Saturday, September 03, 2005
JRP's Wedding In Calgary
Again I find myself breaking the norm of blogging I have established. I happen to be very comfortable dedicating an entire blog to my best friend's wedding. John Pantazopolous and Stacey Pantazopolous were married at approx 2:00 P.M. on Saturday afternoon, August 27, 2005.
There was a lot that happened before and after so lets have a walk through for old memories sake. Heath Flew in around 12:30 from Vancouver. I picked him up and we headed over to the Greenwood Inn to help with the decorating of the banquet hall. There were quite a few helpers, but it didn't matter how many were there. They had everything planned out to the finest details. Table lists are fairly standard, but I have never seen the table decorations not only personalized, but grouped, and bagged and boxed. We basically lined up, grabbed a sheet and a bag of stuff and went to work.
The decorating, and design was actually quite interesting. Instead of numbered tables the tables were personalized with a picture of John And Stacey together in various places they had traveled. Some people sat at the "Paros" table, some at the "London" table, some at the "Saskatoon" table and so on. Every person had a personalized magnet keepsake, along with flowers, doily, candles in this weird ice gel. It was really really cool. I'm glad I helped out.
John's parents George and Patsy were there. It was good to see them after a few years. I also met Stacey's parents Sonia and Larry. They were several other family and bridal party members providing help. With all of the bodies it didn't take very long. I was out of there in a couple of hours and I had to head down south to pick up the jacket for my tuxedo. The original jacket didn't fit right and they had to rush one up from Toronto. Apparently the average joe tuxes (40 reg) have about 10,000 in the warehouse. I was one of the lucky gentlemen who have only 1 of 30 tuxes in Canada. Sometimes it's cool to be large. ;-)
Later that evening we headed over to John and Stacey's place for some eats and drinks. People did the meet and greet thing for a couple of hours, ate some Greek food and chilled the night before the wedding. John gave his groomsmen a couple of tokens of appreciation. We received personalized cufflinks, and money clips. they were extremely cool, and made sure we were stylin' for the wedding. It was off to bed because the wedding day would be a long one for sure.
I awoke around 6:30. The plan was to meet with John @ 8:00 and go for breakfast. We met up at the hotel he was staying at downtown and headed to the Husky House (Gerry's). It was strange being in there while in a sober state of mind ... but the breakfast, and copious amounts of coffee were needed. It was a quick eat, and back to the hotel to change up into the tuxes. It's amazing how a few suits can make a bunch of bums look rather sexy. We were stylin' in the best way for Johnny P.
By this time the videographer, and photographer had arrived and it was time for the gentlemen to get some shots taken. We did some poses, and impromptu shots around the hotel, and then moved outside and across the street to the old school. We had some casual, and professional scenes, fun and serious, dark and light. It was actually quite stressful. I could never imagine a model doing that for 12 hours a day. I almost went nuts after 1 hour! The *ographers were off to find the women of the day, so the gentlemen were off to pick up the rental vehicles. We got a whacked out Yukon, and another SUV.
We had some time to kill, so we spent a few minutes to decorate the SUVs with the wedding swag. then it was time to cruise for a bit. Lets just say Danphy drives a _GINORMOUS_ SUV in no different manner than his motorcycle. Just ask about his reckless driving ticket ... it's kind of a sore spot. ;-) We stopped at the 7/11 for waters and Stelios inhaled a hot dog (he missed breakfast because he slept in). By the old sun dial we could tell it was time to head over to the church for the big show.
1:30 P.M. the service was at Knox United Church in Calgary. Stacey's aunt was performing most of the service. We found this out last minute. It was a pleasant surprise. The gents were in the back room while guests were seated by Gord and Shaun. John was solid like a rock. He did ask Stelios about 47 times if he had the rings ... but other than that ... a rock. I think Danphy was the most nervous of all of us. I led the guys out of the back and we took our places near the altar. I never expected to be overcome, but when Stacey started to walk down the aisle I just didn't know what to think. She was _beautiful_, and I was so overcome it was hard to keep still. The service was perfect. It was short and amazing. In about 40 minutes my best friend had been married. The bridal party left the church and we awaited out front.
They did family pictures at the side courtyard of the church. The rest of us played three card monte will the vehicles. Not too long afterwards the guests went for cocktails, and the bridal party went on the picture journey. Our first stop was down Stephen Ave. We had some photos taken by a vintage automobile, and underneath the Bay. Amidst several bottles of water the girls managed to indulge in some gellato. Go figure the bride wearing all white would jump into the mini bucket of chocolate Italian ice cream. We journeyed around through a back alley, and down the other side of Stephen Ave as well. It was amazing at how many people ... just random strangers ... would stop to take our pictures. It was non-stop the entire time we were down there. It started to freak us out a little bit. People would stop and take to Stacey, and almost jump into the pictures with us. We couldn't believe that these perfect strangers wanted some random picture of other strangers who had gotten married. "Hey who's wedding was this?". "I don't know ... it was just some wedding when we were out last Saturday afternoon downtown". People amaze me sometimes.
Our last stop was Centennial park for some outdoors pics. One thing I learned is that modeling is not for fat people. After very short consideration it was determined that I would be standing ... and not crouched down in the pictures. Crouching for big people == (hard && !fun). I did manage to get a nice shot of me with all of the girls though. :D Stacey's parents met us there with more water and snacks to keep us from falling over. It was greatly appreciated. John and Stacey continued some discrete photographs by themselves while the rest of us left for the Greenwood Inn.
The hotel was packed with guests. It was a fairly large crowd. I don't know the exact numbers but I would guess around 250. We had an extraordinary meal, and the bar was flowing nicely. The MC did a wonderful job. The bios of the wedding party were fantastic. The toast to the bride and groom were bang up. Curtis, Danphy and myself had been discussing the fact the John never asked any of us to give the toast. He decided to keep it in the family with his brother. Probably a good move. The "hooligans" as Stelios put is so eloquently just know too much. ;-) This was all in good fun, and Stel's speech was magnificent. There was a slide show provided by Larry and Sonia. The surprise of the night was that John sang a song for Stacey. He used to listen to country music when traveled to see her when she was in Saskatoon, and he still lived in Calgary. John definitely has some marbles as I don't know many guys who will get up and sing to their new wife in front of 300 friends and family. It was a moment to remember for sure. Damphy accompanied him on guitar. It was definitely one of the highlights. Patsy's welcome to the bride was also very heart felt and amazing for those of us who know her. Well done to everyone on the night.
The "after party" was a great great time. I proceeded to indulge in some rye for the remainder of the evening. Along with the rest of the "hooligans". It had been ages since I had seen some of these friends. Meeting wives, and girlfriends. Catching up on experiences, and having just a generally happy happy night. Later on I was talking with John, and he was amazed how perfect things had went. Thank the lord for Stacey's lists. ;-)
John and Stacey had retired for the night. John had retired with the keys to the SUV which had my bag in it, along with my wallet, cell phone, clothes etc. It's a good thing Heth had the spare set of key to my apartment or they might have been interrupted. :( Nubby definitely took home the inebriation award. Curtis took a clod of dirt and plant in the eye, and after chasing someone, spilling out in the parking lot he is the proud owner of a ripped pair of tuxedo pants. It was starting to get out of control. We ended the night at Brent's place downtown. The party had continued. Some other friends had shown up. At 3:30 A.M. I was fading and Heath and I ventured out to find a cab. We got home and I crashed into my bed for a nice sleep. The party apparently continued onto Curtis' apartment. He was moving the next day, and decided to have a farewell bash.
This was just the re-cap. the highlight reel if you will. I am sure there are some other happenings that I didn't touch on. The bottom line is that John and Stacey had one of the most perfect weddings I have ever had the pleasure of being to. I wish them all the best in the future, and a long and happy life together. Hopefully Stacey will let John come over and play sometime. I love you guys. ¶ 12:58:00 AM
There was a lot that happened before and after so lets have a walk through for old memories sake. Heath Flew in around 12:30 from Vancouver. I picked him up and we headed over to the Greenwood Inn to help with the decorating of the banquet hall. There were quite a few helpers, but it didn't matter how many were there. They had everything planned out to the finest details. Table lists are fairly standard, but I have never seen the table decorations not only personalized, but grouped, and bagged and boxed. We basically lined up, grabbed a sheet and a bag of stuff and went to work.
The decorating, and design was actually quite interesting. Instead of numbered tables the tables were personalized with a picture of John And Stacey together in various places they had traveled. Some people sat at the "Paros" table, some at the "London" table, some at the "Saskatoon" table and so on. Every person had a personalized magnet keepsake, along with flowers, doily, candles in this weird ice gel. It was really really cool. I'm glad I helped out.
John's parents George and Patsy were there. It was good to see them after a few years. I also met Stacey's parents Sonia and Larry. They were several other family and bridal party members providing help. With all of the bodies it didn't take very long. I was out of there in a couple of hours and I had to head down south to pick up the jacket for my tuxedo. The original jacket didn't fit right and they had to rush one up from Toronto. Apparently the average joe tuxes (40 reg) have about 10,000 in the warehouse. I was one of the lucky gentlemen who have only 1 of 30 tuxes in Canada. Sometimes it's cool to be large. ;-)
Later that evening we headed over to John and Stacey's place for some eats and drinks. People did the meet and greet thing for a couple of hours, ate some Greek food and chilled the night before the wedding. John gave his groomsmen a couple of tokens of appreciation. We received personalized cufflinks, and money clips. they were extremely cool, and made sure we were stylin' for the wedding. It was off to bed because the wedding day would be a long one for sure.
I awoke around 6:30. The plan was to meet with John @ 8:00 and go for breakfast. We met up at the hotel he was staying at downtown and headed to the Husky House (Gerry's). It was strange being in there while in a sober state of mind ... but the breakfast, and copious amounts of coffee were needed. It was a quick eat, and back to the hotel to change up into the tuxes. It's amazing how a few suits can make a bunch of bums look rather sexy. We were stylin' in the best way for Johnny P.
By this time the videographer, and photographer had arrived and it was time for the gentlemen to get some shots taken. We did some poses, and impromptu shots around the hotel, and then moved outside and across the street to the old school. We had some casual, and professional scenes, fun and serious, dark and light. It was actually quite stressful. I could never imagine a model doing that for 12 hours a day. I almost went nuts after 1 hour! The *ographers were off to find the women of the day, so the gentlemen were off to pick up the rental vehicles. We got a whacked out Yukon, and another SUV.
We had some time to kill, so we spent a few minutes to decorate the SUVs with the wedding swag. then it was time to cruise for a bit. Lets just say Danphy drives a _GINORMOUS_ SUV in no different manner than his motorcycle. Just ask about his reckless driving ticket ... it's kind of a sore spot. ;-) We stopped at the 7/11 for waters and Stelios inhaled a hot dog (he missed breakfast because he slept in). By the old sun dial we could tell it was time to head over to the church for the big show.
1:30 P.M. the service was at Knox United Church in Calgary. Stacey's aunt was performing most of the service. We found this out last minute. It was a pleasant surprise. The gents were in the back room while guests were seated by Gord and Shaun. John was solid like a rock. He did ask Stelios about 47 times if he had the rings ... but other than that ... a rock. I think Danphy was the most nervous of all of us. I led the guys out of the back and we took our places near the altar. I never expected to be overcome, but when Stacey started to walk down the aisle I just didn't know what to think. She was _beautiful_, and I was so overcome it was hard to keep still. The service was perfect. It was short and amazing. In about 40 minutes my best friend had been married. The bridal party left the church and we awaited out front.
They did family pictures at the side courtyard of the church. The rest of us played three card monte will the vehicles. Not too long afterwards the guests went for cocktails, and the bridal party went on the picture journey. Our first stop was down Stephen Ave. We had some photos taken by a vintage automobile, and underneath the Bay. Amidst several bottles of water the girls managed to indulge in some gellato. Go figure the bride wearing all white would jump into the mini bucket of chocolate Italian ice cream. We journeyed around through a back alley, and down the other side of Stephen Ave as well. It was amazing at how many people ... just random strangers ... would stop to take our pictures. It was non-stop the entire time we were down there. It started to freak us out a little bit. People would stop and take to Stacey, and almost jump into the pictures with us. We couldn't believe that these perfect strangers wanted some random picture of other strangers who had gotten married. "Hey who's wedding was this?". "I don't know ... it was just some wedding when we were out last Saturday afternoon downtown". People amaze me sometimes.
Our last stop was Centennial park for some outdoors pics. One thing I learned is that modeling is not for fat people. After very short consideration it was determined that I would be standing ... and not crouched down in the pictures. Crouching for big people == (hard && !fun). I did manage to get a nice shot of me with all of the girls though. :D Stacey's parents met us there with more water and snacks to keep us from falling over. It was greatly appreciated. John and Stacey continued some discrete photographs by themselves while the rest of us left for the Greenwood Inn.
The hotel was packed with guests. It was a fairly large crowd. I don't know the exact numbers but I would guess around 250. We had an extraordinary meal, and the bar was flowing nicely. The MC did a wonderful job. The bios of the wedding party were fantastic. The toast to the bride and groom were bang up. Curtis, Danphy and myself had been discussing the fact the John never asked any of us to give the toast. He decided to keep it in the family with his brother. Probably a good move. The "hooligans" as Stelios put is so eloquently just know too much. ;-) This was all in good fun, and Stel's speech was magnificent. There was a slide show provided by Larry and Sonia. The surprise of the night was that John sang a song for Stacey. He used to listen to country music when traveled to see her when she was in Saskatoon, and he still lived in Calgary. John definitely has some marbles as I don't know many guys who will get up and sing to their new wife in front of 300 friends and family. It was a moment to remember for sure. Damphy accompanied him on guitar. It was definitely one of the highlights. Patsy's welcome to the bride was also very heart felt and amazing for those of us who know her. Well done to everyone on the night.
The "after party" was a great great time. I proceeded to indulge in some rye for the remainder of the evening. Along with the rest of the "hooligans". It had been ages since I had seen some of these friends. Meeting wives, and girlfriends. Catching up on experiences, and having just a generally happy happy night. Later on I was talking with John, and he was amazed how perfect things had went. Thank the lord for Stacey's lists. ;-)
John and Stacey had retired for the night. John had retired with the keys to the SUV which had my bag in it, along with my wallet, cell phone, clothes etc. It's a good thing Heth had the spare set of key to my apartment or they might have been interrupted. :( Nubby definitely took home the inebriation award. Curtis took a clod of dirt and plant in the eye, and after chasing someone, spilling out in the parking lot he is the proud owner of a ripped pair of tuxedo pants. It was starting to get out of control. We ended the night at Brent's place downtown. The party had continued. Some other friends had shown up. At 3:30 A.M. I was fading and Heath and I ventured out to find a cab. We got home and I crashed into my bed for a nice sleep. The party apparently continued onto Curtis' apartment. He was moving the next day, and decided to have a farewell bash.
This was just the re-cap. the highlight reel if you will. I am sure there are some other happenings that I didn't touch on. The bottom line is that John and Stacey had one of the most perfect weddings I have ever had the pleasure of being to. I wish them all the best in the future, and a long and happy life together. Hopefully Stacey will let John come over and play sometime. I love you guys. ¶ 12:58:00 AM
