to get it all together and more people in the way was too much. By this time I was getting really overwhelmed and was tearing up every so often. Our celebrant arrived at about 10am and I went out to greet her and have a little cry. She was awesome and helped calm my nerves. I couldn't even tell her why I was crying as I had no idea and she said it's just overwhelming and an emotional day which was very true. We got everything sorted, the house looked great and it was time to put my dress on. 

I went upstairs with K and Mum (Mum took our photos) and put on my dress which Steve hadn't seen and deliberated over whether to go down and show everyone now or wait until 11. Since it was only 10:45am and I hadn't introduced our parents yet, I decided to go downstairs. Well, everyone was waiting in the dining room and all eyes were on me..I almost ran from the room as I hate people looking at me but since I was about to have them watch me get married I just stood there awkwardly smiling.

It was about this time someone brought me over a shot of vodka and I threw that back in the hope it would settle any nerves I had. I didn't walk down an aisle, so Dad and I came in from another room together so he could walk me through a door and I stood next to Steve and tears started to fall again. Obviously no bride wants photos of herself crying, so I pulled myself together and we got on with it. 

Our celebrant was amazing. Honestly, I haven't been to a better wedding (if I do say so myself). Our ceremony was a story of the past 7 years of us and it had people laughing, crying and smiling the whole way through. It was just perfect. I read a little poem to my Dad and looked over and noticed him welling up with tears, so of course the tears started for me again. By the end of the ceremony though, I was all smiles with no smeared makeup. When the time came to 'kiss the bride' we tried to high five but we hadn't rehearsed that one obviously because I almost smacked Steve in the face. Second try was a winner, we kissed and we were Husband and Wife!

We had a small morning tea at home while we signed the certificates and then headed to a park for photos before Steve and I headed off for a couple of shots of just us. We literally had 15 minutes to get pictures of us and Mum did such a great job during that time. I told her I didn't want awkward posed shots and all the photos she took look natural and really good. 

I really loved this part of the day with just our family and close friends there. It was so special and romantic and everything I've ever dreamed of for a ceremony. As I said, I hate people looking at me and even with just the people closest to me watching on, I went bright red. 

I also have to add in here that L was a trooper through the whole ceremony. He was still sick (not vomiting), but made it to watch us get married. Good on you, L!

Our original plan of having the ceremony in a nearby park flopped as there were works being done there. The back up plan was the backyard, but that also flopped since it had rained the week before and made it muddy.. we don't get much sun in the yard in Winter so it didn't dry. I think we did a good job of doing up our tiny dining room. It didn't seem like people were too squished in and that is also owed to the fact that we had only immediate family there anyway. 

Wedding part one - the day before

The Thursday before our Saturday wedding, I took the day off work thinking I wouldn’t have much to do all day. I was wrong, of course. I cleaned, went to buy stuff, made stuff and the list went on. By the time Steve got home at 7pm (he couldn’t take any time off – busy time at work), I was still in the same clothes as when he left at 8am and I was still going. I called it a day, showered, had dinner and then had an early night ready for the next huge day.

At 5am on Friday morning, my alarm went off letting me know it was time to get up for the flower markets. Honestly, I was SO excited for the flower markets, so getting up was no problem. My sister in law, D and I got ready as quietly as we could, jumped on the road and realised the markets were only about 15 minutes down the road in the quiet morning traffic.

The flower markets lived up to my expectations in every way possible. Of course, it's overwhelming, but when that's pushed aside we set off to find what we needed. I was going for vibrant, berry colours which quickly turned in to vibrant natives with some other flowers thrown in to tie it all together and some baby’s breath because what bride doesn't have baby's breath?

Look, I know the flower markets are cheap, but I didn’t know they would be THAT cheap. I got all my flowers for $80. Yes, $80.

I pottered through all the stores selling natives looking at all the loose flowers thinking ‘I have no idea how to put these together’. I went back to the first store I’d found selling natives and was standing there pondering what to buy when I looked down and noticed they were selling bouquets. Already made, ready to go, ready for me to walk down the metaphorical aisle with. I picked up one, then 2 more thinking I could find some use for them and was expecting a hefty price tag because they were just so beautiful. Well..wrong again, Rhiannon. $30 for three bouquets!

After we’d amassed a collection of beautiful blooms, we set them in the car so we could go over to the little Italian café for breakfast. If you go to the flower market, you actually can’t miss going to this place. It’s like flower heaven followed by café heaven. D and I were going to have a Nutella and banana scroll each until the guy told us we wouldn’t finish it. We tried to convince him otherwise to no avail, so we shared. Well, yeah he was right. I was stuffed after my half, but that certainly didn’t stop us from getting another pastry to share at home later on. Obviously I was watching my figure for my impending nuptials.

We were home by 8am, in time to show Steve the flowers before jetting off again to pick up my beautiful friend K and her partner, C from the airport. Poor C… he didn’t know what he had gotten himself in to when he agreed to help us.

The day was then spent arranging flowers and beautifying the house ahead of the ceremony the next day. At one point, D’s boyfriend, L came over (he was meant to hang out with the boys) and started vomiting and it was at that point I declared we were done and vacated to the 3 bedroom apartment I had booked for the girls that evening. We left L at home (poor guy) and asked him to make sure he sanitised to make sure no-one else got sick the next day. The original intention was for the boys to head back and stay at the house, but at 9pm when L said he was still sick I asked them to stay with us girls so I wouldn’t wake up to a vomiting groom.

The group of us at the apartment went back and forth between ordering take out or going out for dinner before deciding we’d go out and get Japanese. It was really nice to spend that time with friends the night before to keep our minds off the wedding. While it was a super relaxed wedding and hardly stressful, I think we both had some nerves and keeping our mind off it was key!  

The apartment we stayed in was the Meriton on the corner of Bathurst and Pitt street and we were up on the 41^st floor. The views were amazing and the apartment itself was so spacious. There was plenty of room for the 6 of us to hang out on the couches. It was the perfect way to spend an evening ahead of our big day!

How to plan a wedding in 80 days - the decision

When we chose to not have a big wedding, we weren’t even engaged yet. I don’t love planning, I didn’t want to spend a huge load of money on one day, nor did I think it was necessary and neither Steve nor I like being the centre of attention.

 

After we got engaged, I opened pinterest a few times and each time, within 10 minutes I had closed it again. I just wasn’t interested. I didn’t care about table arrangements, I didn’t care about flowers, I didn’t want to pick cars. None of it mattered. All I wanted to do was marry Steve.

We thought about eloping, we thought about having an intimate wedding with just immediate family...basically, we thought about all the options that would require little effort to plan. Time went on and none of those options felt right. How could we exclude our parents from this day? To me, marriage is a really romantic and personal thing and whilst I didn’t want to get married in front of hundreds of people, I did want my parents there at the very least.

A couple of weeks in to the engagement, it was clear there would be no wedding soon. We wanted to buy a house and travel and paying for a wedding didn’t factor in to that. Steve and I decided we would have an engagement party in a few months’ time so we could include all our friends and family with the intention that most wouldn’t be invited to the wedding. This was our party for everyone to celebrate us. It was simple, it was easy to plan and I didn’t even need to decorate the venue. We booked it in and went and had a meeting with the events planner at the venue who went through a list of things we hadn’t even thought of. Will you have a photobooth? Will you have a cake? Will you need balloons? I didn’t care for any of that. I just wanted some good food, a bar tab and some furniture to be re-arranged. The room we picked was beautiful and even if we chose to bring anything else, it would be lost in the décor.

Later on we decided to stay for dinner and as we ate I pondered out loud how it would be nice to have a low fuss wedding reception in a place like this. Steve thought for a bit and said ‘well, we can’. Huh, how? He then suggested that we just get married the morning of the engagement party and then let everyone know afterwards at our party. At that moment, a weight lifted off our shoulders. THIS was right and it felt right. It felt like us.

And so, we planned our small intimate, immediate family only wedding for just 106 days after we got engaged and about 80 days after we made the decision.

Married!

On Saturday, Steve and I got married in a little ceremony with just immediate family and a couple of close friends present. The wedding was before the engagement party which was really a 'surprise reception'. More to come...

What did Rhi do on the weekend?

Friday night went quickly from drinks at home to one drink in Newtown to drinks AND dinner in Newtown. It doesn't take much to convince me to have a fun night out so as soon as D mentioned it, I was all for it.

 

When D and I go for a night out, we always start at Black Sheep with a bottle wine and this was no different. I was pleased to see they've changed their food menu and the offerings are much more appetising! We tried the popcorn chicken and the nacho dip and loved both. By that time, S had joined us and it was time for flaming cocktails. Never say no to a flaming cocktail. Ever.

While the food was good, it really wasn't filling so where else do you go for dinner when you're already tipsy? Mary's, that's where. We started with the fried chicken which was ok. I am not a fried chicken fan in the slightest and I can't say I'd be in a rush to eat that again. But the burgers...ohh the burgers! I got the usual cheeseburger and fries and as usual, it did not disappoint. It was home time, after that. Friday nights out are always early for me as I am so tired from the previous week.

The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning the house from top to bottom and gardening from front to back. We went out for a couple of drinks Saturday night to Button bar in Surry Hills as well and then not much else happened!

What have you all been up to?

 

 

Rhiannon at 25

I was standing looking in the mirror this morning as I got ready for work, thinking about someone who turned 25 today. I thought to myself - wow, I am 25 as well. I am so different to when I was 15. So I thought I'd write a post about me, at 25.

     1.    At 25 years old, I have lived out of home for 6 years.

2.    I have lived with Steve for just over 4 years.

3.    I have been in a relationship with Steve for 7 years (and I still adore him :-)).

4.    I have all but finished Uni, whilst working full time the whole time.

5.    I have a job that is the start of my career.

6. I still don't like shopping. I like nice clothes, but I don't like shopping to get them. Shoe shopping is the worst.

7.    I have carved out my likes and dislikes and learnt not to take shit from people.

8.    I have learnt that friends come and go and just because you’ve been friends a long time doesn’t mean you need to struggle to keep the friendship alive.

9.    I have learnt that people are selfish. You can bend over backwards to help them, but they won’t always be there when you need them.

10.    I have learnt the people that want to be in your life will be there and they will be selfless and you would do anything for them. They won’t make excuses and neither will you.

11.  I have a 5 (almost 6) year old dog.

12.  I don’t have children.

13.  I am not married (but I am engaged).

14.  At 25, I have travelled to 3 other countries (including 2 different islands).

15.  I have learnt that people have opinions of me and they are willing to share those around and it’s not worth my time getting upset by that (shame they didn’t notice Steve standing there listening).

16.  I have learnt that these are the best years and to look after myself. To eat good food (and splurge occasionally) and exercise regularly.

17.  At 25, I have lived close to the city for 4 years. And I love it.

18.  At 25, I have changed a whole lot from when I was 15. I have grown as a person and I have found me. Not everyone likes that, but that is ok. As long as I stay true to me.

19.  I am comfortable in my own skin and know I don’t need makeup to look good. In fact, I embrace not wearing makeup as often as possible (ok, maybe a little mascara!).

20.  I am looking forward to getting older. Age is just a number.

21.  My favourite cuisine is Japanese.

 

22. I have learnt that you cannot change others. But you can change how you interact with them.

 

23. I love being still. I love relaxing and being able to sit in the same room as someone and not need to talk. Weekends for me are quiet time, so I don’t go out every weekend and I don’t see people that will need me to talk all the time. Not that I don’t want to, sometimes I just prefer to be still.

24.  At 25, I have no idea what the future will hold, but I am looking so forward to it!.

25.  I have not figured everything out and that is ok. I have a life ahead of me.

 

7 reasons having an office job sucks

1.    There are 100 people using 2 microwaves…and then someone leaves time on the timer. Don’t be an asshole, clear the timer!

2.    28 levels up and I can’t open the windows. Then a cold/flu sweeps through the office and we can’t air the place out so it’s a vicious cycle of who will catch the air vent cold next.

3.    Similar to the above. We can’t open windows. If your food is stinky, everyone has to put up with that. Especially if you sit near the kitchen.

4.    I sit here all day looking at the amazing view from 28 floors up. Then I think, wow wouldn’t it be nice to actually enjoy the outside rather than just look at it. You can, on Saturday and Sunday...

5.    People urinate on the toilet seat and then just leave it there. Eww! Clean that up, girl!

6.    You never know which season to dress for. One day it could be like the Antarctic and the next it could be Sub-Saharan Africa. Look, I like cold and hot weather/temperatures as much as the next person but it might be nice to get a print out of the temps at the beginning of the week so I can dress accordingly.

7.    I have an office job, which means I have a job. So yeah, that sucks.

*This post is in jest, don’t take me too seriously J I'm very grateful for my office job!

Why do you hate working in an office?

J turns 21

A couple of weeks ago, we headed out to my parents place after work on a Friday to celebrate my brothers 21st. This brother is number 3 in the line of 6 kids. He doesn’t drink much, so we knew it would be a tame night. I actually didn’t take the camera, so any pics here are ones Mum took and there aren’t any of the food so it’s just people.

Steve, J and I

My parents ordered catering and we feasted on meat off the spit, salads, potato bake etc etc. Delicious comfort foods that are perfect on a cold night (and it was cold where they live!)

It was a good reason to catch up with family and we had a great time, even if he wouldn’t skull a drink like you are meant to at ALL 21st’s!

3 of my brothers and I (all J's!). J16, J21 and J18

J actually left for the US with his girlfriend yesterday, so most gifts were US money. Steve and I got denominations of $10 notes and rolled some ties up that we had at home (unworn of course!) and slotted the notes inside, then placed a $10 note on top. He opened it and thanked us for the $10 and ties before realising that there was money hidden inside the box. Not sure why he thought we’d only give him a $10 note as that wouldn’t get him very far in the US!

Sorry about the quality of the pics, I got them off facebook and emailed them to myself and it made them look a bit funny!

Winter haul

Usually my tax return is put to good use by fleshing out my Winter wardrobe, but this year I couldn't wait. I needed new jeans, new blouses and at least a new jumper as well as some ankle boots and over the past weeks I have been slowly accumulating the goodies.

2 shirts from Everlane. One in dusty pink and one in slate.

Ashley Gusset Book from Witchery

These were the easy ones to get pics of! I also got a jumper and another silk blouse from Oxford, though I don't love the quality. I bought my jeans this year from Levi's online and found out the hard way that the US style of 'skinny jeans' is different to the Australian style of skinny jeans. It's more straight leg and not the best for me.

Have you done any Winter shopping yet?

Hiatus is over!

Sorry about the hiatus. I just did an exam today and I had dedicated the previous two weeks to study. FYI, I think I smashed it so the hiatus was worth it!

I won't do a big catch up post, just a few posts of what I have been up to. Despite studying my bum off, I've also been super busy.

2 weeks ago, we drove down to Canberra for Steve's cousins 25th Birthday party. The Mecure in Braddon is pet friendly so we booked a room and took Ted along for the fun. The room was great! All tiled (obvious reasons), a pet bed included and a toy for Ted. Ted has this weird thing about tiles and floorboards though, so he pretty much spent most of his time outside or sitting in one spot as he doesn't like to walk around. The yard was huge! It covered the span of three rooms and only our room had access so Ted was in heaven. I thought it a little weird that it also backed on to the other rooms because if I really wanted to, I could have looked straight in (no, I didn't. I don't think there were people in them). Teddy loves Canberra. He ran around that yard back and forth for a couple of days and it was the happiest I've seen him in awhile!

There aren't too many places for coffee in Canberra that are good, so we went to the only couple of good cafes while we were down there. Lonsdale Street Roasters in Braddon, Urban Pantry in Manuka and Farmers Daughter in Yarralumla. 

B's birthday was good fun. Her parents put on a great party with delicious food and even in the cold Canberra weather, everyone had a good time. Afterwards we went out in Kingston, but I couldn't tell you what the place was called since I didn't take any notice. It wouldn't be hard to find because it's probably the only place open late on a Saturday night ;-)

We took Teddy through a car wash and the look of terror on his face indicated that it might not have been the best idea. 

But we made up with it by letting him stick his head out the window to feel the wind in his beard along the lake. Seriously, loves Canberra. He can't get enough!

And that's our weekend to Canberra! It was fun and we needed it. Shame the hotel room didn't have a bath, but the buffet breakfast was pretty good, so we'll call that a win!

What have you all been up to?