Falling for You: Girls Just Want to Have Chocolate

When we left off, I was blissfully counting waterfalls. Or should I say chasing waterfalls? (Sorry, I couldn't resist, I've been trying to work that in ever since I first got my moniker). After a great night's sleep, I woke up feeling refreshed and saw that the sun was shining despite dubious weather forecasts to the contrary in the days leading up to the wedding.

I went outside to find BM Green Eyes and her boyfriend were already up and at 'em, but hadn't wanted to wake me. Since BM Tiny and MOH Long Legs had pooped on my slumber party, I was a bit bummed that I wouldn't get to do the whole "I'm getting married" song and dance with my girls. That is, until Boyfriend Blue Eyes exclaimed, "Wait, I can be a girl!", at which point the three of us proceeded to hold hands and squeal in delight while jumping up and down... and let me tell you something: It. Was. Awesome. I will never forget the immense feeling of unadulterated joy and excitement that I felt in that moment. That is also the story of how BF Blue Eyes earned the title of honorary bridesman.

What we probably looked like/  Image via standupfordownthere.tumblr.com

Once everyone had regained their composure, we made our way over to my favourite spot, Cacao 70 for my bridal brunch, where we met up with MOH Long Legs, her boyfriend, and my brother's lovely girlfriend, C.

MOH Long Legs, Miss Waterfall and BM Green Eyes/ personal photo

With bridal nerves being what they are, I knew that I wouldn't really be in the mood to eat the morning of my wedding. But I also knew that we would be eating dinner quite late, and with all my health issues, it was imperative that I have a decent meal. Since chocolate is my jam (for realz!), I figured that having brunch at Cacao would maximize my chances of actually eating on the morning of my wedding.

Girlfriend C and I split a hearty spinach omelette and a scrumptious chocolate waffle, which I only picked at, because I knew I would be getting in my wedding dress soon.

Black and white waffle and spinach omelette, yum!/ personal photo

I did, however, order the most amazing hot chocolate I've ever had in my life, the "Cuba": a 70% blend, flavored with fruit and lightly spiced with a hint of bitterness and strongly marked cocoa taste without being overly aggressive. Like I said, chocolate is totally my jam!

The Cuba/ personal photo

Meanwhile, Mr. Waterfall was getting a haircut and having his own brunch with the guys only a few streets away, at our other favorite Montreal brunch spot, L'Universel -- if any of you are ever in town, you should definitely check this place out; though it can get crowded on weekends, their eggs benedict are to die for! Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this portion of the day because the boys totally forgot to take photos, despite my instructions to do so. Oh, men!

After stuffing ourselves silly eating a normal amount of chocolate, we picked up a few bottles of champagne and made our way back to my apartment to pack everything into my car because it was finally time to check into our hotel to start getting ready!

Did you eat on the morning of your wedding? Any other chocolate crazies reading this? No, just me then?

Miss a recap?

• We get it started with our wedding trailer
• We had a really intense wedding week
• We handle some last minute drama and get our nails did
• We practice getting married
• We eat all the French food

Falling for You: We Eat All the French Food

After the quickest rehearsal ever, it was time for some delicious food! My parents were gracious enough to host the rehearsal dinner, but they asked me to find a venue that was both cozy and affordable. Ideally, I also wanted a rehearsal venue that was situated in Old Montreal and would showcase Montreal's fine French cuisine. After a lot of research. I came across Le Bourlingueur, a traditional French bistro in Old Montreal. They reserved a separate room for our party and were extremely accommodating to our budget, offering a choice of  three different entrees to our guests, as well as a soup or salad starter. The only thing was not included was alcohol, but we figured that we didn't want people to be too hung-over the next day. Besides, we were already paying for eight hours of open bar at the wedding ;).

Pork chop in a mustard sauce, one of the entrees offered to our guests

Mr. W and I said a few quick words to thank everyone for coming before sitting down to eat our delicious meals.

One thing I might have done differently would be to have passed hors d'oeuvres instead of a sit-down meal, to allow our guests to mingle and get to know each other better. At our table, we had Friend M, GM of Doom, Best Man Tequila, BM Green Eyes and her boyfriend (not pictured) and MOH Long Legs and her boyfriend.

I was still pretty livid at my brother for his tux shenanigans from earlier that day, so I sat him and his lovely girlfriend at a table with my grandfather and his wife to avoid any bloodshed.

After our delicious meal, Mr. Waterfall and I split up and did a little bit of table-hopping, since we wanted everyone to feel included.


Lil Waterfall, MIL Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall

Miss Waterfall with some wedding guests

As the night drew to a close, I kissed Mr. W goodbye, since we had agreed to spend the night apart. He would spend the night at Best Man Tequila's while I would be staying in our apartment with BM Green Eyes and her boyfriend.

Full disclosure: I had really hoped to spend my last night as a single girl having a sleep-over with my three favorite ladies. In the morning, we would all wake up and squeal in delight at the fact that I was OMG-GETTING-MARRIED before going out for brunch. However, you can't always get what you want; BM Tiny and MOH Long Legs both chose to sleep in their own beds, despite my begging them to stay with me repeatedly.


BM Tiny, Miss Waterfall, MOH Long Legs and BM Green Eyes/ photo taken by Long Legs' boyfriend.
You can totally tell a man took this photo; all of our shoes are cut off :)

We also managed to take a few group pictures, but only remembered to do so after Mr. Waterfall and the groomsmen had left.


Normal pose

"Everyone say yay!"

Speaking of groomsmen, my wonderful brother decided that he wanted to keep the good times rolling, so he recruited a few of our guests, including MOH Long Legs and her boyfriend, for an impromptu after-party at a nearby lounge. Truthfully, I was fairly annoyed because I did not want my brother and maid of honour to be hung-over wrecks the day of my wedding, but I chose to let it go and went home to rest.

BM Green Eyes and her boyfriend passed out as soon as we got home, but I was way too excited to sleep, even though it was way past midnight at this point. I decided to write my speech for the reception to pass the time, but I still couldn't fall asleep even after I finished it.

As it turns out, all it took was a few texts from my soon-to-be husband (who was also wide awake), and I was finally able to fall asleep, knowing that when I woke up, it would be my wedding day.

Yes, my biggest concern was the location of our ring pillow -- it's all about priorities!

Next up, it's finally our wedding day!

Married ladies, how did you spend your last night as a miss?

Miss a recap?

• We get it started with our wedding trailer
• We had a really intense wedding week
• We handle some last minute drama and get our nails did
• We practice getting married

Falling for You: Practice Makes Perfect

After everybody finished getting ready, we all piled into my car and headed for our rehearsal. After a quick pit stop to pick up MOH Long Legs, we got stuck in pretty major traffic, so by the time we finally made it to the church, we were about ten minutes late. Our car was quickly overrun by about fifty excited Cubans, like a scene from a bad zombie movie. Needless to say, the stress was giving me a pretty big ulcer at this point. After a few more minutes, we finally managed to herd everyone inside; the priest did not look amused. The Waterfalls, however, looked ecstatic!

 

I've mentioned before that Mr. Waterfall and I are the first to get married within our group of friends. Since none of our bridal party had been a part of a wedding before, much less a catholic one, we knew that the rehearsal would be all the more crucial in ensuring smooth sailing during the ceremony. We practiced "giving me away" and walked through the ceremony in what seemed like the quickest rehearsal known to man.

The readers read, the groomsmen groomed, and the bridesmaids fanned themselves because it was sweltering hot in the church, as predicted by the coordinator nun months before.

MOH Long Legs and BM Green Eyes try to cool off

Despite the heat, everyone was in good spirits and the excitement was palpable. It also felt so strange to have all three of my bridesmaids under one roof for the first time since being engaged -- actually, for the first time in like seventeen years!



BM Tiny, MOH Long Legs and BM Green Eyes



I was also extremely happy to learn that our priest had agreed to incorporate our personalized touches after all. This is my happy excited face. Incidentally, it also sort of looks like I'm about to eat my rehearsal bouquet, which I threw together five minutes before leaving the house using the bows from my bridal shower.

 

Our priest also asked us to read through the Civil Code articles on marriage and state weather we would like them read out loud during the ceremony or during the rehearsal (of course, we chose the latter) and whether we agreed to them.

 

After the ceremony run-through, our priest rushed off to the other rehearsal. Since we still had the space, we decided to stay a little longer and practice the processional a few more times, especially for the benefit of the little ones, who looked absolutely terrified. Our church coordinator, Angelique, was extremely helpful and patient, and she did a wonderful job getting everybody  organized. I did notice that the processional order was slightly different from what I had seen before, but decided to let it go because it really wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things. As a side note, I highly recommend having somebody to run the rehearsal and orchestrate the processional on your wedding day, whether it be a DOC, a venue coordinator, or a friend. We were lucky enough to have coordinators at our church as well as our reception space, and it took a huge weight off my shoulders. See? Look how relaxed I look!

This picture is very strange because I honestly cannot remember sitting down once during the entire rehearsal!

Once we were adequately satisfied that everybody knew what they were supposed to do during the ceremony, we called it a day and made our way over to our rehearsal dinner!

 

Did you have a long, detailed rehearsal, or a quickie like me?

* All photos personal, courtesy of BM Tiny and BM Green Eyes

 

Miss a recap?

• We get it started with our wedding trailer
• We had a really intense wedding week
• We handle some last minute drama and get our nails did

Falling for You: Twenty-Four Hours to Go... I wanna be sedated!

After the wedding week from hell, I woke up on Friday morning feeling happy and relaxed. Little did I know that the feeling wouldn't last very long... Upon checking my phone, I discovered two missed calls and a voicemail from our priest. My heart sank as I pressed play:

"Hello Miss Waterfall, this is Father C over at Notre-Dame de Bonsecours Chapel. As it turns out, I double-booked your rehearsal (you know, the one you booked three whole months ago and confirmed with me at least ten times? Yeah, that one), so I need you and your bridal party to be here an hour earlier than anticipated. Please make sure everybody is on time as I have to attend the other rehearsal right after yours."

I can't even begin to tell you what I was feeling after listening to this message...panic, disbelief, anger? The normal version of myself would have lost her sh*t or had a panic attack, but there was no time for that! We decided to divide and conquer and within the hour, we had contacted everyone. After the crisis had been successfully adverted, Mr. W, BM Green Eyes and I made our way over to one of my favourite Montreal spots, Cacao 70, for brunch, and I was able to sublimate my rage with copious amounts of chocolate. Pure bliss.

Chocolate overdose!/ personal photo

Alas, that too would not last, because Brother GM decided that this would be the perfect time to make a stink about his attire and declare that he would NOT be wearing the Black by Vera Wang tux that I had so carefully picked out. No, he would wear his own suit because he thought the that tux was huge on him (i.e. it didn't look like it had been painted on). At this point, I lost it. It wasn't even about the tux --which, by the way, was totally awesome. It was about the principle! I mean, honestly, how selfish can you be? I was so upset that I eventually just handed the phone over to Mr. Waterfall and asked him to handle it. Mr. W, who never loses his cool, basically told Brother GM to grow the F up and just wear the damn tux because a) it was just one day of his life, but it was a big deal for me and b) it would make me happy and that's what family is supposed to do: make each other happy.

After Mr. W told my brother what was up, BM Green Eyes and I headed off the airport to pick up her boyfriend. Since he wasn't picking up his phone, or waiting where he was supposed to be, Green Eyes started freaking out, assuming that something horrible had happened. Of course, he was fine, just clueless and momentarily lost.

Once we got back from the airport, it was finally time to relax! MOH Long Legs had planned a girl's mani-pedi date for me and the rest of the bridesmaids, thinking it would be a great opportunity to bond and unwind as we got our digits beautified. Unfortunately, BM Tiny had already booked her own appointment at a different salon all the way across town. BM Green Eyes had already done her own nails, but offered to tag along anyways. I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed that I couldn't enjoy a little TLC with my three ladies at once, but since I couldn't afford to pay for everyone's manicures, I didn't want to force anybody to participate. If any of you are planning something similar, I would strongly suggest planning ahead to ensure most of your ladies are able to attend. I would also call ahead to the salon to make sure they can accommodate your group. When we showed , they were completely full and wanted to seat us at opposite ends of the salon. After I played the bride card (#noshame!), they were much more accommodating! They miraculously found us two adjoining stations, and even pulled up a stool for BM Green Eyes to sit on.

I ended up getting French gel tips because my nails were a disaster. I  had gotten acrylics for my high school prom, and I swear, it took months for my nails to recover, so I swore never to get them again. I'm not really sure what the difference is between acrylic and gel nails, but I'm still waiting for my nails to grow back four months later. I was also toying with the idea of getting a lace manicure, but my manicurist nipped that idea in the bud, and said "NO! You get French nails!". The manicure was just what I needed, and I was able to relax, despite the fact that my manicurist kept yelling at me to "MAKE MORE INTENSE!". I still don't know what that means. Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures, a true testament to how hectic the day was. Before we knew it, it was almost time for the rehearsal, so we each hurried back to our respective rooms to get ready. I took a long bath, washed my hair (because my stylist told me second-day hair was best) and prepared myself mentally for what lay ahead.

 Next up, our rehearsal!

Miss a recap?
- We get it started with our wedding trailer
- We had a really intense wedding week

Falling for You: The F*ck It List

Guys, let me keep it real with y'all for a moment; the week before the wedding was nothing like what I had envisioned. In my mind, I had imagined having finished all of my projects and paid all the final balances. My vendors and bridal party would all know exactly what their tasks and responsibilities were and there would be nothing left for me to do except relax and bask in almost-marital bliss with Mr. W. In reality, I spent that last week running around like a headless chicken, frantically emailing, texting and calling various people and scheduling last minute meetings with some of my vendors, all while squeezing in hospital visits and doctor's appointments. Our apartment looked like Martha Stewart threw up over an episode of Four Weddings and there were half-finished DIY projects and piles EVERYWHERE - Piles of unpacked clothes for our honeymoon, piles of wedding décor that needed to go to our venue, piles of shower presents for which we had yet to find space in our tiny one-bedroom, just piles... sooo many piles!

Every bride has a bucket list, a list of must-do things before the wedding. Well, this DIYonista was determined to finish every single project on her list. Some were huge undertakings, like our submerged silk orchid centerpieces, and some were more manageable, like this bird cage card box. I had also stupidly decided to make twenty silk flower pomanders for the church, and still had about eight left to make. That might not seem like a lot, but believe me when I say that I never want to make another pomander as long as I live.

Our birdcage card box, before (left) and after (right) I had my way with it/ personal photo

The week before the wedding was also when some of our out-of town guests started trickling in, which meant that on top of everything else, I was now juggling multiple airport runs and entertaining said guests. Lucky for me, MOH Long Legs was amongst the early arrivals, and she was able to lend a hand with a few last-minute crafts, like our awesome photobooth props.

personal photo

The worst part wasn't our gargantuan list, it was running after everyone else to make sure their lists were taken care of. Spoiler alert: they weren't. Yup. This may come as a surprise to some of you, but nobody cares about your wedding day half as much as you... not your MOH, not your parents, nobody. Accept it and move on. Exhibit A: I had to accompany both mothers to get their dresses altered mere days before the wedding, something that could have easily been done months ahead of time.

Mami Waterfall (left) and MIL Waterfall (right) getting their dresses altered/ personal photo

We had also met with our celebrant a few months before the wedding to go over our ceremony, at which point we had asked his permission to include a few personal touches, like the arras, a rose ceremony, and a blessing of the hands. Since we were having a traditional catholic ceremony, we knew there was a good chance that he might say no. Well, two days before the wedding, we still didn't know what was going on with our ceremony, so we couldn't print our programs, which was beyond frustrating. We also didn't want to wait until after the rehearsal on Friday night because it would be cutting it way too close. At that point, we decided to take a gamble and print very simple programs with the ceremony layout we had requested, knowing full well that we might not be able to use them. We could have easily scrapped the whole thing, but many of our guests were not familiar with catholic ceremonies, and we wanted them to be able to follow along. Since we were out of time, we had to forgo the lovely Martha Stewart program fans I had initially intended to make in favor of really basic ones. I know, cry me a river...

By Thursday morning, I was feeling beyond frazzled. I was in the middle of freaking out over the ceremony programs when my phone started going crazy with texts from BM Green Eyes, whom I had straight-up forgotten to pick up from the airport!

Bridal Brain... it's real, guys/ personal photo 

I raced to the airport in insane traffic and luckily, Green Eyes is like the most chill person in the universe, so she wasn't too mad at me for stranding her at Trudeau Airport. Many apologies later (both verbal and in chocolate form), we packed up my car to drop everything off at our venue, where I got a small glimpse of what the space would look like on our wedding day.

Our venue being set up/ personal photo

That night, while Mr. W and I attended another last-minute vendor meeting, BM Green Eyes offered to stay behind to help print, cut and fold 150 programs and place cards (which we couldn't finalize until the very last second because so many guests hadn't RSVP'd). After our meeting, there was still quite a lot left to do, so, two days before my wedding, I sat around in my pajamas with my best friend, drinking beer, eating pizza and folding programs. And it was kind of perfect!

150 place cards and programs, ready to go! Personal photo

Truth be told, there were so many more projects I wish I had the time for - menu cards, a scrapbook guestbook, a personalized place card display... But in the end, I had to put them all on the f*ck it list and move on, because I would much rather spend an extra hour going on a date with Mr. Waterfall. Honestly, nobody but you will notice the things that are missing on your wedding day, so focus on what matters most, and don't be afraid to scrap a few things if you run out of time. I know how hard it can be to ignore the siren call of Pinterest. Believe me, I've been there and with a few hours to go, I was all "I could have done more", but I figured Mr. W would pick a happy, sane bride over menu cards any day of the week ;)

image via www.someecards.com

Miss a recap?
- We get it started with our wedding trailer

Falling For You: Let's Get It Started!

Does everybody know what time it is? IT'S RECAP TIME!

That's right boys and (mostly?) girls, it's the moment you've all been waiting for since I was first introduced. Back then, I kicked off my intro post with a Black Eyed Peas song, so it's only fitting to continue the tradition. Maestro, if you would...

In all seriousness, I'm beyond thrilled to finally be able to share my wedding day with all of you. No, really, I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it (ok, ok, I'll stop).

For those of you that are just tuning in: Hi, I'm Mrs. Waterfall. I married my boyfriend of ten years in June in Montreal, Quebec. We had a catholic ceremony in Montreal's oldest chapel, followed by a Cuban-Versailles themed reception at Le Windsor. Along the way, I shared many things with you, like my bridesmaids dresses, my dress, my Marie-Antoinette inspired cake, and my flowers. I also DIY'd a lot of elements, from my invitations to my veil, to everything in between, including my centerpieces and I'm really pleased to show you how it all turned out.

It's been four months since we tied the knot. The thank you cards have all been sent out, the miscellaneous wedding décor has been sold or packed away, but there was one very important piece of the puzzle that I was waiting for to start my recaps: my wedding video! A few months ago, I discussed my reasons for wanting to hire a videographer, and I'm happy to report that I don't regret it one bit! Just as I predicted, my photos are amazing, but there are certain moments that are just so much better captured on video. We didn't have a very large video budget, so we compromised by negotiating a custom package. We had our videographer for 8 hours on our wedding day, and we got all the raw footage and this short trailer as part of our package. We also have the option of having a longer video made down the line, or we could try to edit one ourselves.

I can't tell you how excited I was to get our trailer. I must have watched it at least ten times the first day! So, without further ado, here is the Waterfall Wedding Trailer. Think of it as an appetizer before a 5-course meal, hope you guys love it as much as I do!

Victoria&Mathieu trailer from elio castello on Vimeo.

 Thanks for following along, hive, see you next time.
-Mrs. Waterfall