I arrived in Sydney on Friday afternoon, met Dzung and his fiancée Ruth for a combined Bucks/Hens BBQ on Saturday at lunch, and celebrated their wedding the next day. We almost didn’t make it – had Ruth not separated Dzung and I chatting religion and philosophy for hours on Saturday night...
1. Dzung & Ruth: a beautifully personalised masterpiece
Dzung and Ruth have been together for about 4.5 years, and are very well suited to each other. It was a pleasure to see them publicly declaring their individually prepared vows in a beautifully personalised ceremony. Set on a stunning outlook over the cliffs of Stanwell Tops, just south of Sydney, Dzung’s romantic masterpiece came together like the delicately interwoven strands of a great tapestry. Those floods of tears pouring over Dzung’s cheeks at Ruth’s graceful entrance were a sight to behold (for some amazing photos of the day, check out http://www.vlblog.net/wedding-at-tumbling-waters-retreat-stanwell-tops-crystal-palace/). For those pivotal moments etched into our memories for a lifetime, this was one moment to stake a memory flag (especially for Dzung: my big flag was almost 12 months ago but it’s still fresh)!
Dzung and Ruth have been together for about 4.5 years, and are very well suited to each other. It was a pleasure to see them publicly declaring their individually prepared vows in a beautifully personalised ceremony. Set on a stunning outlook over the cliffs of Stanwell Tops, just south of Sydney, Dzung’s romantic masterpiece came together like the delicately interwoven strands of a great tapestry. Those floods of tears pouring over Dzung’s cheeks at Ruth’s graceful entrance were a sight to behold (for some amazing photos of the day, check out http://www.vlblog.net/wedding-at-tumbling-waters-retreat-stanwell-tops-crystal-palace/). For those pivotal moments etched into our memories for a lifetime, this was one moment to stake a memory flag (especially for Dzung: my big flag was almost 12 months ago but it’s still fresh)!
Dzung: Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
Jesus: Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
D: Upon what basis do you claim that God alone is good?
J: Do you doubt the Biblical record?
Jesus: Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
D: Upon what basis do you claim that God alone is good?
J: Do you doubt the Biblical record?
D: Why are you so confident in an unscientific source?
J: …Why are you wearing a pink t-shirt?
The Vietnamese banquet later that night was certainly an entertaining cultural experience. The food was the main highlight (there’s no Vietnamese food in Samoa), though our MC/singer/entertainer had to be a close second. I’m not sure what was funnier… his attempts to work the crowd over the top of techno music, his spontaneous bursting into song, or his fluoro happy pants with chain-link sides. There were also a number of other memorable features… An hour’s worth of photos of the ‘happy’ couple with all the wedding guests in front of their personalized wall of rotating chandelier-disco-light. Their own karaoke-style video on loop as we entered… any Celine Dion song could have fitted seamlessly over the top. Dzung and Ruth were very good-hearted about it all and we really enjoyed ourselves.
2. Tim & Heidi-Jane: a musically-infused celebration
J: …Why are you wearing a pink t-shirt?
The Vietnamese banquet later that night was certainly an entertaining cultural experience. The food was the main highlight (there’s no Vietnamese food in Samoa), though our MC/singer/entertainer had to be a close second. I’m not sure what was funnier… his attempts to work the crowd over the top of techno music, his spontaneous bursting into song, or his fluoro happy pants with chain-link sides. There were also a number of other memorable features… An hour’s worth of photos of the ‘happy’ couple with all the wedding guests in front of their personalized wall of rotating chandelier-disco-light. Their own karaoke-style video on loop as we entered… any Celine Dion song could have fitted seamlessly over the top. Dzung and Ruth were very good-hearted about it all and we really enjoyed ourselves.2. Tim & Heidi-Jane: a musically-infused celebration
Tim has the wonderful inclination to invest heavily in his close friends, and the lead-up to his wedding certainly demonstrated this.
I was fortunate enough to share a spa and beers with him while watching NSW be destroyed by Queensland in the second State of Origin. Along with his mates, we spent a full day playing sport, eating and socializing for his Bucks Party, and watched Australia painfully draw with Ghana in the Soccer World Cup. We shared a meal with the rest of the bridal party after the wedding rehearsal – no sporting events involved. And the boys in the bridal party spent the night before the wedding drinking a fine selection of beers, playing pool, relaxing in the spa, toasting marshmallows, watching sport, and smoking cigars by the fire. Hmmmm… it’s amazing that we managed to wake up the next morning at all. Yet Tim awoke excitedly and before I was even out of bed, he was dressed… in my shirt.
The wedding itself was a musically-infused celebration, with both Tim and Heidi-Jane demonstrating their ample talent in song-writing, recording and conducting. It also contained the marks of Tim’s cheeky humour, by projecting the groomsmen’s hypothetical thoughts onto the screen in the final seconds before the processional…
I had the privilege of preaching at the church service from 1 John 4, looking at love: God-style. When there are so many conflicting messages about love in the public arena, I focused on the type of love God demonstrated through Jesus. I think Tim and HJ both possess the type of love that mirrors God’s love, and this should enable them to cultivate a strong relationship for a lifetime. With the amount of enthusiastic support demonstrated by their friends and family, they have the ingredients for a great marriage. They certainly got off to a great start.
I was fortunate enough to share a spa and beers with him while watching NSW be destroyed by Queensland in the second State of Origin. Along with his mates, we spent a full day playing sport, eating and socializing for his Bucks Party, and watched Australia painfully draw with Ghana in the Soccer World Cup. We shared a meal with the rest of the bridal party after the wedding rehearsal – no sporting events involved. And the boys in the bridal party spent the night before the wedding drinking a fine selection of beers, playing pool, relaxing in the spa, toasting marshmallows, watching sport, and smoking cigars by the fire. Hmmmm… it’s amazing that we managed to wake up the next morning at all. Yet Tim awoke excitedly and before I was even out of bed, he was dressed… in my shirt.
The wedding itself was a musically-infused celebration, with both Tim and Heidi-Jane demonstrating their ample talent in song-writing, recording and conducting. It also contained the marks of Tim’s cheeky humour, by projecting the groomsmen’s hypothetical thoughts onto the screen in the final seconds before the processional…
I had the privilege of preaching at the church service from 1 John 4, looking at love: God-style. When there are so many conflicting messages about love in the public arena, I focused on the type of love God demonstrated through Jesus. I think Tim and HJ both possess the type of love that mirrors God’s love, and this should enable them to cultivate a strong relationship for a lifetime. With the amount of enthusiastic support demonstrated by their friends and family, they have the ingredients for a great marriage. They certainly got off to a great start.
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