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The Day I Went To The Chapel and Got Married

Posted: 13th June 2008 by Luc "Sandman" G. in Life

May 31st 2008 was a day like no other. It was the day I got married. After over a year of planning and hard work, the day was finally here. That morning I woke up surprisingly calm and rested, but that feeling would not last. Once I started to put on my tux, I started to get nervous and when I get nervous, I sweat. I started to sweat buckets! One by one, my family and the groom’s portion of the wedding party started to arrive. I had opted to have the pre-ceremony wedding pictures to be taken at my home, I finally managed to finish getting ready just as the photographer arrived. Eva, our photographer, took some shots of me, my family and the wedding party before jetting off to take some pictures of Erin and her family and wedding party.

With the pictures done, I stepped outside with my best man and had a cigarette to help calm the nerves and it worked. The weather outside was grey and windy. All week they had been calling for rain and it looks like the weatherman was not going to be wrong. We know that rain on your wedding day is supposed to bring good luck, but we were hoping for sunshine for our wedding pictures. As I hopped into the car to head down to the church, some light rain started to fall.

Our wedding ceremony was being held at Divine Infant Parish in Orleans, just a stone’s throw from our house. Once I got to the church I greeted those who were already there and had another cigarette. I had stopped being nervous after the pre-ceremony photos, but now that the wedding was just minutes away, nervousness started to kick in again. Just as I finished my cigarette, I saw the limo pulling up to the church. That was my cue to go in, as I couldn’t see the bride until the wedding ceremony started. So I go in and greet more people, talk with Shannon our wedding coordinator and I’m getting more and more nervous. Finally we get the signal from Shannon that we’re about to start. I walk down the aisle with my parents at each side, and looking at everyone looking at me. I don’t like being the center of attention so this makes me even more nervous. I get to the end of the aisle, kiss my parents and turn back. I see my groomsman and best man walk down, the flower girls and the bridesmaids. Finally, I see my future wife appear at the door with her parents. I’m rendered speechless on how beautiful she looks. And I wait and wait. She’s just standing there with her parents and not walking down the aisle. I start to wonder if she’s getting cold feet or is just too nervous to walk. After what seems like an eternity she finally makes her way down the aisle. My nervousness completely goes away as we stand together in front of our friends and family.

We go through the mass and wedding ceremony in about an hour. Everything went pretty smoothly up to the point of signing the register. The pen wouldn’t work! We had bought a nice feather pen to sign the wedding registry and license with, we tested it out a few days before to make sure it worked. It took a couple of minutes for someone to find a pen so we could finally sign the darn thing. The rest of the ceremony went fine. My heart skipped a beat when the priest announced us as Mr. and Mrs. Luc Gareau. As everyone clapped as we made our way down the aisle. And just like in the movies, the grey skies disappeared and the sun came out. Things couldn’t have been more perfect.

As we stood outside the church, we shook many hands and kissed many cheeks as everyone congratulated us and told us what a great service it was. I was very surprised to see my cousin Patrick there. I hadn’t seen him in years and was informed that he couldn’t make it. Though he had prior obligations, he made his way from Montreal for the ceremony but told me he couldn’t stay for the reception. Regardless, it was good to see him and I was glad that he made it. We gathered around for some pictures and then we were off in the limo to the Museum of Civilization to take our wedding pictures. The limo took us on a scenic ride to the museum, Erin and I sipping champagne and gleaming from being newly married. I asked her about not coming down the aisle right away, and she informed me that they were waiting for the music to change. The music was supposed to change for her walk down the aisle, or at least that’s what she and the wedding coordinator thought. So she waited, and waited and it didn’t change. I was relieved to know that I didn’t have a possible runaway bride on my hands 😛

The sun stayed out for our wedding pictures at the museum. With such nice weather, we opted to take our pictures outside next to the Ottawa river. Eva took some amazing pictures, some of which you can see on her blog. After a couple of hours we made our way to the Centurion Center where we were holding our wedding dinner and reception. Just as we arrived at the reception the skies turned grey again and it started to pour! I swear that we had such nice weather when we needed it was nothing short of a miracle. My bride, the wedding party and myself were ushered to a waiting room while we waited for everyone to get the the hall. After some 20 or 25 minutes we finally made our grand entrance. Our parents and wedding party being introduced with the Hockey Night in Canada theme, while Erin and I made our entrance to the Star Wars theme.

We first made our way to the head table, but then got up and talked with some of our guests up until supper was being served. The food we had chosen was absolutely delicious. During the dinner our guests had the opportunity to roll some giant fuzzy dice. That is what we had chosen for our kissing game. I can tell you that I kissed my bride many times during the dinner service and I loved every single one of them. After the dinner came the speeches and toasts. To my big surprise, my sister made a big speech (after she had told me she didn’t want to give one) that included a few embarrassing stories and some funny gags. Now I have to figure out a way to get her back. Seeing how she’s already married, that opportunity is long gone. Don’t worry dear sister, I’ll get you back somehow…

After the toasts we mingled some more with our friends and family that were in attendance. Then came the time of our first dance. We had chosen Christina Aguillera’s I Turn To You as our wedding song. After which Erin danced with her dad, then came time for me to dance with my mom (To Kenny Rogers’ Through The Years).

After the obligatory first dances everyone joined us on the dance floor for some shaking and grooving. It was a great night. It looked like everyone was having a good time, laughing, talking and dancing. The night came to a close when Erin and I slow danced to Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters (which was for the longest time our original choice for a first dance). We were surprised to see everyone join us on the dance floor, including both sets of parents.

The night over, we helped to clean up the hall, packed food and gifts into any car we could, and then made our way back home. We were exhausted but very happy, and we were glad that everyone had such a good time. Now all that was left was to plan our honeymoon. But I’ll leave that for another post. 🙂

We’d like to thank all our friends and family which made our special day even more special. Thank you for sharing such a momentous occasion with us. We would also like to thank the following people, and no, I didn’t get any kind of discount for this 😛 :

Eva Hadhazy of Hadhazy Photography. Eva, you are a very talented photographer and a very nice person. Erin and I are truly lucky to have met you. We both feel like you’re a person whom we could call a friend. Everyone commented on how amazing you were during our special day and repeated the sentiment when they saw the pictures on your blog. We can’t wait to see the rest of the pictures!
Shannon from Top Marx Event Planning. You were a godsend the day of our wedding. Because of you everything went very smoothly. You even sewed up the bridesmaid dress when it ripped a little! We thank both you and Miriam for helping us with the planning and for making our special day trouble free.
Sokhon of the Centurion Center. You were a pleasure to deal with and you made sure we had everything we needed to have a great dinner and reception.
Quality Entertainment, sorry, we forget the name of our DJ. The DJ that worked our reception was great. He was funny, entertaining and had a great gift to read the crowd in order to get the most people on the dance floor.

Up next, the honeymoon…

Major life changes

Posted: 12th June 2008 by Luc "Sandman" G. in Life, Movies

Its been a very busy last couple of weeks. I managed to get married and go on an amazing honeymoon to Paris. Hence why I haven’t had a chance to update this blog lately. We just came back to Canada yesterday after spending 8 days in Paris, and we’re trying to re-adjust to the time difference. Jet lag is such a pain! I totally fell in love with the city and the culture. As much as I’m glad to be home, I miss it and we already want to go back. We didn’t get to see half of what we had scheduled to see, and there were so many other things that we wanted to see that we couldn’t even fit when we created our list! Needless to say, there’s many things we didn’t get to see. I guess this means we’ll just have to go back 🙂 I’ll write some more very soon about the wedding and the honeymoon.

In the meantime, enjoy this new trailer from the upcoming Star Wars animated movie The Clone Wars.

Kevin Smith Porn

Posted: 30th May 2008 by Luc "Sandman" G. in Movies

Not only am I somewhat of a Kevin Smith lookalike, I’m also a big fan of his movies. His next movie, Zack and Miri Make a Porno comes out this coming October. He’s released a teaser trailer containing footage not seen in the movie, but it gives us an idea what to expect. I’ll be waiting in line the day of release.

Indiana Jones Is Back

Posted: 27th May 2008 by Luc "Sandman" G. in Entertainment, Movies

Indiana Jones is back, and he’s as good as he ever was. Its been 19 years since we last saw a new Indy movie on the big screen, and it has been wait has been worth it. He may be a little older and a little wiser, but he’s not too old to still kick some ass in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

The story (without giving away too many spoilers) is like so. We find ourselves after the 2 World Wars. Indiana is forced by communist Russians (replacing the Nazis of the previous movies) to find the mythical Crystal Skull. It is said he who holds the skulls commands the powers that it possesses. Stalin has created a squad who seeks out supernatural items. The story starts off in Area 51 in Nevada, with the communists forcing Indiana to seek out a special object in the same warehouse that we see at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana manages to escape, survive a nuclear blast, is targeted by the CIA for possibly being a communist and getting fired from his job as a university professor.

Enter Shia Labeouf (as Mutt Williams) who tracks down our hero. We learn that his mother (Marion from Raiders of the Lost Ark) was kidnapped by the Soviets to force Indy to help continue their search for the mythical skull. She was searching for Professor Oxley, an archeologist who was obsessed with the legend of the crystal skull. Indiana, with Mutt in tow, make their way to South America to rescue Marion and Oxley, and to search for the skull and return it to its place of origin, the fabled El Dorado (city of gold).

The quest has our heroes fight off the Soviets, ninja-like natives who are protecting the skull/El Dorado and giant ants who devour anything in their path. They make their way to the hidden city, fight off an army of natives, survive booby traps and finally return the crystal skull where it belongs.

As excited as I was at the thought of a new Indy movie, I was also a little hesitant. Harrison Ford isn’t a young man anymore. At age 65, would we see a mere shadow of who he once was? Being an action movie, could he still pull it off? The answer is a resounding YES! It only takes a few seconds to completely forget that he now qualifies for a senior’s discount. As soon as we see him put on the famed fedora hat, its like 20 years is washed away. We see Indy as he always was, a man of action, intelligence, wit and full of energy. Its very impressive to see him do his own stunts and pull it off flawlessly with little obvious CGI help.

This movie does not disappoint. This is truly an Indiana Jones movie. Though not as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark, its better than Temple of Doom, and I would place it on equal footing with The Last Crusade. I will warn you about one thing though. For the last 5-10 minutes of the movie, your suspension of disbelief has to be put in overdrive, even considering the subject matter of the past movies.

There was also a slight hint of passing the torch to Shia Labeouf. I really hope this doesn’t happen. I would rather see another actor take the helm and play the character of Indiana Jones, with my vote being Nathan Fillion (of Firefly fame). I know some of you think that no one but Harrison Ford could play Indiana Jones. I have to disagree. I just have to look at the James Bond series to see that a great character can be played by different great actors. With the right actor, and the right stories, there’s no reason why we couldn’t see Indiana Jones on the big screen in the future.