[Wedding & Health] It's Happening!

So last weekend I went to check out Eaglequest: Coyote Creek with my bridesmaids and family. I was amazed, I didn't expect everyone to show, but sure enough, there they were! It was a good thing, too. THey all had lots of questions I hadn't considered!
I'm glad I went, as the room we had originally planned for...was underwhelming. It was more or less a basement with ugly walls and carpet, and an awkward layout. We could have made it really nice...but my new events lady, Cathy, showed us the other rooms as well, just in case we were curious. Thank goodness! The next cheapest room was only $90 more, and it was worlds apart from the other room. So much room, nice open layout, plenty of windows, a patio, and the room looked really pretty, even sans decorations.

This is...half the room? Sorry Mom, Dad. You were in the way. <3

Basically, we'd be getting something much nicer, that needs much less work, for only a little bit more money. Hands down, we have a winner! I'll actually be going in, in a couple of weeks to put a deposit down.

It was a good day overall, though very, very long. (There was also a dentist appointment and grocery shopping afterwards)I'm grateful to have so many fantastic people in my life to help me with this.

This was the view on the way home that day. Surely a sign of

 good things to come, yes?

I'm now in the process of figuring out ways that I can maybe reduce the cost. My fabulous bridesmaid is handling alcohol, so that's pretty huge, and a lot less stress on me. I wanted to have a slideshow, and the projector/screen cost isn't very high, but we're already struggling with this budget, so I think I have to nix that. I'll see if maybe I can do some haggling. Is that something that can happen with wedding venues? I don't even know.

Next, I'll be dress shopping and playing with the Guest List some more, I suppose.
I'm currently awaiting my next day off to jump full force into art, and trying to raise as much money as I can to help with this, and get me and my dude off on probably our only real vacation together (that's the honeymoon, folks).

I feel like I should be delegating more...but I don't know what I can ask people to do yet. I guess it all starts to become more obvious as time ticks down.

I'm not looking forward to the dress shopping, to be honest. I looked when we'd go with my friend for her dress, and did not find one dress close to my size that appealed to me. For those that don't know, at 260lbs, I most certainly qualify as a plus-sized bride.  I'm really not comfortable with anyone helping me in a change room, and I'm anticipating a whole lot of embarrassment with this whole shopping business. I should be excited, this should be the best part, but it's far from it.

I am trying to lose weight, but I have almost no support system. I have little motivation, no matter what I tell myself, and I'm finding it difficult to find tasty and healthy food. Cooking is tricky, because I'll cook food that I think is pretty darned healthy, and after I eat it, I don't feel that I accomplished what I had wanted. I'm also fairly picky...and lazy. Uuuugh, forever a fatass.

~Jenicsaco

[Wedding] Holy Matrimony, Batman!

A cute little jar of honey was given to each guest as a gift.
I love the little bee, he's so cute!

Yesterday, two pretty awesome people got married, and I was there for the whole thing. My fiance's brother, married a lovely young lady. I love these guys both, and am very happy to have them both in my (almost) family.

I regret not taking any pictures, because it was quite pretty.

Let's break this review down a little bit, here. I try to keep things simple around here.

The Venue
   Hosted at the Ramada in Abbotsford, BC. The "Grand Ballroom" I believe the room was called, was huge. I never once felt too crowded, which was perfect. I hate crowds. The decorations were simple, but lovely. The hotel itself was very nice, too. I feel the need to add that I'd made an error in my reservation, booking it for the previous month. The front desk lady was extremely kind, helpful, and most importantly, calm. Everything was sorted out with no problems.

The Food
   I'm not going to write everything that was provided, but for the most part, it was fantastic. My only complaint would have been the salmon, which was very fishy, a quality that often indicates a lack of freshness. To counter that though,  their seafood is Ocean Wise , which is fantastic.
   The desserts were pretty nice (The trifle, of my goodness, I wish I took more.). I'm also going to give credit to the bride's mom. She baked a small red velvet cake, and a few dozen cupcakes. Decorated them all, to boot. Oh, did I mention that she apparently even took a (few?) cake decorating class before going on a baking rampage? It paid off, everything was beautiful! I can't speak for the red velvet, but the white cupcakes were very nummy.

Drink Service
   Two drink tickets were provided per person, and my wine glass was filled twice in the evening. That's a lot of booze, that I didn't pay for. I'm certainly not complaining, it was great! I also ended up with two extra tickets from people who weren't drinking. I think I found my new drink, as well. Malibu rum and coke. Randomly decided to try it, yummers!

The DJ
   This guy was amazing! Best DJ I've ever seen, really (not that I've seen a ton). I thought he personally knew the bride and/or groom. He was very personable, energetic, and a whole lot of fun. He played plenty of great music that I was able to get up and dance with my fiance to. During the song "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC, he ran out on the dance floor with a (rock band) guitar and an outfit not unlike something Angus Young might wear. So unexpected! He also hosted a fun sort of musical chairs/scavenger hunt type game (which I need to remember for my own wedding), and made the garter/bouquet toss incredibly entertaining. If anyone needs a DJ in the Lower Mainland, I'll have to suggest Barry Chisholm, of Garry Robertson DJ Entertainment. 

The Attire
First off, the men looked so very sharp in their tuxedos provided by Moore's. The bride, I believe purchased her dress from David's Bridal. The bridal party was very well put together, and looked fantastic. Really, that's about all I have to say.

This is the dress style the bride wore, plus a gold sash.
The details are beautiful! 

My fiance modelling  the groommen tuxedos. Yeowza!

I think that about wraps it up. It was a fantastic event, and I had such an incredibly good time! Danced all night, and met a ton of new family members.

This morning, we got up a little early and took a dip in the hotel's swimming pool. It was wonderful, it was just the two of us. So much fun! Well, except the aftermath in my hair...I really hate chlorine.