Okay, I've been promising for the longest time, a more thorough run-through of the wedding day. And so, at last, here I am with the goods.
The Day began with all us girls waking at my mum and dads place. We stirred at around 7:30am and probably rolled out of bed a good 15 minutes later. Jess W and I had shared my double, while Kate and Rea had shared the other, which left an opening for lines like "Well...we did sleep together last night..." for the rest of the day.
Meanwhile, the boys were over at the Forster Motor Inn, a hotel run by a soccer-buddy of my dads, who had given us the awesome rate of $75 per room[could fit 4 people] per night for anyone who mentioned that they were guests of the Gordon-Braybrook wedding. Therefore basically the entire hotel was overrun with our family and friends. It's probably important to mention here, that this was right in the middle of school holidays, so the rate was absolutely amazing and incredibly generous and Timmy and I probably owe the owners our first born, or something along those lines ;)
Ahem...so where was I? Oh yes, the boys were over at the hotel still in bed, they would only rise, come 10am in order to go for a swim before leaisurely eating lunch, having a shower, getting dressed and heading over to the Ceremony. The atmosphere was utterly festive at the Motel. Having been overrun with family and friends of ours, Timmy's mum had organised big platters of sandwiches, fruit, cheese and cold meats around the pool to make sure all the guests were happy campers.
Over in the other camp, it was a bit more busy. Katie[my gorgeous twin] and I started on the girls hair and makeup. Music of choice?...we eased ourselves into it with some Brooke Fraser, before deciding that we needed a bit of girlrock and opted for some Superchick to get us bouncing around with excitement.
Probably spent about 40 minutes on each of the girl, doing their hair and any makeup they didn't feel confident with doing themselves. The girls were awesome, helping out big-time by applying more of their makeup themselves.
Eventually I made a dash to mum and dads ensuite, for Kate to glam up. She then did my hair, while I did my own makeup, rea[bridesmaid] wandered in to deliver some finger sandwiches and orange juice, of which i barely ate...I could feel the nervous excitement starting to build.
Pretty much before we knew it, it was time for me to slip into my dress - when I say 'slip' I actually mean; Kate gathering the millions of layers of skirt, me holding my arms up over my head and navigating my way through the maze of material, before standing for about 10-15 minutes while Katie wove the ties through their loops in order to fasten the back. If I knew one thing, that dress was so impressively secured, there was no way it was ever going to fall right off during the festivities.
At about 11:45am our photographer for the day, [another soccer buddy of my Dads] Dave rocked up with his wife Leonie. They basically come as a package, Dave doing the photographer stuff while Leonie runs about making sure my dress is sitting right, my hairs all good, as well as racing about with her own camera taking pictures of all the little details on the dresses, the flowers and whatever else inspired her.
So we pottered about in the house and garden, Dave clicking away the whole time.
At about 12:55pm Katie came wandering out with glasses of bubbly for us all, we were due to leave so it meant we either drank fast or left it behind. I had Rea standing on my left and Jess standing on my right - they had me in fits of laughter as Jess tried to convince me to skull the lot, while Rea was telling me that no I shouldn't. I got the picture in my head of the little angel on one shoulder and the little devil on the other...the girls loved the image and in the end we all sipped away, took a little extra time, until the glasses were finished.
We were on our way. The girls all crammed into the other 2 cars while I had the white all to myself. My dad was driving my car for the day, which was fantastic. It meant that i got a good 15 minutes with just dad and I before we reached the ceremony. I love my dad, and it was perfect to share those last few moments as a 'Miss' with him.
At around 1:15pm we arrived at the Green cathedral. This gorgeous outdoor church which i had imagined getting married in, ever since I was about 12 years old. All the guest had arrived Timmy and his boys were waiting patiently down the front, preparing for our arrival. The girls gave me one last primp before we descended the aisle. Bit of hair flicking, some lip gloss and finally popping the veil over my face.
I'll admit my heart was in my throat, this was it, the moment had begun.
We walked the aisle to an accoustic version of "Forever" by Overflow, performed by an incredibly talented friend Rob Heague. He did an absolutely beautiful job which nearly had me in tears before I'd even reached the end of the aisle
The aisle walk was one of the most amazing moments, and I know that I will remember it forever. It was the first time I had seen so many people, who I absolutely adore, in so long. I can still remember passing Ozza and actually saying "Heeeey" , seeing Chris W [Mr C] and he gave me a little wave, WaeJae, with his big grin and Camera in hand [so little changes]before realising that I'd have time to chat to everyone AFTER the ceremony :P And then I spotted Timmy, and he looked beautiful and I couldn't wait to get down to the end of the aisle and see him properly.
Daryll was making it all official, I'd known him for years as he was the assistant pastor and recently made Pastor of my childhood church. He did such a fantastic job, he kept it relaxed and playful while capturing the heart and seriousness of the marriage covenant.
When it came time for the 'giving away' of the Bride I had asked mum and dad to do it together, and so they both stood side-by-side and said "We Do", I nearly lost it when mum was forced to hesitate while she choked back the tears - I have the most amazing parents and they have both been such incredible influences in my life, they both deserve to be honoured and to stand together with equal acknowledgment for the work they have done in my life to raise and nurture me.
Rob returned with his guitar, and everyone popped back onto their feet to sing with him Chris Tomlin's "You Do All Things Well" We had included the words in the program for anyone who wasn't familiar with the song. I was so glad that we had decided to do that. There was something incredibly wonderful about standing there, in the beauty of these gorgeous surrounds singing a song of worship to my God.
I ended up just closing my eyes and allowed myself a moment to breathe God in while pausing to consider the full magnitude of this very day. By the time the song ended and I opened my eyes, I was ready. The nerves had calmed, I felt at peace and as I looked into Timmy's eyes I knew there was nothing I wanted more than to become his wife.
A dear friend of mine and known in my family as "The Third Twin" Steve kindly did the bible reading for us. We had deliberately strayed from the usual suspect of 1 Corinthians 13...it truely is a beautiful verse, but we both decided that it was probably the most overused bible passage in wedding history. We however decided that since the bible really is such a fantastic book then surely there were other verses which could capture love. And so Steve read for us Song of Songs 8 and Ecclesiastes 4.
Timmy and I had made the decision to write our own vows. A decision which we had not always chosen. Originally I think that we had opted to go with the traditional as we felt it was one less thing for us to stress about, you know how the saying goes "If it aint broke, don't fix it" and we had enough on our plates with the rest of the wedding anyway.
And then in the lead-up to our wedding, together we worked through the book "Lies at the Alter" By Dr Robyn Smith and it absolutely changed our stance. We realised that we really wanted to go into marriage being honest and aware of the promises we were making to each other. The traditional vows are wonderful and I know that many, many couples are more than happy with them. But as Tim and I worked our way through the traditional vows we realised that we desperately wanted to make promises to each other which were straight forward, clear and without misinterpretation, more than anything we wanted to go into marriage knowing that we had taken the time to meditate on the promises we were making to one another, to take the traditional vows apart, break them down and speak out our truths to one another.
here are the vows we made to each other. And Yes there were some tears. ;)
Tims Vows:
"Jess, I found it very hard to sit and write these vows because, as you know I'm not that great at expressing my feelings. So I decided to lay everything out and work through it all with the logical mind that you always say I have. Doing this led me to examine what is important to us, our relationship and what we have learnt over the last two years. By doing so, has led me to what I believe is the most important things that I need to give to you.
Jess, I promise that I will always respect you and your opinions, even when we disagree. That I will always listen to your opinion and advise and communicate mine to you.
I promise to seek Gods way before my own, and strive to lead our family in the strength of his ways and purpose.
I promise you that we will both have an equal share in the emotional and spiritual deposits and withdraws of our relationship.
I will always count you as my equal, in every facet of my life.
You will be my guide, my partner and my follower, as I will be all these things to you.
In all the good times and the bad, when we may feel at odds with each other, I promise to love you and that I will always be there as your husband to support you, but most importantly, I will always be there as your friend.
Jess, I love you."
My Vows:
"In preparing these vows today, it gave me a chance to take a look backwards in order to prepare for the next chapter of life as we, together look to our future.
A great friend once told me, that the best part of a relationship is right at the beginning, while you’re still learning all about this new person in your life. I disagree. I love here and now. I love knowing you, being able to predict your reactions, knowing that you are a man of dignity and respect. Knowing that you have not simply received my trust and adoration, but that you have worked hard to earn it in the way that you treat me and love me, in thought and in action by just living your life.
Today, in front of God and the people we love most in the world, I want to promise you my truths.
I promise to live my life with you, not as an imposter, but to be real in who I am. And to desire that you live your life as your true self. To continue to nurture our relationship as a place of love. Where both of us can feel safe in sharing our shortcomings, our vulnerability our imperfections. While knowing that, that place reserved for simply you and me, can be a space for comfort, support and encouragement because honesty and truth always reign.
I promise to be humble enough to know that neither of us are perfect, and that we will never always get things exactly right, but in love be willing to drop my pride and apologise when I am wrong. We may not always agree, in fact I know we won’t always agree, but I promise to respect you. To accept your opinion, to really listen when you speak not simply be waiting for you to finish speaking so that I can speak again.
I promise to love God with everything, to persue his purposes in my life – to share with you my passions, my desires, my hopes and dreams and to love you enough to desire that you live your life in persuit of Gods best for you.
I promise to care about your life. To be interested in you, in your days. To be a witness to great things you will do, while being so grateful to be able to share in the mundane, and hum-drum everyday pace of life as well.
I promise to value your family and friends, because they’re important to you. To understand that this life is far bigger than simply you and me. That great friendships and family are what brings vibrancy and true joy to both of us. To know that a healthy part of our relationship, includes time away from each other. That the greatest thing we can do for ‘us’ is to stay in touch with life beyond ourselves and continue to reach out to those around us for support and friendship in order to live a life together which is rich and blessed.
We have come a long way. We have learnt and grown so much… individually and together. But perhaps the greatest part, is that you have become, not simply my Spunky-musk- rat, but you’re my friend. I love that we can love each other, not simply as a couple, but also as two kindred spirits who love to laugh and be sarcastic and goofey.I promise you, that I will be there with you as your wife, and your friend, as we learn the lessons which life will teach us together and seperately.
The love I promise you today, is more far reaching than simply uncontrollable emotion. The love I promise you is a choice. I choose to love you when times are difficult, I choose to love you when we don’t agree, I choose to love you when life is really kicking us in the guts. I choose to wake up, every day and love you… for the rest of my life.I stand here today, and I make these promises, because I choose you Tim.
You are the Great love of my life, and I will love you forever"
I think the tears started flowing from me around the part where I said "I choose you, Tim" which was ammusing, as the whole leadup to the wedding I had been sure that I wouldn't cry. Afterwards people were asking me whether I had been laughing or crying, truth is I had been crying then started laughing softly to myself because I was crying...I surprised myself with the depth of my love and how completely I felt Gods blessing as I spoke those vows to Tim.
We had the exchange of rings and pretty soon it was time for some pashing :P no no, we were tasteful. kate described the kiss as "...the best wedding kiss I have ever seen, coz it was more than a peck, but not enough that I felt like I needed to look away
We signed the register, To the sound of Rob singing “All I Need” By Stu Larsen.
Then mingled with everyone for a good 15-20 minutes, before we all had to skidaddle so the next wedding could head in. Figures that such a beautiful spot would be so heavily booked, truth is it had been a miracle that we had gotten the spot we had as it was completely booked up, and that was even when booking a year in advance!
The bridal party jumped in the cars and headed over to One Mile Beach for photo's.
This basically involved wandering up and down the beach, chatting and laughing and enjoying the warm sun. Highlight of the day was leaving the ceremony and realising that we were all ridiculously thirsty, so we pulled up into the drive-in bottle O and picked up some bottles of coke. We had people in the shop shouting congratulations and lauging that we were in there...we were highly ammused.
As we had arrived at the beach for photo's, us girls had started to complain of hunger, having eaten very little that morning. Can I just say that I have married a man who knows me all too well. The boys had stocked their car up on Starburst and Natural Confectionary company lollies before the ceremony, knowing that there was a good chance us girls would get a bit snappy should hunger kick in :P so we scarfed into the lollies and bounced around happily on our sugar high.
At 3:30pm we headed to the Wharf opposite the Wharf Bar and tandoori [where the reception was] in order to get piccies with everyone before heading inside. We ended up pottering around and carrying on for a good half an hour before heading upstairs to the restaurant.
Once in however, we were greeted by masses of finger-food on the verandah overlooking the lake. There was so much fingerfood, that i think people assumed it was all the food they were going to get and chowed into it...man! It was freakin' beautiful food!!
More mingling and catching-up with friends, with the company of great food and good wine. John proved to be an incredible companion for my evening. I had only met John 2 weeks before the wedding as he was a good friend of Katies but he looked after me all night and made sure I always had a drink nearby and as much food as I desired...he even popped over to the bar and shouted me a smirnoff double-black which wasn't included on the bar tab. He's a ripper friend and I've only known him for such a short time.
At around 5:30pm, Timmy and I slipped out of the restaurant and back onto the wharf with Dave[the photographer] for some pictures in front of the sunset.
Upon returning to the restaurant, everyone was inside and seated, chatting as they waited, before Dad [also our M.C.] could be heard over the microphone announcing our arrival for the first time as Mr & Mr's Timothy and Jessica Gordon" Applause, hoots and wolf whistles and that little warm fuzzy in my gut at hearing my new name, attaching me to Timmy :D
We weaved our way through the tables and blonked ourselves down at the Bridal Table.
Dad did the intro and explained the reason behind the Thomas the Tank Engine seating cards. We had opted for not allocating specific seats, instead we had a canvas on a tripod, in the entry, showing which tables people were at, then once people found their tables they simply chose a seat. Tables were named after a different Thomas the Tank Engine character, due to Timmy's childhood love [or should I say obsession] with the little blue metalled friend. I had deliberately tried to create a bit of balance, as weddings to easily become a chicks paradise and hell on earth for men, especially when pink is involved [I don't care what anyone says, real men don't really like pink!] thus we had deliberately strayed from typically 'girly' colours, avoided an overload of flowers and ended up with gorgeous Peacock feathers for me, and Thomas the Tank engine featuring for Timmy. I loved it! The room looked absolutely beautiful, and the peacock feathers in the large vases on top of the table, created this stunning sort of drama! *sigh* It looked better than I ever imagined it could!
Timmy and I are much more comfortable with the casual than the formal, so we opted for a Buffet dinner. Once again Prete and the team at The Wharf Bar and Tandoori impressed. there was more than enough food and every time you thought it was starting to get a bit low, they would bring out another tray. The menu was a mixture of Roasted vegetables, Hot meats, Baked potatoes and hot and cold salads.
Being the bridal party, we were given first crack at it. My eyes were slightly too big for my tummy. As hungry as I felt, by the time I sat down to eat my hunger was gone again [Trev, my bridesmaid Becs husband, had told me that I would have no appetite in the morning, it would come back after the ceremony and then by the time dinner rocked up it'd be gone again...he was exactly right!]
Dinner rolled on, and dad began the nights events. I feel now would be the time to say what an absolutely fantastic job my dad did as M.C. As if being Father-of-the-bride wasn't enough responsibility for one man to handle, but having seen how dad did it, no one else would have measured up. He Was Amazing!
Timmy and I had known that quite a few friends had gone to big effort to be there on the day, so we had given dad a list and asked that he made special mention of them at some point during the night. But dad, had gone one step further. Unbeknownst to us, he had organised to have medals made up which were engraved with the words "Tim & Jess Gordon, 6-10-2007" and used them as 'gongs' to say thankyou to those friends who went above and beyond.
The special mentions were made to;
Grant - Who missed his graduation ceremony to be there.
Sam & Alex - Who travelled all the way from Darwin to be there.
Owen - Who gave up a pro riding tour in Tasmania to be there.
Rob & Amy - Who not only made a mad dash back from Conference in Brisbane to be there, but Rob brought his musical magic to our ceremony.
Daryll & Kerry - Who also rushed back from conference so Daryll could make it all official!
Father-of-the-bride speech came next, and dad was in fine form. He has a reputation for his long rambling stories and his love of a captive audience. He had a microphone so this was no exception. I love my dad, he is easily one of my most favourite people in the whole world, when I hear him speak he reminds me of just how much I love him, and how hopelessly proud of him I am.
Mother-of-the-groom speech came next and Gere began it by giving out one more special mention 'gong' which was to the more than deserving Alex - who had not only sold Bathurst 1000 tickets in order to be at the wedding, but had taken on the role of Best Man and had been the most helpful and uncomplaining person in the history of a wedding. Without a word he would take on duties and do them fantastically, I know how much burden he took of Tim, kept his spirits soaring. Timmy was so grateful to have him there, they're the sort of friends that will always be.
Gere shared some stories about Timmy, and made me smile. I love my new mum. It has always been important to me to have a mother-in-law who I adore. I think it's carbage to think that you're suppose to dislike them, Gere is quickly capturing a big chunk of my heart.
Dad was back on the microphone, with yet another surprise. He had 4 'gongs' left, and announced that there were in-fact 'Best Dressed Awards' to be handed over. Apparantly he had collaborated with the Groomsmen in order to decide the female winners, who were; Tims Aunty Lo and my good friend Rheannwynne. To choose the male best dressed winners, Dad had consulted with the Bridesmaids in order to decide on; That ripper friend I have already spoken of, John and Dads good friend Geoff.
I loved all dads little touches to the reception. He kept the atmosphere fun and interesting, when it could have become all to easy to bore during the speeches. Once again I say, Dad was the best M.C...well...ever!
Dad went on to introduce Alex, for the Best Man Speech. This speech was the greatest speech in the history of best man speeches.
Alex was absolutely fantastic! he had us laughing as he entertained us with the history of his friendship with Tim, the story of Tim and I - from the perspective of the best mate and then he had us near tears as he shared of his honour at Tims friendship, how proud he was of Timmy and his best wishes for Tim and I in the future. I cried a lot more on my wedding day than I ever thought I would. It will be a beautiful memory for the rest of my life.
But alas, the night is nowhere near over yet. Timmy and I wandered over to cut our cake, it was humble and modest, but exactly what we wanted.
We had both been absolutely chuffed with getting a little Timmy and Jess on the top...we loved it. Once we made the photo-sake cut, the cake was whisked off to the kitchen so the chef could cut it up, put it in bowls with some cream and serve it up to the guests.
meanwhile Timmy and I were whisked off to the dancefloor for our first dance. We chose the song "Rest of my Life" By Unwritten Law as it makes up part of the soundtrack of our courtship. Everytime we hear the song we remember BBQ's up at Timmy's boys place, hanging out together for the first time, those nervous, giddy butterflies as we got to know each other. Without a doubt, that song makes us smile as we remember the innocence and purity of true love...not to mention it has a kicking beat. It's one of Timmy and my favourite songs forever, and it will always remind us of our uni days together. some of the most carefree and brilliant days of our lives!
Around halfway through the song, our bridal party joined us on the dancefloor. We'd asked them to save us, as Timmy and I were only capable of a giddy shuffling back and forth, while chucking in a couple of spins here and there
Our bridal party was capable of only the same, but once they hit the floor the attention was spread, and we were all giggling and enjoying ourselves so much that we forgot the room full of people watching [probably heckling too :P].
Dessert of the cake with cream was served and two of Timmy's groomsmen, Alex and Timmi, with another good mate of Tims, Dan pulled up a couple of the stools, grabbed their guitars and serenaded us all with some acoustic guitar accompanied with bass.
We were so impressed, they were absolutely amazing. Quite a few people took the opportunity to hit the dancefloor with a partner to take them for a twirl. I decided to grab my dad.
Funny thing is, Dad was sitting at the table with all his soccer boys [he doesn't have any family, so these boys play the role splpendidly. They love him like a brother and he loves and appreciates them more than I could ever do justice with my words] apparantly seconds before I walked over to ask my Dad to dance, he has been saying to his boys that there was no way he'd dance. They had asked "What if your daughter asks you?" to which he had responded "She's outta luck, coz I'm not dancing".
I love that he pretends to be tough, because really, he's such a softy, an absolute sucker for his kids. Needless to say pretty soon Dad and I were chuckling on the dancefloor. Dad makes me laugh like no one else, he continued to do so as he decided to be brave and attempt to spin me. Upon completion of the spin he responds "Ha! That was fun! Wanna try another one?"
Soon it was time for the throwing of the bouquet. The girls all shuffled together and there were quite a few, keen looking lasses at the front, with the 'not so keen' lingering to the side and back. katie was hiding at the back. I had joked that I was going to throw it right to her, but one look at my [nearly] 6 foot cousins blocking the front and I knew there was no hope. I actually thought I'd be lucky to even get it over them. Alas I did! It went straight into the middle of the group, a perfect throw.
Unbeknownst to katie, the other bridesmaids had conspired against her, to do all in their power to get the bouquet in her hands. It was battered around for a moment or two, with Jess W [bridesmaid] managing to hook it into katies direction. There was a moment once the bouquet had been caught, when the catcher seemed invisible. She stood, surrounded by a mass of excitable females, blocking the view of all onlookers. When suddenly the crowd of girls parted and there stood a bewildered and highly ammused Katie.
The Girls cleared the floor, a chair was pulled up for me and Timmy retrieved the garter. The boys, looking nowhere near as excited by the prospect of being next to marry, stood, backs against the wall, beer in hand, ready as they'd ever be.
Timmy, thinking that the garter was highly elasticised, attempted to flick it through the air, only to have it drop from his hand, about 2 feet in front of him. The boys stood, unmoved staring at the garter resting on the ground, backs still against the wall, beer in hand, goofey smiles on their faces, shaking their heads at Timmy and laughing as they screached "What the Hell was that?!!"
Timmy made a second attempt, only slightly better than the first, landing on matty 2's foot...it was decided that he was winner my default. To mum and dads horror, Matty 2 is Katies Boyfriend, they quickly declared that there was no rush and they needed at least 2 years to save some money again.
With all the formalities over, we spent the rest of the night mingling, drinking, dancing and enjoying the company of friends and family
I know that I didn't spend anywhere near as much time with anyone, as I wanted. But I guess it's the nature of having so many people together in one place. We had so much fun though. It was so wonderful to see all the people we love in the one room, it was something I've never felt before. This sort of overwhelmed sense of honour...I know some absoluetly amazing people. I consider myself incredibly loved and looked after.
As the night wore on, Fatigue started to kick in for Timmy and I, it had been a long day. The guests formed the farewell line and Timmy and I wandered up the line saying thankyou and goodbye to each and every person there. It was nice to be able to be sure we said a "see ya later alligator" to everyone. I was told later that it's suppose to be a quick thing, which Timmy demonstrated, but in true Braybrook style I wandered my way up the line leisurely, chatting with everyone and enjoying the opportunity. As Timmy tells it, he was waiting a good 15-20 minutes for me to finish the line...Whaaaa? :P I was enjoying myself, I love my people! :D
We skipped off into the night, up to our gorgeous hotel room, overlooking Wallis Lake. Timmy's mum, ruth and Jacinta had snuck out during the dancing to sprinkle the place with rose petals, and fill the room with candles. So by the time we got there, it was beautiful...I had tears in my eyes again!
The next day Timmy and I opted to jump out of bed early and head to church. Now that we're living in Melbourne, we don't have the opportunity to go to Lakeside COC anymore, and I miss it so much, it's a truely great church and we didn't want to miss our chance. We decided that there was no better way to spend our first day as husband and wife than sending some praise up to the big dude.
After Church we headed across to John Wright Park where we had organised to meet up with everyone, at a wedding recovery picnic
It was nice to be able to see everyone one last time before they headed back home. Lunch was had, laughs were plenty. After lunch we took everyone back to our hotel room, where we had a present opening. The loot was absolutely brilliant!! Our entire house it utterly catered for! Many Many Many thankyou's were said.
Most people left, so the final goodbyes for a while were said, as people jumped in their cars and began their long trips home.
We discovered that we had Austar, so Katie, matt2 and John hung around for an afternoon of lazy entertainment, before Timmy and I had to Skidaddle for Dinner with his folks.
On Tuesday we caught a plane back to Melbourne, spent Wednesday travelling and by Thursday began our Honeymoon in Apollo Bay. Beach was beautiful,
weather was horrible, company was brilliant. Plenty of 'no mercy monopoly' was played and relaxation and fun was the theme.
And so now, we're back to hum drum...but we're so happy!
I love being Tims wife and I’m determined to make him proud and be the best damn wife I can be. I know that marrying Tim was one of the greatest moments and best decisions of my life.
In my next post I’m looking forward to sharing some news with you all. :D And it involves the pitter-patter of tiny feet.
xoxo
untill then, enjoy some of our happy snaps from the day...
