Wedding Maddness!!!

So I know I've been MIA for a few days but it's with good reason: One of my closest friends just married the love of her life! AND  I got to be the MC! Hense...busy!!!

So now you may be expecting a big post about something...but you're about to be disappointed.  I'm just going to do a little AW about this wedding.  I'm so happy for them! They deserve a post;)

So... CONGRATULATIONS KAT AND ANDREW!!!!

Pics...or it didn't happen!

As anyone who knows me will have heard me say: Pics, or it didn't happen.  So today I present you with a smattering of (non-pro) pics from the wedding.

It happened.

Chillin' in the hotel room

Waiting for the music...

Dad and I

Signing my life away.  (That's my Grandpa!!)

Mr. Dan signing his life away

We're murried!!!!!!

Mrs and Mr:)

First dance

Hello Gentlemen!

Mmm...cake....

Bouquets!  MIL made mine and MOH and I made the rest:)

Miiiiine!

Let them eat cake!

Told you it happened.

Murried!!!!!!

So I know you've all been dying to her about my amazing, fantabulous, AWESOMELY SPECTACULAR wedding...and so I give you the wedding recap:

Sunday morning was lovely. I couldn't sleep much past 5:30 but that was fine. All the ladies (mom, BM's, aunts, a few girlfriends and I) ate breakfast in the hotel then the BMs and I  relaxed in the room. We had champagne and OJ, played on Facebook, ordered pizza and just chilled out. Everyone kept joking with me that I was too relaxed, but honestly I just was. I had this wonderful sense of calm. No nerves, no jitters, just calm. It was AWESOME.

At 2:45 mom came and got us for the ceremony. We all went down and the music started. Girls went in and when it was time for us Dad just grabbed my arm and looked at me and said "Steady now. We've got this one." And then smiled at me and we were off. The ceremony was great (I kept grabbing looks at Mr. Dan) and only 10 minutes!! We signed the papers and then waited for Grandpa to come pronounce us....3 minutes....4 minutes...finally my aunt went over and then Grandpa comes back "My daughter told me I should now pronounce that we have Mr. and Mrs.Paige." I almost bust out laughing. Then all you hear is our photog yell "KISS THE BRIDE!!!" and the people in the seats start yelling "Yeah! Kiss her!!" "KIss Kiss!!"! Too funny! After it was just a blur of hugs and kisses.

Pictures were awesome! We went to the Public Gardens (beautiful!) with our family and the wedding party. Then just Mr. Dan and I headed with the photogs to another park, some woods, a pond and some random train tracks. I think we're going to have some AMAZING pictures. AND my photogs were amazing! Karen kept checking on us, Brian was bringing us drinks and setting up shots without us even knowing it. They made it so easy! (http://www.brianlarter.com/)

After that we met up with the wedding party and had a drink in our suite. Then we headed down to the reception. I could hear my brother annoucing us but no music. I thought it was weird but Drew (banquet manager) said it was okay and we'd just go with it. I was okay. So we get annouced and cheer and yay and suuuuch and then sit down. And I look over to see no DJ. Uh...what? So I grab Drew (who was AMAZING the entire night! He made sure everyone was taken care of, nothing went wrong or if it did he fixed it, and he kept getting us beer ♥ ) and ask. He says he'll figure it out. 60 minutes in to the reception (and while we're eating) the DJ shows up. (NOt sure what happened BUT he made up for it with the dance.) Speeches were AMAZABALLS. Dan's dad didn't want to speak but he wrote something and read it to us privately part-way through the reception. I'm getting copies of the speeches so I'll share later♥

Anyhoar: My brother was seriously an awesome MC. He was funny and quick and witty...just like I always tell him!! lol! He even said he really enjoyed himself. And everyone kept commenting saying "I didn't know your brother was so funny!" "How did I miss his sense of humour?!" It was GREAT!

The food was AMAZING! Like seriously some of the best food I've ever had. We got so many compliments on it. And zomg I agree...NOMMMM! Mom thought it would be funny to annouce to each table with kids that the candy buffet was now open. 15 minutes later there were only a few candy sticks left. The glow braclets were a HIT! Look at our cake pics and you can see that I had two on...I forgot to take them off for those pics...OOPS! lol

The dancing was wonderful! Our first dance was so nice, we just chatted and laughed and really enjoyed it. Dad and I had a blast too. The parrrrrrty was rockin'! Everyone was out on the floor and we all danced and partied...it was seriously the best party I've ever been to! Everyone said they enjoyed themselves(which is really what we wanted!) and I can't believe it's all over now!

It was seriously this amazing, wonderful, beautiful time! It went by quickly but we drank in all the details. It wasn't a blur...it was like a dream though. Everything was relaxed, and perfect. It could not have been better.

I was pretty sure this was 2011....

But maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe we're back in the 50's where women lived in their kitchen and raised their kids, where people of a different ethnicity stayed in "their sections", where gays weren't gay...I didn't think I time traveled that easily but I MUST have done it because otherwise I just don't get it...

Two close friends of mine (a same sex couple) are planning their wedding.  Their Grandmother/FGMIL recently went to a shop in Maine to order their invitations for them.  The invitations were designed and made by her and they just needed them printed.  

(Sidebar: The guys are in NB, on the border, so g-ma getting something in Maine and bringing it over on the weekend saves a lot of cash!  Smart men!!)

Anyhoar, she discussed the invitations with the person at the store and was told she'd have a quote in a week.  The next week she hadn't heard so they contacted the store.  They were told that due to "Ethical policy" they wouldn't be doing their invitations.  They had been rejected based on content. Basically they were told "no thanks, you're gay".  Now, normally I wouldn't post this company's name but I feel people deserve to know who they're dealing with; the company was Wilton Printed Products out of Wilton, Maine.

I'm absolutely disgusted that it's 2011 and there is a "company policy" that would prohibit someone from printing wedding invitations for a same-sex couple!  It makes me both angry and sad at the same time.  I'm pissed that someone wouldn't want to help these two wonderful young men with their wedding and I'm sad that there are still people that don't support love.  What has happened to love in this world?! These gentlemen deserve a beautiful wedding and they deserve to be happy.  Why is there STILL a company out there that will not serve them?!  I don't understand how people can hate love so much.  I just don't understand...

Wedding Wednesday - Pretending I'm a wedding planner!

A good friend of mine recently got engaged.  She is a fantabulous , hilarious, wonderful person and she's getting married about a month after me.  We've been chatting weddings lately and she recently found her venue and  decided on her colors.  I'm pretty excited for this because #1) She's a good friend and I lurves her and #2) I lurves planning thing.  So when we chatted about colors I was more than happy to jump in.  So today I present you with Katie's wedding colors and inspiration; a collection of palates that I have collected for her to use as a guide and to add to.  It's obviously not the be all end all, but I'd like to think I helped her on her way.

Now, Kat's colors are eggplant (aka purple), navy and silver.  First thing I thought of was elegant, classy, a little flirty and plums (I love plums and they're a good purple color so it popped in there too!!).  Once I had some ideas and I chatted with her about it...where it was, when it was, etc etc I went back into my wedding binder (DUN DUN DUNNNNNN) and took a look at some stuff I had found while digging around for myself.  Then I ran to google, and some wedding websites, and grabbed a few more  Here's what I've come up with...

Classy and a little fun.

I thought this one was nice.  It's classy but it's still fun and young.  Kat is a really fun person and although I picture something formal(ish) I think it needs to have fun.

A little classier, more formal but the right colors.

I thought I'd throw this in because it has some different elements (the cake, favours...) and it gives her some more ideas as to where she can go.  It also gives a different feeling than the last one.  This one, to me, is more formal where the first is playful.

Look at the stunning purples!

I LOVE this one.  It's got a  touch of elegance but very fun...look at the BOLD purples and the neat centerpieces! It also shows longer bridesmaids dresses (first dresses we've seen!), which might work better for her considering late October in Nova Scotia is gettin' chilly!

Had to get some more navy in there!

And finally here's the last one I sent her.  This one incorporates more navy into the mix, not quite as much purple, but I thought it was really nice.  It shows how they can be mixed and matched and it's got a nice fun feel to it.

So those are just a few of the boards I came up with for Kat.  I hope they give her some ideas and help her find some inspiration.  I think no matter what she does it will be a BEAUTIFUL wedding.  I'm just so excited that she is going to marry the man of her dreams.  *dreamy sigh*

Road trip!!

So as you know, my loyal reader, my hiatus has been long (almost 2 weeks!) but I promise it was worth it.  I have returned to you with eye candy! But you don't get to see it yet.  First you need to sit through my explanation of the glorious trip that Dan and I went on.

So pay attention.  There might be a quiz at the end.

My aunt lives in Lunenburg, Mass. It's about an hour outside of Bahhston and it's a lovely little New England town with nice homes and rolling green lawns.  Dan and I decided that this Labour Day weekend we would take some extra vacation, pack up Red, head the pugs to Mom's and drive from Halifax, NS to Lunenburg, Mass.  On the way we would stop in St. Stephen, NB to visit friends, then Kittery, Maine to go shopping and eventually we'd make it Rindge, NH to play at the cottage.

Meet Red, my Yaris hatchback.

So we dropped off the dogs and headed out.   It takes about 5 hours to get from Halifax to St. Stephen and there was a hurricane predicted for the following day but that didn't deter me (Dan was a little nervous, though!).  I headed off into the rain and eventually we made it to St. Stephen.  The next morning, after a lovely breakfast at the Red Rooster country store/gas station/restaurant, we headed across the border.  Luck was with us and the lovely American gentleman at customs told us to "Have a safe trip."  And we were off!!  12 hours later (8 p.m.) we arrived in Lunenburg.  And bless my aunt, she had the wine ready to go!!

Rindge, NH and tours of Pack Monadnock and the Cathedral of the Pines were to follow.  Here's some eye candy for you...

Cathedral of the Pines.  More info:
http://www.cathedralofthepines.org/

Holy beautiful, Batman!!

That is my lovely fiancé's hand, pointing out where Boston is.

This is our proof that we made it to the top!

So after our adventures in NH we were ready to head into the big city.  BAHHSTON HERE WE COME!!  We set out early on Tuesday and headed into Boston via the Subway.  I must say the subway is WAY better than our silly Halifax Metro Transit...but I digress..

The first stop in Beantown was the New England Aquarium, one of my favorite places!! I'm obsessed with the penguins there.  They have 80 different penguins...with 80 personalities!! They also have a HUGE coral reef (we're talking 4 or 5 stories tall here, people!) filled with sharks and fish and all manner of underwater creatures.

These two love-birds were staring at us the whole time!

Mrs. Turtle was chillin' at the bottom of the reef.

OH and did I mention I found a...

BUTTON!! From over at Blogging with Button

Button knew we were coming to town and arranged to be in Bahhston (one of her not-so-favorite places) just to hang out for the day.  Needless to say after we did some shopping and sea-creature watching we dropped into the hotel to chill out for a bit.  We needed to freshen up and find the rest of the crew.

You'd be tired after being boiled!!

Dan decided to stay at the hotel to use their wi-fi and sleep number beds but Button and I, along with those faithful NEY'ers from The Knot (Katanne and NQB) headed out for some dinner and drinks.  I must say wandering around Boston with 3 ladies from New York can make for an interesting night...

Our bartender, Jim.

We decided to close the place down! Jim bought us some shots to celebrate.

Button, Kat, myself and NQB enjoying an evening in Bahhston.

The next day Dan and I said goodbye to the ladies and headed back to Lunenburg.  However, the story isn't quite over...I went wedding dress shopping that afternoon.  But more on that another time.

What do you do when your friends turn their backs and it seems like your world is falling apart?

NOTE: This post has been edited to protect the parties involved.

This is the question my little brother must be asking himself now.  This weekend he learned a hard life lesson, something everyone will experience - sometimes your friends aren't who you think they are.

My little brother is the sweetest guy you'll ever meet. He is kind, funny,trusting, hardworking, compassionate and fiercly loyal. He really is one of the nicest people I have ever met. This weekend his friends took advantage of his good nature and my family's hospitality - by setting some of our belongings on fire while they stayed at our cottage with him. Outraged yet? Me too. I need to get this out so feel free to listen/read or just give me a pat on the head.

It's been tradition for the past few years that my friends and I take over the cottage for the weekend and have a little party. There are always rules and it usually ends up being a GREAT time. Bro turned 20 this summer so he thought it would be a great idea to get some guys together and head to the cottage on his own for the first time. He gathered up a few of his friends from football (he's known these guys for the past 10 years) and one of his best friends (whom he's known since birth) and headed to the cottage. Everything went well on Satuday night and the boys decided to make fries and Bob headed to bed.

Flash forward to Sunday, at 1:30p.m. I get a call from my mother as I'm heading to visit my Grandfather. Dan answers and tells me to pull over. I got a little nervous and pulled over. Got on the phone with mom and she says "Something happened at Keji (the cottage) and he (brother) needs you to go over. There was a fire. No one was hurt but his friend's set it and he doesn't know what to do." I knew it was going to take 2 hours to get there but Dan and I hightailed it over. Dad left at the same time and we met him there.

Turns out during the night some of the boys started a fire in the flower garden in front of the house. They threw in our toaster,a blender, the bed box, 2 lamps, Bro's 2 PS3 controllers, a video game, some of my Dad's reference books, a guest book/journal that we write in each time we're there and some other random stuff. Then they lied to Bro and tried to tell him that someone broke in and did it. Bro told them they were full of shit, to get out of the house and he went to find cell service. It took him a 20 mintue drive to call my mom, obviously upset and ask her what to do. He then headed back to the house to see that they hadn't left. They laughed when he tired to kick them out. Eventually they left. Then we were called and headed there.

When I got there Bro was so upset. He was devastated that his friends burnt up our guest book. This book was full of visits, stories and memories that we'd had there since 2007. This cottage has been around since the 1960's and there are books dating back to the first visit. He was upset they lied to him. He was upset that guys he'd know since he was 10 betrayed him. But the thing that hurt him the most is that one of his best friends wouldn't tell him what happened, lied to him, laughed at him and basically betrayed his trust.

I really didn't know what to do. We helped him clean up and we had a chat about friendships and how they evolve. I told him "Well buddy, sometimes people grow up to be asshats." He thought it was funny, and I kind of meant it to be, but honestly it's the truth. He knows the things don't matter, and no one was hurt but he feels so betrayed. And I hurt for him.

I have all these things I want to say to these assholes. I have all this anger in me and no outlet for it. Mom called the boys parents and, even though most are 19-20, they are all in deep shit. We're not pressing charges for the damage - even though we probably could and we're not asking for an appology. We just want those kids gone. But Bro hurts. He can't believe someone would do this to him and neither can I, really.

I just don't know what else to do. I really feel like if I saw these boys I might lose my shit. I really just want to scream and then I want to take all of my little brother's pain for him...he's usually such a happy guy - I hate to see him hurt like that.




What right did these little shit-heads have to come into OUR HOUSE and destroy our belongings?! What right did they have to hurt the nicest person I've ever met - someone who would rather run himself ragged than disappoint someone else?! I have no words for these selfish, rude, hurtful little fuckers except this: Karma is a bitch and someday when you need something really badly and you have no one to turn to you'll realize that you have destroyed the trust and friendship of one of the best people you've ever had the privilege to meet. You'll be on your own and he will be surrounded by better friends, a family that loves him and people that care.