"my marriage was a smashing success"*, the day of

early morning was all about me getting dressed and taking all the stuff with me, then on the way to linda's for make-up.
it was cold, and the city was very quiet. i told the taxi driver that transporting a bride is supposed to bring him good luck

second car of the day: an uber that happened to be white. we were running late, so linda did her final make-up touches in the car, while i was stressing and trying to answer texts from 3 people

here starts the fun: we were scheduled for 10 a.m., but were told to be there at 9.30, because it might be crowded and we had to go through security check at the gate. the plan was to meet everybody in front of the building at 9.15, and it almost worked: b. met everybody, and i descended from the uber right before 9.30. ( don't know if that says anything about the future of this marriage). luckily, it looked like about zero other people were getting married the same day: we were the only group at the entrance, the only people through security and so on.
so we get to the appointed room around 9.40, a very nice clerk is waiting there, and as people settle in their chairs she's like, is everybody here? we can start.

she read us about 2 paragraphs of the Civil Code of Quebec, which we had already received printed on our appointment papers, so i didn't even have to focus on listening.

closer up. we have hundreds of these pics, apparently the entire "audience" (10 ppl) was clicking like crazy throughout the 5 minutes this lasted. but we were really lucky to have this NICE officiant, just look at her face, here and in the following images. everybody looks progressively happier.

one of the ring exchange pics, where for a second i manage to look preoccupied instead of smiling like my jaw is unhinged

back to the cheek-hurting smile pose. honestly i am like that in 90% of pictures taken.

signing papers. 

aaaand, we were done before 10 o'clock! a hearty thank you to the province of Quebec for not messing around when it comes to ceremony. did i mention that marriage appointments are made at the Small Claims Court?

this picture does nothing to advance the narrative, but it is one of the standard "just married" images that i tried to not wallpaper facebook with right after the event.
i don't know why i don't want them on facebook, when clearly i have no problem with posting them all over my blog. maybe i don't want people to feel like they have to comment on them...?
i like every picture where you can see b. playing with his ring. he's been doing it to this day.
also, by pure chance (= that is what we found around the house at 7 am), my bouquet is tied up with a "martisor" string.

a pic of our whole group, taken by the NICE officiant. thank you everyone in attendance! you made this a proper party instead of a weekend chore :)

and since we were finished so early, we had time to pass by our place for champagne (c/o eric, nadia, linda&sarah) before our restaurant reservation kicked in. this is how i realized that our place is actually large enough for 12 people to fit in at the same time!! not to mention the cat hidden under the sofa. it made me really happy to "host" friends on this day, even if for only an hour. there's nothing better than a half-spontaneous get-together.

most of what happened was selfies with individuals and small groups, me drinking, and me finally getting to meet and talk to b's friends a bit ( #indianwedding )

omg 12 people, a cat AND A BIKE. my kitchen really is big

and, finally, to brunch, to the lovely restaurant "bocadillo" in little italy. (in case you're looking this up, there are two "bocadillo"s - this is the less studenty one )https://www.foodora.ca/restaurant/s6qn/bocadillo-bistro
parenthesis: it took us quite a while deciding on a place, though in retrospect i have no idea why. requirements were: non-pretentious, good food, easy enough to reach, and a place we already know/have eaten at/so we can relate to.

for the longest time, we thought it was going to be an indian place, which would have made sense, since we have mostly indian when we eat out - but every good place we knew was too casual for my personal liking. also: b. is south indian, and in montreal there is a lack of south indian cuisine for some reason, so choosing between a punjabi and a non-punjabi restaurant was pretty much the same to him.
then we thought about going to a nice thai neighbourhood place, on jarry, but i vetted it because of construction. at that point (and continuing today) most of jarry is blocked , with pedestrian crossings rerouted, no space for parking, tricky driving situation, and generally a very montreal-like urban landscape, in the bad way.
therefore, "bocadillo" : we discovered it last summer, wandering around the jean talon market and into petite italie; it's a venezuelan-specific place, and i introduced b. to arepas, which i knew about from my short happy immersion into everything-spanish-language back in 2014. it really ticked all the boxes, and i think it was a good choice. hope everyone enjoyed their arepas/brunches, i know i did.

and the cake, c/o Mademoiselle Gateaux http://www.mllesgateaux.com/
just check out this adorable small shop on my street! and the lovely quiz you can fill in to make-your-own-cake!
our cake was coffee with chocolate cream, and semi-covered with buttercream. much better-looking with just the fruit on top, no?

alright, and this about sums it up. once the cutting of the cake was done, all the cheesy moments had been approximately performed and captured. nothing more to see here, everyone can just move along 

yes, and looking back, it still sometimes strikes me that "we did this" - we, the introvert and socially recluse managed to organize and have a small celebration with friends, somehow within, but at the same time not kowtowing to what is expected.
i never wanted a traditional wedding because i was afraid of having to compromise every step of the way, of having other people organize things for me, of things getting out of hand; and because at the same time, even if given complete control, i didn't want that whole fuss, so i knew i would relinquish it. the saying goes that a wedding party is never for the bride and groom, but always for the relatives. well i hope our relatives are happy for us, and appeased by the pictures. i was happy with everything that day. **

* direct quote from my husband
** except for my jacket/sleeves, but don't look!