I Do (and I Always Will)

i'm going to go on little ride down memory lane.

great quality photo, huh?  we were actually comparing our cell phones to see whose took better photos.
i don't remember whose won...

on june 9th, 2005 i was invited to a "doves" concert for my friend joel's birthday.  i would have rather stayed home, had snacks and watch a chick flick but i thought to myself, "maybe i'll meet the man of my dreams tonight," and i went.  during the evening (complete with a limo ride, a fun dinner out at the rugby club in vancouver, and a great concert at the commodore ballroom) i started to hang out with joel's younger brother colin who was really sweet and lots of fun.  i wondered if he was too young for me, though he seemed wiser and more mature than any 3.5 year younger guy i'd ever met.  actually he seemed wiser and more mature than any guy my age i'd met!  so we tried out dating, and it was the way dating is supposed to be, he was so funny, had similar taste in music and movies, had the same interests, a great family and a very similar upbringing, liked cats more than dogs, and went to my church.  it was meant to be!

6 months later, on christmas day in 2005, colin's gift to me was a remote control.  he said, "push forward!" and a car drove out of a box on the other side of the room, and as it came towards me i saw a little wrapped box on top with a note that said, "will you marry me?"  duh, obviously YES!

another 6 months later was our wedding day.

our wedding was perfect.

it took place on saturday, june 17th, 2006 at 2:30 in the afternoon in colin's parents' park-like back yard (which became our first home together that day as we moved into their bright, spacious basement suite).  it was minimally decorated by us and some family members, and both of our extended families and some of our closest friends attended.

there was a light rain coming own all morning long which made us glad that we'd rented tents for our guests to sit under, until the clouds parted and sun shone through at exactly the moment we started the ceremony, which made made us glad that we'd rented tents for our guests to stay in the shade under.

my bridesmaids (my best friends, sharon & arlynn) led the way for my dad and i down down the aisle towards a most handsome colin and his groomsmen (his brothers, joel & ryan) to the song "one and only" by teitur.

the ceremony was short and light, performed by our church minister at the time, jim, and a prayers from each of our dad's.  we managed to shyly make it through our vows and i surprisingly didn't cry (though i do admit i teared up a little at the end of colin's vows when i could see him fighting a happy tear or two as well).

our friends and family congratulated us and we had pictures taken and mingled with great finger-food provided by my dad and other family members.  it began to rain lightly again around 4:30 or so, which is when we were planning on kicking everyone out anyway.

then we went to the sonoma grill for an incredible dinner with our parents, colin's grandparents, our siblings and my bridesmaids.

we stayed that night at a hotel on the beach in white rock, and went to vancouver island for our honeymoon.  i highly recommend brentwood bay resort, it was quiet, romantic and beautiful.

happy 5 year anniversary, colin, it's been incredible and i love you!