mcbirnie's biography
On September 4, 2010 I married the man I love at a wedding that I am so proud to say I planned. My blood, sweat and tears when into a perfect wedding that I am so happy with. I hope that I can inspire you and help you in any way to plan your perfect day.
In Montreal there is a Charity organization called Becket Players (http://www.becketplayers.ca) that my parents go to every year. They are a non-profit organization that puts on a play and a cabaret show 2 nights a week for a month to raise money for a variety of children's charities. Usually my sister was goes with them but that year she had to work. I got the tickets instead so they didn't go to waste. Well the show the amazing, the play was funny and the cabaret was HOT. But what was hotter? My waiter. Yup. My FI was my waiter. He made sure my dad’s glass was never empty, smiled at my mom a lot and made sure I knew he was interested in me. I was devastated when he had to leave early (he had moved that day and hurt his leg) but didn't want to lose me. He left business card with the security guard to give to me the next time I went outside for a smoke (I have since quit :) ). I called him 2 days after and the rest is history. We bought our first house together about 6 months later when his Nana passed away and we married 4 and half years after meeting.
We knew since from very early on that we wanted to have children together and that we were going to be married first. We decided in the summer of 2009 that we should get married in 2010 and that we always vacation after Labour Day so decided that Labour Day weekend (September 4) would be the best weekend to get married. I started planning right away. Finding the perfect venue, asking question and internet searching and he had to plan the perfect engagement. Well Christmas passed, new years passed and I was getting upset. I hated going to buy wedding supplies, going to bridal shows and to buy my dress without my ring. In January I told Patrick that because I was planning a wedding he was in charge of Valentines and our anniversary. He agreed, but I knew that he would wait until the last minute to decide what to do. I am very difficult to plan a surprise for as I handle the bills and accounts and I like to plan EVERYTHING.
Well the morning of Saturday February 13 Patrick told me we were going skiing. I was like...Um ok. Not too excited. We did the same thing last year and the idea of ski pants and ski lift lines wasn't appealing. Oh well, we went anyway. When we got there we got a 4 hour pass. We skied for about 2.5 hours and then stopped for lunch. We were having an absolute blast. So much fun. I didn't think of a ring at all that day (I figured he would do it at dinner or something). We went back on the hills for another hour. I told him last run while we were waiting for the chair lift. After we got on the lift he started to complain about his boarding boots and how bad they were hurting his foot. I told him to check it at the top. So at the top he moved to the tree line to fix it. He had this pained look in his face, like really bad. I started to get worried, not sure if he would make it down the hill. He told me to give him my hand (I thought to help him up) so I took off my mittens and went to help him. He takes my hand and reached into his pocket and took out the ring box. I got a confused look on my face. He looked up at me and said "you know I love. I always have and always will. Baby girl, will you marry me". I was totally shocked and blown away. I stammered "yes, yes of course" and had tears in my eyes. I could not have planned a better surprise. I love this man with all my heart and look forward to spending the rest of my life with him.
So took my e-session photos today. Originally I wanted to take the pictures in the snow with our snow pants, skis/snowboard the works. Well sometimes in Canada we don't get snow all the time. :( We went to a nature park next to my house and took some really great shots (my Photog would show me them from her camera). Then we headed to Ste-Anne-De-Bellevue for some more shots by the water and under the train bridge. All I have to do now is wait to the prints to send them off for the guest book from iwantmyalbum.com.
Check out Talia's work and if you are in the Montreal area....CALL HER. You wont regret it. :)
So here are some pics. I am really so happy.
I went with the classed black and white with accent of red and I am so happy that I did. Everything looked so crisp and clean and had a real nice classic look to it all.
Here is my Church, St. Andrew and St. Mark in Dorval, Quebec, Canada and my reception hall, Pierrefonds Cultural Center. Its great cause they are only 15 mins apart.
There church was easy to get and I wasn't worried as this is my regular Sunday morning church. I told my Rev. on my way out that I needed her and the church on September 4. Done, very easy.
The reception was a little tougher. The first location was too small. The location we got was choice 2, my parents had to book it cause they are residents and only residents can book 1 year to the day in advance. So I made my FI and mom get us at 8am and be at the location for 8:30 so we could be read for 9am. Well no other brides showed up and the locations is ours. YEAH!!! We love these places.
Church for Ceremony
Hall for Reception
These will be my customized Converse for the wedding. It was hella difficult getting them. I live in Canada and they do not ship custom items internationally. Well then my MIL tells me she is going to Florida for 3 months and I can use her address. YEAH. I get on-line and order the shoes. Enter problem 2. They will not accept international credit cards. Aughhhhhh. Ok, fine. I get on PW and someone recommended getting a gift card from the store. Great idea!! I call converse and they said yes I can. Excellent. I call my MIL and let her know and tell her I will call her with the store location. Feeling on cloud 9 I call converse and get the store location. I speak to a sweet girl who tells me that I can definitely do this but that they will need the credit card for confirmation purposes. Damn, back to square 1. I am feeling like this whole thing is not going to work and am getting really sad. The day I went dress shopping I was talking with my sister (MOH) and friend (BM) and my BM tells me that her company sends her pre-paid Visa cards and thinks I could use them. I now have a ray of hope. That night I call Converse and yup, I can!!! I call my MIL again and tell her the good news and that she can get them at any bank. The next day, she goes to the bank with her friend and are told that they can't give her the card cause she doesn't have an account. They go to another bank and its the same story. Well this time her friend gets mad and opens an account. I get my card and place the order. It took a lot of patience but I am so happy that I went with the converse.
I had my flower girls in red converse as well. They LOVED matching me and my jr. groomsman wore black converse.
I have to admit that my hair did not turn out like how I envisioned it, but I am ok with how it ended up. There was so much wind that my hair did not last too long. I just told myself to take it all in stride.
Inspirtation:
Actual: 
My make up was much heavier then I had wanted. But for pictures and durability we had to go heavier. As a funny side note, I took my eyelashes off in the bathroom of the Atlanta Airport (we didn't go home first) and scared the crap out of 2 little 8 years olds. Sorry, it makes me laugh. So much to learn.
I have bought all my jewelery. My hairpiece is from whiteaisle.com. it is so blingy and beautiful!! I really love it.
The bracelet and earings were from David Bridal. I totally love them.
I could not have chosen a better group of girls to stand up with me when I married the man I love.
My sister Mavreen, my SIL Jaime and my best friend Tasha. As their thank you's, I had black aprons customized with the name and the role they played in the wedding and got them girt certificates for cooking lessons. They LOVED them.
My flower-girls are my sisters girls that I just ADORE. Their thank gifts are the flower hair clips and earrings and a matching necklace.
Tasha son told me when he met Patrick that he would be my ring bearer. Well, being 11 years old, I thought he was too old and so I made him my Jr. Groomsman. He hung out with the buys all day, handed out the programs and walked my niece down the aisle so she didn't panic. He did a fantastic job and loved being a part of the wedding. As his thank you, we have him a wallet with $20 in it.
Yup, I got my flowers at Costco. The quality was just incredible and the prices are unbeatable. We got the boutonnieres, bridesmaid bouquet, my bouquet and all the decoration and centerpiece flowers. Just incredible.
I used Vistaprint to have postcards made. It was much cheaper. After creating my account I received and e-mail from them with an offer of 100 postcards for $0. We had to pay to use our own photographs and for shipping. So I got this all for under $30. YEAH for saving money!! The picture quality here is not the greatest, they look much better then this.
I am SO EXCITED!!!!
So a few months back I won an album from www.iwantmyalbum.com. Their work is so beautiful. When I showed Patrick he was shocked. First he didn’t know I entered, second he didn’t know I REALLY wanted one and lastly he was blown away with their website.
When I found out I won I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to get my pictures taken. I didn’t realize that they needed the pictured right away. The only problem was I was waiting for the snow (yeah, I know, waiting for snow in CANADA) and it wasn’t forecasted yet. I wrote them back explaining my situation and they were more than willing to work with me. They have made this ENTIRE process incredibly enjoyable.
I am waiting on my proof and will post updates very soon.
If you are interested in getting your own album use the code below when you place your order to get 4 free slides!!! That is a $50 value!!
SM040
I got my dress today. She is perfect. She is totally my style. Simple, laid back, elegant in her own right. I am super happy. I have the zipper changed to a lace up back and am really glad I did.
I bought her on St. Hubert in Montreal. I went in with a budget of under $750 and she seemed doubtful. Said my best option might be to rent. So we started trying on dresses. I brought my mom, sister and my best friend.
It was the first store, fourth dress when I put her on. It was like a second skin. Super comfy. I went out to see everyone and everyone's face got really soft. I looked in the mirror and smiled. Looked at my mom, and she started crying, then my sister started. That was it...Decided.
The original price was $1400, she quoted me $650 and $100 for alterations. I knew I wanted it but told her I want to go for lunch and think about it. She said it i take it then, she would take another $100 off. AND SOLD!!!
I loved all of my projects and my guests just loved the personal touches. If you want any help with yours, just let me know and I would be happy to help. 8-)
Programs - I bought the kit from Michael's and love how they turned out.
Patrick spent the night at his fathers house and his mom went in the morning and I spent the night with my parents, sister and nieces.
Patrick's morning went really well and he was super relaxed.
As for my morning. Yeah, not so relaxed. LOL My sister ended up spending the night with my 2 nieces. My sister slept on the couch and niece slept with me on the pull out couch. Nope, i did not sleep too well. I love the girls, but not her foot in my rib. Once I was up it was coffee and then off to the salon. Once we were done there we stopped at the grocery store to get sandwiches for lunch. Then it was get dressed, get photographed and get to the church. :) It really was a great morning.
Being Irish, my dad and I had a Guinness before leaving. It was one of the most special moments and it made him so happy.
The reception was so beautiful. There was not a single dry eye in the church. Our Reverends were phenomenal. We had 2 readings, 1Corinthians:13, and a poem. Patrick had his Aunt (who sang back up for Celine Dion) and his best man perform Somewhere over the rainbow/beautiful world while we signed the contracts. At the end of the ceremony the surprise that I thought wouldn't happen, did happen and it was amazing. I had 3 singers perform Love by the Beatles while everyone was surprised by an electric guitar, flute and violin. It was just amazing.
She gave me a hug, right before going in and asked if I was ready. I almost lost it.
My dad carried my niece cause she wouldnt stop crying. I loved it. Thought it was funny but it bothered him that he couldn't focus on me. You know what, crap happens.
Here are a few pics from outside the church. For the group shot, I really reccomend that your photog use a fish eye. See the difference???
Regular
Fisheye
My brothers
With my sister
So I stopped at the dollar store a few days before the wedding and knew that I would use them for the group shots. I am so glad I did.
Had to check to see if he was traditional or not
Rocking out in the limo
We dericded at the last minute to use the mustaches for the entrance. It wasa HUGE hit. Everyone just loved it. Our party walked into the Theme Song from Golden Girls (Thank you for being a friend) and we came into Chariots of fire (in slow motion). The food, music and everything was just perfect.
The cake in INSANE. It was so good
My mommy
New FIL
The best man during the speech
And yeah, I got caked
Our first dance was to Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson. We sang to eachother.
Mother Son Dance (Celin Dion and Il Divo)
Father daughter (Dance with me daughter)
Party Animal
My friend (co-ordinator) caught the bouquet
Tossing the bouquet
The garter
Something Old: My grandmothers handkerchief
Something New: My Dress
Something Borrowed: My grandmother birthstone ring
Some Blue: Just married panties
Six Pence in my shoe
