1 sleep...

Let the pampering begin! Trav snoozed in bed while I got up bright and early to greet  Jodie, Nick's gorgeous wife who would our manicures and pedicures. Soon after 9 we were set up next to the pool and my transformation began. Kate kept me company and I started to feel nervy all over again. I appreciated that feeling, it wasn't apprehension, I wasn't nauseous, I certainly wasn't worried about my decision and I wasn't worried about anything going wrong and I knew that everyone in attendance tomorrow was there in love and support, it was just butterflies. But not feeling those butterflies would have been a shame. I would have missed out on all that anticipation. So I sighed. Kate gave me a look.

I sighed again, Kate laughed. Jodie said 'She'll be doing that all day, now' Kate threatened to start counting!

Soon Michelle, Andrea and Tamra appeared and we all relaxed and chatted by the pool. As soon as I was done, I rallied a few girls to help with the ribbons and lanterns for the chapel while I enjoyed Kate's tasty tomato and bacon omelette.

Later on I finally began to experience one of the things I'd been so desperately looking forward to - as I wandered down Macrossan street I bumped into so many friends and family - there's Jason - there's Louise and Eileen at Mango Jam!? I picked up Michelle's birthday cupcake from Sugarloaf and on the way home caught up to Daniel and Kim - I explained that it was a suprise for my sister and of course, who do we see coming towards us next? Michelle and Ryan!

'What've you got there?' 'What is it?' 'Show me' she reminded me of a seagull as I dodged around the boys to keep the box hidden!  

Trav and I made the most of a spare half an hour and snuck off to practice our dance a few times - whoever was living in the hotel opposite our park would have been well entertained!

Soon it was rehearsal time, we met our family and bridal party at St Mary's Chapel and hung back a bit as there was another wedding having their photos out the front after their ceremony. Funnily, I hadn't ever seen another wedding there in all the time I've visited. We met Shobha and all walked into the chapel. We started by practicing our entrance to the music (Louise had to get comfortable with being the first in line), I couldn't even pick the timing which I'd known so well until this day. Michelle told everyone to walk left-together-right-together and when we finally reached the alter Deborah read through a few lines of the introduction and we ran through the sand ceremony. We were all a bit fumbly so Michelle,  lounged across the front pew and obviously unimpressed, drawled 'd'ya wanna take that from the top?'. Aaah did I tell you she's a wedding coordinator too?

When the time came to be given away, Marian and Egan stood up and said 'Ummmm, hmmmm, I don't know...' and everyone was in fits of laughter, - apparently my expression was priceless!

James used Egan's hat as a ring cushion and soon we were making our way back down the aisle together. The girls and I practiced our entrance one more time - Michelle seemed much more satisified with this effort and I remember it was timed so beautifully that Trav took my hands in his on the final note of the verse. It was just lovely.

We made our way to Lure to meet Kylie, Wayne and Nick - and soon I saw a familiar face sitting waterside. I came up behind her with a big HELLO and Aunty Irene turned around in suprise - Aunty Yarg, Uncle George and Aunty Halina were also there. It was a great reunion!

Trav and I returned to our room before dinner to write our thank you cards, and soon Uncle Les dropped in to say hello. I gave him his special handkerchief and he almost cried right there. He agreed to join us for dinner and soon we met everyone else on the balcony of the Courthouse Hotel. It was very hard getting everyone to be seated at once and soon I noticed that Tamra and Kate had disappeared. I found them downstairs in the queue to order their meals. I tried asking them to come upstairs because if we all ordered at different times we'd get our meals at different times, they didn't seem to catch on too quickly. 'OK look, Trav and I would like to buy everyone's meals tonight so can you please come back upstairs so we can all order together??' Yep, they got it that time.

After our orders were taken, while everyone was still seated, I shakily stood up and said
'Travis and I have invited you to join us tonight so we can thank you for all your love and support so far. It really means a lot to us' (yeah that's about as far as I got before my voice cracked and a single tear welled up in my eye). One by one, I picked a gift our of the bag and asked Trav for the card, before presenting each and every person on that table with their special thank you.
Michelle said, 'It's not another postcard is it?' and made me laugh, giving me instant relief from my emotional state. Stacey was absolutley wrapt with her tinkerbell bracelet and put it on straight away, Deborah loved her card holder, pointing out to me her namesake, the bee on the front.
Kate and Michelle loved their pearl pendants but both were concerned with wearing them at the wedding, I'd seen the jewellery they'd both selected for their outfits already and assured them that they didn't have to - they might just like to wear it to the ceremony and then change for the reception. James was amazed that we'd known the exact specs for his camera and was looking forward to learning how to use the new lens. When I gave Anthony and Daniel their gifts I told them, 'Now one is to wear tomorrow, and one is for later - try to work out which is which'. Anthony soon came up to me presenting the pink string his gift was wrapped in and said, 'is this for tomorrow?' with his big grin.

Tamra and Louise were thrilled with their bags, I confessed that Mum had helped me a lot with making them and they were very excited to see their names on the inside.
Our parents received their cards and handkerchiefs, and we explained to both that we couldn't think up anything that would be enough to thank them, so we'd present them with an album each later on. Everyone's meals were delicious and we were a bit late heading downstairs to meet all the other guests. We took over 2 long tables on Wharf street and soon about 50 guests had joined us and we all chatted and laughed for a while. From across the other table Susan looked at me and said 'I know something you don't - there's a surprise at the ceremony tomorrow'. From this point a tiny thought grew at the back of my head, 'if he comes to the ceremony, would he really tell anyone? Would anyone really tease me with this? Would he really come?'. I never did find out what the ceremony surprise was.
By 9:30 I wanted to get out of there and try to get a long night's sleep. I walked home with mum after giving Trav a good-bye kiss. I hoped he wouldn't stay out too late and regret it tomorrow, but I didn't say a word.

I had to laugh when Kate told me that Michelle had been in a fluster before the rehearsal, worrying that she might be late. Well Mich - why don't you just take a look at that running sheet you didn't want to read!


The Groom's View:

After saying goodnight to Christie we stayed at the courthouse for a little longer and a couple more drinks. We then ended up at The Iron Bar. Before /i knew it I was receiving all different types of drinks from everyone. Shots and cocktails and beers and even a water. We stayed out a little later than i'd planned, but it was still a fun night. Anthony told me that he told all the staff to refuse me service and he was the only one allowed to get me drinks.

2 sleeps...thank you Mike!

I woke up on Wednesday feeling no better, even after a solid night's sleep and yesterday's dip in the pool. Toni suggested a couple of masseurs who might be able to straighten me up a bit and I headed down Macrossan street to find either of them.

Michael Joseph at Deep Massage & Body Work was just opening the door when I arrived. He stood at about 6'6" and his friendly grin quickly turned upside down when he saw me try to sit down to arrange an appointment.

'So do you know what you want?'

'Well I'm getting married in 2 days and I can't stand up or sit down or even walk without feeling like a 90 year old' I blurted. He asked a couple more questions before declaring it was Quadratus Lomborum, and the good news is that it's easily treatable. Phew!
I headed across the road to pick up a couple of coffees from rehab. This place has the best reputation in town and I couldn't resist a pair of 'Outpatient' stubby holders. Like most places in QLD- you wouldn't want to be in a rush but the coffees were terrific and definitely worth the wait.

When I came back an hour later for the appointment Mike showed me the problem on the muscular chart and I learned about why it was starting to affect my legs and upper back. Generally if your lower back is sore, it means your thigh muscles are already tight as they've been carrying the weight. And as you try to brace yourself and distribute the weight away from your lower back, that's when your upper back starts to carry the extra, so it gets sore too. We started with 2 amazing but excruciating stretches that I was only allowed to use sparingly, before Mike got to work on a very strong 1 hour massage. It hurt. He knew. I winced and tried to bear it in the hope that I would improve faster. I have never felt that kind of power in knuckles or elbows ever before! I'd just try to brace myself as he repeated the movements. As an extra special treat, he put some hot stones under my back ('just because you're getting married').

When I stood up, I wasn't cured but I felt a lot better. I could even reach down and put my shoes on!

When I got back to our Villa Trav was content munching on his sandwich and as Michelle and Ryan had gone to Cairns for the night I persuaded Mum to join me for a bucket of prawns and bubbly on the decks of the Tin Shed. http://www.thetinshed-portdouglas.com.au/

Not to be confused with the Iron Bar, the Tin Shed is home to the Port Douglas Combined Club, and with a deck over the water, it's a lovely spot for a meal. Mum and I enjoyed our indulgent lunch - we'd been talking about fresh prawns for so long that it was about time we ate them! They were small but so sweet and juicy!

After the obligatory photos, we started making our way back home and I heard from Louise and Deborah that they had finally arrived. The first thing I did was knock on Deborah's door until Coral answered - explaining that Deborah was upstairs in bed, ill with a serious chest infection! Ooops. I retreated quietly and Mum, Trav and I prepared welcome drinks for the McIntosh's who would arrive soon. We greeted them with beer and bubbly (not that they hadn't already started on the way from Cairns of course!!).

It didn't take long for them to join us in the pool for the afternoon.



The skies greyed as we headed over to the beach for our first guest meet up - it started to drizzle! Spirits still high, we madly texted everyone we could think of, inviting them back to Coral Seas instead. Soon people started wandering up the driveway - there was Louise and Daniel, Eileen & Kim and Tracy and Dean! Dennis and Robyn - Kat and Matt and David and Andrea... more and more familiar faces appeared and  we all toasted the beginning of this exciting adventure with drinks and snacks.

As dusk approached, the rain cleared and we found ourselves at the beach afterall, the boys kicking the footy and Kate and I wandered off to check out a hidden path through the trees.

We met most guests at the Iron Bar again that night, this time with tickets to see the Cane Toad Races. Our friend Nick wasn't running them but it was still a hoot. Kat got up, as did Dean and Kate - I'll never forget when the MC coaxed Kate towards the bucket (again) to pick up her toad, then madly shook the bucket causing her to squeal!

We stayed around for the band and had a few dances but moved on soon after as they weren't taking our requests! Next stop - the Courthouse Hotel where an accoustic performer was playing downstairs...SOMEONE kept refreshing my glass after every sip and I quickly decided I'd had just about enough for one evening. On the way back home Trav and I did an awful practice of our dance in the Port Village courtyard.

3 sleeps... Michelle's Birthday

Everytime I tried to roll over last night I’d see another hour on the clock, finally finally it was time to get up. My dream hadn’t been quite as difficult as the night before, I think I was chasing someone on my bike.

I laid there for another minute or two, trying to feel if my back had miraculously improved, I really didn’t want to sit in cattle class for 3 hours as I was. No such luck, another smearing of Voltaren at least it’s not so stinky) and we were off.

Marian dropped us of at Tullamarine by about 5am – this was the time we had planned to leave originally! No sooner had we stepped out of the car than we heard ‘Hello Wendy’ and Leon, Kylie and Louise were at our side. This was it! It was all starting, just like I’d imagined for so long. We all lined up for check-in, I was mentally calculating how much extra we’d be charged as Anthony and his family walked up!

We got through check-in with a friendly warning and then held our breath as we approached the X-Ray for cabin baggage. We were nearly through…. Ahhhh sigh of relief, not an eyebrow was raised as all our bags, containing liquids, crystal glasses etc went through. It’s coffee time!

I was feeling kinda woozy at this stage, just nerves? I don’t mind flying, that wasn’t it… maybe its that ‘we’re getting away with this feeling’ – nothing wrong with that!

Finally we boarded our flight and the flight attendant asked to sneak a peek at my dress on the way out – Trav laid our clothes along the lockers as well as possibly, but there wasn’t much room. I got the window seat, with Trav in the middle and Mum on the aisle. 

As the sun rose in the east, we were able to enjoy the view from the left side of the plane. Mly about 20 minutes after take off the pilot announced that we should be arriving about 15 minues earlier that schedule – this was getting better and better! I read, did brainteasers, tried to sleep. Tried to stretch. Tried to sleep. 

We touched down at 9:10 – 25 minutes early and as we walked off the plane we got our first mouthful of that heavy, warm Cairns air. As we were finding our luggage on the carousels I handed out everyone’s welcome postcards – they were thrilled (I added Jason to Megan’s card before realizing I had spares, I just hadn’t had the time to rewrite his sans Alisha).

I waited with the bags while Trav and Mum picked up the hire car and soon we’d stopped off at 1^st choice and Coles and were finally on the Captain Cook Highway, paradise-bound.

It was amazing to be driving past all these familiar landmarks, the Sky Rail, go karts and crocodile farm – especially with Mum in the car too. I just kept turning to Travis in complete awe – we were actually doing this!

Rolling into Port Douglas we did a short tour before pulling into Coral Sea Villas. Bruno was out the front and I gave him a big hug. Our room was ready so we loaded everything in and also met their daughters Joni and Ella.

We wandered into town and dropped off the rest of the postcards, stopping to visit Shaun and show mum the Chapel on the way.

Finally, it was time to open a bottle of bubbly and celebrate! We took a dip in the pool (yes it was a cloudy day and I still went it) in the hope that it might relieve my back pain but once again, no luck.

By the time Michelle and Ryan pulled up Trav and I headed to Lure to go through a few things with Wayne and drop off all the supplies. Wayne talked us through where the tables might go, and a few other details and I was amazed at just how blasé I was about it all, nothing really bothered me and I couldn’t make a decision. His only bad news was that he couldn’t get any of our first preference wines – which also didn’t phase my in the slightest. We agreed we’d either meet him or Kylie on Thursday and Nick might come along too.

We raced back up to Coral Seas for a quick change and to pick the others up for dinner at the Iron Bar. With relief I heard Ryan grumbling that they’re always late in Charleville too, ha ha can’t blame me this time!

I marched down Macrossan st with Trav threatening to give me a ticket if I didn’t slow down to a meander. I guess I was still easing into Queensland time.

Leon, Kylie and Louise as well as Lara & Tennille were all out the front and we took our seats. Mmmm the scallops were good, if only I’d ordered two servings! As it turned out I got to polish off the chips so we were all happy. 

We all wished Michelle a happy birthday and then halfway through dinner a flustered waitress ducked under our table in pursuit of a cane toad! Leon had felt something wet on his leg but thought it might be a dog’s nose.

Needless to say we all squealed and pulled our knees up to our chins as the cane toad was caught and returned to his bucket. We saw the start of Nick’s cane toad show but everyone was exhausted so we called it a night.

Mum Michelle and Ryan joined us in our room and Michelle and Mum helped me with scroll ribbons while Trav and Ryan made the little lanterns… I went to bed hoping like crazy that I’d wake up feeling 29, not 99!

4 sleeps... crazy

Well I know I was feeling calm yesterday but after a shocking night's sleep and a couple of odd dreams, I woke up edgy, nervy and shaky.

In my first dream I got to hug Michael Buble (I know I know) but in the second dream I was trying to put our suitcases into our room though the upstairs window (which had a pool as a balcony so that didn't help at all).

I was so worried about forgetting all sorts of things and still had a few things to tie up - print the menus, get the wine list from Lure, send out running sheets to our dream team, print copies for us, make the reception music cd, do washing, change the sheets pack our toiletries and Trav still hadn't sorted out his shirt. 

It was lunchtime. All I did was lean over to grab a tea towel and BAM! A piercing pain went through my back and from then on I was walking like an 80 year old. For no apparent reason my old lower back pain returned – just as Trav’s neck improved. He gave it to my back from his neck he said…

After lunch I was feeling a bit more relaxed about our to-do list, but maybe that’s because my attention had moved to my back instead. We managed to get away by 3:30, and after a short stop at highpoint for some last minute essentials we were finally on our way to Sunbury.

We started shuffling our suitcases with Mum’s stuff, whatever way we looked at it we were about 4 kilos over our limit. Time to have dinner with the McIntosh’s before we reassess. It was such a lovely evening, Mum proposed a toast to how well we all get along (compared to some In-Law stories) and we all agreed that we’d had a great time planning it all. A delicious roast chicken and vegie dinner was the perfect comfort meal for our last Melbourne night!

My back was still holding me back, even after a few sprays of Deep Heat and more Voltaren…please please go away.

Back at Mum’s she and Trav maneuvered our holiday packing again while I took a nice warm shower. We agreed to be up by 4 and out the door by 4:30 and were in bed around 10.

I'm still feeling really panicky - just want to be as relaxed as I was yesterday - I hope it goes away soon...

5 sleeps... Rossi goes on holidays

On Sunday morning I woke up after a brilliant sleep. Long, warm and no noise to wake us up too early - just Rossi's gentle snoring.

He must have sensed something was going on because he didn't touch his breakfast at all. After a trip to officeworks and spotlight, we headed down to Grovedale to deliver him to Lynne, his breeder who was looking forward to having him stay. We went through his medicines and routine and Lynne promised to take a photo if he snuggled up with Bella.

Rossi was looking very confused as we kissed him goodbye and drove away.

I dropped in for a cocoa with Tamra on the way home and chatted to Louise after our delicious dinner of steak with caramelised onions and duck fat potatoes. Yummy!

6 sleeps... slow it down

I know I'm relaxing when I have a bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine next to me as I write this on Trav's latop in bed!

I had the best sleep last night, Rossi was snoring peacefully and we weren't woken up by the sound of a skip at 7am. But what a typical Melbourne winter, I took both my umbrella and sunglasses along when I wandered down to Waxed & Relaxed for a morning of beauty treatments, and I needed both!

We dropped into North Melbourne to pick up my shoes before heading to Essendon, nice and early for our massages. We ducked into a factory outlet while we were waiting and I sent Kate some pics of cute silver sandals - it's been so much fun helping lots of guests with their outfits - from going shopping with Mum, shopping with Deborah and joining Kat for her high-heel training!


The massage was just lovely, my mind was still busy but I did my very best to concentrate on nothing else but the music and the hands. Our neck, back, shoulders and legs were all massaged and I wondered how Trav was going with the foot massage - he later told me that they'd skipped that after all, how did she know??
At the end a steaming hot towel was put on my back to soak up the oil - bliss!

We walked out of there completely relaxed.

We spent the evening packing everything into our suitcases, and with the help of Kat's scales, found that there would be some shuffling to do at Mum's place - we were pretty close to our quota, even though I was sure the scales were adding a few extra kilos!

7 sleeps... running around town

What an action-packed day! It was one of those days that, when you climb into bed at the end of it all, you can't quite believe what you were doing at the beginning.

We woke up to the sound of construction works across the road, our sleep-in was shortlived - even though I was covering our ears with my hands.

We had a difficut start this morning, when Trav came downstairs in the morning he just caught Rossi having another seizure. We were both there together for the first time. I'm sure the last one was in April, which scares me because it's reoccured a lot faster than all the others. What else can we possibly try that might help our little man?

Once we'd all recovered from the rough morning, Trav and I headed into town where I met Kate at Brides of Melbourne for my FINAL try-on and dress pick-up. Once again I was so glad to have company. An overly smiley assistant named Cath helped me into the fitting room and all she could tell me was that it was all done. Hmmm, I asked to see Allison for my own peace of mind.

Before I even put the dress on I noticed just how nice it looked inside - they'd taken the cups and sewn them inside the lining, rather that leaving them tacked on as Wendy's team had. Bonus points!

This time I didn't even bother taking my leggings off and I stepped out of the fitting room to see Louisa for the very last time. She had no idea what had happened that week and as I took my final 'walk' she declared that my husband would run down the aisle to me!

Allison came out and confirmed that they'd fixed up the skirt without a problem and Kate and I could see with great relief that the skirt was very even, and the front lace panel had been moved up to match. Satisfied, I arranged to pick up the dress later that morning.

As Kate reluctantly returned up the hill to work, I met Trav at ADC and we wandered over to Laurent for a breakfast of croissants and lattes.

It was 11:30 by the time we arrived at Arthur Murray unannounced (for the first time today), the studio was closed and dark, we could hear the phone ringing and the answering machine kick in as we waited, deciding what to do. It was a bit surprising considering they advertised 10am to 10pm opening hours.

I returned to Brides of Melbourne with Travis, who graciously turned around as I inspected my gown to make sure it was indeed mine. He asked whether the puffy sleeves were being sent up directly, and quipped that he'd seen the road train carrying the rest of the dress leave this morning. 

Trav offered to carry it for the first couple of minutes, before deciding that it wasn't doing much for his image and promptly swapping it for the bag containing our dancing shoes. I suggested that any young lady would melt at the sight of him carrying a VID (very important dress) and he agreed that they would sigh with regret that another good man was about to be off the market - why else would Louise and Tamra be wearing black dresses??

Our day continued with a visit to the Collingwood Football Club, where I luckily rescued one of the groomsmen's gifts from the Australia Post bag, only to find that they'd packed the wrong size, talk about timing! Next up - Boyles dance shoe store in Prahan, after finding that all the heel grips were still too big for my heels, we took their advice and headed to a shoe repair store in North Melbourne who would replace the cheap plastic heels with rubber-absolutely-non-slip ones.

We scoffed our pork rolls at home on the couch before I headed up the highway to see mum. Without time to try on the dress, we laid it out and were happy to see that the semicircles matched up this time. Crisis officially over.

Mum showed me the finishing touches she'd put on our little project and then I spent the rest of the afternoon with Kimberly of Karma Hairdressing, we set a date for my PWC (Post Wedding Chop) and Kimberley almost had a tear in her eye as she recalled my wedding gown and wished us all the very best. My colour was finished in record time - apparently it does take a lot faster if the client has a lot going on at the time. Our carefully planned colouring hit a high - we were both really excited with the result and I walked out of there positively beaming.

Hitting the highway I hoped I'd make it in time to catch a few of Trav's workmates before their drinks wrapped up and their long weekend began....
On the way I got a fair ribbing from Louise about my 'to-the-minute' running sheet but have to say, it was load off my mind when I sent it out. I knew that it meant I wasn't the only one who knows what's going on next week and I'll be able to happily put down my memory stick and pick up a Mango Daiquiri as I resign from my wedding coordinator role and Trav steps down from his TRAVel agent role!

Arriving at VU about 7pm, there were a couple of guys left and we chuckled over a drink with Dan, Warren (the fijian-indian), Trish and Mick before making our way back to the car.

Walking down the hill, Trav said the words "I think if we knocked out 2 good practices at home, why don't we go into the city."

....it took me a few seconds to understant what he meant. I
d totally forgot that we'd originally been asked along to the social night to peform our wedding dance tonight...he actually wanted to do it. He'd originally written it ff because he thought he;d havve too many drinls and didn't even expect to ave the bus-stop under control let alone our routine!

'Are you sure???" I panicked... he confessed he'd been feeling really low about our last practice and wanted to really show Sim that we knew wht we were doing. "OK" I offered, unconvincingly.

t home we moved the couches >again< and practiced. and practiced. and practiced. Rossi was under our feet so Trav moved him and hi bed to the couch and we practiced aain. and AGAIN.

To be percetly honest, after the fist 4, I didn't think we were readyu at all to make the trip downtown, but we persisted and after knocking out 2 good ones, I changed and we were in the car headed for Bourke st.

I couldn't believe he was serious! My Trav doesnt dance until I beg him, i started to feel like the whole night was a deam, my Trav - draging me onto the dancefloor, on a night we'd already declined once. I started to feel like I was in the end of 'Shall we dance' when Mr Clark showed up unanounced at the going away party...

I was still aving trouble believing it as we drvove into town, I was thinking to myself, "this will either be a xomplete success or a complete flop, it's up to us".

We stepped into the elevator. pressed "M" for Mezzanine. We could hear the music as soon as the elevator door opened. We looked at each other. This was it. I pushed open the door, my bag got caught as Francesca looked up from her group class and said

OH
MY
GOD
This couple will be presenting their wedding routine to us tonight!!!


The next hour was all practice, and again, and again. We did really well only a few minor slips and were both feeling very confident....

We were both having a ball, and soon enough we were on. We completed the routine to applause and there was only one time when I'd skipped half a step so we'd finished about 2 seconds before the music. Sim was so proud of us and Francesca walked in just as we'd finished - after all that excitement!

It was about 9:15 by the time we headed over to the dumpling place for a late dinner. It was the same one we'd dined at after our very first lesson too!

Disclaimer: Any typos are due to the fact I was using Trav's Mac rather than a standard keyboard. live with it.

8 sleeps...I'm on holidays!

I was thrilled to be able to bring some cheese along when we visted Kate, it was her last night in a gorgeous little weatherboard house she was looking after for a friend.

We relaxed over a couple of beers and Kate, my city sister, presented me with a very familiar and exciting looking yellow paper bag. Anyone who knows me knows I have a thing for Lush! And Kate knows just how hard it is for me to visit the store now that I'm not working in town - inside was a 'Figs & Leaves' soap to use while we're away!

Oh Kate! You're a woman after my own heart! Big Hugs to you! We all marvelled at the fact that this time, in a week we'd be enjoying dinner on the balcony of the Courthouse Hotel after the rehearsal. Kate showed us her gorgeous dress and necklace she'd picked out and I decided she definitely needed to try out my silver sandals.

It's these casual, lingering catch ups that I love the most.

Soon it was time to head home, Travis whipped up some delicious chicken, avocado and punkin pies for us and I celebrated the start of my holidays by cracking a bottle of bubbly, (and finishing the whole thing!).

What a guy, can you see why I'm marrying him?

I had a little surprise in store for him later on that night...

8 sleeps...handover (letting-go) time

My last afternoon at work was a strange one, my team were all in meetings until 3pm so I tried to keep myself busy and caught up with Belinda and Jess. Belinda reminded me that if I started getting agitated, i should think of how she regrets her attitude on the day and wishes she could have been nicer to everyone. She cant't have that time again and I much prefer to learn from others' mistakes.

Jess was very impressed with our sewing efforts and Callum, Sarah and Leon all dropped in to wish me well too.

After everyone returned to the office it still wasn't until about 4:15 that we popped the champagne (yes - Laurent Perrier!) and enjoyed some Tarago River cheese.

Joanne was just like a proud mum when she said the words 'Christie, you're a very special person' and  presented me with a beautiful card and gift, which happens to be Matthew Evans' The Real Food Companion cook book! Now that she saw how excited I was she promised they would all sign it when I returned. I was so touched - and then Kyle ducked out and returned with a big beautiful bunch of orienal lilies, gerberas and other beauties! He confessed that they'd been surviving on mugs of water, hiding in his car since yesterday as we'd postponed the handover. Their words in the card were so touching and we had a lively chat about mothers taking too many photos, whether we were sleeping apart the night before and how my hair trial went. I explained my philosophy of being quite flexible during these last few days, so that there would be less things likely to upset me by the time the 18th rolls around. All I hear is how fast the time goes and I just want to be sure Im soaking up every minute.

I handed everyone their printed, highlighted copy of my handover notes and funnily enough no one had any questions - once again I put this organisation down to taking plenty of time to plan and prepare. Of course I still desperately hope that i haven't forgotten anything but that seems to just be human nature.

Travis arrived soon after and got to meet Kyle, before we headed off to see Kate in Kensington...

8 sleeps ... getting giddy

...heart's beating fast...

9 sleeps...

More cards and a gift!

After a  work day that absolutely dragged, we met family and friends for dinner in Sunbury. It was lovely to see Michael before we leave for QLD and Marc and Amanda came along with Susan and Gary as well.


Susan presented us with a stunning handmade fabric card that she has embroidered herself using gold and silver thread and sequins from the lace on my dress. We opened it and there was a picture of St Mary's Chapel with our invitation wording printed across it, there was also an embroidery of the chapel and an embroidered message to us - complete with our little monogram that I'd come up with! There was also a little pocket made from the fabric of my dress which held some $.


Then we received our gift - an amazing tin chapel/birdcage that holds 3 candles. Susan said she could see this in our garden but I think it will look beautiful in our entrance until the weather improves!


It was such a nice evening to share with everyone and I think we might even be lucky enough to see the ring cushion at the rehearsal - I just know I'll hardly see it on the day and want to be able to really appreciate it beforehand!


Eight sleeps to go and today is my last day at work. It's kind of sad to think that everything I've been running through my head, how we'll spend each day up there and all the plans we've made for a wonderful wedding are almost here. It's exciting but I really do think that looking forward to something is almost as good as actually getting it. 


I hope we take the time to relax and really soak everything up. I know the days will go fast and won't always go as I've imagined, but I've got a feeling they'll be better than I could ever have hoped for. Just go with it. Everyone will finally be up there together as we've all been preparing for and we'll all be ready for our 'winter holiday'.


You can't plan things forever, they eventually come around and become real memories, not just wishful thoughts. We've prepared well, we're not expecting a perfect day and I think we've allowed a lot of flexibility so nothing can go too 'wrong' on the day.


Yes I think it's finally time to kick back and relax and allow all this planning and imagining to become reality...

warm wishes

Hi Christie,

I’m so excited for you!!!  Are you putting disposable cameras on each table? The “unprofessional” shots can turn out to be so funny.

It wasn’t until a week later after my first wedding that I found out what went on after we left, the staff at the reception centre joined the remaining few and were dancing on tables etc.....lol would have been sooooo funny to see that.

I hear that it is quite lovely up around that area – lots of beaches and sunshine

Delegate as much as possible on the actual day because with all the emotion etc it can take on a dream quality.

Damien, Frans and the crew also send their best wishes.

Lorraine

Trav's new look

Today is Trav's first day of leave! And it's going to be a busy on - dropped me off at work, met his dad at Formal Red for his suit fitting (he tells me he looks positively SMASHING!), a leisurely brunch together, back home, orthodontist at 4 to remove top front braces (!!) and then the dentist for a good clean. When I meet him in Moonee Ponds at 6 he'll be a new man! (for 2 weeks anyway, then those grills will go back on until February).

So with all the extra things I've asked him to do, there's be no rest for this guy on his first day off... he'd have less to do at work!

Mum came over last night to help me finish a little project or two, and tonight we're enjoying dinner with Susan, Gary, Marian, Egan, Mum and Michael.

10 sleeps

I knew there would be a moment when I just started to chill and it happened today. 

I’m feeling really calm now. Funny – it’s all the extra fluff that goes with it (reception) that worried me more than the actual ‘marrying’ part – I only just confirmed our flower selections and there may be one less guest attending which we might not find out until we arrive in Port Douglas but all that is just fading right away now too - I only need Trav, Deborah, Me and our witnesses to get married. All the rest of it can just roll along however it will on the day.

I saw my naturopath this morning and she is only about 5% concerned that I might 'crash' after the wedding - I'm sure it's natural to feel like something's missing after it's all over and you return home again but I know we've got so many things to look forward to that I'm not too concerned about it. We've got a week and a half at home and we're looking after Dudley for most of it. We've got a European holiday to plan and all sorts of other exciting things!

I dropped into Passionfoods today at Sharlene's request and they gave me a gift that Sharlene said she just cannot live without now that she has one. She said that she hopes I would love it and find it as useful as she does!

Yollie was there too and they both reminded me to just enjoy all of it. The attention, the fussing - 'this is the only day you'll have absolute exclusivity! It's all about you!' Sharlene said.

Diary of a Bride

So what does a Bride do with 10 days left until her big day? Surely she relaxes, takes it easy with lots of baths and early nights? I wish! Considering we had nothing booked except for dancing and a haircut at the start of the week, here's what we've got on now...

Monday: Last minute alterations at Brides of Melbourne, and last dance lessons at Arthur Murray

Tuesday: Mum is coming over to help me finish some little projects, drop into PassionFoods at lunchtime

Wednesday: We've been invited out for dinner with Trav's parents and their close friends

Thursday: Christie work drinks, and visiting Kathryn at her gorgeous house-sit in Kensington

That's right - beautification starts way before the day! I was so excited to book in our massages for Saturday (and the 20% discount makes it that little bit sweeter!) Notice the 10pm appointments? I've set that for all week, let's see how many I can achieve!

Crisis averted (hopefully!)

Soon enough the working day ended and I met Kathryn and Louise on the steps of the GPO.

As we walked into Brides of Melbourne Allison greeted us immediately and showed me to a fitting room. She was cool, she was calm and no-fuss. (I bet she knows how to handle bridezillas!)

In the fitting room I stayed calm and said I just couldn't believe none of us had noticed this difference - Allison said it was a common occurrence - usually the top half of the dress gets all the fussing. She just made me feel comfortable immediately and even helped me into my shoes.

I stared into the mirror as Allison spread out the skirt, pinning and measuring. She wasn't phased with raising the hem - it would only be a problem if I wanted it lower! With Louise and Kathryn looking on we agreed on the length of the front left side and as Allison measured the length of the skirt from the left and right bodice seams, we noticed more than a couple of inches difference - the left side of the skirt was at least 8 inches longer! That's not a circle! Allison promised to measure the whole gown to ensure it was even and she is even removing the lace on the front and resewing it after the hem is raised - I seriously thought she'd just trim the bottom!

I mentioned that I hadn't spoken to Wendy yet and she said she'd give her a call.

Leaving my dress in the fitting room, I approached the counter where we locked in 10:30 am Friday for final fitting and pick up - and it will be freshly pressed too.

Phew! I walked out of there confident but relieved that I'd brought along reinforcements.

I quietly sipped my tea at Grossi while waiting to meet Trav at our last dance lesson.

The practice class was great - we worked on basic foxtrot and rumba steps, underarm turns (with proper arms) and my favourite - swivels!

We enjoyed pizza at Tono's and service was lightning fast this time, it was fitting that we'd started here 9 weeks ago and were ending here - with a much better experience!

Our private class had it's ups and downs, we concentrated hard on the ending and it's now looking lovely - we still had the odd slip up or two during the routine but as long as Trav doesn't get that 'I just stepped in dog-poo' look on his face no one will be any wiser.

We practiced again and again and worked on the timing at the start, our arms and smoothing the whole routine. We then performed it for Sim, Francesca, Andrew and a couple of the other students and it instantly felt different - my mouth was so dry! The feeling of people watching was so unnerving, Trav said the whole time he was thinking that Sim was disappointed, then he'd miss a step - tell himself off and miss another one - the poor thing really got worked up. We'll take it easy with the practice I think, we both know we know the steps and if we drill it over and over it will just look robotic. We'll be just fine!

Sim has worked so hard with us to make such a fantastic routine! I love the music just as much as when we started and the dance is just so much fun! It's sad to think we won't be spending Monday night 'date nights' with her from now on, but I hope we hold onto all that we've learned.

As we left the studio the same song was playing as the first time we'd walked in - 'I got rhythm' and we thought it would be a fitting song for our Parent's Dance...

House of cards

It's very easy for a Bride to become an expert at balancing a house of cards precariously on the side of a cliff.

Every card she adds is another card that can fall, bringing the whole house tumbling down with it.

A wedding is about two people, a celebrant, witnesses and wedding bands do come in handy but that's really all it's about. The rest of the day has been created from traditions, from hungry wedding industry that continues to grow with every newly engaged woman.

The more cards (flowers, cake, tablecloths, cars, weather, family expectations, outfits etc) she adds to that house of cards, the more unstable it will become. If she loosens her grip a bit, that flexibility will allow everything a better chance of working out well. The tighter the 'window of perfection', the more chance things won't fit into that window.

It's not too late to take a step back and say 'I don't care if the flowers aren't what I wanted' 'Too bad if the wine isn't available' 'So what if we miss a step or two during our first dance' as long as we're married at the end of the day everything will be perfect.

This is the week to slow down, relax, go to bed early, don't stress, eat well, don't rush, savour everything...

In other news...

We received a very generous parcel from Dad on Friday. He had kept asking us to tell him an amount to contribute but as we just couldn't pluck a number he organised it for us.


Trav has been arranging our car hire for our arrival at Cairns Airport - this is the email I got from him...


Just looking at car hire for PD
Can get a Getz for $65 plus about $15 petrol, but not a lot of storage. 3 large suitcases and a big puffy sleeved dress
Can get a Tarago for $90 plus $20 worth of fuel.
How much running around will we actually do between Cains and PD on the Tuesday?
If we can get most things ticked of then its worth it
Is it better to get transfers?


A big puffy sleeve dress? Ain't he cute!


I enjoyed a lovely breakfast with old neighbours Andrea and David on Sunday morning at Duchess in Spotswood. It was really nice to spend the morning with them, talking about our plans just like the good old days.

Safety in numbers

Well I've learned by now not to assume anything so I called for reinforcements. I put the call out to Louise, Tamra and Kathryn to see if anyone could come along for the ride tonight.

Instantly Louise was in. Not long after - Kathryn was joining us. Tamra's working late but 2 out of 3's not bad! I sent them both the background info and here are they're responses!

Louise

Now what did I say about things going wrong – just breathe… It will be fine girl they can’t charge you for something you have already paid for, its not like you have grown six inches taller or shrunken by the same amount.
I had the same problem with the bustle – my was I couldn’t locate it!
Anyway it will all be okay.

Kathryn 

Right! Got it!
I’m working next Tuesday – so if it takes them longer to fix it I can pick it up on the Tuesday next week.
All good? Still breathing fine? Don’t worry – we’ll get it sorted!

What more could a girl ask for??

 Anyway I only need Trav, Deborah, Me and our witnesses to get married.
All the rest of it is bonus fluff.

11 sleeps, one fingernail gone

weather

I worked my last shift at Passionfoods  on Saturday, I received lots of lovely wishes and hugs - and my boss Steven had this to say;

"Just enjoy every moment. Be in the moment. I know you've got all these last little things going around your head, but just enjoy it all."

Great advice at this stage in the game,  and I'm reminding myself of it all the time.
It definitely is my mantra for today and I'll tell you why...

On Saturday night I tried on my dress again and practiced dancing in it. I still couldn't work out why I was standing on it all the time. And then we confirmed what Louise had noticed last time, the left side is longer. And not just by a centimetre - more like a couple of inches. It lays on the floor whereas the right side just skims the floor.
We checked it on the hard floor - thinking Mum's nice thick soft carpet was making things worse, only a slight improvement. We unbustled and rebustled higher. And higher. And twisted the skirt the other way. And laid the skirt out flat. And put higher shoes on.

We looked at how it might be fixed, shorten the hem on one side gradually? most of it was behind the lace panel so it wouldn't be so noticeable - but the lace would have to be trimmed as well. Pull it up at the hips? This left the fabric at the front curling instead of draping beautifully.

Worried I was going to put my heel through the dress on the day, and for the sheer principle of the fact this very expensive dress was crooked, we agreed I'd call Brides of Melbourne first thing Sunday and try to get down there as soon as possible.

I began wondering what they'd say. "It's not that noticeable" Can't you change your dance?"

And with a week to go until we fly out I knew there wasn't time to send it to Wendy in QLD for alterations, to receive it in Melbourne before we left. That meant they'd need to alter it onsite. I started having flashbacks of my friend Louise's experience with alterations at the store. Or would they send it to Wendy and have her send it directly to Port Douglas next week? They all sounded like risks I didn't feel like taking.

I woke up on Sunday with that feeling of 'there's something I don't really want to do today'. Brides of Melbourne doesn't open until 11 on Sundays so after enjoying breakfast with David and Andrea I picked up the phone and called them. No Louisa isn't in today. I spoke to Helen and briefly explained the problem - no alterations staff are in today but come in tomorrow after work. She remembered me and remembered that Wendy had done all fittings and alterations for the gown. Helen was very calm and helpful - I'm sure she gets last minute dress issues often.

I'm glad I tried it on again. And I hadn't started dance lessons until after we picked up the dress so I hadn't even contemplated any problems then. Why do we get these 11th hour issues? I kept myself busy for the rest of the day and I was fine, but on the way into work this morning I started to pick at my thumbnail, by 10 am it's all gone and looking kinda out of place among the others that I've been so carefully growing. I'm feeling a bit uneasy and foggy and I think it's going to be a long day. I know everything will be wonderful on the day, and I have no doubt at all that I'll be wearing my beautiful dress, it's just thewondering and worrying that's getting to me. But we all know that there's no point in worrying until there's something to worry about. Right?


I suppose this is the 'hint of drama' I asked for - better now than on the day I'm sure. Fingers are crossed for a straightforward solution.

3 little letters

V.P.L

I knew these 3 little letters would drive me slightly mad when searching for the ideal undergarments. Luckily, as the bodice finishes quite low, I don't need to worry about the waistband, it's just the legs/butt area.

I began my research online - there are heaps of no VPL products around, this can't be too hard?
Berlei was about to bring out their Barely There range so I stalked the womens lingerie section of Myer until I saw them. I bought a pair, tried them at the next fitting and no good - they ride up and create an unsightly line. Horror.

An Elle Macpherson brief in a similar style wasn't much better so next option was the G-string, worked a charm but with that long split in my dress I'm now petrified of Trav dipping me and exposing everything!

I've done some more research and keep hearing the names Spanz, Nancy Gantz, Ambra and Holeproof Nothing. And I also found this hilarious product called the C-String - check it out here if you dare! I think I might just get some boy-legs to try with the dress too - if they don't work I'll stick with the G and anyway, a girl can't have too much nude underwear!

This time in 2 weeks....

We'll be walking out of St Mary's Chapel as Mr and Mrs McIntosh. Isn't that surreal??


Our to do list seems to be staying around 25 - I knock a few things off but keep thinking of more! Here's the little note I keep on my desk at work to tick off when we've received things, not much left now...

We're on film!

Well, digital video anyway. Last night we recorded our instructors performing our routine, and then they recorded us. We'd been practicing for half an hour and I was having an 'off-day' but I've got to admit we weren't looking too bad at all until we forgot one of the last steps and the whole thing fell into a big shemozzle!

Well at least we picked up a few things to practice on - and I'm not as scared to watch myself on video as I thought I'd be.

15 sleeps!

I was so excited to finally turn over to this page in the calendar that Louise and Daniel created for us!

Aaaah... I've never looked forward to winter so much!

Uncle Les came over to book his flights last night, he's arriving on Thursday (not Friday like he was thinking!) so it means he'll be able to join us for the Rehearsal Dinner! He's very happy to be dancing with me at the reception too.

I came across an Australian business called Original Sole this week who provides a few shoe solutions including sleeves to save your stilettos from getting scratched, and non-slip sole grips. I think I'll buy a pair of the grips and cut them down to see if they'll do the trick. I'll also get some of those heel grips and try them out as well, for less than $10 for each solution, I won't be losing much if they don't work and they might just be the solution I'm looking for...

Sleeps: 15
To dos: 26

Save me from myself

somecards

Thinking back over our 2 year engagement, I've come up with so many things that I did because I wanted to, even though they were extra time and effort, I think it's these touches that help make the day special (to me anyway!)

• Writing this blog. But I want to remember all the little things that happened along the way and I hope to share it with my own daughter one day.
• Making our own invitations and place cards
• Making gifts
• Personalising things like the ring cushion and my wedding dress
• Arranging the day after BBQ and HABA dive day
• Preparing Telegrams for our guests
• Preparing Welcome postcards for our guests and setting a timeline for the week
• Learning a dance
• Keeping a ***** to give to *****
• Creating our own centrepieces
• Sourcing the wine
• Designing our own seating plan
• Making **** for the *******
• Using a wedding website and monthly update emails to connect with our guests
• Offering to organise bus transfers for all guest and recording all their trip details

What can I say? I just love projects!

Also here are the cute petal cones that Michelle has been busy making for me. They're made out of  old sheet music. I love them!

If only...

... I could wear a garter with my dress. I'm sure I'd pick one of these beauties from Florrie Mitton Couture

Mini Wedding Bee a success!

Our last big project is out of the way! Fueled with a delicious roast dinner and red wine, we got all the place cards assembled in one night and they look fantastic! A BIG thank you to Tamra and Kathryn for your help - it would have been boring and tedious without you!

Tamra asked me how I was feeling about the upcoming marriage and all I could think of was how that is the calmest thing in this whole wedding. Simply marrying Trav.

Today I appointed an honorary Sommelier - Kyle is helping me select some wines for our menu which are ideally Victorian but in any case, a great match at a decent price. Gotta love handballing!

We're getting married this month!

source

At our second last dance lesson last night we learned the Grand Finale and Sim invited us to come back on Thursday to film it. Oh and Francesca invited us back next Friday to perform it!

I slipped a couple of times when we were practicing and soon noticed some clever 'feet' Francesca was wearing on her heels - for $6.95 a pair they might just keep me on my feet!

Vivaz Dance

They're designed to fit dance shoes (their heels are a bit bigger) but with a bit of glue I'm sure they'd stay on mine too!

Looking forward to our Wedding Bee tonight girls!