Part ll

Ok now where were we,

Ah yes, the moment of truth. 

As we all huddled at the bottom of the stairs, giggling and shhhh'ing, the sounds of the guests up top started to dwindle down until quite startlingly, there was silence. "Here comes the sun" by Yuna started to play, and I was hit with an intense wave of emotion. The eyeballs brimmed with tears and the heart hammered in my chest. We chose this song so many months ago, and we had heard it hundreds of times, yet in that moment, I had never been more moved by music in my life. As the girls slowly filed out, suddenly all that was left was Dad, Mum and I. 

As we ascended the stairs, my sandals got caught up in my dress, so our entrance wasn't all that smooth... However, nothing mattered as soon as I locked eyes with Oli. A smile spread across his face, which quickly spread to mine, and from that moment on, for the rest of the day, you would not have caught me without the biggest, cheesiest, gummiest grin.

Our celebrant Marilyn read out the poem & song (Thank You - Led Zepp) we had chosen, all the while Oli and I held each other's trembling hands and sniggered like school kids. 

It's difficult to put into words exactly how it feels to stand up there. It felt like forever and it felt like no time at all, it felt surreal yet I had never felt more alive, it felt spectacular and it felt terrifying. It felt beautiful. Oli and I each wrote our own vows, he read his, and I read mine, Jimmy handed over the rings, and before we knew it, it was time for a big old smooch. 

We had pre organised a three second smooch rule but we most definitely broke that, I even went in for a sneaky second, lippy and all. 

After being declared man & wife, and signing our lives away, Bob Marley sang "Could you be loved" & we headed straight over for some drinks & mingling.

The first thing I did was ask Lisa to take my shoes off, and I rocked bare feet for the rest of the night- the grass felt so friggen good on my hooves. 

The sun had begun to set (thank goodness as there were trickles of sweat beading down my back), and the lighting was perfect for photos, so after gulping down a couple of deliciously refreshing watermelon martinis, the photographers called upon the bridal party. Yet again, choosing just a few is a pain stakingly rough job, but here are some of our top pics;

From left to right; Andy, Aimee, Jimmy, Kate, Oli & I, Jared, Amanda, Sterling & Nicole 

This brick wall was insanely cool

(The photos still continue to blow me away each time I see them, I cannot recommend Rambo Estrada enough!)

Rambo yelled "CUT" (he didn't really), and Oli and I were due back at the Villa to partaaaaay. It wasn't until we got back, that I had a moment to take in just how stunning our venue looked. Here's some snaps of the decor;

The teepees were an idea I threw at Libby (our wedding planner) months ago and never really thought it would work out due to space, but 'Ta Da', these lace numbers were so whimsical and dreamy. Not to mention the dream catchers! Hand made in Bali by an old guru, one is being sent to us as we speak (!!!)

 The reception lighting was also just as dreamy

There were so many tiny bits and pieces that gave the day the bohemian feel that we wanted

It was 6pm and the sun had officially disappeared. Before dinner commenced I grabbed Tali and we snuck off to our suite for a quick touch up / catch up which involved a lot of this;

There were no glasses around ok?

Someone must have heard my tummy grumbling, as in our suite was a tray of the canapés we had missed out on whilst getting photos, so there I was scoffing tempura prawns and crispy calamari, washing it all down with champagne straight from the bottle. Happiness bubbled inside me alongside the champas, it was my version of heaven.

It was time to be welcomed in as Mr and Mrs Tabak. (That morning, whilst getting our nails done, Aimee and I chose "walking on sunshine" as our reception entrance song, nothing like last minute right?)

And we literally danced right on in..

To be continued..

P.s I really don't know why my fonts flicker from bold to plain, it really f#%ks me off, particularly because I can't fix it.