Well, my little sister finally got married this last weekend. I say “finally” but I don’t really mean it that way
. It’s not like we were all waiting for her to tie the knot or anything. She isn’t an old maid either by any stretch of the imagination. Heck I’m 3 years older and still not married myself. The wedding was beautiful though, and my sister was a very lovely bride too. You can see for yourself when you head over to my Gallery webpage and browse through the few photo’s that I took. http://bitgeek.rezgeek.com/main.php?g2_itemId=6319
We celebrated her wedding in Radium BC on a beautiful mountain resort. A golf course backed right up to the hotel and we managed to have an idyllic setting for the festivities and all the photo’s and what not. Still, there were a few obstacles for my sister and her fiancé to deal with.
They started out with a Wedding planner when they first decided to get married in Radium. The concept of course, was driven mainly by the fact that Mick and Dave were over 600 km’s away and it would be rather difficult for them to get the stuff done that the wedding planner would take care of for them. So it started out worry free, and the wedding planner had everything well under hand... or so they thought.
Alas, poor Mick. The wedding planner was great for making suggestions and coming up with ideas, but very lacking in the execution department. Michelle and Dave ended up doing all the leg work that they assumed the planner would handle. Arrangements with the church and priest, the arrangements with the resort and banquet hall and the preparation of flowers and decorations etc were all conceptual things the wedding planner started, but Michelle and Dave ended up doing the actual work. So... like any rational person, Michelle fired her wedding planner. Why not? She was doing all the work herself anyway.
So she cut a check for the stuff that the planner did accomplish and went her merry way. Well, maybe in retrospect she should have found another wedding planner instead of taking on things herself. The work was tremendous. Her and Dave planned and took care of all the details which included the marriage course (mandated by the Catholic Church), the hotel bookings, the flowers, the decorations, the invitations, the dresses, color schemes and the music and much, much more. All looked after by Mick and Dave.
Unfortunately some of these tasks require a personal hands on visit to make sure they are done right so, the two of them found themselves out in Radium on several occasions dealing with things in person. Did I mention that amongst these trials and tribulations that her wedding ring was re-sized and then returned with missing diamonds?? She had to confront the jeweller to get that corrected... but wow... i can’t believe the jeweller would defraud her like that.
Even a video presentation was done above and beyond what they really had time to do . So last month Michelle’s lease on her apartment came due. Mick was told that it was time to renew or move out. So she moved out to save some cash. Yikes. Then an opportunity to change positions at the hospital presented itself. So she went from the UofA hospital to the one in St Albert. The whole time she’s still arranging for her wedding plans. You may not know this either, but Michelle had surgery done about a year ago, and has been trying to get in to a specialist to see about having some cosmetic touch up surgery done. It’s not an easy waiting list to get on. Guess when they called for her appointment to have it done? Oh... about a month before the wedding. She had to cancel that appointment. The cosmetic surgeon has since called back to reschedule, but they wanted to do it in June... unfortunately when you take 2 weeks off for a wedding in May and then turn around and ask for another 4 weeks off in June (high season at the hospital) they don’t like that too much. So hopefully she can get it done in August or September.
On the upside the cosmetic stuff will really enhance her beauty but the recovery time and sacrifices to get it done mean that she will have to wait till after it’s finished to think about starting a family. Interesting quandary for a newlywed couple I’d say. Michelle really likes kids so waiting another year is something they will have to do if Mick wants the other surgery done first. Yowsa!! Talk about challenges.
I hope Michelle’s bridesmaids can forgive her for being a little on the Bridezilla side of things on her wedding day. Two days before the big event, the flowers for the reception were picked up. These are the deelies that end up in the center pieces on all the tables. Michelle had very specific colors in mind when she ordered them – a darker purple. What she got was a lighter version of this... almost pink. Not a huge deal since they still looked ok... but she was charged full price for the order even though they screwed it up. Talk about putting you in a bad mood.
The hotel messed up on a number of the room bookings when people were arriving. Those with special physical needs were
supposed to be on the main floor, and ended up on the second floor. Not a big deal you say? Except that this was a lodge style hotel and they only have 3 floors – access is outdoors for the 2nd and 3rd floors and there are no elevators. Grrrrr. They gave people that requested a suite, a regular room with 2 queen beds instead. The cancelled one booking by accident and then told them that they couldn’t find them a room since they were all booked for the weekend. “Oh ok...” says Radium Resort “But the couple we have to bump will not be happy....” imagine that huh??
Remember the video presentation I was telling you about? The one Mick and Dave put together for the reception? It requires a projector , PA system, and a DVD player. Dave shows up to the hotel, and proceeds to check out the facilities to test everything out. “Oh yeah.... “ says the Radium Resort, “That projector has been broken since September and we haven’t had a chance to get it fixed yet. Did you bring a laptop? We can get you a portable projector” I think Dave was a little miffed to say the least. If I hadn’t brought a “line-in” audio cable that I use for my MP3 player, and if Mick hadn’t brought her Portable Ghetto Blaster, then they wouldn’t have had audio for the presentation. Not to mention that it was lucky that Dave had his laptop on hand as well. Nasty.
The hair salon that booked Michelle in for her “do” was running late, so accordingly Michelle was late getting back to the hotel to get ready for her own wedding. The way things worked out, her bridesmaids couldn’t help her get ready with the dress and all the girly things that had to be done. So it was just my mom and her. Then one of the Bridesmaids had her own trials getting ready and was also running late. Michelle was naturally frustrated and ended up being a little late getting out of the gates to make it to the church. Anxiety? Maybe just a little. Lucky for Mick, her priest was late as well. He arrived 10 minutes after the bride and groom got there and still had to put on his robes and arrange the stuff on his end. Whew... almost there
I hear it is good luck if it rains on your wedding day (I think they tell brides that to make them feel better). Well, did it ever pour down during the wedding ceremony! Flash flood! Still... it did clear up before everything was done and people had to leave for the hotel. No one was soaked. It also rained off and on throughout the afternoon while pictures were being taken. Luck actually was on her side this time. It only rained a smidge after the initial downpour and all the pictures happened without incident. I’m told that cloudy skies make for better pictures due to contrast reasons anyway. Yaaay something finally went in Michelle’s favour! J
The reception went without a problem and people really seemed to enjoy themselves. It was one of the few weddings I’ve been to where the dance floor was busy most of the night. Sometimes small weddings are better that way I think! J I managed to cut a rug for most of the night too! All the dance lessons I took paid off in the end and my dance card was full for most of the night.
In the end, everything was smoothed over or worked out. All the obstacles were overcome, and my sister is still has her sanity (I hope!). She and Dave (and with the help of friends and family) pulled off a great event and Michelle is now Mrs Schensema which i think is the most important part of this whole exercise anyway. I think however, I will learn from their experiences and just elope when it is time for me to get hitched! I just hope it isn’t a shotgun wedding!!! J
. It’s not like we were all waiting for her to tie the knot or anything. She isn’t an old maid either by any stretch of the imagination. Heck I’m 3 years older and still not married myself. The wedding was beautiful though, and my sister was a very lovely bride too. You can see for yourself when you head over to my Gallery webpage and browse through the few photo’s that I took. http://bitgeek.rezgeek.com/main.php?g2_itemId=6319We celebrated her wedding in Radium BC on a beautiful mountain resort. A golf course backed right up to the hotel and we managed to have an idyllic setting for the festivities and all the photo’s and what not. Still, there were a few obstacles for my sister and her fiancé to deal with.
They started out with a Wedding planner when they first decided to get married in Radium. The concept of course, was driven mainly by the fact that Mick and Dave were over 600 km’s away and it would be rather difficult for them to get the stuff done that the wedding planner would take care of for them. So it started out worry free, and the wedding planner had everything well under hand... or so they thought.
Alas, poor Mick. The wedding planner was great for making suggestions and coming up with ideas, but very lacking in the execution department. Michelle and Dave ended up doing all the leg work that they assumed the planner would handle. Arrangements with the church and priest, the arrangements with the resort and banquet hall and the preparation of flowers and decorations etc were all conceptual things the wedding planner started, but Michelle and Dave ended up doing the actual work. So... like any rational person, Michelle fired her wedding planner. Why not? She was doing all the work herself anyway.
So she cut a check for the stuff that the planner did accomplish and went her merry way. Well, maybe in retrospect she should have found another wedding planner instead of taking on things herself. The work was tremendous. Her and Dave planned and took care of all the details which included the marriage course (mandated by the Catholic Church), the hotel bookings, the flowers, the decorations, the invitations, the dresses, color schemes and the music and much, much more. All looked after by Mick and Dave.
Unfortunately some of these tasks require a personal hands on visit to make sure they are done right so, the two of them found themselves out in Radium on several occasions dealing with things in person. Did I mention that amongst these trials and tribulations that her wedding ring was re-sized and then returned with missing diamonds?? She had to confront the jeweller to get that corrected... but wow... i can’t believe the jeweller would defraud her like that.Even a video presentation was done above and beyond what they really had time to do . So last month Michelle’s lease on her apartment came due. Mick was told that it was time to renew or move out. So she moved out to save some cash. Yikes. Then an opportunity to change positions at the hospital presented itself. So she went from the UofA hospital to the one in St Albert. The whole time she’s still arranging for her wedding plans. You may not know this either, but Michelle had surgery done about a year ago, and has been trying to get in to a specialist to see about having some cosmetic touch up surgery done. It’s not an easy waiting list to get on. Guess when they called for her appointment to have it done? Oh... about a month before the wedding. She had to cancel that appointment. The cosmetic surgeon has since called back to reschedule, but they wanted to do it in June... unfortunately when you take 2 weeks off for a wedding in May and then turn around and ask for another 4 weeks off in June (high season at the hospital) they don’t like that too much. So hopefully she can get it done in August or September.
On the upside the cosmetic stuff will really enhance her beauty but the recovery time and sacrifices to get it done mean that she will have to wait till after it’s finished to think about starting a family. Interesting quandary for a newlywed couple I’d say. Michelle really likes kids so waiting another year is something they will have to do if Mick wants the other surgery done first. Yowsa!! Talk about challenges.
I hope Michelle’s bridesmaids can forgive her for being a little on the Bridezilla side of things on her wedding day. Two days before the big event, the flowers for the reception were picked up. These are the deelies that end up in the center pieces on all the tables. Michelle had very specific colors in mind when she ordered them – a darker purple. What she got was a lighter version of this... almost pink. Not a huge deal since they still looked ok... but she was charged full price for the order even though they screwed it up. Talk about putting you in a bad mood.
The hotel messed up on a number of the room bookings when people were arriving. Those with special physical needs were
supposed to be on the main floor, and ended up on the second floor. Not a big deal you say? Except that this was a lodge style hotel and they only have 3 floors – access is outdoors for the 2nd and 3rd floors and there are no elevators. Grrrrr. They gave people that requested a suite, a regular room with 2 queen beds instead. The cancelled one booking by accident and then told them that they couldn’t find them a room since they were all booked for the weekend. “Oh ok...” says Radium Resort “But the couple we have to bump will not be happy....” imagine that huh??Remember the video presentation I was telling you about? The one Mick and Dave put together for the reception? It requires a projector , PA system, and a DVD player. Dave shows up to the hotel, and proceeds to check out the facilities to test everything out. “Oh yeah.... “ says the Radium Resort, “That projector has been broken since September and we haven’t had a chance to get it fixed yet. Did you bring a laptop? We can get you a portable projector” I think Dave was a little miffed to say the least. If I hadn’t brought a “line-in” audio cable that I use for my MP3 player, and if Mick hadn’t brought her Portable Ghetto Blaster, then they wouldn’t have had audio for the presentation. Not to mention that it was lucky that Dave had his laptop on hand as well. Nasty.
The hair salon that booked Michelle in for her “do” was running late, so accordingly Michelle was late getting back to the hotel to get ready for her own wedding. The way things worked out, her bridesmaids couldn’t help her get ready with the dress and all the girly things that had to be done. So it was just my mom and her. Then one of the Bridesmaids had her own trials getting ready and was also running late. Michelle was naturally frustrated and ended up being a little late getting out of the gates to make it to the church. Anxiety? Maybe just a little. Lucky for Mick, her priest was late as well. He arrived 10 minutes after the bride and groom got there and still had to put on his robes and arrange the stuff on his end. Whew... almost there
I hear it is good luck if it rains on your wedding day (I think they tell brides that to make them feel better). Well, did it ever pour down during the wedding ceremony! Flash flood! Still... it did clear up before everything was done and people had to leave for the hotel. No one was soaked. It also rained off and on throughout the afternoon while pictures were being taken. Luck actually was on her side this time. It only rained a smidge after the initial downpour and all the pictures happened without incident. I’m told that cloudy skies make for better pictures due to contrast reasons anyway. Yaaay something finally went in Michelle’s favour! JThe reception went without a problem and people really seemed to enjoy themselves. It was one of the few weddings I’ve been to where the dance floor was busy most of the night. Sometimes small weddings are better that way I think! J I managed to cut a rug for most of the night too! All the dance lessons I took paid off in the end and my dance card was full for most of the night.
In the end, everything was smoothed over or worked out. All the obstacles were overcome, and my sister is still has her sanity (I hope!). She and Dave (and with the help of friends and family) pulled off a great event and Michelle is now Mrs Schensema which i think is the most important part of this whole exercise anyway. I think however, I will learn from their experiences and just elope when it is time for me to get hitched! I just hope it isn’t a shotgun wedding!!! J
Shotgun wedding is the way to go! Sheesh! What a roller coaster for Michelle, huh? I'm thrilled that everything worked out in the end though, and she certainly made a beautiful bride. :) Tell her good luck with the surgery, but that she's already beautiful. :) -Yvonne
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