the best day of my life

Well, where do I start?!  I think for once I can be forgiven for writing a few pages too many.  After all, when trying to recap the best day of ones life it surely deserves a bit of detail and attention!

January 13th 2007, my wedding day...

Enjoying NZ beers and wine on a hot summers day, with our best friends and family littered around us, was the perfect way to spend our wedding.

After an hour of tossing and turning, and being unable to sleep past 6am, I was greeted with a welcomed visit by Alister.  It was a touching moment that I shared with my big brother on the morning of one of the biggest days of my life.  Thank Alister.

Pretty soon we had everyone else awake and walking around.  However, an early wake up didn't calculate to productiveness as breakfast had to be skipped as we piled into the cars and made haste for our tee off time at the Levin championship golf course.  You see, unlike Karen and her girls, we boys had very little to accomplish pre wedding ceremony.  Getting ready for us is a half hour job, tops.  So, in preparation I had arranged for us to go and hit 9 holes of top quality ..ah yeah... or more accurately for some of us, low quality golf.

Golf itself was loads of fun, as always.  We went round as three groups of three, and after some nervous teeing off in front of the club rooms, and a whole bunch of oldies, we set into our game, or for Chris, Andrew and I, we set into our hacking.

We really got to see a lot of the course as we often found ourselves zigzagging our way down the fairway, checking out the shrubs and trees along the way.  Chris and Andrew got to sample the bunkers a couple of times, I preferred to just hit my balls out of bounds and replace them with new ones.

The game really went down to the wire for Chris and I taking it to the final green for a putt off.  Luckily I went into the hole with a one shot lead on him and held on for the victory, or should I say, Chris doesn't appear to be a pressure player and couldn't force a draw... hehe

After a couple of hours on the greens, in what quickly became hot, summer conditions, we headed back to Andy C's house to fry up a brunch and replenish  with some liquids.  We spent the next couple of hours there just kicking back, counting down the time till we needed to start having showers, and suiting up.  The heavily predicted rain had managed to hold off until this point, but clouds were starting to close in and the ceremony just couldn't come soon enough.

Once everyone was looking their best, and I have to say everyone looked good, really good, we pinned on some flowers to our jackets, and then made our way to the venue listening to a bit of Gomez on route.

We arrived in a two car convoy, took a moment for everyone to compose themselves, and do last minute touch ups in the reflection of the car windows, before making a rather reservoir dog's like entrance down the long driveway.  Literally as we set foot in the drive, rain began to fall, getting heavier with each step.  However, the sun gods were having none of it and quickly banished fear from my mind clearing the air once again about five minutes later.

The ceremony garden looked great and I instantly knew we had found our perfect venue for the exact type of wedding we both wanted.  All the tables and chairs looked great, the bar was well stocked, the flowers in bloom, and the greenery fresh.  It was a magical spot for our garden wedding.

Very soon it was all on, as the guests started to arrive.  I enjoyed being able to see the progress as the garden filled up, and being able to greet people as they arrived.  I had a quick chat with Dave, the celebrant, to make sure I knew the right moments for when I had my "lines" to say and then before I knew it Byron started playing Blackbird on guitar while everyone took their places, and I stood at the front, impatiently, willing Karen to make her appearance and wow me with her beauty.

Soon a hush filled the garden and Dave opened the service with an introduction of why we were all there, and then he cued both Byron on guitar and the bridal procession at the back, and we were on!

The processional song chosen by Karen and I was Ben Harpers - waiting for you.  Byron played it on his acoustic guitar and sang it amazingly, it was so beautiful.  I swear the emotion that hit me when he started strumming and then sang the opening lines "I've been waiting for you..." ohhh I get shivers just thinking about it.  Cheers Byrie.

The flowers girls, Karen's nieces, and page boy, Karen's nephew, all looked so cute and fit the part perfectly.  They were followed by the four bridesmaids each looking beautiful.  As they reached the front they were met with one of my groomsmen who escorted them to the bridal party area.

I waited as long as I could till I looked towards the back, to make sure I saw Karen in full view and not just a glimpse.  I was literally blown away by how stunning she looked, my dream bride times a thousand!  Watching her walk down the aisle towards me, while Byron played so well to my right, and with our friends and family present to watch us, wow I was hit hard by what it all meant, and I loved every moment of it.  The symbolicalness of the parents "giving their daughter away" really hit me as I walked out to receive Karen from Doug and Kathy.

The ceremony was beautiful, the exact length and style we had dreamed of.  Dave said many very kind words, and had a friendly but caring manner throughout.  Nick and Kate read our Tanka poem with the perfect feeling and emotion we had hoped for.

Futari no ippo wa onaji ippo

Tankyu surukotowa mugendai

Jyonetsu ga afureteiru kara

Jinsei niwa takusan no yume ga ari

Soshite hakken sarerukoto wo matteiru

Their feet step as one

Exploring infinity

Fueled by desire

Life's path of dreams ahead

Awaiting discovery

Both of us managed to read our vows without mistake, alleviating my biggest pre-wedding fear, and the rings fit well (after a little squeeze!).  The one thing that did kind of catch us off guard was the first kiss.  We were both standing there looking at each other when Dave suddenly announced we could kiss.  Luckily we've been practicing for quite a while now and it was smooth sailing.  A few signatures later, and we were being announced to everyone as Mr and Mrs Angus and Karen White!!  Twenty or so minutes and we were now husband and wife for life!

Andy C hit play on the stereo, George Harrison blared out, and Karen and I walked down the aisle as a married couple with grins spread from ear to ear.

At the conclusion of the ceremony Nick G, the Massive MC, made a toast to us and everyone downed some liquid from the nearest vessel.  Then it was time for some photos.  We started with an awesome group shot of all the guests, shot from the balcony and then Karen and I, flanked by our respective families, made our way to a corner to run through the family photo combinations.

Next up on the to do list, and I must say we were surprised to find ourselves perfectly on time with everything going according to plan, a theme that lasted the entire day, the bridal party loaded up in three cars and we made our way out to Foxton Beach.  Karen and I rode in a beautifully restored 1937 Ford Pontiac driven superbly by my happy father.

The beach photos went like clock work, with the photographer telling us again and again how excited he was at the pictures and how perfect the lighting conditions were, always a good thing to hear!  After we had done a load of shots on the beach, a few in the water and some up on the dunes, we made our way back to the cars, some slower than others (sorry Hamish), and went to the Wetlands for some bush/swamp boardwalk photos.  After we had used up a load of time and film we decided to call it a day.  And just as we got back on the road the heavens opened up signalling yet another perfectly timed event!

Luckily the rain didn't last long and we were able to enjoy some drinks while catching up with everyone back at Duncan House.  Everyone by this stae had now spread out over the entire venue which was awesome to see.  Enjoying NZ beers and wine on a hot summers day, with our best friends and family littered around us, was the perfect way to spend our wedding.

The rain held off for us and enabled us to take away one wall from the marquee opening it up to the lawn on the river side.  People were able to move freely from one area to another and socialize as they pleased.  Everyone seemed to be having a great time, which just reenforced what a great time we were having.

The meal was delicious, and afterwards  we had the speeches.  In total 7 speeches were given and all of them seemed to be right on the money, Nick G strung each speaker together with ease and some great jokes.  Karen had a great blowout in her speech, and to think we were worried about Hamish's!  Alister finished proceedings with many laughs coming from all round the marquee.  And then it was on to dessert and more specifically for Karen, pavlova! (oh how she loves pavlova!)

Very soon the head was being packed away to clear space for the first dance and then Karen took to my arms.  We had attempted to have lessons from a number of different people, had contemplated a set routine, then not to, then to... but basically we had just failed to practice much.  Still, we did a lot better than we would have a month prior and I'm pretty sure didn't make complete arses of ourselves, so all is good.  Ryan Adams - La Cienega Just Smiled - was the first dance choice, not for its lyrics, but for the fact it's just a song we both share.

After a minute we pulled up some other people to join us and then it was all on from there for the rest of the night.  The dance floor was a steady hit throughout the night as the music stayed mainly old school.  The DJ was chilled out and open to requests which was good.  I remember dancing, and belting out the lyrics, to She's Electric with Misty and Byron joining me at one stage of the night.

However, all good things must come to an end and before we knew it we were down to the last song of the night.  Everyone grabbed a partner and danced their feet off before the music was cut and the night was effectively over.

Then it was time for a bit of a downer as we had to say bye to far too many people since we would be leaving the country on the Monday in the early morning.  Hugs all round for many a drunk person and then we grabbed a ride to Levin in Alister's car.

We spent our wedding night at Fantails Levin in a cute little cottage that had been set up nicely for us.  While I hadn't been nearly ready to call it a night back at the venue, once we found a quite room and a bed I realized how long the day had been and it was probably right it ended when it did.

For the rest of the night I got to reminisce with my gorgeous Karen about how we had somehow managed to pull off such a great wedding.  It had been better than we had ever dreamed.  It was truly the best day of our lives.

We know we will forever be indebted to our parents for all the love, help and support they gave us.  Thank you.