Wedding News

I met my friend Jenn in England. She's from Nova Scotia, specifically from a very small town just a few minutes down the road from the very small town my Grandma grew up in. In spite of living so far apart (Ontario to Nova Scotia is 1500 km / 950 miles), we have kept in touch.

Jenn recently shared this story of her grandfather:

Isn't that adorable? I loved it when Roberta refers to her new groom as her "toy boy". May we all be so filled with life in our 80s.

Why didn't I post my honeymoon recaps before I said good-bye?

The way I looked at it, the honeymoon was not the wedding. So I'll be doing honeymoon recaps of our 3 week trip to Europe (largely France) on my non-wedding blog here.

Nicole & Jesse got married yesterday!

"Nicole and Jesse (get married)" got married yesterday.
Congratulations!

P.S. I love your invitations!

Honey My Heart

Honey My Heart is getting married today. Head over to her blog to see her beautiful colours:

I'm not good at good-byes ...

I thought I'd planned this perfect good-bye. I'd finish the wedding blog and bow out gracefully and finally. I'd planned most things well, why not my good-bye?

Except that I'm bad at good-byes. Really bad. So when Marie of London Bride and Wife in the City reminded me I forgot one very important thing I'd promised to do, I was not surprised. I forgot to tell you about my "other" dress!

So, as promised:

I decided I wanted a shorter dress, you know, for dancing. So, I started looking. I thought something just past knee length (I hate my knees for some odd reason, so would prefer not to show them off). Maybe a full-ish skirt. V-neck. As we were looking for MOB dresses, I kept my eyes open for anything that fit that description, but I didn't have my hopes up. I didn't want to spend a lot (I figured maybe $100 if the dress was perfect, otherwise much less). I didn't want it to be too fussy. I just wanted simple, not expensive. At one point when shopping for my mom's mother-of-the-bride dress, we found a cute ivory dress, v-neck, but it was just shorter than the knees. But it was about $15, on clearance for who-knows-what-reason. So I got it! Can't go wrong for $15.

Then I looked for a slip under it. It wasn't the best skirt, so I wanted it to be more full. I never found a slip, and wasn't sure if I should even change into it. But I packed it in my bride bag and figured I could change into it if I got hot dancing!

Well, after the first dance with Wade, then the father-daughter dance, I was sweating. So off I ran (and missed most of the mother-son dance) and got Cyd to help me change in a hurry. I was back in a flash showing off my dress! I also took that opportunity to put the fun feathered hair thing in my hair (possibly one of my favourite purchases!) and safely packed my mom's veil in my bridal bag.

















(Pictures courtesy of (left) a friend's facebook, and (right) Unveiled Photography)

However, I had a predicament after a couple hours of dancing. What good is a garter toss if you are wearing a short dress? So off I went and came back out wearing the original dress! It had cooled down (I think they turned the fans or a/c on), and I much preferred dancing away in my bridal gown for the rest of the night:













(Pictures courtesy of two friends' facebooks)



And so, Marie, I hope that answers your question!

"Good night, good night! Parting is such / sweet sorrow, / That I shall say good night till it be morrow." (Shakespeare)

The emotions of the day:

Some of my favourite pictures are in the receiving line. The pictures captured the joy of Wade and me, but also the happiness of our loved ones:











And some of the most fun pictures were taken on the dance floor! (Check out Wade's dad, by the way! How fun!)








(Source: Unveiled Photography)

Please feel free to comment & say good-bye! :)

I think I'll wrap up this blog soon

I am just hanging on to the blog because of how much I love this blog. Some of you have discovered my new blog. Yay! To those who haven't, feel free to drop by and say hello.

I'm trying to decide on how to finish up. I think in my final post, coming soon, I'll post a collage of happy people at our wedding. People laughing, dancing, hugging and smiling. And I'll leave it with that.

So, come by tomorrow and have a look at my last official post!

For sale: my wedding stuff

I've posted so much of my wedding stuff for sale: candle holders, candles, vases, a crinoline (that I didn't end up wearing), a ring bearer pillow (the one that wasn't used!), the pew bows.

I posted them on Craig's List and Wedding Bee. I just hope they sell fast! I posted them for a little more on Wedding Bee only because I will probably have to ship them in the price (most buyers on Wedding Bee, in my experience, ask for shipping included), so that'll cover the shipping.

I'm still not sure what to do with my wedding dress. Do I sell it? Preserve it? I can't see myself saving it for a potential daughter to wear - this hypothetical girl should pick out her own dress if she ever marries! I'm not ready to get rid of it (yet), but seeing as how I've already gained 10 lbs since the wedding (damn France honeymoon ... and lack of motivation since returning), so it already won't fit! So I'm not sure what to do. Thoughts?

If you're interested, here are the Updated links:

• Ivory roses in julep cups
• Eiffel Vases
• Silk flower pew bows
• Ivory candles in frosted candle holders
• Ring pillow
• Crinoline (petticoat)

A Happy Day in Detroit: Brigitte gets married!

Oh my gosh, how could I forget?

I had this nagging feeling: I knew there were several bloggers getting married this past Saturday, and I knew there were 2 bloggers in particular, who I have followed for a while (and who have also commented on my blog many times) getting married this past Saturday. But while I remembered Brandy, I couldn't remember the other blogger. And it bothered me.

Now, I remember. Brigitte got married this past Saturday! Brigitte posts My Detroit Wedding.

I am so sorry I forgot.

To give you an idea of Brigitte's good sense of humour, here's her picture:
I mean, who posts a picture like this of herself without a good sense of humour?!

Congratulations, Brigitte. I can't wait to see how your hair looks. You are a stunning woman (model-gorgeous), and I know your make-up and dress and everything will be stunning. You debated hair styles, and that's what I'm looking forwarding to seeing.

I know you were getting married for the right reasons, based on the comments you made and the posts you wrote. A woman who writes this the day after her wedding has her feet firmly planted on the ground:

"I awoke early on my wedding day. I watched the sunrise over the Detroit River. I smiled. I cried tears of joy. I was happy. Content. Never more sure of anything." (Swoon. That's how I felt on my wedding day. Minus watching the sunrise over the Detroit River part.)

I can't wait for your recaps!

Brandy got married in La Belle Province yesterday. Yumm, a Montreal wedding in September!

I wonder: what dd she decide to wear? The photos will of course be lovely: she's getting married in a beautiful city.

P.S. Sorry I didn't post this yesterday. I played baseball all day yesterday in a very late in the season tournament.

Afraid of jiggly arms in a wedding dress?

Try this:


(Just kidding ... I found out about this via Ellen. I somehow think push-ups will be more effective than vibrating a 2.5 lb weight.)

Thank You Notes

I sent out thank-you notes about 2 1/2 weeks after we got back from the honeymoon. It was a 3-week honeymoon. Our guests should have received the thank-you notes by mid-July. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Except for gifts that arrived before the wedding, which went out within a few days of receiving it.

The postal system in Canada is good, but - like any postal system - mistakes are made. For example, one of my wedding invitations came back to me four weeks after I sent it with the "not enough postage" stamp. Um, every one of my invitations had enough postage except for two. One came back to me about two days after I sent it, so I added another stamp (because I had no idea how much more postage it needed) and sent it off. But the second one literally came over four weeks later! It was a week and a bit before the wedding. It was ridiculous!

So I worry someone didn't get a thank-you note, and that I have no idea. I know we sent everyone a note. Wade made an excel spreadsheet of guests invited, a column for the gift they gave, then the date the thank-you note was sent. So I really hope they all arrived.

But I wanted to send the wedding party a couple nice letters to our wedding party. And while I was thinking about that, Amy Jean at Relentless Bride had a contest with Shakespeare's Bride for a credit to use for cards. And I won! Yay!

Here's what I picked (click on the picture to make it bigger):
And Diane from Shakespeare's Bride included a little gift of extra thank-you cards. So sweet! The cards were so cute and I had fun filling them out and sending them off. Even though I selected the slowest delivery method, they arrived within just a few days. (Again, proving that most of the time, the postal system is great.)

I think you should go to Shakespeare's Bride and look up the Bachelorette card they have. I had already sent thank-you notes for my bachelorette party, which was a shame. The bachelorette thank-you notes on Shakespeare's Bride are soooo cute! Go look them up!

What should I finish with?

I've done the day's recaps. Before I wrap up this blog, what should I include and finish with?

Here are your options:

(a) Receiving line pictures like this:

(b) Dinner pictures like this:

(c) Dancing pictures like this:

or
(d) Just wrap it up!

Let me know please!

More Dances

(Source: Unveiled Photography)

9/11

Do you remember how you felt when you found out about 9/11? I found out after the first plane hit, but before the second. I watched in awe as the second plane hit the second tour. I forgot how horrifying it was until I watched a couple videos today.

Memorials focus on the heroism of the emergency response personnel. We focus primarily on the brave fire fighters, but there were also paramedics, nurses, police, and just regular people helping. We also focus on Flight 93, those unlikely heroes who literally sacrificed themselves to ensure no one else would be hurt. But we don't focus on the sheer terror and horror of the day.

Videos like this remind me of the emotion. There are countless other examples: the absurdity and disbelief I felt when I saw businessmen and women running in their suits, the absolute horror from watching the jumping men, the extreme sadness when I saw images of family members taking pictures of their loved ones to shelters to try to find missing people. There are countless images and videos that remind us of the day. We prefer not to watch them, but today I did.

I may not be American, but Americans may rest assured that Canadians (as with many other nations in the world, I am sure) stand by you on 9/11. We lost only 24 Canadians in the World Trade Center collapse, a fraction compared to the Americans. We opened our arms and welcomed 225 American flights with almost 45,000 passengers, all of which were barred from landing at American airports and ordered by NORAD to land in Canada. We closed our airspace in order to accommodate the diverted flights, as well as the military and humanitarian aid we sent south. For example, in a small town (population 9,000) called Gander, the town welcomed 7,000 Americans for four days. We had Canadian Red Cross and other volunteers go help. After 9/11, we put up with years of disgust and hatred from some Americans because we were accused of letting terrorists into North America who then masterminded the 9/11 attacks (later it was confirmed that not one terrorist involved in 9/11 entered North America through Canada). We also put up with enmity from some Americans for not joining the war on Iraq. And as your paranoia starts to subside, we are welcomed back as friends and allies (in Afghanistan).

But - no matter what - we mourn with you, every year, on 9/11.

Wade & Krista's First Dance

Our first dance was to this beautiful song:


Not only are the lyrics perfect ("love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart ... it's not always easy ... but it's always better when we're together"), but on our trip to New Zealand right after I finished grad school (January 2007), we heard Jack Johnson everywhere. So we view Jack Johnson's music as a part of our history.











(Source: Unveiled Photography)

THREE MONTHS!

We've been married 3 months today. But I haven't finished the recaps! (There isn't much left, mind you. But I need to get my bum in gear!
(Source: Unveiled Photography)

Happy Wedding, Day!

Dawn from The Alternative Bride got married today. Congratulations!

And Dawn, I hear this song (in my head) most of the time when I visit your blog:

Yummm :)

Here's the cake cutting of the cake Wade and I baked together, and my bridesmaids' iced and Cyd moved:












The cake didn't look as "even" as I'd hoped. In retrospect, we should have made the bottom layer thicker so it matched the top two layers. Or put it on a pedestal so it was the same height. (Look at the bottom layer that we're cutting compared to the top two layers.) But oh well.

(Source: Unveiled Photography)

Toasts, Speeches & Miscellania

We invited all our wedding party to lead a toast if they were so inclined. All the girls stepped up. Only one groomsmen stepped up (other than the best man, of course). Wade's brother, Mark, and groomsmen Greg and Chris ("Dinger") did not wish to speak publicly. Enough words were said that I wasn't upset with anything.

But I wanted to explain why it seemed like so many people spoke. It's because I opened it up to everyone. And most people were brief, which is what most people like in a toast or speech - as a speaker or as a guest! But brevity did not negate the emotions in what was said.

After Ryan's speech, I gave the kids good-night hugs/kisses (most were leaving right then!) and pretty much rudely ran to the bathroom.


... Then ...

I'll post more later this week.

Best Man's Speech

I remember Ryan's speech the least. Partially because someone had just told me we were almost an hour late finishing dinner, so our reception guests were starting to arrive and were waiting for us! And partially because Ryan spoke for so long.













Ryan started behind the podium but quickly moved out. I suspected, and was later verified, that Ryan was winging it. However, it was a lovely speech in which he talked about Wade, the start of our relationship, and how happy he was for us.


















It was funny, touching and personal. It was just so long that I can't remember it all, and with Ryan winging it, he can't reproduce it. As Ryan would say: "Doh!" (That was why I had asked our friend/videographer to film the speeches. But he forgot. So ... "double-doh!")

(Source of all pictures: Unveiled Photography)

Maid of Honour Speech:

Yep, we're getting near the end. All we have left is this post, the best man's speech, the cake cutting & the dancing.

So Jocelyn started by talking about our high school days. She alluded to my former love of obsession with Collective Soul, among other things! She was a great blend of sentimental and humourous. I remember less of her speech than some of the earlier speeches, but I think it's also because I haven't received her notes from the speech to refresh my memory. (It's amazing how much some of the speeches came back to me when I read what they said.)

So here are the pictures:




















(Can you see what Jocelyn is holding in the picture frame? It is what you think it is.)

(Source of all pictures: Unveiled Photography)

P.S. Boy can you ever tell in the picture of Joce holding the photo that she didn't wear a bra. She thought the dress would hold her in and hold her girls up. Well, it did hold her in, but it didn't hold them up! (And Joce, if you're reading this ... I won't say I told you so ... but that's what I'm thinking!)

A speech from two former roommates: a doctor and a teacher tell all!

Bridesmaids Kristy and Emily said a few words.

They had a back-and-forth speech, which they shared marvelously. Again, as with earlier speeches, I was intrigued by how people described me. I'm not surprised by how Wade was described: kind, fun-loving, sports-loving and just generally a good guy. And it's true. I was described as organized (huh?), a natural planner (um, I plan things, but it's not natural!) and Emily described me as diplomatic. Now that one blew me away because I thought I was hot-headed.

Anyway, Kristy and Emily talked about how we serendipitously met near the end of first year. They talked about our three years of living together and growing together. They talked about when I first started dating Wade, and how "old" he was (29) when we met. (And then they talked about how they now know 29 is not old!)

The ladies had a lovely, thoughtful, touching and humourous speech. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and especially enjoyed the expressions they made as they told it:


















(Source of all pictures: Unveiled Photography)

Another toast!

Next, Groomsman Dave led a brief toast. Dave lived with Wade for a while, so he had some nice words to say.


(Source of all pictures: Unveiled Photography)