Dear readers,

As the editorial team and I were putting this feature together, one of my fondest wedding memories came to mind.

Preparing for the weekend of February 18, 1996 is one that I will never forget. No, I didn’t tie the knot that day but two of my greatest friends, Rick and Stacy Hill (nee Furbert), did.

The previous summer, all of us bridesmaids made a weekend trek to New York and New Jersey with the bride to pick out everything and anything that was needed for her special day.

I never knew it was possible to spend eight hours in one building, but we did. I remember being totally overwhelmed after the experience not realising how much planning was needed to pull off such an event.

Hey, what did I know, I was just happy to be in the wedding! We looked through hundreds of samples, dresses and shoes, but by the time we were finished, everything had fallen into place.

Looking back, I can only imagine how stressed the tailor must have been trying to measure 12 giggling bridesmaids whose accents he could hardly understand. But we were so oblivious because we were just happy to be together and even happier that when he was finished, we would be going back to the hotel to PARTY (that night was fun, fun, fun!)!

Fast forward to the night before the wedding. I had flown in from university the day before where the temperatures were a bit cooler and you would not believe what happened to me...I caught the flu!

“How could this happen to me?” I asked myself between sniffles.

I had been looking forward to Rick and Stacy’s wedding for months and now the day was less than 24 hours away and I was ill?! Well, needless to say, determined to be bright and bubbly the next day,

I was consuming aspirins like they were pear drops but I still felt like dirt regardless.

Throughout the ceremony I wanted to pass out, but my walking partner did everything he could to keep me upbeat (Thanks, Kibbles! I owe you one!). Although I was under the weather, the one thing that stands out the most is him persistently trying to get me to drink a little champagne.

“It’ll make you feel better,” he kept trying to convince me.

In two days’ time, Rick and Stacy will be celebrating their tenth anniversary. Throughout the years and even before they got married, they have been an inspiration to me. They personify the vow, “‘Til death do us part.”

I had never seen two young people operate as one until I met them and I continue to learn from them as time goes by. So, Rick and Stacy, congratulations on making it to ten years and we all know there are 50 more to come!

Until next time!