I think that it might be safe now to blog about THE wedding I went to last year in November when we flew down to Cape Town for the weekend, this is a true story but names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved.............. and no pictures........... to protect me from a law suit....
Lets start at the very beginning............... the wedding was supposed to take place in March 2011, and we had planned to take a week and spend the time in Cape Town, it was brought forward because the brides parents were emigrating to Australia in December................ we are now in March, and her parents are still here.................
My eldest daughter was a bridesmaid so she spent all afternoon with the bride, us lucky ones arrived at the venue at 4pm the wedding was to start at 4.30pm. The place The Cape Pillars is a four star bed and breakfast, and conference centre, and a very pretty place, there was a welcome table set up in the lobby of the venue with some tea, coffee, and iced water............ no glasses......... only coffee mugs.............. although I must admit the snacks were really good, so I assumed that supper was going to be good because I was starving and we all know what assume means.
We were asked to come through to the hall in which the wedding would take place, the colour scheme for the wedding was maroon and brown, the chairs were orange, all different shapes and sizes, and on each chair scribbled in pencil on a piece of paper torn into small pieces from an A4 sheet was our names, we were back row, now I wonder why that was, we were next to the nurse who was looking after the brides granny, everyone at last is seated..........
The music started and the bride appears at the top of the stairway, her dress was really beautiful, she is a slim young lady with beautiful hair, but attached to her headdress, was a dead drooping flower, she walked down the aisle, the minister smiled, said the vows, asked if they took each other as husband and wife, read a poem about what love is, you may kiss the bride........ 7 minutes later the wedding is over.......... no really the wedding is over........... no prayer, no bible reading, no message, no inspiration, nothing.......... we travelled 1500km and spent R 10 000 for 7 minutes, that is R .. ......... a lot per minute. Kira told me later that she had seen the bride paying the minister R 800 for these 7 minutes, I would have done it better for free...........
The first photo's are being taken outside in the garden, I tell Kira about the dead flower on the brides head, and her looks turn me into a tea strainer, I am let into the fact later that the mother, insisted that the flowers looked nice, but that was before they had become thirsty and started heading downwards looking for water. The grooms mother, who it was quite obvious it not too fond of the bride is crying she is refusing to have her photo taken with the couple, she obviously did not get an invitation to the wedding which said formal, she is dressed as thought she has just come back from a picnic, the photographer convinces her just one photo....... which because two and three, until she stormed off the set.......... I mean left the garden.
The second photo shoot was taken inside on the stairs, lovely photo, I warned them that the sign "mind the step" was visible , and was shot down, they can all be photo shopped out they said .......... well they weren't..... While this was happening the owner wanted to put the TV on and can you imagine an important rugby game, guys, no one would be taking part in the wedding, so I put my foot down ......
then , politely of course that my bed and breakfast was much nicer that this, and why would I change, not sure why but she didn't ask me again......................
We then went out to the back garden for the reception, where we took turns in sitting down, as someone stood up, there would be another body sitting on the chair, before you knew what was happening. As are most wedding here it was a cash bar, should have been called a day light robbery bar, a 2 litre bottle of Coca Cola is R 12.99, and one bottle gives you 8 glasses of coke, and they were charging R 15.00 per glass, daylight robbery, we just refused to buy anything, and I stuck with the tea, coffee and water, After the toasts however the champagne was free so with the help of the brides aunt we "affirmative shopped" a couple of bottles........... the wedding did not seem so bad after that.
Now it is time for the toasts, we are all called to assemble for them, and the brides step father gives the first toast.......................... no champagne ................ he rambled on for about 20 minutes, then her mom had 20 minutes, then the best man had 20 minutes, then the groom had 20 minutes, that the bride had 20 minutes ............... is this normal at a wedding........................ and his mom cried, and cried and cried...........
Now it is time to get this party going......................... and the DJ for the evening is..................... the bride................. forcing everyone onto the dance floor, and no one is in the mood, oh wait a minute there is no mood..........
The wedding starts at 4pm and now it is 7pm and everyone is starving, and out comes, finger food, how much finger food can one person eat........... lots when you are all starving, so we quickly ran out of food. The wedding cake was chocolate and really nice, and came with a liquour called Amarela Cream really nice.............. and free..................
The brides parents, have a printing company, and the thank you gifts were all left overs from jobs they had done........... I got a pen set for my desk, Kayla got a mug, Kira got a picture frame, at 8.30 it was at last safe to leave.................. I pray with all my heart that God was at their wedding and that he will bless then and guide them, and protect them, I pray that the mother-in-law, with whom they live, will learn tolerence and acceptance, and I pray that love is enough to see them through ...........
