Houston, We Have Shoes

As I mentioned way back when I’d found a pair of really cute wedding shoes that I loved

Ginger by Gabriella Rocha

but that neither of the places that stocked them 6pm or Zappos shipped to Australia.

In the end, I resorted to a re-shipping place Ship It To and I was starting to get a bit worried, because their website claims that it usually only takes 2-3 weeks for packages to arrive from their warehouse to Australia, and I had been waiting 33 days.

But, all is well. I arrived home today to find the package sitting on my doorstep, and even better, the shoes fit! I think they’re a tiny bit loose, but by the time I put on stockings and/or pad the shoes, that should be fine. Got to be better than being too small!

So cross another thing off the list. Now I just have to track down a fingertip veil* and lose enough weight to buy the dress and we’ll be almost ready!

*I was hoping to use either my Mum’s or the soon-to-be-Mother-In-Law’s veil as either my something old or something borrowed. If so, this will be sorted, if not I think I’m going to have to start hitting either ebay or etsy.

Ceremony

The negotiations about writing our own vows versus using traditional vows has resurfaced, but I suspect I’m going to win this one* so I’ve copied the draft vows that we’ll be using. We’re semi-adapting a reading from Corinthians 13, and I haven’t quite worked out how this is going to read, but otherwise it’s pretty close to the final version.

Celebrant:
We are gathered here today in the face of this company, to join together (Groom’s Name) and (Bride’s Name) in holy matrimony; which is an honourable and solemn estate and therefore is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and soberly. Into this estate these two persons present come now to be joined. If any one can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.
Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

Father:
I do.

Then the bride is given away.

Celebrant to Groom:
(Groom’s Name), do you take (Bride’s Name) as your lawfully wedded wife, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honour, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her for as long as you both shall live?

Groom:
I do.

Celebrant to Bride:
(Bride’s Name), do you take (Groom’s Name) as your lawfully wedded husband, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honour, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live?

Bride:
I do.

1 Corinthians 13
Love is never tired of waiting; love is kind; love has no envy; love has no high opinion of itself, love has no pride; Love’s ways are ever fair, it takes no thought for itself; it is not quickly made angry, it takes no account of evil; 6 It takes no pleasure in wrongdoing, but has joy in what is true; Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails.
So faith, hope and love remain and the greatest of these is love / In this life we have three lasting qualities — faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Celebrant: addressing the groom who repeats the marriage vows:
I (Groom’s Name) take thee (Bride’s Name) to be my lawfully wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honour, and cherish, ’til death do us part.

Celebrant: then to the bride who repeats the marriage vows:
I (Bride’s Name) take thee (Groom’s Name) to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honour, and cherish, ’til death do us part.

The Celebrant then asks for the brides ring from the best man.

Celebrant: (about brides ring):
May this ring be blessed so he who gives it and she who wears it may abide in peace, and continue in love until life’s end.

Groom: placing ring on bride’s finger:
With this Ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow.

Celebrant: (about groom’s ring):
May this ring be blessed so that she who gives it and he who wears it may abide in peace, and continue in love until life’s end.

Bride: placing ring on groom’s finger:
With this Ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow

You may want to play a song or some music here.

Celebrant:
May this couple be prepared to continue to give, be able to forgive and experience more and more joy with each passing day, with each passing year. (Groom’s Name) and (Bride’s Name), are now beginning their married life together, we hope that they may have loving assistance from their family, the constant support of friends, and a long life with good health and everlasting love. In so much as (Groom’s Name) and (Bride’s Name) have consented to live forever together in wedlock, and have witnessed the same before this company, having given and pledged their troth, each to the other, and having declared same by the giving and receiving of a ring, I pronounce that they are husband and wife.

Celebrant: (to the couple):
You may now seal the promises you have made with each other with a kiss. You may now kiss your bride.

Celebrant:
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the loving couple
Mr. and Mrs.…………

Music and Signing of the Register.

Now we’re just left with working out the music to be played while the guests wait for me to show up.

* Well, win pieces of it. I’m still forbidden from using references to God, which means no ending with “Let those which God has joined let no man tear asunder” and references to ‘obeying and serving’ have been replaced with cherish. But I guess I can live with that. Especially since I’m an atheist…

Wedding Songs

We’re having an organ play during the actual ceremony, and a live (as opposed to a dead and/or recorded) jazz band for the reception, but I can’t work out what songs we should have.

I’ll be walking down the aisle to the Bridal March and I would like the recessional to be Parchelbel’s Canon in D, but I have no idea what other songs to play while the guests wait for my arrival.

Similarly, we’ve agreed on Etta James’s “At Last” for the First Dance (to which I”m hoping we’ll be doing a blues waltz), but I’m not sure of any other songs. I’m not in search for anything in particular for things like cake cutting, garter tossing (which we won’t be having anyway) or bouquet throwing, but general suggestions would be handy.

Especially for songs from between about the 1930s to 1950s (and yes, I’m pretty sure “At Last” was written after that).

Bridesmaids Hair

I had planned* on having those of my bridesmaids with hair long enough wear a chignon**, and just leave anyone else’s too short hair alone. Beyond that, I hadn’t given much thought to what I would put in it (if anything). I had given some passing thought to (fake) pearl tipped pins, but then I saw this

Flower Hair Clip

at Gold Coast Chic‘s Etsy shop and I thought something similar but in pink might look nice.

Help me decide?

*It seems to me like every one of my posts starts like this. Does it seem that way to you?

**Fancy word for ‘bun’.

Invitation Inspiration

I’ve been trying to find the original invitation inspiration that I posted about way back in the beginning, but unfortunately I can’t.

This wedding invitation

Invitation Inspiration

at My Wedding is probably the closest I can find (and is growing on me, actually. Of course, it helps that the pink of the invitations is similar to the pink I was planning on using. I wonder if I can talk the fiance into wanting pink invitations…)

Wedding Vows

I’ve always loved the traditional vows, where the woman undertakes to “love honour and obey” and the man undertakes to “love honour and cherish”, and ultimately you are pronounced man and wife.

Unfortunately the fiance disagrees.

I think I’ve managed to talk him into retaining the original vows, instead of writing our own, but I appear to be losing the battle to be “man and wife” rather than “husband and wife”.

He thinks “man and wife” makes the woman sound like a chattel, property to be passed back and forth. Which is exactly my point and why I like it (I’m far too old fashioned for my own good sometimes, my mother would have a fit!).

I’m wondering what other people think about this issue. What did you do, and why?

Lego Bonbonniere

I think I’ve finally talked the fiance into giving out lego as bonbonniere.

You can buy tubs of pieces for $60 or so, and then if we divide them up into small packs of 5-10 pieces, there should be enough for everyone.

Now I’m just trying to come up with a catchy phrase to put on the containers holding the lego.

“Built to Last” perhaps? Or “Made to Fit”?

Any better suggestions?