At Home Reception

Just a quick little recap of the at home reception (pre-wedding) that our parents threw for us back in Ontario (home for us). It was at the gorgeous civic gardens in London, ON.

Everyone came inside and got one beverage (there were 3 signature drinks, one non-alcoholic and the other two had alcohol). They took their seats at their gorgeously decorated tables, and they announced our "grand" entrance. Then we had one of my brothers and one of his brothers (both around age 13) emcee, which was pretty entertaining. They did a phenomenal job.

My step-mom started the speeches off, as well as the waterworks. She was so sincere and so sweet, it just made me bawl like a baby. Then it was my dad's turn, and he actually made it about 5 seconds into his speech before he started crying (he was the fastest to tear up out of everyone, which was actually quite sweet). J's mom and dad followed with their great speeches. Then it was our turn!

I thought I would type up my speech and put in here (for prosperity), so here goes:

"Thank you all for coming! I wanted to start off by expressing my joy and over-excitement in the fact that so many friends and family clearly love us so much. We want you all to know that whether we are here on such a beautiful Sunday afternoon, in Alberta, or further than that... you are always in our thoughts, and especially in our hearts.

When I think back on this very special moment that was put together by our loving and caring families, I know I will feel the same way I do right now: happy, overwhelmed, honored, and most of all... loved. Happy that we get to see you all and spend time together. Overwhelmed at how much hard work, time and effort it took to have this celebration look so absolutely incredible and come together so perfectly. Honored to have the people that I have in my life and be able to call them my family. Loved because our parents, brothers and sisters, and grandparents made this celebration possible. We are so blessed to be as loved as we are by all of you. To J's family: thank you for letting me into your family with such love and respect from the start of our relationship.

To our parents: thank you for all that you have taught us while growing up, it has made us the people that we are today. We hope you are as proud of us as we are to call you mom and dad. Thank you for believing in us, helping us, and taking us to karate school. Otherwise J and I might never have met. Words can not explain how grateful we are to you for all that you have done to make this amazing weekend possible, and so much more. We love you more than you will ever know.

To everyone who helped make this event possible, and everyone in attendance (whether they are here physically or in spirit) thank you, and we love you.

To Josh: I love you more than words can say. You are my best friend. You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of my self as a one-woman wolf pack. But when I met Josh, I knew he was one of my own. I thought "wait a second, could it be?" and now I know for sure, I just added one more person into my wolf pack. Two of us wolves, running around London looking for Taco Bell and a party. So tonight I make a toast!

Stay classy London. "

We then all got to eat from the 4 food stations. Station 1 was a delicious assortment of sushi which was just delicious! Best sushi I have had in a long time! Station 2 was a cheese and bread/cracker station with all sorts of my favorite cheeses to eat.  Station 3 was a coconut shrimp (fried up right in front of you) and my favorite summer salad (spinach, raspberry vinaigrette, and strawberries... YUM)! Station 4 was the kabob station, with 5 different kinds of sauces to dunk your chicken and pork kabobs!

Then there was an open bar and a dessert buffet too!! Everything was just so tasty. There was music and dancing, and a lot of laughs. This was by far the best party I have ever been to, and so glad that it was ours! Everyone loved the decorations, music, food, etc. I can't wait to post pictures!