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Lee and I both surf, so we
use to check each other out on the beach but were always too
shy to even say hello. A girl friend from school used to tell
me how perfect I would be for her brother. When she finally
introduced us I couldn't believe who it was. At that time
we both had partners but we were both on each others minds
so it wasn't long before we ended up at the same party, both
single, and have been inseparable ever since.
On my 22nd birthday I got home from work
and Lee had my bag packed and we headed off to an unknown
destination. We ended up at South West Rocks where he had
made reservations at a nice restaurant. We sat down and started
looking at the menu but it was a bit flash for us, so we ended
up leaving and going to the Country Club for the 'all you
can eat buffet'.
After dinner we drove up to the lighthouse.
It was pouring rain so Lee's original plan wasn't going to
work, so he had to tell me then that he had booked us a room
at the lighthouse. I was so excited as I've always wanted
to stay there. When the rain finally stopped Lee suggested
we go and have a look at the lighthouse at night time. It
was very scary up there, old and historic and it felt as if
there were ghosts lerking around. I was about to tell Lee
that I wanted to go back as it was really spooky, but then
he said 'do you want your last birthday present?'. I didn't
know what he was talking about and then to my surprise he
pulled out a box. I was so nervous I just started laughing,
the poor guy didn't know what to do. But once I calmed down
he got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. It was
so exciting.
It took us ages to decide on a date and venue.
I always wanted to get married at the lighthouse where Lee
proposed but it just wasn't suitable. It took us 6 months
or more to decide on February because I really wanted frangipanis
but didn't want our wedding too close to Christmas. I already
knew in my head everything I wanted, it was just a matter
of finding it and putting it all together.
Most of the planning leading up to our big
day went really well. The simplest thing to arrange was my
dress. I went to Park Avenue Bridal at Parramatta and was
trying a few dresses on. When I put it on everyone in the
shop was blown away at how gorgeous it looked and anything
I tried on after that just didn't get the same response. I
ended up spending alot more than I wanted too but it was totally
worth it.
However, the bridesmaids dresses proved alot
more challenging. Of my five bridesmaids, 3 lived in Sydney,
1 in Newcastle and 1 in Germany so it was hard to find a time
when we could all get together to organise everything but
luckily everyone was really easy going so there were no major
hassels. What did stress me quite a lot was we only received
their dresses from the dressmaker at 6pm the night before
the wedding. But it ended up being very exciting as I had
only seen one dress finished and no one had seen each others.
For the boys shirts we decided on something
a bit different. We had them screen printed with a grafitti
style print which entailed all details of the wedding like
'Nat & Lee', '26 February 2005', 'Wallabi Point'. Everyone
loved them.!
The morning arrived and I woke up to the
thickest fog, so I instantly knew we had been blessed with
the perfect day. I received an 'sms' from Lee first thing
that just said 'perfect day'. Mum & Lib my sister came in
to see if I was awake, they were so excited. After breakfast
all the bridesmaids turned up and we started on their hair.
Mum & Lib left to go to the hairdressers and jumped into the
shower, before I too headed off to get my hair done.
By the time I got back, all the girls were
ready and they all looked fantastic. Next it was time for
make up, and then I got to put my dress on. When I finally
got to look at myself in the mirror I almost burst into tears
but I held them back. I wasn't nervous at all, just so excited.
Lee however was nervous. I had bought him
some rescue remedy which really helped to keep his nerves
down. I think he almost drank the whole bottle once he got
off the bus and saw how many people were there.
We met the horse & carriage at a nearby
beach and away we went. The ride was so much fun. However,
I took them the wrong way and the horse couldn't get up the
hill so all the girls had to get out and walk. It was hilarious.
We finally arrived half an hour late. It was so magical walking
down the aisle, seeing all those smiling faces and of course
my gorgeous husband to be. And also just to see everything
come together.
We had our ceremony on the headland at Wallabi
Point. It was a spectacular day, we were so lucky. We had
a large arch covered in frangipanis and frangipanis scattered
in 2 rows to make the aisle. We walked down the aisle to 'Take
my breath away' by Emma Bunton. Lee & myself wrote the entire
ceremony ourselves so it was very personal. When we were announced
husband and wife the page boy, Zac, released butterflies to
'Butterflies' by Alicia Keys and then as we walked back down
the aisle as husband & wife we played 'Crazy in Love' by Beyonce.
Everyone commented on what a lovely ceremony it was, no one
cried it was just a really happy occassion. Both Lee and I
couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces the whole time.
The place we originally booked to have our
reception closed about 12 months before the wedding which
was really disapointing. However, the Wharf Bar & Grill at
Forster turned out to be an excellent venue. Our reception
looked over the lake from a huge deck. We had decided on a
cocktail style reception, which took a bit of convincing.
(You need to listen to everyone's opinions but at the end
of the day it's your wedding so don't let anyone talk you
into something you don't want). It turned out really well,
with cafe style tables scattered everywhere for people to
sit down if they wanted and a dance floor which was filled
with helium balloons. We had hired a DJ so everyone could
dance the night away. It was very relaxed but lots of fun.
I wish I had taken my make up and a curling
wand to the reception. It was a really hot day and I wiped
all my make up off from sweating so much and all my curls
fell out. So all my photos at the reception are pretty ordinary.
We had 5 weeks of travelling up the East
Coast. Our first few days were spent at the Smokey Cape Lighthouse
at South West Rocks where we got engaged. It was a great place
to relax and unwind and lovely and secluded. Then we had a
few days at Byron Bay and a week at Coolangatta. We went swimming
with the dolphins at Seaworld which was awesome. Then spent
time at Caloundra, Maroochydore and Noosa and then finished
up at Tannum Sands where Lee competed in a kiteboarding competition
over Easter. It was a fun way of finishing our honeymoon as
we got to catch up with lots of friends and party all weekend
with them.
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