The Great Day finally arrived!  Robyn got to Melbourne the week before, and Jen and Ben’s lovely and devoted friends arrived from the far corners of the globe in time to a bit of sightseeing before the wedding.

 

The weather had been iffy during the week.  All the kids went off to Ladies Day at the Melbourne Cup on the Thursday.  Melbourne Cup is a really big deal, and the Tuesday is a bank holiday so many people take Monday off as well, and there’s a real party atmosphere in Melbourne with cup related events going on everywhere.  The girls were decked out in their stilettoes, little dresses and fascinators (wedding stuff really) and froze all day, but still had a great time losing money, and everyone was in party mood.

 

Saturday dawned with a glorious blue sky and turned out to be the best day of the year – in every way!  Ben and Jen chose a winery, Balgownie, in the Yarra Valley for their wedding, a picturesque region of rolling hills and pristine vineyards.  It’s the perfect setting for a wedding. 

 

All the girls played together nicely and helped eachother get ready, nobody cried or had a tantrum, and Jenny didn’t turn into Bridezilla!    Jenny looked beautiful and radiant, her hair in a glamorous chignon with a perky headdress and an amazing swingy dress.  Robyn, Cat, Vix and Jonny were fantastic in their midnight blue dresses and edgy hairdos, and Ben looked stunningly handsome in his black 3 piece.  Sandy was persuaded not to turn up in shorts and thongs, and walked Jenny down the aisle in sartorial elegance in an edgy blue jacket and chinos, though he claimed later to feel like an ice cream salesman.  The ceremony and speeches were moving, funny, emotional and memorable, and Jen and Ben are just great together, its a real pleasure to see them so happy. Ben has a really lovely family and they have made us so welcome. The evening was a hoot, everybody danced the night away, especially Sandy and me. We have totally perfected our rock and roll and are obviously the talk of the town.  So now I will let the photos speak for themselves.