My Electronic Scrapbook: The decision

Here Reg is (no more ponytail!) hanging out with his buddies the night before our wedding. We had a get together with all the invitees and it was a great night. 

Please note that all of the photos in the post were taken by my friend Michelle years and year ago. Even back then it was clear she was meant to be a wedding photographer although she did not know it at the time. Thanks Michelle! These photos are such a treasure. 

Six months before the wedding Reg and I went to the Royal Oak Pub in our neighbourhood in Ottawa. I think it was May. It was just starting to warm up. I had left my last job in horrible pain, hoping that working from home would work and focused on doing freelance work. Then I got the fibomyalgia diagnosis and knew that my health was not going to get better. Over a pint we decided. We were officially done with Ottawa. We had to go to BC to see if my pain would be less and if I could find some healing guru out there who could help me. One week after our wedding, we were leaving.



The timing was quite perfect. My family, Reg's family all came to celebrate and connect with us before we left. Here you see my brother Jay and my dad hanging out with me in the kitchen.



We were excited to begin our new lives together. We did not just want a honeymoon, we wanted the rest of our lives to be a honeymoon.



When my dad would drive by The Victoria Rose Inn I would always look at it longingly. When asked where I dreamed of getting married I joked and said this was the place. My dad looked into it and the next thing I knew, it was a dream come true.



Believe it or not, my entire wedding party fit into this one room. There were 33 people there if you included the photographer and her husband. We had an elegant dinner of rosemary chicken and a wildflower salad. I was in heaven!



I did not do the flowers and greenery but I made the centrepiece which I think Michelle helped orchestrate and direct once the florist arrived. See, this is why I am doing this now, while the memories are kind of fresh. I don't want to lose anything.



Reg and I were married by a Unitarian minister while a harpist was playing out in the gazebo in the garden in the backyard. Who was going to marry us was one of the hardest issues when we were planning the wedding. We really wanted a judge but they would not leave their office so we had a nature-focused ceremony which was quite beautiful. Just a kiss was not good enough for me. I wanted a hug too!



We really could not have been happier that day. The weather which was threatening rain turned to sunshine. Michelle insists that happened once I left the inn. I hope that is true. It makes a great story.



Here you have my sisters Jamie and Shannon and my step-sister Stephanie, all looking fantastic! I wish I could put photos up of everyone but I could write a novel about that day, LOL.



And then, we were married! Why did we wait five years? What was the rush? We are not traditional people when it comes to social mores. We decided we did want to celebrate our relationship with friends and family before we packed everything into a small Uhaul and left Ontario. I am so glad we did get married. There is nothing like completely dedicating yourself to another person in a ritual outside in nature with those you love.

As much as I loved my wedding dress and carrying an impossibly heavy bouquet of flowers, I was ready to kick off my gold lame shoes and get into something comfy as we drove towards the sunset. It was almost time to leave.