and then there was the listel hotel on robson, where steve and jodi had rented the penthouse. it was beautiful. the after wedding party was in their room and it was just so pretty, the rest of the family also stayed at that hotel. also fitting that my brother is a jazz musician and plays at odouls restaurant. the hotel staff were just wonderful at that hotel too. it is modern, full of beautiful art. a true example of a boutique hotel. and seriously even the mini bar comes fully stocked with more than what you might think!

there was jodi's sweet hair dresser, rosie zollinger, from the coup salon in shanghai alley, totally worth the trip to the funky neighbourhood if you live in vancouver.

and really, the highlight for everyone was the venue for the reception. steve and jodi asked the owners of one of their favorite restaurants, two chefs and a table, if they could rent the whole place for the reception. it could not have been more perfect. it was like being at the most amazing heart warming kitchen party you have ever attended. being able to watch the chefs prepare the amazing food was also a wonderful treat. as we talked, drank wine and ate the perfectly prepared food, we laughed, we spoke of the wonderful flavours we were eating, we spoke of the love steve and jodi shared, we spoke of how many of us had roots in saskatchewan. we spoke of how brilliant a guest list of 21 people at a wedding is. how intimate, how perfect. we spoke we listened and we got to know each others families.

and we ate. 

and we left so full and so happy. and seriously we are all still talking about the food and the wine. i can not say enough good things about the restaurant.

here are just a  few more images so that jodi's mom and dad can get a feel of the night. because they could not share. 

xoxo

jodi is wearing a shawl her grandmother knit, and her older sister jan also wore to her wedding many years ago. it was beautiful and was perfect for the cool winter day. i think it is so sweet that jan brought it for jodi to wear.

i have a few stories to tell, but those i will get to in the posts coming up, but just a tiny little one to start off with... my brother steve has known jodi since he was in a marching band a LONG LONG LONG time ago. jodi was a cute little colour girl in the regina lions marching band, and my brother steve played the sax. well fast forward many many years later and my brother goes on a date with jodi, a beautiful red haired girl. both have ended up living in vancouver after years of being away from regina. they had not spoken through most of their grown up life. i hear about the date right away, i keep hearing about their day together. then after a few weeks or so i am with my brother and my mom in a vintage shop in vancouver and we see my brother wander over to the jewellery case. he sees a ring. he loves it, he thinks it will look beautiful on jodi's finger. it is pretty, and he buys it. he has no money. none, just moved back to canada after living in europe for many many years and he buys a beautiful vintage diamond ring.

crazy, one might think so, but then again. my husband bought my ring for me after only knowing me for 4 days. its true. and we are happy. we are in love, it was perfect, so steve.... you are crazy, but sometimes crazy people get the most wonderful gifts. look, you got jodi and tim got me!

these photos are dedicated to jodi's mom and dad. i am so sorry we could not have met. i am wishing you very warm, positive and fast healing thoughts so that our family and your family can meet soon. i loved meeting jodi's brothers and her sister. you both must be amazing people to have raised such great kids. 

xoxo

in wonderfully cute steve style, he showed up at the hair salon with a hot dog and rootbeer, so that jodi would not forget to eat...  

the wedding was set to take place well after sunset, so thankfully steve and jodi agreed to see each other prior to the ceremony so we could take advantage of a few minutes of natural light for some photos. they had a very romantic first look on the balcony of the penthouse on robson street and then we ran to english bay for a 10 minute portrait session prior to sunset. it was fun, there was a lot of laughter. 

i will post more about the amazing ceremony in the next post, and then the dinner in the following. i might just have had time to come up with a few words by then to describe the unbelievable evening that we had. 

steve and jodi, i love you both so much. you are both such beautiful people and i truly wish the most amazing future for you and your family. have an amazing honeymoon!

i found these berries two days ago, when we took the kids to mt doug park to drop our pumpkins into the pumpkin grave yard. it was snowberry heaven. the path was covered with a gorgeous layer of leaves after the windstorm. i have truly come to appreciate the true beauty of each moment, each season. i miss the light airy feeling of the summer sun, but i love the complex rich tones that fall photography brings. 

they are friends. they are both wonderful boys and they have been in the same class since kindergarden. i love this boys mom. she is a wonderful friend and they are an amazing addition to our neighbourhood. we have shared more than a few after school glasses of wine, discussing our solutions to our childrens biggest problems. all while our four children and her dog run around the house screaming. we don't notice. we have our wine, we are making important decisions.

my friends dog, became two dogs. they added a puppy to their home a few months ago. gosh he is cute. so now they have two yellow labs. one older gentle sweet dog and now a playful happy go lucky shoe eating puppy. both came to the photo session, with the special reason that casey is nearing the end of her life. and its important to have some memories and photos of her and the kids. so i think we managed to capture a few images of a boy and his dog.

i love the excitement in my kids faces as they prepare to dress up. i loved the build up to today. i loved carving pumpkins with them. i loved a few weeks back going to the field to pick them with our family and cousins. i loved sticking our hands in the pumpkins and feeling the slime on our hands and cleaning the seeds. i loved leaving the door to the oven open as we roasted them today so that we didn't forget about them in the oven. i loved telling the kids how many times prior to today that i had left them in the oven roasting and forgot about them and burned them.... SO bad the smoke detector had gone off. i loved that today, i heard the seeds roasting. they were dancing on the pan. making popping sounds and actually moving. i had never noticed that before. i was present in the kitchen. i loved that!

i loved that today our pumpkin seeds turned out the best they had ever tasted.

i loved that today my kids were not scared to go trick-or-treating, that they remembered the neighbourhood houses that had scarey things that scared them in years past. and i loved that today they went to bed and i ate my old favorite treats. don't worry, they won't notice. they have a HUGE stash. they are 7 years old now and they can carry a lot of treats in their pillowcases. 

now as i sit here typing this, i know how sick my mom and dad must have been, when i was sleeping in my bed on halloween night when i was 7.

i had a great night with my kids. i love them, so much, and it is not because they brought me chocolate.

xoxo

i started the car and i kept looking at the sheep who came to the fence line when i was putting stuff in the car. it's not like me to break from a decision. a normal thought would be, wow those sheep are so awesome, i should take some photos. then i would think, put it in the memory bank, i will come back another time. things to do, always something to do...

but then i thought, no. its now, the sheep are here now. they look amazing and friendly and they want to greet me at the fence. i am so glad i stopped. it was hard for me to leave. they were just so darn cute. one of them wanted to be my best friend. i just had no idea they were so social. the one guy actually tried to get out many times to come with me when i finally got in the car. so here are a few photos of my new friends. i have to go visit them again soon. they are good listeners, they liked my story.

and my children. they had an amazing time making cookies, while i was busy. i just have to include a photo of their creations. i am told they had no adult help in the formation of the fingers. just the measuring.

and the scary fingers that tasted so good, i had to hide them so tim and i didn't eat them all on the kids!

here are a few quick glimpses into our morning. i seriously would love to harvest just a tiny bit of this girls spirit. she makes me smile just thinking of her.