The Big Secret

...I've been keeping is that T-L's wedding shower was really a wedding reception. She and Van were married at 4pm on Saturday, with a very few number of people being let in on the secret.

So I've known about this wedding for months now and couldn't talk about it with anyone. Was driving me crazy!! But I did promise to keep the secret and I did so successfully. I actually threatened to bring my laptop and blog about it immediately after the wedding, but I also served as a bit of a photographer since they did not hire one. 160 pictures later, I think there are some pretty nice ones in there, the only drawback being that I don't have the greatest of digital cameras. But that's what Photoshop is for!

With the maid of honor being in Alberta and then unable to make the wedding due to health issues, I stepped up where I could to help out, especially since there weren't many people "in the know." I really wanted to help wherever I could... I've been in so many weddings that I don't know what it's like to just be a spectator :)

I had gone to one dress fitting with T-L, and at the time saw that she was wearing open-toed shoes, and asked if she was getting a pedicure, but she apparently hadn't thought that much about it. I thought, hey, why don't I treat her to a pedicure as part of her wedding present? So I took Friday afternoon off, having booked us in, and her sister joined us as well. What a great time we had!! T-L's sister was enjoying it so much she almost fell asleep. T-L loved the chairs, which leaned back while they worked on your feet... if anyone is still looking for a wedding present for her, might I suggest one of those chairs, LOL!!! I apparently have the softest feet the aestheticians have seen, as I was the talk of the pedicure room for my baby-soft feet. I owe it all to socks!!! I am notorious for my love of socks, and rarely wear bare feet. To which T-L's sister asked why was I getting a pedicure? Good question. But I do occasionally wear sandals and with the desert locale of Tucson coming up, I doubt I'll be wearing that many socks.

After the pedicure I headed home for a bit, then off to visit my grandfather at the hospital. Last time he was in the hospital, he caught an infection, so this time when I was in, I had to wear gown, mask and gloves. Kind of weird. Especially since I'll be going to visit him tomorrow and won't have to do all of that. He made out ok with his operation, to remove possible stroke-causing blockages in his neck. He's home now and resting, and I will have to go over tomorrow and fix his PC, which my aunt called and said isn't working very well.

Armed with the "I have to do family things" cover story (which was true, I just didn't need to be occupied all night), I left the hospital and went to T-L's parents house for a rehearsal get-together with pizza and finger foods, and watched as they opened presents from people "in the know." The other half of my present was money, as I knew that was what they needed. They also got a BBQ, tank, tools and a vacuum cleaner, among other smaller gifts. After that was done, T-L and her sister came back to my place where I gave them both manicures. While I worked on her sister, I set T-L up to chat online with that new person in my life (tell me that wasn't brave!!!!) With her sister finished and exhausted from the day, she left and I got to work on T-L's nails. We chatted for a while about many things, I kept messing up because I was trying to have a serious conversation with her while doing nails and sometimes I lost track of what I was doing, LOL! But they turned out ok in the end.

The plan was for her to stay at my place the night before the wedding, so I had done up the spare bedroom. After finishing nails, we sat and watched 2 episodes of the Muppet Show (ma nah, ma nah!) and had a great laugh, then off to bed.

The next morning, T-L got up and pretty much asked for Advil right away, LOL!! She'd called Van and he told her (teasingly) that he'd stayed up all night, and that got her all riled up! But we got up, dressed, and headed to her parents house for decorations and preparations. We put up streamers, buttered rolls, and put together the wedding "cake", which was rice krispie squares from Java Moose, arranged on tiers, drizzled with chocolate and decorated with strawberries. Between the tiers were green flute glasses holding strawberries. On the top was 2 beanie wedding bears. T-L had the idea to make them the cake topper, asking me what I thought. Me. Well of course I was going to like it!! The "cake" looked great, and was really different. Van was impressed when he saw the finished product.

After that was through, I headed home to shower, change, have some chat time online. Then I was off to the wedding at 4pm. The chapel was used at St. Mark's, small and cozy and a favorite of T-L. As soon as she walked in the room, she lost it. Started crying right then & there, and cried for a lot of the ceremony. But you could tell just how happy she was, and Van just looked at her with love. It was really special.

It was then off to the reception, where other guests arrived to see her in her wedding dress and the looks of shock were abundant. Lots of food and love, friends and family, and they had a perfect day for weather. It was a wedding to remember :)

I do want to apologize to Joanne for having to miss your birthday karaoke, but I think you will understand this statement perfectly: I had to be T-L's bubble.


Between this wedding and my older brother's upcoming wedding, I have now contracted Wedding Fever. [shakes head] Nothing worse than a woman who has caught wedding fever... or nothing better, depending on who you are and how you look at it ;)