happy is the bride that the sun shines on

a quick note before we get started. This post comes with a warning: its sole purpose for me to show off my ridiculously good-looking family of whom I am incredibly proud and share some photos from Erin and Rachel’s wedding in Auckland last Friday.  Down with that? Great! Let's go ….

There’s an old Irish proverb that says Happy is the bride that the sun shines on and I’m very pleased to report that Devonport put its best foot forward for Erin and Rachel’s big day. The sun rose at a respectable hour and tricked our girls into sleeping til after seven.

 A massive storm came over a few hours before Erin and Rachel were set to wed, but it left as quickly as it arrived and the sun shone on their wedding. As we arrived we were offered a glass of champagne and finger food and the brides mingled with the guests before getting down to proceedings.

Rach and Erin had asked our girls to be flower girls and while the Little Sister struggled with the attention, the Big Sister lapped it up. Poor darling is her mother’s child.

Rachel’s nieces dedicated a beautiful song to the lovebirds and friends read a series of heartfelt and irreverent readings.

Then something amazing happened: just as the brides exchanged their vows, a giant rainbow appeared in the bay behind them. Tears of happiness (from me, not them!)

The reception was held at Hughes of Cheltenham and the creative genius behind Loz Loz Designs made these starfish place settings for the reception.

My girls made firm friends and new cousins at the reception. The four nieces had their own special table at the reception complete with lego and puzzles, they thought it was Christmas!

The speeches were hilarious and heartfelt and testament to two families who recognise love in all its forms. We laughed, we cried, we made terrible attempts at Kiwi accents and we applauded New Zealand for affording the opportunity for two people in love to marry regardless of their gender.

The girls cut their wedding cake made of cheese. Their cake was adorned with the best cake topper in the ever - two brides high-fiving each other.

The surprises kept coming throughout the night. The entertainment was an Irish band who kept those guests with two working legs twirling about the dance floor and the brides’ first dance was the pride of Erin.  Even the Queen Mary cruise ship made an appearance!

It was a fabulous day, in fact we had such a great time celebrating with Erin and Rachel that we decided to join them on their honeymoon.  But that's a story for another time.

are you married? did it rain on your wedding day?

can you believe Devonport was kind enough to colour code the sunset with the flower girl dresses?