The Wedding of the Year

On Sunday, we had great delight in attending the wedding of my nephew Robin Wilson to  Larissa Wolf-Tasker in Daylesford. Robin is my younger brother’a son. Larissa’s parents Allan and All Wolf-Tasker own (and run) the Lake House Boutique hotel and restaurant in Daylesford

Robin, of course, was turned out more resplendently  than I have ever seen him before. He certainly looked very handsome Larissa made a beautiful bride and looked stunning in a wedding dress with a design inspired by her Russian forbears.  She is a very competent and engaging young woman with a ton of ability. Together, they make a great couple and we wish them all the best for their future together. 

The wedding ceremony was conducted in a marquee on the lake shore and was attended by many family friends and relatives. Larissa’s mother has a Russian heritage, so there were many Russian cultural symbols included in the service. These including drinking tea brewed in a very precious and ornate Samovar that has a great deal of family hitstory. Shots of vodka were used for toasts. After a few resounding toasts to the Bride and Groom, the guests were very happy and the night was very jovial. 

We really enjoyed the hospitality of Larissa’s parents as they catered for us in their beautiful restaurant. It was superbly decorated with flowers by the local florist and the food was stunning – very worthy of such a lovely couple. We had expected a very nice celebration for this wedding. Larissa’s mother is one of Australia’s leading Chefs. Amongst other things, she has appeared on the Australian Masterchef program as a judge and mentor. She is linked to many luminaries of the food industry , some of whom were present at the wedding. Her father, Allan,  is a renowned artist and has several exhibitions of paintings that feature scenes from the local Daylesford area. They are a  superbly creative family!

I’m sure that my brother, Colin, and his wife ,Sue, are very proud of Robin. He began working at the Lake House as a casual waiter many years ago and now fills the role of Restaurant Manager. Sue and Colin live at Spring HIll, not far from Daylesford. (there is something of a family resemblance amongst the boys in the Wilson family)

I find it very interesting to see how much Rob’s taste in food has developed (an affect that good women seem to have on their men). When he was sixteen, Robin joined my son David and me on an eight day bushwalking trip through Tasmania. On this type of trip, catering requires some special attention – keeping the weight of food down, as about eight days of supplies is about the limit of food we could carry. Portion control was also important as you don’t want to run out of food before the last day of he trip. Robin was going through a growth spurt  at that time  and pleaded with us to be able to ‘nosh up’ on al the food in one great feast. However, we needed it to make it last the entire distance so he ate all the meals made from the freeze dried food with great relish. It’s a giant contrast to the quality of food that he has now come to expect and enjoy!

Overall, we had a wonderful night, staying overnight at the Lake House and returning home early Monday afternoon.

(I borrowed a couple of these photos from the Facebook page of Robin and Larissa’s friends as I wasn’t in a position to take any photos myself.)