a surprise !

by now most of you would have heard about the amazing surprise birthday party that darling ed organised for his lovely christine about two weeks ago. well here are the details!

it all started with an inconspicious looking envelope which mysteriously appeared in our car one sunday afternoon about two weeks before, which held an invitation designed by the ever-talented mandy.

the invitation promised a sumptious dinner at the borst's pateena road residence to surprise christine for the 10th anniversary of her 21st birthday!

while ed was declining offers for help, we all wondered how on earth he was going to pull this off without christine clueing in. i had my suspicions that a little someone was going to help but we just had to wait and see.

by the saturday afternoon of the party we'd discovered that indeed, mandy had arrived from WA to distract christine for day so that ed could get it all together! isn't this what dream marriages are made of? ed, you are amazing!

anyway, back to the details...

when we arrived we were greeted by ed (very busy in the kitchen at this stage) and directed to hang out in/near the barn until christine arrived. with a few nibbles and a drink or two, we anticipated the arrival of christine and mandy.

before long, they arrived - christine's reaction was, of course, unforgettable! after a few minutes of composing herself in the car, she came out to say hello to all the sharply dressed family and friends who had made themselves at home in her backyard :) it was priceless.

now the party could really begin!

guests moved inside the barn where there was a beautifully set long table, above which a gorgeous lace and tulle chandelier hung from the barn roof. it was all perfectly suited to christine's taste, of course, and looked nothing like the old barn it usually is. can you believe ed did all this?

while we were all busy admiring the barn's remarkable transformation, entree was served!

in-between courses we went out to admire the sunset over the pretty pateena road fields...

ed wowed us with a delicious serve of pork belly for main course. a few of us mentioned we felt like we were in an instant restaurant of my kitchen rules! (just far better)

time for present-giving, lots of laughs and genuine dingemanse silliness!

an absolutely gorgeous chocolate meringue for dessert ended the evening on a high sweet note!

thanks so much ed, for all your hard work in achieving this truly fantastic party!

and thankyou christine for being such a good sport and sharing this incredible evening with us :) xx