marnanightingale | Feb. 9th, 2010

I sort of feel like all I've said to anyone for three days is "Oh My God Thank You So Much", and it still isn't enough. It really never will be. We are loved and blessed and overflowing with good fortune.

So many people came amazing distances, some with great effort, to be with us in our crazy and our joy. More tried hard and for one reason or another couldn't make it work. We love you all so much.

We wanted it to be All About Community and Oh My God it sure was.

torrain was the Best Bride Ever in 2007 and the best Matron of Honour ever in 2010. I can't even. She listened and made phone calls and did improbable errands and made

iclysdale the most stunning kilt hose garters, and and and...

con_girl and

foms and A. showed up at our house one night with food and hugs and fed us and helped us label wine bottles and hugged us some more and offered us hats and went away and left us to it.

kd5mdk was a pillar of strength and a tower of society from the moment he arrived. I kept saying "Andrew? Can you just .... handle that?" and magically, the path would smooth and the way would open. Ladies' maid, gentleman's gentleman, water-carrier, bottle washer, personal assistant, secretary and all around miracle, the man can apparently do anything with nothing. We hereby nominate him for the Ivan Vorpatril Award for Extraordinary Henching Under Fire.

meieresque made the venue look beautiful and did a thousand other things to get us ready, organised, and all pointed in the right direction.

pecunium made breakfast for 22 on Saturday, took amazing photos on Sunday - in dress blues, making him the Prettiest Photographer Ever - and reassured me a million times that people love me even when I am trying to herd too many cats and it turns me into Little Ms Shoutypants.

dagibbs hosted parties and out of town guests and listened to us and hugged us and dropped by for drinks and dragged us out for pho when we needed it.

buttongirl made us the two most beautiful dresses ever, and two utterly spectacular hats, under incredible time pressure, and made it fun to boot. She and D. also lent us bedding for

dagibbs' House Of Wedding Bed and (if you make it yourself) Breakfast.

meletor_et_al made us incredible cakes, under even worse time pressure. I don't know when she slept, or even if.

tenacious_snail was the Best Officiant Ever, and surrounded us with love and calmness and laughter and, when we needed it, food.

bipagan organised the Madison contingent and got them all here in good order and good spirits, accompanied by quite a lot of

fairestcat's stuff.

lovelokest and

izzybeth and

spiritbomber and

olivia_circe and

sasha_feather hauled stuff to Ottawa and helped us clean up and get where we were going and made all the furniture moving and stuff hauling at the venue happen, on time and in style.

Tim and Ed moved chairs and brooms and mountains and made it all happen perfectly and in style.

rottenfruit got my hair up and tamed, and

pecunium's as well.

northbard and

tormenta and

mycrazyhair and

corbet gave us a place to sleep and a wonderful breakfast when we were in Toronto Desperately Seeking Shoes.

con_girl and

bipagan and

northbard and

invokation called quarters for us, beautifully.

amazon_syren loved us and hugged us and lent me her apartment for a night.

Pat and Don made us amazing food and unblinkingly tackled a two-page list of food restrictions so that everyone could eat.

Willow found us plates and cutlery and glasses we could borrow, for a donation we could easily afford, to a cause we support. The Ottawa Folk Festival trusted us with their plates and cutlery, and the Bronson Centre with their glassware.

mikepictor lent Ian his nicest kilt.

ironphoenix and

soul_diaspora and

ilanikhan lent bedding, and

ilanikhan ran to the fabric store. Repeatedly.

ironphoenix made getting to and from multiple dress fittings in Kanata, after our poor car suddenly died, in viciously cold weather, amost fun instead of hair-raisingly evil.

ami_b helped me run Stitch and Bitch (which will happen again next week and will finally not be All Wedding Flail All The Time) and told us where to find a really good bra.

TSivia, who couldn't even be there, lent us all manner of useful stuff and gave us amazing love and support.

And having done all of these things, when thanked and hugged and tearfully told they were wonderful, all of these people insisted that it had been a pleasure. I love you all, and you are all quite mad.

And I am quite sure I've forgotten people; please remind me in comments if you saw some fabulous person doing some glorious thing that I missed in the haze of excitement and tiredness and flail?