sneak peek - photos are in!

{picture by Gina's Portraits}

Alrighty, this isn't the BEST picture to showcase Gina's talents BUUTTT I love it anyways. Look at Colton, my nephew, on the bottom right. We are leaving the Church and he is upside down, sliding down those little stairs.

Bahahahaha.

the pics are amazing. They really are. I am so pumped and just have to go through them and see the ones I want to showcase.

Besides this one, that is.

{where I am...}

Hey readers,

I am waiting on my pro-photos from the First Look, formals & candids and the ceremony. I really want to finish my recaps buts it's hard with no pics.

Boo.

But I am alive and well and blogging at denelicious.com, which is my personal blog. I've actually been there for 2+ years already and this blog was just my wedding blog. So come visit me there, if you would so like.

Later,

tc

8. early morning juice and hairspray

At 8 in the morning, my cousin Tara walks in. Hairsprays, curlers, straighteners, bobby-pins, a huge awesome purse and a cup of Timmies in her hands.

She looks at me.

"Shit. I forgot to get you something."

We then start giggling hysterically.

"You shit," I say, pushing her then pulling her in for a hug. Tara and I are complete opposites and so much alike. She's my cousin, the one I grew up with. She's wild and fun and free spirit and so damn cool without even trying and I'm a person who makes five-year-plans and savings accounts and doodles. We laugh some more and get down to business.

There's no pressure, at least not for me. I'm sure Tara was more worried about it than I. We had done a trial run a few days prior and it had turned out great, so I was calm.

It was quiet, aside from our rez playlist on the iPod and our chatting. We talked about babies and boys, husbands versus boyfriends, growing up and being an adult yet still feeling like a kid, our family and the drama that would happen that night.

It was calm. It was me and one of my best friends. It was perfect.

At the end, an hour later, my hair was curled and styled, not to move the rest of the night. I was feeling happy and Tara was relieved it was done, I'm sure. We hugged again and she left, off to do her own hair and makeup in the next hour or so.

I looked around and realizes that there was no one to help me tie up my dress or corset, and that I had forgotten my toothbrush and toothpaste at Diana's the night before.

Damnit.

7. getting Lucy the Dress prepped

I jumped into bed, texted Allen and he said goodnight. There was no giggling, no hyper-aware nervousness, no chaos. The TV was off, the iPod was charged. The programs folded and seating chart made. I sighed, snuggled in, and turned off the light.

Then I jumped out of bed again.

The damn dress.

I quickly brought it out of the garment bag, hanging it from the shower rod. The deep red was a brilliant reminder that tomahawk was the day.

The dress had been custom made for me by Kathryn of pure something, and it was a perfect fit. The red, the white laces, the detailed beading, the flowers. I loved it all.

So I admired it for a minute, shut the light, and crawled back into bed.

Seven AM would come early.

6. my last night...

After the rehearsal, Allen and I went to the room. Tiffany and Brittany had taken the programs Lesia had printed at Staples, and offered to do some folding. They would meet me later at the hotel room for some visiting.

Allen decided to chill out in the hotel, with his mom and family, while I went to Diana's. I had some printing to do and some editing to fix and I needed a printer. I quickly did the last printing for the seating chart, such as it was, and gave Diana and Leroy a hug goodbye, cruising back to the hotel.

And I mean cruising.

As I was zoned out, thinking church programs and pew balls, these really annoying red and blue flashing lights appeared in my rear-view mirror.

Ohhhh boy.

I sighed, shook my head, and turned off the main road. I grabbed my driver's license and registration, rolling down the window and craving a smoke.

"Hello Officer-Man," I said, grinning, as the police-man came to my window. I handed him my ID's. He grinned at me, shaking his head.

"Do you know why I stopped you?" he asked.

"Not a clue."

"You were going 20 click's over the speed limit," he said, his eyebrows rising.

"Was I? Sorry, bro. It's my wedding tomorrow and I'm really zoned out. All I'm thinking about is pew balls." I grinned again, shaking my head. He started laughing, a good sign.

"Pew balls? Never mind, I don't want to know." He shook his head, checking out my license. "I can't give you a ticket now - it's your wedding tomorrow."

I grinned really, really big.

"But watch your speeding limit." He gave me a stern look. I wiped the smile from my face and nodded, a very serious frown on my face. He handed me back my id's, said his congratulations, and walked away.

I grinned really, really big.

Back at the hotel, Allen was waiting in the room. He was going to take the vehicle and spend the night at Leroy's. I walk him to the door and he looks around. Our room is a mess of paper, laptop and gifts.

"Whose staying with you tonight?" he asks. I look around and see no one. I shrug. I had meant to spend it with Diana and Jody, or someone, but everyone had things to do. I had even asked Mom but she thought Allen was going to be there, so she said no. So it was just lil' ol' me.

"I can stay." He starts to come back in and I push him out.

"I'll be fine." I shrug away his concerns and we kiss by the car. The night is already chill and I'm getting goosebumps. He rubs my back, wrapping his arms around me. I lean in and sigh.

"I love you."

"Luv you too."

He drives away. I lock the door behind me and sit down on the bed, looking around.

I'm alone.

It's not how I expected to spend the night.

But then my phone chirps and my friends Britt & Tiff tell me they're coming down for some last minute wedding details. I cheer up, mix myself a drink, and they arrive, in a flurry of programs and ideas.

We talk, we laugh. Jody comes by, and we all have a bit to drink as Tiffany and Britt finish the seating chart. It is looking fierce, and it's solely thanks to them. I am mixing my orange juice and vodka. We are talking about nothing. About everything. About stupid stuff. About smart stuff.

And I am happy.

It's around one in the morning when they leave. I crawl into bed, thinking about tomorrow. I'm still alone, but now I feel okay. The dress is laid out. The rings are here. My friends all have their outfits ready. Allen is safe. My parents are happy.

I begin thinking about meeting Allen when I was seventeen and how I knew he was special, but even I couldn't imagine we would end up where we are. That the past nine years have been something else - not always perfect, but their have been some amazing moments. That with him by my side, we have traveled ocean to ocean. That we have done things people from our reserve never dream about. That he is man enough to let me be a strong, smart, independent woman. That he is the man that makes me want to have babies and have lazy Sunday mornings and spend all day laughing at cartoons. That a touch from him can calm my whole world, as well as shake it to its core.

I think how lucky I am.

And I fall asleep.

Tomorrow, I get to marry my boyfriend.

5. gifts for the men...

Allen and I spent a few months searching for groomsmen gifts. I wanted them to be similar, affordable and useful. Allen wanted them to be shiny. I think we managed to get a mix of both.

Unlike the girl's gifts, almost nothing was bought on Etsy. Everything was at Wal-Mart, Winner's, Metrotown Mall in Burnaby and other local stores. In truth, since I wasn't sticking to a damask theme, it was much easier and quicker to get the boys done.

Every gift had AXE body products. It's Allen's favorite shower stuff and it came in these freaking adorable packages, so it worked well. We also added in a macho-macho DVD for each package. If they already had the DVD, they traded with someone who didn't. It worked out. We also included dress socks so they wouldn't have to buy dress socks for the wedding.

Since TK was the best men, he got clothing.

Yeah, just an idea of what the gifts looked like. Pretty simple and straightforward, and everyone seemed to appreciate them.

4. gifts for the ladies...

The gifts to the bridesmaids was such fun. I made the decision pretty early on to stay within a damask theme with gifts, as long as they were relevant. I lucked out. I loved shopping for fun and authentic items to get them. Outlined is what I got each bridesmaids, as well as links to relevant Etsy sellers and Amazon links.

A staple of the gifts were these two items - a set of damask tissues and a damask necklace. I had bought the tissues in Jasper, BC for 50% off, and I bought the necklaces from another damask bride in California. These were the little items that each bridesmaid received.

Some gifts aren't pictured, as I did a lot of last minute shopping for Diana and Jody, as I wanted to get them something a lil' more unique to them.

| mini keyfob from Sew Gracious | pink & red damask frame from Chapters |

| keyfob from Baffin Bags | moleskin notebooks from Chapters | paperclips from random store |

| purple damask tank from Wal-Mart | slouchy purple pashmina from Wal-Mart |

| damask wine bags from Avec Dieu Couture | Wine Lover's Magnetic Poetry from UBC Bookstore |

| damask magnet set from She's Chic Boutique | damask love frame from Chapters |

| both purple damask traveling kits from Wal-Mart |

| black & white scarf from Wal-Mart | damask min-album from Winners |
| earrings from UBC Mini-Mall | white flower hair clip from Andy's Eye Candy |

And for packaging, I bought each girl reusable damask shopping bags. They sell in packs of five for $19.99 so I bought ten and wrapped their gifts up in there. This is what the bags looked like:

{reusable damask bags}

All in all, a good thing. The girls were touched that I got them something and I was pumped that they actually liked it. Win-win.