Canadian girl out and aboot

I have neglected to post about the completely fun wedding that I went to in Vancouver almost two weeks ago. This is rather deplorable, so I'll make up for it now. My friends Carlos and Andrea got hitched. They wanted a very non-traditional ceremony, so they held the wedding at a hall in Kitsilano in Vancouver. The weather cooperated and it was an absolutely gorgeous day. When we got there, they were still setting up, so I was able to see the groom, which was weird to me. I don't think I've been at a wedding where I have seen the groom before the wedding.

We were also given our wedding favours immediately. The favours consisted of a small button with a drawing of Carlos and Andrea holding hand, a Count and colour colouring book that detailled their courtship and a few crayons with a ribbon around them so we could colour. This was awesome, because we could colour as we were waiting.

The justice of the peace they hired was awesome. She told us that we had to begin the wedding by shouting, "Let this wedding begin." Andrea and Carlos entered the hall to a Sarah Harmer song and walked onto the stage. The justice of the peace told us the story of their courtship, which began on OK Cupid. We got to hear the story of how they got together and some of the early things about their relationship. The justice of the peace also gave us a glass heart made by a local artisan to pass around. We were all supposed to hold the heart and think about how much we loved the couple and think good thoughts for them. Then the couple would always have the heart to remember how loved they were by their community.

Everyone at the wedding was asked if we would support the marriage and their act of marriage and we responded, "We will." I thought it was a great way to honour the couple.

The funniest part of the ceremony involved the justice of the peace asking a question about the special gift that Andrea had got for Carlos. The J of P meant the ring, of course, but Andrea responded, "I got him a button maker."
Everyone in the audience laughed, but then Andrea got it and they exchanged rings. Since Carlos is Spanish, part of the ceremony included them reciting, "With this ring, we are wed," in Spanish. There was no bridal party, but the parents came onstage to sign the registry.

Andrea had a very cool dress. It was made especially for her. It consisted of a black slip dress with pink tulle underneath. She also had a jacket to cover the dress that had small pink buttons on the sides. She had a big pink and blue flower arrangement in her hair, turquoise shoes and a black, pink and turquoise clutch. The parents and Carlos had corsages with pink or turquoise in them. It was very sweet.

After the ceremony, the immediate family went for pics and the rest of us milled around. A lot of the friends helped get the reception hall ready for the dinner. This consisted of arranging tables and putting African violets on the tables. When people were allowed back in, they were able to buy 50/50 tickets to help pay for the cost of the wedding.

The dinner consisted of Memphis bbq. The vegetarians had veggie lasagna and salad and were allowed to eat first. There were tons of different kinds of meat! (Pulled pork, ribs, lamb, chicken, beef, sausages and something else if I remember correctly.) For dessert, we were given mini cupcakes made by Andrea's sister. We were given bags of icing to decorate the cupcakes, which was a lot of fun. The wedding cake was a huge cupcake, decorated with blue icing and the wedding ducks. The couple also bottled and labelled their own wine. After the dinner, we had a number of fun speeches by various friends and family, and then we cleared out the reception for dancing. This was one of the funniest playlists ever as we played music by the Pipettes, The Postal Service, The Black Kids and Annie. It was very hipster, but lots of fun. There were about 100 people at the wedding, which I am convinced is the perfect number. It's a sizeable group, but you still get to interact with everyone!

Also, I should add that I won the 50/50, and made $250! When I was called to the mike to collect my prize, I was asked why I should win. I said I should win because I was from out of town, and I was a writer. People loved my answer.

The bouquet and garland toss were done to the song "Single ladies". My friend Emily and I did the Single ladies dance before the bouquet was tossed off. It was super fun. After the dancing, a few people went to the casino, but I was exhausted, so I just went home.

Earlier in the day, I'd been to visit my friend Arthur and his new son, who was three weeks old. He's an absolutely beautiful baby. All in all, a fantastic and original wedding and a great day.