Wow, what a week. Our trip started very early Monday morning two weeks ago to get the first ferry off the island. The weather and road conditions were so good, we decided to keep driving and arrived in Edmonton around 9pm that night.
Here are a few highlight photos of the trip out - not too many mountain shots as you are likely over them by now - few different ones as part of the trip was on a different road.
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| Marty was keen not to miss anything. |
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| He had to keep telling Helen not to bother Brian with questions though! |
After stopping at Heidi & Antoine's to unload all of the wedding stuff, it was wonderful to unpack just the once and settle into the hotel for the week.
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| Marty and Helen didn't waste any time claiming the best bed. |
We were lucky that the weather almost all week in Edmonton was dry, sunny and fairly mild (by their standards for this time of the year).
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday flew by with catching up with our kids, shopping...West Edmonton Mall...and new Blunnies for Brian.
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| Brian with his new boots; Tyler showing the old version. |
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| Brian anxiously watching as Zelda had a spa treatment. |
All the pix below are from West Edmonton Mall Shopping Centre.
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| Ice skating rink. |
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| Some weird thing in their aquarium. |
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| The theme park. |
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| The wave pool. |
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| Other end of wave pool. |
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| Funny seal show was on so we stopped to watch for a bit. |
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| Bourbon Street. |
We also caught up with some friends - would like to have done more but it's amazing just how quickly the days pass. One night was a family karaoke night (nice low key stagette for Heidi) at a local pub which was lots of fun. Almost everyone got up and sang (yours truly one of the exceptions)...Heidi's friends Holly and John from Australia kept everyone in stitches with their singing and dancing performances - the pub will never be the same!
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Brian & Heidi with niece Nichole from Ft McMurray and her
two children, Bella & Jack. |
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| Tyler belting out the tunes. |
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| Nichole, Heidi & Holly - appreciating John's performance. |
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| John & Holly's funny duet. |
We spent Friday decorating the venue with all of the bits and pieces we had made in Nanaimo and packed into Zelda for the trip. It was lots of fun putting it all out and seeing the vision come together. Antoine's mum (Carole-Anne) put together the table centrepieces which were the finishing touch. The end result was really lovely and set the stage for the next day.
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| Our view over the snowy golf course. |
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| Checking the view from the head table. |
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One of the 70 or so heart favours which I made (with the
able assistance of big sister Christine while she was visiting
from Australia in early January). |
That evening was the wedding rehearsal - it was so thorough I thought they could have just finalized the marriage there and then! Antoine's sister, who had been tireless in helping Heidi & Antoine with all sorts of things for the wedding,, also cooked up huge batches of chilli for everyone to eat - the venue was a golf club out in the country so not handy to anything.
Wedding morning was an early start as I had to be up and out to Heidi's to get to a 9am hair/nails/makeup appointment. Zita joined us and fortunately we were all happy with the end results.
Home by lunch-time to put in the several hours until it was time to head off for the wedding. When you are waiting to get married, the minutes tick by very slowly...at least they did for Heidi as she was so organized and ready. Fortunately the photographer came to the house for a photo session so that took our mind off things for a while as we had fun with that.
After waiting, waiting, waiting, the time finally arrived for us to leave for the venue and what we had all been planning for!
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| Waiting for the ceremony to begin. |
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One day before the wedding, when I didn't think
I had enough to do, I decided I should make
Heidi a good luck horseshoe (with a secret message
hidden on the back). |
After the ceremony, the guests gathered for cocktail and get to know you hour while the family ventured outside for the obligatory photos.
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| Heidi with her brothers. |
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| Heidi & Antoine with Heidi's brothers and their partners. |
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| Heidi & Antoine with his mum, sister, brother in law & nephew. |
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| Hamming it up. |
The setting outside was beautiful and the sun came out just at the right time for some amazing light. Almost all of the photos are my snaps, hence not much of Brian and I - we are hoping the photographer comes up with a few to prove we were actually there. My camera didn't do a great job of the evening reception unfortunately but I'll include them just so you can get a feel for the event.
The reception was lots of fun - I think I danced most of the night with great-niece Bella. I know my feet were in rough shape at the end of the night! Worth every minute though. There were lots of people there who I would have loved to spend more time with, but somehow didn't manage it. Apparently I was focussed on the fun element and for that, I don't apologise.
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These guys were so much fun...Bella is not
much for dresses but bought this beautiful one
and wore it just for Heidi! |
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Too bad about the bad location of the bottle,
and poor Heidi couldn't drink so it's not hers. |
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| Aren't they sweet? |
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| Brian was pretty emotional about the whole thing. |
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| Antoine dancing with his mum, Carole-Anne. |
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The Wish Tree...I see Marty & Helen have placed
themselves front and centre again. |
The day after the wedding, the weather changed dramatically and we were met with very cold temperatures and blowing snow. Felt very wintry. After a wonderful breakfast with the newlyweds and Nichole and her kids, we headed back to the venue to take all our good work apart, pack the car, say our goodbyes, etc. in preparation for the trip home the next day.
Fortunately, our travel day was pretty good so, once again we drove it in one shot - last leg was in the dark in pouring rain (through Vancouver) but we just made it in time to catch the last ferry for the night back to the island.
One week to the day, this is what Edmonton experienced (thanks heavens this didn't happen the previous Saturday!)...
And so, the wedding is over and we can now enjoy the memories with our photos and movies of the big day. I couldn't be happier for Heidi & Antoine - their wedding was beautiful and I think everything they hoped for - and sharing the special day with family and friends was amazing.
We are now just putting in time until the arrival of the special bundle in August - first grandchild. Life is pretty good.
Oh, and on one other important note, Brian started work just before we left for the wedding - he has a part-time job at Home Depot (like Bunnings) and so far is loving it. It's an adjustment for me to have so much time at home alone but I'm going to start looking for a job next week so hopefully that will happen sooner than later. In the meantime, I'm having fun quilting and blogging!
