Sacha NadeauBefore jumping to the conclusion, I thought it would be helpful to take you way back on the day we met; Sunday, July 11 of the year 2010. So long ago, I know! It was a beautiful sunny day and I was starting my first job in British Columbia, where I decided to go to perfect my English, or should I say… to learn English!
Dressed up in cheap Walmart leggings, an old sweater and a hairnet I walked down the stairs of the establishment before starting my shift. I never believed in “love at first sight”, I was far from thinking that it would happen to me one day. But as I was walking down those stairs, it happened. I was suddenly filled with a feeling like no others before. The moment our eyes met, I was mesmerized by him and couldn’t stop looking at him, so did he.
If I had to describe this feeling it’s as if we were magnetic, as if we were possessed by an unknown force that kept on drawing us to each other. All summer long, we couldn’t stop looking at each other. He made sure to come by and see me while I was working, he was making me so nervous that I kept on messing up my work. Then our 2 months together came to an end and I had to go back home, 5000 kilometers away from him. He was far from being intimidated by the distance and a week after my arrival in Quebec, he began the long drive across Canada to visit me in Montreal.
When we look back on all the sacrifices we made to be together, we often have a hard time thinking it all made sense, but for us it was normal, we knew from that first glance that we were meant to be together.
After 7 ½ years together the boyfriend asked me to marry him. We couldn’t wait to be married to one another that our wedding followed 6 months later. Haha!
A small and intimate wedding, just like we’ve pictured. In our wildest dreams, all we wanted was a big party to celebrate all the hard work and sacrifices we’ve made during all those years to be together. A small venue, a handful of guests, lots of alcohol (lol), a raclette for dinner with lots of cheese and a fun evening all together.
I find there is so much pressure when it comes to weddings and I personally, didn’t want any of it. I didn’t want to be a control freak over everything or a Bridezilla, all I wanted was a simple day with the people we love.
THE VENUE
I always dreamed of getting married, on a summer night, in my parent’s backyard. With my husband’s work, getting married in the summer would not have been ideal, mostly if we had to go to Quebec to do so. When we got engaged, my boyfriend suggested we get married during Christmas time, as we were already planning on going to visit… might as well get married! We then talked with my parents, who instantly opened their doors to us.
We got very lucky as behind my parent’s house, my father built a few years ago, a massive garage with a room attached to it. Once everything was decorated, you couldn’t tell it used to be a garage!
THE DATE
When speaking with my in-laws about our wedding plans as we hadn’t decided on a date yet in between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. My father In-law told us that my husband’s grandparents got married on December 28, 1950. We couldn’t believe it! Instead of getting married on Saturday, December 29 we decided to honor his grandparents by sharing the same wedding date as them.
I was wearing his grandmother’s wedding ring <3
AN UNFORGETTABLE DAY
On the morning of December 28, we woke up very slowly enjoying every little moment. Our first appointment of the day was at 11:00. Which meant we had plenty of time to chill, drink coffee and enjoy our day! Exactly what we wanted!
Around 11:00, my beautiful friend and hairdresser came to my parent’s home do to our hair. We then did our own makeup while the boys were opening their first beer of the day. We really took the time to do every little thing and enjoyed spending time with our two families together. Around 14:00 the photo shoot began.
We were hoping for an enchanting winter wedding decor for our photos. We were hoping for snow in the trees, as well as on the ground! Everything went as planned… although around 12:00 it started raining!
I was so chill knowing it was raining outside. It’s as if we had Vancouver weather mixed with Quebec weather at the same time. We laughed about it, grabbed a few umbrellas and went to take pictures outside!
Around 15:30, our guests arrived, and the ceremony began at 16:00. I put on my veil, which was way too long for the occasion! Hahah! So much so that by the time I got to the front of the room, the end of my veil was still at the first row of chairs!
My dad officiated the wedding and since my husband doesn’t speak French, his brother read the English translation.
The ceremony began with us reading our vows to one another. I could barely speak, the moment I said “ I…” I began bawling my eyes out and was unable to stop. I had to try so hard to read my vows. It was a beautiful moment, one we will forever remember. We made many mistakes during the ceremony, but it was so perfect even though it wasn’t! haha! I love it as we weren’t stressed, everything was enjoyable, and it was exactly what we wanted!
Then we sabered the champagne!! I’m known for my poor champagne sabering talent, so we had to do it! We tasted the champagne, then had another glass, and another one and everyone was partying!
We then watched a beautiful firework show that my parents had specially created for the occasion. It was amazing and so romantic!
The evening continued with small bites, several cosmopolitans, and raclette for dinner, with a side of red wine of course! I wanted to have raclette for dinner as I wanted a long dinner with my guests.
But after all, we were partying so hard that the dinner lasted 20 minutes tops and everyone hit the dance floor. Haha! And… I am pretty much the reason why the dinner ended so quickly, my tune came on! Everyone got up to dance… and no one sat down ever again! Oops!!
THE LITTLE DETAILS
The decor
I decorated the room with the help (a lot of help) from my wedding planner, aka my “step” mom! We were inspired by the winter wedding charm and decorated the room accordingly. We added a few highlights of light pink and burgundy. The ceiling was decorated with 600 meters of small lights, giving a cozy feeling to the room and you know what, I don’t even have a picture to show you … #Sorry
The cake
I made my own wedding cake, which I decorated with pretty fresh flowers. It was a lemon cake with a creamy raspberry center and a vanilla buttercream. It was very important for me to make my wedding cake!
The gifts
I know it sounds like an odd gift, but if one day we go out together, you’ll quickly understand why. In fact, every time I go out, to avoid a hangover, I always take 1 Advil 1 Tylenol and 2 electrolyte tablets. And the next morning, I wake up feeling brand new. It’s my go-to after party cocktail. Knowing it was going to be a good party, we thought giving a hangover kit to our guests would be a great idea. #PartyAllNightLong!
THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE EVENING
If only you were there to see, how big my smile was and how happy I was to have all those people in one room to celebrate our wedding. It made me even happier to see them all together, getting along so well and having fun together. Have you ever seen a not so classic wedding like ours? At our wedding, you were allowed to do everything, mostly to have a lot of fun, and we made sure not to do any of the wedding “classics” (other than throwing the bouquet)! Only the good stuff! 😉
Our first dance was on a song from a Canadian artist, named Joel Plasket. His song “When I close my eyes” was the song we couldn’t stop listening to when we found out we were moving back to Vancouver two years ago. During that summer, my husband left Quebec in June and I was going to meet him again in October. This song played on repeat in my ears and in his. And to dance our first dance on his words, meant so much to us, it was like tying the bow.
A SMALL AND AFFORDABLE WEDDING
My husband and I could not have hoped for a better evening with our friends and family. For us, it was really important to celebrate our love without breaking the bank. And you know what, it feels pretty good to wake up the next day married and with all your savings. It’s possible to host a small wedding, I will write a post on the subject very shortly, as I know a lot of you have been asking for it!
We are so happy about our small wedding and to have finally tied to knot after all those years together.
At first, that’s what weddings are made for; to unite you and your loved one together. It’s simple, it’s from the heart and it’s accessible. It’s important to reflect on that and to stop worrying about all those pre-established meaningless standards. After all, the only thing that you need to get married is love, the rest is fluff.<3
Sacha Nadeau
Léa Nadeau
