October 01, 2021 We Got Married

I spent the rest of the day getting ready with my mom in the home I grew up. We got our hair and make-up done and had a very relaxed afternoon. I put on my dress and headed to the Airport towards 49 Helicopter.

Last-minute, we had decided to invite our siblings and our parents to be a part of the small elopement ceremony on the mountain top. BUT, when we arrived at the Airport, the pilot gave us the bad news that the weather had caused a detour in our mountain top wedding and we were heading to the beach. My heart sank, and I laughed ironically at the fact that we planned all of this and booked 3 helicopters for our family members to go to a beach… Campbell River is surrounded by beaches…. We had our pick in town…. As I laughed and cried a little on the inside, I told my dad nothing else bad could happen unless it rained and I started singing “it’s like raaaainnnnn on your wedding dayyyyy”... by Alanis Morrsette. We continued to sing the melody and not the words. When I asked my dad what the rest of the lyrics are, he chuckled to himself and said they’re not appropriate for right now, and he would tell me later after the wedding.

I laughed and said, ok, not thinking much of it. Then we were rushed to the helicopter and began our flight, everything was calm. The ocean, the wind, my mind. The helicopter ride was therapeutic, calming all the nerves of what’s to come. And theeennnnn It clicked.. I spoke into the headphones, “dad……daddddd… I remember the words,” and we both laughed in awkward silence, and I sang in my head, “He waited for his whole damn life, to take that flight, and as the plane went down he said, isn’t this nice”. And for the rest of the flight, I was slightly panicked, praying we made it to the location safely, and we did. But first, we flew over the inlet where I saw everyone waiting, and my jaw dropped. Everything I doubted about going to a “beach” slipped away as I arrived into a dream, another world, the most perfect place to get married.

I saw Alec about 20m away, looking away to make sure his first look was me walking down the aisle, thank goodness. My dad helped me out of the helicopter, and I tripped on every single rock and indent in the marshy area. We laughed, and he told me to get my shit together, or at least something along those lines.

We said our vows. (Let’s backtrack to the day before). Alec was sitting on the couch laughing (really hard) to himself, and I asked what he was cackling about. “my vows,” he replied as if he’s the most clever guy that ever lived. I told him that our wedding isn’t a roast, and he has to at least say one nice thing that shows our families he actually loves me (lol). We had both decided that we would write 6 promises to each other. Ones we could use in everyday life that were important to us, made us laugh or helped us continue to be better to build our life together. That was the idea, and we said, some funny, some cute, some sentimental and meaningful. That day I was expecting to laugh and cry but not to the extent of what Alec threw down in his first vow.

Everyone said they loved them, and they couldn’t have been more perfect. I could barely get through the ending when I had to stop to cry and pull myself together to confess my absolute love for Alec, but we made it. I’ll forever be reminding Alec when he insists I put his things somewhere (even if I did) that it is in our vows to not blame me.

And then we said I do.. and will forever remember that moment as the happiest day of my life.

To make an unforgettable day even more memorable, we popped a bottle of champagne. We told our family a little secret we kept from everyone. As we passed out the champagne glasses with “Baby Lemoine,” .

On the way home, Alec and I were in the helicopter with his dad. The pilot was well known for being adventurous and a little crazy. We were going fast and looked like we were heading straight for the middle of a mountain top. I was getting really nervous as he shot straight up in the sky, cleared the mountain and came down so fast I actually thought this was the end, we got married. Now we were going to die, right there on our wedding day. Shouting at the top of my lungs, “HOLY F’ING SH*T”. The pilot and everyone started laughing..

We spent the end of the evening eating amazing appetizers, sitting on my parent’s decorated deck, dancing and chatting late into the night. My mom did an incredible job with making sure everyone was fed and happy, I couldn’t have pulled this off without her. She reminded me to get things done and took the initiative to do a lot of it herself. In the first trimester of pregnancy and planning a wedding, I was tired and she made things easy as always. My dad and two brothers were amazing at being hosts, ensuring fancy drinks were consumed and the music was made for dancing.

I have to take some time to discuss how amazing the officiant and photographer were. Glen was the sweetest, kindest and most incredible person. I feel blessed that he was the person to meet our ceremony. I didn’t realize how important this role is to the overall feel of the wedding, but I know for sure he was a massive part of why the wedding felt like an absolute dream. Erin Wallace Photography is out of this world amazing. She went with Alec and made sure he felt comfortable. At the same time, she told them where they needed to be and reminded him not to look at me as I got out of the helicopter. Not only is she a photographer, but a wedding planner and a ninja. She wears black, with a belt full of cameras, and somehow you don’t even notice she’s there.. When I received the photos back, she had these fantastic shots from close-up angles, and I was like, how in the world did she manage that without me having a clue. She fixed my vail, poofed my dress and was a complete sweat heart the whole time. I’ve always said I knew who my wedding photographer would be at 16 before even meeting my groom if anyone knows me well. She was the first to be booked 2 years ago, right after the engagement, and It wouldn’t be my wedding without her. She’s also why I opted for sneakers, I’ve seen her work, and without fail, she has the brides do some pretty incredible stuff. I wanted the bride to go through the elements for the perfect shot.

 

She did it. I have myself tearing up again, thinking about the photos of Alec holding my dress as I was across the marsh along the rocks.