Many of the St
Albans sharps were olive skinned and exotic and together as a gang, when they
were talking and laughing, (they all had heavy new Australian accents, even the
fair skinned Aussies) they seemed to have their own language and at first it
was hard to understand if they were laughing at us, we were way out of our
teenage depth among these worldly young men.
St
Albans sharps
As we grew up
with our new St Albans friends, parties and
weddings were grouse. Especially the Maltese ones. Fantastic food, attention to
detail, wedding cakes with fountains and six o’clock rock music. I remember my
boyfriend Chap used to joke ‘Elvis is the King of Malta’. And every Saturday night, when we were out cruising in the metallic green HD Holden, the boys would turn up the radio and sing along with the Six o'clock rock song. JJ and I would roll our eyes.
Me and JJ
I had
forgotten about all of this until I went to a Maltese wedding on the weekend…
I invited Shellbelle, one of the witches from our coven (Can’t remember if I have
posted about the coven, I am a social member because I am too fickle to turn up regularly to ritual) to my 50th and
she couldn’t make it. She was going to meet her new boyfriend’s parents. I
sulked a little, but quickly forgot when I heard a rumour to keep the
Spring Equinox free as I would be getting an invitation. Expecting an
engagement invitation, I was blown away when I opened a wedding invitation. And
not just a wedding, a fantasy
wedding. At Mira Mira, a venue with dragons, hobbit style houses, and a grand hall with a hand painted ceiling.
The engaged couple -
how could she say no to a man that proposed while wearing a ‘onesie’. A bloke that is
comfortable enough to wear a onesie gets my vote.
The bride and
groom could easily have been the children of my old friends and it was
beautiful to witness the narrowing of the generation gap as I remembered and
compared the weddings of the past, in the massive Catholic church and traditional
reception centers to this magical wedding.
St Albans 1979
Sunday’s ceremony
had all the pagan trimmings. It was officiated by Nicky, a pagan elder and
marriage celebrant, with a ritual by High Chief Scary Fairy from Werribee’s
Raven Hearth Coven. The bridal party were smudged with sage on entry into altar
in the circle by a coven member and during the ceremony were handfasted and
bound together with a rainbow assortment of thirteen satin cords, trimmed
with amulets.
The bride said 'We had lady bugs for good luck instead of traditional flower girls. I decided to wear a veil as its an old European tradition to protect the bride from jealous people. We wanted our guests to make a wish with a gerbera & write it on the red hearts, add it to the circle to increase the energy of our citcle. We used various traditions in the ceremony... Unity candle from Jewish tradition. Ring exchange Egyptian & hand fasting Celtic. Az isn't pagan but aligned with the universe'
Satin cords inside the circle
Throughout the ceremony, a chorus of frogs in nearby dams sang their approval and after the ceremony, the bridge and groom jumped the besom (broom)
onto the red carpet as their first activity together, symbolically leaping into
their new life, leaving the past behind.
Bride and
groom jumping the besom
This creative
and inspiring ceremony was happily witnessed by a crowd of mixed generations,
with good looking, stylish Maltese mafia types and exotic witchy and fae folk. An
amazing family, celebrating the style of their unique
children.
The Bride and
groom
Lady bug
flower girls in the background and red polka dot bridesmaids.
Vintage pin up glamour.
Best. Wedding
cake. Ever.
I nearly wet
my pants when the entertainer, Maltese Elvis arrived dressed in a black cape
and then later had a costume change into Elvis’s Viva Las Vegas white bejewelled
jumpsuit. Even the little boys and girls under ten sang along to the old rock n
roll. When Maltese Wedding Elvis had a break, the dance floor went nuts to Bon
Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer (I had to confirm with a Gen X who was singing, cos I
am old).
The Bride and Elvis
Dad’s speech
was sweet, especially when he said, ‘I loved her first’ as he welcomed the
groom into the family. Mum’s was just as good, remembering Shell as Little Miss
Naughty, Little Miss Bossy and always playing ‘Teachers’ and saying she now has
the son she always wanted.
It was moving
watching the new generation acknowledge the previous generations with gifts,
kind words and special dances. The Groom danced with his mother to ‘Muma, Queen
of my heart’ and thanked his in-laws for raising a princess to be his queen.
Other messages from the parents were - When children find true love, parents
find true happiness - Continue to make each other laugh and create new memories
- You don’t marry the man you live with, you marry the man you can’t live
without.
What a
thrilling wedding, the Maltese mafia meets Werribee witches, bought together by
Maltese Elvis, the king of Malta.
And the
witches, I love them. They see me cry and just shove a tissue in my cleavage. I
need one now.
