Forever Young

Hello hello!

Time for an update!

Saturday was the wedding of Grant Young and Gail Miles. Both are in my Biblestudy and Cheri and Zoo were at school with Gail. Being my first East London wedding, I was quite excited, and slightly in awe of the fact that I've been living here long enough to crack the wedding nod.

The ceremony was at the Ann Bryant Art Gallery, set to start at 3.30pm. I arrived precisely on time and had the momentary panic that I was late when I saw a Mercedes Benz stopped in the road with the emergency lights flashing. Trying to look elegant and unflustered (imagining scenes of awkwardness that would rival "4 Weddings and a funeral"), I moved with all speed towards the entrance and then breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when I saw it was just some random parked in the road.

The garden had been set-out beautifully, with the long walkway up to the main entrance serving as the aisle and the guests were seated on either side. Note 1 for attending an outdoors wedding: arrive early to secure a spot in the shade, or bring a hat. Most of us were sitting with the sun in our eyes. Sunburn can ruin the photo's.

I managed to find a seat that was in the shade for all of 10 minutes and took a moment to admire the flowers they had planted along the aisle (pink and white - it could only be Gail) and waited for the bride.

Arriving fashionably late, we were finally told to stand as the "Wedding March" began. Gail entered at the gate and began probably one of the longest walks down the aisle that I've ever seen. Of course she looked beautiful in her dress which a photo will describe more aptly than I ever could.

When she got to the front, we were all welcomed by Matt (the pastor), prayed and we sang. Note 2 for outdoor weddings: Lovely as they are, save the heels for the firmer ground. Being pegged to the ground is completely over-rated and if anything, makes it more difficult to stay upright. Then the Miles and Young family lit a candle to signify their families that Grant and Gail were leaving.

From there Matt performed the wedding ceremony, the registry was signed and then he gave a very short talk highlighting some passages from the Bible that speak about marriage. They then lit the candle to signify that they are a new family and we then formed an arch to throw confetti as they walked back down the aisle a married couple.

From there they had laid on a tea, where the 4-tier chocolate wedding cake extravaganza was eaten. Delicious. It was made by her younger sister Sandy and tasted amazing! While Grant and Gail disappeared off for photo's, we milled about in the usual pre-reception wait. Note 3 about outdoor weddings: Mosquitoes. Many of them. And hungry.

The reception was at the Osner Hotel on the beachfront. As the bridal couple arrived (to the song "Forever Young"), we all lit sparklers, which was a fantastic effect, until Gail bumped into one and flames appeared on her dress. Momentary panic. The fire was quickly extinguished and thankfully there was enough dress to easily hide the holes in the top layer.

The rest of the evening was great, a brief speech by her dad, Grant's brother and then his bestman also gave nice speeches. The dj interrupted and made an awkward joke about cattle from Bloemfontein, we ate, more speeches. Unusually,the bride also gave a speech, mainly thank-you's, but my tea-habit came up. Who knew addiction could make you semi-famous.

The rest of the evening was great, a brief speech by her dad, Grant's brother and then his bestman also gave nice speeches. The dj interrupted and made an awkward joke about cattle from Bloemfontein, we ate, more speeches. Unusually,the bride also gave a speech, mainly thank-you's, but my tea-habit came up. Who knew addiction could make you semi-famous.

Grant also made a speech, and the dj played havoc with the sound, making him sound like a chip monk at the start of his speech an other small things (apparently it's an Afrikaans thing?!), but he managed to redeem himself somewhat by getting everyone onto the very small dancefloor.

Around 11pm, Grant and Gail left, we all made an arch for them, and then, quite unexpectedly, the music stopped, the lights came on and it was time to go home.

But a good evening, an awesome wedding, and lots of fun.