Our 1st Anniversary Party!

[lunarmagic]

I'm not exactly sure which forum this should go in... feel free to move it!

For those not familiar with the situation: our wedding was in Massachusetts, USA. It was very small, only 30 guests - immediate family and some close friends only. This was an issue for my mom, so she planned a second reception for us in British Columbia, Canada, where they and most of my relatives live. Unfortunately we had to wait for immigration to issue me my Green Card, and that took until May 2006. So we planned the party for July 16, 2006 - our one year anniversary.

Denis and I arrived Thursday afternoon, after a long day of travel with stopovers in Chicago and Seattle. After we arrived we were put to work, and I swear I didn't get to sit down for three days. ;) Mom took me to the cake place, the rental place, and so many others I can't remember off the top of my head. My 13 year old cousin, Leanne, (who was my Junior Bridesmaid at the wedding) was a huge help - she came over every morning and stayed until evening, and came with us to all our errands.

Okay, on to the photos!


The Decoration

The rental place had these shimmery tablecloths. When mom told me about them, I really had fears that it would be tacky. But really, they looked pretty good.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSCF0457.jpg

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Dad was in charge of draping flowers on the trellis. This is what we came down to:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSC02740.jpg


My Bouquet

I originally wanted light blue and lavender roses, but the flower place didn't have roses in colors I liked. So we just picked flowers I liked, and I ended up using these lavender ones to make the bouquet out of. I used light blue ribbon.

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[lunarmagic]

Hubby and Me

Part of the reason I wanted to wear my dress again was to get some more photos. We only got one *good* one of the two of us from the wedding, no full-length, and none of Denis alone! So we rectified this.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSC02710.jpg

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSCF0496.jpg

[lunarmagic]

The Guests

My cousin (JBM)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSC02720.jpg

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A different cousin's daughter (so freaking cute!! though she was attempting to take a swim with my dad's fishies)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSCF0466-1.jpg

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The same cousin's other daughter

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSCF0468.jpg

Gatherings

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSCF0505.jpg

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[lunarmagic]

The Dogs

One of my requests/requirements for the party was that my parents' two dogs were included. Oreo is my 11 year old border collie mix, I got her when I was 12 years old and I raised her, trained her... she's my baby. She now lives with my parents, but she is very, very special to me.

I got photos of me with her - I'm SO HAPPY I'm going to frame some and put them on my wall.... I love them.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSC02676.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSC02678.jpg

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSCF0513.jpg

And then during the party the two dogs were just wandering around. They were SO well behaved... my brother's dog barked a couple of times at people walking into the yard, but then both just napped in the shade between the tables.

Crumbs??

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSCF0516.jpg

Parties are sooooo exhausting

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[lunarmagic]

The Cake

Oh and yes, the yummy cake. Mom ordered it from a specialty shop, it had layers of chocolate cake mixed with layers of white chocolate mousse. Yummmm.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSC02739.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSC02743.jpg



Off to the jacuzzi suite

As an anniversary gift, my mom and dad paid for a room at a new hotel - Hampton Inn and Suites. They got us a Jacuzzi room! Oohhhh it was SO nice. We had a big tub, a king size bed with a great feather duvet.... it was SUCH a great night for us to relax.

Before we left...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSC02764.jpg

And the room!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSCF0543.jpg

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Now Denis has gone home and I'm visiting for another week. The stress of the party is over and we're all just relaxing! Thank goodness this big heat wave came when it did, and not a week earlier!

[*Diane*]

I am moving this to wedding day stories because truly it is a continuation of your story... It was very pretty. Oreo is a cutie dawg. :)

[Mimzy]

The Dogs

One of my requests/requirements for the party was that my parents' two dogs were included. Oreo is my 11 year old border collie mix, I got her when I was 12 years old and I raised her, trained her... she's my baby. She now lives with my parents, but she is very, very special to me.

I got photos of me with her - I'm SO HAPPY I'm going to frame some and put them on my wall.... I love them.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSC02676.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/lunarmagic/Wedding/2nd%20Reception/DSC02678.jpg




Your party looks very fun. Love your bouquet!
We've had two Border Collies - lovely dogs! Great photos :)

[Maria 05]

That is beautiful you look amazing.

[Marion]

Beautiful! Loved it. Your dad did an amazing job with the flowers on the trellis !~

Happy anniversary! :)

[Carrie429]

Happy Anniversary!!!
Everything was beautiful and how fun to get to wear your dress again - Your cousin's daughter by the pond is adorable!!

[Kari]

great pics! congrats

[RadishWife]

Natalie: What a nice party! Nice tub hubba hubba!

[Emily]

The Pics are fantastic!

[dolphincc]

Natalie, your photos are terrific. Congratulations on your anniversary.

[MrsRea]

I am so glad everything went well for you and you got the pics that you wanted! I am still undecided what to do about getting my pics that I want. I love the the pics with your dog!

[StaceyG]

thats awesome! great pics and youre so lucky to get to wear your dress again a year later

[Kiki]

Natalie I'm so glad you had a nice reception with more photos! I love the photos of you and Denis behind the tree. You look so beautiful!

[Noelle]

I'm glad your anniversary party went well, and that you got some wanted pictures. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

[saraw04]

Happy anniversary! The party looks like it turned out great! You definitely have some nice pictures now. I wish I could wear my dress again, I'm jealous!

Sara :)

[Jaci]

yay! the photos are so fun! (you need to post this story at the other place, they may like dogs, but they LOVE photos!)

It looks like it was a lot of fun for sure.

[*heather*]

Happy Anniversary, Natalie! I'm so glad you got some great pictures this year. You looked stunning again!

[mrs.g]

Happy Anniversary! You got some really great shots! I loved your boquet! And the pics with your dog were so pretty and cute!

[lunarmagic]

Thanks so much, everyone! :D

[lunarmagic]

yay! the photos are so fun! (you need to post this story at the other place, they may like dogs, but they LOVE photos!)

It looks like it was a lot of fun for sure.

Okay... I'll do that then. :D Photos are fun, yes indeedie.

[HisBlue]

Everything looks beautiful! I'm glad you had a great day! I loved your dog pictures! I wish I could have taken pictures with our pets! That would have really topped our day :D And your dog is so beautiful!

[~LeAna~]

I love your bouquet! I'm glad you got the pictures you wanted, they turned out great!!

[rowanmayfairs]

You look beautiful and so happy :)

I love the shots with the dogs. :)

The little girls are so cute !!

Congrats on everything !!

[~Dana~]

Natalie,

It looked like everything was beautiful!! I love your pictures!!! Congrats, sweety!!

:)

[Aramelle]

Happy Anniversary, Natalie. It looks like you all had a wonderful time at the party! Love all the pictures...especially the ones with Oreo. :)

[Kristie]

Natalie, What a fun looking anniversary party!!! I love the pictures with your dog (and the ones with just him).
Congrats on one year!

[*Stacie*]

Where in BC did you have it? I live in Vancouver!! And used to work at Hampton Inn and Suites. Although I do not recognize the room, so I don't think it was the Vancouver one. Everything looked great! Congrats on 1 year! :)

[lunarmagic]

Hey Stacie! My parents live in Langley... that's the Hampton Inn and Suites we were at, it's new. :) I really liked it!!

[TeenieBeanie]

Happy Anniversary Natalie! You look SO beautiful in your gown & YAY for getting to wear it again!! The pics looked wonderful! :)

[*Stacie*]

Hey Stacie! My parents live in Langley... that's the Hampton Inn and Suites we were at, it's new. :) I really liked it!!

So cool!! It's nice out in Langley.. away from the city. Are you Canadian?

[lunarmagic]

So cool!! It's nice out in Langley.. away from the city. Are you Canadian?

Yes, I am... :) I grew up in Langley, just moved to the States last year. My parents do love Langley, both grew up there too, but they're getting a bit irritated with the explosive growth going on there... it's getting too busy for them.

[*Stacie*]

Oh wow!! That is so cool you are from here! I live in in Richmond but am moving to Burnaby after the wedding! Langley is getting more and more populated especially with all of those big box stores popping up and it being a little cheaper to live out there. We looked into buying out there, but still it's a little more than we expected to pay for a starter home that is not that great. The day you did your anniversary party I did a photoshoot out in Langley and the weather was gorgeous that day!! I'm so glad you had sunshine in such a wet city :)

[lunarmagic]

Oh us too. LOL My mom was totally worried that it was going to rain... but it ended up being gorgeous! So thankful for that.

And I laugh at the people down here in the states who freak out about house prices.... in the lower mainland it is getting downright CRAZY. My parents' house (about 4 bedroom, 3/8 acre) is worth somewhere between $400-$500k now. O.O Crazy!!

[*Stacie*]

Oh us too. LOL My mom was totally worried that it was going to rain... but it ended up being gorgeous! So thankful for that.

And I laugh at the people down here in the states who freak out about house prices.... in the lower mainland it is getting downright CRAZY. My parents' house (about 4 bedroom, 3/8 acre) is worth somewhere between $400-$500k now. O.O Crazy!!

They did a thing on the news a few months ago showing what $500,000 - 1,000,000 gets you in Vancouver, and they did it in really nice nieghborhoods in Vancouver like Kerrisdale, Point Grey and Shaughnessy, and the places were practically dives!!! They were average 60 years old, falling apart, roofs needing to be replaced etc. It's crazy!! In fact, my avatar pic was taken on your anniversary party day!

Sorry to take over your story with comments about housing costs in the lower mainland :lol: It's cool that I actually know how nice of a day it was that day!! I am praying for the same for my wedding... as it is outdoors in 2 weeks!!!

[lunarmagic]

Oh my, so close!! I'll be hoping it stays clear and beautiful for you!

And no worries about "taking over" the thread. It's MY thread, I can talk about whatever I want, bwahahaha. ;)

[*Stacie*]

Oh my, so close!! I'll be hoping it stays clear and beautiful for you!

And no worries about "taking over" the thread. It's MY thread, I can talk about whatever I want, bwahahaha. ;)

Thank you!! Send sunshine vibes my way! :)

[Andrea]

hunny, everything looks AMAZING...even after i year, you still look sooo happy haha :) handsome groom ;)

[christinas2006]

Happy Anniversary!!!
Everything was beautiful and how fun to get to wear your dress again - Your cousin's daughter by the pond is adorable!!

That had to be fun to wear your dress again! That picture is so cute!

[lunarmagic]

Thanks Christina and Andrea! :D

[SueMartin]

after a year you can still fit into the dress?? I am jealous....you looked lovely..

[lunarmagic]

I gained all the weight BEFORE the wedding! (The dress had to be let out a couple weeks before!) :lol: