When Charne asked me to give her away I felt extreme and enormous pride that she'd asked me, and was even more honoured when she asked me to make a speech on her Wedding day. It is something I have always looked forward to doing and I just want to start by saying that I love you very much.
Having a sister like Charne has to be the greatest gift my parents have ever given me. We are more than just sisters we are the greatest of friends. We have experienced it all. Sharing the loving and imaginary worlds that little girls create together to becoming the grown (and married) women we are today.
Growing up with Charne has provided me with many special and amusing memories. As a child Charne would live in her pink world consisting of a pink wall papered bedroom with a pink canopy four poster bed, a pink TV, pink stereo and pink Sheira castles. A real princess with her goldy locks and good looks. Extremely cute and incredibly trusting. I was always able to tell her anything and she’d believe me. For example, I’d tell her the definition for accident prone was a dead wombat in the middle of the road, after using this term to describe her sometimes clumsy habits and she’d believe me...for quite a long time too.
Charne was always a little teeny tiny thing who looked like she might snap in half. She still is very tiny. That MASSIVE diamond rock on her finger has a child sized band...little hands the jeweller said to Tom. No wonder one of Tom’s nick names for Charne is Tiny.
Charne was always bumping into things and bruising her legs. I remember the day Charne bought her first pair of high heels from the shoe shop in QVB that she worked in. We all thought she’d fall over. But she didn’t. She was very capable and before our very eyes turned from a Clark’s shoe-wearing child into a very independent stilettos wearing young lady with a REAL weakness for shoes. And yes your golden slippers tonight very much make you the perfect Cinderella!
An age difference of only twenty months between us allowed us to live very close lives, sharing very similar experiences and having many mutual friends. Sharing a bedroom from our early teen years very much cemented this bond. So knowing Charne as well as I do and seeing her today as the bride she is before us I can honestly say that I have never seen Charne happier, more confident and more herself than she is with Tom.
Tom has certainly snagged a gorgeous, smart and outgoing princess-bride although he is probably happy the pink four poster bed is a thing of the past.
During our teenage years we lived in a small house consisting of 3 girls, Mum, Charne and myself. And it was no secret that out of the 3 of us Charne was the least domestic. I was quietly worried about her moving to London to move in with Tom. I mean they had only spent a few nights together before making this decision, most of them being in a hotel room in Darwin with room service and housekeepers. I knew she was moving into a shared house situation in London but would this be enough to disguise some of her more relaxed domestic habits? I then could not believe my eyes when I visited Charne in their East Dulwich pad a year after her move. Charne was a very NEAT person. I saw her totally in a very different light. She loved to cook, clean and have the place in order. It was then that I knew Tom was the perfect match for Charne. She was keen to impress and it came naturally.
Charne is the artist of the family. After enduring a 12 year love/hate relationship with the Flute and Piano, Charne’s passion has always remained in the Fine Arts. This passion has fuelled the fantasy (I mean fantastic) world that Charne occasionally visits. For example, in the lead up to this Wedding I would ask my sister about the status of things I consider rather important, like a venue booking and availability. She would reply with we have a few venues in mind and proceed to tell me how great it would be if you could turn a quaint boat shed into staged production of a Mexican version of a Mid Summers’ Nights Dream with handmade props....I’d be like ‘ah ha’ sounds great but you’re getting married in 3 months.....any other thoughts perhaps? Nevertheless she is the true artist as she and Tom have brought us to this wonderful place today and created their own perfect stage to host this Wedding with all of its creative flair and beauty in Clovelly which as we all know is the Sydney love den for Tom and Charne.
Charne’s dress tonight is absolutely spectacular. It really displays Charne’s personality. Not only does it showcase her own design abilities but her love for the Eastern customs and fashion. Charne has always had a special place in her heart for Asian culture. Throughout high school and early uni student life Charne’s passion for the Eastern way of life grew. Her year 12 works of art combined many Asian themes including Buddhist and Hindu ways of life on a paper canvas. And who would have thought that a trip post design school to Vietnam would be responsible for her being a married woman today as it was there that she met the dashing English gentleman called Tom.
I am extremely lucky to acquire Tom as brother in law. Both Chris and I are so excited to be able to share our lives with him as part of our immediate family. We have already experienced some great times with him which has allowed us to see the real Tom. Our 2005 holiday to the Greek Islands together only after 6 weeks of meeting Tom for the first time really says it all. Day 1 Naxos....let’s party. I mean if your future sister in law is in the mood to turn a Karaoke joint into a happening dance club and her brother in law to be is the star dancer in the middle of the dance floor in his hipster jeans then you know you are off to a good start. Tom not only is intelligent with the looks, personality and humour but is also a very considerate and a true friend. The perfect husband for my sister. It took a whole 5 minutes for Tom to find life-long friends in Sydney. I know everyone that has met him as bettered themselves because of knowing him and will miss both Charne and him terribly when they are in London.
Charne and Tom share a lot of common interests from the arts, music and photography to lazy loungy Sundays. However my favourite thing in common they both share is their ability to both hold a full driver’s license with perfect records because of their actual inability to drive. Although their recent trip to Tasmania where the big proposal took place allowed them to rectify this. Yes after a two weekend refresher course and a few drives on the busy streets of Tassie they’re practically of rally driving status (or so they tell me).
This last week has been particularly special for my family. Meeting Colette and Peter again who have become very important people to us. And to finally meet Tom’s beautiful sister and brother, Katherine and Steve whilst also having the opportunity to meet Kevin and hear more about Tom’s friends and extended family in England. I know we may not always have geography on our side but we will always have Charne and Tom in our hearts wherever they are and what times we do have together will always be quality...and I for one look forward to many more family gatherings.
Charne and Tom have been together for 5 years now and have very much been a family during this time. However there is something so flattering and romantic about a marriage. To acknowledge publically your love for one another and to take the opportunity to celebrate it with close friends and family. So to my beautiful little sister and to my brand new brother-in-law-with great love and great wishes always I’d like to propose another toast to a long and healthy life of love and adventure together.
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