The Big Day

Well, after chasing Rachel the length and breadth of America, conducting a long distance romance, hours on Skype, coaxing her to Australia, planning a proposal, a 21st and an engagement party, then being separated again while all the paperwork was sorted, before finally flying half way around the world to get hitched, Brendan's big day finally arrived.

We were up early and into our working clothes to assist Mike and Lynne to do the last minute setup tasks in the Atrium once it was closed to the public. Got downstairs at 9 o'clock as arranged but, true to form, Mike and Lynne didn't turn up till 10, and the day's timing never recovered. In the meantime we sat around and watched the hotel staff argue with the delivery people about how the arch was to go up, how the flowers were to be arranged, and where the projector screens were to be put. However, the chairs were all out, so that was a good start. 

About 9:45, Ashley and Jess arrived to practice their songs, but the microphones, cables and sound gear weren't there yet - it was all coming with Mike, so they also sat around and watched the fun too. Meanwhile the girls in the party had a big room up on the 8th floor opposite ours to get dressed in, and the boys in the party used our room, which was kind of convenient as things and messages had to be passed between them from time to time, and the photographer didn't have to go far.

Mike and Lynne arrived about 10, and Mike started setting up the cables and speakers. The hotel staff had finished the arch, the flowers, the bows and the ribbons by then, so Mandy and Lynne set out the candles around the room, and the small candles and unity candle up front to be used in the service.

By the time the mikes and speakers were all sorted, and the musicians briefed, people were already arriving, so Ash and Jess never got to practice, and adjust their levels. Whoops #1. The hotel event staff never checked sound levels on the mikes. Whoops #2. The guy who was working the computer for the overheads and movies wasn't there, and had no idea about what was happening when. Whoops #3. Pastor Eric arrived and asked for a copy of the vows which turned out to be upstairs, so I raced upstairs to get them off Brendan, who said that Sarah actually had them. Whoops #4. Mike hadn't brought the running sheet for the reception. Whoops #5. The corsages hadn't been handed out to the parents, attendants, participants in the service and grandparents. Whoops #6.

By now it was 10:50, with the guests all seated, and with the wedding 10 minutes away, the four parents and Ash were still in the atrium in their working clothes, so we fled upstairs to change, and sort out which flowers went on which guys - it's not a skill you learn in college and they needed help.

Finally with everybody dressed, we arrived downstairs at 11:15, and when Mike arrived at about 11:20 with news that Rachel was ready, we got to our starting places, and it all began.

Now weddings in the US are all very punctual affairs, and you might actually wonder how this late wedding with so many possibilities for problems went. Actually it all went remarkably well, and it was such a happy event that the things that did go wrong hardly mattered.

With Pastor Eric and the boy's party already at the front, Mike and Lynne were first to process, and they waited at the front for Mandy and I to join them. As Mandy and I started our walk, the musicians struck up "Sunrise Sunset" which was just about the worst choice you could make for Mandy. She immediately turned into a blubbering wreck, muttered "Oh, Brendan!", and had tears streaming down her face as we walked down the aisle trying our best to look happy and composed. The mothers went forward to light the family candles while Mike and I waited, and we all then walked back to our seats. With us all seated, Mike finally left to get Rachel.

Eventually the bridal party appeared on the overhead walkway, and processed around to the back of the atrium. The view was lovely for the congregation, but unfortunately it was all above Brendan's head, so he never got to see her arrive. The attendants processed one at a time, with Rachel, who wore a short veil and looked lovely, the last to arrive. By now it was 11:30, and Pastor Eric started by welcoming us all to this joining of two families and two continents, and explained how we were observing the Australian tradition of the bride being late - bless him!

You don't normally sing at an American wedding, but it was one of Brendan's must haves, so we started with 'In Christ Alone' which the Aussies took to with gusto, though we have no idea whether any of the Americans behind us were singing. That's when all the whoops started surfacing. The mike and guitar levels were pretty horrible, and the guy couldn't get the words on the overheads sync'ed, so Ash and Jess battled on gamely with the Aussies leading the singing, and we eventually got through it.

The vows were next, and Brendan and Rachel had learned theirs, so there really wasn't an issue there. The rings followed, and it took a bit of surreptitious persuading to get Rachel's ring on properly. Neisha and Kristen then did the two readings. Without the running sheet to guide him, Eric introduced Kristen as Nicole and Adam as Alec, but nobody else knew any better so it didn't matter.

Then the big whoops came in to play. Adam's address on DVD came next, and the overhead guy didn't know how to start it, so after a fairly pregnant pause I headed over to assist him. Then he didn't start it at the beginning, so Eric had to ask him to stop and start it all again, which turned out to be a good idea. John Gibbs had done a great job of putting iconic Australian backgrounds on rotation behind Adam as he spoke, and that got a bit of a laugh. Adam's message was really good, and they had the sound adjusted by them, so it was all starting to hang together. 

Ash and Jess sang 'Marry Me' while Brendan and Rachel lit the unity candle from the two family candles, and then extinguished the family candles to mark the start of their new life together, and prayed with Eric. Ash and Jess did a great job. Eric was about to draw it all to a close, when I realised that he'd completely overlooked the prayers, so I ended up catching Dan's eye and mimed the problem, and he interrupted Eric to remind him. Be better if the running sheet had turned up. However, Megan prayed for Rachel and Bec prayed for Brendan, so order was finally restored, and Eric finally introduced Mr and Mrs Brendan and Rachel Daws - another Australian tradition which Brendan insisted on, as it would normally be just Mr and Mrs Brendan Daws.

As they started to head down the aisle, Mike's surprise for Rachel caught her completely off guard. Her face was priceless. A six piece New Orleans style jazz band appeared at the back of the atrium to play them down the aisle, and serenade the guests over refreshments. Rachel had seen them at a college function and had mentioned that she really liked them, and it was a really nice touch.

After we'd all processed out, the guests all mingled in the atrium for drinks and nibbles while the band played and the bride and groom mingled for photos. After a little while, Brendan got the idea that photos were going to be fairly informal, so he started marshalling people and organising all the various combinations of people for photos, finishing off with a photo of the 13 Aussies who had made the trip. When we suggested that he should take up wedding photography, he just rolled his eyes.

By this time it was about 1:30, we were an hour late, and the guests had been seated for lunch for some time. After some discussion with the MC about the order of the entrance (where was that running sheet?), we were finally announced, and then seated. Cue the long suffering waiters. Mandy's notes tell me that there was Italian Wedding Soup, followed by a type of Caesar Salad, then dishes of main course were put on each table - beef, chicken, pasta, vegetables and bread. Me - I really can't remember, but it was all yummy. The wedding cake was served as dessert, which seems to be a new tradition. It was a vanilla and chocolate sponge with white frosting, which was very nice. 

In between the courses there were first the speeches - Mike and I spoke, then Daniel and Sarah spoke as attendants - then later on Brendan and Rachel got to show off their bridal dance - a choreographed dance that they had taken a number of lessons to perfect, before Mike danced with Rachel, and we all joined in. There was lots of music during the afternoon. A blind singer sang a couple of songs which were originally targeted for the bridal waltz, until Brendan vetoed them because they didn't fit the dance. Mike's band played a set with Mike on drums in his suit (a certain chick magnet), then CJ the DJ cranked up the music and flirted with all the girls 20 years younger than himself on the dance floor. Some slow dances, some energetic ones, some line dances and finally, inevitably, Men at Work got a run with 'Land Down Under' much to the delight of all the Aussies in the room who found their voice. 

Unfortunately, because we were all running very late, Ash didn't get to play anything, which was the original plan (just where was that running sheet?), and by the time Brendan and Rachel made their speech many of the guests had started to leave. Rachel threw the bouquet which Jess caught, and the cleaning up started.

During the afternoon there had been candy tables set up over one side of the room. Seems to be a usual part of the event over there, and you got a candy bag to fill up with all your favourites to take home instead of cake. This is where all the minties, fantales, caramel koalas and freddo frogs that we had taken over were all destined for, but we ended up finding that lots of them were left as the locals didn't know what they were, and so avoided them. 

On the other side of the room had been a chocolate fountain with strawberries, marshmallows and pretzel sticks laid on, so it wasn't a waist friendly event. 

We helped with the pack up, as Mike and Lynne were pretty much over it by that stage after a really long day, souvenired a table decoration to take back for Grandma who couldn't make the trip due to her heart problems, and finally got back to our room in the hotel about 7pm. All of the attendants, parents, grandparents, Aussies and even the bride and groom had rooms at the hotel for the night, so it wasn't far to go and collapse, though we never saw anybody else.

A great day, which all came together well, and reflected Rachel and Brendan's personalities and dreams for their special day, so we all had lots of happy memories to take away.