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Published: June 21st 2006
The Build-up
Lindsay -Only three days until the Big Day, and despite all my best efforts there still seems to be a ton of things to do to try and attempt a perfect wedding. Anyway having a lot to do is keeping me occupied and distracted, if not exactly calm about the things I can‘t do anything about. Like the weather for example. Every morning I watch the sun come up, hoping to actually see some sky. Unfortunately it is to drizzle and grey clouds, which is adding to my increasing worry that I have made a terrible mistake by thinking I could get away from it all for a quiet (stress-free) wedding.
And another major worry I’m trying to not think about, and that Russell doesn’t really get, is the myriad of sandfly bites that have developed all over my legs, back and worst of all, arms - everywhere I sat in the sand on beautiful Whitehaven Beach. They are really raised, red, ugly marks to go with my lovely sleeveless dress. I don’t mind so much that they itch like hell, but I have spent so much time on dresses and flowers and shoes, and it turns
out that I would have been better not to bother because I look worse than I ever could have imagined. Think - plague victim. But I can’t think about it - got to go to the chemist and get every cream and cure available. Which I found out isn’t any. I’m already on antihistamines (which if they are helping then god only knows what I would look like) - all I can do is hope, hope, hope that they go down - I’ve already been told by the amused (male) pharmacists (after I showed them my arms and they recoiled in horror) that there is no chance of them disappearing. ‘Only time can heal them’ apparently, which is precious little help when you’re in a hurry.
At least we have somewhere to stay though, as I was feeling bad that I didn’t book the Palm Cove campsite in advance, and it turned out they were booked up and we could only stay one night. But after spending a night too long in the most pikey campsite imaginable I don’t feel bad anymore, because there was no chance I would have stayed any longer. I went back to my campsite
guide and we decided to try the neighbouring ‘town’ of Ellis Beach. I say town, which is kind of funny because there is only a campsite and a pub there, and it is about 15 minutes drive away, but it is clean and nice and I’ll take it.
The next stress - trying to find an internet café that allows you to print out. We finally find one at the post office - this is quite important as I haven’t learnt or printed out my wedding vows. Russell smugly keeps mentioning that he has almost memorised his, whereas I have just realised that I have been too busy organising the wedding details to do mine and I wrote them months ago (during a quiet spell at work). Whereas despite my best efforts Russell has managed to avoid all assistance with wedding planning, whilst complaining that grooms never have any input into their weddings. Also at the internet café I need to search the wedding directories to find a dry cleaner, since my dress looks like I have been backpacking across Australia with it. Which I sort of have. But to my horror, there are no drycleaners listed in the
Cairns area in the wedding directories - the only suggestion I can get is that I courier my dress to Sydney and they will press it and send it back! In fact there are only two drycleaners in about an hour and a half from here. We will just have to go find them and see if they can help us out in the two days we have left. Thankfully the first one we try can do it for us in 24 hours, so we make an appointment to drop off the following day, which means we can pick up the day before the wedding.
After we drop off the dress we go to meet out celebrant Nicola and sort out the legalities and sign all sorts of documents. We choose our location on the beach - by the jetty, sheltered from the awful wind that has sprung up. It means the weather has got very changeable which I suppose is an improvement. I had expected to have the wedding near to our hotel, and the change in venue means we have to organise some transport for me to the other end of the beach - we will worry
about it tomorrow. It’s all coming together slowly, but the bites are getting worse not better. I’m not sleeping, the weather is unpredictable and I can’t remember my vows.
The day before the wedding and the bites are worse again. I have to do something so I am going to Cairns to have a fake tan to try and camouflage them. Russ is dropping me off and then has some chores to do - hurray! He comes in with me to find a beauty parlour. We find one, go in and I explain my problem. And I’m crushed to find out that the beautician thinks that a tan won’t help - in fact she thinks it will make them worse and more obvious. I leave, and suddenly I just can’t keep it together any longer. I get outside and start crying for all the wedding plans have been for nothing. And Russell tries to comfort me in horrified bemusement trying to explain that it doesn’t matter. But it does matter to me, because I tried really hard to make everything beautiful, and for me it is ruined. And I can‘t stop crying, until unexpectedly my dad calls to find
out how everything is going. Not well, Dad.
My dad is sympathetic, but tells me what I have to do - Brazen it out. ‘Or can you not get some sleeves from somewhere?’ (Yeah, I’ll just nip down the ‘sleeves’ shop, and pick up some matching ones), ‘or wear a t-shirt underneath your dress?’ These suggestions make me realise that I could in fact look more foolish. Brazen it out is my choice. And I decide to hell with it - we go to another beauty parlour and I book in for a fake tan anyway, and Russell finally leaves me to go do his chores (pick up friends from the airport, collect my dress, shopping and check-in to our hotel). Although the tan doesn’t cover up the marks, it does in fact seem to help, because the bites showed up worse against my pasty skin. The price I have to pay though is not being able to have a shower or get dressed properly for eight hours or so, which means that I am going to me sticky and dirty all through this evening’s barbeque we have planned at our hotel. I don’t care. I meet my mum
and we get the bus to the hotel, where I am looking forward to hiding in my hotel room.
Unfortunately for my plans, Russell has not checked into our hotel yet. He is actually sitting in the internet café at the other end of town with all our stuff and check-in details. And when I snap that could he please get his butt over here so I can go hide my orange ness inside, he is not best pleased. I am forced to hide-out in my mum’s hotel room until he finally turns up.
Russell - I wake up on the first morning in Palm Cove and tentatively look out of the window to check the weather. The campsite is right on the beach and the sun is just rising above the ocean showing a calm sea. It is just so beautiful I have to wake Lins to show her. Her frown eventually turns into a smile when she sees how beautiful it is. I then look around the campsite - yep it really was as awful as I remember it the night before. It is still early so I go back to sleep.
6:30am I am
awoken again by the telephone. My Dad has landed in Cairns airport and has been stuck there since 4am with nothing to do. I am sympathetic but as I can’t actually go pick them up without turfing Lins out onto the pavement (we are only licenced to carry three people in the van) there isn’t a lot I can do. But at least I am up now and the weather has got worse again. We have just three days until the wedding and Lins seems to have left everything to the last minute even learning her vows- tut. I mean what else do you do when your on the lav.
We get up and move the van to the next campsite which is a big improvement. My Dad has already checked-in there so we go to meet him. He is on the beach and he isn’t wearing a top - Brits abroad! After some introductions with his partner we head into town to start the chores. We find a dry cleaner who is getting married herself in 7 weeks so understands all too well what needs to be done. She promises to pray for the weather to improve for
us. I nip to the barbers who berates me for not mentioning before she started that it was my “wedding do“ but promises to send out positive energy to improve the weather for us. We are prepared to take any help we can on that one.
The next day Lins is getting really worried about her sand fly bites but seems to be taking it quite well. We head into town again to see if we can get some fake tan to hide them a bit. I beautician says no and together Lindsay decides to take a holiday and leave crying Lins in charge. Nothing I say makes any difference - if anything worse. The beautician comes out of the shop with some tissues to dry her eyes. She isn’t much help either. We walk about a bit as I try to console Lins when her Dad rings. We sit in McDonalds whilst she talks to her Dad - he seems to be having more luck at cheering her up even if he is 10,000 miles away. Lins comes off the phone with renewed purpose - we are going to find another beautician. Excellent idea why didn’t I think
of it - if you don’t get the advise you are looking for ask someone else. Lins finds somewhere to get her tan and sends me off to do my chores. I had been getting texts from my friends Gayle and Vics all morning telling me that they were catching an earlier flight but there was no way I could leave Lins. Now I had to pick them up. They were flying in on a domestic flight from Sydney so I went straight to the domestic terminal. There were no flights landing from Sydney - nor had there been. I looked everywhere for an information desk but there wasn’t one. I walked across the airport to international terminal. There they were - they had landed on a flight that was on its way to Japan - of course why didn’t I think of that! Think was I had parked the van on the other side of the airport and thinking I knew the quickest way we walked with all our luggage across the car park…..down the road….around a roundabout and into the car park. We loaded up the luggage and I discovered I had lost my ticket to get out
of the car park. I searched every where, unloaded all the luggage, looked in places I had not even been but it was no where to be found. I gave up and turned to go to the parking office to pay the $25 fine for losing a ticket. When I turned around I saw a little white piece of paper blowing against the fence. Ticket found we were on our way.
Next job pick up dry cleaning - easy. Yvonne was waiting for me and had even put off her lunch to speak to me. She told me to be very careful as it had been pressed three times and would crease with the slightest touch. “It was the same material Princess Di had you know.” I didn’t know but then I’m the groom such things are not my concern.
Next buy all the food for this evenings’ pre-wedding BBQ for the guests at out penthouse suite. I rush around the supermarket and then head for the bottle shop for some booze and then remember the ribbon we need for the programmes and had to go back to the other end of the shopping mall again.
Next check into penthouse suite. Unfortunately they weren’t ready for us but I had to get the dress hung up. They were very understanding and the receptionist brought out a bell-hop trolley so we could carefully load it on. She promised it would be carefully laid out on the bed as soon as the room was ready.
Next job drop off grooms women who were staying around the corner in a twelftieth floor appartment with no lift and enough luggage to last an average family of four, six weeks - each.
Next go to Post Office and type out the programmes for tomorrows day from scratch. About an hour in I get a very annoyed call from Lins asking where the hell I was as she had finished at the beauty parlour - had her nails done, was tired of fannying around with her mother and wanted to lie down from exhaustion. I may have snapped my reply.
Programmes finished and printed out (after some playful jibes from the post office staff who were now used to one of us using their equipment for hours on end and putting our own special paper in their printers) I went to check-in finally. “Oh it says your room won’t be available until 2:30” the new receptionist said. I pointed out it was 3:25pm and she let me have the keys. I went to the lift where I bumped into a strange brown woman - oh hang on it’s Lins. We were only a room numbers away from her Mum so we figured it would be close. No - wrong lift, wrong floor, wrong area of the complex! We eventually found it though.
We went into the apartment and found the most gorgeous kitchen/diner and open plan living room. A bottle of champagne (well Australian sparkling anyway) was chilling on the side addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Williams from the hotel. We headed into what we thought was the bedroom but was actually a bathroom - again perfect in every way. So this door must lead to the Bedroom. We charged in to find two single beds. Hey - what - single beds this can’t be right - they know it is our wedding. Hang on where does this door lead - Bedroom number two. Seeing as we had booked a one bed roomed suite it was a bit surprising but a pleasant one. It had a double bed and a view onto the balcony. But no wedding dress. Where is the dress? We headed back into the living room and found yet another door. This lead into the master bedroom. A sea view, flat-panel TV, and doors lading to the biggest en-suite I have ever seen. It had a huge spa bath, shower, twin commodes everything. We had in fact been given a three bed roomed, two bath roomed apartment! Even better the dress was on the bed. But hang-on wasn ‘t there supposed to be a BBQ area on the balcony. That’s when we noticed the spiral staircase upstairs. On the roof we had an entertaining area with BBQ, hot-tub and table and chairs. We were really in heaven.
After we had stopped jumping up and down we realised we had about 20 minutes before the first guests were to arrive since I had given everyone some rather optimistic times. Gayle and Vics were first to arrive so I put them straight to work on the programmes. The rest of the guests arrived and soon everyone was enjoying the evening.
The Wedding Day
Russell - We awoke early and checked the weather straight away. It was tipping down and you couldn’t even see the ocean. Not a good start but nothing seemed to be taking the smile off Lins’ face so I was happy. It had all morning to lift right. We mooched around the apartment until Lins was finally sick of me and packed me off to the Grooms women’s place to get ready. As I walked down the street in Palm Cove the clouds broke and the sun came out. It was a perfect tropical morning and it was as if this mornings weather had never happened. I went around to the girls place to find it deserted. This isn’t good. I walk back to the beach and sit looking out to the ocean. After about 10 minutes I realise they aren’t walking up the beach and go back to their place to ask reception if they left a message. They hadn’t but the receptionist gave them a call and they were in - thank god! I dump my stuff and we head out to brunch. Over a lazy brunch we chat and enjoy the morning. People keep asking if I was nervous - not in the slightest - this is the best day ever.
At around 12 we decide it is time to get ready. Then the heavens open. As quickly as the rain had gone it returned and heavier than ever. We had to run back to our apartment. I was gutted, in this rain we would have to get married in the apartment rather than on the beach. The girls did their best to calm me down but I was just thinking of how gutted Lins would be that we wouldn’t be getting married on the beach like we dreamed. Then just as I was shaving the lights went out and I was standing in a dark bathroom. I shouted at the girls who pointed out that they hadn’t done anything. The power had gone out - not even the phones worked. I had to finish getting changed in the living room whilst the girls complained that they couldn’t see to do their make-up. I went down to reception to ask when it would be up. They didn’t know - the power had gone out in the whole Cairns area! Oh my god what about Lins’ make-up and hair and stuff.
The rain carried on but seemed to lighten as I left the girls to herd the guests and I went to pick Lins up from the apartment. At this point calm collected Russell, who despite everything had been standing by his post decided to take a holiday and leave freaked out Russell in charge. I suddenly knew what nerves felt like. I was walking up the street, dodging puddles, and freaking out. Could I remember my vows, could I remember my name - er I can’t remember.
I head up to the room and Lins mum won’t let me in. God damn tradition. Lins went and hid in her dressing room so I could pick up my button-hole and have the drink the Gill has poured me. I go back down to wait in the reception desperately trying remember my vows. Just then the taxi turns up twenty minutes early and I have to go over and explain that he’ll just have to wait. He doesn’t seemed pleased but frankly it is the least of my problems. I sit back down. A bunch of flowers arrive and the receptionists are playing with the delivery guy convincing him their name in is Lindsay. “Not really - I believe she is that gentleman’s future bride” she said pointing at me. “Would you like me to take them up to your room? And would you like a glass of water?” So I look as freaked out as I’m feeling “Yes and yes”
A few minutes later I notice everyone in the reception turning around and going “Wow!” Lins is coming around the corner. She looked so beautiful I wanted to run over and grab her before someone else claimed her. She smiled at me and asked if I was ready. It seems Calm collected Russell missed his flight as he immediately came back to take over. The weather had broken and the sun was out, tropical weather once more. We went out to the taxi and drove down the street. It seems Lins’ beauty softened the taxi driver too as he joked about getting some ribbon for the cab if he had known.
We arrived at the beach and our guests weren’t on the beach where they were supposed to be. Well they’ll miss the music. We get out and shoo everyone down to where the celebrant is standing. We slowly follow them enjoying every moment. The celebrant started proceedings and you know what was said next. I would like to point out that despite some photos I didn’t cry. And yes I remembered all my vows.
After the ceremony there was the toasts and of course the pictures. After the professional photographer had run out of pictures we still had more done by our guests as we walked back down the beach to get some more in different locations. I even got in a bit of wife carrying in the water! As we approached the apartment again a few drops of rain started to fall. By the time we had finished our first drink at the bar it was tipping down. We had had our two hour weather gap!
We moved to our dinner location and were a bit disappointed that we couldn’t eat on the beach as we hoped. The meal itself was superb even if the vegetarian starter had a meat garnish!!!
We returned to our apartment after the meal and drinks very very happy and that’s as much as I’m saying.
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Katherine
non-member comment
Congratulations
What a beautiful ceremony and fantastic pictures! Thank you for sharing it! It's amazing how much you feel part of it just reading the words and seeing you both so happy! Congratulations to you both! PS Mouchel Parkman is still missing you Lins!!!