I haven’t forgotten that I have a lot more wedding-ish stuff to blog. I will do it now.

Shortly after Kyle and I got engaged, we decided to have two wedding receptions; one in Canada and one in Arizona. It wasn’t long before we had to settle on a date for the respective affairs to be held. Because I intended to marry a foreigner and we wanted to forgo any hassles with The Border People, we decided to hold the Canadian reception a week before our actual wedding date. (The reasons why are long and complicated, so just trust that it was a good idea.)

Five hours after the end of bridal shower #2, (without sleeping much) I caught a flight up to Calgary to meet my fiance.

Kyle picked me up and we proceeded to get various things ready for a houseful of people. The next day, my mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, aunt Linda, and uncle Steve arrived in Calgary. They rented a couple vans and drove down to Lethbridge, dropping off Aunt Linda and Uncle Steve to stay at relatives’ house in Lethbridge. Then my immediate family continued on to Raymond to set up camp in what was then Kyle’s (now our) house. There are two extra rooms with beds at his house, so the married couples claimed them. Kyle kept his own bed, and I camped in the basement…all alone…until the three driving friends arrived–Allison, Derrick, and Lindsey.

*Can you believe I have six family members and three friends in the world who love me enough to fly and drive so far just to come to one of my wedding receptions?? Most people should be so blessed…*

So the Mesa constituency was accounted for. Kyle’s parents hosted a smashing family dinner at The Dynasty’s banquet room. All Kyle’s family–aunts, uncles, grandmas, etc.–were there, along with my gang. Just to spice things up, we made our families intermingle and sit together at the different tables–to get to know one another. At first people seemed a little self-conscious, but I’ve since heard that everyone loved it.

The next day was a laid-back blend of friends, family, fun, and Hutterites.

That night, October 13 2007, we threw a soiree the likes of which the town of Raymond had never before seen. [Actually, maybe the town of Raymond had seen the likes of our reception before. I’m an immigrant–I don’t know.] But I digress. The colors were red and black, and for our guest’s gastronomic pleasure was a delicious medley of cupcakes and cream puffs, and ice cream to beat. Everyone who came did their part to help set up and get things ready, and many hands make light work, so everything went smoothly. (What do I know? I had nothing to do with it…) Kyle’s Aunt LuAnne toiled endlessly on decorating and fooding and making our reception a delight. Lindsey did my hair (and spruced up Kyle’s), and all “the girls” helped me into my dress. Allison held my dress and anything else I couldn’t deal with, Adell continually reminded me to suck in, which was more helpful than one might think, while my mom provided encouraging words and smoothed over some rough nerves…

…There was a receiving line, once the party started. Kyle and I were the only ones receiving anyone, inasmuch as both our sets of parents opted to go Absent Without Leave, instead mingling around the various guest tables…

…It was fine though. Kyle introduced me to everyone. We had a lovely time talking with people, and even though it was exhausting to smile so much, I’m very glad we did it.

Two hours later, we all pitched in to provide the fastest clean up of any shindig I’ve ever witnessed.
Total success.

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