Help! My Mitchells Plain Aunty is Planning a Forest Wedding!
We were summoned to my Mitchell’s Plain aunty’s house on Sunday to discuss her daughter’s upcoming nuptials.
In our family there is no way you can say no when you get summomed for whatever reason. Never mind that you’re behind with your studies and imminent failure is staring you in the face!
Anyway, my mother, sister and I trekked to Mitchells Plain after lunch. My father flat out refused to go!
“What does she want now again!” was his question.
My thoughts exactly!
So when we got there my aunty had the lovely tea and cakes out, which cheered me up no end. There is no one in all of Cape Town – maybe in all of the world – who makes better coconut tarts than my Mitchell’s Plain aunty.
Not to bring out an old cliche or anything, but there was a hint of excitement in the air. Weddings can do that to you…before family gets involved.
Things got a bit strained almost immediately though when a wedding date had to be decided on. My cousin chose 27 November – to honour her parents apparently.
A very tense pause followed.
“But you know Tessa is getting married on the same day,” another aunty pitched in.
There was no changing my Mitchell’s Plain aunty’s mind. She pretty much dug in her heals.
“That was my wedding anniversary,” my aunty insisted.
Everyone averted their gaze around the room.
No one made eye contact as we all knew that my Mitchell’s Plain uncle was shacking up (literally!) with some young chick in someone else’s backyard.
To make matters worse my other cousin is having a destination wedding on a wine farm in Franschhoek so she can’t change the date.
“Wine farm weddings are so old hat,” my Mitchell’s Plain aunty declared.
For once I was happy the conversation had nothing to do with me. The two aunty’s stared each other down.
“My daughter is having a forest wedding,” was my aunty’s trump card . Have mercy! My cousin actually looked like she liked the idea!
At this point my sister had to nudge me with her elbow because she knew a hysterical bout of laughter was just a mere moment away.
It was almost worth not spending a Sunday afternoon studying.
(The next meeting is scheduled for the end of the month.)
2 Responses to “Help! My Mitchells Plain Aunty is Planning a Forest Wedding!”
By Claudine on Apr 16, 2010 | Reply
Are they going to be doing a proper forest thingy? As in kaalgat and honouring nature, with the hippy music and all?
I’d have laughed my head off and promptly been banned from any further meetings.
By Abigail Abrahams on Apr 16, 2010 | Reply
I crack up everytime I think of the forest wedding thing. If anything interesting happens at the next meeting I will post about it. Though I’m not sure what her intentions are with the forest wedding LOL