Back as a Mrs!

Well everyone! I'm officially back as a Mrs!

On April 11th, surrounded by our close family, David and I got married. It was an amazing day and an overall fantastic trip back to my homeland of Canada.

We flew to Toronto on an early morning flight the Sunday before the wedding. I hadn't slept and getting up at 3am didn't help as the looming alarm kept me from falling asleep. After a long wait at the airport and an even longer flight, I was home. We were greeted at the airport by my fantastic parents and welcomed home with signs that my niece made for us. A home cooked meal, lots of tea and lots of love was just what I needed after travelling so far.

Mom, myself and Cathy (David's mum) at the shower

The rest of the week was wonderful. We had a night out with friends on the Monday night and my church family blessed us with a shower on the Wednesday. It was tea party themed and the hats were spectacular! I felt so incredibly lucky, blessed and thankful to have been the recipient of such an event. The church, Bethany, was like a second home to me growing up, and the people there are still in my hearts and I cannot be more grateful to have such loving people in my life.

Cutting the shower cake!

The next few days were full of shopping for sweets and bathroom basket stuff, manicures (I had my nails done for the first time since my sister got married, seven years before), and family time.

On the Friday, I got up and despite it being such a momentous day, I felt quite calm and relaxed. My mom and I headed to get our hair done just before noon, and shortly after, my sister arrived with a Starbucks coffee for me (the perks of being the bride!). I was dropped off back at the house, where I watched some MASH and had lunch, before the makeup lady arrived. My face was done and I had about an hour to kill before our lovely photographer, Karyn, was due. My niece noticed I had a laptop on my bed and informed me that you can watch movies on it. I got the hint and her and I snuggled up to watch a Pirate Fairy film.

My niece Charlotte

After a while, Karyn showed up and so my sister helped get me into my wedding dress and Karyn started snapping away. Around 5pm we headed over to the Osler House B&B for the ceremony. I was shuffled into a side room and ended up waiting for about 25 minutes for the rest of the family to get there and for everyone to get things sorted. I spent the time making sure my niece didn't destroy the bouquets and playing Candy Crush.

Coming down the aisle

Soon it was go time. The music started, my sister and her daughter disappeared from the side room to walk down the aisle and then my dad and I followed. I remember feeling so excited and just so relieved and glad that the time had finally come to get married. David looked so handsome in his suit and I had to restrain myself from giving him a kiss straight away!

Just married!

The ceremony was lovely. We wrote our own vows, and that made it feel so special as it was our words and our promises to each other and not some generic phrases that would never mean quite as much. During the ceremony, I felt like my heart would burst when David managed to whisper to me that I looked lovely and a few other sweet things. I really am a lucky girl to have married such a sweet and loving man.

Afterwards, we had a quiet (well as quiet as my family ever gets) family dinner. It was really nice to be able to sit and talk to everyone, which is something you rarely get to do quite so much, at a larger, more traditional, reception.

Wedding dinner

First dance

Cutting the cake

The next day, we got back into our wedding outfits and got ready to party it up with the rest of our Canadian family and friends. My mom put a lot of effort into planning the party and it was awesome. There was a lot of fresh (yellow!) flowers done by Katelyn Hughes, a girl who goes to my family's church, and even a surprise TARDIS! The candy table seemed to go over well as every time we looked ever, there was a queue for it. The yummy cupcakes, music and time spent with everyone was just really fun. By having the party on a separate day, we were able to be relaxed and just enjoy the time celebrating with everyone. I mean... who doesn't love dancing to Hanson with all your friends?

Note the TARDIS?!

The next day we jetted off (ok... we took a bus...) to Montreal. While there, we embraced the culture and ate poutine, enjoyed a maple tasting, and took in the sites of the old city. We experienced 20 degree weather and snow, within 24 hours, and soaked in the hot tub while looking through the window at Mount Royal. It was a great little honeymoon.

The trip back to Canada and our wedding celebrations were so special, and I'm sure that we will look back at everything fondly for years to come. Both David and I are so thankful for all the love, support and generosity that we have experienced these last few weeks. Married life has started well and I love knowing that I have my best friend and partner with me for the rest of my life.

Wedding Bells!

I've been quiet the last few weeks as life has been rather busy for me!

One major thing that has taken up my time has been making sure we have everything to fly to Canada for our upcoming wedding!

Yes... you heard that right! David and I are getting married next week! I apologise for the many exclamation marks that will litter this post, but I think they are quite justified as I am excited!

Our engagement has been short, compared to most people's, but in a way, it's felt like forever. Ever since David and I started talking about marriage, to the moment he pulled out that special ring, I have been eager to blend our lives together and make our commitment to each other official.

The planning process has been interesting. Some days it feels like we barely had to do a thing, and on other days, it felt like our to-do list was impossibly large. Planning a wedding abroad meant that I had rely heavily on my family in Canada. My mom became our wedding planner and so while that meant that we didn't have to do a lot of the running around, calling, and appointments, it did mean that my mom got the pleasure of doing that for us! A huge thanks to her for that. As for our work... well... I have a couch full of things we need to remember to take with us when we fly over. We will have very full suitcases!

One of the things that I enjoyed far more than I expected to, was the whole dress thing. Originally, I wanted something simple, non expensive, and not super wedding-y. I first went to try on dresses with a friend, and all of the dresses that I found were too much. Too much poof, too much bling and far too much dress for me. The next time I went, I had my future mother-in-law along for the ride. I showed the shop lady pictures and told her specifically what I didn't want. She was amazingly great at figuring out what I actually did want. When I put the dress on the first time, I felt great. I felt pretty, fancy, but yet still very much like me. The second time I tried it on, I knew I wouldn't find a dress that I liked more. Even though it was a proper wedding dress, it fit my criteria and I loved it.  After the alterations were done, I didn't want to take my dress off! I think that's the moment that I turned from a woman getting married to a bride.

If that doesn't convince you that I've turned to the dark side of the wedding industry... I've also got an appointment to get my nails done the day before the wedding. Yup... me. I hate nail polish and haven't had any on my hands since my sister's wedding, years ago. But alas... the wedding industry has claimed me.

Don't worry too much though... because although I am excited over my dress and submitting to the beautification process that many females do on a regular basis (I may even wear eye makeup!), I do realise that the wedding itself is not what I am actually excited about. Sure, I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends. It will also be great to eat good food, and dance to good music, but at the end of it, what I'm most excited for is the marriage.

See... marriages often follow weddings and while I'm sure the wedding will be a lovely time, at the end of it, I won't be a bride, but rather a wife.

And that, my friends, is why I cannot wait until next week, when I get to officially start my life with the man that I love.