Heavenly Beverley : A Fairytale in Darlington

Their Big Day dawned. Not very brightly from a weather point of view, but no rain was going to dampen the kids' spirits. Callum and Bronwyn's wedding day had finally arrived.

The two of them had met, eight years ago, in the staffroom of Karrinyup Primary School. They quickly became boyfriend and girlfriend. Apart from one minor hiccup early in their relationship, they moved steadily from strength to strength. Bronwyn's first flight in her life was visiting Sydney with Callum. Then on to New Zealand, Bali, Japan and Europe.

Friends spent years predicting when Callum would propose to Bron. The eventual timing was classic Callum - ingenuity, stealth, style and perfection. On their first night in Venice last July, he knelt in front of her and asked her to be his wife. He'd organised the ring, the location, the passage to Italy and the camera for recording the moment in history. I can't even hazard a guess what Bron must have been thinking, but she gave all the indications of having No Idea of what was about to occur. The evidence was photographed for posterity.

Their wedding planning was a cross between pragmatism and fantasy. They quickly formed a budget and decided that theirs would be a winter ceremony. Apparently. some venues were charging a King's ransom for a summer setting. They chose a beautiful Perth Hills location that was relatively equidistant for all the attending guests. They were fully aware that the day could be cold, windy and rainy. However, they knew they would be basking in the warmth of the love around them. So, the planning duly continued.

Bronwyn, a true romantic at heart and lover of Disney movies, was determined to have her dream come true. Callum was happy to go along for the ride. Probably better for his health to let her take the lead.

The last few weeks was frenetic. We were unaware of the extent as we had left for our north-west adventure. Returning only eight days before the Wedding of the Century, we geared up to look our best. Haircuts and nails, waxing and tinting were all applied without mercy. There was no way we were going to attend looking like our usual scruffy Beverley Hillbillies personas.

On the afternoon of the wedding rehearsal in Antarctic conditions, I sent Michael to purchase a pair of dress trousers. Then just prior to leaving for the Hills on the wedding morning, Michael even shaved. Suddenly, he was transformed from a flannelette-shirted bogan to a Handsome Devil indeed.

My final morning was spent having some makeup applied by the efficient Beautician to the Stars, Kerryanne Doyle from U Beauty Country. She even took my hair In Hand and arranged it more stylishly than I could have. I was stunned at the result. I felt quite elegant, a most unusual sensation.

Just arriving on time at Darlington Estate was problematic. We'd had so much rain that there was water over the road in some spots and some fairly difficult moments with debris everywhere. We ended up arriving at our digs closeby with only half an hour to spare. Michael found a handy phonebox to change his clothes and took my breath away when he emerged. We then hot-footed directly to Darlington Estate and arrived just before the bride.

The wedding was beautiful. Bronwyn looked like a fairy princess in her flowing white dress. Her strawberry blonde hair had been curled softly and secured her veil. Her bridesmaids were dressed in her favourite purple with long silver cloaks. Bronwyn's younger and very slim sister Colleen felt the cold visibly without her cloak during the ceremony and gratefully donned it as soon as she could.

The vows were memorable, there was an exchange of roses, the planting of rose seeds and the uniting of our extended families. The reception was brisk and most enjoyable. There were no boring bits. Bronwyn's Dad, Rob and I made remarkably similar speeches about our children. The dinner was scrumptious, the vino flowed and conversation bright and amiable. Everybody joined to celebrate Callum and Bronwyn's day.

Then the dancing started. A stunning waltz choreographed by Callum, the Nutbush and the Macarena were all on the agenda. The energetic routines demonstrated by the kids and their friends were blasts of joy and exuberance. I was mesmerised by the incredible displays of their love of life and of each other occurring in front of my eyes on the dance floor.

We stayed until Bronwyn threw her bouquet, expertly caught by Colleen. Rob and Michelle blanched for a minute. Having successfully married off their two elder daughters, they weren't quite ready for the third to fly the coop.

We left the indestructible Young Things and returned to our Airbnb for the night. Our kind host, Kirsty let us in and made me a most delicious cup of tea.

A lovely finish to a brilliant day. Thank you so very much, Callum and Bronwyn.