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We received a ton of compliments on our wedding invitations.

When we got engaged, I knew I wanted something unique, but those boxed DIY kits you can get at stationary and craft stores were about the only thing within my budget.

So, I turned to a graphic designer friend.

A very good friend who gave us a very good deal on her very first wedding invitation. Christina Peressini does a lot of print for corporations (brochures, pamphlets, etc) and expands her Christmas card line-up annually. And now, you can have your very own unique wedding invitation too!

The two photos above are of our card open and closed. We brainstormed on a design that united the Caribbean and our common prairie homes. The round sun design reminded me of the giant hay bales at home and we thought it was perfect. The back of the card was addressed to our PO box and when detached from the rest of the card, served as a checkbox RSVP.

I loved the way the invitations turned out and am happy that they were unique, memorable and downright pretty. I’m also happy they were such a success and will help Christina expand her design business. Please let me know if you’re looking for a paper designer (invites, programs, namecards, etc) for your wedding. I will be happy to further extol the virtues of this creative, professional and prompt Vancouver-based designer.

note: this is part V of V in a series re-capping that whirlwind weekend i got married!

The Girls’ Night Out
The Rehearsal
The Wedding
The Reception in Moose Jaw
The Reception in Nebraska

i finished up at The Hospital around noon on Friday. we were on the road to the western edge of Nebraska by early afternoon. several hundred miles, hours, fast food drive-thru’s and scary thunderstorms later, we fell exhausted into bed at Brandon’s parents’ house around 230am.

on Saturday, Brandon’s parents hosted a picnic lunch for all of the close friends and family in town. i had a jalapeño burger. it was awesome.

[Jameson gives his THUMBS UP for Big Red while Grandma Brown looks on approvingly(?) and Herbie wonders if there are any more jalapeño burgers over here.]

that night, Brandon’s mom, her sister Nancy and all of her friends threw a terrific reception. the decorations were beautiful, the food was good, and the dancing was hot. Brandon kept mentioning how he had never seen his old college roommate and groomsman, Kyle, dance like that in the many years he’s known him.

[my new dad-in-law wears pink for me. photo by Pat Cone]

[dad looks skeptical. it's true i don't know what i'm doing! photo by Pat Cone]

[photo by mom using Pat Cone's camera]

the next morning, we met up with Janice, mom, dad and his wife Pat (Evil Wicked Stepmother) for breakfast at the Perkin’s near their hotel. we were on our way back to OKC and they were on their way to Mt. Rushmore and all sorts of other adventures between Nebraska and Saskatchewan.

Jameson was nowhere to be found. likely nursing the Mt. Rushmore of hangovers.

it was a whirlwind weekend and i wish we had more time. but it was great to meet so many of Brandon’s friends and extended family. everyone is so proud of Brandon. he lived his entire life in the town where he was born, so a lot of neighbours and family watched him grow up. it was awesome to see how much they all love him and the “way he turned out”.

‘cuz i think he turned out pretty darn amazing.

after more than 18 months of adventures together, i can hardly wait to see what’s in store next. we both have big dreams and aspirations for our careers and family. i hope you stay along for the ride as our friendships grow deeper across the miles of internet. you are all very special and important to me. thank you for your encouragement. thank you for your advice.

thank you for your love & light.

note: this is part IV of V in a series re-capping that whirlwind weekend i got married!

The Girls’ Night Out
The Rehearsal
The Wedding
The Reception in Moose Jaw
The Reception in Nebraska

we laughed. we ate. we drank. we ate some more. and boy, we laughed a lot.

i was so pleased that almost everyone gave a little speech. my mom, dad, Brandon’s mom & dad, Sara, Tina, Christina, Ryan, Kyle, Christopher, and my brother Jeff all had something prepared. i loved how Jeff brought up the fact that i would get carsick if i sat in the backseat, so i got to ride shotgun most of the time. Christopher claimed that he knew Brandon and i were serious the first time he met me because i was wearing Husker red. Tina had an awesome story from our early film(!) photography days.

i believe Brandon’s dad said something along the lines of “marriage is for better or worse. Brandon, you couldn’t have done better. and Jennifer, you could have done worse.” hah.

i received the most personal feedback from Christina’s* speech. she read excerpts from an email i wrote to her from Nevis on July 10th, 2008, intertwined with her own tale of falling in love with her marvelous boyfriend, James. hearing her re-read it over a year later brought tears to my eyes. my Uncle Milton came up to me after and said he hopes all of his daughters find a guy like Brandon.

i was keeping very tight lips about the whole thing, but i think i sent you a random having-a-fling-with-a-younger-guy-in-my-class email way back when… it was St. Patrick’s day that started it all. Joyce was the only one that knew on this end. the last thing i wanted was to be the basis of any in-class gossip. suffice it to say, he treats me like gold (and then some) and makes me wonder what the heck i have been doing for the past 10 years wasting my time on guys that hem-and-haw over commitment.

so his name is Brandon. we have been good friends since the start of MED 1. he was the guy that would get up at 6am on a Saturday or Sunday to ride his bike and meet with me in the anatomy lab to go over structures. i had a tiny bit of a crush on him from the first time i met him, but obviously wasn’t single at the time and didn’t really think about it much other than “damn that guy is hot.” he is from a super small town. he was quarterback and pitcher and played every sport you can imagine in high school. he was chaplain of his college fraternity.

some of the scary stuff: he is just a little bit older than my baby-est brother (7 years younger(!) than me). he is from Nebraska. his hometown is 15 hours south of Moose Jaw. he has never been to Canada or traveled outside of the USA until coming to Nevis.

and now the REALLY scary stuff: i can honestly picture myself marrying this guy and having kids with him.

WHA?

i know.

scary. believe me, Joyce doesn’t let me live it down. she is so thrilled and happy and giddy and asking when we are all flying to Vegas for the elopement. it’s hilarious. she hears all of the wonderful things he does and says and claims SHE has a crush on him. haha. i said to her last night: “i have been waiting 10 years for a guy that would treat me like gold and not be afraid of commitment. heaven forbid I’M the one that acts afraid of commitment!” so i’m going with the flow and not fighting my heart with my head. just letting things unfold as they may. and loving life in the process.

some mornings he gets up at 355am to bring me coffee and eggos when my alarm goes off at 4am. he leaves little notes and candies in my car. he buys me oreos from the cafeteria at 2pm on a day i’m fading fast. he can tell when i need a hug. he tells me i look beautiful at least 10 times each day. he passes me notes in class. he can read my expressions like an open book. he is taking me to St Kitts for three nights during our August break. he is flying to Saskatchewan on Dec 27th to spend the last week of our holidays together at my house. i am (very probably) flying to Nebraska for a visit before we both settle in to write step 1 next April.

we must get you one of these boys. MUST. : D

shortly after that, Christina did find one of those boys. she met James and he — rightly so — fell head over heels for her. and she, him. i’m so happy she found a man that treats her like gold, and then some. a man with whom she learned it is possible to fall in love almost overnight and when you know, you know. as you can see by my profuse use of italics, i just can’t get enough of Happily Ever Afters. i hope they don’t elope to Vegas so i can return the bridesmaid favour someday.

around 10pm we made a break for the 4Runner and i squirmed my way into a seatbelt while piling my dress into every nook and cranny in the front seat. it was like i had my own personal already exploded airbag. my mom says the yard is still covered in confetti. it followed us all the way into our hotel room shower drain the next morning.

Brandon and i chatted in the car and compared notes about the day. we fiddled with and admired our new rings. i was exhausted and elated and so very happy.

did i mention that our wedding cake cost $14?

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*talented bridesmaid and graphic designer, Christina came up with our fabulously unique invitations. you can see (buy!) her work here.

[all photos in this post are by Darlene & Paul (Duke) Paetz]

note: this is part III of V in a series re-capping that whirlwind weekend i got married!

The Girls’ Night Out
The Rehearsal
The Wedding
The Reception in Moose Jaw
The Reception in Nebraska

oh my gosh. where to start?

this is a day that will probably be impossible for me to do justice with words. instead of trying to give you a clumsy and inadequate play-by-play, here are a few of my favourite photos.

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all photos in this post are by Darlene & Paul (Duke) Paetz.

note: this is part II of V in a series re-capping that whirlwind weekend i got married!

The Girls’ Night Out
The Rehearsal
The Wedding
The Reception in Moose Jaw
The Reception in Nebraska

[photo by Darlene & Paul (Duke) Paetz]

the morning was calm and chilly and i woke up alone, glaring at the red numbers on my alarm clock and hoping mom was already up making coffee. i was slightly hungover, thankful for thinking of water and ibuprofen before crashing into bed. i wondered briefly if getting only 4 hours of sleep was such a good idea. there wasn’t any rush, but i was excited to get the day going and finish off all the little details we still had planned.

[photos by Darlene & Paul (Duke) Paetz]

[photo by Pat Cone]

Brandon’s day started in the hotel room he was sharing with his groomsman, Kyle. my day started with Jenn and Mike! for breakfast! followed by manicures, pedicures, drive-thru lunch at McD’s with Janice, pie baking, flower confirmation, hoop-skirt emergency rescue, portable toilet cleaning, yard reorganization, alcohol hauling to the barn, coffee brewing, bow* removal, and various other miscellaneous tasks.

[photo by Darlene & Paul (Duke) Paetz]

there was an hour around 11am that i won’t ever forget. mom and Janice had run into town for one errand or another. i think they were getting plain white napkins because the “navy” blue ones i had printed really were totally royal** blue and i hated them. i fixed up the Porta Lisa with pink hand soap and towels, made sure the CD player and air conditioning worked, and wasn’t really sure what to do with myself. i remember wandering through the farmyard and sitting on the side step with my hands folded across my knees. i watched the fencepost flowers sway and the long grass bend and bow in the wind. i thought back to mom running out into the field earlier that week when a neighbour came to bale our back acres. she wanted the grass long! could they please just leave it for one more week!

they did. i watched that grass and thought of my mom and knew how lucky i was for this day to come together so gracefully. i once mentioned to the caterer how easy this whole wedding planning thing was turning out to be. i mean, here i was on the day before with an hour to myself and not a thing to do. pshaw. why do brides get so freaked out? all of the small details were just falling into place! the caterer looked sideways at me, glanced at my mom, cupped a hand around her mouth and said with a wry grin: “that’s because your mom is an-al.”

speaking of small details, the girls (Tiffany, Julie, Jillian) came over in the afternoon to help set up the tent chairs and tables. Simona joined the Dorm Girl Super Squad late Friday night and i’m not entirely sure what we would have done without them… i suppose the chair lines would have been crooked, the table linens haphazardly thrown on, the plastic place setting cups would have blown away, and the rest of us would have been miserable with 10 times more work to do.

although, Christina might have been happy. because every time she and James offered to help with something (and it was multiple offers on multiple occasions because they are awesome!), my lame answer was “um, i can’t really think of anything that needs to be done right now. sorry!”

[photo by Darlene & Paul (Duke) Paetz]

sometime earlier that week, Brandon’s cell phone stopped working. so we were quite literally incommunicado unless we were in the same room. and even then, there seemed to be dozens of friends and family members between us at all times. when he finally showed up with his merry gang of gentlemen after an afternoon of golf, he was the only person on the planet to me.

i heard through the grapevine that he was acting a little nervous and stressed. but his boys did a good job of keeping his feet from icing over. i didn’t hear much about the golf game, except that the beer was expensive and everyone got their butt kicked by the best man’s fiancée. go Rachel!

[photo by Darlene & Paul (Duke) Paetz]

[photo by Pat Cone]

[photo by Pat Cone - sorry Christina!]

so we rehearsed. Pastor Ed opened in prayer, had everyone stand and introduce themselves, talked through the entire ceremony once and walked us through it all once. that’s it.

even the preliminary pretend vows made me cry. i figured i would be a mess the next day.

[photo by Darlene & Paul (Duke) Paetz]

[photo by Pat Cone]

by that time, it was getting late and we were all starving. Brandon’s parents hosted a very generous and very delicious dinner (prime rib, salmon and chicken) for all 35 of the extended bridal party and family. we were cozy in an overly warm room that struggled to keep air conditioning pace, but it was a nice time for everyone to get to know each other a little. i especially enjoyed the raucous laughter coming from the Tina-Kevin-Sara end of the table!

[photo by Pat Cone]

there were unexpected gifts exchanged and more tears shed. Brandon’s side of the family welcomed their new daughter with a string of pearls from his late grandma, an embroidered handkerchief, a delicate bracelet that matches Brandon’s two-tone wedding band, and a delicious pair of diamond stud earrings from Brandon himself.

after dinner, i remember saying to Janice “i could fall asleep with my eyes open right now.” i vaguely wondered how i would have enough energy get through tomorrow.

more importantly, i wondered how i would find enough time to chat with all of the fabulous and fun folks that would be there. we were expecting 80 people and even with my horrible math skills, i knew that 5 minutes per person would still take over 6 and a half hours! sad!

[photo by Darlene & Paul (Duke) Paetz]

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*a few folks were pro-bow, but i just couldn’t dig the big pom-poms at eye level on the middle tent pillars. the day before, Tiffany suggested (brilliantly!) that we cover the ugly metal poles with yards and yards of white plastic wrap we just happened to have lying around. then she started tying and poofing and fluffing. shortly after she started, i left to drive to Regina to pick up Jillian at the airport. as i was driving there, i sent a text to Jameson: “how many bows are up? i think i hate them.” one of two memorable text messages i would send my little bro that weekend.

**as it turned out, the caterer showed up with her own royal blue napkins and by the time i realized what i was wiping my mouth with at dinner, it was too late. i really wanted dark navy. but there didn’t seem to be a paper place in the lower half of the province that could accommodate.

note: this is part I of V in a series re-capping that whirlwind weekend i got married!

The Girls’ Night Out
The Rehearsal
The Wedding
The Reception in Moose Jaw
The Reception in Nebraska

The Players Club: Jennifer, Janice, Tiffany, Julie, Christina, Sara & Jill.

we started out with a loud, laughing dinner on the outdoor patio at Boston Pizza. Sara was confused that the Canadian version of Ranch dressing really didn’t taste like Ranch and Tiffany gave us all a little lesson on the difference between “socialist” and “socialism”.

with full bellies, we split into two cars and rolled on over to the roulette table at the Moose Jaw Casino. Janice drove right up on the sidewalk to give us extra special VIP access. everyone except Sara (using “lavender” chips) and Tiffany (playing the outside) lost to the house. Tiffany filled her pockets with Players Club pins from the casino and we walked on to the nearest pub.

The Park welcomed us with $5 schooner pints, a $10 for 30 song jukebox, and free pool.

the rest of the night became a blur, but i remember Brandon and the boys showing up at some point… photos in the men’s restroom… Sara dancing on speakers with a smoke machine… some guy coming up to tell me that Janice is the most beauuuutiful girl he has ever seen in his life (she is hot!)… and a 2am drive back to the farm chauffeured by that same ultra sober, ultra responsible, and ultra beautiful sister.

i needed coffee and ibuprofen the next morning. it was awesome.

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PS: the publishing of this post and my lame late-night photos is a sign that there are Real Wedding Photos now available! i needed some visual filler for the next few installments of that wild and wonderful weekend before sharing with ya’ll. and while there are tons of photos continuing to show up on Flickr, i don’t necessarily like stealing their work.

although, at the friendster rate Darlene & Duke gave us, i’m practically stealing their work too!

photos are starting to pop up online from across North America.

i didn’t take a single snap that day.

anyone with a Flickr account (it’s free!) is invited to post their photos here as well.