Don't Look A Gifthorse In The Mouth

An upside of getting married, not that the act itself isn't an upside, is the presents.

You can say all you want that you're happy with your guests just being there but let's be honest ... presents rock!!

We hit the mother load with gifts.

Here are a few:

Four slice mac daddy toaster
Slow cooker
Kenwood food processor
Two stainless steel mac daddy kettles
Lush towels
Massive gift basket (the gift that just keeps giving)
Two white designer dinner sets
Two flash as cutlery sets
Photo frame with the Apache Wedding Blessing in it (mate Jo read at our wedding)
Massive guilded mirror
Huge set of Click Clack containers (help deal with the bloody mouse problem)
Three designer white platters in different sizes
Duvet set (a bit random with circles all over it)
A mac daddy hardcover New Zealand Landscapes book from my adventurer extraordinairre cousin.
Matching salad bowl and oil dispenser (hilariously I typed salad bowel first!!)
Herb cutter with chopping board
Massive rubbish bin
Crystal Pinot Noir glasses
$260 Farmers vouchers (department store)
$100 Briscoes voucheres (homewares store)
$300 Acquisitions vouchers (flash giftware store)
$500 Mitre 10 vouchers (DIY store, hardware store)
$60 Westfields vouchers (massive shopping mall)


Then I had mates who gifted me their time and skills for the actual day.

Aunty Tracey did the flowers
Jen did the make up (a hard task!!)
Mandy made the cake
Kim did the photography
Kim's Mum is going to do a huge framed montage of the photos
Kim's Dad was the MC

and the most emotional gift of all:

my darling Aunty and close friend passed away in a terrible way five years ago. She died from bone cancer. She was one of those few "angels on earth" sort of people. She taught me to ride and she taught me the ins and outs of horse racing and nutrition. She was a pillar of love for me. Her favourite flowers were african violets so I had a wee pot of them on the registry table. I needed her to be there in spirit.

Her daughter gifted me a beautiful painting/drawing/collage that she had done herself. It was of a jockey on a thoroughbred. It's stunning and full of talent, but the thing that had me in tears, she said she wanted me to always know that the gift came from her mum as well as the rest of the family, hence the horse. She actually has exhibitions and her work is selling well but the thought behind it was just stunning - and it matches the colours I eventually want in my new home.

So, crux of it all, we were very spoilt and are just so very priveledged to have such a great and generous group of friends and family.