To celebrate our 1st anniversary we are on a little adventure to Blue Mountain where we plan to cuddle by the fire, pamper ourselves at the Nordic spa, drink champagne and throw in a little skiing for good measure.
Oh hello there. It’s been soooooo long since I have blogged. This past week had its moments – most of which were sleep-deprived. And now I am sick. No shock there. But it is October 1st and that is special and good and wonderful for so many reasons. It marks nine complete months.
Nine months. That’s a long time. It’s three-quarters of a calendar year. Or 273 days. It’s 9 full orbits of the moon around the earth. It’s time enough for the full gestation of a human life. And the equivalent of one academic year in university.
Nine months is the time that I have been married. It’s flown by so quickly. Maybe too quickly. And I feel a little bit like I wish we could rewind back to January 1st and relive it all over again.
Soon we will become just another old married couple. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.)
Nine months.
Today is a better-get-it-done day. So I have only so much time to fuddle around here on the blog. But before I leave you, two things: 1. No-kill tulips and 2. Eco-elegant wedding.
Finally finished the wedding Blurb books. One less thing on my to-do list. And the sun has come out – at least for now. Friday is lookin’ good.
Didn’t feel particularly exuberant this morning. It was a toss-and-turn kind of night. And there is lots to do today (which is already half over – sort of). But some things got done yesterday.
I am putting together a draft resolution for Healthy Schools Day in Manitoba and writing reports. I also have a lot of online updates to get through.
I made the tough decision yesterday that I intend to shut down my current iP website and instead have that url redirected to the inspiredpractice blog. It kind of breaks my heart to do this because so much art and love went into the original iP site but the layout and content is so outdated and I can’t keep up. I also can’t afford to do an overhaul right now. I am not a coder. I have no website development skills that are not self-taught and I find that the wordpress software is just so much easier to deal with. Plus I love widgets. I can change them up all the time. Not to mention my header. You have to understand something about me to appreciate why static/stagnant websites bug me. When I was younger, every 6 months I would reorganize my bedroom – rearrange the furniture, pictures, posters, etc…
I like change. Speaking of which, spring is going to be here soon so I have decided to get in the mood. I am listening to the Be Good Tanyas today. Their music makes me think of spring because… The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs.
On the day of our wedding, I found myself to be wholly overwhelmed emotionally. When the makeup artist at MAC asked me if I thought I would need “waterproof” mascara for my wedding, I laughed. What for? Isn’t all that crying at weddings more H0llywood movie drama than actual reality? No, I guess not.
There are so many reasons, I’m sure, for why it was an emotional day but bottom line is that there was so much happiness and love being showered on Mike and I that there was no place for it to go but through my tear ducts. I say that not just referring to the 20 people who were physically at the wedding but also from the many who were thinking of us on our wedding day, who sent wishes and gifts, and whose presence was felt even though they weren’t in the room.
A hundred thank yous must go to so very many people… (Beware: This is really long. Sorry!)
To the following people for your heartfelt wishes and being there “in spirit”: Luis, Lucy, Shane & Chaise Calisto; George, Laura, Kevin, Shawn & Laura Ashley Calisto; Joe & Karen Calisto; John & Filomena Tavares; Jessie, Paul, Makenzie, Victoria & Noah Tavares; Michael & Marilou Tavares; Manuel & Liberta Tavares; Donna Spevakow & Sandy McKean; Kim Kiemeney & Family; Anna Fuller & Family; Manuel Calisto; Maria Tavares; Stephanie Cardwell-Clitheroe; Kristen Grzan; and the huge number of beautiful people who sent wishes via Facebook.
To my late grandparents, Jesuina Calisto and João Tavares, and Mike’s late father, Mike Foderick for being there in our hearts and especially in the hearts of their children.
With thanks and appreciation to our wedding vendors: Jonathan Robert, Julie LeBlanc at Decorum, Isabelle Radford at Chateau Frontenac, David Jacques, LPK’s Culinary Groove, Marie-Soleil at Les Halles en Fleurs, Mario, Phillipe & Jeremy at Oh!Pino, Keith Whitlock, Sarah & Amanda at The Devil’s Workshop, Yoko Chapman, and Melanie Fecteau.
Back again with the final two installments of the Saying I Do series. I took a break from this to wait for our wedding photos. Since they have arrived (yay!), I am ready to wrap things up. It is often the little things that make the difference. These are some of my favourite little things that truly made our wedding memorable.
In the above photo are four of my favourite things…
Part 5 will be up by end of week and will end our Saying I Do series with a hundred thank yous.
Kristle & Mike: Married January 01, 2010
To cap off our wonderful week of the Art of Marriage, I am sharing an excerpt that was included in Mike and my wedding ceremony which I feel encapsulates what’s at the heart of our art of marriage (today and in the future). The excerpt is from a book that has a place in our shared history: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Enjoy!
“When he looked into her dark eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke — the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love.
Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert. Something that exerted the same force whenever two pairs of eyes met… She smiled, and that was certainly an omen — the omen he had been [waiting for], without even knowing… The omen he had sought to find with his sheep and in his books, in the crystals and in the silence of the desert.
It was the pure Language of the World. It required no explanation, just as the universe needs none as it travels through endless time. What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing…
Because, when you know that language, it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world…”
Ok so not exactly “my big fat Greek wedding” but the decision to go green was a NO-BRAINER for us. We found creative ways to maximize the positive impact our wedding had on the planet. These are our green wedding vendors:
DRESS: My mom lent me her wedding dress worn 30 years ago to be mine for a day. How often do you get to wear vintage that has personal sentimental value? I used to watch ”Say Yes to the Dress” in horror. All of those raw materials, resources and money spent on an outfit you wear for 8 hours? I would have been riddled with guilt. Instead with the blessing of my mama and the amazing skill of Phuong Do (seamstress extraordinaire) we amended the original dress to reflect a little bit of me.
INVITATIONS: Yoko Chapman was the brains and creative force behind Pulp & Circumstance. They offered filigree designer invitations on 100% post-consumer recycled and Forest Stewardship Council certified paper printed with soy-based inks. Fortunately for us, we got a great deal on our invitations and got to do the whole black & white motif in an elegant way. Unfortunately for everyone else, Yoko decided to close shop at the end of 2009.
FLOWERS: Marie-Soleil at Les Halles En Fleurs designed our wedding party flowers and centerpieces using Sierra Eco flowers which are fair trade and sustainably grown. Originally, I had my heart set on anemones but her Sierra Eco producer couldn’t guarantee availability for January 01. She convinced me to go with a combination of orchids and white amaryllis and it turned out beautifully.
DECOR: I had a wonderful plan to include oodles of candlelight for our wedding. It seemed fitting for the day and time of our ceremony. I had ordered ivory pillar beeswax candles but UPS sucks and the delivery didn’t arrive in time. Luckily, I had a stash of Trillium Soy Candles that filled in…sort of. 
CEREMONY & RECEPTION: We chose Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac - the “greenest” hotel in Canada (and apparently the most photographed one too!). Fairmont has received the Four Green Key Rating from the Hotel Association of Canada. Fairmont has an Energy and Carbon Management Program in support of their Climate Change Strategy, that allows them to monitor, track, and report on their progress toward achieving significant CO2 reductions at all of their locations worldwide.
There was an emphasis on using local, organic, Fair Trade and sustainable food products where possible in our dinner and late night buffet. We enjoyed local ingredients, Canadian wines and fair trade coffee. There was a lot of food. Thankfully, no food waste went to landfill. It was composted.
CAKE: Our delectable wedding cake was courtesy of LPK’s Culinary Groove. It was VEGAN (no dairy, no egg) and beautifully made with certified organic and fair trade ingredients by a sustainable bakery in Toronto. Our flavour: vegan vanilla zinger cake. Vanilla cake with sweet ginger frosting. Delicious!
MUSICIAN: We saved a bit of electricity and supported a local musican by having David Jacques play guitar for our wedding ceremony. Not only did David work out a classical guitar arrangement for “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney & Wings which I walked down the aisle to but he also accompanied my uncle/gentleman of honour who sang Serena Ryder’s Winter Waltz following our vows.
RINGS: We opted to make our own wedding bands at The Devil’s Workshop which was wonderfully DIY. Both rings were cut from the same piece of metal. Since we did not do the whole diamond engagement ring thing, on my band, 8 white sapphires were added around. Although the price difference between a sapphire and diamond was nominal (which causes me to wonder why the hell diamonds are so expensive then), sapphires are much easier on the earth.
WELCOME BAGS: In lieu of favours, we invested a bit more in preparing welcome bags for everyone. I wanted most everything to be PRACTICAL. So the bag itself was from EnviroSax. Inside was lavender hand & body lotion from Tiber River, VEGAN chocolate chip banana bread (homemade), fruit and cheese supplied locally, and roasted ground nuts harvested by our sponsored child’s mother. 95% of the paper products found in the bag were post-consumer recycled and with the exception of one piece of plastic, everything else was recyclable.
ACCOMMODATIONS: We were totally impressed with the Hotel Chateau Laurier. They have an excellent hotel greening program and offered great value. Located at the intersection of Place George V and Grande Allee, we were in the middle of the action and just a short walk from Old Quebec. This meant we could use carbon-free modes of transportation like our own two feet.
It’s a funny thing because I suspect if one chooses to get married on May 13, nobody has anything to say about it. But holy potatoes if you decide to get married on January 1 EVERYONE and their dog has an opinion. Good? Bad? Expensive? Convenient? There were a few people who suggested we should get married on December 31 – New Year’s Eve. And the award for the stupidest reason goes to the tuxedo rental guy who thought switching the date to Dec 31 would allow Mike and I to benefit from a break on our 2009 income taxes. How romantic.
No we stuck with our original plan – and forfeited potential tax cuts for 2009, at least - so that we could spend the first day of 2010 becoming husband and wife. And in doing that, we could spend the last day of 2009, doing this… (see below!)
Look at all these happy smiley people! We all joined up at Oh Pino Bistro on Avenue Cartier on Dec 31 for an AMAZING 5 course meal deliciously prepared by Chef Phillipe Richards. I worked with the restaurant owner Mario Audet prior to Dec 31 to ensure this meal was divine. And it was. Oh my the presentation was so beautiful but the food was incredibly tasty. I had spent months scouring potential locations for our New Year’s Eve meal. I wanted to find a local gem not just some tourist hot-spot. Well wasn’t I just tickled pink when the site coordinator at Chateau Frontenac told me that my choice was so impressive. She knows Oh Pino quite well (living not far from Av Cartier) and said she is so pleased when visitors to Quebec City move beyond Vieux Quebec to experience the local favourites. Yay!
In the far right photo, stands Mario (the owner), Jeremy (our server) and Phillipe (the chef). We applauded and praised the three of them and the rest of the Oh Pino team for such a memorable evening. By 11:30pm, we had just enough time to cab or briskly walk it to Grande Allee. That was where the New Year’s Eve countdown was taking place.
What an experience! It was PACKED. So much so that those of us who walked got stranded on one end of Grande Allee and those that cabbed were stuck at the other end. That was ok because we all cozied up together and moved through the crowd like the BLOB. Stepping on the toes of plenty of Quebecois who were equally friendly as they were drunk. We got half way to Grande Allee and then it was time for the COUNTDOWN.
Dix, neuf, huit, sept, six, cinq, quatre, trois, deux, un… Bonne Annee!
Can you see the fireworks in the background of the top-middle photo? There was an amazing display above the Plains of Abraham. Of course, instead of Auld Lang Syne everyone sang a famous French Canadian folk song (the name of which I cannot remember!) We all hugged, wished each other a Happy New Year, snapped photos in front of the BIG 2010 and then….it was over. Everyone started to disappear. Some probably went to party at the clubs which line Grande Allee and others likely started their trip home. We gathered for champagne at the Chateau Laurier. Some bubbly and full bellies was a great way to start 2010.
Mike and I were overjoyed to be able to spend the eve before our wedding with friends and family ringing in a New Year full of love, promise and adventure. And one of the most exciting treasures is this little secret Mike shared with me. He said: “What no one realizes except those who get married on January 1 is that at the turn of the New Year and the first second of our anniversary, I will already be kissing my wife.”
