The wedding ceremony

 

Our event started with a Jason Mraz song (those of you who know Lisa well will not be surprised by that, but you may be surprised to hear that Lisa didn't want to play any Jason Mraz on our first holiday together - what might not have been if I'd disliked Jason?), and our flowergirls Hannah and Inky walked down the aisle together.  Because we'd moved it inside, they didn't have the bubbleguns we'd prepared for them.  They look adorable, and are followed by...

Our maid of honour, Faith, who is also our cake baker, our pinterest planner, and so many more things. Faith has done so much for us, and we're so delighted with everything she did for us and with us, and we're so glad she also had a moment in the spotlight, looking fantastic.

Finally Lisa, the bride, with her father Dereck.  It's not clear, but behind her there's a sign which says "Happily ever after", and that's precisely what I've been thinking, and seeing her at the end of the aisle reinforced that even more.

Obligatory pause for the father of the bride to present his daughter.  No sadness in this case, only joy.

With the bridal party assembled, we're ready to begin. 

Adding items to our time capsule as they appeared in the story.  If you're not sure how these fit in, check out the video post and all will be explained.

Chris (our master of ceremonies) and Wendy (our celebrant) presented our story together

Juno presented her reading, "The Lovely Dinosaur", by Edward Monkton, which of course set the tone for our chosen readings - charming, and sometimes a little odd - hopefully how our friends think of us.

Darcy with a heartfelt and beautiful rendition of "I can't help falling in love with you", popularized by Elvis Presley.  

 

Which was received with the awe (and awwws) it deserved.

Bec with her reading (‘The One’ by Cheryl Barclay), often specifically (but never weirdly) targeted at the happy couple.

Kelly with her reading (The Union, by Robert Fulgham).  We love this reading for its reality, and how it speaks to promises we have been making, and things we have been saying to each other for the last year.

  

After our storytelling segment concluded, we moved onto the formal proceedings, and Wendy began the official rituals.

 

Draco presents the reading: "We are all a little weird", by Dr Seuss.

Tanya presents her reading "The Art of Marriage" by Wilferd Arlan Peterson, and her speech.  

Our other speeches went afterwards, but we incorporated Tanya's directly into our ceremony so that there'd be time for the warming of the rings. Tanya spoke beautifully of her long-lasting friendship with Lisa, throughout their high school years and how special they are to each other.  For those of you who don't know, the warming of the rings is an age old tradition in which the shamans and elders in the audience dispell the various curses placed upon the rings by those dark forces who oppose us.  In the absence of any magii, our rings are blessed with kind thoughts and words of our friends and family.

Until it was finally time for us to vow ourselves to each other.

After months of anticipation, we're finally allowed to wear our rings.  For those of you interested, there was a month long period a few months earlier during which Lisa had me wear a practice ring, but we've not worn these rings after their initial fitting.  Of course, it's traditional for them not to quite fit on the day, but I think we can both attribute that to not wanting to push too hard on our betrothed's fingers. 

It's been a long day, and I think we all know how it should end.

Thanks for being with us, and to reward you for your patience, there's another 30 minutes of speeches from our family and friends.