Who wears short shorts?

At the end of March, we trooped up to Sydney so we could join the celebrations of the Australian wedding ceremony of my cousin, Georgie, who had come back home to Sydney after marrying Riccardo in Italy 5 years ago. It was hard for most of us to make to Italy when they tied the knot (which was more of civil ceremony), so this was the chance for all of us to get together for an Australian style shin dig. It was a great day but I have to say I feel a bit like an old married fart when watching weddings these days (lord, I even sound like an old married fart) as I often find myself wondering what makes for a "romantic" wedding those days. Please keep in mind I got married in the early 90s, when puffy sleeves and tiaras were all the go. I have to say, we had a great time and the wedding was lovely - here are what I count as highlights

• The setting - at Bradley's Head in Sydney on a perfect autumn day. It rained a lot the day before and there was some concern about things being soggy underfoot, but it turned out to be wonderful, sunny etc. My kids loved it as it was an amphitheatre, which meant that Tim got lots of exercise chasing them up and down the hill.



• The flower girls - I am biased here as my daughter Grace was one and my mum made the dresses. What added to the romance was my discovery of a massive head lice infestation in Grace's hair 2 hours before the ceremony began. A fun filled 70 minutes was spent with me acting like a mother chimpanzee, picking nits and lice out of her hair whilst Tim wrestled the boys through the shower, into good clothes, got his suit on etc. Phoned my mum to let her know that we were going to be a little late and learned that the other flower girl, Erin, also had head lice. We then began to wonder if it had something to do with the dresses she made (a well known pattern from the Itchy and Scratchy range).





• The music - know, during a wedding ceremony, most people play some kind of romantic schmaltz that makes you want to go "bleargh". Not Georgie and Riccardo. There was some nice stuff for the entrance of the bride (pretty much mandatory) and then the music was turned off. We were left with the sound of the sea, the celebrant reading the ceremony and faintly, in the distance, the beat of doof doof music. This got louder and louder until finally, around the head, came a large catamaran, filled with partying, fashionable people having a lovely party. They added to the general ambiance of the wedding by playing the romantic classic "Who wears short shorts? You wear short shorts!!", followed up with the timeless wedding ballads "The whistle song" and "Show us your pants".
  
• The reception venue - this was at a cafe called Ripples, which was right on the Harbour and next to Luna Park. The staff were great, took good care of the kids and made sure that everyone had a great time. My youngest, William, was having a lovely time running around on the grassy area outside the cafe, exploring in the gardens and enjoying all of the attention being lavished on him by Riccardo's mum, who thought he was a lovely "bambini". The night wore on and lots of lovely wine and food was consumed (especially wine, see picture below)Georgie and I were having a little chat when William came rushing up to us with his hands behind his back, announcing he had a present for her. She put her hands out and he presented her with a beautiful, black, shiny cockroach. And I'm not talking about one of those little ones you see scuttling around - this was one of those big, shiny, "ha ha, I laugh at you and your can of mortein" types. It was also still very much alive and was wriggling around a fair bit. The manager of the cafe appeared faster than greased lightning with a napkin and had a hard time persuading Will that he should give up the cockroach quietly and that Georgie really didn't want it as a present. I think he felt he'd got a away with not too many people noticing until the band that was playing, who had seen the whole thing, struck up with a rousing rendition of "La Cocoracha". Can I point out that the roach came from the garden, not anywhere in or near the cafe. It just looked funny when the manager thought that William was going to dump it on the lovey white wedding cake. But you can't say that it was a present with not a lot of thought behind it.

So, anyway, that's he condensed highlights. Georgie and Riccardo, congratulations and well done! We all had a great time and it looked like you did to - or as my dad would say, we got a result. And you should definitely claim one of those songs from the catamaran crowd as "your song". My vote is for short shorts, but it's up to you.