LOVING the mountains!!

Hi all!! Hope everyone has been enjoying the summer days (we've been hearing a tonne about the heat wave that went through the East... but it's been ch-ch-chilly here in the West?!). The hubs and I are coming up to that infamous 1 year mark (what??), and remembering the utter craziness of last year at this time (thesis, wedding, thesis, thesis, thesis, wedding) makes me so happy and grateful that this year is a bit more normal!!

But, that doesn't mean I don't still LOVE an amazing wedding shoot, and this morning I was BLOWN AWAY by the most recent work of our photogs, Kevan and Duane of [6:8] Photography. They had a GORGEOUS couple, and a truly spectacular backdrop in Lake Louise, AB.

Here are a few of my favorites, but seriously, I know you want the link, cause you will want to see this entire wedding, so after looking at em here, head on over to feast your eyes on all the beauty!!

Amazing work guys!!

Ideas I Shamelessly 'Borrowed' From Other Brides... #3

So now that we have got back into the "detail" section of the recaps, I am ready for the third installment of my Reference List. In case you missed the previous entries, I first gave a shout out to Mrs. Lighting of weddingbee, for the great grooms-socks-wrapping-idea. And of course, I had to mention Jess of Budget Savvy Bride and Jess Lehry Designs for her awesome idea for blinging out my wedding shoes!

But now, it is time for a shout out to Nicole from Our Little Life... who's GORGEOUS wedding was one that gave me muchos inspiration. The main thing that I shamelessly borrowed from her wedding was the aisle decoration. I thought they were simple, but perfect, and knew they would be great at our mountain wedding.

How do you think I did in 'borrowing'... ok, who am I kidding, it was more like a full-on copy! Heh, I don't apologize for this blatant flattery... the girl had a great idea, and I thought it would be great for us too!!

Their aisle decorations:


Our aisle decorations:

Their 'sticks' behind the bride:

Our sticks behind the bride:

Their sticks behind the groom:

Our sticks behind the groom:

As much as I tried to get the same effect as Nicole's, it didn't quite work out. Here are a couple of reasons: I deligated this task. Let's face it ladies, the night before our wedding I had a choice: 1) stay at the lodge and work on the little details like a detail-oriented freak that I can very easily become... OR, 2) Go out for amazing Thai food with my ladies and have the BEST-NIGHT-EVER... ya, you can guess what I did!! But, the girls that were back at the house executing the details did a fantastic job, and although I pictured the "sticks" (as the hubs referred to them) being closer together, my wedding-elves (love you cousins!!) really did get it better. The simple fact was that our ceremony space was cramped... the sticks being off to the side a bit made it more visually open, with really only the mountains and sky as a backdrop. So we might ask... were the sticks really even necessary?! Well, with photos like this one...

I think they were a great addition!!

All photos from our wedding courtesy of [6:8] Photography, and those from Nicole and Grants were borrowed from Lauren Brooks Photography.

Our Montaintop Wedding - Confident

The time was finally here... the day had been a blast so far. We had spent an amazing morning/afternoon with each other, and with our bridal party, but the moment had arrived. Our family had assembled, we could hear the music playing and the chatter of our guests. My girls and I gathered in a small room on the main floor of the lodge where we were met by our Jordy, our make-up and hair guru, for last minute hair curling, dress steaming, and make-up touch-ups! We shared a quick glass of champagne, and my great friend Cindy came in to let us know it was time.

And the one emotion that was overriding all others was CONFIDENCE.

Of course their was a mixture of all the days emotions... anticipation, gratefulness, pride, familiar love, even a bit of feeling torn, but above all else, I was confident in the vows I was about to make, and those that I would receive. I was confident in the man I was marrying. I was confident in our foundation, our hopes and vision, and in our love for each other that would provide the framework for our future.

And so, I nodded to my mom, accepted my dad's arm, and started up the stairs...

I was surrounded by the people I loved the most, and who supported, guided, and protected me. I was confident, with my mom by my side, that this walk was a purposeful one. One that was well thought out. A walk that lead me to the man I was meant to spend the rest of my life with.

I was confident in walking towards my husband... and it was like there was no other place I was meant to be. Inspite of chaos, emotion, trials, tribulations, successes and failures, that inevitably form any bride's foundation, everything seemed to fall away, making space only for this walk as a woman about to become a wife...

And then we stood together. Bride and groom, friends, lovers, confidantes, cheerleaders and critics

And nearly... husband and wife.

I made sure to soak it all up... and especially tried to connect with our friends and families in the 'audience'.

And before we knew it, it was time to say our vows. We chose to include a somewhat typical "do you promise to...", complete with "I Do's", after which we exchanged our personal vows. As it turned out, we both finalized our vows that morning, and it was hilarious (proof in the pudding... check out my laugh) that we had both written our vows in coil notebooks which we proceeded to read them from :) Seriously... it took some of the nerves away, and was soooo US! Dorky, goofy, note takers!

So first up was the hubs... his vows were sweet, direct, and calming. They were him... he's not really a man of words, so they were short and too the point... but they were perfect!

And then it was my turn. I also think mine were "me"... long winded and thoughtful! Yep, sometimes I can ramble. What can I say... this was the reason I was here! I followed the "I love you because..." and "Because I love you..." that I first saw here. I don't know why, but as soon as I saw this style, I knew it was how I wanted to share my love and promises with my man.

Of course there were many details to the ceremony, but at the end, and most importantly, we sealed the deal with a kiss...

And we confidently entered the world of MARRIAGE!! We were FINALLY husband and wife!

all photos credited, as always, to [6:8] Photography

And PS... don't you just love that I FINALLY figured out how to post with larger images?!

Guest Post on another mountain peak...

And by 'Mountain Peak', I mean blog written by mountain-loving bride... Yep, that's right, I am over at A Mountain Bride today, sharing a glimpse of our mountaintop wedding!


Jess was recently married in Arizona, and has kept a thoughtful, inspiring, and gorgeous account of her wedding planning over at her blog... seriously, I can NOT wait to see her pics! I gained MUCH inspiration from her blog over the months leading up to our wedding, and we have become blog-buds which really has been one of the best parts of writing this blog. The ladies that we all get to meet through the planning (and remembering!) stages of weddings really bring a whole new level of camaraderie to brides. So Jess, thanks for having me over there at your FAB site... and hurry up and come home so you can share your wedding pics with us all!! No seriously, I hope you are having a blast on your honeymoon!! Can't wait to hear all about your wedding in the mountains!!

Our Mountaintop Wedding - Anticipation

Wow... you are here... to the end of the formals! This has been a long journey of recaps, and more importantly, of emotion. As you have travelled with us chronologically the morning of the wedding, you have seen the amazing work of our photogs, [6:8] Photography, but I hope you have also felt the emotion of the day. The good, the bad, the ugly... and the amazing!! For those of you who have missed it and want to catch up, prepare yourself for an emotional roller coaster...

• The day started off calm as hair and make up got under way.
• But with the reality that my wedding day had finally arrived, so too came some family issues that had been unresolved, and let's be honest, I was torn.
• After making the best decision I knew how to at the time, I started to get excited to see my husband, and my heart went crazy pitter-patter
• And seeing my husband for the first time brought everything to a stop... and it really was pure bliss
• A bit of frustration with rain and transportation resulted in some flask-ing
• and let's face it peeps, a bit of booze and umbrellas seems to calm things down... ahhhh-relaxed
• My man was the coolest groom ever, and I couldn't have been more proud
• And when we were reminded of a turning point in our relationship, we realized just how blessed we were to be marrying eachother
• As the morning turned in to afternoon, we were surrounded by the most comforting emotion yet... familiar love

And if you're still with me, the journey brought us to our little trek in the trees. And at this time, their was really only one emotion in the air... anticipation. We had only a couple shots left before we drove back to the lodge to say our "I Do's". Admittedly, I kinda didn't want to go. Not because I didn't want to exchange vows, but because I was so LOVING hanging out with my groom...

It felt like it was the first time we had been together in MONTHS (*which was kinda true considering the lock-down I had been in prior to the wedding finishing my thesis and defending it), and I was kinda lovin it!

I knew, though, that sharing our vows with our friends and family would be such a special experience, and so we savored the last few moments alone in the forest...

And before heading back, I prepared myself to step into the wide world of WIFE... but let me be straight up here guys, I was also kinda thinking about the fact that in a few short minutes my dad would be walking me down the aisle with my mom, despite my mixed emotions on the topic, and I was preparing myself to be in the moment (sorry to bust up the picturesque dreaming of wedding bliss with harsh reality, but that's the way it went down). The anticipation of having my dad there was trying to take over, but it DIDN'T... it was present, but more importantly, the confident love that was streaming between my groom and I gave me all the confidence in the world to face my dad...

Because with him by side, want couldn't we take on??

Ya, we were ready... let's get this party started!!

All photo credits to Kevan and Duane of [6:8] Photography

Our Mountaintop Wedding - Familiar Love

Hiya!! Thanks for believing me when I told you "I was back"!! And thanks, too, for following this emotional journey with me, as I recap our Fernie wedding! The last stage of the journey was a quiet reflection of our relationship, as our photogs had taken us to a location that was rooted in our history! We knew we were truly blessed to be together, to love each other, and to be getting married in one of our most favorite locations!!

When the cliff-side photo shoot ended, we went back down to meet up with our bridal party again... this time we were OUT OF THE RAIN (yah baby, the sun was SHINING!!) and went from barns and umbrellas to sun and rocks!
So let me explain the title of the post... there is so much about a wedding that is foreign to me... of course the obvious is the WHITE DRESS (ya, sooo not my familiar!!), but there were MANY elements of the day (or prepping for the day) that were completely unfamiliar. Here's a short list: being called 'bride' for MONTHS, opening shower presents in front of a LOT of women, shedding tears in front of a LOT of people, getting beautified for HOURS, being obsessed with the weather, having people take my pictures with the expectation that I look GOOD, being 'pretty' (that's a whole notha blog-worthy post!)... you get the idea! BUT, there were also many FAMILIAR parts of the wedding day too, and it was our bridal party (ok, who am I kidding, it was my girls!!) that really made me feel at home. These three girls have literally been my side since I was born... aren't they gorgeous!!

And Ian's boys were definitely a bright spot in his day too... BOYS! Enough wedding talk... flowers, seating arrangements, playlists, menu.... let's just have fun!

And there is something about that familiarity that made our love even sweeter:

Here's some solo shots of my girls (which I highly recommend getting done!). My sister and maid of honour:

And my two cousins... the first, P-ah, was born a couple months before me, and we have grown ULTRA close... and her smile is a showstopper:

And her sister, JB, the eldest, and leader of the pack, has always been my ally... if we were fighting with our sisters, we would align and conquer! She is a great friend, and quite a beauty:

The girls were there for me to make sure I was looking good... and this is about as familiar as it gets! My three girls have always been the "pretty" ones, and they have always worked to smooth me down, touch me up, dress me up, primp and poke, as I was more concerned about getting out the door to par-tay!! Well, here is a glimpse of those roles staying true to form:

And it looks like the shot came together!

And of course, familiarity rings in the FUN we had all afternoon... goofing off in front of the camera:

Until we were ready to strike a pose:

And sometimes we like to just kick back... I love this picture for a couple of reasons. First of all, the scenery and the lines melt my heart! But more importantly, I love how my sister is watching over me... and she has that look in her eyes of "don't you mess with my baby sister"!! I love her to bits, and this picture is a perfect reflection of us... I have always been off on my own a bit, but my sister doesn't need to be standing right beside me to hold a watchful eye! Now this is familiar love!

A group shot... sorry, I tend to focus on the girls, but yes, we had a blast with our ENTIRE wedding party!!

And what about the 'bride and groom'?! Well, in spite of wedding dresses and suits, we had that comfy, familiar ease too... and we took another moment to steal off for a kiss or two...

For me, these moments of familiarity in a day that can otherwise seem COMPLETELY foreign are what make all worthwhile. My day would not have been the same without the familiar COMFORT and PROTECTION of my ladies, the laid back quiet support of the hubs' boys, and of course, the simple, unmistakable love between 'bride and groom'!

As always, photo credit is given to Kev and Duane of [6:8] Photography... thanks for capturing the familiar love in a way that makes our wedding day fit seamlessly into the record of our lives!

Is it possible?!?!

That I am actually back to continue the journey that have been recaps?? Well, ALMOST!! I am back, and I will continue recapping, but I wanted to let you in on a lil secret...

It has been hard.

There you have it. That's the plain-ol-up-front-no-hiding-TRUTH!! What's been hard? Life after wedding has been hard! Not just the post-wedding blues... we have gone through some shit. The hubs and I have been living long distance since we got back from our honeymoon. We bought a house.... a SECOND house. Yep, 2 mortgages :( We renovated one of those houses. We moved out of one and rented it (YAY... no more 2 mortgages!). We both started new jobs. I applied for a got denied a dream job. The hubs quit his job and needs to relocate a business. We struggled with communication. We worked through it. We made some tough decisions about babies. We have dealt with the ongoing drama of alcoholism in my family. This has brought up some bad memories from the wedding. There you have it... it's been hard!

But then I think about the journey from here...

Photo by [6:8] Photography

to here:

(that's us the day we handed over the original house to our new renters... and closed the door on the renovated beauty! personal photo)

And I realize that it's ok. It's better than ok... it's a success!! The amazing part of this journey, is that we have come out STRONGER, happier, and totally confident about our future. There are still many unknowns (JOBS, timing of babies, etc!!) but the one thing we know to be true will get us through the rough patches... and that's our love and commitment to eachother. So I finally feel like I can start telling you all about the wedding again. The wedding high is over, but the amazing memories will truly last a lifetime. There are some not-so-beautiful memories, and you know that you get the straight up truth here, so I will share those with you too... and more importantly, I will share with you how the emotions have translated into the everyday too.

So, if you're still around, thanks for hanging on... I really do want to share this whole shit-and-caboodle (sorry, don't know where that came from... my mom used to say that, and it literally just popped into my head!) with you!