Australia Day – 30 Years Ago!

ONCE UPON A TIME … on Australia Day 30 years ago, back in 1985, in Brisbane Australia it was an unusually cool January day with some drizzling rain in the morning. A 20-year-old girl woke up with great excitement because today was her wedding day! She had no thoughts of it being Australia Day at all. It was her day! Isn’t it funny that everyone in Australia was celebrating on ‘her day’!! The drizzling morning rain did not dull her spirits. She was filled with joy and excitement and was relieved that it was not a hot and humid day.

January had been chosen as the month to marry so that the groom’s brother and his wife, both teachers, could travel from North Queensland to be at the wedding. She would probably have preferred an April or September wedding but she didn’t mind.  There was just so much to be excited about! There was the dress, the wedding, the reception, the honeymoon suite, the honeymoon, the new rented apartment and then the fun ahead to furnish it and make it their new home.

She was so excited to wear her beautiful wedding dress. She felt like a princess in it. It had been made at ‘Gardams’ from a photograph seen in a wedding magazine. The finished product looked exactly like the dress in the photograph but came at a fraction of the cost. She paid off that dress over many months by lay-by. She also had a ‘going away dress’ all ready to change into towards the end of the reception to leave in. That was the done thing back then – rarely seen at weddings these days!

She spent the morning getting ready at her parents house where she was living. She was a little sentimental over the fact that last night was the final night sleeping in her bed and living as a single girl at her parent’s house!

All three of her sisters (aged 9, 15 & 18) were to be her bridesmaids and her mother had hand sewn all their dresses. Her brother, aged 16, had been allocated the job of handing out the Order of Service to people as they entered to the church. Her mother worked, had five children and ran a household and still managed to sew three bridesmaids’ dresses!

She went off in the morning to have her hair done at a local hairdressing salon. Her sisters all got their hair done also – up in a French braid and with baby’s breath threaded through their hair – a very popular touch for weddings in those days! A lady came to the house a little later to do her makeup. The photographer arrived while she was still getting her make-up done, so he had to wait a little while. He took some photographs of her sitting at her parent’s dressing table in their bedroom, some in the lounge-room and more were taken out in the front yard.

Her childhood friend and her mother, who lived in a house behind and over two, came up for photographs and to join in the excitement before the big event. Of course they were at the wedding too. Some other neighbours also came over for a look and a chat!

Before she knew it the beautiful fancy white and ribbonned wedding cars had arrived to take her and the bridal party to the church.

The wedding was held at her local church that is attached to where she went to primary school.   On arrival at the church she was surprised to see quite a few school friends who hadn’t been formally invited to the wedding and reception (you couldn’t invite everyone sadly!) were there to see her and offer their congratulations. She felt a bit like a celebrity! She hooked her arm through her father’s arm and they began the walk into the church. The same priest who had baptized her and did her first communion and confession married her and her fiancé.

Following the wedding, there was much chatter and photographs outside the church. She was grateful that the whole proceedings was being videoed because it was all so exhilarating, overwhelming and it was hard to take it all in!

The reception was held at The Staff Club at the University of Queensland. There were some fabulous photographs taken of the newlyweds around the University grounds and at The Great Court (lots and lots and lots).  The bridal party were all so relieved to finally arrive at the reception for drinks, food and celebrations!

The newlyweds honeymooned at Norfolk Island and then returned to their newly rented apartment at Camp Hill in Brisbane. It was all so very exciting. Wedding, reception, honeymoon, new unit and now setting up a new home!

And so began the married life of another young couple!

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Yes of course, I am talking about me! I was married on 26 January 1985, Australia Day 30 years ago. Today is our 30^th wedding anniversary (Pearl). Where did all that time go?

I look back at the photographs and cringe a bit at the fashion – but you know what – that is because I am 30 years older now and it is 2015 not 1985!  Everything was beautifully on trend and fashionable for 1985 and my dress was perfect for 20 year old me.  There is so much detail in that dress that you can’t see in these photographs – little pearls and dainty pale pink flowers.  I loved it so much! I still have it in a box up in a cupboard. I absolutely loved the tennis player in his white suit tails, white shoes and pale pink bow tie!  LOL

I’m not going to lie.  Let’s keep it real!  The past 30 years of marriage have not been without some challenges. Nevertheless, here we are 30 years later with three adult children (twin boys aged 22.2 years and a daughter aged 19.7 years) and still married so I guess we’ve done ok!

So what are we doing to celebrate 30 years of marriage? Well, tonight we will go out to dinner and in late April (when it’s nice and cool coz cool and I are BFF’s) we are going on a trip to Tasmania!! Just us (no kids) – yahoo!

So happy ME (disguised as Australia Day) DAY everyone!! Thank you for celebrating my big day!! 😉

Ciao for now,

[This post is linked up with One Mother Hen for #OpenSlather and Cooker and a Looker‘s – Australia Day Party]