Mae and Nick's wedding

Happy, happy sigh.

My little girl married her sweetheart boy last Sunday in a colourful, funny, unconventional wedding that was just so enjoyable. It was full of life and love and laughter and quirky, geeky details. It feels like a miracle to me; she is well, she is with someone so kind and caring, she is happy and they are looking to their future together with hope.

Here they are, Mr and Mrs Hingee-Jones.

And here is the wedding day, in pictures.

Mae's long time friend Matt the bunny wrangler is tall enough to hold up the magnificent embellished, looped and draped gown with its train. It is in a glorious deep vibrant red, the kind of colour that shouts about life being wonderful to live!

Mae's latest PET scans were blessedly clear. This welcome news came only three days before the wedding.

While Mae and her maids were dressing, people were flying in from all over. This is stepsister Lindsey from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

Sibs Wim and Lian drove up from Melbourne. Wim (L) played beautifully before and after the ceremony.

Gold Creek Chapel is a charming building, a non religious ceremonial space, the sides open to gardens and the whole front wall is glass, looking over a fountain.

Nick and his groomspeople, including Hannah at the far right, who suited up just like the boys.

At the appointed time, distant sounds of brass instruments could be heard approaching. Mae and the bridesmaids walked in a procession from the bridal preparation rooms nearby, accompanied by a brass ensemble playing the wedding march. What an entrance.

The players are mostly friends of Mae and her maid of honour, Sarah.

Bridesmaids Jessica, Lian, Stephanie and Sarah, wearing lace over satin cocktail dresses in grey and black. Very elegant.

The chapel was full. There were about a hundred people there.

Of course, there had to be an animal attendant somewhere in the proceedings. This took an amazing amount of planning and organising, but Pippin was a magnificent ring-bearer, resplendent in his little tux and top hat. So long as Matt kept up the ear stroking, all was well.

The vows were touching. "We were aiming for relatives Bingo" Mae said later. The bridesmaids were cued to count how many people cried. Bingo was six in a row. I did my bit.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the celebrant paused. "And now", he said "you may update your Facebook status". So Nick whipped out his phone while everybody laughed and cheered.

The kiss.

Signing the register.

Lian looked as lovely as always. The wistful look may be partly about the fact that she is moving to New York soon, to join her husband Matt who is already living there.

I was rather pleased with my cut-price designer MOTB (mother-of-the-bride) outfit. Lian took me to Southbank's DFO, bless her. You will have a new dress for Mae's wedding, she told me firmly. Don't argue.

Wim and David scrubbed up pretty well also.

 Mae's kitty cat bridal slippers and stripey hose. Very Mae.

Reception was at The Abbey, Gold Creek. This is David with his daughter Lindsey and son Julian. It was the first time in years that David and I had all five of our children in one place at one time. I hope the photos come out well!

There were so many delightful little touches in this celebration. Nick made these bridal daleks in honor of his and Mae's Dr Who obsession. There was an instant camera with dress-ups for a memory book. The place cards were hung on a miniature washing line over real grass. Each guest received a little swan carrying chocolates embossed with "Mae and Nick". A lovely touch was Stephanie's hand-made mobile with 1,000 paper cranes, hanging over the entry. Guests were invited to make more with origami paper and instructions on each table. There was even a helium filled air shark circling the space above the tables.

 The Abbey features a 19th century organ which sits behind the bridal table.

The food and wine was just lovely. Stylish settings and expert service. It is a well oiled machine.

The cake featured little models of Mae and Nick plus their fluffies: Mia staring from the top tier, Olive shamelessly on her back on the next tier and Gus falling off, as he does. Rabbits Evie and Pippin were at the bottom tearing off the decorations.

Lian had sewn little heart shaped sequin elbow patches onto the bridesmaids warm tops. Cute touch.

The nine piece Brass Knuckle Band had everybody up and dancing. Plus David starred in a his first ever solo vocal performance, playing his trombone with the band and singing "Chip, Chip", that terrible cautionary tale about how not to "make your baby cry". Ironic of course. It went over really well. Phew! Thanks to Marg for the notation, to Wim for the guitar backing and to the band for the arrangement. Could this be the start of a vocal career?

The beautiful flowers were a highlight. This is Lian's bouquet.

Finally I thought I might share the speech David and I made. What a privilege. And I almost got through it without crying. People were very sweet and laughed and cheered in all the right places.

D
Good evening everybody. This is going to be a two-person speech. Mae has lots of parents and we are just two of them. My name is David and I am Mae's Stepdad. I've been in Mae's life since she was a darling little four year old. 

S
And my name is Sue and I'm Mae's Mum. I've been in Mae's life since she was a surprise! The best surprise I ever had, not a tummy bug after all! That wonderful surprise has grown into the gorgeous young woman that we all love today.

D
It is such a pleasure and a privilege for me to be able to stand here and welcome all of you to Mae and Nick's wedding. Some of you have come a very long way to join us in this celebration and we thank you very sincerely for being here. Those dear friends and family closer to home are equally welcome.  Your caring support and friendship for Mae and Nick is just tremendous.

S
May I say, I agree David! I give the occasion five stars. It's lovely to be able to thank all you lovely people for being "here" at the wedding and also for being "there" generally for Mae and Nick. We congratulate Mae and Nick for doing such a great job of organising this occasion. They thought of everything didn't they? This wedding celebration is such a true reflection of of everything the two of them stand for and enjoy.  Did you notice the animal themes? The origami? The chocolates? The music? The red dress! Which is a nod to Mae's Chinese heritage. As well as looking smashing. Red is her colour.

D
We want to share with you some of the things we love and admire about Mae. We love the passion and persistence that she showed in her academic studies. She has achieved outstandingly in her Science degree and we are so proud of her for that. She has much more to give too, as she is now hoping become a vet. We know you'll do it Mae!

S
We love Mae's besottedness with animals which is a lifelong characteristic. It was never dollies as a little kid, it was animals all the way up to today. We love the way she still cherishes Tigger the stuffed tiger and we still have the photos of her tearing off the wrappings on her 6th birthday. There was one pet-free period in her young life when she had to resort to bringing in creepy crawlies from the garden. Who can forget Spunky the caterpillar. Actually it was many Spunkies, some of whom pupated in her animal print curtains. 

D
We love her personality and her character. She is such a giving person, kind, supportive and generous. So approachable and fun to be with. And she doesn't mind telling it how it is. I like that stuff. She can always be relied upon to stick up for the underdog or undercat or underrabbit. 

S
We admire and are humbled by Mae's courage. The journey she has been on, to be here and physically well, demonstrates a strength of character and a determination that is rarely seen. Throughout the dark times she showed a strong core-resilience that just takes my breath away. We are just so proud of the way she has come through.

D
Nick Jones is a young man who has so completely captured Mae's heart.  We are really pleased about this marriage because we can see how well-suited they are. Nick is a kind, gentle, smart man.  We are lucky to have him join our family.

S
We want to welcome you, Nick into our family. It is a complicated family with many different parts and quirks. But one thing I believe we all share is that we are all happy that you have made Mae happy. We appreciate that Nick's family and friends in SA let him go so that he could come to Canberra. We know he misses you all but he seems to have become pretty settled here! Thanks to Ursula and Andrew for raising such a good person. Nick, we can see what Mae sees in you.  You're a humble sort of guy, so these words might be excruciatingly embarrassing. Just cover your ears if you need to. We like the way you share Mae's connection with animals and you are just as dotty about all your fluffies as she is. We love the sense of humour. Delightfully bizarre. We like that you are so smart and yet you never put yourself above others. We love that you take care of things and especially how you take care of Mae. You are so protective of her and you have been the one having to deal with the toughest times and the grittiest tasks in the last 18 months or so. You hardly ever blow your top, which is amazing. You are developing well as a cook and BBQer.  The gardening not so much, but that's completely understandable.  All in all, a wonderful husband. Thank you for being you and for being here today.

D
Here. here. 
We wish both of you future happiness. We imagine you both is a few years time surrounded by twenty cats, a dozen or so rabbits, a few dogs, maybe an alpaca or three. Also surrounded by animal fur and completely relaxed about it. A blissful picture full of love and laughing and nerdy stuff. 

At this point, I believe it is customary to propose a toast to the young couple, so may I ask you to raise your glass and say "Meow!  To Nick and Mae - love and long life!"

So there it is, a wonderful wedding. Next post I'll fill you in on the next few days, which were nearly as full. We had a lovely time in Canberra this trip.