Saturday August 18th was a day I think I will dub ‘the day of the missing groomsmen’.  I started my day off with David at his parents house in Aldershot and met all the groomsmen, and my first thought was that I had remembered the details incorrectly, that there were 4, not 5 groomsmen.  I chalked it up to a mental error and continued about my business taking photos of David and his buddies getting ready (playing Game of Thrones).  Then I heard someone mention that one of the guys was MIA.  I guess they were assuming he’d be there but they had yet to hear from him.  About 15 minutes before I was set to leave, he showed up, so we were all good.

The guys got their boutonnieres pinned on by a neighbour who was a pro at it.  She managed to get all 6 of them done in less time than in normally takes for 2 to get sorted.  As I was leaving they were getting in the limo to head to the church.

I got to Valerie’s parent’s house and met up with all the girls for a few shots and then we were off to St. Raphael’s Church.  The ceremony seemed to go quite well and so did the family photos in front of the church.

From the Church we made our way to Geraldo’s at Lasalle Park in Burlington.  Before leaving, Valerie was adamant that no-one take the highway as even mid afternoon on a Saturday means gridlock on the QEW through Burlington (I certainly don’t miss the traffic now that I’m in Halifax).

We got to Geraldos and found all the Bridesmaids, but a few of the Groomsmen were missing.  After waiting around for a few minutes and starting to feel the clock ticking, we had someone keep an eye out  for the guys and I took Valerie and the girls for some photos.  It was quite a while before the Groomsmen showed up and as it turns out, they went on the QEW.  When they did meet up with us, we had about 15 minutes and I think we made good use of the time.  They were all good sports and listened well so it didn’t take long to set up and exectue the photos.

We had a bit of a wait to get the reception started as the DJ had to move everything from the downstairs to upstairs location.  This gave the wedding party plenty of time to first mingle, and then work out their introduction dance moves.  I tried a few times to get someone to moonwalk or do the worm, but no-one would do it for some reason.  They all got into it pretty good and the guests enjoyed it.

David and Valerie’s introduction turned into their first dance and they did a great job with the steps and the spins, Valerie’s dress looked lovely as it was, but it looked even better when she twirled.  With the dance out of the way, dinner began.  The kissing game was unique, they handed out paper and pens and had tables write poems about love and recite them in order for them to kiss.  One or two were a little risque, specifically from Valerie’s cousins.  Those ones got the most crowd response of course.

The dancing started off after dinner and the star was Valerie’s brother Michael who killed it, he was so into it, he was busting out the break dancing moves, he did some shuffling, it was awesome.  I need to give full credit to Natalie, she was the M.C. for the night (did a great job) and she was out on the dance floor in a wheelchair.  She had a cast on her leg due to a tear in her Achilles tendon which had happened only a few weeks before the wedding.  She and her boyfriend were out there doing a great job of modified dancing.

The day was a great one all around and I’m do glad to have been a part of it.  Valerie and David are a great couple and perfect for each other, you can’t miss that when you’re around them.

Congratulations Valerie and David!!!

Enjoy!!!

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