Luke and Tahlia are newlyweds

Who would have thought?  Luke and Tahlia unknowingly chose the same date as Eric's late mother's birthday.  It was a Friday too, the same day of the week that we married in '79.  Family members commented that they had only been to 2 Friday weddings - ours and this one.  And although it was Fri 13th it didn't rain, in fact at 2pm on the Esplanade it was blazing sunshine. They did all the organizing themselves and nothing was overlooked, right down to bottles of water under each chair at the service.  The lads looked resplendent in their dark suits with bright bow ties and kerchiefs.  This all coordinated with the girls gorgeous outfits and the bride's simple yet stunning dress. The colourful party stood before a backdrop of the porcelainite rock wall, sun sparkling on the Arafura Sea and a clear blue sky. There will be photos to share with you on Picassa when they return from the SE Asia cruise but in the meantime here are a few from our camera.

Of course the families all scrubbed up pretty well too.  These two had to get their good looks from somewhere.  Unfortunately my brother Col and his partner Beth couldn't make it but my mum Iris and sister Jude and her husband Rog did from the Caddy side.  All of Eric's Smith brothers and their wives made it too. And then there are all the members from the Brown/Fraser families.

Their friend Troy, Pastor at INchurch Darwin conducted the service, his first. Tahlia's brother Jarrah did the bible reading from Ephesians and Luke's brother Adrian played during the interlude while the certificates were signed. We did have to get him to turn the amp down initially, he's never played that quietly before.  And then they had the audacity to finish the signatures before he had finished his set! First time I've ever known anyone to get a round of spontaneous applause after playing at a wedding. The couple were surrounded by so many happy friends and family who all went on to celebrate at the Frontier Restaurant in the evening. The Dad's both managed to get through their speeches without too much quaver in the voice, yet there was obviously heartfelt emotion in their words. A beautiful day, followed-up on Saturday with lunch at SkyCity for the newlyweds and all the relatives.  Most of the wedding party also gatecrashed.  Then we took them to the airport and they departed for Singapore to join their cruise.  We will have a few days here with them when they return in the first week of May. 

We had left here feeling pretty good, confident all our prep was done for the replacement teachers and not overwhelmed with loose ends to tie up.  On arrival in Darwin though we were not impressed with the state of Koolpinyah and set about for the next 2 days cleaning and working in the garden. Thank goodness it is no longer to be a bachelor pad! Not that we expect Tahlia to be the housekeeper, but that she wields the whip that keeps it in shape (Are you reading this Luke?). After 2 days we were reasonably happy for Mum and my sister to share it and that night we had all the smith family join us for a bbq on the back verandah. 

By the time we left, and after 4 trips to the tip, it was back in shape and it better stay that way. Ali at first seemed a bit confused that we were back but she was soon getting spoilt all over again. Now she is having a holiday at Adrian's place. 

It was great to get the opportunity to catch up with a few of our treasured  friends, but also disappointing that we just couldn't fit others in. Eric managed to see some of his colleagues from Humpty Doo but I just couldn't
get to TEGS on the Monday, too many chores to tick off the 'to do' list.