weekend of wedding fabulousness: part three - the finale!

And we’ve been married for a week! It’s been busy, but great, and I feel happier than I’ve ever felt before – it’s awesome! When the alarm went off on Sunday morning at 8:30 (yes, we set an alarm the morning after our wedding fiesta – crazy, I know), we were both pulled out of deep slumbersleep and into our first morning together as husband and wife. We were happy, exhausted, and had a few questions: WHY did we set an alarm for 8:30? Am I hungover? Are you hungover? Do we get up now? What now? And then… hugs and happiness – elation – that we tied the knot and had so much fun with our friends and family. We dragged ourselves out of bed (looking back, it almost seems heroic – bride and groom getting up before 9 on Sunday morning after three hours of sleep…!?!) and made for the sister’s cabin – Karin, Claire, Rob and Chris were leaving around 10, and we wanted to say hello and goodbye. So we did, and then I realized (we both did) that there was a LOT to do. Ya ya ya, in retrospect it was the wrong thing to realize (going back to bed, lying on the beach – both better choices, no?) but we knew that we had to clean up Dad’s house before Overbury’s people got in there and drowned in beer cans and boy-mess. I was all about the business and dove on in – we rounded up bags of beer cans, boxes of mish-mashed-all-brands beer, and emptied out some half-empty and mostly-full beers and beverages. Ick. There were spills and dirty dishes and chips and snacks all over the place, and after an hour or so of cleaning, tidying and organizing, we called it a day – at least for Dad’s house. That was pretty much it for cleaning, but we did organize and clear out other fridges – of food and drink, and loaded and carted a whole bunch of stuff (clothes, dress, suit, gifts, leftovers, food) from Overbury to my Mom and Dad’s place. I was surprised that my dress was as clean as it was – there were no massive dirt blobs on the bottom, and no spilled drinks anywhere! Not that it’s clean – I sweat like nobody’s business in that thing - in the ceremony, during pictures and on the dance floor (so fun)… so it just might need to get cleaned. But at this point I’m not so sure that I want to shell out such cash to the dry cleaners. Anyways… We didn’t end up getting to my parents’ place until some time after lunch – I was totally beat but still on a high from the night before, so it was no nap for me. After a well-deserved shower (sweat, can of hairspray in hair, globs of makeup in skin), I blobbed around and talked to sister Sarah while Steve and some dudes loaded up the Expedition with a surprisingly small amount of leftover alcohol. The fridge chez nous was still bursting at the seams with leftovers, so my parents invited anyone left at Overbury over for a please-help-us-eat-the-leftovers party. People showed up around 4:30, and we had yet another afternoon party. Fred and Paul brought guitars, and after snacks and food and goodies (and drink for some – not me), music was played and sunshine was soaked in… It was awesome. The night ended with some gift opening (great gifts!!) and then a total lights out by around 11. The wedding weekend had finally come to a close!

Or not. We continued the par-tay – or gathering – on another island with the Brinkman-Tukker clan on Monday and Tuesday. We headed for Galiano on Monday afternoon and made it in time for some pizza and a hot tub at an amazing home on the south end of the island. Eagle’s Nest slept all 14 of us, and it was a blast. We had time for a run, for relaxing and magazine reading (I think there were upwards of 10 mags, and the most popular ones, hands down, were In Touch and Us – and that’s with everyone…), for hot tubbing and a dolphin show (thanks Nyla!), and for some wildlife viewing. A pod of orcas passed by right in front of the property, and surfaced for all to see – it was pretty amazing. As always, there was food and drink galore, and games and music. We had a great time, but weren’t too reluctant to leave – we still hadn’t spent much more than five minutes alone together, and hadn’t done a full wedding debrief. After goodbyes (always sad), we made for the city – yuk. After a few weeks on paradise islands, the city seemed so horrible - concrete and ugly. We had a full day of errands and packing and packing up the car, and after a SUPER yum sushi dinner on Wednesday night… hit the road early early early on Thursday morning – we were bound for Lake Louise and our honeymoon at the Fairmont Chateau. I don’t have too much to say about that, other than IT WAS AWESOME. Our room was amazing – we were upgraded to a junior suite with a full view of the lake, and after Steve said, “You must have known it was our honeymoon!”, were treated with champagne and strawberries (delivered to our door 10 minutes later) and then more champagne and treats at dinner later that evening. We were always addressed as Mr and Mrs Brinkman (!!) and really just had the most amazing time. It felt like we were there for longer than two days, and we left feeling rested, happy/ecstatic and calm. We were family! I felt like that time together made it all sink in a little bit – I have a husband (who is the best) and I am his wife and we are married. So exciting!

the view from our room - amazing!!



And now, the weeks of wedding extravaganza are over. We drove to Calgary yesterday, and I dropped Steve off at the airport this morning… sad. He flew to Ottawa to rejoin the national team for the rest of the summer, and I’ll stay out west to do some coaching. We wed, spend a week together and then separate… blech. But, we’ll both be busy, we can see each other on skype every day (yay for skype), and before we know it we’ll be back together again for Best Man Dan and Milka’s wedding in Toronto in August.

So, it’s been a blast – we are so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family, and I am so lucky to have found one of the greatest guys in the world to marry and spend my life with. Thanks to everyone who helped make these past two weeks what they were – it was THE BEST!!!