The wedding

The bride getting ready. This was before she put on her jewelry and veil

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My sister's wedding on Tuesday was amazing, but between being a bridesmaid and chasing around after the Podlings, I somehow didn't manage to get any decent shots of the bride and groom. Mark was busy filming the event, so he didn't take many pictures either. I'll be getting a copy of the official pictures, so to be honest I wasn't too worried about trying to duplicate the photographer's shots with my little camera. I'll no doubt have lots more pictures to share when I have copies of the wedding photos! Nevertheless, just to warn you, this post still contains a lot of photos!
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We left home early and arrived at the hotel at about two. We let the Podlings stretch their legs and then went up to the honeymoon suite to get ready with my sister. My mum, the photographer (a friend of my mum's)and my sister's two best friends (one of whom was the other adult bridesmaid), were also there but the suite was so big we didn't feel crowded. Lily was thrilled to get all dressed up and spent a reasonable amount of time admiring herself in the mirror. If you called her Princess Lily you could get her to do just about anything that day!
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Tom was another matter. He was a very reluctant page boy and refused to even get dressed. We practically had to pin him to get his clothes on. When we handed him the ring pillow just before the ceremony, he immediately dropped it on the floor and one of the rings fell off...eek! Thankfully the ring didn't roll under the enormous heavy oak sideboard nearby, or we could have been in real trouble! I ended up carrying him in the procession, with him holding my bouquet. My mum made a wonderful ring bearer!

Lily looked so adorable! My talented mum made both this dress and Tom's waistcoat.

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Elaine looked absolutely beautiful. The picture I took just doesn't do justice to her stunning dress. Gareth looked like the cat that got the cream after the ceremony...they were both so happy. They had been engaged for nearly seven years, so they'd waited a long time for this day and we were all so thrilled for them.

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The children behaved during the ceremony (phew!) and, despite the fact that it had rained earlier in the day, the sun came out and they had good weather for the photos. The meal was fantastic, the speeches were both funny and touching and the chocolate wedding cake was to die for! It was lovely to see all the family together again and to see my sister so happy.

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It was, in short, a perfect day.

This was the closest we could get to a family photo. Note the stunning red juice that Lily is looking longingly at. Note the white dress that meant she wasn't allowed any!

Lily, the garden fairy
A mother/daughter moment

The Reluctant Page Boy and his sister

My mum and dad with Tom. Mum looked amazing and Dad did a grand job with his speech, it was really touching.

The bride and groom during the reception. They are a really special couple.

The room was very hot. By the end of the evening, Tom was down to his waistcoat and pull-up pants!