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Published: July 16th 2008
So, how do you do it? How do you write about the most important day of your life and do it justice? I guess that that's why it's taken me more than 2 months to pull up a fresh page and try. I feel so inadequate. So, please, be patient with me as I try to relive the best moments of my life...
The day before had been pretty close to perfect. We'd spent lunch with my grandparents at a restraunt on a farm they once owned. They showed us were everything used to be... my Grannie's old bedroom, where the peach trees grew and then the old oak where my grandpa proposed. It was wonderful. So, feeling well fed, utterly relaxed and overflowing with love, we drove off to meet with some of our friends at Koelbaai Beach.
We stopped off briefly to collect a friend and 2 great big fish before we arrived at the campsite. My Dad and sisters (Vix, Ashleigh and Lani) had already been there for about an hour. (wow, thinking back, I find myself grinning from ear to ear...) We played around on the beach until the sun set and it was time
to pitch tents and set up the braai.
The coals glowed orange and red as we all sat around the braai watching the phosphoresence play in the waves. The smell of the fresh fish cooking slowly over the coals spilling into our noses and rumbling our stomachs... Soon our patience was rewarded with the best fish braai and salad dinner (Darrell is the fish braai master!), and finished with braaied choco-banana split. To date, it is still one of my favourite food memories!
I headed off to my beach side bridal chamber a little earlier than the others (a girl's got to get her rest before her big day and all that). As I lay there, listening to the bubbling conversation and spontaneous laughter outside, I could not have imagine a better way to spend our last day before the wedding.
...and then the rain...
It had been forcast for the last two weeks, the only day of rain predicted and, against all hopes, here it was.
It had started at about midnight and continued on in to the morning. That was the report from Darrell. He knew, his tent had a hole in it
and he and his best man spent the night not-quite-sleeping in a puddle. Bleary-eyed and slightly deflated, we started packing up. It must have been quite a sight, 15 people all completely drenched, bags drenched, hair matted, trying to wrestle their tents back from the wind, and motivating each other to be optimistic! Needless to say, we had to cancel our skottle breakfast. This was each man (or lady...) for him/herself weather!
I guess every girl has some idea of how they want their wedding to be. This was not it. Still, as we sat in the car, waiting for my mother to come and collect us, we knew that this was in God's hands. And like we'd discussed when we first found out that the ample heat might have abated on our wedding day, we had already been extremely blessed - we were getting married on a wine farm with all our closest friends and family after all - and no matter what the weather did, it would be the most beautiful day.
It was about an hour's drive to our cottage on the farm next door to the the wedding venue. My folks had hired it,
a last minute brainchild, as a convenient place for the bridal party to get changed, and to lessen the chances of us getting lost when it was time to drive to the ceremony!
As we were driving away from the coast, Ashleigh and Vix huddled up in the back with all the un-used food and camping paraphernelia, the rain seemed to ease. Then a bit more. And some more... and then (I ghasp) Darrell turned the windscreen wipers off! Although the clouds were still there, they were a lot less angry.
When Darrell eventually pulled onto the stone driveway to the main house, the sun was definitely trying very hard to get noticed! We met the owner of the farm who lead us to our cottage. (Turns out it was the old farm house!) He lead the way on foot, his dogs bounding way ahead of him and then back to our car, struggling to keep up on the farm road.
I said good bye to my fiance for the last time.
Ashleigh and Vix are the best sisters I could have ever wished for! The minute Darrell dropped us off, they moved in, scouted out
the house and started a bath. When I'd finished my goodbye's and came in, they were trying to figure out how to get the old stove working to make tea!
Lani was the next to arrive. As a tribute to the playing in the sea, then staying wet for ages while we bundu-bashed through the reserve in search of a shower, and getting to bed late.... she'd collected a rather nasty chest cold and was sniffing and dripping with elegance and beauty that only Lani could manage. Letting nothing get in her way, Lani set up beauty camp in the main bedroom and sat me down to get started on my hair and make up. Robyn and Mandi (two more of my lovely bridesmaids) arrived shortly afterwards, followed closely by the last of the party, Ali (bridesmaid lovely) and the Moms (champagne in tow!)
All in all it was a pretty festive time as we all readied ourselves for the wedding. Then... an unscheduled visitor... Darrell's brother had arrived with a bunch of all my favourite flowers 😊
The weather had cleared steadily over the morning, and half an hour before the wedding, there were blue skys!
It was brilliant!
Charnell (our photographer) arrived in time to document the last bits of the bridal party preparation. And then... it was time to go. I drove in Darrell's grandfather's car with my dad, grandfather-to-be-in-law and my Vix. The other girls rode on ahead.
In South African marriage law, you need to have the question "do you know any reason why you should not be joined to this man/woman" asked in a fixed building. This was a bit of a problem for us, as the wedding was supposed to be an outdoor wedding 😊 To get around this, we had decided that I would walk into the restaurant as soon as I arrived, our priest and long time family friend, Brian, would ask us the question there to satisfy the legalities, and then I'd go out and meet Darrell and our priest at our out-door alter. I really wanted Darrell to see me for the first time when I walked down the isle, and not inside the restaurant, so my bridesmaids walked me in behind a blanket!
The ground was still wet with rain, a reminder of how blessed we were to be having the wedding
outside. I remember Brian telling us which route we should try and walk to get to the front, the route with the least puddled route... but my breath had already been taken away, and I couldn't wait to see Darrell waiting for me under our canopy. Everyone was looking at us, my Dad holding my arm tightly and safely, the ground, cold and damp under my bare feet, the wind was blowing my veil to the side... my mouth was smiling more than it's ever smiled, and it only got bigger the closer we got to the front of the center passage.
...And there he was... He was smiling too.
Brian welcomed everyone, and opened the ceremony with a prayer. We all sat while Darrell's mom read from the Bible. Brian gave us a message, centering around what it means to be a 'living sacrifice' and concluding with the thought that we are each other's gift from God, and that being the steward of such a valuable gift, it is our responsibility to each other to help one another grow stronger and closer to Christ. My dad trusted me into Darrell's care.
We turned to face each
other, and Darrell promised with everything in him and with God's help, to love me as best as he can forever. The promises went straigt into my heart and I felt a cool trickle on my cheek, and it was my turn. When we'd practiced this a few days before, I couldn't get the works out of my mouth without choking on my tears. This time was different. This time, it was like something stronger than emotion took over, like everything in my body, my mind, and my spirit all called out at once for these promises to be made. I could hear the words move from my mouth boldly, undeniably. My soul was dancing. Brian pronounced us Husband and Wife.
We were married! We were Husband and Wife! 😊 God's gift to each other... The beginning!
I felt like we were floating, skipping, dancing back down the isle... Our family and friends were congradulating us and throwing petals in the air, they were happy too.
We were whisked off by Charnell for some photographs before the sun disappeared, so we climbed into Darrell's mom's Alpha Romeo and zooted up to the top of the wine farm.
Honestly, this was such a blessing. It was so great to spend some quiet time with Darrell. It was so intimate. Charnel was wonderful. She would tell us where to stand and what to do, but we didn't really notice her at all!
We were just about ready to start heading back when Charnel told us to look behind us... and there, in a perfect arc, was the biggest rainbow I've ever seen! God's beauty out-doing anything we could have planned. A gift greater than we could have ever expected! ...And then there was another one, just above the first! Two rainbows on our wedding day! Wow.
So now it really was time to head back. We climbed into our cars, and started down the road again. About 15 seconds later we were all out of the cars again! It was still a sunny, mostly cloudless sky, but small drops of rain had started to fall! ... In South Africa, when the sun shines while it's raining, we call it a Monkey's Wedding! 😊
It was time to join our family and friends at the party.
Everyone was stand as we entered the room. The new
Mr and Mrs Lizamore 😊 Darrell's Dad said grace for us, and starters were served.
Speeches were made by my dad, Peter and George (Darrell's brother and best friend), and Darrell 😊 ...all of which were incrediably special... and then, when I thought it was impossible to feel more spoiled by words, Peter and Mandi put them to music and performed 'You belong to me' by Jason Wade (Lifehouse). I thought my heart would explode with joy...
Dinner was served, and then pudding... and Darrell and I danced our first dance to 'They danced alone' by Matthew West, and again I was floating 😊 To be in his arms is the safest, happiest place I know. The song we danced to has a long history with us, and almost tells our story about how we met at school, through a school dance... we grew closer over the years, always dancing slightly off the rhythm, and now here we were, having just 'sealed our promise with a kiss' and 'dancing alone' in the center of the room. 😊
Ooh, the garters!! 😊 The florist didn't want me to throw my white wedding boquet, so she made a smaller
one for the sole purpose of being hurled over my shoulder to the mosh pit behind me MANDI and KIM! ...then with the bigger wedding boquet, we borrowed an idea from a friend and called up all the married women onto the dance floor, and slowly eliminated the ladies one at a time (me first 😞 from earliest married to longest married. The longest married couple at the wedding was Darrell's Ouma and Oupa with a heroic 47 years 😊 Congradulations! Darrell completed the tradition by reaching up my skirt and pulling my garter (hand made by mum! ...as was the wedding cake!!) and tossing it over his shoulder for the bachelors to squabble over 😊 good fun!
It was all wedding cake and dancing and a whole lot of festivity after that. What a day!
I don't think I could have imagined a better day. From the rain in the morning (if it didn't rain, Darrell wouldn't have been able to finishing sorting out everything he needed to before the wedding, leaving early, he got back with only 45 minutes to get ready for the wedding!) to the sore feet from dancing all night.... I am one
very blessed and joy filled girl.
Thank you to everyone who pulled together to make it (excuse the cheesey) the best day of my life.
It truely was.
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Landi
non-member comment
happiness
Loved reading about the wedding. So sad that I didnt make it back to SA in time for it. I felt a little emotional reading it. Hope one day I find true love like you guys did. So happy for you two.