clarisse & doug get married!

it's over!  after over a year in the planning, clarisse (chris' youngest sister) and doug got married on june 30, 2012.  i couldn't be happier for the two of them!

the preparation:  when gabe was asked to be a ringbearer over a year ago, i knew that there would be A LOT of preparation for him.  doug's niece was the flower girl so we decided to get them together for several playdates prior to the wedding so they would be familiar with each other.  well, they got along great and we figured it would be easy enough for them to walk down the aisle together. not the case (for gabe, at least)!

the fittings:  omg...i knew it wouldn't be easy to get gabe into a tux, but man alive i was sweating buckets on fitting day!  at any given time, he only had one part of the suit on...never did the entire outfit get assembled properly.  as for my bridesmaid dress...let me just say that the initial measurements were taken last summer, when i was seeing my personal trainer twice a week...and then fell off the exercise wagon 3 months later.  but on the wedding day, i managed to get into my dress and not bust out of it!

the rehearsal:  a couple weeks prior to the wedding, we started reminding gabe about his responsibility at the wedding, that he would walk down the aisle with mikaela.  well, then gabe caught a cold and all he wanted was mommy, so he decided he wanted to walk with me instead.  fortunately i was a bridesmaid anyways, so it wouldn't look too much like i was his parental escort :)

at the church, the minister briefly talked through the proceedings and then it was show-time.  as soon as we were lined up, in typical gabriel fashion, he decided that it was potty-time.  lesson learned...take gabe to the bathroom upon arrival on the wedding day!  fortunately we were doing 2 practice runs, and gabe did ok  on the 2nd run :-) i just wish he would've walked with the flower girl...she really tried to convince him to do it, but he dug in his heels.  stubborn child...i don't know where he gets it from :P

the wedding day:  with a 5 a.m. wake-up call, i was up and ready to go!  fortunately chris and gabe were able to stay in bed until a more respectable hour :)  despite the early start, i had some down-time after my hair and make-up were done, and was able to go home and help chris get gabe dressed in his tux.  what a cutie!

the ceremony:  after a mad-dash to the church, we got everyone corsaged/bouttoniered, pottied, and primped.  and then it happened...as soon as we were queued up to walk down the aisle, gabe had a meltdown.  he refused to hold the ring pillow, so he was throwing it on the ground, the rings fell off, he put on his grumpy face, and i was convinced it was game over. after some hissing, threatening and readjusting, i put on my happy face, and shoved him down the aisle beside me. once we made it down the aisle (rings securely in tact and handed to the best man), gabe sat with chris and was entertained with snacks, ipod, and ipad.  the kid has no patience for anything :P

after a short ceremony, then came the pictures at the church!  i can't wait to see what kind of photos the pro's got, because none of the "amateur" photos show a happy gabriel.  he's sulking, he's fidgeting, he's eating his fingers, he's stripping off his clothes...ugh :P

after ditching the family, the bridal party headed to QE Park for more pictures; thankfully the rain held off for a bit and we managed to get some great shots.  thanks to clarisse, doug, mel, alan, vince, huong, and bobby for making it a a great afternoon!

the reception:  dinner was held at Floata in Chinatown, and it was super fun. doug & clarisse had a photobooth at the wedding, and gabe ended up LOVING it!  it's pretty funny to peruse the entire collection...a lot of the older people had no idea what to do, and they now have some passport-worthy photos :)  the 10 course dinner was delicious, however, a certain 3 year old decided he didn't want to sit with my parents and chris, so he became the unofficial 9th member at our table and ate my food :P 

gabe is definitely attached at my hip...during the bridal party announcement he refused to leave me and bobby, so the 3 of us entered together.  and again, during the bridal party slow-dance, my partner ended up being gabe.  such a mama's boy :-)

and once the dancing kicked off, my parents bid a quick farewell and took gabe for an overnighter with them.  thank goodness...after all, i now had to take care of my other baby...chris was in FINE form by the end of the night...at least he didn't throw up at this wedding...