we are gathered here

I've got an appointment booked to meet with our marriage commissioner, Bob Dunn, on April 4th at 11am. I hope all goes well. Marcus and I are keen on a fairly traditional ceremony, well, as traditional as one can get without it being held at a church.

coming to calgary

I've got my flight booked, so it's official. I will be in Calgary April 1 - 11. It's a bit of a longer trip back home and I'm not sure who will miss me more, Marcus or the cat. I'm starting to come up with a schedule of things that need to get accomplished while I'm in town. As per usual, it's going to be a bit crazy. Besides Aaron's birthday, Easter, and going to the ballet with my mom, I also need to meet with our marriage commissioner, order the flowers, figure out what Tina (the only female in the bridal party) will wear, get my passport papers signed by a guarantor, attend the After Thought Art society AGM, etc. I am also going to try my best to take the time and visit with some friends that I haven't seen in a while. Oh, and did I mention, I still need to be working a bit while I'm in Calgary. Phew, it'll be a busy eleven days, but most importantly I'll get to spend some time with my mom (who is on Spring break for the first week of April) and the rest of the family.

mixing it up

So, as you've probably read in Marcus' last post, he has formally chosen his attendants. His sister, Tina, will be his Best Man and his nephew, Jared, will be his Groomsman. Now, I know there are a lot of traditionalists out there that might be aghast at the notion of a female Best Man . Those individuals will probably feel just as anxious when they find out that my Maid of Honour is actually my brother, Aaron, and my Bride's Attendant is our eldest brother, Blake. The wedding party is definitely going to be a bit different. But in all honesty, it really shouldn't matter which sex our wedding party positions are comprised of. Marcus and I have chosen the people dearest to us to share our wedding experience with. And that, in the end, is what matters most. We're both really looking forward to involving each of our attendants in a special way. Thanks to each of you (Tina, Aaron, Jared, and Blake) for doing us this honour!

more content!

So all the grooms side attendants have called us up and accepted our invitations! Now we are pretty much set for the official my side of the wedding party.

I am really excited to bring in Jared ( groomsman ), Tina ( best man ) along with us on this celebration. Jared and Tina have been a huge part of my life and I couldn't leave them out of the wedding party. We all grew up together and many a trip to 7-11 has been made. We'll have to make one after the ceremony is done I am sure.

Anyhow, not much else to talk about right now. The about us page now has us on it, and our cat Chloe since she is the one who really rules the roost here at Chateau Riedner.

the veil

So back in the day, veils symbolized the bride's innocence and modesty. Women today consider them a romantic custom. I honestly hadn't really envisioned wearing a veil on my wedding day, but then I tried so many on while looking for the wedding dress, that I got roped into the idea. I mean, when else will I get to wear a veil?! Might as well go for it. But then I got to looking at the price tags hanging from all those veils. The least inexpensive was $150. This is while I'm still trying to come to grips with how much the dress will be. I console myself with the notion that I really won't need to chose the veil until the dress comes in, which is about five months from now. But then it is pointed out to me that, no, in fact, the veils themselves take a least three months to get in. Which means I don't have to decide on the veil that minute, but I do need to make up my mind in the next few weeks.

And that's where the creative sewer in me took hold. Why the heck would I pay $150 for a veil that I could make for about $50 or less?! (I do realize that I might find out why someone would pay that much shortly, if my homemade veil is a disaster :) ) On Monday, I received a sale flyer for Fabricland and noticed that their tulle is currently 50% off. So, last night I took a little trip there, found a pattern for a variety of veil styles and lengths (also 50% off) and bought reams of white tulle to make the veil for only $2.45/m (on sale). I haven't decided what type of headpiece or comb I'll go with, but I can probably find something at Claire's with a little sparkle.

My only dilemma now is, did I make the right choice about the colour of tulle. The dress is a very light ivory. They had both white and ivory tulle in stock, but the ivory just looked too yellow. I may have to take the tulle down to the dress shop in the next couple of days and hold it against the dress.