Pro photos sneak peek

I have a confession to make. I've been holding back on you. I've had these photos for a while now and I've selfishly kept them to myself. I'm sorry. I thought I was helping everyone by going through the events of the wedding, the days after, and the honeymoon chronologically. Now I see it is never right to hold back professional photos. Ever. You know why? BECAUSE THEY'RE AMAZING!!!! No one should be deprived of these puppies! LOL! Many thanks to Justin and the whole Stillmotion team (yet again) for their brilliant vision and insane talent. We couldn't be happier with what we've seen so far and we know the best is yet to come! Here it goes folks! Enjoy!

This is our friend Pat in our Winnebago. A lot of our story is told via the Winnebago which I think is adorable. It was such a focal point in the wedding, I love that our photographers and cinematographers used it as the vehicle to tell our story (har har). 

Dan putting hooks in to attach my signs to.

The tent FINALLY goes up. Jeez. 

Our good friend Luke vacuums to make the Colonel "white dress ready". I'm not sure it's possible for the Colonel to ever be that clean. 

My suite at the Millcroft Inn. 

Isn't my husband so handsome?! He's on the way to pick me up for our "first look"! So exciting!

My mom found this booklet of "Things you must do to make me happy" lists for me to check off each day for Dan. I did one up for him and put it in his groom's gift :)

I love this photo. Swoon. 

My nephews were escorts for our moms and my stepson was our ringbearer. While explaining to the kids that the wedding is essentially a big party and that they would have very important jobs, they each asked "Will there be cake and balloons???". How can  you say no to that much cuteness?! So each of the boys got a big white balloon with their initial hanging off it because I'm an awesome auntie/stepmom. 

Dan writing out his vows. Apparently his phone died and no one had a charger so it was mayhem because he thought he wouldn't have his vows for the ceremony. I kept these cue cards, I hope our kids will enjoy looking at them some day!

The order of the day for our caterer, the incredible Ezra Title of Chezvous Dining. Our wedding meal was oh so delicious. He put so much thought and love into our day, we couldn't have chosen a better team.

My vintage cake topper from Value Village that cost $0.69. The bride used to have a lovely long veil, but my cat Smee decided it tasted delicious, so she's very chic in her birdcage veil now!

Holla! Pop Shoppe pop!!! Do you hear the 80's calling?!

Our first dance. Awwww. 

My beautiful aunt and her husband. I love this shot. 

As an added bonus, a few days ago Justin posted this photo for me. I love all the layers and I think it feels a bit Halloween-y although it could just be the season getting to me ;)  The pin-up girls are 70's Penthouse swizzle sticks, part of Dan's grooms gift along with a bottle of scotch, my boudoir photos, and some snacks. Apparently when you put them in liquid their clothes disappear. Shocking! The text that's running down the centre of the photo is from the vintage wooden box I put Dan's gift in. And of course, on the bottom we have our old school cake topper. Hawt stuff huh?! I love the creativity at Stillmotion, it just blows me away!

Creating Smiles

A couple of days after the wedding, Dan suggested we visit both of my grandmothers. I had asked my florist to set aside one white rose from my bouquet to bring to my grandmother's grave. She passed away last August and still I think about her and miss her every day. She was an amazing role model, a strong, independent woman who's family was the centre of her life. She would always slip a Coffee Crisp bar into your pocket on the way out the door, and always made me a homemade (hand ground) walnut cake each year for my birthday and Christmas. Some of my most prized possessions are baking pans and the flour sifter from her kitchen. I call her my baking angel, her photo smiles down on me from my fridge every time I cook dinner or bake a treat. 

It made me so happy that I was able to tell her about Dan and I getting engaged before she passed away, but I definitely missed her the day of the wedding. I carried a locket on my bouquet with her photo and my other grandmother's photo in it so they would both be with me on our wedding day. 

My other grandmother has Alzheimers and we decided ultimately it would be too confusing and the location was too far away for her to attend. We made a donation to the Alzheimer Society of Toronto in her honour.

When Dan and I had recovered from the aftermath, we decided it was time to pay our respects to both grandmothers. I printed off a load of photos and Dan had the brilliant idea to dress up again in our wedding regalia and hit the road! Need I say more about why I love this man, how sweet is he?! First we visited my grandmother's nursing home. I called my grandfather to tell him we'd be visiting so that was not a day for a drive in the country! We walked in and the whole place lit up. The staff nearly lost their minds taking photos, congratulating us, and of course my grandmother just loved all the attention. She told me a hundred times she loved my wedding gown and how lucky we were to have each other. It was very sweet. She really enjoyed seeing the photos of the wedding and recognized my mom (her daughter) and my grandfather. I was so happy to see her smiling and enjoying herself. My grandfather was over the moon about the surprise as well. Dan looked so handsome in his suit and I could tell how happy he was to see my grandparents enjoying themselves. We brought my grandmother one of our floral centrepieces which she really loved. I told her if she couldn't come to the wedding we would bring the wedding to her! It made me think there should be a program set up where people dressed up as brides and grooms visit nursing homes. The look on the residents faces was just amazing, they loved seeing us! I'm so happy we were able to be the highlight of so many people's day, not just my grandma. It was a terrific side effect! 

After our visit there, we stopped by my other grandmother's grave site where I laid the rose for her and left a photo from the wedding. It was really hard but I was so glad we went and I know she would have loved seeing us all dressed up! I'd like to think I made both my grandmothers very happy and proud on that day.