From the mother of the bride's perspective - a Wedding Diary
Day 1 - Wednesday, April 27th
The day started early - I was up before the alarm went off at 3 am. There will be a few bleary-eyed but happy people this morning! Easy check in at the airport in Ottawa and so happy to see everyone. Finally. This day has been a long time coming - months and months of planning and yours truly desperate to put her toes in the hot sand!
Met up with Catalina's mom (Elizabeth) at the Toronto airport as we all dashed to the gate - our flight from Ottawa was almost an hour late because of heavy fog at Pearson airport. Chris managed the first leg of the trip fine - he said he sweated about one pint of beer; so we will keep track of how much he "sweats" (read: nervous) and let him make up his nervousness with several Coronas. Avery is flying for the first time so it'll be interesting to get his take on travelling. Hopefully he's not as jaded as me; although I am in a very Zen place today. My internal chant: what will be will be! This mother of the bride refuses to get rattled!
Arrival in Cancun and transport to the hotel was a breeze. The Barcelo Maya Palace is a beautiful hotel; the artwork and sculptures are breathtaking. Beach, pools and buffets are more than adequate - they are spectacular. I think everyone had a great first day!
Day 2 - Thursday, April 28th
Mother of the bride was up at 530 local time, which is 630 at home. It remained dark until about 7ish. With my dear departed dad's wisdom ringing in my ears ("Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted"), I headed out for a long reconnoitre and got to know the resort. Best kept secret: the adult pool. Spent the afternoon there with MaryAnn! We met with the wedding coordinator (Gabriela) today and finalized the wedding arrangements. Adrian, the bride's make-up artist is practicing his magic on Kate's already beautiful visage and mother of the bride is enjoying the late afternoon sun, on her patio, with a new book. Heard through the grapevine that there are storms in Ottawa - aw.....
Kelvin, Staci & Jordan arrived today. Our guests are almost all here!
Day 3 - Friday, April 29th
Simply a beautiful day. Everyone who wasn't suffering from a sunburn, got one. Yours truly included. I guess that's what you get when you buy inexpensive, no name sunscreen. We discovered today that the Solarcane purchased in Mexico contains Lidacain, which is a topical anaesethetic, and therefore not to be used by pregnant women. Heather was able to use some of our aloe Solarcane instead. Linda and Phil arrived at midday and eventually found us at the adult pool, where we spent the entire day fighting off cheating, lounge and palapa-reserving tourists. Colin and Roxanne witnessed two women almost come to fist-a-cuffs over a lounge chair. I don't understand what part of "no reserving chairs" people don't understand!
Prince William and his new bride, Duchess Catherine of Cambridge were wed in London and word is the paparrazi are on their way to the Mayan Riviera to watch the other Princess Kate wed her Prince Mathew!
Our guests are all here, and tomorrow promises to be a special day.
Day 4 - Saturday, April 30th
There aren't enough adjectives to describe the wedding day so I'll just state the facts. The weather was hot, the sun was beating down but there was a breeze off the ocean. The wedding was held on the beach, overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Guests were seated under the palm trees. The saxophonist played some Latin tunes (Besame Mucho), the officiant was well spoken and the ceremony was solemn but touching and funny. The bride wore a designer gown by Essence of Australia and wore ruby shoes. The groom was outfitted in linen pants and a linen tunic shirt from Island Outfitters. The bride's attendants wore Caribbean colours (sky blue, hot pink and butter yellow) and the groom's attendants were dressed in khaki shorts and sky blue shirts from Old Navy. After the ceremony and lots of pictures, the guests had Mexican hors d'oeuvres and cocktails on the rooftop of the hotel overlooking the ocean. A reception dinner, held in the Tule 3 ballroom, consisted of goat cheese and tomato salad, minestrone soup, beef tenderloin and chocolate cake. Dancing ensued after the dinner to a play-list created by the guests and compiled by the bride's attendant Jordan D'Amico.
Now for some adjectives: beautiful, to describe the bride, her attendants, the guests, and the location. Humble and handsome to describe Mathew and his attendants, Brandon, Shaemus and Aaron (his brothers). Spectacular, to describe the view, the food, the drinks, the music, the guests, the ambiance. Relaxed, to describe the attitude of the bride and groom, and how the whole day rolled out!!
Thanks to Derek for letting us have the wedding on his birthday!
Day 5 - Sunday, May 1st
Breakfast, beach, floating in the ocean, adult pool, floating in the pool, lunch, siesta, shopping at the "plaza" at the next hotel, dinner, bar. What a day!
Day 6 - Monday, May 2nd
Canadian election will be held today - here's hoping for a Conservative majority. Osama Bin Laden is dead. Americans are rejoicing. Yours truly is wondering why the Americans couldn't have killed him and kept their mouths shut about it. The next months will see us on high alert because of potential retaliation.
Roxanne and Colin go home today - sad to see them go but so happy that they were able to come to the wedding and have a holiday.
Linda and Phil also leave today. They were able to pack in the activities - including a trip to Tulum to see the Mayan ruins, windsurfing and sailing a catamaran! Sure was nice to have them here!
Darryl and I swam with the turtles today and saw a small barracuda in the shallow water near shore. Darryl said, "You only have to be faster than the slowest guy in the water," as we all scrambled back to shore.
Most of the wedding guests traipsed into Playa Del Carmen for dinner at Senor Frog's. Balloon hats not suitable for G audiences, conga lines with tequila shots, and souvenir shopping were highlights of the evening!
Day 7 - Tuesday, May 3rd
Conservatives have a majority government and the NDP kicked Liberal and Bloc ass! The bride's father treated her to two designer bags as a wedding gift on our shopping trip into Playa Del Carmen. Sad to be leaving in the morning!
Day 8 - Wednesday, May 4th
Homeward bound! So many new friendships made among the wedding guests; everyone is looking forward to getting together at the official wedding reception on May 21st. Uneventful (thankfully) trip home.
Destination Wedding by the numbers:
Guests: 30
Total shots of tequila imbibed by our guests: 637
Total glasses of Corona enjoyed by our guests: 1,216
Number of guests with sunburns: 26
Photos taken on the wedding day by Catalina: 2,000
Photos taken by everyone else on the wedding day: 4,312 (haha)
Number of guests who want to return to the Barcelo: 30
