Wedding Week Begins!

In seven days my little sister will wed her best friend and soul mate. Accordingly, this weekend was her hen's night and the girls had to go out!
We started off with our weekly visit to the farmer's markets where Sam joined us! She has just flown in for the wedding (she's Jessica's other best friend and our third bridesmaid!) and of course a catch up breakfast and coffee was essential.

After doing our weekly provision gathering trip, and a final try on of the bridal gown and bridesmaids dresses it was time for the fun to begin! Unfortunately Sam couldn't join us because she had another wedding on this weekend (she is a very popular lady!).
Jess, Casey and I headed down to the Gold Coast to meet up with the rest of the lovely ladies who would be part of the Spring Chicken night proceedings. I refuse to call it her hen's night, she's too young to be a hen!
We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Surfer's Paradise, which I had never been to before but we were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed our stay very much!

The view from our hotel room

 We also happened to spot some filming happening around the pool area. Jess and Casey were very excited to notice that Kevin Federline (Britney Spear's ex-husband) and several other celebrities were filming the new Australian television weight loss show 'Excess Baggage'.

Celebrities!

 I was much more interested in our other views of the Gold Coast hinterland and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. We were so fortunate to have such a great view and a gorgeous day to enjoy.

The canal estates that make up part of the Gold Coast.

 We settled in for a little while to wait for the rest of the girls to arrive and plan our next move.

The bride in serious consultation with Casey about the location of the best ice cream shops.

It was a little too cool to go swimming and so we settled on walking to the main mall strip of the coast. I also discovered that my darling sister had never had Royal Copenhagen Ice Cream before, such a travesty that we quickly had to remedy it before she became a married woman!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

 As the afternoon drew on we made our way along the beach and back to the hotel.

Hugging it out.
No need to mention the large dose of ocean water Casey had just splashed all over Jess... 

After some primping and preening we started our night at the hotel bar with a little aperitif. Jessica and I chose a lovely white wine.

The beautiful bride, ready to celebrate.

In search of some delicious dinner we had made reservations at the Amalfi Bistro and Wine Bar at the Watermark Hotel. The service was brilliant, the food was amazing and the company was stunning!
We started with two appetizer plates to share; an antipasto platter and a trio of dips with toasted Turkish bread. Then our mains arrived and I was especially happy when I learnt they had gluten free pasta for a delicious primavera for this chickpea.

Heather, Jess and Fiona

Amanda, Micaela and Jess

Part of the Bridal party - Casey, Jess and I!

After a very satiating dinner we needed to walk a little and we wandered up to Cavill Avenue in search of our type of fun. And so it came to pass that our merry band of travellers stumbled into a gaming arcade! Who says a hen's night has to include cocktails and people taking their clothes off when there can be......
Bumper cars!

Oh Trent, I watched her drive --- don't let her use your car even if she is your new wife!

 And giant teddy bears just out of reach (don't worry she didn't frown for long)....

And Dance Dance Revolution!

The Dancing Queens!

The last stop of the night was Max Brenner - of course the night must end with chocolate! Our transportation for the night was mostly by foot but we were very lucky to have a wonderful taxi driver, who goes by the name 'Gordo the Great' who we were surprised to bump into every time we needed to get off our feet for a while and try some wheeled transportation!
This morning we were met with a beautiful dawn and a delicious discovery in Bumbles Cafe. Set in an old house that also had a dark past as a brothel the cafe now has a shabby chic vibe and each room is decorated in it's own style. We were seated for breakfast in 'the library'.

Gorgeous dressers, flowers and candles decorated every room.

This says it all really!

The bride ready for breakfast!

In order to gain the bride's view I asked for her highlight of the weekend, strangest experience and stand out moment.

Highlight: Eating ice cream on the beach with all her friends.

Strangest experience: Being asked by a stranger who spotted her 'bride to be' sash whether she was off to marry Justin Bieber! (don't worry she is far far too old for him, we just have great genes).

Stand out moment: Reliving her childhood at the games arcade - being grown up is highly overrated! 

All in all a wonderful weekend and great start to Wedding Week countdown.

Only 6 days left until the bells will start ringing!