June 28, 2013

Yes, it is over a year later that I am finally blogging about this wedding. There are no excuses, other than it took me a while to get ahold of the pictures. Leave it to my family.

Yes, this was a big wedding for me because it was my brother getting married. In Canada. I spent the week leading up to the wedding hanging out with Jenna (the bride to be), gallivanting around Edmonton and having way to much fun. She’s truly a gem.

In western Canada, weddings are a little different from your average US wedding. Weddings have “programs,” you can return any unopened alcohol, and a guest list of 300 is normal. Ok, that last one maybe not so much. But, Mike and Jenna come from two huge families, so the guest list was long.

I also noticed that in Alberta (within my large network of family and friends), weddings are more about the commitment and less about the stuff. I think, working in the industry I am in, I get so caught up in making sure everything looks picture perfect and swoon-worthy. I will spend hours working with my brides to make sure that their wedding is breathtakingly beautiful, sometimes with no dollar spared. While I absolutely love doing this, since designing a wedding is part of my job, sometimes it’s nice to take a step back and think about what we are celebrating.

Yes, these lovely people in Alberta still want their wedding to be beautiful. Yes, they still want everything to go smoothly. But, it’s less about “how much money are we spending on flowers” and more about “how can we make sure our guests truly enjoy their time.” It’s refreshing. So, while Jenna and Mike’s wedding was truly beautiful, it was also beautiful in another way: it was about their commitment for each other and to God, and celebrating their love with family and friends.

Now, over a year later, Mike and Jenna welcome into the world Ashton John, who was born October 28. Congratulations on all accounts to my amazing brother and sister-in-law. Love you both so much. Can’t wait to meet Ashton.

And, because I just can’t help myself, here is a picture of their new baby.