august 8
this was my wedding day! prepare yourself for a long post. i want to write down all the details before they fade from my memory. i don't have all my photos yet but i will add relevant pix when i receive them. i will start at the very beginning...
i woke up early on august 8, possibly at around 7:30 a.m. i wanted to wake up early because i had gotten it in my head the night before to make some last minute boutonnieres for the guys and the dads. sobeys opened at 8 a.m. so i wanted to be ready to head out the door at around that time. i wanted to wear a flowy button-up silk turquoise skirt (i wear it as a dress) but it was wrinkled so i spent most of my morning ironing it very carefully.
when i was ready to go, i also noticed that i did not have a wedding card for the boy so i went to shoppers drug mart quickly and picked out a cute one. i would have wanted something more elegant but i was unprepared so i had to deal with the selection at hand. then i walked over to sobeys and perused the flower collection. there were some gorgeous roses there but my major find were little bunches of calla lilies, three to a bunch. i've never been overly fond of calla lilies (they're ok but i don't go crazy over them) but i bought them because i thought they'd look elegant on the suits and tuxes.
i grabbed a bouquet of peachy pink roses and a little bouquet of calla lilies and went on my way. there's something about purchasing a fresh bouquet of flowers that makes me feel so european. so i had a little bounce in my step as i walked home. i discovered around this time that a former co-worker had texted me to wish me a good day so i was also cheered by her thoughtfulness. when i got home, i quickly assembled the boutonnieres and wrote in the boy's card and got his gift ready.
by the time i was done, it was nearly 9:30 a.m. so i went downstairs, reserved the media and billiard rooms, and started putting stuff in the party room, where the girls and me were planning to get ready. stephanie, our hair and make-up artist, called me shortly afterwards to tell me that she was in the building (her brother lives in the same building).
titi got to tinkle at around 9:50 a.m. so i called stephanie and told her we were ready early. i went down to meet titi and she greeted me with a beautiful bouquet of pink and white roses. when stephanie got downstairs and started on titi's hair, i ran up and down the stairs to bring down the rest of the stuff to the party room. on my first trip upstairs, i ran into the boy and starfish. they were both very nervous. the boy had received my gift and felt bad that he didn't know we were supposed to exchange presents. he said he would get me something later and i said ok. :) i went back downstairs with a bunch of stuff.
titi asked for curls and got some lovely ringlets that i thought were beautiful. she thought they were too "shirley temple" but was assured that they would loosen throughout the day. titi's hair was done rather quickly so stephanie started on my hair. as she was doing my hair, the designer arrived and the girls delighted in getting silly shots of my horsehair hanging unattractively over my face.
(rightmost image courtesty of the designer)
it was around 11 a.m. and i was still getting my hair done but my stomach had started growling so i ordered pizza. we ordered 2 large pizza nova pizza with three toppings. the girls each chose one - i chose tomato, titi chose zucchini, and the designer chose bacon. we called the guys but they were too nervous / stressed to choose toppings so we chose for them - i chose chicken, titi chose hot italian sausage, and the designer chose pepperoni.
back to my hair: i had requested a giant bun. stephanie gathered, regathered, teased, and sprayed my hair... and voila, a huge bun surfaced on my head. then i was out of the chair and it was the designer's turn. the designer had requested loose curls tied back loosely a la taylor swift and it turned out well. curls are so darn pretty. i wish i had curly hair. or a sylist to curl my hair upon request.
(rightmost image courtesy of the designer)
as the designer was getting her hair done, i ran back upstairs to grab money for the pizza but i took so long (chatting with the boy and the starfish) that the pizza arrived when i wasn't there. titi paid for it so i slipped some money into her bag, which included a tip for good measure. then i ran back upstairs with the guys' pizza. when i came back downstairs, titi and i started eating pizza while the designer was getting the final touches on her hair. we asked if she wanted us to feed her but she said no. rebecca had also called when i was upstairs. titi and i both ate two slices and then it was her turn to get back in the chair for her make-up.
sometime in between hair and make-up, i discovered that i had forgotten to give stephanie my crystal headband and she had to add it to my already done bun. she put it on as a headband but that wasn't what i had in mind so i asked her to push it back so that it encircled my bun and that was much better.
at around this time, stepanie had to run upstairs to get her false lashes, and we got harassed by the security guy in my building. he wouldn't shut his trap and i was starting to get all upset so titi had to step in and make him leave. i was kinda shaken for a little while after that. then stephanie was back and started to work on titi but i was still kinda rattled so i wasn't really paying attention when stephanie asked us what we thought of her eye make-up. titi sensed hesitation and thought there was something wrong with the make-up... oops! i thought it looked lovely but i couldn't get the incident out of my mind. it took a little while but finally the shaken feeling went away.
in between all the primping, i was conversing with my sister on when they would arrive at the condo. i think they arrived at around 12:30ish, as the designer was getting her make-up done. this was all a blur as i don't really remember the designer in the make-up chair - i was distracted by the arrival of my sisters and my mom. i showed them the dress and chatted with them a bit. one of my friends also called while we were getting ready to wish me luck. soon afterwards, irina arrived and that's when i knew we were running late.
titi and the designer looked amazing when they were all primped. they had put on their dresses and cleaned up very nicely! titi showed me her two pairs of new shoes - love love love them! i was whisked into the chair and stephanie started on my make-up. i had requested smoky eyes and crazy lashes. she didn't have her strip lashes but accomplished something similar with individual lashes. i loved how she did my make-up - it was much nicer than the engagement make-up and i thought i still looked like me.
(middle and rightmost image courtesy of titi)
irina went around the party room to take photos of my shoes, earrings, and other little details. it felt so nice to have her around - i really get along with her. then i was ready and it was time to put on my dress. irina suggested, for privacy, that i put on the dress in the kitchen but then come into the main area to zip it up. i did just that but the designer and titi both caught a glimpse of my bum because the zipper on the dress came down so low. they zipped me up, smoothed out my back fat, and worked on the bow. it took a long time to do up the bow. my mom came over to help but there were apparently still major problems. i didn't realize the problem was that it was floppy... floppy i didn't mind.
during the hoopla, my 16 year old sister had her make-up done and it looked great! stephanie brought her over to show me and i had to do a double take when i saw her face - she looked so pretty, like a little lady. then i had stephanie put my veil on and the guys started calling to find out if we were ready. they came downstairs as i was putting on my shoes and earrings with irina and had to wait a bit.
irina asked the boy to come over and tap me on the shoulder. i was to stay sitting. he did just that and, when i turned to look at him, he had a single rose for me - one of the dozen roses i had bought from sobeys that morning - haha! it was nice to see him all dressed up even though i had seen him in his tux the night before.
we had our picture taken and then the boy told us that mihkel, irina's hubby and business partner, was waiting on the balcony to take our picture so we all went out to the terrace. after a few photos, mihkel joined us in the party room and we took a few more pix before packing up. stephanie had finished up by this time (it was around 2 p.m.) so i paid her and she left. my sisters and mom stayed in the party room to pack up and change while the bridal party drove to cherry beach for some more photos.
we took a whole bunch of photos at the beach and also in a pretty wooded area. the weather was holding up nicely and we were lucky to get so much time outside on a day that was forecasted to rain. there was another wedding party at the beach but it was not too crowded. we took photos jumping in the sand, doing silly poses, walking up and down the beach. the boy had his sunglasses on in some of the photos and his tux got all sandy. the starfish's boutonniere got all bent but he managed to fix it. i wore my flip flops and the girls took off their shoes and walked in their bare feet. titi brought her bag and she placed it behind a canoe - i kept getting paranoid that it would be stolen. eventually, the groomsmen took it to the car (it took a long time) and titi had to shout out their names for them to come back. irina asked some little kids to play in another spot because they were in her shot.
(image courtesy of irinaphotography)
in the wooded area, there were tons of mosquitos and irina and i both got eaten alive. i got a ton of bites on my arms and irina got a big one on her temple. i got to twirl and did an interesting pose with the boy pulling on the ribbon on my dress. mihkel took portraits of us in this area too. we stayed at cherry beach longer than expected so at around 3:40 p.m., we had to go. i wanted to make one more stop for some photos on the bridge so we did that briefly and then drove to the restaurant.
(image courtesy of irinaphotography)
when we got there, we were not permitted to go into the underground parking because there was a fire! luckily, we only had to wait about 5 minutes but there was a few awkward moments when i was waiting on the sidewalk beside musty because i was locked out of the car and didn't want to leave it double parked. i was by myself in a wedding gown so i got a few interesting looks from passers-by before the boy came back to rescue me.
when i got to the restaurant, rebecca, maryanne, and neil were there to greet me. rebecca and her mom had taken care of everything except that i missed a favour for the boy's uncle, who happened to be a late addition. i had changed the ribbon on the favours the day before and i was so tired that i decided not to include the extra favours, oopsie. then i looked around and noticed the boy's parents and the playwright! they were the first to arrive and i was happy to see them.
things started happening pretty rapidly from that point on. it was starting to drizzle so neil said that we would have the ceremony indoors. the dj had arrived and was starting to set up. raymond arrived with the screen. the designer's sister arrived. titi started getting the tea ready for the tea ceremony. i changed into my red dress. my parents still had not arrived and i discovered a series of texts from my sister to tell me that they would be there shortly. they arrived at around 4:30 p.m. and we had the tea ceremony.
(image courtesy of the designer)
the tea ceremony was slightly awkward because none of us really knew what was going on. it was all very fast. we served tea to the boy's parents first and then my parents. they gave us red envelopes. then it was over. even though it was slightly strange, i'm glad we did it.
our guests started arriving slowly - the flower girl and her family arrived at around this time - but i wanted to get some photos outside in the courtyard so i changed back into my wedding dress and the bridal party went outside in the slight drizzle to get some more fun shots. we ran around the fountain and stuck some sexy poses by the elephants. 
(image courtesy of the playwright)
then we got some more shots outside commerce court, near the jump sign - we jumped (of course) and then the girls ran through an outdoor corridor while mihkel got the guys to do their own thing. the bottom of my dress (and probably my feet) was completely black. my eyes were wide as saucers when i saw that. then it was time to hide for the ceremony.
(image courtesy of the playwright)
since we were having the ceremony indoors (not our first choice), i thought we should make better use of the space. originally, we were supposed to enter through a side door but i wanted to come up the stairs instead because it would be a longer and more dramatic walk. so we did just that. our flower girl waited with us and i was happy that she was not shy and even chatted a bit with us. i commented on her pretty white dress and mentioned that mine was all dirty at the bottom. she promptly told me, "it's dragging on the floor". a precocious four (or was it five) and a half year old.
(image courtesy of the playwright)
i wanted to start right at 6 p.m. but our officiant apparently said that it's customary (lucky?) for the bride to be late. when it was time, rebecca lined us up... the designer, then titi, then our flower girl, then my dad and me. we chose "i'm yours" by jason mraz as our processional. a funny thing happened when the music started. i had to choke back tears for probably a full 10 seconds or so! i said to my dad, "i'm going to cry" and he said, "you don't have to" as though i was pretending so i said, "i can't help it" but his comment surprised me enough that the feeling went away and i didn't turn into a wreak. later, the boy told me that he felt tears at the same time at the top of the aisle!
when rebecca cued me and my dad to start, she had us pause at the bottom of the stairs so she could fix my dress. then she had me go up the stairs and pause at the top. she somehow ran to the top while i was walking up with my dad, which was odd because she cued me at the bottom and then she was all of a sudden at the top too. at least, i'm pretty sure that was her in both places. after a brief pause, i suppose so everyone could stand, my dad and i started walking again. i nearly tripped twice - once near the bottom of the stairs and once as i was walking down the aisle. i was surprised by how close everyone was, it almost seemed like people had to part to let us through, but i liked that because it felt so intimate.
(photo courtesy of the designer)
there was some confusion at the end of the aisle. the boy had intended to shake my father's hand and then take mine but he didn't tell me so i kinda bounced into place, realized that i should have given my dad a hug, so went back to him, gave him a half hug and kiss, and then bounced back into place. heh heh. then everyone sat and the ceremony began.
jeremy was great and i was surprised at how loud he was. he had a BOOMING voice. good thing so everyone could hear. i think even the people working in the running room could hear. heck, perhaps even the security guard back at tinkle could hear. he said a spiel and then called up my 15 year old sister to do a reading (a short excerpt from anne's house of dreams by lucy maud montgomery). then he said more stuff. i got distracted at this point because i thought he missed the designer's reading. at one point, i was even going to interrupt him but luckily i didn't because he soon called her up and she did her reading (wedding poem by carrie bradshaw).
(images courtesy of the designer)
then it was time to say our vows. the boy was doing well until i saw in fear his eyes during an unusually long line. he managed to stumble through it and then it was my turn. i was doing well until i made a slight slip, saying that i would "dream and plan for him" instead of "with him". heh heh. then it was time to exchange the rings. the starfish placed the rings in jeremy's program and then jeremy asked us to take them and slip them on each other's fingers. i nearly took the wrong hand for the boy but he lifted the left one just in time. the rings were a little sticky because our hands were all swollen but we managed to put them on.
(images courtesy of the playwright)
after we exchanged rings, it was time to sign the registry (i think - i'm still not clear about what documents we sign and the whole marriage process). we chose "the way i am" by ingrid michaelson as our signing song and it was the perfect length. as soon as it was done, jeremy announced us as husband and wife and we had our first dance to "somewhere over the rainbow / what a wonderful world" by israel kamakawiwo'ole. a lovely song but i didn't realize it was that long. we should have shortened it because it felt like we were dancing forever. i kept having to kick my train around like a horse because it was getting caught on my legs as we slowdanced.
(images courtesy of the designer)
when the music finally ended, the dj announced a group photo at the bottom of the stairs so we all headed down and mihkel snapped a bunch for us. then we had cocktail hour and mingled, which worked out very nicely because i got to have a bite and some bubbly - i was starving! we took a few photos with family but we cut out all the formal portraits and the receiving line since everyone started finding their seats. we decided instead to start early to have more time for dancing after dinner.
it took a while to get us all together but we gathered for our grand entrance ahead of schedule. we were probably around 15 minutes ahead. i had communicated our grand entrance idea to the dj via videos and e-mails but i should have re-confirmed because he didn't get when he was supposed to announce us. we had to cut out a bit of our grand entrance so that we would end on cue. it still worked out well and people seemed to enjoy it but we didn't do "the wave", which was one of the highlights of the entrance. too bad, it would have rocked!!!
after we were all seated, the waitstaff took orders. we got quinn (from our tasting) as the waiter for the head table and everyone raved about him. he was as nice as ever. i had put in a special advance request for tuna tartare so i got that as my appetizer and steak as my main. the boy ordered quail and steak. the restaurant was kind enough to put together a dessert platter for me and the boy with all the desserts on the menu.
when the orders were all taken, that was the cue for the first round of speeches. the order was the boy's cousin, the starfish, and titi. the starfish was very nervous so i think he was glad to get it out of the way early. the boy's cousin's speech was very nice - short and to the point. the starfish stumbled a little due to nerves but his speech was adorable. titi's was an ecletic mix of one untruth, lines that i had written for the wedding website, funny stories form the past, and some very sweet comments.
we had our appetizers after the first round of speeches but i was not hungry at all. i think i could have made it through the rest of the night with those few hors d'oeuvres that i had at cocktail hour. but because i had special ordered the tuna tartare dish, i ate every bite. it was delicious, i just wasn't hungry. then it was time for me to change into my purple chinese dress.
on my way back to the table, i got waylaid so i chatted for a while with some guests. it was nice to catch up with people even though there wasn't much time that night. the girls and i snapped a few pix just outside the restaurant and then we went back for the 2nd round of speeches: my sister, (my) daddy, and (the boy's) da. i didn't give the dj their names so he announced them as "daddy" and "da" - too funny. my sister's speech was great - it was funny and sweet and she projected her voice well. my daddy's speech contained a lot of information about himself but he was more sentimental than he usually is. the boy's da and ma went up together and they were kind and gracious as usual.
(image courtesy of titi)
our main courses came out after the speeches and we ate and ate and ate. the night was hilarious - falafal from tuscany, "he's a natural", full faces, the designer rubbing her belly, the kissing video - all classic moments. our round head table was definitely a good choice. most of us were not hungry but still managed to do very well with our dishes. after our main courses, it was time for the boy and me to make our speeches.
(image courtesy of titi)
we went up to the front and the boy started with his. i laughed at his jokes even though i didn't get a couple of them (there was only one that i didn't get but he used it twice) and gave him hugs when he said such nice things about me. during my turn, i got applause after the part about his parents, and a little laughter here and there, especially when i spoke chinese. i heard the titi's camera (in the designer's hands) running out of memory during my speech but i didn't clue in at the time that it was out of memory - i thought it was the battery. we toasted everyone at the end of the speech and then we went around to toast each individual table.
(image courtesy of titi)
a lot of people were milling about so i think we may have missed some people when we toasted the tables. originally, the boy and i went by ourselves but it was awkward so we were glad when our parents joined up. then it was time for me to change into my dancing dress. the girls and i took my hair out of the massive bun and it was surprisingly decent despite all the teasing. we had to cut the rubber bands out of my hair - quinn heard the commotion behind the screen and brought us a knife. i put the fascinator in my hair and i was all set. the girls had already changed and they looked all "dancey" in their party dresses and hair flowers.
(image courtesy of the designer)
we went back to the table and someone (can't recall who) mentioned to me that our caricature artist had arrived. i was happily surprised - i wasn't sure he would show up. we picked at our desserts (i only had one bite of the phyllo wrapped white chocolate cheesecake and didn't touch the molten chocolate lava cake), which was unfortunate because jump put together such a nice plate for each of us.
(image courtesy of titi)
then it was time to dance! my dad unexpectedly came up to me and asked if we could kick off the dance floor so we had an impromptu father-daughter and mother-son dance.
(image courtesy of the playwright)
the bridal party had planned a short choreographed routine to jai ho so we gathered on the dance floor after the slow dance; however, the starfish had conveniently made his exit so we waited while one of our guests went to fetch him. when he finally joined us, we did our dance. the girls had it down pat but the guys had not practiced so that made the routine even funnier. i kept hearing the boy laughing beside me. i almost fell at one point but i hit all the moves. the dj was supposed to play "don't stop the music" by rihanna afterwards but i think he missed that in my notes because he played "single ladies". i like the song but some people didn't join the dance floor with the excuse that the song was for single ladies. the caricature artist was a big hit!
(image courtesy of titi)
eventually, a lot of people filtered onto the dance floor - more than i expected - and it was a blast! we danced ans shook our bottoms and jived to the beat. at around 11 p.m., the cupcakes came out and the restaurant did a great job with the set-up. it was nearly time for irina and mihkel to go so we went to them to say goodbye. they said they had wanted to take some photos of us outside but it was raining and the fountain had been turned off so we went into the covered area outside the restaurant and took a few photos there.
(images courtesy of titi)
we were interrupted a few times by guests leaving and, at one point, my dad came out to request slow songs! we had told the dj "no requests" and also "no ballads" but he was persistent (and insistent) so the dj came out and i okayed two ballads. i think that killed our dance floor because it signaled to people that it was time to leave. when i went back inside, there were still a few people dancing but not as many as before. we danced some more and then the midnight food table came out.
(images courtesy of titi)
i really wanted to eat the mini poutines and mini mac'n'cheeses but i was so full that i could only have a bite of each. i think the mini poutines contained sweet potato fries. the mini mac'n'cheeses were delish! i wish i had an appetite. i didn't even have any of the delicious cupcakes but at least the restaurant packed them up for us - we had 6-7 boxes by the end of the night. a few of us - mainly the designer, titi, and i - kept dancing until 1 a.m. and then it was time to go. my dad managed to get a few more ballads in before the end of the night.
(images courtesy of the playwright)
we packed up and were presented with the bill and... we were under the estimate!!! my family left as we were tidying up - the girls looked exhausted and i think my dad and mom were bored to tears. my dad was pretty excited about his caricature but i guess the excitement had worn off. it was surprisingly fast to tidy up (raymond had already left with the screen and behind it was a HUGE mess) and we were outta there in a jiffy. i forgot the double happiness decoration that the designer bought for us so she was nice enough to go back to pick it up.
when we were all in the parking lot, we passed out boxes of cupcakes and said our goodbyes. it was a great night. we loaded up the car and headed back to tinkle. we unpacked most of the stuff, had quick showers, and looked at the guestbook before falling fast asleep. the guestbook turned out really well - i was very pleased.
(images courtesy of the playwright)
overall, the wedding went better than i expected. i was a happy bride and was hardly stressed at all throughout the day. it was definitely worth all the planning. it almost makes me want to have a wedding with the boy every year but i'd be more content to look back fondly on our day. whenever i think back on august 8, i get all giddy. WOOHOO! :)