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At last, after all the planning, a day of travel, introductions to family and friends Sunday and Monday, a trip to the local mall Tuesday morning to get hour hair done -- mine was painless -- and it was off to the church to get married! All of this, and it was still only 72 hours from when I posted my last column... It was a beautiful winter morning in Brackenhurst, South Africa, about 80, I think -- who knows what temperature it is, they only tell you using the Celsius scale there. The day was as perfect as we ever need to be. The only thing that went wrong will always make us smile; Lee forgot her bouquet at home, and I'm extremely grateful that no one saw me carry her across the threshold -- I made it, but I was anything but graceful.

We're married! Can you believe it?

Lee and I walked down the aisle of the Brackenhurst Methodist Church together, exchanged vows and rings, and were pronounced man and wife by the Reverend Peter Johnstone in the eleventh hour of Tuesday, August 19, 2003.

I arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa Sunday the 17th after a very long but uneventful trip. The airport personnel, flight crews and even fellow travelers were very helpful. Nicole, my South African Airways provided guide, got me quickly through customs and passport control, got my luggage and took me directly to my fiancée. From there Lee took me to meet her friend, Bronwyn, and family; where we had coffee and a short chat. I wasn't as tired or disoriented as I thought I'd be, so I suggested this stop on our way home, to Brackenhurst to meet her parents and her cat, Tigger. Her mom, Jo, and dad, Dave, were great; after a short visit, they left us to relax -- which is more than I can say for Tigger.

Monday morning, we went to the church to meet Peter and find out how the next day would proceed. He was very friendly and we just chatted with him and told him how we met and fell in love and about all the legal hurdles we had ahead of us. He made copies of our legal documents and we were to meet him in front of the church Tuesday morning. Monday evening we went to "The Keg" to have a late dinner and meet up with a couple of Lee's friends. We had an appetizer of snails and I had fish and chips that I barely touched. Lee's friend, Jill, and her boyfriend Derek came by and joined us for dinner and then Loraine pitched up for a couple of drinks. I had just enough Beck's to loosen my tongue but not enough to get in trouble.

Tuesday morning we were off to the mall to meet up with Lee's friend and hair stylist extraordinaire, Janine, so that she could stick dozens of pins in Lee's head and asphyxiate her with hairspray for our special day. I just got a trim. Then it was back to the house to get dressed for our wedding. It went so quickly and it was over before we knew it, but it was beautiful. Peter performed a very personal ceremony, incorporating much of what he had learned about us the previous day. Dave and Jill signed the certificate as witnesses and we took a bunch of photos (I'll be putting together an online album soon) and then it was back to the family compound for champagne, wine and beer with finger food and wedding cake -- a beautiful fruit cake made and decorated by Jo and Lee. As I said, it was a gorgeous, sunny day, and Lee got a bit of sunburn but we were married and we fell asleep in each other's arms, the two happiest people in the world.

Wednesday morning we had breakfast and then headed out to Gold Reef City for a short honeymoon. We stayed at one of their theme houses called the Blacksmith House. Very nice but this is where our luck changed. It had gotten cold Tuesday night and it was back to winter. Then, Lee got food poisoning from a burger she had for lunch -- I told her she should have had the club sandwich. Poor Lisa spent Wednesday night on the floor in the bathroom and all I could do is bring her a blanket and hold her hair back. Despite this, though, we had a very nice day Thursday walking around Gold Reef City, and Thursday night we went to the Globe Theater and saw a show called " African Footprint." When we got back to the Blacksmith House, we had a nice hot bath where Lee promptly fell asleep, and when she woke up and we got out, we found that the floor was covered with half an inch of water because the overflow drain pipe wasn't properly connected to the tub. This is, of course, supposed to happen; after all, there's got to be a bit of comic relief in the movie, too.

Friday morning we had a very nice breakfast before packing up and going back home. When we got back, I followed Lee into the kitchen and was talking to her while she made coffee. Tigger brushed across my legs and I bent down to pet him, but I didn't realize just how small her kitchen was or how close I was to the refrigerator. I smashed my 2 front teeth on the top edge of the freezer door. Lee took charge and got me an appointment with her dentist before bringing me a cup of coffee and I had just enough time to drink it before going to get my jagged teeth fixed. The doctor did a fantastic job and you can't hardly notice the difference, they're just a bit shorter now. After the side trip to the dentist's office, we got our wedding certificate and a few other legal documents together and went back to the mall to send them off to the attorneys, and to get the photos processed.

And I end this week back at Gold Reef City, at a place called the Boston BBQ, enjoying an Irish coffee with my new South African bride and a few new friends.

I've only hit a few of the highlights here. There was so much more that I just couldn't squeeze into this little old column.

The important thing, though, is that WE'RE MARRIED!!