Our day had finally come.  It was the 3 May 1986 and it was a beautiful Johannesburg day.  I got ready at Rig and Sue’s place and Tony was at the cottage with Betty and Peter.

We decided that the sleeves on my dress needed to be changed so Val got to that.  Sue did my hair and make-up, putting up with my comments like “Don’t make it too boofy, not too much make up on my eyes.”   She tried to convince me that I needed to wear nail polish just for one day in my life.   Leigh was wearing a pretty pink cottagey dress and Ryan looked handsome with his braces and bow tie.  We were ready way ahead of time.

Meanwhile, Tony and Betty were locked out of the cottage.  Peter had the key and there was no way to get hold of him.  Betty had borrowed an iron the night before and it leaked a brown liquid on Tony’s white jacket.  She needed to get into the cottage to dry it with a hair dryer. Tony found a small window at the back and managed to get in.

Then it was Sue’s turn.  She put on her white high waist pants and her purplish blouse.  Her massive shoulder pads just wouldn’t sit right.  From that moment on she was obsessed with them.  She took them out, turned them around, upside down and they were still wrong.  When we walked out of the house, she was still fidgeting.

Dave and Wilf came to pick us up.  They both looked handsome and happy.  Wilf was slightly tearful.

The garden looked lovely but that wasn’t my focus.  I just wanted to see Tony.  Dad walked me half way down the aisle and Tony walked to meet us.  They shook hands and I was handed over.  Tony was so calm.  In that moment he was aware of our hugely different backgrounds and so grateful that his wild past had been wiped away.

In my excitement I took Tony’s hand and walked ahead of him.   Everyone laughed at my eagerness.  I slowed down and we made our way to the little stage covered in a vine.

Rig preached a long sermon from behind a bush.  All we could think of was our honeymoon.  We couldn’t wait for it all to be over.

We said our vows and Tony got out his guitar to sing the song we had written.  It was a new one and he wasn’t sure of it.  He stuck the words on his guitar and started to sing.  Right in the middle, his jacket got hooked up and covered the piece of paper.  He couldn’t see the lyrics, but carried on regardless.  Only I knew the parts he was making up.

COLOURS:

See the silent picture

Painted in my eyes

Feelings expressed in colours

Flowing from a deep palette set in my heart

Framed in laughter a touch of pain

Blends of beauty,

Brilliant skies

Colours, colours flowing from my heart

What causes this rainbow to flow

Out of my eyes into your heart?

The colours rise with ease,

Filling every part of me with warmth and love.

It’s your love that draws this rainbow

Out of me into you

Joining our lives in a perfect blend

Created only for eyes

Painted with love.

We were pronounced husband and wife and whisked off for what seemed like hours of photo taking.  By the time we got back, most of the snacks had gone and some of the ladies were frantically making more sandwiches.