dial-up ain't ez

First, I ought to apologize for taking so long to update the blog. As you can probably guess, a lot has happened since the last post. First and foremost was our wedding. Gillian and I were married on June 24, 2006. But maybe I should rewind and start at the end of the rehearsal dinner.

At the "rehearsal" dinner, Gillian asked that I choose the music that she would walk down the aisle to. After clean-up had all been finished, Jarrod (my best man) and I drove back to his place, so that we could sort out that particular detail.

We listened to a bunch of music, including Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven), Moonlight Serenade (The Glenn Miller Orchestra), Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky) and more. I should mention that the piece which occured to me first was the Imperial March - you know, Darth Vader's theme in Star Wars. After input from Kristen (Jarrod's better half) and Angie (one of Gillian's bridesmaids, who was very patient after being awoken at 1:00 in the morning), I selected "Simple" by k.d. lang. We all went to bed shortly after settling the music to be played.

The day of the wedding was frantic. Jarrod and I awoke and were on the road by 8:00 am. We grabbed breakfast from Starbucks and McDonalds (we each wanted something different), picked up some dry cleaning, got a straight razor shave and then made our way over to the college.

The morning consisted of the ceremony rehearsal - this time we actually rehearsed something - and then everyone broke up to get prepared. Being the groom, I was confined to the outside of the building so that I didn't run into a bride by accident. We all moved at something close to top speed the entire morning, with even a few of the guests getting into the act, in order to have everything ready in time.

As the hour approached, the groomsmen all bundled into their suits and began looking all rather sharp.

The ceremony itself was short and sweet. My family seemed to have some difficulty understanding that they needed to be sitting in the front row, but with some cajoling, it all worked out.

After the ceremony, we had pictures being taken. Some really phenomenal ones came out of that, and I will be posting one or two when I have a chance.

Following the pictures was the reception, which went off without a hitch. I think everyone had a really good time there. The chicken that was served was amazing, and our first dance was to Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell".

Following the reception, Gillian and I spent our first night as man and wife at the Westin Hotel, in downtown Calgary.

On Sunday, we had an open house and gift opening at a family friend's house. The food and company were delightful. I'll just take a moment to thank everyone again for their generosity and their kindness.

On Monday, our last day in Canada before crossing the pond to England, I went to Cochrane's Gleneagles golf course with Camil, and we played the majority of 18 holes. Golf, as it goes, is not without a measure of fun, but I'm not sure that it is the game for me. Still though, I've been re-assured that nobody likes golf after their first round. Maybe I'll try it again in England.

Monday evening, at 7:30 pm (Calgary time), we left terra firma and made our way eastward. We touched down at 11:35 am GMT, some 8 and a bit hours later at Heathrow Airport where we were picked up by my uncle Brian and my aunt Sarah. We were then driven out to a country house near the town of Sevenoaks, and it is from here that I write this entry. The scenery is marvelous.

So, you're probably wondering where all the photos of this busy couple of days are. The problem is that during Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, I've had absolutely no time to post anything. I was looking forward to being able to post some pictures now that I'm settled in one spot for a few days, but unfortunately, my uncle has only dial-up from his home. I will wait until I can visit a local internet cafe to post the full images of the past couple of days.

Normally, I try to keep it down to 5 photos per day. Not to worry - on the day that I do post, I will be sure to post a good deal more.

Until then.