Forever

Now I truly understand why weddings are always such a big affair. I never really thought about how wonderful it would be to share that day and the time leading up to it with family and friends until I arrived home and was thrown into a frenzy of wedding preparations with my Mom and sister, Shauna.

Although only a small group of people were able to travel to Mexico to share in the celebration, we are still completely blown-away by the effort, love and support we were showered with while we were home. My parents threw a giant reception party a few weeks before we flew to Mexico. Family and friends whom I haven’t seen in years were there to show us how much they care. My godparents, Gerry and Cindy Noble, along with a dear friend of the family, Barb Dale, drove up from London, Ontario for the weekend to help my Mom prepare food and decorations for over thirty guests. There will be more on this later, but as I mentioned earlier, it was that special weekend in particular that got me thinking about how wonderful it was going to be to share our special day, the day that we’ve been waiting on for three years, with our family and friends.

The Mr. and the Mrs.

Our time with family and friends leading up to our wedding and our week spent in Mexico are memories that we will treasure forever.  These posts, in particular, go out to those of you who weren’t there to celebrate with us in person. You were with us in our hearts.

My father asked me while I was home how we decided to have a destination wedding. The answer was simple. John and I met while we were traveling in China. We both dreamed of having a destination wedding, and when John proposed, we knew that dream was going to come true for both of us. In terms of practicality, we knew that we wouldn’t be spending as much money on a destination wedding as we would back home, and we figured we’d get a vacation out of it, too. Rather than ask our families for money, we just wanted people to come and have a good time. No fuss, no muss and no gifts required.

John and I spent countless hours looking at different wedding packages in Mexico. We decided on Mexico because we had both been there before. We liked the idea of being able to plan our wedding and take care of the special details ourselves, while leaving the rest of it up to a wedding co-ordinator. In terms of the ceremony itself, nothing could have been easier. We met with our co-ordinator, Lily Sanchez, on our second day there. It was as easy as looking through a few books and making our choices. We opted to get married in a gazebo rather than on the beach. We picked a simple cake. We had a harpist provide the music. My flowers were salmon-colored roses wrapped in a piece of my mother’s veil.

Bouquet of Love

I pinned my grandmother’s charm from the day I was born to the front of my bouquet. Carrying a piece from both my mother and my grandmother paid tribute to them both and also took care of the tradition of carrying something old and something borrowed.

Tweny of our closest friends and family came to celebrate with us.  My sister, Shauna, and best friend, Claire, stood up for me. John’s best friend, Matt, was the best man. My younger brother, Cody, also stood up for John. The men wore matching white linen suits, with brown loafers and matching belts. My bridesmaid’s wore charmeuse orange halter dresses from Bari Jay.

Our Bridal Party

In lieu of bridesmaid bouquets, we decided to incorporate a bit of Asian flair by having the girls carry cedar -etched fans with matching ribbons and flowers. My accessories were all extra-special. I didn’t want a traditional veil, and decided that a birdcage veil was something that would be both practical and unusual. We spent several days trying to figure out how to make my veil before finally calling a family friend to help. I also made my own accessories.  I designed bridal jewelry in Ottawa for eight years before I moved to Asia. My bridal jewelry was a snap. I found some beautiful chunks of Swarovski crystal while shopping with John one day in Taipei. It was a match made in heaven as my accessories were gold, not the traditional silver and rhinestone look that most brides opt for.

Love You Forever

My shoes were given to me by my bridesmaid, Claire Breen, who flew all the way from England to be with us. I encrusted them with our initials in hand-appliqued Swarovski crystals. I think John liked that special touch.  Our wedding favors to our guests were silver luggage tags in the shape of airplanes and seashell-shaped wine bottle stoppers. My mother also made gorgeous beaded bags for each of the women in our wedding party. They were simply beautiful. The amount of love and time that went into making each one of those bags took my breath away. The photographer didn’t get a picture of them, so that will be one of my projects for this winter. Thank you, Mom. What a wonderful keepsake to have of that day.

Seat of Honor for Grandma Marshall

I also wanted to include my Grandma Marshall in our special event, despite the fact that she passed away in February 2003.  My Mom, Claire and I sat up late one night on a cold night in Canada and made white silk and organza flowers, which were then bundled into a ribboned bouquet and placed on a seat of honor during the ceremony and reception. Grandma Marshall is one of the people who made it possible for me to come to Asia and was a powerful influence and positive role model in my life. Grandma, I wish you could have been there. I know you are my guardian angel. I miss you every single day

Golden Slippers

John and I enjoyed a private breakfast on our balcony before we parted ways to get ready for the ceremony. My hair and make-up appointments ran overtime, and we were all worried that I was going to miss my own wedding, but as luck would have it, everything ran like clockwork. I ran back to my room, where my Mom, Shauna and Claire were all waiting to help me with the final details. I hopped into my dress and strapped on my shoes, praying that everything would look alright as I hadn’t tried everything on together until that very moment. My mom and John’s mother, Moira, made sure that I had the requisite “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue”.  A piece of my mother’s own bridal veil, a charm from my grandmother’s charm bracelet, a lacy blue garter and a beautiful gold bracelet completed my ensemble and turned me into the luckiest bride in the world. I felt just like Cinderella as I ran out to the white horse-drawn carriage that would carry me to my very own Prince Charming.

With my parents, Tom and Sandi Marshall

We were married at sunset. The ceremony passed in a blur with happy smiles, tears, love, laughter, and a thousand blessings and well-wishes. I remember being very worried about John not being able to remember his vows. We wrote them on the plane on the way to Mexico, and I thank God he didn’t say what he really wanted to say…something about vowing to love me even when I’m angry at him for not doing the laundry or cleaning-up! He was dead-on with his vows, though. He never paused or shook. Rock-solid, that’s my husband!