advent

/'ædvεnt/ n. 1 the season of devotion including the four Sundays before Christmas. 2 the coming of Christ into the world; birth of Christ.

I feel like it’s been ages since I updated the blog. Alright, it has been ages, but things have been busy, and I haven’t had much opportunity to sit down at a computer and sort out my thoughts.

This week, we passed the “two-months-to-go” mark. That’s very exciting. One of the most interesting happenings (for me, at least) was getting our invitations designed, printed and finally posted. Even more exciting has been starting to receive the RSVPs! Most of the replies we’ve had so far have been “yes”, and we’re up to about 70 confirmed guests. The final date for RSVPs is the 15th of December.

One thing I did notice was that a couple of people took the opportunity to write amusing little quips on the RSVP (which Rachel and I did laugh at), but then forgot to write their names on the card! Fortunately, our forensic graphology skills aren’t that bad and we were able to figure out who the culprits were!

Rachel bought metres and metres of material for the bridesmaids’ dresses, and Heather (Rachel’s mum) now is working on sewing them together. They should be good, and I admire the work that’s going into it all … particularly with the announcement of two pregnant bridesmaids, and the inevitably changing sizes!! The suit hire place has also taken some of the material to make ties and hankies. (Why are those things called “fatboys”?) Rachel’s also working on hair and floral arrangements. One of my clients asked me about all our preparations, colour schemes, and so on, and after I told her, said, “No! That is too much!” Oh, well… You can’t please everyone, I guess…

I’ve been thinking about organising table decorations, and Mum helped me out by taking me to a supply store out at Castle Hill. She’s urging me to get a move-on with confirming the details, but it’s a little hard when we still don’t know exactly how many tables there’ll be! Anyway, I’ve got a nice design in my head, and if it all works out, should look very pretty.

We’ve discussed a couple of songs, and some readings. I got to chat with both of our English/Auslan interpreters this past week, which was very exciting, and its very encouraging seeing how much everyone seems to be looking forward to our special event. I chatted with my groomsman Gary yesterday (to wish him a happy birthday) and it is very exciting to think that they’ll be here in only a month-and-a-half.

Guys and Dolls is now over, and we’re on the downhill rush to Christmas. I’m gonna try and put up some twinkly lights in my flat this week, to help me get into the spirit. One good thing about the musical being over is that I can go back to being involved in my fortnightly Friday-night Bible study group, which I’ve missed. Rachel says that she hopes she’ll be able to spend some evenings at home with her new husband next year! I have very loving, patient, understanding fiancée…

I’ve still got a fair bit of Christmas shopping to do … normally I’m a little more organised than this, but I guess I’ve had a little on my mind! I reckon with the holidays just ahead of us, the time is going to fly and the wedding will be here before we know it.

Andy

birthday

/'bзθdeι/ n. 1 the day on which a person was born. 2 the yearly return of the day on which a person was born.

It’s been a while since my last post, and there’ve been a couple of interesting happenings.

Phil, Dave and I got together one Saturday morning a few weeks ago and headed into Parramatta to do some shopping around for suits. At first, we checked out the retail shops in the big Westfield, but then decided it’d be better for us to look in some places which are actually specifically dedicated to wedding attire. We would’ve looked in about three or four places altogether, I reckon, but it didn’t really take us too long to find what we were looking for. (You’ll be interested to know that we didn’t go with the salesman who was trying to promote suits with “Colombian stitching” which is the “latest fashion” and that “soon everyone will be wearing”. If you ask me, it looks like cheap running stitch, and not the sort of thing you’d want to wear to your wedding. Obviously I’m not keeping up with the latest fashions!) The place that we did eventually go with has been pretty helpful, and had just the right kind of thing. It turns out that it’s much cheaper to hire than to buy. I know that not all of the guys wanted to hire, so it’ll depend on budgets if they want to buy their own. Just as I was about to commit, I realised that I probably should just check with Rachel before I booked anything in.

So, the following Tuesday she came and checked out the design, carrying a little sample of the same material and colour as her dress, so we could match it up. I got to try on the suit, and picked a vest, and chose various aspects of style and design. Then Rachel pulled the camera out! That was unexpected, and you can see from my face that I wasn’t too impressed! We’re still trying to organise a fitting for Phil and Dave, which I hope to do soon. Copland (being interstate) will have to organise his through another hire place, and Gary has to send his measurements over to us from San Diego.

The other exciting event was our expedition into the city for our “pre-wedding photography shoot”. Rachel and I caught the RiverCat from Parramatta in to Circular Quay on a weekday we’d both organised to have off (Actually, now that I think about it, it might have been the same day we looked at the suits. Is that right, Rachel?). It was nice and sunny when we set out, but the clouds came over as we got closer to the city, and the wind came up, and as we got closer to the Quay, we could see that it was bucketing down on the east side of the Harbour Bridge (but not on the west side … bizarre).

We’d planned to meet Michael (the photographer) in the Botanic Gardens, and we’d figured that we’d probably be about 15–20 minutes all up. Because of the weather, the gardens probably wasn’t the best option, but it turned out not to matter that much, because he took us on an hour-and-a-half excursion all over the place! We had some shots near Observatory Hill, up on (and under) the Harbour Bridge, down by The Rocks … it was great. Using a digital camera, he kept spinning it round for us to check out the pictures. He’s a very talented man, and he also is very friendly, and made us feel very relaxed. That’s important … especially for Rachel, I think! He’s yet to finalise the photos and show them to us, but once he does, we can pick some nice ones and have them enlarged to display at the reception.

Invitations should be finalised this week, and then we can post them. That’s a very cool, fun thing to have completed, and it really makes everything seem quite real!

Pastor Dave has continued to work with us through the pre-marriage counselling course, which has been interesting and challenging for us both. It’s been a valuable tool, and I reckon an in-depth programme like that is something everyone should do before they get married.

We’re rapidly heading towards the “three months to go” mark, which is an exciting milestone. I’ve been heavily involved with rehearsals for Guys and Dolls at the musical society, and that’s kept me busy. I’ve just celebrated my 33rd birthday, and Christmas’ll be here before we realise. There’s not really that long to go, and I’m sure the time’ll just fly by.

It’s an exciting journey.

symbol

/'sιmbəl/ n. something that stands for or represents something else, especially an idea, quality, or condition.

Last night, Rachel and I went and picked up my wedding ring from the jeweller. I tried it on briefly in the shop, then had to take it off again, but I love it.

When Rachel got her engagement ring, she spent the next week looking at it, sighing, and saying, “ooh,” and “ahh.” I thought it was nice that she liked it and was happy with the design and everything, but I didn’t really understand the fascination.

Now I get it. It’s not so much that it’s a nice piece of jewellery (although that is important), but the emotions really stir at what it represents.

I can’t wait to wear it.

Andy

P. S. The photo above was taken at the specific request of the photographer at last weekend’s family barbecue.