The Wedding – It Was Simply Spectacular

High atop Mt. Washington, with Vancouver Island’s spectacular Strathcona Park as a backdrop, our beautiful daughter Maggie married her fiancé Toby late Saturday afternoon in an unbelievably beautiful wedding ceremony. The weather was perfect for an outdoor wedding with a temperature of 75F under bright blue skies. Maggie looked absolutely stunning in her wedding gown. The ‘Mother of the Bride’ looked gorgeous as well. The Father of the Bride needs some work!

I’m looking down so as not to step on Maggie’s dress – I had to be careful

Paulette and I were extremely proud to walk Maggie down the aisle to Pashelbel’s Canon in D Major. Now, I have no idea what ‘D Major’ means but it is truly a beautiful piece of music and just perfect for a wedding. Maggie made a great choice when she selected this for her wedding. Everything went off without a hitch and exactly as we had rehearsed it the day before – better in fact!

Mason was a real hit as the Ringbearer – he won the best dressed man!

Our ‘little man’, Mason just loved every bit of this wedding. He was in fine form, happy and really having fun seeing all the people, noise and everything else that goes on at a wedding. He is really moving around now and almost running so we really had to keep an eye on him to keep him out of trouble!

After the 4pm wedding ceremony, our guests mingled on the deck and outside for a cocktail hour with appetizers. Along with cocktails, wine and beer we also had a special Guinness Beer bar complete with genuine Guinness glasses. While all of that was going on those of us in the wedding party were being subjected to the usual family photos!

Before the 6pm dinner, I got the job of watching Mason while Carrie, who was a Bridesmaid, took care of her duties.

Looking at all the wonderful stuff in the reception/banquet hall Mason didn’t know where to head first but he decided on investigating the gear for the live band.

The music was starting at 8pm following the dinner and speeches but Mason had other plans. It’s a good thing I was able to get him away from all the amps and sound gear with all of its interesting buttons and dials. Mason just loves anything electronic and it’s always the first thing he heads for.

All set to bring out the Buffet dishes for dinner

The Mt. Washington Resort staff catered the dinner and it was delicious. We had 160 guests and they enjoyed Roast Beef, Baked West Coast Salmon, Chicken Breasts and an extraordinary selection of salads and veggies. Everything was made to perfection – even the chicken!!

Everyone seated and just waiting for the dinner to begin

The dinner went smoothly and moved along very well. For once, we got to get in the Buffet Line early – right after the Bride and Groom, the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Instead of Wedding Cake – Maggie and Toby opted for Crème Brule

One nice twist for this wedding was Maggie and Toby choosing Crème Brule for a dessert instead of a Wedding Cake. Does anyone actually eat Wedding Cake? The Crème Brule was really good.

I heard the band is starting up so I’m just “busting a few new moves here”

Once dinner and dessert were finished it was time for the speeches. There weren’t too many, thankfully, but one of them was delivered by Paulette and I. It was short and sweet – just a nice one page poem about Maggie that Paulette had spent about 6 months agonizing over. She did a great job with the poem and we both took turns reading a few lines.

Time to start up the band….

The live rock band were a favourite of Maggie and Toby’s and had played at an event the first night they met. This band, called ‘Monkey Wrench’ was one of the best I’ve ever heard at any party! Everyone loved them and the dance floor was full and rockin’ for all 3.5 hours they played. They play an assortment of ‘Top 40’ songs right from the 60’s up until today. They sure got the party going until we had to shut ‘er down a little after midnight.

When our little man conked out it was time to end the party for sure!

Over my years of blogging, I’ve always written in wonderment about all the stuff my very talented and crafty wife Paulette manages to collect at garage sales and thrift stores. I call it junk while she calls it potential treasures. Once again she proved me wrong as she turned old window frames, log stumps, mason jars, old blackboards and even jars and metal tea pots into an unbelievably beautiful and homemade decorating extravaganza for Maggie’s wedding. It was amazing. Here are a few of the highlights:

The “Find Your Seat Table”

For this creation, Paulette took 2 old window frames and joined them together with a set of hinges. Then, after getting me to cut a piece of hardboard to the dimensions of the top left window pane, she painted the surface with black chalkboard paint and used chalk to identify this table. The seating plans were hung on twine that was tacked to each small window frame. You’ll also notice the flowers in old glass milk bottles. Who has this stuff just kicking around in the garage?

The Quilting Table…

Of course there had to be a Quilting Table. When Paulette told me this all I could muster was “you’re kidding, right?”  Nope! On quilting material, held firmly in place by sandpaper, guest were invited to write a few words about the newlyweds and place them in the wire basket. Paulette plans to make a quilt out of all the material. You’ll notice another  oval shaped “blackboard” that in another life used to be a picture frame.  Good grief!

The ‘Candy Table’ for the kids – and raided by all the adults

For the candy table, Paulette was able to use many of the unique and old jars that are hidden all around our house – in places I never seem to find. There’s even an old candy weigh scale she picked up from somewhere. The funny thing about this candy table, intended for the kids, was that it ended up being just as popular with the adults!

Table Settings

The centerpiece of each table featured a thick slice of Cedar to hold the flowers in the dozens (maybe hundreds?) of Mason Jars stashed around our home. Also, a thinner log, was cut so that the table numbers could be painted on – e.g #1.

More use of old picture frames and custom made chalkboards

The entrance to the Wedding Aisle

Yes, we carted log stumps up to Mt. Washington – lots of them. These stumps were placed at the entrance to the aisle and then alongside the benches where our guests were seated. Each stump had a collection of flowers contained in Mason Jars, old metal tea pots and assorted jars.

We could not have asked for a more spectacular setting!

After a few days off from blogging, I’m paying for my sins as it’s almost 11pm as I finish this up. It’s been a long, hectic but exciting week for our entire family. Paulette and I are alone this evening for the first time in over a week but that’s going to change in a few days as some of our kids will be coming back here after spending a few post-wedding days camping up-Island. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some important wedding stuff but I’m too tired to worry about. Someone will let me know for sure!

Thanks for visiting!