i knew this would happen. i would put off writing about our wedding reception, using the excuse that i was hoping to have pictures to go with the entry, but i still don't, and it's now a week and a half after the fact. ugh.
so anyway, in a nutshell, all was great and magical, and darn near perfect.
josh and i went up to my mom's on thursday night. we brought caitlin with us.
friday was all prep, almost all the time. mom and i cooked and decorated and arranged. josh was a wonderful help, doing whatever task we asked of him. disaster #1 came when he and my stepdad went to get the keg. literally the only thing joshua wanted for the reception was a keg of steamwhistle beer. my mom ordered it from the beer store well in advance, and we'd borrowed a keg tap/fridge from a friend. the gents picked up our keg friday afternoon, only to be told that steamwhistle takes a different tap than any other keg, they had not ordered us a tap, and the keg was non-refundable. not okay. so not okay. thank god i had the genius idea to text my friend chris, who was coming up from toronto (where steamwhistle is made) for the party the next day, and asked him to go by the factory and get us a tap. he was happy to do so, and while it meant that we wouldn't have time to tap the keg and let it settle, it averted a major crisis.
saturday came, and while my mom ran around fretting about not having enough food - despite of course having twice as much as she'd ever need - disaster #2 struck. having rented a slushie machine [that was MY big request], we decided to fill it up and get it slushing just before noon. as we started to fill the tanks, the margarita mix started to gush out of the tap. not just leak, not drip, gush! when my brother had picked up the machine the day before, the guy had just replaced some o-rings on one side, and it seemed they were too tight to seal the valve up properly. it was a messy, sticky discovery. thankfully, my stepdad saved the day, in realising that there was a hole at the top of the valve, and by pressing down thru it with a screwdriver, the valve sealed. pretty ghetto, but he saved the day.
once everything was in place, the bar was set up, etc., i got dressed in my pretty teal dress and waited for the guests to arrive. surprising me, nearly everyone got there right at 3. there were aunts and uncles i hadn't seen in years. the biggest shock was when justin came around the corner with kelly behind him! i wish someone had taken a picture of my face, i'm sure it was a look of total shock and joy. i had invited kelly from the get-go, and we were both sad that her work schedule and financial situation weren't going to allow her to come. i'd resigned myself to it, but couldn't help gushing about how excited i was, right up until the night before - all the decorations, planning, games, menu - even tho i felt sort of bad telling her all the things she'd be missing. apparently she got up that morning and decided that she was coming, no matter what; got herself to london and drove up with justin. i definitely yelled "HOLY SHIT" when i saw her, in front of all my old relatives. oops.
so the reception itself was very fun. super casual, just a big party. lots to drink, a game set up in the yard, visiting with friends and family. i tried my best to spend time with each little group as fairly and as equally as i could (tho of course talking with friends is more fun than with 90 year old relatives).
around 4:45, i went in the kitchen and said something to the effect of "i don't know how much longer i'll keep this dress on. i might change around dinnertime", because dresses aren't always my thing, and i was feeling like dressing down (guests were dressed pretty casually). my brother's wonderful girlfriend kristen asked if i could keep it on for just another hour. i told her i would likely spill my dinner on it, and i didn't want to ruin the dress. she confessed that her friend, a professional photographer, had been hired to come take some pictures, as a surprise gift from her and alex. i thought that was terribly sweet, especially because in all of the running around, i hadn't even taken either of my cameras out of my bag all weekend. of course i kept my dress on, and the photog showed up around 5:30 to take some shots. i have no idea what they'll look like, but i love what i've seen of her work. she took a few posed shots (tho nothing "too posey") with some of our friends and family, and also wandered the party taking candid photos. she's mailing me everything on a cd (hence the delay of this entry), so i'm really looking forward to seeing what she got.
dinner was delicious. perfectly cooked medium roast beef on a bun, veggies + dip, shrimp, green salad, bean salad, creamy pasta salad with crab, pasta primavera salad with greek vinaigrette, german potato salad, and a nacho bar with all the fixin's, featuring our homemade salsa (which was also jarred for the take-home favours). desserts were cupcakes, cake pops (made by jesse), and cookies and hand-dipped chocolate-covered strawberries (made by kristen).
everyone seemed to have a great time. so many drinks, so much food, all the laughter. we had a couple of speeches later in the evening, tho neither the maid of honour or the best man could make it, so that was pretty short and sweet. my family left pretty early (some even before dinner), but many friends stayed all night. late in the night, a group of people took off for "the bar", wanting the whole small-town experience, i guess. joshua went with them. i stayed with some friends, until they took to their tents, then sat with my parents, alex and kristen, and her parents. we shut 'er down. kristen's dad was a riot - he usually stops after one drink, that night he polished off a bottle of rum and wondered where it had gone. he serenaded us with a bunch of eagles songs, and i giggled till they drove him home.
the next morning, we had 22 people (i think?) back for breakfast. they'd either crashed at the house, in a tent in the neighbour's yard, or nearby and walk or drove up for breakfast. we made pancakes and bbq'ed breakfast sausage and peameal bacon. we pan-fried the leftover german potato salad into some of the most delicious hashbrowns i've ever eaten. there were fruit trays leftover from the night before, and maybe even a cupcake or two. slushie drinks for breakfast? don't mind if i do. by noonish everyone had left, salsa in hand, and that was that. joshua and i opened gifts with my parents, then spent the afternoon cleaning up and recovering.
to anyone who read all that: bravo. i promise i'll be posting pictures as soon as i have them, likely on facebook, with a selection cross-posted here as well. |
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