Registry at the travel agency

Thank you for thinking of giving us a gift to celebrate our union!
Because we know that not everyone is comfortable with the idea of a monetary wedding gift, we have set up a registry at the Adventure Travel Company, through whom we are booking our honeymoon.
Our travel agent, Ryan Bourassa, has given us the following instructions:

"... your guests can call us with credit card, stop by the office with cash or debit and/or I think we may even be able to set up e-transfers if they want to register that way. If they are out of town guests, they can always email our office email with a phone number and we can call them.

We will have a list going of the gifts that are going into the travel bank and who gave the gift.

Direct line: 1-780-439-3096
Office email: Edmonton@atcadventure.com

Toll-free: 1-888-238-2887 *** this number will only direct guests to our office if they are in northern Alberta as this number directs clients to their nearest Adventure Travel Company Office. So if they are out of town (outside of Northern Alberta) it is better to email us or use our direct line"

There's an app for that!

Please join us on the Wedding Party  app for iphone/android. It has a neat little countdown (in case one is counting down until October 13!!) as well as a forum for uploading pictures from before, during and after the wedding. It also has the times/locations for where you need to be on the 13th.

Cheers and see you in two months!

Registry is live!

The registry is up for those who wanted a peek

Venues

Are you curious about more information on our two venues? Are you from out of town and don't know where to go? Here is more information for you.

WEDDING - 1:30 pm
Myer Horowitz Theatre 
Students' Union Building  
8900 114 St NW, Edmonton, AB

• The theatre is located in the Students Union Building (SUB) on the University of Alberta Campus (8900-114 st). 
• The U of A is south of downtown Edmonton across the North Saskatchewan River. 
• Parking is available at two nearby parkades (Stadium Car Park or Education Car Park).  
• The Stadium Car Park is on 89 avenue (just east of 116 st) and is connected by a pedway on Level 7 to the SUB.
• The Education Car Park is located on 87 avenue and 114 street, walking distance to the SUB.
• The easiest access to the theatre is from the north entrance (street level). 
• If you access the Student Union Building from the south you can walk through to the northeast corner of the building (or follow signs) to the Myer Horowitz theatre.
• You will need to go up one flight of stairs to reach the entrance to the theatre. An elevator is available those with limited mobility. 
• If you wish to avoid parking on campus you can take the LRT from downtown to the University Station (and walk approx 2 blocks from SUB). 

Note: The Students Union Building is often marked as 'SUB' on signage on campus.

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RECEPTION - Cocktails begin at 5 pm

Vacancy Hall

Mercer Warehouse

10359 104 St NW, Edmonton, AB

• Mercer Warehouse is located at the corner of 104th Avenue and 104th Street in downtown Edmonton
• Within the Mercer Warehouse are several businesses including a tavern, coffee shop, barber, and offices (good places to go in between wedding and reception). 
• In the basement (underneath the coffee shop) is where Vacancy Hall is located. 
• There are approximately 8 steps to go down into Vacancy Hall. An elevator is available for accessibility but please let us know ahead of time if you would like to use it as we have to arrange it with the venue. 
• Free parking is available in the Affordable Storage parking lot south of the Mercer Warehouse (this parking also serves the tavern and will be limited).
• Other parking options include the nearby pay lots to the east and north of the Warehouse. Please note that if you pay for a night of parking in a pay lot, this generally expires early in the morning (6 or 7am). 
• Parking on the street is another option.  
• As the wedding is on a Sunday and the Monday is a holiday, street parking will be free on both days and you can leave a vehicle overnight. 
• Please ensure that you have a safe ride home!!
  -Co-op taxi: 780-425-8310
  -Yellowcab: 780-462-3456

Click to enlarge

Hotels

Are you traveling to Edmonton for the Thanksgiving weekend to join us for our wedding? Are you from Edmonton but don't want to deal with a taxi ride home at the end of the night?

There are MANY options for you if you are looking for accommodation within walking distance of our reception venue. We want to make sure that everyone gets home safely and to aid with that we have compiled a list of nearby hotel options for you. 

Below is a list of several hotels within walking distance of Vacancy Hall. I have included the names, address and distance to Vacancy Hall in this list. Do shop around as you can likely find deals on various other travel-based websites, or you can book directly through the hotels using the links below.

Delta Edmonton Centre Suite Hotel (0.45km)
10222 102 St NW, Edmonton, AB

Coast Edmonton Plaza (0.55km)
10155 105 St, Edmonton, AB

Sutton Place Hotel (0.60km)
10235 - 101 Street, Edmonton, AB

Holiday Inn Express Downtown (0.80km)
10010 104 Street Northwest, Edmonton, AB

Comfort Inn & Suites Downtown (0.90km)
10425 100 Avenue Northwest, Edmonton, AB

Days Inn Edmonton (0.95km)
10041 106 Street Northwest, Edmonton, AB

The Westin Edmonton (1.0km)
10135 100 Street Northwest, Edmonton, AB

Coast Edmonton House (1.1km)
10205 100 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB

Matrix Hotel (1.1km)
10640 100 Avenue Northwest, Edmonton, AB

Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe Edmonton (1.2km)
10111 Bellamy Hill Rd NW, Edmonton, AB

The Fairmont Hotel MacDonald (1.2km)
10065 100 Street Northwest, Edmonton, AB

Courtyard Edmonton Downtown (1.3km)
1 Thornton Court Northwest, Edmonton, AB

Registry

If you are reading this, you might be considering getting us a gift... Thank you!

First of all, we have no expectation that you come bearing gifts. Your presence on our wedding day is plenty.

If you would like some direction on what to get, you can see our registry at the Hudson's Bay Co.

Alternately, because we've each lived independently for so long and were already well-established single folk, we decided we wouldn't ask for brand new stuff just for the sake of having brand new stuff. Therefore, our wedding registry will be relatively limited. If you do not wish to purchase something from the registry or if the registry is depleted, we would be honored and very grateful to accept monetary gifts to be put toward our once in a lifetime honeymoon trip to Africa.

In Between

There will be a bit of a gap between the wedding ceremony and the reception where guests that are not in the wedding party can explore Edmonton. If you are looking for things to do, here are a few:

• Frequent one of the local pubs near the reception venue. Options include:
• Mercer Tavern (in the same building) at 104 Ave and 104 St
• The Underground (over 100 beers on tap) at Jasper Ave and 100 St
• Rose & Crown at 103 Ave and 101 St
• Wander around Whyte Ave. This is long been a past-time of Edmonton residents on weekends
• Check out 104th Street Promenade. There are several boutiques, restaurants, pubs, etc that are on the same street as Vacancy Hall. 
• If you dare, you can also drive out to West Edmonton Mall. This is not recommended. The place is a time warp. You will be overdressed and end up late for the reception. 
• An alternative is City Centre Mall in downtown that is blocks away. 

Honeymoon

For those of you who are wondering, our honeymoon is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Africa. We've both managed to swindle 5 weeks of time off to travel around the continent. Our trip destinations are still mostly up in the air, but some must-sees include cage-diving in South Africa and a safari in Kenya or Tanzinia. Other options include Namibia, Zanzibar and France (yes, we know where that is).

Thank You!

So many people have helped us so far and surely there will be more. Now, we would like to mention a few thank you's.

• Thank you to our families for their support and positive words.
• Thank you to Wanda who has been great in helping us get connected and decorated and thank you to Stephen who for the creativity, set-up and take-down.
• Thank you to Jacqui who helped us film our video invitation. 
• Thank you to Victoria, our cake lady (long time friend of the bride!) for getting so familiar with rice krispies.
• Thank you to  Oly, the rock star who will be performing at our wedding ceremony. 
• Thank you to Helen for accepting the MC challenge
• Thank you to Jenn (from Vamp Make-up) who will be helping Christina and the ladies of the bridal party with their make up on the 13th. 
• Thank you to Romy who will be our photographer extraordinaire. 
• Thank you to Jason for being out music-master.
• Thank you to our wonderful wedding party who have been busy behind the scenes organizing parties, clothing, etc. 
• And thank you to everyone who has passed along their well-wishes upon hearing the news of our engagement. 

The Wedding Party

The lovely ladies of the bridal party:

Jonelle - Matron of Honor/BFF
 

Christina’s friendship with matron of honor “JoLo” is a great example of ‘meant to be’. Jo moved from Saskatoon in 2008 to live in Edmonton and happened to get a job working the same shift at the Safehouse where Christina was working at the time. The twist comes in finding out that Jo and Christina used to go to Vacation Bible School together over 20 years ago in Tulliby Lake, AB, but neither one of them remembered each other. What are the chances that they would be put together on the same shift, in the same safehouse, in the same city, 20+ years after first meeting? Now Jo and Christina are both social workers, tirelessly advocating, and commiserating when the Man gets them down. Meant to be BFFs...


Tracy - Bridesmaid/Only Favorite sister of the bride 

Tracy has known Christina all her life... They’ve been through mud and dust and other less pleasant farm experiences together but somehow came out mostly unscathed and maybe even wiser for it all. Except for that time that Tracy broke her leg while Christina was baby-sitting... Tracy has been busy this year, being a bridesmaid for their future sister-in-law and planning her own wedding, so Christina is very thankful that Tracy can be such an important part of the wedding. After all, Tracy is, by far, Christina’s favorite sister

Anna - Bridesmaid/Ex-wife

Better known as Christina’s “ex-wife”, Anna has put up with a lot from her... not calling when she was going to be home late from work, an online shopping addiction, a tupperware obsession, an apathetic attitude toward cats and probably a lot more! This “relationship” began several years ago but really blossomed when Anna took Christina in and kept an entire basement full of her belongings while she went traveling in 2010, something Christina will be forever grateful for.

Gibby will be joined by:

Adam - Best Man/Heterosexual Life Partner

Originally planned to be dressed as a bear for the wedding, his role has been reprised as the Best Man. Adam and Gibby accidentally became friends despite their initial dislike of each other. Over time their friendship has evolved, grown and solidified. Gibby had the privilege of standing up for Adam at his wedding in 2011 and had the opportunity to provide a toast to him. This appointment is about two guys who will forever be friends, but also to allow for Adam to get some retribution for that speech two years ago.

Riley - The Mistaken Partner

Otherwise known as the nicest guy you will ever meet, Riley has been a co-tenant with Gibby on multiple occasions. From their original meeting through work to Riley drinking in Thailand with Gibby's parents, to their three week roadtrip across America, the friendship has endured. Having worked together, lived together, golfed together and traveled together, there were the inevitable misconceptions about our sexualities, but it was just a reflection of how well we get along.