The love story's happy ending: the wedding

Well, lovely PB friends, all 75 of you, I’ll conclude this little series of posts now. So, newly engaged, Mr PB then drove the long, lonely road back to tiny Burnie. Our wedding preparations proceeded apace, the date set for early January 1999. Then in July 1998, Mr PB’s company announced a major restructure and his job disappeared. In September 1998, he found a job in Sydney so we decided to move there. He stayed with his aunt and uncle, concentrated on the new job and hunted out a place for us to rent. I found a legal job there. Things were starting to fall into place, finally!

So, Christmas 1998 over, the gaily wrapped wedding presents then started arriving daily. Our dear friends flew in from Germany, London and interstate to join in the fun. And of course, all the usual last minute dress fittings, the kitchen tea and other wedding preparations occurred. We held our hens’ and bucks’ nights on New Year’s Eve in separate restaurants on the Hobart waterfront. It’s a fabulous time of year to be there as the Sydney-Hobart yachties have all finished the race by then and are ready to let their hair down. Mr PB’s friends dressed him in a fetching green dress with white polka dots, gold earrings, makeup and fluffy slippers. They all then slapped on sombreros – what a sight! I, meanwhile, was being walked around the waterfront by my bridesmaids, blindfolded, past the wolf-whistling sailors. Only when the blindfold was taken off did I realise they had actually sewn some googly eyes on the blindfold so I must have looked a sight! Er, I did – here I am!

And this is the sight which greeted me once the blindfold came off – look at all the old chooks with their beaks and feathers!

Here I am, early in the evening.

And quite a bit later.Yes, that is a photo of Mr PB dressed up as the Queen (at a fancy dress party) on my T-shirt!

Just before midnight, the bucks joined the hens for the midnight countdown. In the middle of much merriment, Mr PB attempted to fly out the window of the restaurant – here I am, arms open, waiting to catch him!

Yes, it was a little messy towards the end…

The big day finally dawned, nearly six years after that fateful law barrel evening. I went for a walk along Nutgrove Beach with my sister to clear my head. Meanwhile, poor Mr PB was woken by his parents for a morning stroll – at 6 am! And then he had to attend a special family breakfast attended by his parents and all their six children as it was their 40th wedding anniversary! We hadn’t exactly thought about that little detail when we set the date.

Anyway, after hours of preparation with my bridesmaids at home, Dad and I were driven off in our British racing green Rolls-Royce to the pretty sandstone St David’s Anglican Cathedral. Here I am, just before the grand entrance.

Led in by my bridesmaids, Dad walked me up that long parquetry aisle to the altar where Mr PB was waiting with the bridal party.

In a moving ceremony, we exchanged our vows and then tripped happily back down the aisle, stopping to kiss friends and family on the way. We had finally done it, after all the years of separation! Ah, happiness!

Our reception then followed at pretty ‘Woodstock’ in South Hobart, set in the lush grounds of Australia’s oldest brewery, the Cascade Brewery Co. Here we are out the front, with the 1824 façade of the brewery behind us (given the British arrived in 1803, this is one of Hobart’s oldest buildings).

We had an absolutely fantastic night, surrounded by all the people we loved, many of whom had known us all our lives. There was much hilarity (the owners said they’d never had a more boisterous crowd!), sumptuous food and wine, amusing speeches and energetic dancing. Truly a magnificent night. Here we are, enjoying the moment.

As you know from here, we moved up to glorious Sydney to live a week later. So that, my friends, is where this little series of posts ends! Thanks for joining me on this little trip.

Jane

Rewound at Weekend Rewind at Life in a Pink Fibro on 21 April 2011.