Weddings

Sun Herald

Sunday September 16, 2007

By Andrew Taylor

Who: Shannon Slape and Craig Morrow

Where: Pilu at Freshwater Beach, Harbord

SHANNON and Craig met, as many couples do, next to the office microwave. Shannon had just started work and was vaguely aware of "a handsome guy in HR". Craig says he thought Shannon was just another leggy blonde in the marketing department and actually thought her name was Sharon Snape.

It wasn't a promising start, but six months after they first met Craig had stopped calling the leggy blonde Sharon and discovered he shared many similar interests with her.

a) Both had owned the same first car, a white Mitsubishi colt;

b) both had dual USA/Australian citizenship;

c) both had tortured their parents playing trumpet as kids.

But what made Craig give up the bachelor lifestyle was finding out that Shannon loved and knew all the words to Bust A Move by Young MC.

Shannon and Craig spent four years attending concerts and backpacking until last February when Craig dragged Shannon to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio De Janeiro at sunset to propose marriage.

"I was so surprised as I really didn't expect it at that moment," Shannon says. "But I immediately said yes through shakes and tears of happiness while a crowd of strangers watched."

Afterwards, they came up to Shannon and Craig to congratulate them and take photos.

More than 100 guests risked sand in their cummerbunds and corsages to attend the wedding. "The weather was absolutely perfect all day until right after our ceremony when it bucketed down," Shannon says. "But the rain was actually a blessing and made for some fantastic photos."

Shannon's matron of honour, Michelle, wrote a poem called Ode To Craig about her friends all dating men with the same name, which had guests wetting themselves with lines like: "Do A Scout Of The Crowd/ Say His Name Out Loud/ And They'll All Come Running/ The Faithful Craigs".

Craig was tasked with organising the honeymoon, which he decided to make a surprise. However, the blabbermouth accidentally blurted out the destination a week out from the wedding: Vietnam. Shannon says the first week was spent relaxing in a resort in Hoi An "reliving every moment of our wedding". The second week was spent exploring Hanoi, Halong Bay and Ho Chi Minh City.

The dress: Shannon wore a couture pure silk georgette wedding gown, with silver embroidered sari braid trim and hand-beaded with Swarovski crystals, by Lisa Merton at Culture Shock.

The cake: A globe of the world with Shannon and Craig sitting on top, by Sugar Princess. "We wanted something that was captivating and showed guests our love of travel and adventure," Shannon says. "As a surprise for Craig, who is an obsessed Manly Sea Eagles Fan, I asked Sugar Princess if they could put the groom character in a Manly jersey."

The food: Guests had a choice of blue-swimmer crab ravioli with basil and aurora sauce or risotto with mixed mushrooms and black truffles for entrees, while mains were Angus beef fillet with potato and fontina cake and cannonau jus and Glenloth free-range chicken breast wrapped with prosciutto, served with baby carrots and cavolo nero.

Flowers: Shannon carried a bouquet of frangipanis The bridesmaids wore wristlets of frangipanis and purple orchids, by Enchanted Rose.

The wedding party: Michelle Karutz, Lindy Lehmann, Rebecca Rodenburg and Renae Lawrence served as Shannon's bridesmaids.

Q&A

What was the highlight?

Shannon: "Craig's 100-year-old grandfather grabbing my hand after the ceremony with a tear in his eye and telling me how happy and proud he was."

Craig: "To see our matron of honour and best man nervously starting to enter the dance floor after missing the cue to join us. I had to tell them not yet and watched them slink quietly around the corner as the guests roared with laughter. Not unexpected from these two."

What do you love about your partner?

Shannon: "His sense of humour. He can always make me laugh."

Craig: "She's a beautiful soul and hot!"

BEST WEDDINGS

Who: Kelly Jandik and Michael McFadyen.

Where: St Michael's Golf Club, Little Bay.

Michael caught Kelly's eye when he gave a talk on overseas scuba diving at the Ryde Underwater Club. Their love of scuba diving soon moved to a love of each other, Michael says. "She was interesting to talk to and good-looking and obviously we both had shared an interest in diving." Michael proposed last May at Cradle Mountain Lake in Tasmania.The couple tied the knot at their favourite dive site, Bare Island in La Perouse.

Picture: Frank Cahill.

Who: Kirrily Thornton and Chris Parkes.

Where: Bella Vista, Mayfield.

Kirrily and Chris met at the White Cockatoo Hotel in Petersham on election night in 2004. The couple met at the bar and were soon discussing politics. With Labor getting a caning, Kirrily ditched her friends to eat chicken schnitzel with Chris. Chris's humour so impressed Kirrily that soon they were living together. One year later, Chris proposed in Hawaii on Kirrily's 28th birthday. They wed in Newcastle, at the church where Kirrily was baptised, and honeymooned in Cairns.

Picture: D&V Photography.

Who: Tarryn Hocking and Simon Hill.

Where: Waterfront Restaurant, The Rocks.

Tarryn and Simon met when her car battery ran flat and he came to the rescue with jumper leads. Six months later, Simon decided to rev up their relationship by proposing during a trip to the Blue Mountains which included a rather crowded cablecar ride. The couple were wed in front of 70 guests, including Simon's family from England, at St Philip's Anglican Church, Sydney and honeymooned in Italy.

Picture: Raoul Tackleburg.

© 2007 Sun Herald

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