The wedding on March 12 went off very well. The service itself was at The Round House, the oldest building in Fremantle. It’s in the historic downtown right on the edge of the harbor. Whalers used to bring their catch to it and the whales were taken into the tunnel underneath. This was also the place - at the old jetty next door at Bathers Beach - where criminals and convicts were first disembarked from their English boats before being marched in kilometer to the Fremantle Prison.
I spent part of the morning finishing my own writing for the service and Larry and I went to an office store to get it printed. I also needed to find some way to hold it. We settled on a small presentation folder with slip covers in it. The pages fit perfectly, and I was glad to have it done that way as during the service it was very windy!
People started gathering around 4:45 p.m. and the service itself started at 5 p.m. Wally and Claire arrived in Jared’s 1960's era navy blue Holden ute. Very classy! The service went very well, if I do say so myself, and everyone seemed most appreciative. As noted above, the partnership of Australian Cclebrant Doug South was excellent indeed.
After the service there was champagne and oysters right there at the Round House. At around 6 p.m. everyone began to walk from there to the Fremantle Prison for the reception. Larry and I drove because it was easier earlier, but it was fun to see everyone walking down the street in their wedding finery! One of Jared’s friends carried the “J&C” banner in front. Very festive!
Larry and I arrived at the prison a little before 6:30, and we were all asked to wait until 6:30 to go through the big iron gates. When we were let into the yard, the golden limestone walls were rather beautiful in the setting sun. We walked around behind the cell blocks to the grass outside the old machine shop, the location of the reception. There we were served drinks (Negronis, champagn) and beautiful hors d’oeuvres. Claire and Jared arrived a few minutes later in the Holden ute with a lovely “Just Married” sign on its back! Then we all went in for the reception.
Claire had done an amazing job making this old prison space festive and beautiful. Because the Fremantle prison is a World Heritage Site, they could not attach anything to the walls or anywhere. So great imagination and igenuity came into play, and it was a wonderful site. We were all seated at six long tables in the room so it had a great community feel. Jared’s cousin Paul was the MC, and did a great job. Very funny. Jared’s mother, Wendy, is a trained singer, and so the proceedings started, much to our surprise, with her singing the Star Spangled Banner! We Americans sang along! The food was wonderful, the speehes great, the dancing fun and funky - all in all, a wonderful party. Adults went home at a reasonable hour (that would be midnight) and the young folk went out and partied until the wee hours. Claire and Jared’s life together got off to a great start!
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