The highlight of our North Island tour has landed us in Hawkes Bay where we have attended a family wedding. We will be also leaving our boy at his boarding school on Monday and for us this is always a sad moment.
The wedding held yesterday was a lavish affair and started off in rain as we boarded a bus in the Havelock Village to be taken to the service at the bride's old school chapel. The sun broke through after the ceremony in time for photos on the school grounds and were once again whisked away by bus, this time landing at the bride's family farm for the reception.
This wedding has been many months in the planning and the gardens and lawns surrounding the farm house were absolutely stunning. Despite an indifferent forecast the sun continued to shine as we paraded in our finery amongst family members on the immaculately prepared lawn. The bandstand that had been built many years before was finally press-ganged into service. Violin music provided a fitting background as we circulated catching up with long-lost rellies and hydrating ourselves with bubbles between plucking food from circulating trays.
We were soon shepherded into the huge marquee and enjoyed probably the best wedding fare we have ever had. The speeches were articulate, warm and heartfelt. There is always something quite strangely voyeuristic about mingling with relatives that share many of your own traits. The whole day was a stunning success.
Oh...and the accompaning photo? Well, this for me was one of the day's many highlights. I got to add to my stamp collection...
