Hello Stranger: claire & andrew; march 13th, 2010

apparently i've forgotten how to post things?

BUT BUT BUT! more importantly! my sister got married! anyone who's friends with me on facebook might have already seen the photos, but i'll post them here incase anyone missed out on the most perfect wedding ever. (but seriously, PERFECT.)

so, we woke up at about 6am to the sound of rain. that's right, the old cliche, raining on your wedding day. but apparently it's a sign of good luck and a long, happy marriage?
claire went for a little walk around the vineyard with mum, while liz (the maid? matron? of honour) & i got breakfast.
when we got back, we started to get ready (hair, make-up, etc) and ripped up some roses (so we could have rose petals to walk on...) which is actually quite theraputic!
we helped claire into her dress (literally laced her into it!) which was really nice. i did up the back of her dress, and shed a tear of two!
meanwhile, it's raining on & off, literally all day long. kind of annoying, seeing as the ceremony is OUTSIDE.

claire's dress was absolutely GORGEOUS! it had a tight bodice, that laced up at the back, and then it went OUT and had this gorgeous train (that looped back up if you didn't want the train anymore? does that make sense?) and she looked so gorgeous. her hair was just simple waves/curls with two lovely flowers holding back her fringe/bangs on one side.
our birdesmaid dresses are from rose & ruby. (if you go to the autumn/winter '09 collection, you can see them on the 4th page - it's called picture perfect) they were the most comfortable dress i have ever worn, not even kidding. we added a pink sash, just to sinch it in, and i love love love this dressm, i'm telling you.

luckily, it cleared up just in time for us to walk down the aisle with clear-ish skies.
the guests were standing, and some got to sit on haybales laid with vintage quilts from the 1920's, the aisle was strewn with rose petals, and we had an arch at the end.
the ceremony was beautiful, we entered to israel kamakawiwo'ole's somewhere over the rainbow. (i almost fell over in my slightly too big heels! whoops.)
claire & andy wrote their own vows, and it was just lovely. it was so so windy, just insane. claire's dress kept blowing around, but it was still great.
walkling back up the aisle, we had confetti (these flowers, except on on a garland) that we (calire & i) made ourselves.

afterwards, we drove around the neighbouring vineyards to take some photos. i hope they turn out nicely, it was really fun taking them; the photographer was so lovely.

the girls (claire, liz, mandy & i) had decorated the reception hall the day before, and it turned out perfectly. we had old jars and bottles with white flowers in them (daisies, roses, tulips, gerberas) and different coloured materials on each table with an old doily also. (for some reason, i can't find any photos! tragic!)

the speeches were really good. richie's (the best man) was funny, and so was andrew's. dad was amusing and he loves to make people cry (so funny!) and succeeded. (claire made me cry, too, what a jerk, haha.)

claire & andrew's first dance was to adam sandler's i wanna grow old with you, from the wedding singer. it was really cute. and then, we danced the night away. and ate cake. :)

all in all, it was a really fantastic day.

01. me pouting, haha. mandy (the best man's wife) & i had a little joke that whenever she would go to take a photo i would pout, so, if you can see, that's mandy behind me, pouting.
02. claire, looking radiant!
03. the hair! was gorgeous! so good. side-pony with curls, in a loose bun & a twist on top. SO FANTASTIC. and the make-up? MY GOODNESS, WE ALL LOOKED GORGEOUS. i'm so jealous of me. haha.
04. me & claire. ♥

my friend tanya so kindly took photos of the ceremony for me.
05-07. walking (not tripping) down the aisle.
08. this is the "please hold hands" bit. SO CUTE.

09. "you may now kiss the bride."
10. i love this photo of me & claire!
11. and this one of claire & andy. so cute. (and you can see the confetti!)

12. DRESS. and mum & dad looking cute.
13. the most uncomfortable shoes in the world. i didn't think they were so bad walking around my house in them, but as soon as i stepped onto the grass (we practiced the day before), it was terrible! i twisted my ankle a little bit.
14. windblown.
15. claire gave liz & i these gorgeous bracelets. i wish i knew where she got them, they're so pretty. it's a little golden bird with pink pearls all around.

16. i don't know how, but i'm standing on one leg in the horribly uncomfortable shoes. and pouting! again!
17. i love this photo.

18. i don't know if you can see properly, but there are about 250 paper cranes hanging from the railing above us as we're walking into the reception hall.
19. the table! the little take home gift (the proper name of which i can never remember!) was honey with little tags. claire also wanted people to write little messages to them ("happy wedding" & whatnot)
20. polaroids.
21. suie, me & kylie. (some of claire's friends from school.)
22. mum & i.
23. mum & andrew. so cute.