I have been just as anxious to write this post as some of you may be to read it, but yes – after 47 days of marital bliss, I have found the time to blog The Big Day. It also helps that we got our wedding photos a few nights ago, as there was no way I could talk about the wedding without showing some pictures!
To sum it up, J and I were very, very happy with everything. The day was relatively stress-free, it was beautiful, and it was FUN!
All photos except noted are by Tara McMullen.
The boys met up at J’s house in the morning to get ready.
The girls and I stayed the night at our hotel, and started with wake up calls for hair and make-up at 6AM.
My parents and siblings arrived a little later, and helped set up for the tea ceremony for my side of the family, that started at 11.
I went back upstairs after the tea ceremony and got ready to get into my wedding gown. The guys were downstairs having lunch, and J and I were going to be set up for a “first look” somewhere at the hotel. A “first look” (or whatever you want to call it) is when you artificially set up the first time the groom sees the bride – we had this because we were taking our portraits in the afternoon before the ceremony, meaning that J would have seen me in my dress before walking down the aisle.
After that, the entire wedding party headed over to Buttonville Airport in Markham, where super Dave let us do our wedding portraits! We went around to a few hangars and got to hang out on the apron.
After the portrait session, we all headed back for the hotel and had some downtime before the ceremony. J and I always laugh about this, because at one point, we lost everyone and were the only ones in our suite. J and I hung out by ourselves 30 minutes before the ceremony started. I’m sure wedding traditionalist’s heads were spinning right then.
After the ceremony, we headed to the Duncan room to start the tea ceremony for the groom’s side of the family.
Making my way to the elevator from the Duncan Room during cocktails was insane. It took me about 40 minutes just to hit the elevator button! I had guests wanting to talk to us left, right and center – and I’m glad I posed for some pictures with my friends and family since it was the only time I did not have my own camera.
Cocktails ended around 7, and the wedding party gathered to prepare for our grand entrance.
The rest of the night went off without a hitch – it was the perfect combination of laughter, tears and interaction with our guests. We couldn’t have asked for a better time!
Our first dance
My aunt from Tahiti, performing a surprise Tahitian dance
Guests singing their hearts out to win the centerpiece
Our father daughter dance – photo by Vicky Brahos
I hope you enjoyed the glimpse into our special day. I will post all the decor and details soon!
