Our Wedding Story - Part 4 - The Happy Ending

It has been ONE WHOLE YEAR since the happiest day of my life.  I've been wanting to write this ever since, but have not quite found the right time to sit down to put it on paper.  In a way, I'm glad I'm only writing this a year on, as it's given me time to reflect on all of the details that made it the amazing story that it is.

Our wedding story is not your traditional wedding story... there was no fairytale proposal, no months and months of the bride flicking through wedding magazines, dreaming up the most wonderful dresses, flowers and table settings, just a humble little story of two people in love, stuck on opposite sides of the world!

THE DAY! 
THE HAPPY ENDING! 
ONE YEAR AGO TODAY!

We awoke to a relatively clear day, there were a few black clouds looming, but didn't look too threatening so we were confident we wouldn't get rained on.  Ben and I also decided against spending the night apart before the wedding, we had spent so many nights apart on opposite sides of the world, we just couldn't bear another.  However, we did go our separate ways for getting ready in the morning.  I had my hair done quite early, so with the drama of the flowers unfolding I was beginning to get quite nervous - I honestly thought I would be doing my own makeup and going without flowers.  However, after many a frantic phone call, Nancy was on her way.  She made it with less than an hour to spare, so after a lot of time sitting around, it was all hands on deck to get my makeup done, into my dress and then en-route to the beach for the ceremony.

Again, everyone around me was staying very positive and calm, which did help me relax a little, but I must admit the butterflies had well and truly set in.  I managed to get into the car at the same time I was supposed to be walking down the aisle, but I still managed to keep Ben waiting for 20 minutes (in which time he admits he was getting quite nervous, wondering where I was).  But, I made it in the end and after a few photo's, I finally made my way toward my husband-to-be.

The next hour was a whirlwind, seeing Ben's face as I was walking up the aisle, seeing tears being shed by our guests, listening to our Celebrant recite our story, exchanging vows (and no, I didn't quite make it without tears), all the while, Ben and I couldn't let go of each others hands - I really can't describe how special standing on that beach with such an amazing man was - it is a feeling that I will hold with me for the rest of my life.

The rest of the afternoon was just as amazing, more photo's on the beach (with a LOT of attention from intrigued beach-goers), a delicious lunch with LOTS of wine and partying-on into the evening - it was all so relaxed and easy, we couldn't not have had the most amazing day.

A year on and I still get goosebumps thinking about that day, and can't wipe the smile off my face every time I look at our photo's.

I also can't believe how lucky we were, the 2011 Queensland Floods were devastating, many people lost their lives and livelihoods, and a large proportion of the state was ruined.  All I can think is that there was a very bright star watching over us that week and we are incredibly blessed to have been able to share such a special day amidst it all.


However, that wasn't quite the happy ending... Ben still wasn't able to return to the UK with me straight away!!!  I had to leave my husband in Australia while I went back to life in the UK...  After the wedding, we had a mad dash to the Registrar to have our marriage "officially registered" - yes, our paperwork had been caught up in the backlog of mail from the floods, which we then had to courier asap to the visa company in Melbourne for processing.  The drama still didn't end there - due to another what we shall call  "unfortunate incident", even though Ben's Visa was approved within a couple of weeks, the date of entry into the UK wasn't until 1 April.  So it was another excruciating few weeks of being apart - I can't tell you the tears that were cried when we discovered that, it was devastating news.  However, the day finally came and with butterflies running rampant, I was making the journey to the airport one last time, the culmination of everything we had been through over the past 6 months to get to that point, it was all worth it.  Let's just say it was THE MOST emotional reunion you could ever imagine.  And we haven't looked back, and we're also looking forward - starting with quite a lot of travelling this year, and also just enjoying everything that London has to offer us.


The End!

Part 1  Part 2   Part 3