Archive for the ‘The Venue’ Category

I’m sitting here writing this as I am breaking in one of the pairs of shoes I am going to wear on the big day. I have a back up comfy pair, just in case my these ones prove too unbearable. I started doing some of the work on the table numbers the other night and Sean suggested I post the menu on the website. I was going to leave it as a surprise, so we will compromise and I’ll post some and leave the rest for you to discover.

I’ve also started getting idea’s together for the cakes! Im excited. Sean is up in arms about wanting a Boston Cream filled wedding cake which I was sternly against until I talked to the Amazing Robyn( www.erwinsbakery.ca ) and she started talking about strawberries and some other yummy goodies. Good thing I’ve been working out, and skipping sweets these past few months because I plan to do ALOT of eating!

Also just picked up three more shifts at the shelter for August and July, so a little client contact , a little extra moola . Less time with the fam is a huge downer, but it gives Sean a chance to hang out with kids without me which is a very rare occurance.

I stopped in at the church today and signed the last piece of paper needed and the wonderful receptionist put it in an envelope to be sent off to the Bishop today! Sean and I have also been working on picking the passages for the wedding ceremony- hopefully we can get all that sorted within the next week or so, so I can get the information off to the fantastic ladies who will be interpreting for me! A ceremony like this, especially in the Catholic church I can only imagine would be difficult to interpret- so I want to give them as much prep time as possible.

Hotel rooms are still available ( only one or two) but it’s end of season so I don’t imagine there will be a lot left closer to the date. If you need one phone the Executive Hotel in Coquitlam and book under the Coyle/Foster wedding. It’s $109 a night and if any one books wants to stay till the end of the evening I have two limos to pick up guests and bring them back to the hotel. No drinking and Driving!!!

Sooo.. Menu

We will have your choice of NY Steak, Chicken, or lightly spiced Cajun Salmon. There will also be grilled vegetables and a variety of salads for those of you who are Vegetarian. The bar will be serving basic highballs, and maybe a specialty drink or two. It’s a “twoonie” bar though so be sure to be prepared!!!

Are you getting excited yet? Because I sure am!!!!!! Yippie

The reason for the caps is my barely able to be contained excitement!

58 days until the big day and I am sooo close to being all ready for it. We just this week finished paying off a bunch the big and little stuff.The stress release of paying some of those bills down has left a lot of room for being Giddy.

Spent the weekend in Vancouver last weekend with some amazing friends and family. Brenna was fantastic enough not only to come to Port Moody with me to see the reception venue, but she also gave me some FANTASTIC idea’s for set-up and seating etc.

Then I got to hang out with my almost cousin Meghan for lunch and some girl talk. She has also been incredibly helpful, by picking up our liquor license and insurance this weekend (SUCH an important task!!!)

Not to mention both these fantastic women are road tripping four hours to join in the festivities that will my bachelorette party!! <3

Also got to meet Julie Brown from www.letsfaceitbeauty.ca who was willing to go through some idea’s with me for hair and makeup. What a wonderful lady!And soo much talent!

Now its just a matter of getting my hands on some final decorations. My friend Brittany has been working tirelessly amoungst the million other things on her plate to make some decorations for me. One of the best/craftiest (in a good way) people I have ever met. This girl has some major talent too!

Sean has met with the priest to tie up some loose ends in the form of paper work. It seems to be one flaming-hoop-over-a-piranha-tank after another with the church, but it’s all worth it. Thank god for Sean’s ability to remain cool and collected and just get things done. With out him I think I would have flown to an exotic country in the throws of a mental breakdown weeks ago.

And probably most exciting of all I just this morning booked a limo to pick us up from Port Moody and take everyone who is staying till the better end back to the hotel!

There are still two hotel rooms available so PLEASE email or facebook me if you need one! Can’t wait to see you all there

<3

Had a FANTASTIC week wedding wise. I am so excited about everything!! We went down to Vancouver very briefly at the beginning of the week ( 26 hours in total I think) and managed to accomplish SO much in such a short time.

Not only was Sean able to brush up on his admin skills ( forwarding calls left right and centre to his business partner) but he got some supplies for the company and the house, and we got to do wedding stuff together for the first time in a while.

One Tuesday we drove to Port Moody to go see the Inlet Theatre and Galleria! WOW its soo pretty. It was so nice to be inside the building and be able to see where the buffet will be, where people would be sitting, and start developing  a plan with blue prints in my head.  There are even some great spots for photos there!!

From there we took the route to our hotel- didn’t stop in just checked traffic and time etc ( around 15 minutes in normal daytime traffic) and the other hotel in town is about 5 minutes past that. I will post links below for both of them.

We are staying at the Executive Inn and Suites- so if other people are wanting to stay there let us know and I will try to set up a group rate!

Then we went to meet our caterer! What an awesome guy. I went to school with his wife who is a SUPER and her husband makes a stunning sidekick. What a pair!!
Had a great time talking with him. He had candy for Aiden, and they chatted about Spiderman for a minute, he had the perfect answers to all my question ( almost like he has done this once or twice before), was willing to concede to one of my menu changes which is a HARD thing to do for a chef sometimes, and we even got to eat and the food is mouthwateringly good. I am soo excited for the food.  Relaxed, Casual, BBQ style exactly what I wanted.

So I have signed the contract for that and will be sending it off tomorrow night!

So we have the big two taken care of, had a chat about what we want to do about the wedding cake and have some ideas forming there, we have a place to sleep, and invitation mock ups finished.

Now we need some clothes to wear, something to drink, and the lottery winnings to pay for it all

I have some more pictures of the theatre on my phone but I seem to be having some technical difficulties so I will put them up later!

PLEASE- if you are in the Burnaby area ( connected to Metro Town on Bolson I think) do yourself the favor and grab a bite at the Firefighters Club Lounge- such amazing food. French friess that taste like they have been made from potatoes!

DO IT!!

…next time- the great debate about ordering my dress from China- should I or shouldn’t I? Is it worth the risk…?

http://www.firefightersclub.com/

Originally we were going to be booking the All Saint’s Parish hall until we found out the Parish Priest wasn’t going to be around to confirm or provide booking information until the end of Summer.  Seeming with the MADNESS down in the GVRD / Vancouver over selecting the Reception Halls, ceremony locations and all the other funness we couldn’t risk being unable to get the particular locations we wanted.

The options were, a Hall In Queens Park New Westminster, In Burnaby’s Deer Lake Park, In Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam.  I will post the names as a update to this post later.  The only important item is that it looks we booked the last and best hall!

As it turns out, the Theater was due for maintenance the weekend we wanted and they were holding it for this purpose instead of renting it out.  The technicians will only be in the Theater for a couple of hours.  As it happens, we’re not interested in the Theater and only want the Grand Galleriea.  With this in mind, the wonderful staff at Port Moody City Hall Parks and Rec were able to speak to them, confirm the maintenance requirements and rent us one of the most beautiful locations we could find, oh how Wonderful!

It sounds like Port Moody is our reception location and we’ve already picked the location / date / and apparently colours too (Sarah).  Anyone with thoughts or comments on the Reception Venue is more than welcome to post a comment.  Is there anything else that we can get – equally as good?

So, how can you tell I am planning to marry a nerd. I have been asked to blog about the wedding fiasco, and planning etc.  Where to start….

The engagement was a total surprise. I was shocked.. I kept teasing Sean saying I couldn’t believe he had finally asked me, I mean it had only been 4 and a half years!! So it was shiny rings and hugs all around and then reality hit. I have to plan a wedding. I have absolutely NO idea how to plan a wedding. I have only ever been to three weddings, how the heck am I supposed to figure everything out; not to mention do it from a city four hours away from the festivities. Oy!!!

Its been about three weeks, I have found a spot for the reception after far too many long distance phone calls, and around 6 different decisions that needed to be re-evaluated because the places had already been booked ( crazy go getters!!) All the pictures I’ve seen of the Inlet in Port Moody, have been beautiful, and I am probably going to send my friend in Vancouver to check it out for me, but I am satisfied. An added bonus with the location is we can hold the ceremony there if the church falls through.

Now, its a re-evaluation of the theme colours, because it is a summer wedding and as much as it was be semi-formal I refuse to have it be dark and dreary.  Silver and Yellow anyone? I’m going to try to setup a meeting with the wedding planner Monday, and tackle the catering nightmare- I mean who wants to spend $6000 on food!!!

As I go through all this the words of my mother echoing in my head, ” take the crazy amount of money you are going to spend on 1 day and put it on your mortgage.” Sound advice… but I’m old enough not to HAVE to listen to my mother.. aren’t I?

We were working on putting this day together ourselves (oh who am I kidding, this is all her).  After a period of time, um, a short period of time it became apparent that just like all Weddings, we were going to have some major cost overruns and other related Wedding – issues -. 

A Dream Away Wedding Planning in Kamloops stepped up to assist and provide knowhow, decorations and ongoing assistance.  A little later we’ll describe our thoughts and details for how we went through the planning and selections process for “our” big day.  Right now, just know that we have selected them for a great many reasons, the main one being, they do Weddings – the right way.  Experience always helps.

So, it was decided that All Saint’s Parish was the place to be.  It turns out there’s a caveat – the parish priest isn’t back from Africa until the end of August!  Oh oh, can’t set a firm date or anything really until we know we can get the permission we need for our ceremony to be held there.  That isn’t even the big problem.

The issue remains with the hall, we called must have been 15 different locations in Vancouver, Coquitlam, New Westminister, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam.  This isn’t an issue, but apparently if your in the GVRD, you start planning for a date two years from “the day”.