Montreal Before The Wedding

 Hi there,

Two weeks ago, I had the honor of getting married to my best friend, adventure buddy, partner in crime, and one true love. It was such a lovely evening, only God could have put it together in such a short amount of time. 

In my last blog post, I wrote about our plan to get married with two weeks’ notice. If you’d like to read the backstory, you can click here. Today, I’m going to pick up the story from where I left off.

Before leaving Georgetown, I ordered some Polaroid film and my sister’s dress. Since we had such short notice, it was quicker to have these shipped to Texas for Noah to bring up to the Peace Arch with him. My own dress, however, I ordered to my grandparent’s house in Quebec. My grandmother is a seamstress, and I wanted her to be able to alter it if needed. I also ordered a mount for my tripod that would hold a cell phone because we were going to live-stream the wedding. I contacted an old friend who lives in British Columbia and asked if she would take our wedding photos. I also talked with a friend from HIs Hill who lives out there and asked if I could stay with her.

Toronto Union Station

So it was that on Sunday, September 13th, I was all packed up. I left a box and a suitcase of belongings at Sarah’s place. At 3:00 pm, I left Toronto by train with a suitcase and a backpack, bound for Montreal. I arrived at around 8:15 pm into the loving arms of my aunt and uncle—and about a thousand questions! As we drove to my grandparents’ house, I answered them to the best of my ability with my rusty french.

I embraced my grandparents, and then we sat down at the dining room table so that I could answer their additional thousand questions. We got out my grandmother’s veil, which she was allowing me to wear for my wedding. It needed to be washed, ironed, and have a little something fixed to the front, but I was going to be the third generation to wear it! My grandmother informed me that she’d set aside that week to help me prepare. It was so kind of her and proved to be crucial because I couldn’t have done it without her!

The next day, Grandmaman and I selected fabric for some masks that she wanted to make for the wedding party. We choose an English lace for mine, navy for the boys, and burgundy for the girls. In the afternoon, my cousin took me to the mall to find shoes for my wedding and something to fix to my veil. At this point, we were a week away from the big day, and we still didn’t have an officiant. I’d asked both of our friends out East if they knew anyone who could do it for us, but all their contacts were unavailable. My mother thought she knew someone who could help.

Mine and Noah's Masks

My grandmother had asked if I wanted to have a one-on-one dinner with her that night before I was no longer a Theriault. I jump at any opportunity to spend quality time with my grandmother. That evening, we walked to a restaurant in town. However, as we paused at the entrance to sanitize our hands, I saw my female relatives gathered at a table. They yelled, “Surprise!” as we walked in, and I was utterly speechless. They had decorations on the table and a crown for me to wear. In the little time they’d had, they’d thrown together a surprise shower for me. I was grateful to have all these special women together, as I don’t know when I’ll be able to see them again.

Obviously, there were many women—including my sister and mother—who couldn’t be there. However, they’d asked those who couldn’t be there to each write me a letter. That was sweet and special. We had dinner and dessert. We laughed a lot and shared stories. It’s a memory that I’ll cherish forever.

Looking back, those Montreal days kind of melt together. At one point, my mother—through a friend in Malaysia—found a man who could probably officiate our wedding. I think it was on the Wednesday that Noah and I had a call with Nick, an outreach pastor in BC. We called to discuss our wedding and our vision for the ceremony. Noah and I were—and still are—so grateful for him. If you watched our wedding online, you know what a great job he did—and on such short notice!

My Wedding Shoes

At one point, my mother brought to my attention that I didn’t have a ring for Noah. He’d been wearing a rubber one, and I’d assumed that we would use that one for the ceremony. But after thinking about it, I decided I should get him a real one. So one day, Grandmaman brought me to a couple of jewelry stores and then to the mall with all its jewelry stores and kiosks. Typically, when ring shopping, you find a style that you like and then you order it in your size. We simply didn't have the luxury of time. We had to walk out that day with a ring in Noah’s size that was the specific style I was looking for. Ultimately we returned to the first store. They had a ring in the style I was looking for in Noah’s size for the perfect price.

For my entire stay in Montreal, I was keeping an eye on the weather forecast for BC. It was supposed to be 17 degrees and sunny on the day of the wedding. I was still nervous about rain, and I’d heard that it was very smoky in BC from the wildfires in the states. I also didn’t know how the audio would turn out when filming on a cellphone. For these matters that were not in our hands, we were just praying that they would work out on the day.

Bear in mind that I was still waiting for my dress to arrive in the mail. I was to leave my grandparents’ house around noon on the Friday, and by Thursday morning it still hadn’t arrived. So after the morning grocery run, we stopped at the post office to ask where my dress was and when I could expect to receive it. The kind lady told us that we should receive a slip in the mail for it shortly. She gave us the phone number for the mail warehouse where the dress would be stored. She also took our phone number in case she received any new information.

Grandmama Working Hard For Me

Upon arriving at home, we saw the mail truck go by. We walked to the mailbox, and there was the slip! However, it said that we could pick up the package in the afternoon of the following day. That obviously wasn’t going to cut it; I was leaving for the airport at noon. So we called the warehouse and explained our situation. They were very understanding and said they would get my dress to the post office that afternoon. The lady from the post office then called to say that the package would arrive around 4:00 pm and that she would call us as soon as it got there. Now it was just time to wait. 

That afternoon—I believe it was around 4:15 pm—we got the call. My package had arrived at the post office. My cousin, who’d come to visit for the afternoon, drove me to the post office. The lady was standing at the counter, package in hand, as I walked in. I was over the moon, and I opened it as soon as we got home.

The dress was all that I’d dreamed it would be. I tried it on, and we found the straps to be a little long. The dress itself was also too long, and there was a bit too much room in the bodice. So after dinner, my grandmother got to work and sewed until it was done just before midnight. My wedding dress was finished, and it was perfect. I’d also ordered a cream knit cardigan in case I was cold on the day.

Sneak Peak of My Dress

Finally, it was Friday. I spent the morning packing again. I was concerned that my bags would be too heavy since I’d bought numerous things during my time in Montreal. What a relief it was to find that they weighed just the right amount!

I hung out with my grandparents that morning until a relative came to pick us up for the airport. My plane took off around 3:00 pm, and I had a layover in Toronto. Both my flights went smoothly. Landing in Vancouver, however, was strange. Above the clouds, the sky was beautiful. But once we entered them, it felt like we never came out. I didn’t see the ground until we were maybe 100 meters away. It was the smoke I’d heard about.

Once I got my bags, my friend Carissa picked me up, and I can’t tell you how wonderful it felt to be in her arms and presence again! However, I think that I will have to leave this story for today. Come back tomorrow for the ending of the story—including the wedding itself.

Only God could have made all the puzzle pieces come together more perfectly than I could have planned and in such a short time. I can’t wait to tell you about the rest of it!

Until tomorrow,

Darcy-Rea Rogers

Flying to BC