Ross and Val McKillop's Wedding
26th November, 2004. Stamford, New York
I left Margaret River at 11:30 am on Monday, 22nd November, arrived at Stamford at 2am on Thursday, 25th November after 50 hours of travelling by car, plane, train and automobile. It was an epic journey but the eventual goal was to attend Ross and Val's wedding, which made the whole event well and truelly worth while.
The day started perfectly with fresh snow (there was none before). Initial photos were taken on the balcony of our unit at the Deer Run Lodge.
Ross, Dannielle, Joanne and Merv
Bruce, Ross and Merv (as the snow comes down)
The boys from Margaret River, Aaron Holben, Luke Johnson (Best Man) and Ross
Jo and Danni (a pleasant 25°F or -2°C, but they looked great)
All the boys, Dirk (worked with Ross, came over from Dublin), Luke (Perth), John (Val's Brother), Aaron (London) and Ryan (NY, Bride's Man)
Ross and Ryan
Walking down the isle (the Fiona Johnson, Luke's wife and matron of honour, with Ryan)
Fritz (Val's Dad) and Val entering the church
Getting closer to the hand over
Exchanging of vows, overseen by Judi Gage (Lay Preacher) and Pastor Rev. Bert More
Ryan, Fi, Val, Ross and Luke (John is out of the picture on the right)
Mr and Mrs Ross McKillop (waiting patiently in the presentation line after the ceremony)
Luke and Fiona
Still waiting for someone to come and talk to them.
Val's family - Mother Chris, Val, Ross, Father Fritz and Bother John
Val's parents
Gerry (Grandfather, Chris's Dad), Chris, Val, Ross, Fritz and Thelma (Grandmother, Fritz's mother)
Val's cousins, who came from all over the states (Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma)
Merv gave his speech first (which he wasn't expecting). It was the first time I have seen a nervous and shaking Merv, good to see that he can lose his composure at times.
Fritz gave a very emotional speech welcoming Ross into the family. He reflected on the losses that both families had suffered during the past year and the joy of seeing everyone coming together to celebrate the joining of the two families.
Luke and Fi read out the messages from friends who couldn't attend. Luke gave a very abridged version of Mike Caudles message, failing to mention the famous strength and vitality of the McKillop family (he was referring to hair colour and hoping Ross could follow in his father's footsteps). I read out the full version to our table later and explained all the cryptic references throughout the message.
Ross and Val responded happily, they both really enjoyed the reception, looking radiant throughout.
The official table
All the wedding party had to go to dancing lessons with grandpa the day before the wedding. It nearly paid off.
And what does every mother of the bride do at the end of the night, go home and have a good drink. The magnum was given to Ross and Val by a good friend of Ross's (whose name escapes me). The wine was from Pemberton I think.
Photos of the rest of the Trip