27 May 2023: Minneapolis (Shea’s Wedding)

We headed across the road to the Perkins Restaurant and Bakery to have some breakfast. We now remember the ordeal of trying to order brekkie in the US. Mark asked the young waitress (I think she was about 16) if they had a latte. Nope. He asked what type of coffee they had. Black or decaf. So he asked for black with some milk on the side. I asked if they had tea. Yep. So I asked for tea with milk. She asked me if I wanted sweetened or unsweetened. This should have been a red flag for me, but I didn’t really understand, so naturally said unsweetened. She came back with a warm black coffee, an iced tea, and two large glasses of milk. We both probably had really silly looks on our faces. I said that I had wanted hot tea, so she raced off to get that for me. The tea wasn’t great, it tasted like hot water from an old urn. So Mark ditched his warm coffee, drank my tea, and I drank the glass of milk. The food was pretty bad - with some hashbrowns that looked fabulous but were dripping with oil, so it wasn’t a great experience all round. 

We decided to wander up the road to the Walmart as we both needed deodorant, and I wanted Minties for the next flight (air pressure thing). Now this may seem like a rather mundane task, but it can be a great experience in a different country. For starters, how huge is Walmart! We found our way (eventually) to the toiletries section and we were faced with a wall full of different deodorants. Needless to say, our tried and true weren’t anywhere, so we had to make new choices. I tried to convince Mark that Old Spice was for him, but I wasn’t successful. Minties didn’t seem to exist, so I’ve ended up with some Werther’s caramels. 

Another snooze was needed. I swear, I still don’t know what time or day it is. Well planned timing saw us get ready for the wedding in a leisurely manner so that we were on the designated 3:15pm (leaves sharp, said Shea) shuttle bus. There were two other Aussie couples on board as well as an American couple. It was a nice trip, we were all chatting and laughing about AUS/US differences. We arrived at the Winery which was in a lovely setting. We all made our way inside to grab a drink.

It was a really lovely day as far as weather goes. There was no snow LOL. It was like a nice spring day in Brisbane. The setting was very pretty with the vines covering the small rises behind where the ceremony took place. We sat down, unsure if we were sitting on the ‘bride side’ or the ‘groom side’ or whether that even mattered anymore. 

First down the aisle was Ben, escorting his mum. Then he headed back out as Lisa and Brendon came down. We were sitting with Katie and Josh and I commented on Lisa’s shoes - we decided we’d roll her later in the evening, I’d take her shoes and Katie would take her dress. Seemed fair. I should say at this point that Lisa looked beautiful. Next, Ben came back followed by his groomsmen. A very dapper looking bunch. The lovely bridesmaids came next, in pink, needless to say. And then, the bit we all wait for at every wedding, came the bride. George escorted Shea and I promptly burst into tears. She looked absolutely every inch the lovely bride. Their vows were great - very personalised and obviously well planned. The ceremony was really delightful and they walked back down the aisle to “(this will be) an everlasting love” by Natalie Cole.

It’s hard to write about a wedding - so much of it is the mood. Ceremony over, we headed back in for drinks and nibbles. Shea and Ben were there to greet everyone as we came in, so it was good to be able to congratulate them right from the start. Everyone stood around chatting for a while, and then we went in to get ready for the reception. We were on a table with the other Aussies, Katie & Josh, one of the bridesmaids and her partner, as well as her parents. They were the other Aussies on the bus with us, but they didn’t really talk during dinner. We had fun and lots of laughs with Katie and Josh, which made for a good night. 

Ben & Shea sat at the wedding table by themselves - a bit different to Aussie weddings, but I thought it was a nice idea because they’d get a little alone time. The MC/photographer/DJ guy announced that there would be a competition to see which of the couple would be covered with whipped cream from a can later in the night. The deal was that each had a large plastic jar in front of them, whoever had the most money in their jar at the end of the night was the creamer, not the creamee. Needless to say, Shea roped in the donations and Ben wore the cream at the end of the night. 

Dinner was a salad first (again, an American thing) that had strawberries in it, and then beef, chicken, or shrimp. I had the beef, Mark had the shrimp. The bomboniere were Christmas crackers which turns out to be only an Aussie thing. Inside were cute keyrings with planes on them (a nod to the pilot groom) and little Aussie chocolates like Freddo’s and Cadbury Koalas. Nice! Dessert was a chocolate fountain - and there were animal crackers (so good). After dinner was the first dance (so sweet) and then out to the vineyards for some more drinks and a sit around in the fresh air. When the couple came back from a photoshoot, the dancing was on! By the end of the night, Mark and I had had a boogie to a “Don’t stop me now” and ‘Bust a move”. And right at the end, Apple Bottom Jeans so that the ladies could all hit the floor. 

Ready to leave after a fun, fun night, I pretended to sneak off with Lisa’s shoes. I was busted - but then, Lisa being Lisa, gave them to me! She said she had another pair at home - Lisa being Lisa, I believe her. So I feel like a spoilt ratbag.

It was a lovely wedding, and we both felt privileged to be there for it. Shea has always been special to both of us, so to see her so happy, on her most special day was fabulous. I love a good wedding!

For some photos and video, click here