Back home after a fabulous holiday

Well here I am back home feeling fantastic and refreshed after the best holiday ever.

Thanks to all of you who dropped in and left wishes for the happy couple. The wedding went off without a hitch. What do you think of Rachel's bridal bouquet? Isn't it gorgeous! She isn't a flowery person so she had bouquets made from flax and dyed for the bridesmaids and the men all had little buttonholes to match. And she is thrilled that she can keep them for a very long time.

The weather couldn't have been nicer, it was extremely hot with very little breeze. The best place to be was lying in the cool shade of a tree, (which I did and promptly feel asleep!)

Here are some pics of Whatipu Lodge and the grounds. All the guests stayed either in rooms or cabins or pitched their tents within the Lodge grounds. The lodge is full of history and was lovely to wander round.

The very top window of the building on the right was our room. A room with a view...

Here's the other side of that building, and this is where the ceremony took place.

There were lots of lovely decorations taken from nature. And all the trims were a teal colour, including the table dressings which happened to match my dress, wasn't that nice.

Then as all the guests gathered around it was time for Rachel's Dad to give her away to Michael.

And the serious bits took place, under the heat of the sun and with the sound of the waves in the background.

And then it was all over and it was time for congratulations and hugs and lots of smiles and feeling proud of our son (and large quantities of wine!). I was pleased I'd taken my scarf too, as it saved me from lots of sunburn.

Then the party slipped away for some photos on the beach. The pics above and below were taken by Natasha, who took some official photos for them.

All the tables were set up on one end of an old tennis court, with the other end set up for the band and dancing, (which I did lots of because the wine was so nice, haha).
And that left the cake, and it was the best chocolate cake I've ever tasted!!

And just in case you're wondering about Rachel looking a little large, she is in fact pregnant, which means I am going to be a granny in July!!! We've all known about this for ages, but I never cease to get excited about it. Our very first grandchild!

And after such a wonderful couple of days with friends and family we said our goodbyes and headed off on an extended  holiday.

Now that's another bunch of photos.
I'll be back soon to tell you about it.
Carole x