Canadian Bride

HELP - vote for Cheryll & Graham again!

2011-06-27T22:30:00.001-04:00

I blogged before about Cheryll and Graham. They are only 100 votes shy of winning her wedding dress. (Or at least $800 of it.) Please click here to vote!

Here's her story:
Cheryll looooooves butterflies. Her boy-friend planned an early spring trip to Niagara Falls, including a trip to the butterfly conservatory and tours of the local wineries in the former honeymoon capital.

Cheryll and Graham spent the morning biking Niagara Falls wineries. In the afternoon, they went to the butterfly conservatory. As they walked through Cheryll was smitten and taking far too many pictures of all of the butterflies. At one point, she finally turned around and noticed Graham on one knee.

Graham was speechless because he was so nervous so it took him a minute to get any words out, but he had tears in his eyes.

When Cheryll saw this for some reason she thought he had stepped on a butterfly and was upset about it so she knelt down to him to comfort him, assuring him that it was an accident.

He hadn't stepped on a butterfly, but he was still speechless. While Cheryll was trying to comfort him, it took all he had to whisper "Will you marry me? You are the love of my life and I want to spend the rest of mine with you."

To give you an idea of Cheryll's love of butterflies, here is a screen snapshot I took of the facebook photos from the trip. You can see the photo right after her engagement of them in front of the cherry tree in the bottom row ... but the majority of the photos involved butterflies!

AND please feel free to re post this on your blog or tweet it! They need the votes by midnight tomorrow (Tuesday, June 28).

Help a bride win a dress!

2011-06-06T06:00:00.003-04:00

Obviously, I'm not the bride winning the dress! My 2nd anniversary is TODAY!

But help my friend Cheryll. This contest is to win her wedding dress. Click
here to vote!

Here's her story:
Girly Cheryll looooooves butterflies. Her macho boy-friend planned a spring trip to a butterfly conservatory near Niagara Falls, followed by some time actually visiting what used to be the honeymoon capital.

Cheryll and Graham spent the morning biking Niagara Falls wineries. In the afternoon, they went to the butterfly conservatory. As they walked through Cheryll was smitten and taking far too many pictures of all of the butterflies. At one point, she finally turned around and noticed Graham on one knee.

Graham was speechless because he was so nervous so it took him a minute to get any words out, but he had tears in his eyes (he is very manly and never cries so it is adorable).

When Cheryll saw this for some reason she thought he had stepped on a butterfly and was upset about it so she knelt down to him to comfort him!

Of course, he hadn't stepped on a butterfly, and it took all he had to whisper "Will you marry me? You are the love of my life and I want to spend the rest of mine with you."

To give you an idea of Cheryll's love of butterflies, here is a screen snapshot I took of the facebook photos from the trip. You can see the photo right after her engagement of them in front of the cherry tree in the bottom row ... but the majority of the photos involved butterflies!

June 6, 2009

2010-06-06T19:57:00.003-04:00

A year ... a year? Really? I must be "grown up" because I'm marvelling how quickly a year can pass.

I'd post more pics, but for some reason it takes forever-and-a-day to upload pictures to blogger.

Wedding News

2009-12-06T23:03:00.001-05:00

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?

2009-10-07T14:59:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-10-04T22:12:00.002-04:00

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

P.S. I love your invitations!

Honey My Heart

2009-09-26T04:00:00.002-04:00

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

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

2009-09-25T10:22:00.015-04:00

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:

2009-09-24T15:14:00.012-04:00

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

2009-09-23T13:10:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-22T20:40:00.006-04:00

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:

A Happy Day in Detroit: Brigitte gets married!

2009-09-21T13:58:00.006-04:00

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!

2009-09-20T10:27:00.004-04:00

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?

2009-09-18T14:13:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-16T08:41:00.007-04:00

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?

2009-09-15T12:54:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-12T10:13:00.003-04:00

(Source: Unveiled Photography)

9/11

2009-09-11T16:21:00.005-04:00

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

2009-09-10T14:14:00.005-04:00

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!

2009-09-06T11:10:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-09-05T23:42:00.005-04:00

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 :)

2009-09-01T20:31:00.008-04:00

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

2009-08-31T21:23:00.002-04:00

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

2009-08-31T20:15:00.009-04:00

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:

2009-08-30T20:34:00.010-04:00

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!

2009-08-27T21:02:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-08-27T20:31:00.002-04:00

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)

Planning

2009-08-23T20:00:00.004-04:00

I love planning things. I always have. I tried to throw my parent's a surprise anniversary party when I was about 12 for their 15th anniversary. They found out, and asked me not to do it. But I had a location and a date, and I sent invitations with the help of my grandma!

So, on my drive back from Montreal today, I was thinking about when we should have a housewarming party. I was thinking late November, so we get settled in (we move on October 2nd). [When I got home, Wade suggested we do it on my birthday week-end, which is the first week-end in December. I like that idea!]

Then I got thinking ... we should have a first-anniversary party for our closest friends (bridal party). I remembered Wade will be in Dover, Delaware on our first anniversary. (What a bum! But I had over a year's notice of it at least.) And I was thinking that less than 4 weeks after our anniversary is Canada Day. So we're going to have a Canada Day / slightly belated anniversary barbecue at our new house! What a great idea! (And with our new pool in our new house, it's a great spot to have a Canada Day party!)

A Toast!

2009-08-20T07:00:00.001-04:00

Bridesmaid Crystal led a lovely toast wishing Wade and me well:

(Source of all pictures: Unveiled Photography)

A speech from my uncle and a letter from my cousin

2009-08-18T21:20:00.007-04:00

Next up, my uncle spoke.

My uncle is the oldest of my dad's siblings. He spoke first of how there are some family members who couldn't be with us that evening, and we remember them with love. It was beautiful. Then he talked a bit about how I was the only granddaughter on that side of the family. And he read a letter from my cousin, who lives in Saudi Arabia, and couldn't make it back for the wedding. My cousin, who is 9 years older than I, recalls me as a child organizing him, his brother Adam, and my brothers into whatever game it was we were playing. I don't recall this at all, but I laugh to think of me organizing my older cousins. They probably didn't call me organized then - they probably called me bossy!

My uncle concluded his speech by wishing Wade and me many years of happy marriage ...

... and by giving Wade an "easy button"!

(Source of all pictures: Unveiled Photography)

My parents-in-law's speech

2009-08-17T07:00:00.005-04:00

Gord started by introducing himself as "Pops" (although Wade also calls him "Pa"), then said:

"For those who don’t know, Wade met Krista on the ball diamond, now Krista’s got the real diamond." (Haha)

Gord continued: "Wade and I have a lot of similarities. We love sports, especially Leafs hockey, Jays ball, and Jeff Gordon Nascar. I’m not sure about Nascar, but Krista enjoys her sports. Also, Wade has a spotless reputation like his Pops."

(For the record, I love ball and hockey. And I don't really like Nascar. So Gord was right in his assessment!)

Mary continued by recounting when Wade and I met: "he told me that she was a Queen’s student working for the summer at Dupont and that she was playing ball for one of the plant baseball teams. One evening his team was playing her team and he told me that he noticed that she had a really beautiful smile. Wasn’t that a nice beginning?"

At this point, Mary explained that she had promised Wade that they would not tell any "little Wadie" stories as he had just been a very sweet little boy. And then Mary looked at me with what can only be descripted as a naughty look, saying that she had a story she hadn't intended to share as she wasn't sure if it would meet my request for the story to be PG-13. (I was a little confused because it is rare that Mary tells any stories that aren't PG-13, which also made me nervous!)

Here's the story Mary told us about Wade as a kindergartener. Mary was doing the dishes when she heard Wade (Wadie) telling his little brother Mark (Marky) a new word at school that day. Mary eavesdropped on their conversation in the living room from the kitchen, and she heard Wadie saying, "I learned a new word today, Marky. It's 'truck'!" Marky repeated the word, but Wade got upset with him. This is Mary describing how she was confused this was a new word to Wade:
Wade repeated saying over and over, "No Marky, it's truck, to which Marky would repeat, "Truck?", which went back and forth a few times. Finally, Mary heard Wade say, "No Marky, it's an 'f' word!"

And hence my sneak peak picture of me laughing my head off!
Mary went on to say that after forty years of marriage, she and Gord should have profound and wise advice about marriage, but they don't. (Which also elicited laughter.) [In her defense, she always claims the secret to their happy marriage is separate vacations!]

So she ended with this quote from Leo Buscaglia: “A loving relationship is one in which the loved one is free to be himself - to laugh with me, but never at me; to cry with me, but never because of me; to love life, to love himself, to love being loved.”

And together, Mary and Gord welcomed me to the family and led a toast to a long and happy marriage.

(Source of all pictures: Unveiled Photography)

Coming up next ... my new parent-in-laws's speech

2009-08-15T21:56:00.003-04:00

Here's a sneak peek of our reaction during their speech:
(Source: Unveiled Photography)

My dad's speech

2009-08-10T21:29:00.003-04:00

I left off as we started dinner.

My dad has an odd sense of humour and has strong opinions. For example, he doesn't understand why I did an arts term in England right after undergrad, nor why I did a master's degree in occupational health. He see things in black-and-white. And if he drinks, the stories, opinions and jokes are all the more interesting. So I had no idea what to expect!

(Source: Unveiled Photography)

My dad started talking about the day I was born. How my mom woke him at 5 in the morning. How they had to drop the dog (Chu Chu, a lhasa apso) at my paternal grandparents' house. How I was born at 4:45 that evening with a loud cry. He talked about how I was a special child - the first grandchild for my maternal grandparents, the fourth grandchild but first granddaughter for my paternal grandparents.

He told a story about New Year's Eve 1982. I was just over a year old and it was then that they realized I had the ability to talk and entertain: my parents and grandparents were having a new year's eve dinner in a restaurant where the average age was well over elderly. I apparently spent the night going from table to table in this small restaurant telling stories and delighting patrons.

He continued to tell a story that my mom remembers differently. When I was not quite 3, I really wanted a cat. My dad hates cats. He thinks I convinced my mom to get a cat. (That's highly unlikely.) My mom thinks I convinced my dad to get a cat. (That's highly likely - he couldn't say no.) So I got a cat for my third birthday. My dad figured, well, I guess cats don't live that long. Ten years, maybe a little longer.

He continued on with a couple anecdotes. Overall, I was impressed and pleased. And most of all, surprised at some of the things he remembered. Of course he remembered I figure skated: I did that for 15 years. And I played softball for about as long. But I can't believe he remembered that I did gymnastics when I was about 5, 6 years old. He just filled in with a few examples of how I like to plan things and how I was always responsible. (Except for the time I knocked a wheel off the car. But that wasn't my fault: I hit black ice!)

He ended with a touching toast. I meant for the speeches to be videotaped, but they weren't. Fortunately, I am rounding up people's notes to save their words.

Oh yeah, and the cat? Pepper lived to be 23. In the end my dad liked Pepper. But they haven't got another cat!

I'll be back soon to finish off!

2009-08-10T08:25:00.002-04:00

Sorry about the delay in wedding recaps. I know I left off right before my dad's speech. I'll finish; just not yet. We have so much for the house sale to do that I don't have enough hours in the day! But I'll come back and finish off!

Wanna see our maybe new house?

2009-08-07T16:37:00.001-04:00

Click here to see the house we bid on!

A slightly off-colour joke

2009-08-07T15:35:00.000-04:00

A husband and wife are playing golf together. The husband is not golfing well, and his wife is doing very well. They have been married 25 years, but the husband has decided today he needs to tell his wife something.

The husband says, "Twenty years ago I had a brief affair. It meant nothing. I hope you can forgive me."

His wife was hurt but said, "Dearest, those days are long gone. What we have now is far more valuable. I forgive you." They embraced and kissed, and everything was fine. In fact, the husband's game improved as he was so happy to be forgiven!

Understandably, the wife's game was not going as well until they got to the seventeenth tee.

As the husband was starting his back swing his wife blurted out, "I'm sorry darling, I've been so conscience-stricken since you told me your news. Since we're being honest with each other, I have something to tell you also: 32 years ago I had a sex change operation. I was a man before I met you. I hope you can forgive me."

The husband froze at the top of his back swing, then threw a fit! He slammed the driver into the ground, kicked the ball into the woods, stormed off the tee, pushed the golf cart over on its side, broke the rest of his clubs one by one, then started on hers. He screamed and ranted, "You liar! You cheat! You despicable deceiver! How could you? I trusted you with all my heart and soul ... and all these years you've been playing off the ladies tees!"

Teaser Answered

2009-08-06T22:41:00.004-04:00

We put a bid on a house.

Just to clarify: we already have a house. Well, to be fair Wade has a house. He bought it before we met. It's small (very small) but we intended on staying here for at least a few more years. But friends of his family have a gorgeous house, and they intended on selling in a few years. Wade mentioned to the friend to let us know when they're listing. Well, they changed their mind and listed this year! So they let us know ... and we put a bid on the house.

Our main condition is sale of our house, so our house is now listed. It'll be on the Canadian real estate website tomorrow and we'll have an open house on the week-end.

Our biggest problem developed today: a house very similar to ours listed today, too. Same price, appears to be the same size, same / similar set-up (from the pictures) but they have a finished basement (and we do not). Mind you, our neighbourhood always sells quickly ... but still, it's kinda scary.

I'll keep you updated! And I think I'd best start a non-wedding blog for all my random thoughts like this one.

P.S. Once our house is listed on the website, I'll show you our house!

Exciting News

2009-08-05T22:45:00.002-04:00

... No, we're not having a baby. That's not in the works right yet, if you're wondering. (And many people are!)

We'll share our excitement tomorrow.

(Is that a teaser or what? I didn't give you any information!)

Did you read the news about the shooting in Pennsylvania?

2009-08-05T16:35:00.003-04:00

RIP
Heidi Overmier, Elizabeth Gannon and Jody Billingsley.

RIP also: Rachel Scott, Daniel Rohrbough, Dave Sanders, Kyle Velasquez, Steven Curnow, Cassie Bernall, Isaiah Shoels, Matthew Kechter, Lauren Townsend, John Tomlin, Kelly Fleming, Daniel Mauser and Corey DePooter; Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz; and Justin Schwieg. And so many others.

None of you deserved what happened. Your families and friends did not deserve this.

May you be remembered by your families and friends not for how you died but for how you lived.

"Feather Hair Thing "

2009-08-03T14:14:00.008-04:00

A few people have commented / asked about the "feather hair thing" (as someone called it).

After the first dance, I changed from my mom's veil, which I wore for the vows and first dance, into this fascinator:

Sometime before my wedding, I started thinking a hair fascinator or a funky veil would be appropriate for after the ceremony. Exactly 3 weeks before my wedding, I looked all over etsy like a mad woman. I found some charming items, including a beautiful mini-bubble veil. But then I found the most amazing fascinator at Hairfascinators.com @ Etsy made by Linda and Chance, a mother-daughter team. Normally, the fascinators take over 3 weeks to make, but they can sometimes help in exceptional circumstances. So I "convoed" them and asked if they could help, knowing full well that if they couldn't help, it was my own darned fault!

Well, they could help! And I got my beautiful fascinator, which is now on display in our living room (until I figure out what to do with it ... maybe I'll put it in a shadow box or something).

(Source: Hairfascinators.com @ Etsy)

(And can I just add the fascinator is much more beautiful in real life than in the picture. I was just floored when I received it in the mail. It is beautiful, slightly funky and perfect!)

P.S. Happy Long Week-End, (most) fellow Canucks! It's Civic Day where I live, but whether you celebrate Founder's Day, Natal Day, or whatever else, enjoy!

Filling our bellies ...

2009-07-30T22:00:00.002-04:00

Our masters of ceremonies (Rick & David) introduced each member of the wedding party in turn. You've already met them, so I'll spare you that again. Then my Aunt Linda said a lovely grace.

Then dinner was served. Dinner was delicious - an unbelievable four-course meal. We started with a cold peach soup. I had never had a cold soup before, let alone made with a fruit like peaches! It was delicious! Kinda like a thick, fresh applesauce, but with peaches instead of apples.

The cold peach soup was followed by a yummy salad course. It was a green salad with a cranberry-orange vinaigrette.

In the midst of these courses, there were two ways our guests could get us to kiss. They could solve a puzzle that was at their table or they could tell a (PG-13) joke.

We had some interesting jokes. Some groaners. Some silly jokes. Fourteen year-old Laura told a joke that I would definitely rate above PG-13. I can't remember it, but it was dirty! (Of course, the younger kids didn't get it at all, so it was okay.) I later found out her mother told her the joke, and she didn't get it. When she clued into what it meant (several minutes after she told it), she was mortified! Poor thing.

There were two puzzles per table. First, they had to unscramble a "clue". Then they had to use the clue to find the word, phrase or location. One thing unscrambled into "Kristas high school" (we didn't scramble in the apostrophe). Another one into "Wades high school". There were 3 clues that unscrambled into "where they went" (with hints with the first letter and the number of letters). Interestingly, at the start a bunch of people unscrambled the clue and solved the hint quickly, and then no one came up. (Hmm ... maybe the wine started to affect them.)

(Pictures courtesy of Unveiled Photography)

Then my Dad spoke. I'll be honest - I was nervous about this. I had no idea what he'd say, and was worried he'd stumble over his words ...

Random post about comedy and parliament in Canada

2009-07-30T07:00:00.003-04:00

I found an amazing video from one of my favourite comedian's posted on my friend Groomsmen Greg's blog (a home improvement blog about his and his girl-friend, my maid of honour, Jocelyn's house).

Rick Mercer is an incredibly smart man who satirizes Canadians, Americans, politicians and anyone & everyone else. This video contains a very real lesson on the Canadian parliament. It's about a year and a half old (as you'll see with the reference to George Bush as the U.S. President). Canadian comedians enjoy much more intimacy with our politicians than our American neighbours do. For example, would this ever happen in ths U.S.:

(Yes, it really happened to our current prime minister.)

Want proof this is the norm? Here's our former prime minister (when he was prime minister) announcing his retirement at a news conference, when a cast member from the same show as above intervenes:

...

2009-07-29T20:56:00.004-04:00

I can't think of a creative title, so that's all it is.

I'm trying to think of what to do next. In my wedding recaps, I am into the reception. I should finish up in a week or two, depending on my motivation. Then I'll put up our honeymoon pictures. That could take a while, or I could do it quickly, depending on how many pictures and stories I share! (We were gone three weeks, after all. There are lots of pictures and lots of stories.) ut beyond that, then what? I'm married, what else can I say on this blog?

Not much. So what do I do next? I am pondering that. I am loving the ability to write all the time. I love to write. This is a great outlet for me.

(Side note: when I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut or a writer. If anyone knows Roberta Bondar or Julie Payette, let me know. I'd love to ask them about their experiences!)

So, when the current poll on my blog closes on Friday (regarding how long it took you to get your thank-you notes out), I'll put in a poll on what you think I should do next! In the meantime, you can comment with any ideas / thoughts on what you'd like to see!

P.S. I ate two caramilk ice cream cones. The first one was so good that I had to have another. Except that I've felt completely "blah" the past two hours since finishing it. YUCK!

P.S.2 I did the 30-Day Shred video last night for the first time since my wedding day. Jillian kicked my butt!

The Grand Entrance (complete with beer!)

2009-07-29T07:00:00.002-04:00

What do you think of our entrance before dinner?

All photos taken by Unveiled Photography.

What else went wrong?

2009-07-28T21:12:00.001-04:00

Well, we arrived at the reception a few minutes late. About 15 minutes, I think, maybe a bit more. Anyway, I went to the washroom (which I'd figured out how to do at the church!) and had my mom help me bustle my dress.

Um ... the button for the bustle was missing.

It had been there when I put the dress on. But that's when I remembered: when I first sat in the car, I heard a pop. I thought it was the zipper or the button above the zipper or something like that. Now I realized: it had to be the bustle.

I figured - well, I guess the dress is going to get a lot more dirty than I anticipated. And I started to walk into the reception. That's when my mom said they'd find a way to fix it. I said something indicating I didn't care - let's go eat - but I was told we needed to fix it. (Okay, mom!)

There were a couple safety pins in the bathroom kit I'd made. Someone went to look for more safety pins. Out of nowhere (or so it seemed to me), the bar manager, the incredible Robin, appeared. Then left.

Robin disappeared for almost 5 minutes and returned to the dressing room (yes, the bathroom had a dressing room!) with safety pins. Mom & bar manager Robin to the rescue! She and my mom crawled under my dress to pin the lift the train to bustle it in place! It took another five minutes (at least - but it felt like forever) to get it pinned. And I just wanted to see everyone, have a drink & eat! But finally, it was done!

And I arrived to this scene:

Everyone was waiting for us to have dinner, and they're in the lobby drinking beer? WTF! (Just kidding!) To be honest, someone - Wade,maybe? - had asked if they could have a beer. I told them to go for it! I knew I'd be a couple minutes in the bathroom - I couldn't have known it'd be 15! So they had a good time just hanging out. I think I was asked if they could have a second beer (or was it actually the third? I hadn't been there for long, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was their third) while everyone found their seats. Sure, why not!

And then we walked into the reception! Pictures of the reception to come ...

All photos taken by Unveiled Photography.

More recaps tonight ... or tomorrow at the latest ... I promise!

2009-07-28T08:13:00.004-04:00

Okay, so I'm supposed to be working right now. (Shhh ... I'm not.) But I read Professional Bridesmaid's shout out to Canadian (or Commonwealth) bloggers and found an amazing video posted on A little birdie weds. I had to share it:

And while you're amazed by this video (I am!), go to Professional Bridesmaid's latest post and check her shout outs. These are some seriously amazing Canadian bloggers (Professional Bridesmaid included).

(Yeah, I know - so how did I make the list? :)

New laptop

2009-07-27T21:49:00.004-04:00

Wade & I have a new laptop. It's our first laptop together (aww). It's actually Wade's first laptop, and his first new computer since 1993. Seriously. (He's been using my old laptop, but it died a few months ago.)

Anyway, this new laptop is a Gateway laptop and came loaded with Microsoft Vista. We purchased Office 2007 for it. I'm so lost!

If anyone out there can help me, I'd appreciate it! I will list my problems (relating to the laptop, of course!).

Today, here's what happened:
-If I wanted to type quotation marks, I couldn't type them. When in Word, I can type shift+' and quotation marks will be made. However, when I'm not in Word (such as in typing a blog post or using gmail to send an email), when I type that, it comes out with an accented e (un accent aigu, for those who speak French).
-If I wanted to put in a question mark, I couldn't type it. When in Word, I can type shift+/ to create question marks. However, when I'm not in Word, typing that combination puts in an upper-case E with an accent (another accent aigu).
So in order to put quotation marks or question marks into the post, I had to type it in Word, then cut and paste it into blogger or gmail or facebook. Not exactly convenient.

Yesterday, here's what happened:
-If I wanted to type an apostrophe, out can a lower case accented e. (I think it was another accent aigu, but I can't remember now). Notice how on Friday, I had few contractions? Go back and look. That's because I COULDN'T TYPE CONTRACTIONS. ARG! That meant I also couldn't denote possession. (How on earth do I refer to Wade's car if I can't put in an apostrophe? I put in a backwards apostrophe: those were working.) And I was too frustrated to type it in Word, where I could type apostrophes, then copy it into blogger or gmail.

I'm having other problems, but these two are frustrating me the last few days. Anyone have any ideas on why I can't always type quotation marks or question marks or apostrophes?

Note: sometimes I can, but most of the time, I can't. And I don't know if I am doing something to turn it on/off, or what's going on.

A little help?

Our to-do list

2009-07-27T21:42:00.003-04:00

Do the following:
-Organize our unused `second living room` into a sitting room by:
-Removing futon sofa.
-Filling said sitting room with arm chairs or loveseat or something (to be acquired).
-And purchase a hutch or glass bookshelf or something in said sitting room to store wine glasses. And maybe china. (Yay, wedding gift money!)
-Install dish washer (requires re-organizing cupboards and acquiring hutch or bookshelf).
-Organize office into office-slash-spare room by putting futon in it (requires organizing office).
-Get new tv for living room (lower on the list).

And that`s exciting and overwhelming all at once!

... There's no crying in baseball!

2009-07-26T11:00:00.002-04:00

This is our week-end:

Okay, not really. We play in a slow-pitch league (also referred to as three-pitch, meaning you have your own pitcher but you only get three pitches). I used to play fast pitch (softball) until I was about 19 or 20. Only when I was too only for the Junior Ladies league, but not quite good enough for the Ladies league (which was by invitation only) did I stop fast pitch (softball) Now that I play slow-pitch league, which is co-ed, I don't take it as seriously. I also had a couple years off. I'm nowhere near as good as I was: I used to be quite good defensively but only half-decent offensively; I am now okay defensively and bad offensively (meaning I can't hit). I will be honest: I miss the higher skill and competition of fast pitch (softball) and I miss the comraderie of an all-girls team. I was on the same team for several years, so we got to know each other well.

Anyway, the reason our week-end is all about baseball. We have a baseball tournament. All week-end. I'm quite stiff right now.

Here's our schedule (all games one hour or seven innings, whichever comes first):
Saturday
8:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
2:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
Sunday
9:00 a.m.
12:30 p.m. (Quarter final play-offs)
Then we'll probably play at 3:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals, and probably play at 5:00 p.m. in the finals. But that's a lot of baseball for one week-end, especially considering I missed most of June's games (gone for the honeymoon for 3 weeks and all!), and have only been able to make 1 game so far this July. (We have 1 game / week.)

Nonetheless, I still love the movie A League of their Own, as do most women who have ever played baseball or softball!

One thing that went wrong:

2009-07-24T13:21:00.000-04:00

After the ceremony, I forget how it occurred to me, but I realized I'd left the garter at home. I'm not sure where it even was - maybe in a drawer of a dresser in the spare room, or maybe in my wardrobe (my scrapbooking storage wardrobe) in said spare room. I don't know. I mentioned it to my bridesmaids, saying, oh well, I guess we're not tossing the garter tonight! There was no time to go back for it before the reception: we had family photos at the church, followed by wedding party photos at our alma mater, and very little time to get to the reception.

They mentioned they could go get it while we're doing the family photos. So they went! I don't know how they found it - I didn't think to mention where it might have been. But they did! And they arrived at the university (two of the four bridesmaids attended the same alma mater) at the same time as we did!

Here are pictures of the garter toss:

When Wade threw the garter, he asked me how to aim for Groomsman Greg. Greg's girl-friend, my maid of honour Jocelyn had just caught the bouquet. She fought for it, too! They've been together ... a lot of years (8 years on and off, but have been "on" for 5 years straight). They own a house together. They've known each other since 1995 (as long as I've known them: we all met and became friends in grade 9).

So Wade aimed for Greg. The only problem is, Wade had never thrown a garter before. He thought you threw it, and didn`t realize you have to `flick` it. So he threw it, and it landed a few feet in front of Greg. For a couple seconds, the guys stared at it. Then, surprisingly, a couple guys started to move towards it; Greg was not one of those guys! Wade was not having any of it! Wade ran at it, picked up it and put it in Greg`s pocket.

Greg later convinced himself that I aimed for Jocelyn, too. But I didn`t - she earned that bouquet! (I was proud of her - jumping for it! She`d never fought or jumped for a bouquet before. YAY!)

And here's the proud winner:

The Wedding Party

2009-07-24T09:02:00.010-04:00

My ladies and I:

(I think Jocelyn, to the right of me, is unleashing her inner-model.)

Wade with his guys, before they got ready & after:

Aren't the groomsmen too cute?

Wade likes this picture:

And here's everyone, kids included:

(The younger flower girl, Chloe, was very excited to see Pinky in this picture. She clearly forgot she'd been holding Pinky at this point!)

All photos taken by Unveiled Photography.

And now for something completely different ...

2009-07-23T09:16:00.004-04:00

Well, not really. Kinda more of the same. But if needed, I have a comfy chair that's perfect for torture should the Spanish Inquisition require one. (And Bridechka thinks she's a geek. Kudos if you know the reference. Or maybe my sympathies are more appropriate.)

It seems that the majority of you sent out your thank-you cards in about a month. Although, 3 keeners sent out their cards about a week after the wedding. I'd like to know who you are, so I can marvel at your organization / enthusiasm! (14 have voted, which I'm pretty sure is enough for a significant sample size. Right? Okay, maybe not. But there are still a few days left to vote!)

And of the three of you who commented, it seems the next thing I should recap is the wedding party pictures. I'll try to do that tonight!

Kelly Hildebrandt, you may now kiss ... Kelly Hildebrandt!

2009-07-22T07:00:00.002-04:00

No, this isn't like when Dennis Rodman dressed in drag and married himself!
(If you don't know what I'm talking about, google "Dennis Rodman wedding".)

You should read this article: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/090721/K072106AU.html. Now, I am not the biggest supporter of marrying so young (20 and 24 respectively) particularly after knowing each other for such a short period of time (they met last year). But it is a neat story.

Interviewed by Marie (really long, non-wedding post)

2009-07-21T19:46:00.005-04:00

Marie was interviewed by Bridechka. And she offered to interview someone ... so I took her up on the offer!

1. For all those just about to be married, can you describe how you felt the night before the wedding?

The night before the wedding, I was so excited. I was a little nervous, perhaps curious, to find out what would go wrong. (I mean, something goes wrong for everyone, right?) So I was curious about that. I was mostly excited.

Now, an hour before the wedding – that was different. I can’t remember when I got nervous exactly. I think it was either just before or just after I’d gotten in my mom’s van to go to my parent’s house for family photos. It was at that point that I got nervous. I don’t know why. I think I just wanted to make sure I was at the church. When I did arrive at the church, I calmed slightly, and switched from nerves to ecstatic when I started walking down the aisle.

I don’t think my response is normal. Many friends have told me they were nervous. A coworker said she was scared for weeks beforehand at the thought of having to stand in front of people. That didn’t faze me in the least! Being in front of people does not bother me! But blogger Carly, who was also nervous about her wedding day, has said that everyone is looking at you with happiness and love. So if you’re nervous, remember that you invited people who you want to witness you say your vows.

2. Why did you chose to become involved in health and safety? Was it anything specific or did it just happen?

A little of both. I became interested in health & safety (H&S) when I held a summer job at DuPont. DuPont is a famous industry-leader in H&S. The training program for a 4 month contract was the same as for anyone else: 4 weeks duration. They consider the training worth it, because a huge focus on the training is on doing the job safely. I had that summer job for five summers, although for the last two summers I actually worked for Invista (Invista was a spin-off of DuPont that was sold to Koch Industries).

I realized H&S could be a career when I was looking at post-graduate options after finishing my undergrad degrees. The University of Toronto offers a degree in occupation health. It sounded interesting - the study of workplace hazards - noise, ergonomics, radiation, H&S management, and so on. So I applied. And I got accepted. And I do find it interesting. I actually find myself passionate about occupational H&S.

3. How did you and Wade meet? Sorry if you've already told us but I can't remember!

I don’t think that I did. During my second summer working at DuPont, I joined the work baseball league. I played on a different team than Wade, but many of our teammates knew each other. After one game playing each other, many of our teammates went back to their regular post-game bar and hung out. I got to know Wade, and his friends Mike and Kelly. I ran into Kelly another time, and we started hanging out. Since Kelly and Wade were friends, I saw Wade now and then. And that’s how we met.

I have to say, I thought Wade was weird at first. It turns out, he was trying to hard, and it creeped me out. But as he relaxed I was able to get to know him.

4. Why did you and Wade decide to get married in a church?

We thought about a few spots. I wasn’t thrilled by the idea of getting married outdoors. Don’t get me wrong – I think the most beautiful weddings are outdoors. But I would be a basket case worrying about if the weather cooperated or not. So in a church seemed the next step.

I thought about the church I went to as a teenager. It’s on the water. It has stain-glass windows on the side facing the street, and clear windows overlooking the water. It’s stunning, but especially so in the morning at the sunrise services (which are only offered once a year, and I only attended a few times). Our reception venue is also on the water, so I thought it would be neat to have the church on the water, too. But the reception is in the east end, and the church is in the west end – probably about a 25-30 minute drive between them.

I also looked into the chapel on our university campus, which is much closer to our reception venue. We went to the same university, but a few years apart. But the chapel only holds 70, and our guest list was 100. In retrospect, we could have had a smaller service, but that wasn’t an option we explored.

I looked into a few other churches closer to the venue. In the meantime, my mom mentioned to me that she thought my grandma would be quite proud if we got married at her church. Even though the church is in the north end of the city, about a 15-20 minute drive from the venue, we ended up choosing this option.

5. What motivates you? A rather broad question but to me you seem very driven and great at achieving what you set out to do so I was wondering how you manage to do that?

I don’t know. I try to be organized. I was shocked to learn I have always been organized. One cousin who couldn’t attend sent my uncle a letter to read at the reception. My cousin, nine years older than me (actually, that makes him Wade’s age), remembers me as a little child organizing games. (I don’t remember that.) My aunt spoke of how I’m so organized that she knew everything would be wonderful. I was surprised to hear of this theme over and over.

I don’t like being unorganized. It makes me feel out of control. I had nightmares months before the wedding because I hadn’t done certain things yet. Once I started planning things, those nightmares went away.

In terms of what motivates me: my fear of feeling out of control, I guess!

Professionally, I’m motivated to do a good job. I feel that (in health & safety) I have the potential to impact people’s lives, not on what happens to them, but what never happens. If I do a good job, people should wonder what I’m there for.

Seriously. As I was told in grad school, the goal of a H&S professional’s job is to put him/herself out of business. The goal is zero workplace injuries, right? People question what you do and the necessity of training if there are no injuries. So my goal is for no one to get injured, everyone to know what they’re doing, and if that means people wonder what it is exactly I do, that’s fine. (As long as my boss likes my job!)

Personally, I’m motivated by my love of learning. I’m also motivated by my love of family & friends. I’m motivated by my love of travelling. I’m motivated to question everything, because I need to know the reason why things happen or how things work. I love museums – whether it’s a museum of science & technology, history, art, archaeology or whatever. I love reading. I love learning. I think that’s why I love to travel – because I learn so much and see new things and experience things I could never experience just be watching the Discovery Channel or surfing wikipedia.

So those are my five answers!

I offer anyone the opportunity! If you would like to interviewed with any five questions of MY choosing, just message me!

What do I tell you next?

2009-07-21T16:30:00.007-04:00

Should I show you pictures from the receiving line, like this one:

Should I show you our wedding party photos, like this one:

Or should I tell you about one of the few things that "went wrong"? (Sorry, no picture or hint for this one! I don't even know which one I'll tell you about!)

After the ceremony ...

2009-07-20T18:06:00.000-04:00

We had family photos. Here are some highlights:

With my parents:

With Wade's parents:

With my mom's side (left) and dad's side (right) of my families:

And with Wade's mom's side (left) and dad's side (right) of his families:

All photos taken by Unveiled Photography.

One of my favourite pictures

2009-07-19T22:08:00.002-04:00

Source: Unveiled Photography

Yay, Cyd!

2009-07-18T15:42:00.003-04:00

Look at the weather right now:
And it's great here, too. My friend, Sarah, is getting married today. Actually, she has probably been married for about an hour and a half now. She was having the wedding at her parent's home, and was hoping for a pool party after. Based on the forecast for today, that was unlikely. Walking outside right now, it is very likely! (They didn't have a rain plan, so I'm so happy for them!)

About an hour ago, I was driving home from a little shopping trip. I was thinking how Cyd got married yesterday and Sarah got married today (in fact, she probably would have just finished the ceremony around that moment). I was getting emotional and teary eyed (not a good thing while driving, but I was just arriving at my house). I then started thinking about my wedding to Wade: both how great our wedding and how happy I am that we're married.

Okay, it's Saturday and it's nice out. I should go do something else!

Congratulations Cyd!

2009-07-18T12:36:00.006-04:00

Can I just show you a couple things about Cyd?

First, I noticed this on facebook (click on it to make it bigger):

And I thought: how fun, she posted on her way to getting married!

Then I noticed this post (click on the picture to make it bigger):

And I knew she must have been having fun!

Yesterday, the weather in the area was okay: a bit of rain, but also some sunny periods. I'm probably 100 km / 60 mi away from her, and since she's on the other side of a Great Lake, we have similar weather but it's not identical. Plus, there are always micro-weather systems.

Here's today's forecast in her neck of the woods for her reception:
So here's hoping she has some sunshine!

And congratulations, Cyd. I'm sorry we couldn't get you those peonies. I am sure you will have a beautiful wedding week-end!!!

Ceremony: Our Order of Service

2009-07-16T15:14:00.005-04:00

Here is the order our ceremony followed. While we have the "key" photos, we weren't able to get any pictures of most of the ceremony. There are no photos of our readers, for example. But based on the pictures you have seen, you can see the emotions of the ceremony.

I am going on memory, guided by the program. However, I may not remember it exactly as it occurred.

The bridal procession was set to "Suit bergamasque" (better known as "Clair de lune") by Debussy. Sigh. I love this song - it's so romantic and filled with emotion.

After the bridal procession, there was a Greeting and Introduction to our guests. The minister, Rev. Don explained a little bit about the meaning of marriage, then asked us to Declare our Intent. (That's where we say the "I do"s, or rather the modern promise of "I will".) Then Rev. Don explained about the commitment of marriage and how it needs support. He called on our family and friends to rise and asked if they promised to support us when we need it.

Next, there was a prayer, entitled the “Prayer of Approach”. I don't remember what Rev. Don said, to be honest. I listened to his words and was amazed at how true they were. And I was amazed that everyone in the church at that moment was saying a prayer for Wade and me. That they loved us so much, that they would gather in one spot together and pray for our happiness and longevity, and not feel for one moment that we didn’t deserve it but genuinely feel it with their love.

And I remember thinking, "Wow, I'm getting married. Right now. I wish this moment would last forever." It was as if at the moment, the love I felt for Wade, and the love he felt for me, and the love of our fiends and family present (and the love of those who weren't with us) was just overtaking me in this absolute experience of joy and ecstasy. It was amazing. And no where near as clichéd as my description makes it sound!

Then there were readings.

First, my Mom read from "The Prophet" (On Marriage) by Khalil Gibran
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

When my mom finished her reading with tears in her eyes and said "That was for you guys" and sat down. It was so sweet.

Then Wade's Mom read Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.
Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

And finally, my good friend Emily read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Then Rev. Don talked more about the commitment of marriage, I think. We don't have the video yet, so I am trying to recall these details. I was nervous and excited because of what was coming. Wade and I read poems to each other.

Wade read "A Red, Red Rose" by Robbie Burns to me
Oh my luve is like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
Oh my luve is like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my luve,
Tho' it were ten thousand mile!

I read from the "Sonnets from the Portuguese" (Sonnet XLIII) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Next, Rev. Don talked about the sacrament of marriage. He explained how it was at a wedding feast the Jesus turned water into wine, a miracle, and how the wedding (and its feast) was as important an event then as it is now.

Then Wade and I said our vows to each other. We said the traditional vows. You know, "I, Krista, take you Wade, to be my husband, to have and to hold ... " and so on. You know them. I know them. And yet, if Rev. Don had given me more than about 4 words at once, I probably would have stumbled!

Next, Rev. Don talked about the symbolism of rings. He talked about the circle of a ring having no end, like our commitment to each other would not end. And as we exchanged rings, we each said to each other: “Take this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity. As a circle has no end, neither shall my love for you.” (Which at the time, I lamented picking such a long phrase, but in retrospect isn’t so long.)

We exchanged our kiss at this point. At least, that was the plan. I can’t recall if it was here or after the next prayer, entitled “Prayers of the People” followed by the Lord’s Prayer.

Then Rev. Don blessed us, and we moved to sign the marriage documents. At this time, "Ellens Dritter Gesand" (better known as "Ave Maria") by Schubert. Another beautiful song, in my opinion.

I signed, then Wade signed, followed by the best man, the maid of honour and finally Rev. Don.

We were presented and the recessional was set to "Symphonie no. 9 (Ode to Joy)" by Beethoven, which was used as the music for the Christian Hymn "Joyful, joyful we adore thee." This is definitely a triumphant, jubilant song! (All music was played on the organ by the same organist who played at my parent's wedding.)

As we left, the church bells were ringing!

The whole ceremony was about 35-40 minutes, but it did not feel that long to me!

Dum dum da dum ...

2009-07-15T21:18:00.007-04:00

Except I didn't walk down the aisle to Wagner's Bridal Chorus. As I already mentioned, I walked down the aisle to Debussy's Clair de lune.

I'll let the pictures tell the story:

(Courtesy: Unveiled Photography)

Commentary on the ceremony to come tomorrow ...

Last day to enter to win a 16x20 canvas print

2009-07-15T17:33:00.001-04:00

Go to hisMrs at Blushing Bride Bulletin to enter to win a 16x20 print (minus the cost of shipping). Today's the last day to enter!

Arriving at the church

2009-07-14T22:12:00.000-04:00

The ladies arrive:

And my Dad and I arriving:

In the waiting room, the Ring Bearer looked through the program for his name, and other names he could read (his brother and his daddy). I greeted everyone, including the flower girls. Then I gave Pinky the teddy bear a kiss.

And here we go!

Oh yeah, gotta hold the flowers lower. Thanks, Cyd!

And I walked down the aisle to Suite bergamasque, third movement, by Debussy. It is better known as "Clair de lune". Definitely not a traditional processional, but I'm happy with the choice!

All photos taken by Unveiled Photography.

Getting ready and on the way from my house to my parent's house

2009-07-14T21:40:00.002-04:00

So here are some shots of me finishing up getting ready and then leaving from my house to my parent's house for family photos:

You've seen one of these pictures before (from my story)! That's where it fit in the day. Technically the last picture is when I was at my parent's house as I got in the car to go to the church. (My mom's little SUV took us from my house to her house.)

Again, all pictures taken by Unveiled Photography.

The ladies getting dressed:

2009-07-14T11:09:00.004-04:00

(Courtesy of Unveiled Photography)

The cake ... it's moving time!

2009-07-14T08:35:00.009-04:00

Probably the weirdest challenge Cyd has ever had: she delivered my cake to the reception site!

I suspect Cyd was worried about this prospect. Did I care what happened to the cake? Not really! If there was a smudge in the icing or the whole thing fell off: I figured the cake could be smoothed out then hidden in a dark corner and no one would notice. Honestly, at any given wedding no one really cares about the cake except a small number of women (the bride being one of them). So as long as the cake got to the reception site, I was fine. And it's not like I had some Sylvia Weinstock or Wendy Kromer (Martha Stewart's go-to wedding cake bakers) creation. It was home-made, with a couple fake layers! Yes, only one layer was real! So I wasn't worried, even if I think Cyd was.

(Seriously, Cyd! You could have dropped it, had it covered with grass or dirt, picked out as much as the dirt as possible, smoothed out the icing as much as possible, put the cake on display in a corner, and I would not have cared. Although, I did love where the cake was displayed: everyone got to look at it.)

The pictures are once again courtesy of Unveiled Photography.

Meanwhile, at the Best Man's house ...

2009-07-13T20:18:00.005-04:00

Before lunch, they relaxed on Best Man Ryan's deck:

Then they got ready together (aw, isn't that cute? oops, I mean, isn't that manly?):

Wade looking "dapper" (if I do say so myself) just prior to the ceremony:

Again, all pictures taken by Unveiled Photography.

Thank-you notes & day-after shoot

2009-07-13T17:47:00.002-04:00

If you feel so inclined, let me know how long it too you to get out your thank-you notes. I have a poll, just because I'm curious.

And last night's day-after shoot was sooo much fun! Obviously, it wasn't the day-after, but oh well! We got the shots that we didn't have time to do on the wedding day, so in another week or two we'll have more pictures of us together.

I found a way to put a picture in my header!

2009-07-10T16:50:00.002-04:00

Turns out blogger put in a new tool that makes it super easy to upload a picture for your header!

The picture in my header was taken by our photographer, Unveiled Photography. We are so happy with them. They took our engagement photos and will be doing our "day after photo shoot" this Sunday.

Oh, I never mentioned our upcoming day after photo shoot. Yep, we're doing it. I'd consider doing a "trash the dress" shoot, except I think I'm going to sell my dress in a couple months. I mean, it's not like I'm going to wear it again.

And speaking of once-worn dresses: have you ever read the dresses posted on Pre-Owned Wedding Dresses? A good website, to be sure. But have you you noticed how many women describe their used wedding dress with the phrase "only worn once" or "worn for only a few hours"? Seriously? Most women only wear their dress once for a few hours. How on earth is that a selling feature of a wedding dress?

Anyway, rant done!

And ... we have such a busy but fun week-end ahead of us. Tomorrow afternoon, we're going to Groomsman Dave's for lunch. I'm looking forward to seeing him, his wife Pamela and their baby Charlie. We haven't seen them since the day after the wedding, so I'm sure almost-5-month-old Charlie will be bigger and have new skills! Then, tomorrow evening we go to Best Man Ryan's house for his birthday. Ryan and his wife Corry just found out their baby is a girl, which their two sons are thrilled about. As am I! Tomorrow, Groomsman Dinger and his daughters are coming over for lunch, and we haven't seen the girls since the wedding (though we saw Dinger last week-end). Then I'm heading to a wedding shower with my mom later in the afternoon. And finally, our day after photo shoot in the evening.

Wanna see something neat? (In my biased opinion!)

2009-07-09T16:40:00.003-04:00

Cyd from The Sweetest Occasion sent me a link to my invitations on the Bella Figura blog.

Click here to have a look!

Dress Shots & Cake Shots!

2009-07-09T08:29:00.007-04:00

First, the photography (Katie from Unveiled Photography) went to work taking dress shots.

My bridesmaids did their make-up, then I put them to work. I'm such a horrible bride: I actually put them to work. I hope they didn't mind too much.

Yes, they iced the cake. Wade and I baked that cake. Yes, you read that right: Wade and I baked our wedding cake the day before our wedding. In retrospect, we should have either made the bottom layer thicker, or raised the bottom layer on a pedestal or styrofoam cake layers, so it was the same height as the other layers. But oh well! (Actually, maybe we should have just paid for the cake to be baked. But we did save a lot of money, it looked okay, and the cake didn't taste like cardboard, like most wedding cakes. Plus we have a neat story!)
(Courtesy: Unveiled Photography)

Some more getting ready

2009-07-08T15:35:00.006-04:00

I showed you some pictures at the hair salon, courtesy of Bridesmaid Crystal. Now, some pictures back at my house, getting ready with my bridesmaids and my mommy.

Above: I think that is Kristy doing Emily's make-up. Below: Kristy brought champagne for getting ready!

(Courtesy: Unveiled Photography)

Delays in publishing

2009-07-07T21:09:00.002-04:00

I have had the difficult task of selecting 100 pictures from the 2000 we received to put in the coffee table album we decided to purchase. This is a surprisingly difficult task that is consuming most of my time.

Re-caps will resume in the next day or two. I'm almost done picking the pictures, and just have to get Wade to "approve". (Meaning, he just has to see if I missed any of his favourite pictures. In all likelihood, he won't add anything, but I do want to give him the chance to add any he may want.)

So, I promise there's more goodness to come! (And lots of pictures. And I mean lots!)

Phone Call

2009-07-06T20:26:00.001-04:00

Wade called me at work today. Just to wish me a happy anniversary; meaning we've now been married one month.

Curiosities of Etiquette (really long post)

2009-07-05T12:24:00.000-04:00

Etiquette is a funny thing. It is a set of rules to help society function, and it works well (as long as you apply reason and good sense to it).

Etiquette rules often have opposite expectations for two parties in a relationship. When I started planning the wedding, I bought Emily Post's "Wedding Etiquette" to help me navigate the expectations without causing offense. (Great book, I found it so helpful!) It did cause some friction between Wade and me a couple times when the book clashed with common practice in our social circles.

For example, if a guest is in a relationship (even if you don't know the sigificant other), you are required to invite the date. (That makes sense.) Etiquette also indicates that the host/hostess is not required to offer guests the opportunity to bring a date ("plus one") when the guest is not in a long-term relationship. (I didn't realize that rule.) And Wade wanted to offer all our single friends a "plus one", which would have been nice but it was not practical due to space constraints. We had a very finite capacity for the meal, and we didn't want to over invite (um, awkward if 5 people eat their meal in a different room!) but we wanted to have as many friends as possible. If we invited "Sam + 1", we'd have to wait for the RSVP to find out if Sam is bringing someone or if we have an extra seat. (Of course, boy-friends, girl-friends, spouses, significant others, etc. were all invited even if we didn't know them.)

I think we made the right decision not to invite "plus ones" to those who weren't in a relationship because we ended up being surrounded by entirely friends & family we knew.

Another funny double-rule: the rules of gift expectations. You shouldn't give people "pity invites", nor should you invite people you know can not attend, because it looks like you are just fishing for a gift. As a guest, if you are invited to a wedding, you should get the couple a gift, regardless of if you are attending. According to Emily Post and her niece-in-law, Peggy Post, the gift should be just as good as if you were going to the wedding because the gift is not paying for dinner but is a gift given freely. (Note: I didn't know that part of etiquette until I read it in the book. I suspect most people don't know that etiquette expectation. And I am not offended that most people don't seem to know that, either!)

The curious double-expectation: the couple getting married should invite people they want there, and should not expect a gift from any guest.

I'm okay with that. The way I look at it, we didn't get married to get gifts. And we didn't invite guests to get gifts. We invited our family, friends and our family-friends (some were parent's friends who I didn't know well, but that's fine) to celebrate our wedding. We had about 100 guests for dinner (due to room capacity) and another 20 for the dance reception. And we invited each person because we wanted them to be there. In fact, for the reception invitations, we put "Best Wishes Only" right on the invitation. (I read even putting "best wishes only" is an etiquette faux-pas because that implies we don't want gifts, which is dictating to people what we want for gifts.) I'm comfortble with the decision to put "best wishes only" because we wanted to say to people, "hey, come help us celebrate our wedding" not "hey, we want more gifts".

Over the past 4 days, I have finished all the thank-you notes to the guests who brought us gifts, to the guests who came to the reception only (even if they didn't bring a gift), and to my parent's neighbour (who were not invited, but who gave us a thoughtful gift to wish us well). Most of the guests who came to the reception only brought us a card or a small gift, though some did not bring anything (which was fine with me). I wrote all those guests who were invited to the reception only a thank you note thanking them for helping us to celebrate our wedding, because I truly am thankful that they came (and if they brought a gift, I thanked them for the gift, obviously).

But I have not written thank-you notes for the couple guests who were at the whole day who did not bring a gift. Technically, they have one year to give me the gift. Not to mention, I am not supposed to expect a gift from them, and I don't expect a gift. I won't be offended if I never get a gift.

But I'm torn: do I send a note thanking them for attending (especially since one of them had a role in the wedding)? They deserve a note of thanks for their support. But I might look like I'm fishing for a gift, since they didn't get a gift. I don't need a gift, and I'm not fishing for a gift.

What is the best thing to do? Send a thank-you note for their help and for attending (which did mean a lot to me), or not send anything (so I don't look like I'm fishing for a gift)?

Dress

2009-07-03T16:06:00.004-04:00

Did you notice the dress in my profile picture isn't the same as the dress picture I posted? (You know the pic, the one where I running with my stolen lilac bouquet!)

I'll just let you mull that question over for now.

Maid of Honour: Jocelyn

2009-07-03T07:01:00.000-04:00

I did a "bridesmaid feature" on each of my three bridesmaids, Kristy, Crystal and Emily. But I never did a feature on Jocelyn, the best woman, aka the maid of honour.

Let me tell you about Jocelyn.

I have known her since grade 9. That would be September 1995. In many ways, we were (and still are) quite different. She is an only child, whereas I'm the oldest of 3. She didn't do sports or anything like that, which at that time seemed absolutely foreign to (I did organized sports such as baseball, swimming and figure skating). She had a job ... okay, a paper route, but that was pretty grown up when we were 14! She didn't even have a dog. Weird. :)

Later in university, her focus was on working so she didn't rely on her parents for her spending money. I worked, but I wasn't worried about avoiding financial assistance at all costs. If my parents could help me out, I would rather accept their help than get a loan. I don't know why, but it didn't bother me for my parents to help me out for school. (Within reason, of course.) So, yet another difference in our philosophies.

But it's not to say we're total opposites. We have similar values and similar goals We enjoy many of the same movies, and have similar tastes. So we're not cut out of completely different cloths.

Here's Jocelyn:

Jocelyn and I have had some ups and downs, grown apart and then grown back together. We've had sleepovers, visited each other at university, and became drinking buddies. Now we're usually coffee buddies (like yesterday morning). My, how things change. Not bad for a nearly 14 year relationship!

Canada Day Answers

2009-07-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

Here are the answers:

1) Who was our first prime minister? Sir John A. MacDonald. He governed out of my hometown, because my hometown was Canada's first capital. It's now Ottawa, but it was here!

2) What does Canada Day commemorate? Canadian Confederation, when the Dominion of Canada was formed by the joining of PEI, Nova Scotia, Ontario (formerly Upper Canada up to this point) and Quebec (formerly Lower Canada up to this point)

3) What part of the Canadian Constitution protects our rights and freedoms? The Charter of Rights & Freedoms.

4) What is the slogan of our constituion?
(b) Peace, order and good government
(Note: From sea to sea ("A mari usque ad mare") is our "motto".)

5) In what year was Confederation? (Bonus if you can name where it occurred.) 1867 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

6) Who is our CURRENT head of state? Queen Elizabeth II (although she doesn't do much, and we're really governed by our prime minister, she's officially our head.)

7) In what decade of the 20th century were Canadian women first given the right to vote? 1910s (I had to look this up.) We weren't the first (New Zealand was), but we also weren't by any means the last.

8) Which of the following chains is Canadian-owned?
(c) The Second Cup
*Until about two years ago, LaSenza was Canadian owned, but is now owned by Victoria's Secret. The Hudson's Bay Company, which is something like 400 years old, is no longer owned by a Canadian. Laura Secord, while a Canadian chocolatier, is no longer Canadian owned. Tim Hortons is owned by Wendy's, although there's speculation a Canadian may buy it back. As of Canada Day 2009, The Second Cup is the only Canadian company still owned by Canadians.

9) In what year did the most recent province join Canada? 1949, when Newfoundland joined us.

10) In what year did the most recent territory form in Canada? 1999 (I thought it was 1995, but it turns out that was when they decided they were going to form Nunavut, but it wasn't formed actually formed until 1999.)

Happy (slightly early) Independence Day to you Americans out there!

Getting Ready: At the hair salon!

2009-07-01T21:06:00.006-04:00

We arrived at the hair salon at 9am. The five of us were booked with two stylists.

Maid Of Honour Joce sitting in the sylist's chair:

Maid Of Honour Joce mid-style:

Bridesmaid Crystal getting styled:

Bridesmaid Kristy getting her hair styled:

My hair:

Aren't I the show off?!

There are no pictures of Bridesmaid Emily getting her hair styled. All the pictures of her ended up blurry. I think she moved everytime her picture was taken. Or maybe I don't have steady photo-taking hands. Either way, I didn't think it was fair to put up a blurry picture of her!

The first stylist finished Jocelyn, Emily and I in less time than the other stylist did Kristy and Crystal. A lot less - about 45 minutes. I wasn't impressed with how much longer the other stylist took. Maybe the first stylist was really fast, so the other one seemed slow? I don't know. Kristy had soft curls put in her hair, which would take longer than most of the rest of our styles. But Crystal just wanted her hair styled the way she normally wear her hair, but with a little more pizzaz (of course). The stylist didn't think Crystal's hair would work - she said at Crystal's length, the hair wouldn't stay "straight" but would flip out. Except Crystal normally wears her hair straight and it doesn't really flip out. Anyway, hanging out at the hair salon put our getting ready plan a little bit behind time (less than 30 minutes) - but not catch-up-able! I just would have liked that "relax" time that I'd built into getting ready. Alas, it was not to be!

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today was a holiday for Canadians. I will repeat the quiz I put on her on Canada Day last year:

As a random trivia, can you answer these questions on Canada Day:

1) Who was our first prime minister?

2) What does Canada Day commemorate?

3) What part of the Canadian Constitution protects our rights and freedoms?

4) What is the slogan of our constituion?
(a) Liberty, equality, fraternity
(b) Peace, order and good government
(c) Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
(d) From sea to sea ("A mari usque ad mare")

5) In what year was Confederation? (Bonus if you can name where it occurred)

6) Who is our CURRENT head of state?

7) In what decade of the 20th century were Canadian women first given the right to vote?

8) Which of the following chains is Canadian-owned?
(a) The Hudson's Bay Company ("The Bay")
(b) Laura Secord
(c) The Second Cup
(d) Tim Hortons
*Note: up until about two years ago, LaSenza was Canadian owned, but is now owned by Victoria's Secret.

9) In what year did the most recent province join Canada?

10) In what year did the most recent territory form in Canada?

... Tired ...

2009-06-29T21:29:00.001-04:00

We just opened the gifts tonight. There are some lovely and thoughtful gifts. But I'm too tired to post pictures or do anything else tonight ... so talk to you tomorrow!

... At the altar ...

2009-06-28T17:31:00.002-04:00

Here we are:
(Source: Unveiled Photography)

A little story

2009-06-28T11:19:00.002-04:00

I didn't get bouquets for the flower girls. I did decide they needed something small, but figured we could pick a bouquet for them. And I was eyeing up flowers in the neighbourhood I could pick from the park. There used to be several white lilac bushes in a park near us, but they were trimmed too much last year and didn't fully come back this year. Then I noticed an apartment building near us had a rather large, beautiful white lilac bush in full bloom a couple weeks before the wedding, that was it. On the drive from my house to my parent's house (for family photos), I made my mom stop so I could pick them.

I knew she would find it ridiculous, so I didn't tell her what I was doing. She had no idea why I yelled at her to stop. Then I ran out of the car to get the flowers. My mom was not impressed, I think my photographer (who was with us) thought I was doing it just to frustrate my mom (which was not why I did it, though it did frustrate her), but I got two lovely white lilac bouquets for the flower girls to carry.

The photographer snapped pictures of me running back to the car with my stolen loot: (Source: Unveiled Photography)

(Even though the lilac bush was on private property, I figured who would yell at a bride for stealing such a small amount of flowers. It was a gamble that paid off!)

Our white board

2009-06-28T06:25:00.002-04:00

First picture:
(Courtesy of Unveiled Photography)

I'm back (grudgingly)

2009-06-27T18:37:00.003-04:00

Wedding was great.

Honeymoon was great.

And I have about 500 wedding photos. And that's not all of them. So now the tricky part ... what single picture to show you to tease you for the wedding? I'll decide that another day. We just got in 2 1/2 hours ago.

Talk to you soon!
Krista

(P.S. Marie - sorry I didn't email. As I'm sure you figured out, we were far too busy. But I thought of you when we were in London!)

Bridesmaids with Upcoming Weddings and Upcoming Babies (NOT MINE)

2009-06-26T07:00:00.005-04:00

Two of my four bridesmaids are engaged. One bridesmaid owns a house with her boy-friend. And the other bridesmaid left a long-term relationship last year. Of the engaged bridesmaids, both started dating their fiancés when they were teenagers, dated for several years, broke up for quite a while, then got back together with their guys relatively recently and got engaged relatively soon after. Or maybe it just feels like it was recent.

Of the engaged bridesmaids, one is probably getting married in 2011. They don't have the money or time due to other pressures to get married in 2010. The other is getting married on Hallowe'en this year. I don't think they're doing a masquerade ball theme; they just didn't have a huge selection of dates to choose from for this fall, and that day was available. I still think there's something "wrong" about having a wedding on Hallowe'en and not doing either a Hallowe'en themed wedding, a costumed wedding or a masquerade themed wedding, but that's just me!

The bridesmaid who lives with her boy-friend (one of the groomsmen, and a very good friend of mine, too) may or may not get engaged soon. I don't know. But I think they should. (Just my biased opinion.)

And the first of my cousins is getting married. I don't know when. His fiancée is Polish by origin, but grew up in Poland for a while then the US for a while. Currently, they live somewhere in the Middle East, but I think the plan is to move to Canada. So that's another fun wedding to look forward to! (I think they're doing the wedding somewhere in Canada.)

Also, I have two close friends who are due in late 2009 (one is the wife of our best man, and the other is someone I've known since grade 7, and I've known her hubby since grade 9). And I have two formerly close friends (now aquaintances) who are also due around the same time later this year (they're best friends, unknowingly got engaged 1 day apart then got married last year 2 months apart ... geez, they do everything together!) And a girl I went to school with from kindergarten to fourth year university is due around the same time later this year, too! - Though I don't see her much, I am happy for her, too. She's a great woman and will be a great mother. So there's lots of babies to celebrate, too! (That doesn't mean to expect anything from Wade and me right now ... so don't go getting any ideas! I'm just saying how happy I am for these women and their spouses.)

It's such an exciting time!

I get back from my honeymoon tomorrow. It's sad for a vacation to end, but it is always nice to be home. (Don't expect any posts for a couple days ... We probably have laundry to do, things to put away, and all that good "back from a vacation" stuff to do.)

Tables Themes

2009-06-24T07:00:00.004-04:00

Oh yeah, I never told you about our table naming!

I originally wanted just numbers. It's easy. You aren't wandering around the room looking for Table "441" (named because the bride grew up at 441 Oak Street) or Table "Photography Club" (because the couple met in a photography club). If you use weird names, especially if it's a wide room, you can not use "seating" cards, by the way; you have to use a seating chart so people can actually see where their table is. I have been at weddings where I wandered around looking for my table. (Of course, if there are only two rows, you could just walk down the aisle, but I haven't often seen this set-up.)

The flipside: if you use basic numbers for tables, you can not use a seating chart. Have you ever sat at table 14 out of 14 tables? And the table is so numbered on the seating chart? Now everyone can look and see who's at the "reject" table. In the one case where this happened, I was not at the reject table. But I kinda felt like it because of the number and because it was on the chart.

I also knew I didn't want a seating chart, if at all possible. They just don't look as nice as escort cards.

But a few months before the wedding, we agreed on a "cute" table theme: animals. Since the room is two rows of tables (2 x 10), I figure people can just walk down the centre aisle to find their table based on their escort card. Our tables are: giraffe (head table), dog, zebra, flamingo, lion, tiger, elephant, monkey, turtle, frog and bee. Kinda silly, but oh well!

Coming up next: my last "scheduled" post on Friday! Then perhaps, I can tell you how the day actually went! :)

Things that surprised me

2009-06-22T07:00:00.002-04:00

I started doing these scheduled posts in or around early March. I knew I wanted to share things on the blog - in particular the invitations and engagements photos - but I also knew I didn't want to share them until after the wedding. I decided to share them after the wedding. On a 3 week honeymoon, I thought it would be the perfect time to pre-schedule these posts.

I am writing this post 6 days before my wedding, even though you're now reading this post just over 2 weeks after my wedding. I am so excited right now. So happy. And thrilled. I have a few things left to do, but it's mostly done.

So I thought I'd reflect about a couple things that surprised me:

-How happy people genuinely become when they find out you're engaged. I mean, truly happy. Family, friends and even total strangers - their faces light up and they wish me well, congratulate me and just look pleased-as-punch.

-How quickly people ask "when is the date". The day we got engaged - December 15th, 2007, we were asked - when's the date? Now, I had an idea. I love the summer, but I don't like the sticky heat of summer weddings. I like the fall, but sometimes the fall depresses me because the days are getting shorter. I like the winter and I like the spring. But I like the spring more. Since I know it's very difficult to plan a wedding in under 6 months, I figured it would be the next year. (I also knew Wade didn't care. He didn't want a wedding in the summer, because it's too hot, and he especially didn't want it in the later summer. But other than that, he was fine.) Not everyone is as picky as me, and some people are overwhelmed by being asked "when's the day?" four hours after they got engaged.

-How quickly some (not all) people ask when you're having kids. That is one very big assumption; not everyone wants kids. This is a decision Wade and I have talked about, and we are on the same page. (It's kind of a big issue to disagree about, isn't it?) But everyone does tend to assume if you're getting married, then you're having kids.

-And finally, the biggest thing that surprised me: how quickly the almost 18 months flew by between our date of engagement and our wedding.

... More engagement photos ... are you bored yet?

2009-06-20T07:00:00.018-04:00

If you are bored of engagement photos ... well, you're out of luck. These posts were pre-done and set up to post later, and I already prepared this final post of engagement photos. Because I'm probably not checking my blog from France, you can't expect any edits at this point!

(All engagement photos taken by Unveiled Photography.)

We're lucky to have a 3 week honeymoon, so there is another week of posts, on a few random loose ends I'll share with you.

Even more engagement photos!

2009-06-18T07:00:00.009-04:00

(All engagement photos taken by Unveiled Photography.)

The rest of the engagement photos will be posted on Saturday!

More engagement photos

2009-06-16T07:00:00.006-04:00

Our engagement session was in the winter, in order to be a contrast with our late spring / early summer wedding. Here are some more pictures from it:

(All engagement photos taken by Unveiled Photography.)

Next up ... more pictures on Thursday!

Engagement Photos

2009-06-14T07:00:00.008-04:00

We're still on our honeymoon (hopefully), so coming up are posts from our engagement session in the winter:

(All engagement photos taken by Unveiled Photography.)
Next up ... more engagement photos on Tuesday!

Stamping the invitations

2009-06-12T07:00:00.003-04:00

Still on our honeymoon, so here are some pictures of us assembling the invitation envelopes!

You saw Wade putting the stamps on the envelopes on April 6th.

Here's the pic again:

And here is what the envelope looked like when it went in the mail:

We chose these astronomical stamps:

(Source)

Canada Post seems to publish floral stamps in March of every year, which is appropriate for spring as well as for wedding invitations!

(Source)

These rhododendron stamps would have worked nicely for wedding invitations. However, just days before stamping the invitations, the astronomical stamps came out. Literally, 3 days (1 business day) before we sent out the invitations.

But we didn't chose the astronomicaly stamps because they were brand new. We chose them because we liked them. First, I love astronomy. When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut. I love to look at the stars and learn about the universe. I thought they were perfect reminders of my childhood, hours spent staring at the stars and learning about the constellations and planets. Second, Wade thought these stamps looked neat. Good enough for me!

Plus, most invitations going out this spring will probably have the rhododendrons in them. Our wedding invitations will be different for many reasons, including our design, but also because of these astronomical stamps!

Calligraphy

2009-06-10T07:00:00.002-04:00

Following up with the invitation teasers here and here, I will continue writing about the invitations.

I must clarify two things. First, I learned rudimentary calligraphy in grade 5 (1992). Second, I have a good memory. So, I put my calligraphy skills to work (which I have practiced intermittently over the past 17 years) for addressing the invitations.

These aren't anything spectacular. I think they're amazing for the cost! (Calligraphy is usually expensive! This was free ... Well, I had to get a set o f calligraphy pens, but luckily I asked my mom for them for my birthday.)

Names and addresses were blocked to protect the "innocent". Please forgive the amateur blanking out.

Our Invitations

2009-06-08T07:00:00.009-04:00

Hopefully, when this post is published, I'm in or near France airspace. I really hope that's where I am! I wrote this post months ago - seriously - so you can read about things I did in the wedding planning that I didn't want to post about during the wedding planning.

I teased you with hints about the invitations here and here, I will continue writing about the invitations.

Here's a little fun while I'm away. Picking up with the invitations!

I chose to go with Bella Figura because they are truly eco-friendly, they are close (reducing my carbon footprint from shipping) and highly recommend by others (Cyd included, who blogged about this great shop well before she had even applied to work there).

Here are our invitations:

I'll read your responses when we get back around June 27th. Okay, we have to unpack and relax, so it might be a few days.

Woohoo!

2009-06-07T15:19:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was great. It was warm, but not hot. Sunny. Oh, and I got married. It wasn't perfect, but it was close. It was amazing. I only barely welled up during the ceremony, whereas Wade was crying. He told me it was his allergies. Hmm ... I don't know if I believe that. We enjoyed some wonderful speeches, toasts and stories. We managed to talk to all our guests, and have a great time, and we managed to have some alone time to reflect throughout the day. And we closed the dance floor, not getting home until very, very late.

The day great, partially due to my planning, partially due to being laid back all day, and largely due to assistance from Cyd. Thanks, Cyd!

Over the next 3 weeks while we're on our honeymoon, I have scheduled posts almost every other day. Feel free to read them and I'll be back in 3 weeks!

June 6th is here

2009-06-06T08:00:00.002-04:00

Remember when you were a kid, and the night before something big you couldn't sleep? For me, it might have been Christmas, going to the beach, or the first day of school. If I was excited, I wasn't sleeping. I haven't had that experience in years. Until last night. So I got up early and did the "30 Day Stride".

I'm so excited and so thankful to all my friends and family. I hope that I can convey my thanks and happiness to each one of them when I see them today.

And I'm also thankful today is D-Day. Without the success and sacrifices of those brave young men 65 years ago, as well as the contributions of our Armed Forces throughout WWII, and all conflicts before and after that, I would not be able to enjoy my rights and freedoms in Canada. We knew today was D-Day when we chose the day; and we were okay with that. Please take a moment to give thanks for the young men who died at D-Day.

P.S. Sorry for the pity party last night. I mean, come on - if that's the worst day I had during this whole process, I'm very lucky. And, as the song goes, "ain't nothing gonna break my stride" today!. (Can you tell I was born on a Wednesday? I normally try to be positive, and almost always see the silver lining, so don't worry about me - I'm great today!

P.S.2 Wanna hear our first dance song? It's "Better Together". :)

So today was absolutely horrible

2009-06-05T22:52:00.002-04:00

The morning started great: had a relaxing massage, got my toes done, baked some of the cake with Wade, packed some more for the honeymoon. But then I went to meet the bridesmaids for the bridal luncheon.

I had put a lot of effort to have a light, delicious relaxing small meal in a limestone building's courtyard. I planned this luncheon for well over a year, the ambiance I wanted, how I was going to thank them, the types of foods served, and so on ... and here's where the day started to suck:
-The first of my bridesmaids to show up to my bridesmaid luncheon was 30 minutes late. She had to clean her house and it took her longer than she thought. The next showed up 10 minutes later. She had a meeting she couldn't get out of. And we'd left over an hour after that before the last two bridesmaids showed up. (They drove together, and the one was late from her on call shift as a pediatrician 4 hours away.) It was so upsetting I was in tears before they showed up. I later gave them their rocking gifts after the rehearsal.
-The jeweller thought he'd lost my engagement ring. He said to get it replated a week before the wedding. He said to show up a week before. He said it'd be done by Thursday. When I called today he said he didn't have it. It turns out it was in the wrong pile; he found it ten minutes later. He apologized and didn't charge for the service.

By the time of the rehearsal, things got better. The rehearsal went well, the after rehearsal drinks at my parent's was good, and the dinner was great. But the afternoon sucked; by far today was the worst part of the wedding process.

On a positive note, the cake is baked, today is done, and I'm getting married tomorrow. :)

I forgot to do ...

2009-06-04T22:34:00.002-04:00

A menu.

Darn. Hmm ... can I fit in the time to throw it together? I don't know. Or should I not do one and let people be "surpised" with each course?

Oh, and I finished folding the programs and binding them with ribbon tonight. They're pretty. Other than the formatting error. So as long as I don't open them up, I'm happy!

Canadian Bride

HELP - vote for Cheryll & Graham again!

Help a bride win a dress!

June 6, 2009

Wedding News

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

Nicole & Jesse got married yesterday!

Honey My Heart

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

The emotions of the day:

I think I'll wrap up this blog soon

For sale: my wedding stuff

A Happy Day in Detroit: Brigitte gets married!

Afraid of jiggly arms in a wedding dress?

Thank You Notes

What should I finish with?

More Dances

9/11

Wade & Krista's First Dance

THREE MONTHS!

Happy Wedding, Day!

Yummm :)

Toasts, Speeches & Miscellania

Best Man's Speech

Maid of Honour Speech:

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

Another toast!

Planning

A Toast!

A speech from my uncle and a letter from my cousin

My parents-in-law's speech

Coming up next ... my new parent-in-laws's speech

My dad's speech

I'll be back soon to finish off!

Wanna see our maybe new house?

A slightly off-colour joke

Teaser Answered

Exciting News

Did you read the news about the shooting in Pennsylvania?

"Feather Hair Thing "

Filling our bellies ...

Random post about comedy and parliament in Canada

...

The Grand Entrance (complete with beer!)

What else went wrong?

More recaps tonight ... or tomorrow at the latest ... I promise!

New laptop

Our to-do list

... There's no crying in baseball!

One thing that went wrong:

The Wedding Party

And now for something completely different ...

Kelly Hildebrandt, you may now kiss ... Kelly Hildebrandt!

Interviewed by Marie (really long, non-wedding post)

What do I tell you next?

After the ceremony ...

One of my favourite pictures

Yay, Cyd!

Congratulations Cyd!

Ceremony: Our Order of Service

Dum dum da dum ...

Last day to enter to win a 16x20 canvas print

Arriving at the church

Getting ready and on the way from my house to my parent's house

The ladies getting dressed:

The cake ... it's moving time!

Meanwhile, at the Best Man's house ...

Thank-you notes & day-after shoot

More getting ready pictures

I found a way to put a picture in my header!

Wanna see something neat? (In my biased opinion!)

Dress Shots & Cake Shots!

Some more getting ready

Delays in publishing

Phone Call

Curiosities of Etiquette (really long post)

Dress

Maid of Honour: Jocelyn

Canada Day Answers

Getting Ready: At the hair salon!