What a wonderful wedding!

Me dressing my boy... Joanne with my mom... Pre-wedding drinks... The bridal car... Jake with the Ferrari - note the shirt already tucked out... My dad and Jake with the Ferrari... Jo & my dad before leaving the house... Jake & I ready to go... Leaving the house... Kalk Bay Harbour. The guests are all seated at the far end of the first pier (the one closest). It was too windy to use the main harbour wall as planned... My dad and Jo make their way down the "aisle"... Me, Jake & Rosie on the pier during the ceremony... Newlyweds... Me, Jake, Rosanne, Joanne, Paul, TJ (Paul's brother) and Clive... Jake & I at the reception... Stuart (the Ferrari owner & Jo's boss) and Jake waiting to catch the garter. Stuart actually caught it. What is it about men who own Ferrari's and like kids?? Cutting the cake... At Cape Town International this morning. The happy couple on their way to honeymoon in Bali. And yes, it does look like Jo was crying..

You guys have impressed me today. It's 15:40 (according to my PC) and not one of you have nagged me for wedding photos yet!!! It's been quite a hectic day, so I hope you'll forgive me and I promise to put up lots of photos at the end of this post to make up for taking so long in getting to this post...

Friday was a good day. I'd taken the day off (as had the rest of the family, except Rosanne, who's just started a new job) and I was able to take Jake to school in the morning (a real bonus for me!). Mom and I went and got our nails done (a serious treat - I never do anything to my nails, but they look seriously hot!) and then took a drive out to Harbour House to drop off everything I'd prepared for the wedding. We rushed home, so I could take Jake and Karen (his paternal grandmother) out to lunch at Rosati's. We met my cousins down at the Blue Peter before going off to Joanne's. Rosanne, Gareth (Rosie's boyfriend) and I spent Friday night with Jo. We got there around 7:30 and she made us a delicious pasta with salads for dinner. While Rose, Jo and I consumed far too much champagne (OK, not enough to give us a headache on Saturday morning), Gareth sorted out a few technical problems at Joanne and Paul's new house. Mainly the pool pump. Neither Joanne nor Paul are technically minded and I forsee many a desperate phonecalls for help changing their high-ceiling lightbulbs in the not-too-distant future. I shared a bed with Jo and by the time we got into bed, it was almost mid-night.

Saturday morning, was relaxed and we just sat around the lounge, wondering what to do with all our time before the wedding. My folks came through around 12, they'd been delayed because Rose's car was broken into on Friday night and they only noticed when the police knocked on the door to tell them. We had left-over pasta for lunch and then began getting ready. The make-up lady arrived and we gradually got dressed. As a surprise, Paul had arranged with Jo's boss, that he be her driver and he arrived in his GORGEOUS red Ferrari to collect her. My dad was like a kid and the Ferrari really made the day so special for him. Jo had to sit on his lap and they enjoyed a high speed trip through to Kalk Bay in the Ferrari (they actually had to wait for us to catch up before going on to the pier). When we arrived at the wedding, Stuart stopped at the bottom of the pier, revved like mad and then screamed down the pier, stopping just in front of the back-seaters. We regrouped for 2 minutes, said hi to the minister and the next minute we were walking down the aisle. I don't know if it was just because it was a bit windy or because we were outdoors, but it didn't feel like we were standing in front of a huge crowd. It was actually perfect. Jo and Paul were so relaxed - Paul even offered Jo his jacket at one point after she told him she was cold. After a short ceremony, and a quick kiss, it was all over. We went indoors and signed the registry and then headed off for photos. The weather was not great, but I think that the heavy, dark clouds and stormy sea will add a lot of atmosphere to their pictures. Jo was one of the most beautiful bride's I have ever seen. Both her and Paul were absolutely glowing and they both had a wonderful evening. Paul's speech was really sweet and I'm very confident that him and Joanne will have a long and happy life with each other. They're just so well suited and he's really such a wonderful guy. I'm very proud to have him as my new brother.

As for Jake, he was an absolute star. I don't think I could've asked for him to have been better behaved. He had a long nap (no complaints) at Joanne's house and did his job of bearing the ring very well. At the reception, he sat quietly during the speeches and he ate with his knife and fork during dinner (he had crumbed calamari and chips). Although he got very tired, he just kept going. I tried to get him to go to sleep on one of the couches, but he just couldn't with the music on. Instead, he spent the evening dancing in my arms and making me feel like the proudest woman in the room. Everyone commented on how well he was behaving and it made me feel so proud - it's just such a wonderful compliment. By 2am, he just couldn't go any more and after bumping his arm and making it bleed, he cried. Fortunately, it was after Jo and Paul had left and we were just gathering our things to go home. He passed out in the car and only woke up at 9:50 on Sunday morning.

There was a minor drama after the wedding - Jo took her house keys with her and everything that we'd taken through with us was locked inside her house, including my cousin's air ticket for early Sunday morning. We drove around looking for their hotel and, although the thought of knocking on the newly weds' door within an hour of their leaving wasn't appealing, we needed the keys. We didn't find their hotel, so came home and went back through to Kalk Bay early on Sunday morning, where my dad and sister found Paul walking out of the hotel - so no interupting was done!

We braai'ed (SA version of a barbeque) at Jo & Paul yesterday. Really just the family, including those who'd travelled from overseas and upcountry. It was a lovely afternoon and the weather was perfect. Joanne was feeling a bit under the weather though. We watched them open their gifts, then left them to enjoy the silence of their home (their TV's not working yet, 4 weeks after moving in). My parents took them to the airport early this morning and Jo and Paul are on their way to Bali on honeymoon as we speak. I hope that they have a wonderful time and I look forward to seeing the pictures when they get back.

I hope that wasn't too long-winded, but I'll end off now with some photos and, damn! It's been difficult choosing which ones to post. Hope you enjoy these for now anyway. I'm sure there will be more to put up once we get the pictures from the photographer. Most of these were just taken with my dad's camera...

Lots of love,

Sue xxx

PS. Just for the record - I did not shed one single tear!! Thank god for drugs! And I didn't get drunk either - I was the designated driver...