Sat, 6th Sept, 2014 Broke (wedding in Pokolbin, Hunter Valley)

Cloudy, warmer morning 15 degrees. Checked out the wombat hole but no activity. 

Another long walk around the park with the camera to film all the info etc. 

The town was cut off by the river so they built a flying fox. Then a bridge which was low and flooded often and now a big high bridge. Turnbuckle was from the flying fox. Not sure I would have enjoyed that ride.

Saw a galah going into the hole in the tree.

Yellow rock part of the range here.

Lovely war memorial.

Great swing – need one of these for the van!!!

Pine cones growing.

Quick lunch and time to get ready for the wedding. Forgot to get someone to tie his tie so I trotted over to a neighbour and asked – he happy obliged – nice people. Showers of rain still around unfortunately. Steve put thermals under his good clothes as he didn’t have a jacket. I had my dress, coat and stockings but put in my leggings just in case. Got to the Gardens at 12.30 and wandered down the Lake Gardens to the rotunda. Rebecca and the groom Andre were waiting.

The rain started so we all dived under our umbrellas but eventually it passed at 1.10 and Megan arrived with 4 flowergirls, her sister Ingrid and 3 other bridesmaids. They all look beautiful and luckily the sun came out and they didn’t freeze.

It was a lovely service with some special readings they had chosen. First was from “The Little Prince” and the second was “Union” by R Fulghum, very moving.

A thankyou gift for the parents.

Clive was given more good luck with bird poop and the Chinese believe rain means money so the rain is lucky too.

Proud Rebecca and Clive and Andre’s parents.

 With the exchanging of rings and vows said

Andre kissed the bride - but I missed that shot!!!

and now they are Mr and Mrs Liew

Megan's dress was so beautiful and she was just radiant.

We scrubbed up alright and with the sun out we weren't freezing either.

After signing the marriage certificate the family gathered for photos so we wandered off around the gardens.

They are magnificent and would be even more spectacular when a lot of the trees get their foliage back and the roses are in bloom.

 Plum tree

 This was the last flower on the otherwise bare tree.

The Japanese Gardens were lovely with big carp in the ponds.

Lots of flowers in the shape of things, like this train.

Brokenback Mountain brumbies.

A new take on the Garden Bed.

Steve found another booby friend.

The Storybook Garden was wonderful and I enjoyed a cuppa with the Mad Hatter and Alice.

The Gardener was keeping an eye on things.

Climbed the platform to be amazed at the Border Garden.

A cute little male wren, I didn’t get a good photo of the female.

Bunya pines – I think our Christmas tree when we were kids was one of these and it was so prickly to get under to find our presents.

The duck loved the water fall and had a great bath.

Herbie the herb garden and the wheelbarrows were full of herbs and vegetables.

So amazing to see such a beautiful bloom on a leafless tree.

Grandmother’s Rose Garden – lovely sculptures. Would be beautiful when they are all in bloom.

A bust of the creator, Bill Roche and the Garden Train.

We walked till our feet hurt then went looking for a cuppa. The garden café just closed so went back to the village and found a café there. After we left we realised we had missed a few sections of the gardens so we will have to visit again one day when it is in bloom.

With time to spare we drove into Cessnock to check it out – found a Bunnings so will check if they have some fan heaters there tomorrow. Back to Tamburlaine Winery for the reception.

The temperature had dropped a lot but with a couple of glasses of bubbly and lovely canapés I was warming up.

The happy couple.

The reception room was laid out beautifully and Megan had chosen books as her table decorations and each table was given a book name – we were on her favourite, Anne of Green Gables.

We were seated with Clive and Rebecca and Clive’s two sisters and brother.

Two happy sisters, Megan and Ingrid.

We all had a great night with delicious food and lots to drink and had a ball dancing too. The speeches were entertaining and the wedding cake was books layered onto of each other.

Said our farewells as Megan and Andre are off to London next week to further their uni studies at Oxford University.