'The Wedding'..... They finally did it! - 2nd August

Weddings are a special day so this event deserves it's very own page.

This story is about the marriage of Toni Somers to Andrew Shard and their commitment to their son Joshua.

With nervousness in the air we arrived at Toni and Andrews home, ready to help them celebrate their wedding following a 17 year relationship including 7 years of engagement.

The preparation began with the arrival of Poppy (Toni & Chris' dad) from Perth on the Wednesday. After lugging all his gear from the Train station, to the Bus station then down the street to the home he looked like a grey ghost, but thank goodness after a lay down he was better....... next time he'll remember his mobile so we can pick him up!.

We then madly sorted out our clothes that Poppy had brought over to find Riley had out grown his shoes and shirt so it was off to the shops for some wedding attire. With pick ups and deliveries to be made by the bride to be, Bell managed to squeeze in her first haircut for 3 months then went out with Toni for the rest of the day.

See photo - Riley & Aiden giving Aunt Toni
a wedding butterfly to hold.

Friday the August 5th arrived and without any prompting the boys disappeared for the morning whilst Toni enjoyed some quiet time in the cupboard with Teabags on her eyes (lack of sleep can do this). This was followed by the arrival of the hairdresser and makeup artist to help all the girls get prepared, this is when lucky Bell got a sneak peek of the Bride before the ceremony.


See photo - Chris, Andrew, Dad
Aiden, Josh, Riley.

2pm arrived with all the family pressed, dressed, unstressed and ready to go....... it was a miracle!
(even though we all got ready in one house........ different rooms of course) however i think the excitement was starting to show just before
leaving home as the big moment had finally arrived.
Andrew, Toni, Josh and Poppy went ahead to visit Andrews Grandfather who could not make it to the big day, then on to the gardens for some early photos as the photographers were concerned they may not have enough light after the ceremony.

The weather turned out to be fantastic after a little
scare with rain on the horizon earlier in the morning.
We made our way to Kholo Botanical Gardens, on Riverside Drive, Muirlea. It was a beautiful location for the ceremony by the lovely lake. With no wind or rain and a temp around 22 degrees... it was perfect.



The ceremony was sweet with Joshua looking cute, Poppy had to dash off before the ceremony began to get the rings out of the car and Andrew almost threw the ring in the water after untying the bow on the cushion. With all these exciting moments aside the vows were beautiful.
After Shirley and Steve (good friends of Toni and Andrews "T&A's") witnessed the commitment, it was time to indulge with champagne and beer along with some lovely nibbles that included endless supply of cupcakes for Riley & Aiden and not least the other children.


Now all the nervousness had vanished and feeling a little more relaxed it was time for the photos.


See photo - Family Photo
Bell, Chris, Dad, Toni, Andrew
Aiden, Riley and Joshua.

We then headed back to T&A's to leave the boys with the babysitter so we could have our first night out in 3 months.  Off to 'Platform 9' Ipswich International for dinner and drinks....where the company and the food were great! With 30 guests at the reception it was the perfect size to be able to relax, wine and dine. After some lovely speeches including Dad's quote  "They Finally Did It!" it was time to cut the cake!

 

See photo - The happy couple standing on the cake.

 The cake was lovely, classic and simple in design with a pair of caricature bobble head figurines on top. It also tasted great and I must admit in all my time being involved with weddings I have never come across a macadamia and butterscotch cake, yummy.

Music for this slide show was used in the wedding and is one of Toni & Andrews favourite pieces - "Wild Horses" by the Rolling Stones.

Enjoy............. this youtube celebration!