The drive up to Stanley was surreal - once we passed Burnie, this heavy rainy mist set in and made the landscape look like a scene out of some medieval movie.

Once we arrived at our hotel, we were greeted with a surprise - we had been upgraded to the Seaview Spa Suite! Score :D

After such a busy few weeks leading up to the wedding, and a very tiring day before, we were just glad to have a nice King size bed to veg out on for a couple hours, so we ordered room service for dinner, and napped until 7PM. Ahh bliss...

Here's the view from the hotel room:

9.30AM:
I didn't wake up as early as I thought I would - thankfully! To be honest, I was glad for the extra sleep.

10AM:
Mum arrived earlier than I expected her - I think she was just as excited as I was!

10:40AM:
Lisa and Ben also arrived earlier than I expected. I was just making coffee, and definitely had not had a shower yet!

11AM:
By this time I was showered, and ready to let Lisa get started on my hair. Casey was also on her way. Mum was also making yummy sandwiches for us to get stuck into - Ham, Avocado, Smoked Salmon and Philly are just a few of the fillings we had - mmmm...

11.30AM:
Brittany, Casey & Tim arrived in fairly quick succession - I'm not even sure who came first (I'm sure one of them knows!). Brittany was bouncing and raring to go, and Casey had brought much needed supplies - a couple of bottles of Zibbibo to liven up the morning.

The time between:
This became a bit of a blur for me. Lisa worked hard on my hair - and Casey & Brittany's - until a little before 2PM I think. Casey did an awesome job on her 'instant manicure' (read: false nails), I did Brittany's and my nails while my hair was setting, and then did Brittany's makeup - she looked like a beautiful little angel. Then we started getting dressed - Brittany, then Casey, then myself. Getting into my dress was fine, but getting it to sit in the right place was a little bit of a drama, as I had somehow managed to tone my tummy up in the two weeks since my last fitting - even though I tried not to!!

3:45PM:
Brent and Tonia arrived. Brent was to be our chauffeur for the afternoon - the car was beautifully shiny thanks to Broc's attentions over the last few weeks. All she needed was the traditional ribbon - and the Bride, Maid of Honor and Flower Girl of course! The ribbon was a job best left to Brent I thought - and he did a fine job. Buggered if I knew how to put the thing on! I think I was shaking a little by this point anyway.

4.05PM:
The four of us - Brittany, Brent, Casey and myself - were all ready and raring to go, but we had to wait! It wouldn't be a wedding if the Bride arrived before the guests - or the Groom! So we chatted idly, and finished off the Zibbibo. Still shaking!

4.18PM:
We just couldn't wait any longer. We all piled into the car (no mean feat with my great big dress - especially since I chose to sit in the middle!), to find that several flies had found their way in during the preceding hours. All the car windows had been left open to air the car out for us (by my always sweet Broc), but the flies had other ideas. Oh well! Turns out bouquets also make great fly swats! :D The drive there was amazing - I felt like royalty! Still shaking a little though - not nervous, just so excited!!!

4.32PM:
We arrived - greeted by my Mum, Grandad and Joe, our dedicated photographer. It's funny. You think everything will happen so quickly, but not so! You have to do everything slowly, take your time, so the photographer can get that perfect shot. I eventually made it out of the car - assisted by my beautiful girls - and thankfully grabbed Granddad's arm for him to lead me to the deck.

Well, that's it for now... Writing all that has been more draining than I thought! But I will finish it - I promise!!

What beautiful weather we've had!

I had a lovely day out with our niece & two nephews on Saturday at the Launceston Church Grammar School Fair - it was a treat to get out in the sunshine, even if I did get a little burnt! With only 12 days left until the big day, I really needed a relaxing day - if you can still call being out in a large, crowded public space with an 8 year old and very active 5 & 2 yr old boys relaxing! But I enjoyed myself.

We also went out on Saturday night to celebrate Dan's Birthday/Housewarming. Much food was eaten, many glow-sticks used in interesting ways and much Wii was played by all. A good night. (Where's the PICS Dan?!)

I still have such a long list of things to do, and it seems that every time I cross something off, there's something else to do! Will I ever get it all finished??