We’re Married!

On Sunday, September 19th, Colin and I tied the knot! We’re married! 

Colin and I kept saying to each other the whole weekend that everything felt surreal. This wedding we had been planning for months and months – with all of the spreadsheets and to do lists – was finally here. I had to keep reminding myself that this was really happening, that we were really in this moment, and actually becoming husband and wife.

Our wedding weekend begins

The first moment we turned to each other in disbelief was Friday evening – the official start of our wedding weekend. We were meeting my dad, step mom, sister and brother for dinner, as they had just flown in from Toronto. It’s been six years since all of my family has been out to Vancouver together and I couldn’t quite believe we were actually going to be seeing them at one of our favourite local restaurants and beginning the first wedding event.

Dinner was amazing! My family loved the food at Banana Leaf and it was awesome to catch up with them outside of the busy wedding day. The only downer was the rain. We had one of the worst rainstorms I can remember and my poor sister decided to come out to Raincouver in platform flip flops and no jacket! But she was a trooper! We headed back to our place after dinner to hang out a bit more and introduce Ellie to the fam.

1 day to go!

Saturday morning was a busy one. We packed up all of our stuff and headed over to my great-aunt and uncle’s condo, where we were going to be hosting our wedding. My mom surprised us by setting up some extra decor items and it was so magical to walk in and see everything arranged for the big day.

We spent the rest of the morning finalizing the set up, arranging the ceremony space, and testing the live stream one more time. Colin’s mom and aunt also came over to help. And while it was a little stressful to get everything done in time, I loved that we were so involved in the look and feel of our wedding, and that we could spend some more quality time with our moms as the big day took shape.

After set up, it was time for my quasi-bridal shower. I was never interested in the traditional wedding shower, but did want an excuse to hang out with some more of our guests, especially the people who had come in from out of town. My mom arranged an awesome afternoon of manicures and pedicures, followed by happy hour drinks and appetizers. It was low-key and the perfect opportunity to spend more time with the Toronto crew!

That night, Colin and I wanted to have dinner just us two (we dubbed it The Last Supper). It was really nice to treat ourselves to a fancy meal and have a moment together before the big day. We got to talk about everything we were looking forward to (and nervous about!) for the next day. Traditionally, the bride and groom don’t spend the night before the wedding together but we’re not traditional. I’m so glad we carved out a few moments just for us over the weekend.

After dinner, Colin and I took Ellie on her nightly walk and just so happened to pass a Menchie’s frozen yogurt shop. Our first date, six and a half years earlier, had been at a Menchie’s. It was so funny that the night before our wedding we’d just happen to pass one!

It’s our wedding day!

Full of nerves and excitement, I had trouble falling asleep and Colin woke up too early. But despite our fitful sleeps, we had a pretty relaxing morning. We exchanged cards, cleaned up our hotel room so it was presentable for photos, enjoyed breakfast together at the hotel restaurant, and headed off on one last wedding errand: picking up donuts for that night’s dessert!

From there we grabbed lunch and then I headed off to my hair and makeup appointment. There were a few snafus (like our florist having a closed sign on the door when my mother-in-law went to pick up my bouquet, and Colin not having keys to bring one last decor item to the condo) but I was blissfully unaware of them all as I chatted with my hair and makeup artist. By the time I was all glammed up and out of the chair, all of the fires had been put out!

That was when time really started to speed up. All weekend long, it had felt like we went from having tons of time to all of a sudden running late. Sunday afternoon was no different. Almost as soon as I got back to our hotel room, our photographer arrived and it was time to get the show on the road!

Colin and I got ready together while Amber, our photographer, took photos. This was another moment we had intentionally decided to be together for. I can’t imagine spending my wedding day with anyone else other than my husband-to-be. From breakfast together to Colin zipping up my dress (it fit!), we were side by side for most of the day and we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Once all three of us (Ellie too!) were dressed and ready, we headed out to take some photos around Yaletown. Amber was incredible – she not only helped us to pose but carried our bags, umbrellas and even Ellie, at points! Neither Colin nor I are very natural in front of the camera but Amber kept us laughing and it was fun to get those shots in our fancy outfits.

As we were walking around Yaletown we were, of course, getting all sorts of looks. People were honking at us, wishing us well and yelling about how cute our dog looked. It made the portrait session all the more fun and really got us excited for what was about to happen.

The best part was when a group of middle-aged women all decked out in purple wigs and hula skirts on their way to a Rugby Sevens game asked us if we needed some bridesmaids for a quick photo. I was hesitant, as we were already running late, but Colin invited them over. And I’m so glad he did! It was a hilarious final shot before our ceremony and such a fun memory from the day.

Rain, rain, go away!

It was time to make a final call: Where would the ceremony be taking place? The plan was always to have our ceremony on the rooftop. My aunt’s condo has a beautiful, private rooftop terrace that overlooks False Creek and the city. It was the reason we originally wanted to have our wedding at her place. But as the date neared, the weather report got less and less optimistic.

Every day and then every hour and then every few minutes, Colin and I were refreshing our weather apps, looking for some definitive sign that the weather would be okay for an outdoor ceremony. All day the rain had more or less held off. But with just 30 minutes to go before our ceremony was due to start, we had to decide.

The weather was looking promising so we thought we’d go for the rooftop. The problem? Our ceremony was already all set up at our back-up location: an indoor condo on the 21st floor. We thought about quickly moving the chairs, decor, live stream equipment and everything else up to the rooftop, but realized it wasn’t going to be a quick job. So, instead of delaying the ceremony even further or forcing all of our guests to carry their own chairs (which was a plan we seriously considered!) we decided to just keep the ceremony indoors.

In the end, it worked out perfectly. We were able to have the ceremony indoors, (almost) on time, and with way less stress than it would have been had we done a last minute move. Our guests weren’t cold, we didn’t have to contend with the wind or any spitting rain, and we were able to use reliable wifi to stream the ceremony. Plus, we still got to use the awesome rooftop a little while later!

Ceremony time

Being untraditional, we decided to start our ceremony together at the front. There’d be no walking down the aisle or giving anyone away. We had our guests come up from the lobby in small groups – mostly because not all 21 guests would fit in one elevator. And Colin and I both agree that this was one of the best things we did.

As each guest came in, we beckoned them forward so we could give them a hug and thank them for coming. We hadn’t planned to do this, but it just felt like the most natural thing to do as our loved ones joined us on our special day. Right away, it made our ceremony feel so personal and intimate. It was exactly how we wanted to start our wedding.

After a technical snafu (which Colin quickly fixed!) the mic was on and our ceremony was starting. Our officiant, Jane, was absolutely incredible. I’ve worked with Jane and the Young Hip & Married team for the last four years and it was so special to not only have an awesome officiant, but a great friend, marry us. Jane told our story beautifully, spoke so eloquently and was a great presence for our day. So many in-person and live stream guests reached out to let us know how much they loved our officiant.

All throughout planning, the ceremony had always been a big focus for Colin and me, with the most important part being our vows. We wrote our own (even watching a video vow course!) and kept them a secret from one another. Colin graciously allowed me to go first, as I knew I’d be crying. Saying my vows and hearing the incredibly beautiful words Colin wrote for me was my favourite part of the day – and Colin’s too! Everyone in the room was crying alongside us (and so many virtual guests let us know they were tearing up too!).

We exchanged rings. We said I do. We sealed it with a kiss. And we signed the paperwork to make it all official. We were married!

Up to the rooftop

Not wanting to waste the beautiful rooftop and lucky weather, we made a last minute decision. It would be too much work to move the whole ceremony up there, but we could use the space for our dances and photos. So after we signed the marriage licence, we headed upstairs to the roof with our guests. It wasn’t the smoothest transition but we all made it up there in the end. I loved seeing our guests react to the epic view and enjoy the rooftop space.

Our photographer, Amber, arranged our guests so they surrounded us in a semi-circle and we got into position for our first dance. We hadn’t planned to do any dances but the week before at Colin’s brother’s wedding, Colin’s mom fell in love with the incredible live musician they had. Paul Filek was awesome and Colin’s mom hired him on the spot to play at our wedding a week later.

So with just a few days to go we booked a musician, picked out a first dance song and parent/child dance song, and watched a few YouTube tutorial videos to try and learn how to dance. Of course, I still messed up the spin! But it was a very sweet moment – and all the more sweet to do the dances surrounded by our guests.

After our short first dance to “Glad You Exist” by Dan+Shay (we told Paul to cut it at 90 seconds for us non-dancers!), we transitioned into the parent/child dance. We wanted a special moment with our parents but didn’t want to only do the traditional father/daughter and mother/son dances, or force our guests to watch four different parent/child dances. So we combined them, switching partners so we could both dance with Colin’s mom, my dad, my mom and my stepmom. Paul played “In Case You Don’t Live Forever” by Ben Platt, which we had picked out specifically for this dance with our parents.

All danced out, we transitioned into photos. My amazing sister jumped into action and helped us organize groups of people for our family and friend photos. After a dozen or so groupings, it was finally just Colin and I on the rooftop. Our photographer, Amber, handed Colin a champagne bottle for one last shot. Of course, it didn’t go exactly to plan. Colin ended up getting a face-full of champagne…while I hid behind my bouquet!

Heading to the reception

It already felt like an entire day had happened, and yet we still had the whole reception to go! We started things off with our thank you speech. It was really important to us to be able to thank our guests, our vendors and our parents. I know traditionally this speech is given only by the groom and at the end of the night, but I wasn’t into that. I wanted to be a part of it and I wanted to get it out of the way so we didn’t have to worry about anything else. After that, we were officially done with all the nerve-wracking bits!

After our speech, it was time to eat! Colin and I were so thrilled to be serving our favourite foods and our guests loved them too. People kept coming up to us telling us how awesome the food was. We ordered sushi, pizza and chicken skewers from our favourite restaurants (and added caprese salad skewers that my mom put together!). We had a fridge full of wine, cider, beer, juice and a fun punch my mom made called “It Takes Two to Mango!”

While arranging all of the food orders and deliveries was a bit stressful, it was so fun to be able to serve our favourites and to know our guests loved the food. It’s something we would not have been able to do had we planned a big wedding with lots of people.

Throughout dinner, we got to hang out with different guests around the condo and catch up. At one point, my dad asked me if this type of wedding was always the plan or if this was a result of covid. And honestly, our wedding was exactly what we wanted. Colin and I loved that we got to talk to every single person at our wedding, spend time with them, hug them as they came into the ceremony, and just have our most favourite people in one room. We’re introverts and we don’t like being the centre of attention. We wanted to be able to host our wedding in a home where we, and all of our guests, could feel comfortable.

It made me so happy to look around the condo and see our guests enjoying themselves, especially when our families interacted with one another. Guests kept coming up to me telling me how much fun they were having, how much they liked the food, and that this is how weddings should be done. Colin’s mom couldn’t stop saying how much our wedding exceeded her expectations and that the day felt so personal, and yet still so elegant. We couldn’t have asked for higher praise!

After dinner, my sister resumed her role as MC and announced that we would have some speeches. My parents kicked it off. My mom wrote a beautiful speech sharing stories about my childhood, meeting Colin and spending time with his mom and dad. I loved how her speech really brought together our two families and how much thought and care she put into it.

My dad followed it up with a few daddy/daughter stories that had the whole room choking up. Suffice to say, when he started singing “I’m Leaving on a Jet Plane” I completely broke down. He used to sing that song to me when I was a kid before he’d leave on his business trips and it still makes me teary to this day.

Next, Colin’s mom shared a very sweet message about her baby boy and welcomed me to the family. Then great family friends, Jackie and Derek, and Colin’s aunt and uncle, Colleen and George, both got up to wish us well and represent Colin’s dad who passed away in 2016. They were so proud of Colin and I was so touched when they shared stories about how they knew I was the one. All of the speeches were so thoughtful and made us feel so loved.

And then it was time for dessert! The last thing Colin and I wanted was pictures of us cutting into a cake so we nixed the big wedding cake and went for mini cakes in jars, Cartems donuts, and a beautiful fruit arrangement. Needless to say, the dessert was a hit! Everyone loved the donuts and I heard a rumour that someone took four cake jars home in her purse!

The rest of the night passed by in a bit of a blur. Photos were taken, card games were played, Ellie was walked, drinks were spilled, and so many hugs were shared. By 11:30pm, most of our guests had said their goodbyes and Colin and I were fading fast. We did a bit of cleaning (but left most of it to my superhero of a mom!), grabbed some food, and walked back to the hotel.

Feet aching and eyes drooping, we hopped into bed. I ate leftover sushi with my fingers while Colin opened our cards and read the sentiments out loud to me. We were exhausted but so incredibly happy and filled with love from our amazing wedding day.

And then we were married!

We started our first day as husband and wife with breakfast at the hotel, noticing the sound Colin’s ring made as it clinked against his coffee cup. Then it was back to the condo to pack up, home to drop everything off, and to lunch with our parents. We wanted to thank them for all of their help with the wedding and spend a bit more time with my Toronto family before they headed out.

After lunch, we walked around the Seawall and Stanley Park with my dad, step mom, sister and brother, getting in a bit more time together before their flight home. Colin walked Ellie and then we were off to happy hour with Kim and Joe, friends from Toronto, who I’m so glad we got to spend more time with.

Tuesday felt a bit more like getting back to real life. We unpacked our bags, ordered groceries, ate more leftovers and did laundry. We also got to have dinner with my godparents from Toronto, who stayed out in Vancouver for a longer visit. It was so nice to have a low-key day before we both went back to work.

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Our wedding day and wedding weekend were absolutely amazing. It was stressful at times and a lot of work to get there, but I don’t think I would change a thing. We had an awesome time celebrating our way with our closest friends and family, who loved it just as much as we did. None of it would have been possible without our parents and loved ones who helped us so much along the way and made the wedding day what it was.

Colin and I are so happy with how our wedding turned out and thrilled to now be husband and wife!