Yoi! We did it!
Pastor John Bonesteel was the officiant and did a marvellous job of bringing together an agnostic and an atheist in a spiritually moving ceremony.
Dominic Gregorio sang beautifully for the processional and recessional.
Standing with Vicki was Kirsten Graham as the maid of honour, Vicki's younger sister, Rebecca Weafer and her older sister, Elizabeth Weafer. Standing with Adrian was Joe Sorbara as best man, Adrian's younger sister Andrea Secord and his older sister Jennifer Pepper.
Adrian processed with his parents, John and Lynda Secord. Vicki processed with her mother, Sandra Weafer.
The audience was filled with one hundred and twenty-five friends and family, sadly too numerous to list here.
The wedding was a huge success. I can't think of a single thing that went badly wrong. Even the small things that inevitably go wrong were quickly fixed up and worked around by all the great people who were helping us out.
Vicki and I just got back to New York and we're trying to get settled into the apartment. Thanks to everyone for helping us with this huge event, either spritually, financially, by helping with the grunt work or simply by attending and witnessing!
You can find the growing collection of photographs in the wedding gallery. These are great photos that were taken by attendees — we're still expecting more from our photographer Chris. If you have photos that you'd like to contribute, by all means send them along to Adrian and we'll get them up in the gallery. Thanks to everyone who has already contributed!
Once our photographer Chris Fertnig has the proofs ready, he'll be offering a separate online gallery where you can order prints directly. If you want to print one of the attendee's photos, then get in touch with Adrian and he'll send you a bigger version of the photograph that will print much nicer than the small versions in the gallery.
The wedding will be taking place at the Arboretum Centre in University of Guelph's Arboretum. How do you get there? Look at this detailed map of Guelph to start.
Get to Canada. Hopefully you can figure that out by yourself, because complete instructions starting from all points on Earth would be tricky to write down. You probably want to fly into Toronto International Airport if that's how you're going.
Get on Highway 401. This is the major highway through Ontario and passes right by Guelph at exit 295.
The exit numbers are labeled with their distance from the start of the highway — this is very cool. You can tell if you're going the right way (are the numbers getting closer to 295 or farther away?) and how far you have to go (I just passed exit 395, only 100 km to go!). If you don't have a map, the Ministry of Transportation provides free high-quality road maps online. Go tax dollars!
Exit 401 at Highway 6 north, exit number 295.
Follow the map found in your invitation to get to the Arboretum. The map is also available here as an image or a PDF document.
While we'd love to have you all stay at the Secord and Weafer homes, simple counting arguments seem to indicate that we won't all fit. In your service, John "The Intrepid" Secord tromped around Guelph visiting hotels where he toured rooms and jumped on beds to find the real dirt. It turns out that they're all fine! We were hoping for some better dirt, but I guess it's probably all for the best.
He made deals with the following two close hotels:
The Holiday Inn in Guelph is located right down Stone Road from the University of Guelph. Our scout indicates that the Holiday Inn has nice, large rooms. Conveniently, their staff speak seven languages: English, French, Hindi, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, and Spanish. You should refer to the "Weafer and Secord Wedding, code WFW05" to get a rate of of $134.99 per room until May 20, subject to availability.
The Ramada Hotel is located right across the street from the University of Guelph. Our scout indicates that they have nice, large-but-perhaps-not-as-large-as-the-Holiday-Inn rooms. It is unknown what languages the staff speaks. You should reference the "Weafer and Secord Wedding" to get a rate of $99.00 single or double, if booked before April 21.
We think these hotels are good choices because they are close to both the Arboretum and the Secord and Weafer homes and they aren't insanely expensive. If they don't work for you, let us know — there are lots more hotels in Guelph.
The concept of a "gift registry" scares both Vicki and Adrian, but we know that it is traditional at these wedding events to give gifts. We really appreciate you taking the time and effort!
Since the time is long past when all our friends and family would live in the same village and see each other at the local water well, a gift registry has become a necessary evil. If you'd like to give us a gift, then hopefully you'll be able to find something below that you like.
If you would prefer to send the gifts on ahead of the wedding, please use Sandra's address below.
Amnesty International uses public pressure to stop human rights abuses across the world. It is an extremely above-the-board and well-respected organization, and acts in all countries. Both Vicki and Adrian have been Amnesty International supporters for years — we would absolutely love a donation to Amnesty in honour of our wedding. You can personalize a card that Amnesty will send to us to announce your gift.
Mountain Equipment Co-op is the best place in Canada for outdoor equipment. Vicki and I love biking, hiking and camping, so MEC was our first thought when we started to think about gift registries. Our current plan for a honeymoon involves a lot of biking, so MEC is entirely appropriate. If nothing on the list strikes your fancy, then a gift certificate would be awesome.
Canadian Tire is the place you go when you need tools or household things. A Canadian classic.
Sears is your traditional department store, look here for linens and household things.
It's nice stuff! We've picked out some stoneware that should survive and serve us for millennia. You should check with a parent if you'd like to get some these — Denby doesn't offer a registry.
Sandra Weafer, Vicki's mom, has agreed to the onerous task of receiving gifts in advance of the wedding. You can send them to:
Sandra Weafer
48 Hands Drive
Guelph, ON N1G 3H3
Canada
(519) 763-8635
Copyright 2000-2008 © Adrian J. Secord, all rights reserved.
