Done my dash

Yep, as of yesterday I have been 3 times a Bridesmaid so I guess these means that no one will marry me now

Apparently in my role protecting the bride from evil forces I am now a lost soul, impure and unworthy or marriage, or so the legend goes

Tuesday
Missed my flight! I fly alot and despite some near misses have never missed a flight, I gave myself 2 hours but the traffic on the Eastern Freeway was more horrendous than usual (it was peak hour) and it took me an hour to get from Blackburn to Punt Road. I often catch the 09:25 flight to the Gold Coast and have never had a problem making it when I leave home at about 07:30. Just one of those crap days, there was no point getting bent out of shape. I called my sis while I was in transit and by the time I had pulled in to the long term car park at the Airport I had a new flight booked that was boarding in under 30 minutes so no endless wait at the airport for another flight. It did suck though that my original fare was a $89 sale fare that I had to forefit, though I think I got off pretty lightly paying $200 for a new flight right before Easter holidays.

Once on the Coast I was whisked away to have my blonde foils redone (a bit glam for me but I do like the result) and then somehow my sister, her fiance (husband now) and I managed to drink 2 bottles of wine in quick succession, so no running on Tuesday.

Wednesday
I enjoyed a sleep in thanks to the new awning my sister had installed on the spare bedroom window, so no AM run. We had a busy day out and about finalising some last minute wedding details, picking up the groomsmen’s suits and so on. I was desperate for a run by the afternoon and managed a reasonably comfortable 9km at just under 5 minute pace. This was around the streets of my sister’s neighbourhood and was more enjoyable than my usual Queensland runs possibly because it was much cooler than it had been when I last ran in Melbourne. Funnily though whenever I run up there in my shorts and crop top I always get cars of youths honking at me or making comment which does not really happen so much in Melbourne, you would think they would be used to seeing bare tummies up there wouldn’t you?

Thursday
No chance for an afternoon run. We had a kitchen tea for my sister, manic, but lot’s of fun. I spent a quiet night with my niece and sister in law which was a chance for us to catch up and enjoy some calm before the wedding storm as she was also a bridesmaid.

Friday
Wedding rehearsal at the venue first thing in the morning and I had my first emotional moment when we walked down the “aisle” (it was an outdoor wedding) and it all started to hit me. The bridesmaids and my mum then took my sister away to the Radisson and surprised her with an afternoon of pampering at the spa and a night at the hotel. We were originally planning on spending the night at my brothers house but decided to make it more special. I just had a manicure, because I suck at doing them myself and then sat by the pool in my bikini and read a book. I had a 45 minute run on the treadmill at the hotel gym which was mind numbingly tedious and I had to keep cranking up the speed on the tready to keep from going out of my mind, I think I “ran” about 9.1km. I had not done such a long treadmill run for about 2 years and quickly remembered why I started running outdoors in the first place.

We had dinner at the hotel then my sister, sister-in-law and mum headed to our rooms for an early night. The other bridesmaid had to go back to her own hotel as she has a 2 year old daughter who she did not want to spend the night away from. My mum had a room to herself and us girls were sharing a double, we decided to let my sis have a bed to her self and Kel and I shared. We sat up and giggled and gossiped for a while over cupcakes and a bottle of Moet, it was not a bad way to spend an evening. The next morning my sis in law told me that at one stage in the night she rolled over to hug me before realising that I was me and not my brother

Saturday
The big day!

I have a stack of photo’s to download, so those will make an appearance later. I won’t bore you all with the details, however it was a beautiful wedding, even for this old cynic. The venue was stunning, we had our own dressing room with a massive balcony, we all felt like we were getting ready for the Oscars. Because money was not being spent on a convoy of cars the groom and groomsmen arrived via helicopter, it was very exciting. I was totally out of my element having the photo’s done and as usual frustrated the photographer with my refusal to smile with my teeth, I eventually gave in to shut her up. My sister looked stunning, she is very photogenic and loves to perform so I know the professional pics will look great.

The ceremony was on the 17th green (forgot to mention the venue was also a golf course), despite some dark clouds all morning the weather cleared and it was perfect. I was holding it together quite well, apart from a few tears when I helped my sister get dressed, but made the mistake of looking back at my sis when I started my walk down the aisle, by the time she made it to the end I was sobbing, thank god it was a short ceremony and the make up artist stuck around.

After the ceremony the bridal party headed off in Golf Buggies with a hamper for some more photo’s and some quiet time at the 10th hole. There was some yummo nibbles, champers for the girls and beer for the boys, some of the “fun” photos the photographer had in mind were a bit odd and by that stage we were all a bit squiffy and maturity levels had plummeted, by that stage it was easy for me to smile because I was laughing so much. The ride back to the venue in the golf buggy was a bit hairy (no breathalysers on the golf course!) because we were all busting for the loo having finished all the grog they sent us out with, waste not want not after all

The reception was a blast, the quiet and retiring Em you all know and love is an entirely different creature all together with a skinful of bubbly and a DJ. My shoes were quickly kicked off and it was off to the dance floor, fortunately I can always rely on my brother, sis in law, sister, cousins and their partners to join me as well, we are a family that loves a good time. Before I knew it it was midnight and my sister and her new husband were being called to say goodbye. My sister, bless her, did not want to leave, she was having too much fun! Time for one last dance and then off home to bed. I was being harangued to kick on to a club, for some reason I was a wee bit popular with some people last night, not really used to the attention, I guess the bridesmaids are an obvious target I opted out though as I was desperate to get my make up off and pull all the pins out of my hair. If I had a change of clothes I would have been well up for it because I was wide awake and raring to go, but was just too uncomfortable in my fancy bridesmaid get up. Also I was keeping going on my fitness and stamina alone, not everyone else was in the same boat so I knew I would crash first and end up slumped in the corner of a night club somewhere desperate for a face washer and my PJs.

The rest is between me and the over abundance of digital cameras that were floating about the place, I sense I may be forking out some serious bribe money in the coming days, lucky this is my blog and I have right of censor!