Champagne, day 2 - but no strawberries

Hello all!  So much for writing a new "episode" every day... my work ethic is obviously still enjoying our honeymoon.  :-)

We had been wise enough to book ourselves a room at the local hotel for our wedding night -- our helpful friends stayed at the house (can't make them pay for a hotel room when they've just decorated and flowered and organized us!)  Our friends Ken & Arlene drove us there after the ceremony (well, Ken drove... 'nuff said!), with our house guests and groomsman Paul bringing all our stuff home.  Yes, this is definitely where I started getting used to being lazy!

We thought we'd go fancy for our wedding night, so had booked a room with jacuzzi, fireplace and a bottle of champagne.  When we got there, however, there was rien du bubbly!!!  Called down to the front desk, who said the bar was closed and locked up and they couldn't do anything about it.  Grrr... Probably a good thing, anyhow, because we had to get up the next morning!

Yes, in one of those "what were we thinking?" moments, we had decided to host a family brunch at our house the morning after the night before.  Of course, what we WERE thinking of was how much we'd like a chance to visit the folks who had come from all over the place.  What we WEREN'T thinking of was a) panic cleaning, b) how to provide brunch for 30 people, and c) that whole thing about MORNING.  :-)  In the last couple of weeks, I had been able to convince my darling husband (yay!) that he shouldn't expect himself to cook for 30 people the day after his wedding, so we'd gotten the catering team from Sixteen Front to look after the food part.  And, when we returned to the house, our darling Ali (yay!) had already done most of the panic-cleaning for us.  Did we mention how incredibly generous Ali is???

All I had to do was put on my "Bride" hat (also provided by Ali), and put out the cutlery.  All Don had to do was pour the champagne for the mimosas!  (Not a day of champagne and strawberries, but we did have champagne and orange juice, so that oughta count for something...)

Brunch was yet another social whirlwind -- we got to visit a bit more with family, but still not anywhere near as long as we'd have liked to.  Folks started trickling out mid-afternoon, with Ali and brother Bruce staying to help pack up the leftovers and tidy up, and then we were left to our own devices.

I think I forgot to mention before, but Ali & Lisa had put together a framed picture of the flowers from our bouquets, with a writeable-onable frame for everyone to sign.  So we read through that, and our guestbook. and then went to tackle the pile of prezzies, from the many folks who chose to ignore the "no presents" instructions that were so clearly given!  ;-)  We couldn't help but notice a "theme" in them all: I think we'll have enough champagne and single-malt to last the year!  (Ah yes, you folks know us well... too well, perhaps.)

After a nice brisk nap (3 hours!), we did a couple loads of laundry, and started packing for the HONEYMOON!

Will get to that tomorrow... honest, I mean it!  :-)

Musically and matrimonially,
Alyssa

The week of champagne and strawberries

Hello all!

Yes, we have been a tad quiet in recent months -- turns out, planning a wedding (even a relatively simple one) takes more out of you than we'd remembered. Either that, or we're just getting old...

But yes, we are no longer just a musical duo, but a legally-endorsed one as well! And it was a bloody fabulous party, not to mention the entire week! And musical, naturally.

Once I get organized (!), we'll be putting some photos up on the website, so you can see just how bright The Brights' wedding truly was. I, of course, wore red; Don, yellow. Our friends Ali and Lisa put together stunning, colourful bouquets and centrepieces of bright gerbera daisies, roses, lilies, etc., and our wedding party and guests were all in bright colours too.

The ceremony took place on the shores of Lake Couchiching, on the grounds of the Leacock Museum, where there was another stunning array of flowers in the garden. Our friend David Zub was the officiant; my sister Tarah and best friend Ali were my attendants, Don's brother Bruce and friend Paul were his attendants. And we can't forget Lilly, our flower girl (who had been practising her walk since November), or Wyatt, our ring bearer (who wore a fire helmet, with siren, in honour of Uncle Don). Ceremony music was by the other two members of the Amity Trio, Michael Adamson and Sandra Ruttan -- tangos, of course. Readings were by David Francey (I had to keep reminding myself I was a married woman, and Beth is bigger than me, so as not to swoon at his voice mid-ceremony) and cousin Rebecca Ejo Colwell (who had me in big, smiley tears the whole time, because she's just so marvellous!).

We had written our own vows -- in typical form, Don had had his half a year ago, I completed mine two days before. Mine went first, and I was already crying by the first sentence, but made it through. Then Don started his and... out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pat McPhail walking up with his bass, Joe Yanuziello with his guitar, and Roy Hickling and Paul Court getting in formation and handing Don a mandolin. Yessireee, Don's vows were in musical form, and I was serenaded by all five men -- how lucky is that?

We tangoed back down the aisle and met everyone for champagne and chocolate covered strawberries on the lawn. Bliss! And a pleasant introduction to what would be a staple diet for us the rest of the week -- again, how lucky is that?

The entire day passed in a blur -- fortunately, we had a bunch of people taking photos, plus Don had stuffed our video camera into the hands of Ron Belanger, so we'll be able to go back and remember it all later.

Dinner was inside at Swanmore Terrace, and was delicious -- although, for some reason, they didn't start BBQ-ing the chicken and salmon until about 7pm (when dinner was supposed to be 6-6:30-ish). That was really the only annoyance, although people seemed to deal with it just fine. Michael's wife, Ingrid Adamson, had made and decorated our wedding cake, complete with little musicians and hand-made bright-coloured sugar flowers.

My sister, Tarah, was the MC, and she took on her task with gusto! She had both us and the room completely organized. :-) Speeches by mom Nancy, Bruce, Ali, Paul, Don, Me and thank-yous by Us. Then some impromptu speeches / presentations, including a song by David Francey (married woman, Lyss, married woman!).

This then descended into a free-for-all jam / open mic that lasted the rest of the night.

A fabulous, fabulous day, surrounded by dear friends and family -- from as far away as Nova Scotia and Utah, and as close as around the corner. This was a true celebration of love, in all its forms. We hope everyone had as wonderful a time as we had!

Stay tuned for more tales of champagne and strawberries -- we've got a whole week's worth! :-)

Musically and celebratorily and lovingly,

Alyssa