All in a days work!
Published in Issue 22, April 2013
Written by Sally-Jo from The Bead Bounty
I must be flippin’ dead by now!
It was October 2012 when our son introduced us to the lovely Josephine, a nurse in the intensive care unit at our local hospital.
They had just met on a night out in town and had started talking because of Chris’s Dread Locks. Sarah, Josey’s sister, had Dreads too and they are apparently a great conversation starter.
Two weeks later, Chris and Josey announced that they were getting married.
Now most parents would panic, freak-out, give all manner of advice about the pit falls of rushing in (I think there could be a song in there).
But…
The very same thing had happened with my husband Ian and me in 1984.
We had the added bonus of Ian being 17 at the time and I was 22 (our poor parents).
Chris and Josey are late twenties and we figured that if we were still happily married with our 28th anniversary approaching on the 6th of April 2013, then surely they had as much chance of making a go of it as anyone.
And so the planning began. The date, 23rd of February 2013 was agreed and it was all systems go.
Josey found a stunning fish tail dress with panels encrusted with crystals, just gorgeous. She wanted to go with a ‘Peacock’ theme for the wedding and have her bridesmaids in shades of green.
Josey very kindly asked me to make some of the bits and pieces for the wedding, which I was more than happy to do. She would like jewellery and bouquets for her
and the bridesmaids and Buttonholes for the wedding party. Oh and there was just one more, tiny small thing, The Cake! It had been years since I had done a wedding cake but I figured it would be like riding a bicycle, you know the one, once learned, you never forget, Lol! And after all, they were on a tight budget so needed all the help they could get.
Well Christmas came and went like a flash and some sad family circumstances had put everything for the wedding on hold.
With three weeks to go I had a lot on my ‘to do’ list.
The Jewellery was first up. Five necklace and bracelet sets finished with sterling silver. Freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystal AB bi-cones for the bridesmaids. Freshwater pearls and emerald Swarovski crystal rondelles for Josey, to match her
engagement ring.
Next were the buttonholes. Wired crystals with little foam roses and peacock feathers. I used two feathers and three large crystals for the ladies to make them more of a statement.
The bouquets were next. All manner of crystal and pearl brooches, earrings and rings, some bought and some scavenged from jewellery boxes across the family. We even had some sent from South Africa.
These were wired and then placed with foam roses to make up the bouquets. I made small ones for the bridesmaids and a large one for Josey with a centre heart hosting their initials. When the final ribbon was added for Josey’s bouquet, a couple of pieces of her nana’s jewellery were tied in too, to make it extra special.
So now it was just over a week to the wedding and there was the small matter of a cake. It was fine I wasn’t panicking, honest! The cake itself was made and ready to go (provided by a very kind person who knew I needed assistance and who wishes to remain anonymous, you know who you are and I thank you from the bottom of my heart), it was just a matter of the decorating it. Eeeek!
With several very deep breaths taken I made a ‘C’ and a ‘J’ with royal icing and put them in a safe place to dry (at this point my house didn’t really have any safe places left). I then set about covering the cakes with marzipan.
Once I had done the marzipan it was time for the icing. Oh how I love fondant, beautiful, wonderful, forgiving fondant.
We had bought a piece of lace with roses on and once I had rolled out the icing, I rolled the lace into it to leave the delicate pattern behind. This could only be seen close up so did not show too well on the photograph however I assure you it is there.
Now it was a case of constructing the cake using dowel rods, adding the pearls, roses and peacock feathers.
I made a posy for the top of the cake to mirror the bouquets and attached the feathers to the cake using royal icing.
The ‘C’ and ‘J’ were placed on the middle cake with a diamante between.
Just photo’s to take and the list was finally complete.
Nothing like cutting it fine.
So the wedding has been and gone. It was a wonderful day and God even sent us beautiful white confetti from the sky on the morning. By two o’clock, when the wedding began, the snow had disappeared, it was dry and the newlyweds were driven to the reception in an open top Vintage Morris Minor that had been provided by some very dear friends, just lovely.
To finish the Fairytale off, Chris and Josey went to South Africa for their honeymoon where they rode elephants, went on safari and visited one of the biggest craft events in the area. I am not jealous, honest!
Well Christmas came and went like a flash and some sad family circumstances had put everything for the wedding on hold.
With three weeks to go I had a lot on my ‘to do’ list.
The Jewellery was first up. Five necklace and bracelet sets finished with sterling silver. Freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystal AB bi-cones for the bridesmaids. Freshwater pearls and emerald Swarovski crystal rondelles for Josey, to match her
Next were the buttonholes. Wired crystals with little foam roses and peacock feathers. I used two feathers and three large crystals for the ladies to make them more of a statement.
The bouquets were next. All manner of crystal and pearl brooches, earrings and rings, some bought and some scavenged from jewellery boxes across the family. We even had some sent from South Africa.
These were wired and then placed with foam roses to make up the bouquets. I made small ones for the bridesmaids and a large one for Josey with a centre heart hosting their initials. When the final ribbon was added for Josey’s bouquet, a couple of pieces of her nana’s jewellery were tied in too, to make it extra special.
So now it was just over a week to the wedding and there was the small matter of a cake. It was fine I wasn’t panicking, honest! The cake itself was made and ready to go (provided by a very kind person who knew I needed assistance and who wishes to remain anonymous, you know who you are and I thank you from the bottom of my heart), it was just a matter of the decorating it. Eeeek!
With several very deep breaths taken I made a ‘C’ and a ‘J’ with royal icing and put them in a safe place to dry (at this point my house didn’t really have any safe places left). I then set about covering the cakes with marzipan.
Once I had done the marzipan it was time for the icing. Oh how I love fondant, beautiful, wonderful, forgiving fondant.
We had bought a piece of lace with roses on and once I had rolled out the icing, I rolled the lace into it to leave the delicate pattern behind. This could only be seen close up so did not show too well on the photograph however I assure you it is there.
Now it was a case of constructing the cake using dowel rods, adding the pearls, roses and peacock feathers.
I made a posy for the top of the cake to mirror the bouquets and attached the feathers to the cake using royal icing.
The ‘C’ and ‘J’ were placed on the middle cake with a diamante between.
Just photo’s to take and the list was finally complete.
Nothing like cutting it fine.
So the wedding has been and gone. It was a wonderful day and God even sent us beautiful white confetti from the sky on the morning. By two o’clock, when the wedding began, the snow had disappeared, it was dry and the newlyweds were driven to the reception in an open top Vintage Morris Minor that had been provided by some very dear friends, just lovely.
To finish the Fairytale off, Chris and Josey went to South Africa for their honeymoon where they rode elephants, went on safari and visited one of the biggest craft events in the area. I am not jealous, honest!
Editors note: I know Sally very well and have to say that she put in a huge effort getting everything ready for the wedding, but I’m sure you will agree that she did a fabulous job. There was actually a lot more that she did that she hasn’t owned up to here. ;) All of us at Creative Crafting wish Chris and Josey a wonderful life together and are sure that they appreciate the hard work put in by a very proud mother of the groom.
