Yes another chapter to "The Wedding".  Hey it is not everyday your son gets married, so I have to milk it for all it is worth.

Okay I have a confession to make, but I always try to be honest even when it comes to weddings.  I have to admit that I was rather disappointed in the wedding ceremony, but on the bright side the reception made up for it.

So why was the mother of the groom so disappointed, well if you are interested I shall tell you.

I actually love weddings and I am usually one of those people who cry at weddings.  I was armed with a small packet of tissues and I never had to use them - so that is how disappointing the ceremony was, I didn't cry!

The flower girl was my granddaughter and her mother (my daughter in-law - Xena) had to sit in the pew on the bride's side of the church just behind where Ursula (flower girl) would be sitting for some of the ceremony.  Xena didn't want to be sitting alone so she wanted me to sit with her and I did, but it meant that we were at the far end of the pew away from the isle and Maria's parents were also sitting in the same pew but right on the isle.  Because of where we were sitting we weren't able to see the bride and groom where they sat for most of the service, they sat on a twin seat well to the side of the centre of the church over on the groom's side of the church (where I should have been).  Once it was time to say their vows, once again it was difficult to see them or hear them.  Then when it was time to sign the register at the end of the service, well we didn't get to see that at all, in fact the only people who would have seen it was the priest, the bride and groom, the attendants and the photographer and the videographer.  Everyone else in the church got to see the backs of the photographer and the videographer, there was no opportunity to take our own photos or see the signing actually taking place.  I will be honest; I did not feel a part of the ceremony at all.  During the service the priest said, "I wonder what wedding's would be like without photos and videos to remind us of the day, that is why we have the rings to remind us of the day and the vows that were taken on the day."  I think you know what I was also thinking by the end of the ceremony, "Yes if we didn't have photographers and videographers we might have actually seen some of the ceremony!"  The other issue was that because we were stuck well away from the isle, when the service was over and the happy couple were walking down the isle, there was no opportunity for me to congratulate them.  Anyway I am not speaking at of school so to speak, as they do know of my disappointment.  Okay enough personal bitching, lets get on with the event.

The bride was beautiful and I love her dearly and my son could not have picked a better bride to match him.  I am very sure that they will be happy together.

Poor Quinn he really was suffering with his bronchitis poor lad, when it came time to say the vows he started to have a coughing fit before he had even spoken a word.  The priest had to go out the back and find a glass of water for him before he could proceed.  Anyway the bits that I did actually get to see showed a very happy groom and you can see it in his eyes, in one of the rare photos I was able to take during the service.

Son Leigh had to give a Bible reading and at one point he stumbled on the words.  I found out later that he was trying not to laugh.  Apparently during the Holy Communion son Ben nearly broke out laughing, when Maria had her sip from the communion goblet she tipped it in such a way that it made it look like she was taking a huge swig of the contents, but in reality there was hardly anything in the large goblet and she needed to nearly tip it vertical to drink the contents.

When it was time to leave the church we all filed out after them and it just started to lightly rain, so we all waited for the shower to pass and it did after a few minutes.  Then a few photos of the bridal party and parents were taken on the steps of the church.

Then we all discovered why the bride had to be on time!  As we were all filing out of the church two stretch limos turned up just to one side of the main church doorway and their contents were the groom and his men for the next wedding!  So we felt like we were all getting pushed out of the way and there was virtually no time for people to mingle and congratulate the newly weds.  No time for photos outside the church.  So it was a quick dash to get the bridal party into their cars and we had to go with them to the official photo location so that family photos could be taken.

The bride and groom signing the register