On July 31st 2005 I was sitting in an internet cafe (we'll use the term lightly) in a hick town in Utah. I was three months into a round the world trip, I had a brief spell in Canada planned for Pammie's wedding then on to SE Asia and the Antipodes which would strecth into the summer of 2006... and probably beyond. The fact that exactly six months later, to the DAY, I am sitting at the PC in MY APARTMENT on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, overlooking the WEST END OF DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER, idly fidgeting with my WEDDING RING whilst my HUSBAND
works on an assignment for his nursing course is precisely the reason I have decided to carry on my journal. Life is just too fucking bizarre to be taken for granted and I need to keep track of the crazy curveball my little jaunt has thrown me.
Michael and I were married at 4pm on Saturday 28th January 2006, and the day could only have been more perfect if my friends and family were there. Wendy, Joanne and Paul, John and Dave, Pete and Kirsty, Ged and Julie, Anita and Glenn, Greg and Linda, Robert, Mum, Stella and John, Pammie and Martin, Helen, Faye, Rich, James and Britney and oh God, a cast of thousands who I don't want to embarrass myself by not mentioning... I missed you on Saturday, and I will continue to miss you. You were all there in my heart :-)
So, the nuptuals... unbeleivably for an event involving me, the day was flawless! Nothing went wrong. Nothing. The hotel suite was beautiful, with endless views from the 27th floor across what is surely the most fantastic city in the world - the glittering expanse of English Bay, the early evening lights of the West End, the deep-green firs trees of Stanley Park shrouded in mist, the North Shore mountains... The flowers were perfect, Michael looked stunning in his tux, hell even I looked good. We were surrounded by people we loved, and who loved us and supported us (aforementioned excepted). Our chaplain was superb, we said our own special vows which we had written together, I cried, champagne flowed, dinner was sensational, I cried some more, we danced until 4am... Even the one thing that didn't go according to plan was priceless. Michael and I said our own words to each other before the vows. I must digress here to say that my husband (!) touched my heart with his words like noone ever has. He really is the most incredible man and I am blessed to have him in my life. But before you all throw up, let's move on. So, it was now time for my words. At a particularly crucial and emotionally-charged point in my speech there was a loud knock at the door and an enthusiastic cry of 'Room Service!' Procedings were halted as a non-plussed bellboy walzed in with a little gift from the hotel - a cellophane-wrapped plate containing a miniature bottle of Grand Marnier and.... FERRERO FRIGGIN' ROCHER! The most intense moment of the most intense day of my life was interuppted by low-end chocolates with delusions of grandeur... It really was all I could do to stop myself from muttering the immortal line 'Ambassador, you're really spoiling us!'
I had the time of my life, and I'm deperately clinging on to the day and trying to burn it into my memory because already it seems like a dream. The ceremony was so special and intimate and it will be a day that Michael and I will never, ever forget. I am collating wedding pictures from several different sources and I'll edit an album together soon so I don't end up bombarding you with a file of 500 photos that crash your system. In the meantime, here's a l'il pic of me and my husband... and the city we call home.
More soon.
John xxx
