Sunday's Spotlight - The Wedding

By guest blogger Pete.

After an abundance of worrying and concern by all involved, the wedding of my niece, Caroline and nephew-in-law (if such a term exists!) - Jamie - went off very well.

The vineyard and the surrounding areas were all neat and tidy.  The vineyard oak tree, by the time the wedding took place, provided plenty of shade - especially for the bride and groom - plus me!  It was a hot day and every little piece of shade that could be garnered was extremely precious.

The oak tree stands in the center of the vineyard atop of a slight grassy rise from the house. Each group of members of the families etc made their way up this slope separately.  The ring boy did well and then he realised something of the indignity of such a position and stopped.  For a few moments it looked as thought he was going to make a dash for freedom, taking with him the two rings as well.  However, his dad was the best man and managed to persuade him to complete the journey.

I always feel sorry for the ring boys and pages at weddings.  Dressed in all that fancy costume it doesn't do much for the lad's street credibility - especially if any of his friends are in the congregation.  It's not exactly a "macho" job is it?

I have always been grateful that neither my brother (15 years older than me) nor my sister (10 years older than me) asked me to be a page boy. I think I'd have runaway and hidden long before the ceremony and appeared only after it was long ended. Page boys and ring boys ought to have a union.  At least they could demand more reasonable and financial compensation than the so called perk of being able to take the little Lord Fauntleroy suit home with them!

The actual ceremony went well and the vows etc spoken in a voice clearly audible to all present. I had a good think and this was not only my first occasion to officiate at a marriage outside of a church but the first time I'd officiated at a marriage since my retirement.

The heat remained until about 7pm.  The meal was great.  The formal photographs in the heat exhausted the bride and groom and every bit of shade available could have been sold to any unfortunate in the sun - like Caroline and Jamie - for a King or even a Queen's ransom!

A lovely day, a lovely setting and the best wishes of everyone go to Caroline and Jamie.

Wedding Photo

My cousin Caroline's wedding at our home on Saturday went really well. It was a perfect day.

Thought I'd share just one photo with you.  As a surprise we arranged for Steve, the "dove man" to come by and greet them as they walked back down the "aisle" of the garden.  He gave each of them a white dove to release and then released 30 more. It was lovely to see.  The dove man actually lives across the creek from us and the doves regularly come and fly around our garden - but it was quite a surprise for the bride and groom!

I was delighted when I managed to catch both of them releasing their doves in this photo.  Perfect for a wedding at Birdland!

Still enjoying family time but also looking forward to getting back to creating next week - probably do some things with my mum as she and dad are with us for another week yet.

Finally got internet connection back so I'll be able to catch up on what you have all been doing too!

The missing piece

I've just finished making 12 "missing piece" bracelets. Each bracelet has a silver jigsaw puzzle shaped charm attached - with a texture on one side and plain on the other.

With each bracelet I enclose a small card that says:

You are an important piece in my life's puzzle.
You may never know precisely where you fit in,
but know that without you, there would be a significant hole.

I have sold a few of these bracelets before. The wonderful customer this time, Kristy from Australia, was just delightful and a real pleasure to work with. We had some great conversations online, going back and forth about what she wanted etc, and the collaboration was so easy --- one of the reasons why I love selling online! She wants the bracelets to give to family and friends and her bridesmaids for her forthcoming wedding. One of my previous customers for a group of these bracelets was from New Zealand and she also wanted them as gifts for bridesmaids. Her whole theme for her wedding was puzzles and she and her husband had found some wonderful puzzle rings.

I think giving a missing piece bracelet for a bridesmaid's gift is such a lovely idea. Each one is different and is a personal momento to keep.

I want to try and make a bracelet out of a run of jigsaw puzzle pieces where they interlock but still move a little bit. I'm working on the logistics of it all....not sure if it will be too tricky...but maybe a whole jigsaw puzzle will appear one day....

Anyhow- wishing Kristy a wonderful wedding and happy life. Glad you've found that important piece in your life! Anyone else have some ideas for unusual bridesmaids gifts? Let's hear about them.......