rehearsal dinner

Crystal & Danika

Bianca & Bev

Me and Ray (Nick's Dad)

Dan & Nick (wearing matching shirts)

Joe, Dan & Nick

Nick and Megan

All of my lovely bridesmaids

Nick's brothers Ryan & Kris

My dad

My brother Austin

Me with my Grandparnets

Paper Mache Pig

When Nick and I first got engaged and the wedding plans began, Nick’s mom Sandy asked if there was anything she could do to help. Well I tasked her with the Rehearsal Dinner. It was not an abnormal request, as often time the groom’s family hosts the rehearsal dinner. My only request to Sandy was to make it Hawaiian themed.

The reason for the Hawaiian theme was because Hawaiian shirts have been a bit of a running joke between me and Nick. From the beginning of our relationship we always fought over Nick’s Hawaiian shirts. I HATE THEM! I think Hawaiian shirts are extremely ugly and should be reserved for either little boys 6 & under or old balding retired men that are actually in Hawaii. Well Nick loves Hawaiian shirts. He has a little collection of them, and there has been a history of me “accidently” wrecking 1 or 2 of them. I hate it when he wears them, and so when he wants to get back at me for something I’ve done, he will put one on. Also, over the last year or so, my dad and brother have bought Hawaiian shirts and wear them when Nick and I go over for family dinner in honour of Nick. Well, when talks of getting married occurred, my mom joked that we should make the wedding Hawaiian themed, and that way all the guest and wedding party could all wear Hawaiian shirts. That idea horrified me, so as a compromise (isn’t that what marriage is all about?) I suggested that we make our Rehearsal Dinner Hawaiian themed, and that way Nick would get to wear his Hawaiian shirt, as well as everyone else coming to the Rehearsal.

Well Sandy (with Megan’s help) outdid herself. She did an amazing job putting everything together. It was held in the restaurant that is located at the back of Nick’s dads store in DeWinton, which is only a few doors down from the actual DeWinton Community Hall where the wedding was being held. When you walked in, Nick’s brother Kris would greet you and put a flower lei around your neck. All the tables were dressed up with Hawaiian table clothes, glasses with little umbrella’s in them, Hawaiian flowers and little candles. There were stings of Hawaiian flowers everywhere, Hawaiian paintings and masks had been hung up, and even some Hawaiian music was playing in the background. The food was incredible! Bianca and Crystal just kept talking about how good the food tasted, especially the ham and chicken. Sandy had even made a paper Mache pig that looked like it has been roasted in a pit. She also placed a paper Mache apple in the mouth of the pig. It was such a fun night. Nick (reluctantly, as he is not one for making speeches) and I toasted our family and bridal party, and finally around 7:30pm, we all drove or walked over to the DeWinton Community Hall to do a quick run-through of the ceremony.

We ended up having a little fun while rehearsing. The whole night was great as it was a chance for the Bridal Party to all get to know one another before the big day. We all figured out where we were going and what we were doing and we all shared a bunch laughs and jokes in between. We began to wrap things up around 9:00pm, and I was at home in bed by 10:00pm.

Again, thank you so much Megan and Sandy for such an amazing Rehearsal Dinner. It was so much fun, and I can tell that you guys put in a lot of time and effort into it. I couldn’t have asked for anything more and everyone that was at the Rehearsal Dinner had a great time.