The Main Event

The wedding and reception were held on Sunday, 3 October at Ravensthorpe in Albion Park, NSW, Australia. The ceremony was held in the gazebo in front of the property, with afternoon tea following in the grounds and the reception in the marquee bedind the building.

The Wedding

The ceremony was held in the gazebo in the grounds in front of Ravensthorpe House. We chose a Celtic hand-fasting ceremony, in which the bride and groom's hands are bound together with coloured ribbons symbolising the qualities each brings to the marriage. The binding was carried out by the other members of the wedding party. And at then end, Joanne and Bennett finally said "I do."

Afternoon Tea

After the ceremony, the wedding party had some photographs taken in the grounds before disappearing off to have more photographs taken in various exotic Albion Park locales. Meanwhile, the guests mingled, explored the Ravensthorpe house and grounds, and enjoyed afternoon tea and scones.

Some guests took a mini-bus tour of the area - thanks to Murray May, our driver.

The Reception

In the evening, the happy couple returned to tumultuous applause. Hors d'oeuvres and drinks were served followed by dinner. There were a few entertaining speeches, the cutting of the cake, and general conversation, dancing and merriment. Thanks to everybody for a fantastic spotty day.

Thanks

Joanne's mother Jan did everything to make the wedding the best it could possibly be - despite having already done the same for Jo's sister Cathy's wedding two weeks earlier. Bennett's parents Marilyn and Louis helped with planning from the beginning, and flew over from New Zealand early to help out with lots of the crucial last-minute things,

Also, Bennett's brother James and partner Duncan stepped off a plane after a full day's work and straight into the hectic wedding morning. Cathy and her husband Andrew did everything from making the wedding favours (Cathy) to driving us to our photography spots (Andrew) and a hundred things in between. The day couldn't have been so good without all their help.

Thanks also to Edward, our erudite MC; Murray, the bus driver; Lokki, who helped out as a driver and part-time translator :) ; Sylvana, the hairstylist; Adele and Elesha, the make-up girls; and - of course! - to all the guests who travelled from near and far to celebrate with us.