How did you meet? How did you start dating?
We met on plenty of fish. Shawn was going online to close his account and stumbled across my profile. He thought he’d give it one last shot and sent me a message. The rest is history
What was the most romantic thing she did / he did?
Shawn has always been super romantic. He leaves me notes, surprises me with frozen yogurt, always sends me cute little messages, and for the first year and a half or so, I never went a day without having flowers on my table. We decided to scale it back a bit together but he has never stopped surprising me with them here and there. The most romantic thing he ever did is probably his proposal, but the next most romantic thing he did was throw a “Cai’lin-Day”. It wasn’t my birthday or anything, but he created a series of activity tickets and took me around doing all of my favourite things. Then he took me out to my parents’ house where he had invited a bunch of my friends, and cooked everyone dinner and then made our own drive-in movie on the side of the shop.
She recorded a song for our wedding day that was played as she walked down to aisle to me. I had never cried from being happy before, but I did then. She also made me a present one time where she wrote down 365 reasons why she loved me, cut them out individually and put them into a silk box that has ribbon on it and looks like a present. She gave me a glue stick and a journal to put them in. It is the best gift I have ever gotten.
How did he propose? Was he romantic?
He was astounding. He tricked me into thinking we were going to a work event, and when we arrived he sat me down to watch a video…but the video was of him at the farm asking my father’s permission to marry me. My mum was hiding in the background watching me watching this, as was our cinematographer. It is all on video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
What were the top three memorable moments on your wedding day?
Groom:
1. Hearing Cai’lin’s song that she recorded herself for me. I knew she would be coming down the aisle to “At Last” by Etta James, I just didn’t know it was going to be her voice.
2 Seeing her walk down the stairs toward me
3 Dancing with my Gramma to the Chicken Dance (we used to do that every week when I was little)
Bride:
1. His vows for me were amazing. I loved that he was promising to balance out his intentions for me, as in taking care of our family but never ignoring us.
2. After we kissed, we walked up the steps and there were hundreds of bubbles in the air from our guests. It was surreal and I loved it.
3. It sounds corny, but dancing to Beauty and the Beast sung by Angela Lansbury. When I watched that movie as a kid, like every other little girl, I dreamt of being the princess on the dance floor with my prince. I finally got to live that dream and be the Belle of a very special Ball.
Where are you going for your honeymoon? Any special reason for going there?
We went to Jamaica immediately after our wedding so that we could get away and take a break and start learning how to be each others’ husband/wife without any distractions. Early next year we are taking off to Africa, which I (Cai’lin) went to with my dad several years ago. My parents gave us a safari in Africa for our wedding gift, and I am so excited because last time I was there, I kept wishing Shawn could see what I was seeing. Now, he will!
What are the best wedding advice that you want to share with other couples?
Honestly, where do I start?! I have so many tips, it’s ridiculous. Here are my top ten:
First off, don’t chince out on photography. I have seen great wedding photos and I’ve seen crappy wedding photos; no one ever regretted hiring a good photographer!
Secondly, hire a cinematographer. The day goes by so fast, you will not even remember half of it. You can relive the day with a video the way you can’t with photos alone.
Third, – listen to me carefully – Get. A. Planner. I know it seems very expensive. But hiring a day of coordinator was the best money we spent on all of this. We didn’t have to worry about set up or tear down, and we didn’t have to worry about the logistics of the day. With all the work she did on pre-planning and how many people she had doing jobs on the day, the money was nothing compared to how the problems of the day were not mine to deal with and I was free to enjoy the day, as were my friends and family.
Fourth: while people say, “it’s your day, do what you want” what they really mean is “do what you want as long as I approve and it doesn’t inconvenience me.” Ignore them. Every single person will have an opinion, and it gets really exhausting to keep hearing it. Planning a wedding can be a total nightmare, but you have to try very hard to keep focus on having the day that you want. We took a lot of flack for having no kids, for having it in the morning, for having it vegetarian, and for not having a gigantic guest list, etc. In the end, I was so stressed out I was having serious thoughts of eloping on a daily basis. Don’t let people take the joy away from you.
Fifth, figure out your budget BEFORE you go shopping. And leave breathing room, because you are going to go over budget in every single category. And once you get your dress, STOP LOOKING.
Sixth, consider this fair warning: DIY takes a LOT of time, the materials at the craft store save you no money at all, and projects become a gigantic pain in the ass much more quickly than you’d expect. If you’re stamping “thank you” on a candy bag, that’s doable, but if you think dividing up a bunch of Kleenex and cutting up scrapbook paper backing and gluing it onto itself and then tying it together with jute will take you only a couple of hours, you’re wrong. It will take you six hours, there will be crying, and you will save zero dollars.
Seventh, don’t stick your head in the sand – have a rain plan. Hopefully you won’t have to use it, but you will be a lot more stressed out looking at the weather report a week before the big day if you have nowhere to go than if you have a back-up plan.
Eighth: if your fiancé says that axe throwing is a good idea for an activity at his bachelor party, put your foot down. It is not a good idea in any way, shape, or form. Bad things will happen. Very bad things. Trust me.
Ninth: Accept help from others; you will need it. Let your bridesmaids run errands for you. Let your mum write on the placecards. Caveat – if something is very important for you wedding day (ie: the cake, the band, the dress, etc) , unless the friend who offers their help – even free help –does it for a living and is a professional, do not accept the help. It is too important, and so is your friendship. The money can be saved elsewhere. Don’t bet on them unless you are ok with the possibility of losing. Hire a professional.
Tenth: Take some time before the big day to distract yourself and not think about the wedding at all. Your brain needs a break, and so does your best friend and your fiancé. Do something else, and shut up about it from time to time. It will be good for everyone involved.
Bonus Point: Everyone says you need to remember to enjoy your day when it finally comes. Do not disregard this, as you really do need to make a concentrated effort to forget about the details, and let the day roll as it may. This is one of the most beautiful days of your life. Enjoy it! (also, “if you start crying, breathe in through the nose and out through to mouth, or you risk snot bubbles” – advice from our planner). Have a lovely time
