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Published: February 2nd 2012
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Apologies for the very long delay in publishing this and the next few blogs but there has been a problem at Travel Blog!
Friday 27
th January was the day of the big event – the marriage of David and Mele at Yering Station – and what a splendid day it proved to be. All of the huffing and puffing, hustling and bustling, to-ing and fro-ing and seemingly endless socialising came to a fantastic climax with the ceremony and reception in The Yarra Valley.
The day started very warm but I had to be up and about early as I had a 9:30am appointment with a nearby hairdresser. Graham dropped me off and while I was having my hair done, he went back to the caravan to have a shower and a shave. He returned to collect me at 11:00am and we began to prepare for our day. We had been given responsibility for getting Daphne and John to the wedding which would be about a one hour’s drive from Daphne’s. We had arranged to be at Daphne’s for lunch but on our arrival at about midday we weren’t sure what we would find. Daphne is notoriously “frenetic” with preparations
and has a reputation for being late for everything – hence our midday arrival for a 3:00pm departure. She had, indeed, been a bit erratic in her behaviour and, much to John’s anguish, had left the house at about 11:00am without saying where she was going and for how long. On a previous occasion she had similarly disappeared and didn’t re-appear for hours, entirely forgetting about a pre-arranged appointment!! Fortunately, today she just nipped to the nearby shops to get some tights (Micky has taken a liking to tights so we think he must have ruined any that Daphne had!). She had returned just before we arrived so John, who had himself panicked and had rung me when he realised Daphne had disappeared, was relieved to see her return in good time. We had a nice lunch (some of last night’s leftovers) and then we gradually encouraged Daphne to get ready in good time while we ourselves changed into our wedding outfits. John was already well on the way to being ready. Our departure time was overly generous but Graham was concerned about Friday evening rush-hour traffic and wanted to err on the safe side. As it happened we made
excellent time and arrived near to the venue with over an hour to spare. Graham quickly decided to drive on to Yarra Glen, the nearby small town, where we could all have a cup of coffee. He then realised that we were very close to the hotel that Rod, Tania, Cathy and Chris were moving to for a few days so I rang Rod and arranged to call in on them. When we arrived at the hotel we heard a bit of a tale of woe as, because of a mix-up over a hire car, they had only just arrived and barely had time to get ready. We were able to have a good look at R & T’s room which was magnificent – glorious view, spa bath, beautifully furnished – it was brilliant. The hire car arrangements had meant they had had to leave a suitcase each at Grant’s because the car was so small. But they were soon ready and able to follow us to the wedding venue – Yering Station.
On arrival at Yering Station we could see that many guests, including David in a smart suit and a bow tie, had already arrived and the
seating and official ceremonial “table” had already been set up in an outside courtyard area which had a magnificent mountain backdrop. The cake which Daphne had made and which we had had iced, was duly on display in the restaurant area which had been reserved for the wedding and was already set up for the special event. It was getting very warm outside so many jackets were discarded. Soon after 5:00pm the main “players” began to arrive – the Maid of Honour (a friend of Mele’s) and the two bridesmaids (Charlotte and Amy). They then awaited the arrival of Mele who was chauffeured by Bill, Anna’s father, in his be-ribboned Mercedes car. The bridal party then made their way slowly towards where the ceremony was held. The reverend conducting the service was an acquaintance of Anna’s and the prayers, hymns and readings had been meticulously chosen by David and Mele. It was excellent – simple, meaningful and with a strong Tongan influences particularly stressing the qualities of love and happiness. We were able to take photos during the service but with a few people thoughtlessly choosing to stand right in the front to take their’s, even during the ceremony, it
The bride arrives
chauffeured by Bill, Anna's Dad was difficult to take photos without someone’s back being in the way (us Poms are far too reserved!). Afterwards, though, there was a bit more freedom for everyone to take more photos at their leisure and we were pleased with the efforts we had made. There followed a period of pre-reception drinks and nibbles and although most people tried to find a bit of shade from the scorching sun, it was a lovely period of casual chat and familiarisation, especially with the Tongans present most of whom were related to Mele.
At about 7:00pm the reception officially started with a welcome from David’s best man and an explanation as to how the evening would unfold. Wine, both red and white, was flowing continuously throughout the evening but, of course, we were at a winery! The starters consisted of scallops or duck terrine, each with a combination of “extras” like corn salsa, smoked jalapeno, spring onion blini and the like. No doubt Mele, being a professional nutritionist, had a big influence on what was served. Before the main course, a couple of the official speeches and toasts took place and this was to be the format for the evening –
eat a bit and listen a bit. The main course was either Eye Fillet or Kingfish and, again, came with a variety of extras - it was all delicious. Graham Polkinghorne, the best man performed the official best man speech while Mele’s brother in law, Randy (an American) and her sister Konai (they’re both professors at a university in Fiji where they live) spoke on behalf of the Tongan people present. It was a nice, entertaining balance between the two cultures and made for an easy interaction between the two groups. David performed an amusing groom’s speech and then, after the formalities, some of the Tongan ladies performed some traditional dances which were brilliant. More dancing took place during which almost all of those present were persuaded to join in with the rhythmical South Sea Island movements. Eventually, though quite late, the desserts were served – a choice of Raspberry Sable or Caramel Marshmallow – both (Graham and I shared one of each) were absolutely delicious. Dancing continued, wine continued to flow, any inhibitions disappeared through a combination of the alcohol and the jolly, Tongan influenced atmosphere and a thoroughly good time was had by all.
Alas, when it
came time to make our journey home, one or two people began to appear to be the worse for wear. Unluckily for us, John was one of them - he was struggling to keep his feet and, in fact, was ill in the car on the way back which was very unfortunate! After stopping to give him some fresh air and water and to tidy things up, we made our way back to Daphne’s where he promptly fell into bed. It was gone midnight before we arrived back at the caravan after what had been a fantastic occasion. We wish David and Mele all the luck in the world and hope they have many happy years together.
We were just too late to catch the end of what must have been an exciting match between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic for a place in the tennis final - better luck next time Andy!
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