TAKEAWAY pizza was on the menu for newlyweds James and Jane Edwards after racing down the aisle to get married at the weekend.
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The pair was not the only Ballarat couple keen to say "I do" before further shutdowns come into force in the nation's effort to slow the coronavirus spread.
Mr and Mrs Edwards' reception had been planned for Housey Housey on April 18 but they were still rapt to be able to share in pizza from The Forge with their parents after saying their vows.
Mr Edwards said he and his now wife were unsure how long they would have to otherwise wait to start their new life together and it was nice to keep it small and simple.
Well-wishes from friends and extended family made for a special weekend.
Mr Edwards said they would plan for a rescheduled reception later.
As will the newlyweds Mr and Mrs Mennen - next time with Samantha Mennen's intended gown. Mrs Mennen said everything in her relationship with now-husband Tom had been a little backwards, including having a baby first, so felt right to get married and do the whole wedding event later.
The couple had been planning an Easter Saturday wedding the past year. Their venue was closed a fortnight ago and they had considered postponing. As restrictions tightened again earlier last week, they decided to seize the moment.
Mrs Mennen's gown was undergoing final alterations with a seamstress in Geelong so, she popped out in her lunch break in Ballarat on Tuesday and had it in for alterations with a seamstress that afternoon, hours before that business was to lockdown also.
The bride's 'something borrowed' was a veil from her sister.
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A Melbourne celebrant wed them in Ballarat Botanical Gardens on Saturday morning with Mrs Mennen's mum and Mr Mennen's dad as witnesses. Mrs Mennen's step-dad held her son nearby, away from the wedding, while Mr Mennen's mum and Mrs Mennen's dad and step-mum watched from afar.
A wedding photographer was taking photos with a long lens in the gardens to capture the moment for the couple when The Courier's photographer Kate Healy also stumbled on the nuptials.
Mrs Mennen said it was tough deciding which two people could be present for the ceremony - especially after the federal government tightened restrictions earlier in the week. Mr Mennen also has a seven-year-old daughter who was to have played a key role in the original ceremony, which was to be a celebration of their families coming together.
It felt like the universe was throwing up a lot in the way. Getting to the finish was amazing.
- Bride Samantha Merren
"It felt like the universe was throwing up a lot in the way. Getting to the finish was amazing," Mrs Mennen told The Courier on Sunday morning.
"It feels a little bit weird. For the past year I have been throwing myself into the wedding and I don't have to do that anymore. We have a certificate that says Tom's my legal husband and that's all that matters. Life went on as normal but we do keep looking at each other and saying 'we're married'."
The couple could, however, share a celebratory toast with all their parents in a small gathering once the ceremony was complete. (Mineral water with grapefruit juice as no alcohol is allowed in the gardens).
The Mennens will live out their planned wedding, whenever it may be allowed, with friends and family with everything already booked and paid for.
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