This is vlukewi's Purple Wedding!

We found the perfect church to get married in! I love it.

We had planned to go "church searching" all day Sunday. We had about five or six different churches lined up to see, but as soon as I walked into Central United Church I said "This is it! I love it!"

It is located 2.17 km away from our reception hall, Southshore Center.

The church has big windows so its very bright, and they best part is that it has a center aisle!

The minister is very nice, and he's a Habs fan too! Unfortunately, he usually takes time off in July and August and he won't be able to marry us. They have a replacement minister come in and handle things for two months. I am hoping that once he gets to know Quinton and I that he'll want to come back for a few days to marry us! Wishful thinking, I know!

Another option would be to have my step-dad's brother marry us since he is also a minister.

I will have to call the church secretary to make arrangements.

We have booked our Photographer! My MOH and I met her yesterday at Starbucks and we signed the contract. I am so excited!

She photographed a friend of my sister's wedding in December, and when I saw the pictures I was very impressed.

I contacted her for prices, and it turned out that she was a little on the high end of our budget, but not too far out there. So we set up an appointment to meet yesterday evening.

As soon as she walked in and said two words I knew that I wanted to hire her. She is so nice and pleasant and her work is outstanding!

Here is her website: www.alyssaalkema.com

We signed for her cheapest package, but I am going to try to convince everyone (my father and Quinton) to upgrade to the next step up which includes a beautiful photobook.

Is it strange that I already have a photographer but no ceremony site yet?!

We have ordered our favours. I was so shocked when I found exactly what I was looking for so soon! And the staff were so helpful. She will be ordering 160 for me, and they should arrive by next month!

We plan to wrap them in ribbon with a thank you tag attached. We will have the thank you tags printed and personalized for free thanks to Palaimon!

Oh, and the other plus is that they are half the price of what I was planning to pay for favours! I figured $2.00 per person, but these are only $1.00 (plus tax.) I guess we'll have to pay to have 2x3 pics printed, but that's really cheap. When all is said and done, we're looking at probably $1.50 each!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these!

We went to see our Church last weekend. It was really nice, and the minister was young and current, and he had a beautiful, young family. We loved it. (And by we, I mean my MOH and I since Quinton wouldn't go!) The church is perfect..........except for one thing:

There is no center aisle!

There are three sets of pews, so there are two side aisles. I really pictured walking down the aisle to the altar in the center aisle with Quinton's family on one side and mine on the other. I don't know if I can get over it.

As a result, I am going to investigate other churches in the area. If I don't find anything else, than I guess I'm going to have to settle for a side aisle entrance and departure. I hear that its common, but its just not what I pictured.

Turns out that when Quinton finally spoke up and voiced his opinion, he wants to have a traditional ceremony in a church! Who knew?!

We will go see this one in a few weeks. Hopefully it works out!

This IS our venue........

Its very cheap and its on right on the water, which is my ideal location!

This is what I am envisioning for the Wedding Party - Lilac

We are currently looking for a wonderful place to have our Ceremony and Reception.

Anywhere in the GTA!!

Please email us if anyone has any suggestions:

whitelukewichwedding@hotmail.com

Thanks!

Valene surprised Quinton with a trip to Montreal to see his favourite hockey team play a game, but Quinton had something other than hockey on his mind.

Quinton was a "little quiet" during the 6 hour drive......and a "little thirsty" when it came time for the beer after dinner.

After chasing down La Caleche in Old Montreal, Valene and Quinton froze in sub zero temperatures waiting for one last chance to ride the horse and carriage. While Valene was willing to give up and try another time, Quinton was insistant that they wait.

Finally, La Caleche came and Valene & Quinton hopped on and got warm under the cozy blanket. The romance basket (provided by Valene's mother) contained a bottle of wine, two glasses, chocolates, flowers and a LARGE beer!

Quinton poured Valene a glass of wine as soon as the carriage started to move. Quinton told Valene the reason that he was not drinking his beer was due to the extreme cold temperatures. Valene thought that he must have been really cold to not drink his beer!

Just as La Caleche was on the last leg of the tour, Quinton pulled out a ring and asked Valene to marry him. Valene gasped, then accepted. She was completely surprised, which is a rare feat for Quinton to accomplish.

The ring Quinton gave Valene was the same ring that symbolized the love of her grandparents for over fifty years. Valene's grandfather, Bud had proposed to Valene's grandmother, Roberta with the very same ring.