Our invites have now been mailed! Yaaayyy!! It was such a huge relief to see them go! LOL! It took a lot longer to address the boxes, address the outer envelopes, print the seal correctly, lick the envelopes and add the stamps than I had anticipated. I found myself and my sisters slaving over them in the wee hours of the night. You know when you work on something for so long that you just want it done? Yeah, that's what ended up happening!! He he ... But they were worth it!! We are so excited to give them out. The other half of them we are hand delivering. I can't wait to see our guests' faces when they receive it!

We have also finalized the tuxedos for the guys and purchased half of our gifts for our parents.

Now the waiting game begins. We are really excited to hear back from all of our guests! =)

-Lene

July 6, 2002
Ten years ago today, I took a leap of faith and decided to give Mark a chance once again. It was the best decision I have ever made my whole life! Today we celebrate a decade of a beautiful love story that started out as friendship and grew to love. We are living proofs that if you are meant to be with someone, you will be. Sometimes, you just have to let destiny take its course.

Anniversary Adventures

Beach day - this is a tradition that we started when we were I think around three or four years into the relationship. Our yearly destination has always been Pinery Provincial Park near Grand Bend. This year we wanted to do something different, but we just couldn't pass off doing our tradition, so we went ahead with it. We went to Pinery! =) This visit was different from all the other years we've been there though. We went on a canoe ride! I know it's not that big of a deal, but for someone who cannot swim and going canoeing for the first time, it was kind of terrifying! That was me who was terrified by the way! I did enjoy it maybe fifty percent of the time. The other fifty percent, I was too preoccupied that the boat was going to turn over. He he ...

Buffalo bound - another first for this year was crossing the border to good old US of A! I have never been, but Mark has been countless of time. I told him that I wanted to do some sightseeing, so we went ahead and crossed. We ended up doing some shopping instead of sightseeing though. We ran into some hiccups on our way back, and let's just say that it definitely will make a good story for our kids. LOL! Let's just say that we are proud to say that we stuck it out "for better or worse". =)

Overall, it was a very memorable anniversary indeed!


-Lene

I know I've said this before, but I can't believe that we are now in double digits! We have a few more things that we can cross off the list.

Invites - Love! Love! Love them!! They are exactly how we wanted them. We ordered the invites pretty early because we were afraid that they will not be ready in time. However, to our surprise, it took the company 3 business days to have them made and mailed to us! I just couldn't believe it!! Especially because they were handmade and were coming internationally. It was definitely a pleasant surprise. =) We can't wait to give them out!!

Cake Flavour - Mark and I started brainstorming which cake flavours we like best. We were able to narrow it down to two flavours, but then we couldn't decide which flavour we want to cut into at the reception. Why you might ask, mainly because we both wanted our flavours to be cut when we first cut the cake! LOL! So how did we settle it, a good old "rock-paper-scissor"!! Ha! Ha! Then it's fair and square. =) Who won? He did! >_< He he ... you'll just have to wait and see which flavour he chose! We will have our tasting near the end of August.

A few other things that we have accomplished are the flower girl dresses and we have chosen our dances for the First dance, Father-Daughter dance and Mother-Son dance.

I also met up with Ate Apple to go over what I have already accomplished. Let's just say that I was nowhere near where I thought I should be. LOL! Time to get crackin'!

-Lene

The last month  honestly flew by so quickly! We were able to finalize a few more important things though.

Bridesmaids Dresses - All of my girls now have their dresses ordered. Phew! A pretty important thing that we needed to get out of the way. Since it's wedding season, I was told that it may take longer for the dresses to come in, so I thought it would be best to get it ordered early. At least it'll be one less thing to think about.

Canadian Tourist Visa Application
This task has somewhat lasted a lot longer than I had anticipated. I have been working on getting all the required information for our family members from the Philippines and Singapore to get a visa to come here to Canada. The process itself is pretty straight forward, but they do require a lot of detailed information. Also, I had to gather as much supporting documents as I can to help with their application. I am very happy to say that I am now 90% complete and they will be applying within the next couple of weeks. I pray that everything works out and that they are granted the visa to come here. I can't ask for a better wedding gift!

For those who are thinking of getting a Canadian Tourist Visa, here is a site that I actually got some really great information on: Canadian Tourist Visa 101 by Mai Mai Lim.

Music Repertoire
I don't think I've been able to update you with regards to our ceremony musicians. Unfortunately, as much as we wanted the Youth Inspired! to provide the music for our wedding, it wasn't meant to be. Due to unforeseen circumstances, they can no longer provide the music.

However, our search for musicians led us back to our church! Last night, Mark and I met with one of the church choir heads. We thought it would be just a normal meeting where she would give us a list of songs to choose from and we pick from there. We were both pleasantly surprised. There were probably about 8 other couples there to meet with her also.

What they did was truly a great idea. The consultation was ultimately an audition! They played and sang clips of the all the songs that we can choose from. It was something we have never been to before, and we thought was pretty cool! In this way, we know exactly what to expect for our wedding day. All I can say is that we left that consultation grinning from ear to ear! We can't wait to hear them play and sing again at our wedding! =)

-Lene

"I Arlene, take you ..."

Eeeeee!!! Saying these words out loud just give me shivers! OK, I'm not going to lie, and tears too ... =) Mark and I finally had a chance to sit down and go through the "Celebrating Our Love" booklet. We have been meaning to do this for some time now, but we just keep forgetting to do it.

This booklet was given to us by our priest to guide us in choosing our readings and vows for our wedding ceremony. Overall, it went great! I am happy to say that we got through it argument free. Ha! Ha! It was just when when we were practicing our vows, I couldn't help but tear up a bit. That's when Mark stopped halfway, stares at me and says, "NOOOOO CRYING!!!" Ha! Ha! Let's just say that he knows me pretty well. =)

Favours

Who would have thought that choosing a favour would be this complicated? Mark and I are wanting to have something that will be useful and won't hurt our budget too much. What I find about favours is that oftentimes, they end up on a shelf somewhere collecting dust. So we are trying to find something that would actually be useful ... no luck yet.

Planning Overall

Is it weird that I think I have hit a "planning plateau"? Maybe it's because I am not in front of a computer all the time. Ha! Ha! I just feel like there's so much time, so I don't have to do too much now. But I know that this kind of attitude is going to bite me on the butt soon enough! I just need to keep trying to get my creative juices flowing so that I can think of more ideas for the wedding. Oh! And REALLY start getting serious about the healthy eating and loosing weight. =S

-Lene

Slowly but surely, things are coming together little by little. We are now out of the 200 days!! Ahhh!! Time honestly needs to slow down a little. Ha! Ha!

We now have 2 more things we can check off our list: Hairstylist and Tuxedos!

It's funny because every time I think about the wedding, I feel like I am planning the whole thing for someone else. Then when I stop to think that it's for me and I start to panic! Ha ha!! I guess everything just feels so surreal! Everything is so exciting, but there's so many other emotions too. It's like everything I have dreamed of is finally happening, but I have to keep pinching myself that it's all real! =)

Sometimes when you get caught up with everything that is happening around you, especially planning a wedding, you forget to pause and enjoy everything. Saw something that I have seen before, but is a great reminder of what kind of man I am about to marry ...


I can't thank God enough for blessing me with Mark ... cheesy I know, but it's the truth. =)


 -Lene

Sometimes I hate the fact that we're getting married. *gasp* I know! Crazy huh? Not for the reason you are thinking. I only hate it because of the money it involves.

People dream of their wedding day their whole life and the little details they want to incorporate in it. Then the day actually comes and you realize that there's more to having the "perfect" wedding. One's perception of "perfect" I guess can change.

This is what I keep realizing. As cheesy as it may be, but I've come to realize that perfect isn't about all the little details, it's about the reason for the occasion. Our day is already perfect because we have been blessed to be given a love that comes only once in a lifetime. The forever kind of love. =)

The wedding is just another financial milestone we need to overcome. There will always be more milestones to come. Now it's the wedding. Later on it will be something else. What matters is that we have each other. What matters is the journey, not the destination.



-Lene

Flowers Galore! We met with our florist last Friday and everything turned out great! We worked with her to finalize everything. Who would have thought that there are tons of different kinds of one flower! Ha! Ha! I can't wait to see how they are all going to turn out! Soo excited!!

Choir of Angels 
Mark and I asked some very important people to be a part of our special day. I have already mentioned before how I am a part of a youth group called the Youth Inspired! Both Mark and I have been friends with these young men and women for a very long time, so we thought that who would be better equipped to provide amazing music for our wedding other than them! Not only are these young men and women very talented, but it's also an honour to have our friends take part in our special day. Thank you guys for saying yes!

Comfort & Style
Ahhhh!! I am so excited that I have finally found my shoes!! Most of you who know me knows that I am not a big fan of wearing high heels. Not because I don't like them, but because my feet have a tendency of cramping up when I wear them. For some time now, I have been looking around for shoes that has both comfort and style. Interestingly enough, it's a really hard combination to find! I would often find gorgeous shoes, but they would definitely kill my feet within an hour! Or shoes that are so comfy, but not very suited for the occasion. 


It's funny because I actually found these shoes when I wasn't looking for them. I just happened to be at the mall killing some time, and my sister and I decided to check out a few stores. Right when I saw it, I knew they were the ones for me! =) After I tried them on and walked around the store a bit, I was convinced! Ahhhh!! I was ecstatic!! Finding nice comfortable shoes was something I have been dreading for a while. I knew I wanted some height, but I just couldn't find any that had the height and comfort - now I did! Whoo hoo!!! God always leads you to where you need to be in His time. 


The search continues ...
One thing that we are still working on is finding a park to take pictures at. We checked out a park last Friday and were convinced that it's the perfect place for us to take pictures. However, it just wasn't meant to be. When we called to book the park, we were told that it's only available for photography sessions on the weekends. =( Yes, we were pretty disappointed. But we are truly blessed to have some amazing friends who are helping us find other interesting places to take pictures at. I'll keep you posted once we have decided on one! 

-Lene