The day!

I have been sitting here for the past few minutes ready to type something … however, I am really not sure where to start!
Firstly, let me introduce myself as ‘Mrs Stephanie Lowdell’. We got married on the 9th of August and, I must say, it was one of the best days of my life.

The week leading up to the wedding was probably the hardest and most stressful of all. Even though I have been quite organised the whole time, there were still lots and lots of ‘little’ things to be done at the last minute – like place cards, menus, seating arrangements, paying for things, choosing music (which we didn’t finalise until the night before!). Take into account the fact I had four children and two adults to pack for and bags to label (so they were sent to Brad’s mum’s, or my mum’s, or Bram Leigh), I now see why I was so stressed. I had to get my nails done twice because I wrecked the polish the first time as I was so busy when I got home from the salon!

I was a self-confessed ‘bridezilla’. I was very hard to deal with. When things got too tough, I would announce that I was no longer going to speak about the issue, which, on reflection, would have left Brad in quite a difficult position!

So, was everything worth it? All the drama, financial and emotional expense, stress, panic and annoyance? I think so …

I stayed at mum and dad’s house on the Friday night. Not without my fair share of disasters though. It rained on my fake tan! I spent the whole hour and a half that it takes to get to mum and dad’s wiping the tan off my arms and face with baby wipes. I didn’t get there until quite late in the afternoon. I had the babies with me – Brad kept the boys with him.

Brad and I spoke on the phone at about 11 pm, as we still needed to finalise the songs. He said he wouldn’t speak to me again until the next day. I tried my luck by sending him an SMS just before midnight, but got no reply! I had brought everything I needed to mum and dad’s – my dress, veil, jewellery, shoes – so at least I slept well that night knowing I was all prepared and hadn’t left anything at home.

The next morning, Charlotte woke me up about 6:30 am. I fed her and thought about going back to bed but I couldn’t. I was just too excited! I thought the time would drag between when I got up to when Kendal (the hairdresser) arrived at 10.00 am. Funnily enough, it didn’t. It flew! My sister and Lana arrived shortly after Kendal and we had the most fantastic time.

Dad went and picked up the cake and took it to Bram Leigh. We all had a glass of champagne (or two), listened to music and each took turns holding a baby when it was our turn to get our hair done. Nikki arrived just after 11.00 am to do our make-up and both she and Kendal did amazing jobs. The flowers arrived around 1.00 pm. Everything was starting to take form … just as I had organised it!

Before I knew it, Glenn (Brad’s step father) arrived to take some video footage. I couldn’t believe the time! It was just after 2.00 pm. Only an hour left until I had to be at the chapel! Between grabbing a bit of lunch, feeding the babies, getting them dressed, and chatting to Bruce (the photographer), I managed, with Sarah and Lana’s help, to get myself ready. When I put my dress on, I felt so excited! A little nervous but, all in all, I was looking forward to leaving. As soon as I put my dress on, the cameras started clicking. As I discovered, it would be something I would have to get used to all day – having my photo taken.

When the cars arrived, I still wasn’t quite ready. I didn’t have any shoes on and I didn’t have something ‘borrowed’, so I quickly grabbed a silver thimble out of Mum’s sewing box (which was the first thing I saw!). Dad and I walked out the door and hopped (or should I say kind of slid) into the car and then we followed Sarah and Lana in their car … and the trip took forever (although it’s literally a five-minute drive!). Dad was chatting to our driver about the car and how many kilometres it had done. Listening to something I didn’t really understand helped pass the time. I felt sick: I felt like asking the driver to pull over so I could vomit! It was a horrible feeling.

We arrived at Bram Leigh. There were so many people out the front of the chapel hovering around waiting for me to arrive. I got out of the car and the cameras started again. Sarah and Lana (who both looked simply beautiful) had arrived shortly before I had and were standing there waiting for me. Lachlan and Callum were waiting patiently (hey, it was 3:20 pm – I was SO happy I was late!). Dr Harris greeted me at the door and then the music started. I walked down the aisle to Pachelbel’s Canon.

The next few moments are a blur. I remember seeing Brad and having everyone stare at me as I walked down the aisle. That’s about it, really! I remember people clapping and Matthew and Clinton telling me how wonderful I looked. Lachlan and Callum proudly did their reading (which was perfect).

When it came to the ‘I do’s’, I went to say ‘I do, however, when I spoke, nothing came out. So I coughed and said it again – quite loudly and quite enthusiastically (unintentionally!). Everyone laughed when Brad said something about how he better look out then! Vows were exchanged (Brad had written his own) - this is when I felt like crying (but, I didn’t!). It was then time for the kiss! At this stage, I realised that I had forgotten to put my veil over my face! Brad and I had perfected our ‘chapel kiss’ so that neither one of us would go back for more without the other one being aware of it! This would be embarrassing!

We signed the appropriate documents (I signed in the wrong place – I was SO nervous!) and then it was all over! As we walked out, everyone congratulated us and handed me horseshoes (which I will treasure for life). Mum had made little bags of coloured rice for guests to throw … I am sure I got at least a cup of it down my bra! It was then time for photos. I have never smiled so much in my life! We had so many different combinations of photos! I can’t wait to get them back.

Then the reception. I managed to grab a few minutes with Brad on my own prior to walking in. It was nice to just be able to look at each other and have a quiet moment.

The reception was fantastic. It went SO fast. The introductions, the food, cutting of the cake, the speeches, the dancing – it went for over four hours but it felt like it went for just an hour. By the time I was just getting into it, it was time for the farewell circle! This is where I had a bit of a cry! I wasn’t ready to go. It was hard saying goodbye to everyone – even though we were only going away for three nights! I cried when I said goodbye to the boys and the babies.

When we walked outside to drive off together as a married couple, it was raining quite heavily. It had held off for the whole day. I was okay with the fact that it was raining at the end of my day rather then the beginning, or during!

I have to mention our very, very special friends, Cynthia, Amelia and Damien who looked after the babies for us during the service and the reception. And an enormous thank you also to Sarah, Lana, Matt and Clinton. You helped and supported both of us in so many ways, and we will be forever grateful. Thank you for being part of such wonderful memories.

We then headed off on our Honeymoon… more about that next week :)

Steph xo

Last blog before I am Mrs Lowdell!

It’s amazing to think that just over a year ago, I was flicking through wedding magazines for inspiration for my wedding which seemed as though it was so far away. Now, it’s only a week away and I can’t work out where all that time went. It seems like only yesterday Brad proposed – that was now almost two years ago!

With our wedding only a week away, I am excited more than anything else, however, I am also a bit nervous to see how everything ‘pans out’. I have spent so long in the last few months making sure that whatever can go wrong doesn’t and I have learnt not to worry about the sort of things that aren’t in my control. My strategy has resulted in me feeling quite relaxed however, ask Brad and he’ll tell you I am a Bridezilla.

I have such a short fuse at the moment. Brad said to me just the other day that bringing up anything about the wedding in the past few weeks has been a challenge. Sometimes, I just put my hands up to my head and declare that I am not in the mood to talk about wedding things. I realise that this makes Brad’s job harder, however, sometimes I am just not in the mood to talk about seating or flowers or money or guest books or menus or ANYTHING! I should nominate a cut off time (say 9pm) as to when I am no longer prepared to talk about anything to do with it.

Things are pretty much on track for the wedding. The most recent thing I have been struggling with is the seating arrangements. I have to have this done by the end of the day so that we can inform Bram Leigh as they need to set up the tables. At least I got the name tags done – that’s one less thing to worry about! They turned out quite well. I don’t think yelling at the computer when I couldn’t get the margins set up perfectly helped at all. Or swearing at the printer when it ran out of ink…

The boys have done so well in practising their reading. They have spent so much time getting it perfect to the point that they have already managed to memorise it! They are going to do a fantastic job. I am so proud of them! Mum has taken up David’s pants so that they don’t swim on him and she also found Charlotte a cardigan to match her dress – something that I was unable to do despite the fact I went to 6 or 7 different shops!

We have got our rehearsal on Wednesday night. Once that is over, I think everything will feel so much more ‘real’.

I have started writing some more dreaded lists. Regardless of the amount of lists I have, I always seem to forget something! I am so disorganised lately!

The next time I write a blog, I will be married! The day will be over, we will be back from our honeymoon and I’ll wonder why I was stressing in the first place as my day will be perfect - like a fairy tale.

Steph xo

What a fantastic night...

I can’t believe my Hen’s night is over! I had such a fantastic time.

We all stayed in a hotel in the city. We rocked up at roughly 3pm and had some cocktails (made by my very talented sister!) and then we began to get ready. For me, getting ready means finding the nearest clothes basket with clean, folded washing and grabbing a pair of pants and a top – I worry about the fact they don’t match later – you just have to get out of the house because I’m normally running late! It was lovely to be able to take my time and relax. I even had time to sit there whilst Lana straightened my hair!

I can’t believe I stepped out of the hotel in what I was wearing. I had badges on – one that flashed, I wore light up plastic rings, ‘L’ plates, a pink and silver Hawaiian lei, a plastic shot glass on a hot pink necklace and a beautiful veil with stars that Sarah and Lana had made for me. I looked lovely.

We headed off to go to Dracula’s at roughly 6:20pm. We caught the tram which was a horrifying experience! I have been on many trams before, however, the driver went SO fast and every time they put their brakes on, it was a matter of holding on for dear life! The driver also crashed into a car! I was a bit nervous about getting there safely! We considered getting off the tram and waiting for the next one however, there was no time.

When we got to Dracula’s, the rest of our party were waiting in line. At least we weren’t late! We had a fantastic night! The show was incredibly funny and I enjoyed a few cocktails and a few glasses of wine. During the show, one of the characters – Sara Pax – walks around the audience pointing out people and chatting to them. Of course, a ‘Hen’ is an easy target! She came over and asked when I’m getting married and how Brad wooed me into saying ‘yes’. I won’t repeat what she said (my mother is reading this) but, it was very amusing! Before we knew it, it was time to leave!

We got back to the hotel at roughly 12:30am. We went up to the room and my sister and I indulged in some vodka jellies before playing a round of Bride Bingo. We sat around and chatted until we went to bed at around three in the morning.

I wasn’t that tired when I got up the next day. I wasn’t hungover because I hadn’t drunk much. I felt wonderful! It was a beautiful day. It was nice to see the sun out. Everyone headed off. Lana and I went to Melbourne Central and had breakfast before heading back to her house in North Melbourne where we drank coffee and chatted about anything and everything before Brad came to pick me up and take me home.

I had a WONDERFUL night. I can’t believe it’s over, actually! It went so fast!

Being home quickly snapped me back into reality! And lists! I had to write one with stuff that needs to be done by Wednesday next week – name tags, table settings, menus, CDs, music selections for the DJ, make an appointment at the beautician for a facial and eyebrow waxing, one to get a manicure, confirm times with the photographer, buy presents for Lachlan, Callum and David as a ‘thank you’ for being such wonderful paige boys – the list seemed endless. How would I ever get all of this stuff done?

Given the fact there is only a week left to do anything, I feel quite rushed! I am sure that it will all come together. Well, I hope it does! It doesn’t stop me from worrying just a little bit.

Steph xo