Last month I wrote about my niece Pip’s wedding to Hugh Smith. 

This month it’s her brother Patrick who ‘ tied the knot’

So once again the family gathered but in  very different way to Pip’s wedding.

This one was held south of Port Macquarie at a small beachside town called Bonny Hills. I had searched for a place to stay and found a Big 4 Cabin park just near the beach , close to the vineyard and the surf club. Perfect.

We drove down from Brisbane on Friday afternoon with Jordan and Rob tucked into the back seat along with snacks and drinks and Steve up front with me supplying him with lollies to keep his blood sugars high!

We stopped at Little Italy just north of Grafton for a coffee and a quick tour of the museum. It was an area that a group of Italians made home back in the 1880’s after they missed New Zealand and found Australia.  They set to work and made a life for themselves in the timber industry in the area.

A short dinner break was made at Port Macquarie at around 7.30 and we finally got to the cabins at about 9pm All up about an 8 hour drive! My sister Catherine, David and her daughter Clare had arrived earlier and were settled in their cabin which turned out to be really comfortable.

The next morning we spent walking on the beach , catching up with other relatives and watching our children- all cousins having fun together – just like when they were little kids. They went for a surf and then ‘played’ in the water park in the grounds of the cabin park. Such great fun.

After some some lunch washed down with lovely champagne we got ourselves all glammed up and left for the ceremony at the Long yard vineyard about 10 mins away.

The weather was perfect as we walked down the gravel drive to the deck where the wedding was held and Patrick and his bride Lauren looked wonderfully happy and so beautiful.

The cousins  ( except Pete who was missed) had fun together posing for photos and then we danced the night away.

There is something wonderful about family weddings. They are such happy occasions for bringing people together.

We can now look forward to the trifecta of the cousins weddings with Peter and Elena’s wedding in Cambodia in December. A little further to travel but it will be a fun happy wedding and somewhat different to the ones we have been to already this year .

Unfortunately  I heard I didn’t get the Senior Internship! There were 5,000 applications! Enough said!