weddings

I feel almost guilty when I tell people I enjoyed my wedding. So many of the married women I know say they were just glad when their weddings were over.


My mom-in-law was SO great throughout; I experienced none of the in-law wedding planning horror stories that I've heard about. We agreed on everything, and had fun as we plunged into wedding prep. We decided to hire a wedding coordinator (a friend of the family) who was fantastic, and that also made a huge difference. Unlike some other grooms-to-be, Jeff wanted to be closely involved in all wedding plans. Our families got along, there were no major conflicts or disagreements.


Yes, I know I was unusually lucky. :-)





My wedding dress cost about $250...it was a display sample at Creeds (an upscale clothing shop in Toronto, now defunct); a drycleaner got rid of a faint coffee stain near the hem. I loved my dress. :-) I made my own headpiece using materials I found in Lewiscraft. Jeff designed and printed the wedding invitations, which I illustrated with watercolours. I did my own hair (i.e. I brushed it). My wedding bouquet contained a silk rose which I had made from a piece of my mom's old wedding dress. (How I wish she could have been at the wedding to see it.)


We hired Quartetto Gelato to play during the wedding ceremony. They weren't very well known back then; we first them at a small pub/restaurant out in the country. Now they're touring Canada, Mexico, U.S. and Japan (sadly, we'll be a few weeks too early to attend their concert in Tokyo).





I remember being really nervous for the actual ceremony. We purposely kept the ceremony brief, and also decided to face our friends and family rather than turn away as is custom. No receiving line...we chose to visit each table near the end of dinner, instead.


It was a wonderful day, and I had an incredible amount of fun. I still can't believe it all happened ten years ago (ten years ago tomorrow, in fact). Last night I kept showing Jeff old photos and pages from the wedding scrapbook I put together back then. He was patient with me despite the fact that he was frantically trying to finish packing.


Jeff and I have shared many joys and sorrows over the years. We've each made our own mistakes; it's a learning process for both of us. But in the end, we're always there for each other. I feel very lucky to have such a friend. :-)





Other news:


Happy Anniversary to the Boreans, whose 15th wedding anniversary is today!


Air Canada called about an hour ago to tell us that our flight tonight is cancelled. Fortunately there are seats available on an earlier flight, so Jeff and I are still leaving for Vancouver today. Staying at the Vancouver Hilton tonight, then renting a car and taking a ferry to the island. My plan is to keep Blathering mostly every day, with photos (taking my digital camera, of course!).


Packing was somewhat of a challenge. Apparently it's cool in Tofino (about 15-17 degrees Celsius), hot in Tokyo (about 32 degrees Celsius). Jeff and I have both found, however, that the biggest challenge is deciding what books to bring. We both plan to do a lot of reading at the Wickaninnish Inn and during our long plane flights. Neither of us can stand the idea of running out of solid (i.e. books in which we can lose ourselves for hours at a time, rather than just a magazine) reading material.


Bill Sutton posted some useful advice re: long plane flights and jet lag in Blatherchat. I've added this info to my Blathering on long plane flights. Thanks, Bill! Interesting how some of these Blatherings are turning into mini-resources of their own. I am resisting the urge to turn any of these ideas into a full-blown online resource/community. Better to turn them into books and magazine articles, I think. :-)


I'm SO excited about this trip, and am actually glad that our flight was cancelled because it gave us the opportunity to rebook on an earlier flight. I've been packing for two weeks! Jeff thinks I'm mad but humours me.


I'll Blather again in Vancouver...


Today's Blatherpics


- Picture from our wedding on August 24th, 1991, taken by Jeff Kesner ("jok" in Blatherchat); it's my favourite of all that were taken, including the professional shots. Each guest was given a handful of flower petals to throw at us just after the ceremony. I think this photo was taken just after the wedding party threw their petals.


- Wedding tent. The cake was decorated with fresh flowers (we also had edible flowers on the reception menu).


- Nuptial News, a newsletter I started up before the wedding to keep the wedding party and family informed about updates in the plans as well has to help everyone get to know each other better. As I've mentioned in a previous Blathering, I've always had the editor bug in me. :-)

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Are you or have you been married?