Yesterday, we attended a wedding. Kenneth Whitty, the groom, is the son of Joan and Jim, our - well mainly Dot's - long-time friends. I've known Ken since he was about 3 years old or so and part of Emily's play-group. It was made all the more interesting as the couple had to balance the ceremony with looking after their 11 month old daughter, Ella. The civil ceremony was beautifully done by a local celebrant.
We turned up expecting not to know many of the c.140 people in attendance. Of course, we knew the groom's parents and sat at the top table with them along with another good friend of Dot's, Lorraine. Events got more interesting when I discovered that I knew the bride's father from soccer playing and refereeing days. Then came the stunning discovery that Dot was related to the bride, Lisa, via a circuitous route. The bride's grandfather was a first cousin to Dot's mother. We realised this possibility when an elderly gentleman announced his name (Wilfred Burling) and his home town (Inverell). Now, Dot senior's maiden name was Burling and she was born in Warialda near Inverell and we have Wilfred's book on Burling family history sitting on our shelves! Then a few others turned up and introduced themselves as knowing or knowing about Dot.
So, it was a very pleasant and witty (sorry about the pun) day, with the ceremony held on a property just outside Armidale. A 'property' is a farm in other parlance. Australian weddings are becoming less formal at a rapid rate of knots and I knew that I would not be out of place with designer jeans, an open-neck shirt and no jacket. I even wanted to wear designer brown shoes with a roughed up texture. Dot wanted me looking smarter, so I made some small adjustments only to find that my original conception would have been quite acceptable! I've decided to put a clause in my will that anyone wearing a suit to my funeral will be barred from participating. There's already a clause funding a wake.
AS
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