Family: Going "Home"

Going "home" is something that is foreign to me. It's one major thing that my husband and I don't have in common. He grew up in the same house for his entire life, went to the same schools, and has parents that have been married for 29 years. I've lived in 10+ houses over the span of my life. And I know I'm not done yet. In one day Tom and I are off to Windsor. The place I spent 9 years of my life and 4 houses of my life. When I lived there I felt trapped. I had moved away from everything I had ever known. We moved three weeks before my 10th birthday. It was tough. I went with my Mom, but my Dad stayed in Calgary. I felt like I had been cut in half. Now I need to admit something. I've spent years hating Windsor. Hating it for existing. Hating it for taking me away from the city I loved. The only thing that anchored it to me way my Mom. Now I'm going back (I've been back plenty of times), but I want to reflect on what it truly meant to me. Honestly I think it's probably a really beautiful place. Filled with history and sights to see. So I'm going to put myself in Tom's shoes. I'm going to SEE it for the first time. Something tells me I might actually love it. It won't just be the place my Mom is, but the place that contributed my history.

Craft: Jewelry Box Fix-up

I find jewelry storage one of the hardest things. I'm the type of person who if I don't see it, I forget I have it, so I only wear like two necklaces. I got an old wooden jewelry box from my stepmom a few years ago and spray painted it. I never really liked it. Case in point:

This is what happens when you succumb to free spray paint! You get a booger coloured jewelry box . Anywho, I decided to fix it so I can store bracelets, earrings, and rings in it. So a few coats of turquoise paint and some mod podge later and here is what I have:

I'm cooking up something to hang my necklaces on now and will post when I've got it on lock!

Craft: The Wedding

The decor was perfect! The only issue was that those napkins were supposed to be grey, not purple. I only noticed when we sat down for dinner. Tom chuckled because he picked up on it when he got there for the ceremony and knew I would be a bit ticked. Purple really didn't look that bad anyways!

We had two guest books. The first one was a photo album with our engagement photos to sign. We also had a calendar and asked people to sign their birthdays so we could celebrate them throughout the year.

Our guest favours were these adorable personalized tea bags. We got them online HERE.

Our table numbers were just wooden hearts I got from Michaels, painted and strung ribbon in our colour. Our table wine was the perfect place to hang them.

I made a wooden box for our cards and put it on our gift table. Instead of a slide show (which I personally hate) I wrapped foam board in fabric. I then printed off growing up pictures of Tom and I and made boards of just us. Then one of the two of us together. People could look at it when they wanted to.

I got these cute lanterns from IKEA and they made the best centrepieces. Our hall had a no open-flame policy, so they added a little romance to the table.

For our dinner game we made Union Jack flags and Canadian flag and put them on all the tables. Our fabulous MC, Peter, asked questions about Canadian and British history. The first table to get the right answer got to line up for the buffet! It got a BIT competitive.

Milestones: Wedding Part 4

The reception was a HOOT! I'm going to post separate for the DIY's I did. Here is the just the pure shenanigans of the night.

My step-mom made our cake. She's talented like that! The cake-toppers are birds from Michael's. She made a delicious marshmallow fondant three-tiered cake. Quite delicious!

We made a kissing game: instead of the clinking glasses we made our guests sing Queen lyrics. Our Pastor got us started off with a rendition of "We Are the Champions".

Even though everyone does it we played the shoe game.

We had these beautiful giant windows along one wall. It made a fabulous backdrop for the head table.

We did a father-daughter dance to "Cinderella" by Steven-Curtis Chapman. I pretty much cried the whole time.

Then Tom and I had our first dance to "Inevitable" by Anberlin. It was perfect!

 

Tom and his Mom danced to "Dancing Queen" ABBA and Tom and his Dad rocked out to "Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns N' Roses. I dedicated "This Will Be" by Aretha Franklin to my Mom and "Ballroom Blitz" by The Sweet to my step-mom Tracey. We tried to make it as about family as we could. Our DJ was great, although quite grumpy. I think there was only one song I didn't feel like dancing to. I don't think I would have changed a SINGLE thing about our day. It was pretty magical!

Milestones: Wedding Part 3

We honestly could not have had better weather for October! The leaves were still on the trees (for the most part) and the whole world was reds, oranges, and yellows. We had a small park behind our venue where we went and took all of our pictures between ceremony and reception. It was quite relaxing as we knew we didn't have to drive anywhere to get to our reception. Here are some of my favourites:

Tom and the boys: his father, brother, and my two brothers.

Me and the girls: Krista, Kara, Katie and Chantel

Why not throw leaves?

What did I tell you about the colours! We look pretty good too.

This is my favourite picture of all the ones taken. It's just... us. I've had a few people comment on how young Tom looks... He's got the cutest smile.

Our photographer has the best eye! Plus I have to add how beautiful our flowers were. We got all our florals done by Best of Buds including boutonnières and bouquets.

Milestones: Wedding Part 2

Here are some highlights from the ceremony

Dad walking me up the aisle. Like most poised brides I was focused on seeing the groom... and not slipping on the floor.

My ladies dresses were just GORGEOUS!

 We had a lot of goofy grins back and forth, and just looking at him kept me calm.