The Viking Wedding

I know that you all have been waiting for pictures from my daughter's wedding and the events both M.O.B. and otherwise. I've been waiting to collect some pictures as I truthfully didn't take any photos which I know is hard to believe. So ... I've been scrounging from everyone for some photographic evidence ... mostly smartphone photos. Thank you to everyone that sent me pictures and I promise once I get hold of the professional photos, I will post those. This rendition is from the M.O.B. perspective and I hope can do it justice.

All I can say, the wedding was the most thoughtful and sweet wedding, I have ever been to, barring that they are my own kids. You could tell that each little inch had been very carefully organized, created and built by the loving hands of Miss Steph, Ian and family. Steph literally worked her fingers to the bone with DIY projects. She had her fill by the time the wedding ... I'm pretty sure that she won't be doing much in the way of crafty projects for some time. The fun part was we did some of these as a family. One night we all sat around the dining room table and cut up the streamers for the backdrop, all 6 of us. It makes for fast work when you have an assembly line going. It was so much fun and yet another bonding time as a big fantastic family. Once again, I cannot say how thrilled I am that my children have chosen such amazing partners.

This is the best picture of the bunch ... two fabulous people, ridiculously happy and so in love. When the ceremony is over, there is always such an unbelievable joy. I think in my wedding photos it was the same ... jumping into the car, couple beaming. This beautiful couple hand cut all of these colourful hearts of confetti.

I have to say, the flowers were outstanding, A shout out to Tessa at Academy Florists on Corydon...they were exactly what my daughter had imagined and that is all that you can ask for. BEAUTIFUL!

Let's start at the beginning. The kid's really wanted a relaxed and fun wedding, back in a little town that both had meaning for both of them. When Steph was a little girl, we spent 10 years living here and had a fantastic life living by the lake and the harbour, lots of great times. Ian's family has a cottage here that that his grandparents, parents and all of his cousins spent their summers enjoying. They could think of nothing more fitting than going back to the lake to get married. They wanted the quaintness of the Farmer's Hall and the Retro look of the old dance hall for the reception. I want to shout out here to Elaine and Darryl as the Farmer's Hall renovation is AMAZING. In fact it was beautiful. The refinished hardwood floors gleamed, the antiques that are set thoughtfully around the hall added the touching finish of total country charm. We all loved it. The doors stayed wide open and from the inside, you could see acres and acres of lush farm land. It really was magical.

Walking your baby girl down the aisle, it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. I was struggling not to start sobbing as her dad and I walked with her arm and arm. Tears of joy and happiness, to be clear!

Waiting for her at the end of that aisle, was the man of her dreams, her best friend and I believe her true soul mate. There are many times in life I don't think this applies, some use the words, but in Steph and Ian's case, they are meant to be together.

There is also nothing more exciting than two young people starting off on their biggest adventure together, and being there for it. I loved being able to walk with her down the aisle as nowadays with divorced parents, we both play a key role in the growth of our children, it made my heart sing.

I LOVE this picture, Ian and his family are so amazing in a million ways and I am again so thankful that Steph is now joining their ranks.

Mom and Dad McA giving walking their handsome son down aisle as well, I loved the idea as it is a great send off to the groom, not only the bride.

Ian was beaming the entire time, only to be out-beamed by his lovely parents in this picture.

Both the bride and groom looked stunning, and yes, the M.O.B. found the groom's shirt to match after the tuxedo store swore they didn't have anything quite that colour.Ha! The tuxedos were a whole other story. Bottom line after the MOB hitting the tuxedo store with all of the groomsmen, we made sure that they all looking as handsome and dashing as I knew they all would be, especially my son in law!

The ceremony was like none I have witnessed before and the joy in the room was overflowing to say the least. The kids, wrote their own vows which were a mix of sweet exchanges and promises of love and affection, humour and fun. We all laughed and we all cried, it was amazing. They had three readings from one teary eyed dad, a lovely aunt and a new addition to our family. The most special was a reading by Ian's grandma and his uncle Max, it was a beautiful Jewish blessing. The kids wanted to add a different part of each of the cultures and families that brought us all together, which was such a wonderful touch. They had a fabulous officiant, Jeanette Brigit of Turning Point Ceremonies, that embrace all of their wishes with delight. They included an Icelandic tradition in which the groom gives the bride's parents a rose which of course made me cry. They had the blessing by Ian's grandma. Last but not least the Jewish tradition of the breaking of the glass at the end of the ceremony. This symbolizes the breaking down of barriers between people of different cultures and faiths. The fragility of the glass suggests the frailty of human relationships. The glass is broken to protect this marriage with the implied prayer: "As this glass shatters, so may your marriage never break." After the glass is broken everyone yells "Mazel Tov," which means good luck. Let me tell you the rafters rocked with the loudest Mazel Tov ever!

 I loved the set up as the bride and groom were elevated above the crowd so that everyone could see all that was going on. Steph painted the backdrop and her dear old dad made the stand for it to hang upon, the effect was perfect, colourful and fun. There were actually seven bridesmaids and groomsmen, so the front was FULL and gloriously festive.

The treat of the day was the most creative celebration of their vows with gourmet pops by PopCart. Loved those ladies, they were so much fun to have there and in the heat, the guests were thrilled to have something cold and yummy to eat! It was a frozen pops cheers fest! i believe the choices were the Arnold Palmer and the Strawberry margarita! The kids decided that instead of champagne, these delicious frozen goodies would be an original and tasty addition to the ceremony!

Welcome to the Pavilion ... a historical dance hall that was built in 1911, it was chosen for it's ambiance and character and did not disappoint. (well except maybe the no air conditioning part) I think this MOB lost a few pounds sweating off the 35+ degrees in there, never mind dancing all night long. Again, Steph and Ian had a vision as to what they wanted the hall to look like and I have to say, they accomplished that in perfection. Below is our blood, sweat and tears in our backdrop creation, yes those are all of the streamers we painstakingly cut out of plastic coloured table cloths. They wanted the hall to look bright, and festive, which it most certainly did, it was really gorgeous. Steph handmade all of the table numbers, and colourful flags for each flower arrangement.

The food theme was as original as our couple and it was delicious! Bety from BMC Market catered the most fantastic Mexican food which included this adorable Taco Bar for all of the guests to snack on cones of taco chips,guacamole and pico de gallo. The menu included homemade corn tortillas, with three choices of fillings, pepper and mushroom, chicken tinga and a delicious beef mixture. Bety's famous Pazole (Mexican soup) was featured with all of the fixings including the radishes, onions, lettuce and hot peppers. There were several choices of salads, and there was food a plenty. I love these gals, as they worked their fingers to the bone, and it was HOT in the kitchen.

The dainty table and the gorgeous wedding cake by LaughLove cakes added a sweet and tantalizing addition to the decorations and the delicious food!

And then ... the festivities began! Notice the groom in exhibit A, this is before the M.O.B. Viking welcome to the family.

Our most charming Master of Ceremonies is an all around family favourite, ShamWow, as we call him. He helped orchestrate the evening and helped this M.O.B. divert any possible crisis. His speech was impeccable, his DJ management even better, and I admire him for sticking up for PB when the music man couldn't get the mic working. Sham has been a great friend to both Ian and Steph, basketball buddy to little bro and adopted Viking in my household. Yes, Tommy, you can be a viking adoptee too!

A wedding couple selfie and an M.O.B. shot, as I realized I hadn't been taking any pictures! Again ... note groom pre-MOB speech. Below, note post-MOB speech after our new Viking member was formally brought into the clan with his own head gear. I did mention that after all of these years pining to become part of the Viking clan, it was only fitting that the Mama Viking (me aka MOB) gave him his first set of viking horns. Let me note, that in any picture after this moment, my dear son in law embraced his inner Viking and donned his hat all night long, and on their honeymoon and it will be  as my daughter said one of the best wedding gifts ever! LOL!

After many dances and a few celebratory viking shots of Brennevin, this extremely happy couple danced the night away with the rest of the die hards, including this MOB. I'm glad I brought flip flops, because we danced, we sang, we enjoyed every last minute of the evening.

Many Thanks from this M.O.B.

Especially to Ian's parents, Barry and Carol ...For EVERYTHING. You rock. We pinned, we hauled, we sat patiently and I could not be more thankful that it was with the both of you. None of this would have been possible without you.

Bety at BMC Market and Catering: Great food is always essential at a celebration
Academy Florists: Flowers make everything beautiful
LaughLove Cakes: Delicious!
Jeanette Brigit of Turning Point Ceremonies
PopCart 
The Farmer's Hall and especially Elaine and Darryl.
The staff at Gimli Rec Center for getting us our tables. Thanks for the help!
The bartenders: Dana and Dakota for persevering in the face of adversity. xo
My mom and aunts for putting out all of the dainties, and making sure everyone's sweet tooth was satisfied
Devon and Britt for doing an emergency mix run
Graham for the emergency eyelash run
Ian's folks for helping us shut it down along with the groomsmen.
Barry and Carol for the most appreciated ride home ever.
Michelle from Kamp photography for being amazing, I just want to hang out with her.
Sean Philips from A Moving Picture Studio I can't wait to see his creation, as he spent the entire day with us!

The countless friends and family that attended the wedding from near and far, those that helped us in the set up and take down, my heart is thankful. Love you all, thanks for joining us on such a wonderful day for our families.

If I have forgotten anyone, my apologies as the list is long.