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…see you in Aus!
Below is a list of our fabulous vendors who are most deserved of the compliments we heard throughout our wedding day. For us, our wedding day was about our personalities and the intimate celebration with our families and friends. and these people helped us achieve just that. Short but sweet, small and intimate, fun but meaningful was what our day was about. Stress free (for the most part) due to the professionals we worked with to make our day the best it could be. And for that we are grateful.
Registrar: Theresa O’Reilly, County Galway Registrar
Photographer: Peter Neill Photography
Car Hire: Costello’s Bus Hire
Reception Venue, Food and Cake: Ard Bia/Nimmos
Bride/Groom Accommodation: House Hotel, Galway
Cake Toppers: NatBears on Etsy
Music: Executive Steve
Rings: Victoria Buckley via Pocket Full of Poesy on Etsy
Bride’s Dress: Candy Anthony
Bride’s Hairpiece: Featherbrain on Etsy
Bride’s Shoes (Heels): Irregular Choice via Schuh
Bride’s Shoes (Flats): De Bonis Orquera on Etsy
Bride’s Jewellery: Swarovski
Bride’s Underwear (fabulous): Masquerade by Panache via Boudiche
Groom’s Suit: Ted Baker via Arnotts
Groom’s Shirt: Debenhams
Groom’s Shoes: Converse
Bride’s hair, make up and flowers all her own work. Also, diy pinwheels and favours.
Woohoo! Excitement plus. We have ordered our rings. Again, via Etsy, but this time they’re from one of the jewellers we actually looked at when browsing for my engagement ring. Victoria Buckley has a fabulous little boutique in upstairs in The Strand, George Street, Sydney, where she does some wonderful things with filigree and gemstones, unfortunately a little too much for what I had in mind for my engagement ring, but beautiful none the less. I found myself deliberately taking the long way back to Ultimo just so I could stare through the window of her store admiring her handy work and the sparkling jewels!
But, she als does a collection of posie jewellery. Now, as her website explains, a posie is a little poem or verse that can be engraved onto the outside of rings. Pocket Full of Poesy is Victoria’s Etsy store specialising in these types of rings, primarily in silver but also occasionally in shades of gold.
We’ve chosen a poem of our own…well…courtesy of Molly Bloom and one James Joyce, but we’ll make it our own!
Okay, so it’s probably one of the worst kept secrets in my life just at the moment. Surprise, surprise, Mister Emmet and Miss Stephanie have decided to get hitched! And we’re doing it in Ireland. At least for part 1. Part 2 we hope will be in Australia for the oldies who can’t make it and the young ones who we’d love to have along but for whom we just can’t afford a Euro price tag, nor would we want to put any pressure on as we are well aware of the price of flying from Aus to Eire and back again. So it’s going to be a small do…very small…but hopefully in keeping with our personalities and maintaining some sense of intimacy and togetherness.
So, given it appears to be a tradition amongst female bloggers out there getting hitched, the next few inclusions here on Mental Dexterity will be wedding-y related. But with a bit of a twist, maybe…as we’re doing this wedding on the cheap. Well, trying to anyway. Anyone from Ireland or who has ever been to an Irish wedding will know that the Irish don’t do much by halves, especially since the alleged ‘boom’ time. While I’ve not been to a wedding here in Ireland I can only imagine the expense and debt people go to for their ‘big’, and the bigger the better, day. The Irish bridal magazines are filled with meringue and lace dresses, big cars or horse-drawn carriages and castles, and of course, lavishly decorated churches.
Our initial research revealed that some hotels won’t even talk to you if your guest list numbers less than 200, 150 for some given the ‘recessionary period’, but even then you leave a 2000 Euro deposit for the pleasure of securing your booking. I for one don’t even want to know what the final price is if 2000 Euro is simply the deposit! Needless to say, as lovely as some of these hotel staff tie bows on seats, it’s not very Emmet and Stephanie. Especially given that it’s 5 Euro per bow tied on seat! I for one could care less about bows on seats, red carpets or champagne receptions (champers for the bride and groom only, mind you, the rest of the guests get ‘sparking wine’).
Anyway, enough of that, let’s start at the beginning. On 4 April 2009 Mister Emmet asked me to marry him on our way back from the Pyrmont Good Living Grower’s Market, which had become a staple in our calendars. I had known it was coming as we’d been looking at rings and learning all there was to know (okay, the basics anyway) about shiny, shiny diamonds. Keen students we were and at exam time we chose a beauty! One gorgeous shiny white diamond delivered from the US to Cerrone who set it in a six claw high setting white gold ring made ‘specially for me.
The ball, as it were, had started rolling.
Next time….the dress.
Today I’m a little annoyed. I keep encountering people in Dublin who, upon hearing my accent, ask from whence I have come only to poo-poo when I say I’m from south of Sydney (as much as I love the ‘gong there’s little hope of anyone over here having heard of the place).
‘Oh’, they say, ‘I was in Sydney once….’. And I go stumbling into the trap laid bare before me. ‘And what did you think of it?’, I ask, knowing full well what the response will be. ‘Didn’t like it much’. Shock horror. ‘Oh?’ I ask putting on a front of having not heard such a comment before. ‘Yeah, it’s not that interesting, and the people aren’t all that friendly’. I sigh as I ask the well practiced follow up question, ‘how long were you there for?’. ‘A week’, at best, ‘three days’, at worst, followed by ‘then we went up to Cairns’!
Now, there’s your problem right there.
Soon after I grew weary of the commute between Bulli and the City I moved to Sydney. First, as a contract employee without a permanent income or landlord reference to point to, I moved into a share house, a dodgy one at that, where there were no contracts, just a mellow property manager who would come around once a week with a receipt book and a pack of rollies. I lived in Sydney for somewhere between four and five years and even I haven’t yet figured out how it all works, it’s no bloody wonder that after three days you’d had enough!
But in all honesty, you just weren’t looking hard enough. And in three days who could ask you to.
Sydney is truly a commuter City in that the CBD, which incidentally is where all the obvious touristy things are, can be eerily quiet on the weekends when the workers who commute in, even if only from the inner suburbs, retreat to their locals to relax before jumping back on the nine-to-five merry-go-round. Dear tourist, did you venture beyond the Quay or the Harbour? Did you venture beyond walking distance of your hotel? Did you wander through the communities of Glebe, Paddington, Surry Hills or Newtown? Stopping for a beer in the Rocks just does not compare to drinking a slow pint in the Lord Wolesey, a million miles from City life and yet just behind Darling Harbour Exhibition Centre. Even so, I am still mesmerised by the sight of the Harbour Bridge lights reflecting on the water on a clear dark evening.
Below, dear tourist, are some suggestions, to take you away from your hotel that you have no doubt booked in Kings Cross, and ever so slightly off the beaten track in between some of the tourist essentials, to, hopefully, provide a more endearing impression of my City, of Sydney.
Heading the right way towards to the City, ie bypassing where you can Darlinghurst Road in the Cross, you should come to Woolloomooloo, where Russell Crowe has his City residence. Very nice. I would be amiss to not mention Harry’s Cafe de Wheels, a Sydney institution where the purchase of a beef pie smothered with mash potato and mushie peas swimming in gravy is an absolute must. Oh, and don’t forget to wash it down with a Bundaberg Ginger Beer!
Onward and you should come to the Domain, which may or may not, depending on the time of year, feature a festival or gig of some sort in its amphitheatre. Beside the Domain is the Art Gallery of NSW, where many a New South Welsh-child has been on excursion. Touring or specialist exhibitions sometimes cost a few dollars, or ten, but the permanent works are free to admire. Beyond the Domain there’s a butt ugly building, which is probably the ‘new’ part of Parliament House, a building I know all too intimately. The new section is restricted to political types and party hacks but the old part, where the two houses are, is actually worth a look, if politics is in any way your thing. Or you might just like to pass on by. Right next door is the State Library, which often has exhibitions of its own, a lot of which seem to be photographic. On the other side of Parliament House is the Eye Hospital, and then the Mint, and then Hyde Park Barracks, all of which feature exhibitions of one type or another, general historical in nature.
So, from Macquarie Street you’re pretty much smack in the middle of it! The Opera House is in one direction, Hyde Park in another and in a third direction there’s shopping! You can walk through the Botanic Gardens on the way to the Opera House just watch out for the flying fox poop! The Botanic Gardens make a nice place for a picnic or just to chill out. You’re in the middle of Sydney, but somehow you’re a million miles from anywhere. The Opera House has a tour through the concert halls. There’s a main concert hall and then a couple of smaller venues underneath. One feels like you’re sitting in a red velvet jewellery box, where you can usually see something a little bit fringe for a little bit cheaper. If you follow the curve of the Quay you’ll pass by the wharves that can take you to Manly, Balmain or Taronga Zoo for the day.
Keep wandering around and you’ll come to the Museum of Contemporary Art, then some swanky restaurants in the overseas passenger terminal. If you’re up for something nice, although a little pricy (but hey, you always win coming from the Euro into Aussie Dollars), try Wildfire. The mushroom plate for entre is unbelievable!
You should come to the Harbour Bridge pretty soon thereafter. If you have the time, I would recommend the Bridge Climb experience. By all accounts, rain, mist or clear skies, it’s worth the money and the climb. If you’re not a fan of heights then at the very least a walk across the Bridge is in order. It’s not too far and Luna Park on the north side is worthwhile for a photo or two, if not for reliving your childhood with a ride or two.
Back on the south side and I’d suggest a walk through The Rocks. It’s a historically significant settlement site, and also, as you walk along Circular Quay you’ll have noticed markers in the pavers which map out the 1788 shoreline. At the weekend The Rocks hosts a market, which sells interesting trinkets, snacks and the like. As you head back towards town stop in at the Shangri-La Hotel. The cocktail bar on one of the top levels has a brilliant view and the cocktails aren’t bad either!
Continue your stroll down George Street, as this will take you into the CBD and the shopping areas. If the walk is too long, stop off at Max Brenner for hot chocolate and a chocolate babka. Then roll out the door, onwards and upwards until you come to the Apple Store on George Street. From here the main pedestrian shopping mall of Pitt Street runs parallel for a block. But if you continue along George Street you’ll come to yet another building of architectural significance, the Queen Victoria Building, featuring a statue of HRH Queen V herself. Apparently a gift to the people of Australia from the Irish upon shaking off their colonial shackles.
Beyond the QVB and onward along George Street, stopping just short of where the light rail crosses the road, follow the rail line around to the right and you’ll have Chinatown on your right and Market City on your left. The markets are open Thursday to Sunday and have all sorts of bits and pieces that are imported cheaply from Asia. Towards the far end there’s also fresh fruit, veg, meats and seafood. But if you prefer, head over the road for something different in Chinatown. There’s a great little dumpling place up near Goulburn Street, or BBQ King slightly further along Goulburn Street, where I hear the Peking Duck is excellent.
If, though, rather than heading into Chinatown you follow the road around from Market City you’ll come to the Sydney Entertainment Centre…it’s pretty much an entertainment centre, and occasionally has something worthwhile seeing, but if you’re only in town for a few days there are probably better things you can spend your time doing. Just beyond the Entertainment Centre is Darling Harbour. You’ll pass by The Pumphouse, which has a good selection of world beers, and keeping on you’ll come to the Chinese Garden of Friendship, a little bit of serenity in the middle of what can be a bustling city.
Through the fountains and passed the MacDonalds (there are plenty of other options, in fact the main thing to do in Darling Harbour is probably eat), and you’re into the Harbour proper. I say ‘harbour’, but actually up until about 20 years ago it was actually a cruddy old docklands. Hard to imagine these days. Cockle Bay is the little bit with all the seating around it. So, down to the eating. There’s the Meat & Wine Co and Hurricane’s Bar & Grill for those who need a steak, ribs or burger. Pancakes on the Rocks for….well…pancakes, actually, the original is at The Rocks, but you’re here now, so we’ll make do. The Little Snail if you’re up for French inspired cuisine, the Bayside Lounge for sparking wine and canapes or a dessert selection plate, and Blackbird for something cheap and cheerful cafe style. I could go on, and basically in Darling Harbour you’re spoilt for choice! Sit outside if the weather is good, and if it’s a little chilly, sit outside anyway, under the outdoor heater provided. The backdrop of the city lights over dinner, or the blue sky over lunch can be truly glorious.
At this point you might want to jump on the light rail that runs just behind Darling Harbour, and head on over to Glebe. Remember, here you’re travelling in the direction heading out of the City, rather than into it. Alight at Glebe and walk up the stairs (it’s a bit steep) onto Glebe Point Road, the main drag. Now, you may think you’ve entered into suburbia, but bear with me. Glebe is a bit of a mixed bag, with some incredibly wealthy people living there while others live in council housing. Anyway, heading in the direction away from the water Glebe Point Road is littered with cafes and restaurants, most with an arty and relaxed feel to them, such as Badde Manors is great for a weekend breakfast fry! At the end of Glebe Point Road you’ll come to a highway, across which is the lovely Victoria Park. Beside Victoria Park is the University of Sydney, which has the reputation of being one of the country’s premier tertiary institutions. The University grounds feature an interesting mix of old buildings and new, with the chapel a popular choice for weddings. But, at the end of the day it’s a uni, so take it or leave it, depending on what takes your fancy.
The road that runs around Victoria Park becomes Kings Street, Newtown. Newtown likes to think it’s a bit alternative, a little bit bohemian, but looking at some of the property prices you can’t help but wonder how it maintains this charm and appeal. King Street, though, is lined with funky fashion outlets (Faster Pussycat), cinema (Dendy), bookstores (Gould’s Book Arcade), great food and varied drinking establishments. There’s a melting pot of meals within walking distance from each other. But Guzman y Gomez is my recommendation after an evening of sensible consumption of alcoholic beverages in one of Newtown’s fine public houses.
So, if you’ve done all that, you’ve had a pretty impressive and LONG day in Sydney. And we’ve barely begun! Turn in a different direction and you could end up in Paddington, where on Saturday’s there’s a market featuring the creations of tomorrows top designers and the streets are lined with designer stores and boutiques, not to mention the cupcake shop and another Max Brenner. Take the bus through Paddo and you’ll likely to end up in Bondi, which if you’re an English tourist keen on pinking it up (sorry guys, ya just don’t tan well, naturally anyway), might tickle your fancy. In another direction you’ve got Surry Hills, which is another cafe cultured location with a semi-bohemian but little more upmarket in places feel. Crown Street, which comes off the Kings Cross end of Oxford Street, will lead you to some funky shops (see Wheels & Dollbaby), galleries (try Outre) and cafes en route though to Surry Hills, where the Clock Hotel is not a bad place for a pint.
So there, a brief introduction, not too far from the beaten track, but hopefully just enough to enhance your three day stop over in Sydney.
