Now, I was going to upload the photos for this, but it appears that in my rush to get to work (being the deadline-aware, dedicated employee that I am !), I left my digital camera at home… However I know how you all eagerly check my page for something new to read, so I'll put this bit up now and then put the photos up later !
With weddings, it always seems like the date's been approaching for a long time, which is fair enough, because I guess it has – people seldom invite you at the last minute to these things, do they ?
Anyway, the weekend of Jamie's wedding finally arrived, so it all commenced with a flight to Brisbane, swap from the big plane to a little plane, and then flying to Hervey Bay. Incredible – I haven't been on a plane that small since flying from Dallas to Jackson, Mississippi in 1996 ! You could sure feel the fact it was a smaller plane by the way it moved, and I could almost work out what some of the plane movements were after the flight time I've had in gliders. Upon arriving, I was collected by Ryan (Jamie's brother), and taken in to see Jamie at the hardware store. Was great to see him – the guy just looked excited, and it's great to see people in that frame of mind. So many people feel down about their lives, or in a rut – I love to meet someone excited from time to time !
Hervey Bay's a realy nice spot, north of Brisbane and not too far from Bundaberg. I'm not sure what there is to do here, because I don't really have the time or money to do any of it… but it's a great spot. They've got about 16 caravan parks up here, a few pubs, a nice big beach (but no surf… but no jellyfish either !), and about 2 million different ways of getting out to Fraser Island. But that's a different story. Which I don't really know, cos I didn't go there. It's the first time I've been to Hervey Bay since I was about 12, and to be honest, I don't remember a damn thing about the place !
The day of the wedding arrived, and I've got to say – though I've heard it before, I never believed it… being a groomsman is damn hard work ! I don't think I've ever washed so many cars in my life, and we kept looking at our watched going “OK, got to be there at 12:15… that's another 3 hours away”, or “…2 hours away”, or “…30 minutes away – uh oh, we'd better get ready !!”. It was a balmy 12,000 degrees that day, and we'd been put in black suits. They looked great, but… wow. We got the somewhat nervous groom to the church, and then went and hid out in the creche, because it was one of the 2 airconditioned spots in the building. There were certainly plenty of nerves about the place, because 1 of the bridesmaids and 1 groomsman couldn't make it to the rehearsal the night before and so were flying blind… There were balloons all over the ground which kept exploding at inopportune moments… and of course there's the typical amount of angst from the groom abut the arrival of the bride – in this case it was because the groom's father was driving the bride's car, and has a history of being a little behind schedule. I've got to say, the bride, Elizabeth, looked absolutely stunning, and Jamie must've felt himself a very very lucky guy that day.
After the wedding, we mosied off around Hervey Bay for a series of photos, which again was pretty hard work, because all you want to do is lie down or take the suit off, but of course you can't. We had heaps of fun though, and I'm sure the happy couple will take away some great photographic memories of the day.
The only other thing I've really got to report is that today – the day following the Main Event – I've had the opportunity to laze around a bit (finally – a holiday-like moment !), wander up and down the beach, and sit on the beach and munch some Barramundi & chips! How lucky am I? 2 weeks ago I was sitting down at Fremantle munching on fish & chips, and now I'm almost at the furthest point from there on the mainland, doing the same. Ah well, back to work tomorrow…
In closing, Congratulations to Lizzie and Jamie, and their families – I was honoured to be a part of your special day, and I wish the best of happiness on you both.