17 months after becoming engaged and over 12 months after starting the preparations, the big day had finally arrived. And it took me just as long to get nervous, since up to today I was believing that it'd be just another day. Of course, in the back of my head, I knew that I would be overcome with happiness and excitement throughout the day.
To help me through this transition, my friend Darryl, who will be standing behind me during the ceremony, stayed over at my place last night while Heather was already enjoying our honeymoon suite. Some five years ago, we were on opposite ends as I helped Darryl on the night before his marriage to Erin. Anyways, after a good night's sleep, interrupted by a couple of early morning phone calls from Heather, we were up around 9:30am. We had a small breakfast of day-old cold pizza and took our time getting to the Black Forest Inn where we left Darryl's car. His wife, Erin would later drive them both to the hotel. We finally arrived at my parents' house at 11:30 to start getting dressed in our tuxedos. Soon after we were joined my brothers Greg and Wojtek and future brother-in-law Mike.
Getting ready.
One of videographers, Joel, arrived at 12:30 to shoot the preparations. The guys tried to keep the atmosphere very relaxed but I just couldn't stop pacing. An hour later our photographer, Michael, arrived. We started with a few photos indoors and then went outside for take more photos including some with my motorcycle.
Mixing around the house, waiting for the ladies to arrive.
From there, the tension kept growing as we were awaiting the ladies' arrival in the limousine. They finally made it at 2pm. It was a very special moment as it was the first time I saw Heather in her wedding dress. We made the decision to see each before the ceremony in order to have pictures taken in daylight. After a few photos at the house we were off to Kitchener for formal photos in front of the Sunlife building.
The happy couple.
Our original plan was to shoot in the Waterloo Park but considering the weather we decided to head to Kitchener. And the weather wasn't great all day. It was mostly chilly with a few cold gusts of wind and a few brief sprinkles or rain and even snow.
The real stars of the show: Tina, Agnes, Heather and Kim.
We arrived at Sunlife to find another wedding party already there. Everyone took turns waiting in the limo as the photographer took shots of the guys, the girls, the couple with parents, grandparents, siblings etc. Our limo driver, Mark, turned out to be very helpful as helped Heather stay warm and dry and even helped her with a mud stain on her dress with a little Tide To Go.
Emergency touch up work on Heather's dress.
The pictures were wrapped up at 4:30 and we went straight to the venue which was about 20 minutes away.
At 5 or shortly after, the ceremony started with Trish from Kettle Creek Weddings leading the proceedings. She conducted a beautiful ceremony that included readings by our friends Dennis and Jessica and a special message from Trish which incorporated our love of motorcycles. We concluded the ceremony with a sand ceremony. That was followed with a very informal receiving line while the staff at the Block Forest Inn started to transform the venue for the reception. Throughout the whole night, they, led by our point person Barb, did an amazing job of hosting the event.
At 5 or shortly after, the ceremony started with Trish from Kettle Creek Weddings leading the proceedings. She conducted a beautiful ceremony that included readings by our friends Dennis and Jessica and a special message from Trish which incorporated our love of motorcycles. We concluded the ceremony with a sand ceremony. That was followed with a very informal receiving line while the staff at the Block Forest Inn started to transform the venue for the reception. Throughout the whole night, they, led by our point person Barb, did an amazing job of hosting the event.
Minutes before entering the reception hall.
The reception itself started at 7 and the food and service were both excellent. In the meantime, several people spoke including Kim & Mike, Darryl, Wojtek, our friend from Waterloo Wings Kevin, Heather's parents and of course we did too. Everyone's speech was great and at times full of emotion. We definitely couldn't have picked a better wedding party. My friend Remi, also did an amazing job as an MC. By 9pm, the dinner was over and it was time to party. We partied for hours and at the end we thought the day was short.
By 1am, the venue had thinned out and it was time to wrap up the party. The Black Forest Inn staff collected our belongings and loaded them into Jim's van. As a final act before leaving, we had to pay for the entire evening. Thanks to a generous gift from our parents, we ended up getting change. Jim dropped us off at the Destination Inn at 1:30. Even then the feeling of being married still hadn't sunk in for both of us and we thought it was surreal that the whole day had just happened.
The day was definitely very special and we were ecstatic to have our parents, siblings and friends be a part of it. Their support is what helped us get through. Thank you, everyone!
By 1am, the venue had thinned out and it was time to wrap up the party. The Black Forest Inn staff collected our belongings and loaded them into Jim's van. As a final act before leaving, we had to pay for the entire evening. Thanks to a generous gift from our parents, we ended up getting change. Jim dropped us off at the Destination Inn at 1:30. Even then the feeling of being married still hadn't sunk in for both of us and we thought it was surreal that the whole day had just happened.
The day was definitely very special and we were ecstatic to have our parents, siblings and friends be a part of it. Their support is what helped us get through. Thank you, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment