Excellent weekend

We pulled it off, Tim and I are now husband and wife!
So Tim had taken the day off work on Friday and did all the necessary last minute running around before picking me up at work at 2:30.
We then headed up North to La Minerve where the big event was going down.
We caught up to Katja & Jouni & family at the turnoff from the 117 and Cathy, Eric & Vanessa showed up at the property not long after we had arrived.
So the guys got things set up and Maya, France and Robbie also showed up that evening.
I think that's everyone who was there Friday night.
We didn't get any rain but saw lots of lightning in the distance and also heard some rumbling as we sat around the campfire.
We hit the hay pretty early, hoping to get a decent night's rest before the big day.

On Saturday morning, we woke up to foggy weather which eventually cleared to sunny skies. Too bad that didn't continue later in the day.
Our guests started arriving mid-morning and by 1 o'clock I started getting a little overwhelmed by it all but luckily, Cathy & I were going back with Tim's mom to the B&B where she was staying. This allowed me to get away from all the excitement and calm down a little.
Once we got changed and took some pictures at the B&B, we headed back for the ceremony.
The sky was getting dark in the distance and the closer we got, the heavier the raindrops fell.
We decided to wait out the rain in the car which also allowed the last lollylaggers to arrive.
So I eventually made my way across the field with Cathy, my unofficial lady-in-waiting and joined my husband-to-be under the shelter that was set up for us.

Olaf proved to be the distinguished celebrant that we knew he would be.
And I was easily and unexpectedly able to keep my composure and even managed to look Tim in the eyes while saying my vows.
Ysabel read "How Do I Love Thee" with a thoughtful twist, handing out the lines of the poem to various guests as she read them.
I also got the pleasant surprise of Clara and Leo acting as ring-bearers. They did a stellar job of bringing us our bands!

Before I knew it, the deed was done and Tim and I were kissing each other as husband and wife.

I wouldn't have thought it just a few months ago, but being married really does make a difference. And I've certainly been enjoying calling Tim my husband, tee hee!

As I said before, the rain had somewhat subsided and we managed to gather everyone together for a group photo before organizing the food.
Luckily for me, everyone pitched in and got it all set up. As much as I used to often be the organizer for many a get-together, it was just too much for me to take care of this time. But we kept it simple and we have such great family and friends so everything turned out great.
And then the rain started up again. And then the rain, it poured.
And poured. And poured!
We were prepared with tents but then we also set up tarps between the army tent and
the kitchen shelters we had up.
The rain did eventually let up and we had a great campfire with guitar playing, marshmallows and let's not forget the mosquitoes!
The highlight of the evening was the fireworks display put on by The Rev, Olaf.
We actually lasted a little past midnight before calling it a night.

Sunday was pretty much spent packing everything up.
Luckliy it didn't rain so we were able to put things away dry. There's nothing worse than ending a camping trip with packing up wet gear.

So that in no way even comes close to describing the atmosphere of the weekend!
But I must say, other than the rain, which wasn't all that bad really, the wedding was pretty much everything I could have hoped for.
It was in no way a restful weekend, but most importantly, it was not stressful.

I will have some pics for you tomorrow!