Jen and Ben get married July 12, 2008! (Part I)

After their initial engagement announcement in November 2007, Jen and Ben moved quickly to get the ball rolling for their July wedding in Montreal. On the Kuantan end, I was in charge of getting the invitations printed (at considerable cost savings!) and became very good friends with Michael at the printing shop! Below is the end result:





















To tie things all together, Jen continued the (green) leaf theme in many ways: Steph's Maid of Honour dress, Elly's Flower Girl sash, Luke's Best Man vest and tie were all in a pale green shade. The wedding cake was simple yet very elegant with the green leaf motif winding down the four layers. The favour bags, containing BOH tea from Malaysia, were made out of stamped batik from RM Batik in Kuantan, again a leaf motif, this time in black and white. The tables at the reception were decorated with various herbs in small white pots, to be taken home by the guests at the end of the evening.

As Maid of Honour, Steph hosted a Couples' Cocktail Shower at Peyton Place in Hudson, QC on the Thursday evening before the wedding, with some 25+ family and friends in attendance. Before we could entertain, the house needed a thorough cleaning and painting after four years of tenants...





















Everyone got into the act to help the pros finish the job! Steph is working on shelves from the study.




















After work one evening, Jen went to Fairview to "Build a (Wedding) Bear" to give to Elly, the Flower Girl. We think Jen had about as much fun with the bear as Elly did!

Then there was the Bachelorette Party the evening before the Cocktail Shower...the girls met in the city for dinner at a wine bar, dressed Jen up appropriately and partied on! They booked into a small hostel for the night which turned out to have no A/C AND no windows...needless to say, they got a little warm and ended up coming back to Hudson at about 5 a.m.!





















The bride-to-be!
















Melanie, Meredith, Rhonda and Jen (taken by Steph)

Below are some shots from the Cocktail Shower: Julianne with Baby Janna, our newest niece, and Aunt Alice















Ann, Jen, Ben and Luke...before the glass of red wine fell onto the newly-cleaned carpet...(not his fault!)















The bride and groom opening another bottle of wine (what a great idea, Steph!)...




















The three Musketeers in their Jim Thompson linen shirts: Terry, Peter and Pat















The rehearsal luncheon was held on Friday, July 11th at a Portuguese restaurant close to our hotel in Old Montreal. Here is Elly (briefly) sharing her new Bride Bear with Pat and Jen!















The Bourque Family and friends met for dinner at Gibby's Restaurant in Old Montreal on Friday evening for good food, good wine and fellowship and to catch up with one another after how many years?!?

Below are Kathie, Steph and Pat
















Pat with friends from near and far...Michael and Janice from Burlington, ON and Shoki from Dubai!















It was a wonderful start to a special weekend of events! Jumpa lagi...