21.02.2015 Bunker Bay Western Australia

Yes, I know, this has nothing to do with the adventures of Tigress Too but it did happen while we were cruising so it fills in the gap of what we have been doing for the last month. It was also a significant event in our life and so I think its worthy of being on our blog.

After 6 happy years together Ben and Kate tied the knot. We now have another Mrs Davis in the family, welcome Kate.

From the moment we touched down at Perth airport, 10 days before the big day, to the day we left, a month later, we never seemed to have time to sit down & relax. What an amazing trip home this one was.

Lots to do in the week leading up to the wedding. First off was the Hen & Bucks DAY. It seems that you now spend most of the day celebrating these occasions. For the bucks they set out at 9.30 am, paintballing was the first stop, then a quick race around the go kart track before heading back to Chris’s house for a BBQ lunch, dip in the pool, a game of beer ping pong and “lets dress the groom up for his night out”! Then they were off for a 2 hour harbour cruise and onto Little Creatures and Fremantle for the night. I’m exhausted just writing about it. Needless to say there were some very sore heads for the next day or 3 but Mrs Doubtfire assures me she had a great time and felt quite fine the following day!

As for us ladies we had a much more relaxing day. First off was the day spa where the bride to be and her entourage were pampered from head to foot. A little champagne and some nice little cakes to nibble on while we were sat back & chatted. Then back to the hotel for more champas and games while we changed and then headed out for dinner.  We never got to go clubbing as planned but retired back to the hotel for more champas and more games. I was quietly relieved about missing out on the night club, as by that time I was quite exhausted.

The next few days while I was busy with Kate, Jaki, Molly and  Sage, doing last minute preparations for the wedding, Ben and his Dad were talking through renovations & repairs to the house that Jerry had volunteered to do while they were on honeymoon.  So much for our relaxing holiday!

Thursday, Robert, my brother, and family arrived from Brisbane and we loaded up 3 cars with 3 families and headed south for a 5 day weekend. I was so excited and happy they were able to join us. We had booked a huge house at Eagle Bay overlooking the ocean. It had more rooms than we could use and enough space that we could all just laze around without being on top of each other. On the way down we stopped off at Bunbury Farmers Market to load up on food for the weekend. 10 people all loading one trolley meant that there was no way anyone was sticking to the shopping list I had spent days preparing!!

Our house was just 5 mins walk to the beach and a very short drive to the wedding venue. I had forgotten just how clean and pristine our beaches and water are here in WA, oh and not a soul to be seen for miles. It made us realise just how lucky we are to call WA our home.

Friday, we ate a little, relaxed a little, swam a little, ate a little bit more and then went out to dinner to meet up with those just arriving for the wedding. Ben’s best mates from school were there, some had travelled from Brisbane and Sydney. They had all grown some since we last saw them! By coincidence they had booked the house next door to us!

Saturday, by now my emotions had well & truly kicked in and I was feeling so happy for B&K, so emotional  for me “ losing” my son and so nervous it would all go as planned. Ben stayed with us on Friday night and we were all up bright and early the next morning. The cousins all played cards, why not, its only a wedding.

 

While Robert cooked up another storm in the kitchen, got to have a good breakfast on the day of your wedding. Chris was in charge of the coffee machine, thank goodness he took that down with us, while I just seemed to flitter from one place to the next not doing much but telling everyone what they should be doing!! Hey, it was my son’s wedding and I was a little anxious.

After breakfast , it was only 8.30, remember we were up early. The boys decided a swim was in order so off they went to the beach.

The girls went into town to do “girly” things and poor Chris drew the short straw and stayed back to iron 10 shirts! Someone had to do it and I was far too busy! Thanks again Chris

The groomsmen arrived and it was time for more food, lunch this time, a boy needs a good lunch before his wedding. Robert excelled again and lunch for 14 was served.

Then the fun began as time was ticking on and we had to be at the beach by 2.30, or else!

What a wonderful day it was, so many words pop into my mind to describe the day, it was just so perfect, so romantic and so Ben & Kate.

More photos of the day at the end of this blog. 

The newly weds took off on a 2 week honeymoon and we looked after their house and 3 dogs. It was all go as Jerry had volunteered to build a pantry workbench and shelves.

We had to remove doors & windows to fit the framework in place. Jerry lived up to his reputation once again “Jerry just fits – perfectly” The end results were worth the effort, Kate and Ben were very happy.

The dogs Royce, Bella & Lilly had to be walked  which gave us a great excuse to go to the beach each day. Then there was Kate’s Sproutly business to keep going which Jaki (Kate’s Mum) and myself enjoyed doing together.

 

As tiring as the 2 weeks were we really enjoyed our time at their house and doing a few jobs around the place to help them out. The last week we spent catching up with friends for coffees, lunches and dinners aswell as shopping for the boat.

Now here we are back onboard Tigress Too, feeling a little “flat” I must admit. We are currently sailing down the coast to Senibong Marina in Johor Baru and looking forward to our trip up the East Coast of Malaysia.

Here are some more photos of that special day, in no special order, just in case you haven’t already seen enough! Not all mine, I’ve been collecting from various FB posts, hope you don’t mind!