More Dances

(Source: Unveiled Photography)

Wade & Krista's First Dance

Our first dance was to this beautiful song:


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











(Source: Unveiled Photography)

Another toast!

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


(Source of all pictures: Unveiled Photography)

A Toast!

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

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

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

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

My dad's speech

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!

Filling our bellies ...

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 ...

Cake toppers

Cute cake toppers from etsy are on the wedding blog of Nicole and Jesse.

How '70s architecture will affect our reception

Our reception venue is the Vimy Officers' Mess. I've never been to any event held there and (when we booked the venue) I only knew of one wedding held there (my cousin's older half-brother). Since booking it, four friends (two couples) have had weddings there. I'm no longer close friends with either of these couples so, not surprisingly, I was not invited to wedding. I did manage to look at the pictures on facebook!

The Vimy Officers' Mess is, just that, an officers' mess on the base in Kingston (Canadian Forces Base). To have a wedding there, you need to be sponsored by an officer. The majority of the venue was constructed at the start of the 20th century (at least, that's what I recall from the mini-tour when we booked it). Here's the view from the front:


I don't have any pictures from the inside, but picture appropriate period décor, crown molding, solid wood dining tables (in the dining room) and rich furniture (in the private rooms). Everything one would expect in a century officers' mess.

However, there's an addition that was built sometime in the late '60s or '70s.

... and my relationship with '70s architecture recommences. I feel like I've been in a battle like Peter versus The Chicken.

Here's what I have to work with for the dancing:


The wood panelling can cast an odd glare, which can be tricky for photographers (as demonstrated in this picture). The room is also difficult to decorate, with fairly standard rules - no stapling or affixing items to the walls, no balloons, everything must be removable, etc. The dining room is in the older part, and will require little to no additional decorations - just centrepieces. Hoewver, the main ballroom (where the dancing will take place) is entirely in this '60/'70s addition.

I swear, the venue looks better in real life than in the lower picture! This is just a corner of the ballroom to give you an idea of the impact the wood panelling can have, both on the ambiance and on creating glare/reflections. In reality, the ballroom opens into a large area with stunning high ceilings, albeit with wood panelling up the tall walls. And - and about a third of the room is a set of windows with a picturesque view of Lake Ontario.

I'm thinking of decorating with a bit of white/ivory tulle or ivory tablecloths on the tables (though if I use tulle, I wouldn't use too much - I don't like swaths of tulle) to soften the room just a bit. If I throw in soft candlelight and some centrally and appropriately placed dramatic centrepieces on tables, I think I can change the focus of the room from wood panelling to to a dance reception.

So ... What do you think of my decorating ideas? How would you decorate to reduce the impact of the wood panelling?

I thought I was the only one ...

I've seen a particular colour combination a couple times as a wedding theme. These colours always remind me of the same holiday. I thought maybe I was nuts ... However, it turns out I'm not the only one: the blogger Nicole at From Prom To Altar wrote a witty and hilarious post on this topic.

Source: The Knot

I repeat: you must click on the link to the post to see what another blog has said on this topic.