The Wedding Reception: Hollywood Glamour...The Red Carpet Affair

The wedding of Deborah and David was finally drawing to close with the: 

Gala Wedding Reception 

Held on Day 71 of the marriage (is this a record for celebrating a wedding or what?) 

The invitation stated the dress code was "Hollywood Glamour: Red Carpet" Think of your favourite stars from the 20's to the 50's and imagine they are on the red carpet. What would they wear?

Bond with his latest Bond girl

We got ready at home with a tight schedule as we had to coordinate the three men, Dave, Pat and Dano plus me and my hair. 

Dave (sorry Bond..James Bond) was so handsome in his fathers wedding tuxedo. 50 years on it still looks fab. 

Dynamic Duo (father and son)

The gangsters arrived (aka Rita and Adelio) and for the sake of our safety we opened the champers for pre-celebration drinks

Adelio (godfather in-law), Deb (bride), 
Rita (gangster mole and mother in-law)
Danilo (young Italian junior criminale)

       

Mimi - the other fur wrap

 

It all worked well as everyone looked fabulous...even Mimi (our cat) joined in. 

3 Generations of Cigognini men (gangsters)

 The youngest Cigognini present was inducted into the gang. Once Adelio's work was done we were free to leave for the reception....Whew!

                         The Venue and the Surprises                 

We arrived early at the North Fitzroy Star and it looked fabulous. Drinks were distributed, the buffet tested, and tested and tested mmmmmmmm. 

Scrummy buffet

And the night was full of surprises (Deb loves surprises). 

As many guests as possible had a photo with the married couple on the RED CARPET. 

Yes you read correctly we had a Red Carpet! This was

Surprise No. 1

And here is Deb on the Red Carpet

Yes the Red Carpet is working

Deb and Pat on the Red Carpet

The gang arrive to make sure all  is in order

 Just time for some quiet contemplation before the guests arrive. 

    Or to fix my hair.           
     

And the Guests Arrive...Yay

Rival Gangsters , (godfather) Alf and Noelle (the one with the boa)

More of the Treppo gang. Angie and Pete

Raphael - debonair Frenchman

Cigognini's hobnobbing with the Treppo's

Connie T, Dave and Deb C., Mark Norris, Bridie C., Julian Rossi, Lisa Norris

Then Hani arrives in that red dress. Now that was outstanding. 

Oh and Anthony look dashing as well

And the glamorous newlyweds Kim and Lou
all glammed up in their wedding gear. Spark-a-lark-a-ling 

The Greeks are here! Gorgeous Aggie and Costa

Diana and Michael (very tired but spiffy hubby)

Vanessa and Jim (also known as the best home based barista)

Ray and Judy from Sydney. 
Glamour on a shoestring. Well done.

The lovely Margot and Mary. Double M
I think that was a Bond movie!!

Stefan, Carmen, Ivan and Lilijana with Christine (flew in from Singapore)

The Galea's. Janelle (Jelly) and mum Lyne. In the back is Leigh (adopted Galea)
And where is Mr Galea?

Denise (Deb's glam sister) and
their incredible travelling mum

Chris..and Deb (absent from photo but present on the night)

David and Marianne (trouble makers!)

The engaged couple, Laura and Alex.
Your turn!

Mary and Bryan plus Russ and Rhonda

We tried to get a photo with everyone on the red carpet however we missed a few guests. If you have a photo you would like us to publish please send to us so we can  admire you in your finery.

Then guests were directed towards the drink and buffet tables plus the 

Surprise number 2

A Photo Booth

Who are these funny characters? Romeo and Juliet perhaps!

Big hit with everyone and included not only photos for each person and the album, but also a video. I think that makes it 

Surprise No.3.

The guests mingle, chat and play a little bit
.

Who is that dashing man?

One small addition and he reverts to his inner self

Bridie and Connie...gorgeous

Ohhhh

We were both kept very busy with guests arriving up until 8.30. The hot food came out and the scallops plus the gnocchi was fabulous. Didn't get to try the last two, pork and Vietnamese rolls, as was busy with 

Surprise No.4..

Quick change from my Red Carpet dress (the bling was blinding) and into my Wedding dress. Oooh aaahhh.

And the cake cutting was on.

Doesn't it look gorgeous. White mud and passionfruit
with vanilla and passionfruit fondant

Come on Dave.
If you help you can have a piece

That's it. 

We cut the cake and Rita and Denise cut it up for our guests. Thank you both for a great job!

Next the speeches from Dave's brother Brenden and Debs sister Lyne. 

Brennie opened the proceedings and mentioned the respect Dave engenders in the younger generation and how both their previous relationships helped them recognise what a perfect match they are.

What I remember from them is that Dave doesn't annoy Lyne (good one) and she thinks we are well suited as we laugh a lot and always seem happy. True. 

I did love her last sentiment which went like this 
"Being married is a little bit like a cup of tea in the morning - you might have it everyday but you still enjoy it"

 Dave thanked all for coming and we sincerely hope everyone had a great time

Then there was time for a wedding dance.

Denise and Milo, Mum and Dave

Mother and son

Not quite dancing couple, Bridie and Julian

And then there was the final surprise of the night..

Surprise No. 5: 

The Candy Buffet, naturally with a red carpet theme

Many helped themselves with the words "its for the children". 
They had to go back for a refill cos they couldn't resist them.