After a clanger of a bachelorette for my bride cousin in September, the wedding took place this past Saturday and I fear it may take me months to recover.

The whole event, from family and friends arriving a few days before, to the post wedding hangover breakfast, was wonderful, superb, happy, and all other positive adjectives that can be found in the Oxford Dictionary.

There are so many things to love about the venue of the wedding - a beach resort my family has been frequenting since the time of commute by ox wagon – I am not joking!  The vows took place under a secluded collection of Milk wood trees known as “The Cathedral” – an apt name for the occasion.  It was a sandy trip down the aisle, and the bridesmaids and I were terrified as to how our stilettos would fare, and more than that, how we would fare without landing flat on our freshly made up faces in front of a large congregation.  There was only one thing to do – have a few glasses of Champagne to ensure any wobbles would be eradicated, and post those precious bubbles, our walking abilities were sure to be dead accurate.  Mission accomplished, we all made it, the bride included, without a loss of balance, face or dignity.

The guests were varied and fascinating – we were all from all over the world, from all walks of life, young, old, happy and happier.  The M.C., my cousin, was so hysterically funny that I think I developed a wrinkle immediately, otherwise known as a laughter line.  My uncle’s speech about his daughter the bride was without question the most sincere wedding speech I have ever heard – touching, emotional, honest, and to be remembered fondly forever.  My aunt, the mother of the bride, looked like she had just stepped out of an advert in the September issue of American Vogue – I will be forever envious.

And then the party started. 

The Eastern Cape-ers are not known for holding back at a party, and this, combined with my already wild family, led to an evening of gigantic proportion.  I have always been proud of the fact that I do not drink shooters of any description, preferring instead yet another glass of wine.  However, I seemed to lose track of my shooter brake on this evening, and was last seen finishing off a bottle of coffee tequila with more enthusiasm than a teenager heading off to her first school social.  The effects on my body were both devastating and intoxicating.  The first effect is that I truly believed I was on the set of “Dancing with the Stars” – where I was the “star” and whoever dared to swing me around, well, they were definitely the non-star.  Of course, my choice of dance partners were all most certainly more talented on the floor than I was, but I would never have believed that at the time.

The bride and groom oozed happiness, and festive moods swept over them too.  It is fantastic to see a bride with such a huge zest for life, and having an evening she will never forget.  My family jumped in with both feet, and we certainly did not let each other down, at the bar, or otherwise.

The wedding cake got thrown (don’t ask), the garter and bouquet were caught (luckily not by me), and the band played on…  the farmers partied with great gusto, the drinks flowed like water, the dance floor got pounded, the laughter was catchy, the friendships were re-cemented and new friendships were made.  In terms of weddings attended, this was an excellent one.

And so the moral of this story:  Hold onto your childhood friendships and nurture them; be open to new friendships and nurture those too; enjoy your family and trust in their integrity and their love of you and vice versa; support your loved ones when they take a leap into marriage, and don’t, whatever you do, finish the coffee tequila…