What a Weekend!

Courtney (our daughter in law to be), Deni (our son in the background) and Barb, Courtney's mom.

As our readers may recall, we returned from visiting our children and Jeanette's folks in Alberta, last Friday evening.  On Saturday morning, Deni and Courtney flew into Abbotsford Airport to begin the search and preparations for their wedding in Vancouver, next September  21, 2012.

Doug (Barb's friend), Barb, Courtney, Deni and Jeanette - on Saturday morning - just after their arrival to our home.

We hosted a quasi breakfast shortly after they arrived at our home.  They were then leaving to run several errands and to begin the planning for their wedding in just over 12 months from now.

Courtney's maternal grandmother.

Barb invited us to a reception at her home to meet their family and friends.  It was a nice evening.  We  appreciated meeting everyone, well in advance of the wedding day itself.

Small gift opening.

 A bit of background on Deni and Courtney.  They met in Vancouver several years back.  With Deni living in Edmonton, Courtney chose to move there too and works at the Provincial Trauma Centre - The Royal Alexandra Hospital.  She is a trauma trained Registered Nurse.

Looking in on the gift opening.

Although this was not a shower, some folks did bring small gifts along. 

Courtney captured this photo of Deni with Jeanette and I.

Thanks to Barb and Doug for hosting the evening.  It was nice to meet everyone too.

Sunday afternoon at the Granville Island Hotel, Vancouver.

 We got together again on Sunday for the drive out to the Granville Island Hotel in Vancouver.  This is where the wedding party plans to dress before the wedding and reception to be held at the Brock House Society on the waterfront.

Barb and Courtney seemed quite satisfied with this room.

Deni instantly pointed out his dream yacht - a Nordhavn - tug style yacht.

Aside from his business degree and his work in business in Edmonton, Alberta, Deni is an accomplished pilot and also thrills at the sight of his dream yacht.  He completed sailing lessons at a young age too. Welcome to Nordhavn.com - Power Thats Oceans Apart

Reality quickly set in and we continued our walk in search of some lunch at the Granville Island Market.  The yacht  will have to wait for a few years....but it is still in his bucket list.

One view of the floating homes on the south side of False Creek in Vancouver.

These floating homes are beautiful and very well maintained.

 But, back to the agenda of the day, choosing a facility for the wedding!

These are the grounds of Brock House in Vancouver.  It's here that Courtney and Deni wish to hold their wedding.  It's certainly a great view of English Bay and the city of West Vancouver across the way.

We were invited to walk the grounds prior to a scheduled wedding.  Nice table settings!

The food room - under glass - also serves as the dance floor after dinner is served.

Front entrance to Brock House.  This grand old building began life as a private residence and was then taken over by the RCMP.  It was handed over to the Brock House Society and has remained in its control since.

Although you get the feel of an outdoor setting, there is plenty of cover in the event of rain or wind.

There are heaters and the sides of the outdoor eating area drop down when required.

Although our group would prefer a different location (facing the bay rather than the trees) this gave us a pretty good idea about the grounds and the potential seating arrangements.

I know that Deni's thoughts were back to this Nordhavn...but his reality is more about this below!!!

1. Choosing the wedding venue

2. Determining the number of invitees, choosing a menu, etc....

3. Completing the wedding planning.

Courtney and Deni were busy on Monday with more wedding planning and spending some time with Courtney's mom and grandmother.  We knew we would not see them before their flight so Jeanette and I opted for a great ride to one of our favourite spots in the Provincial Park on the east side of Harrison Hot Springs.  With lunch, drinks and books in hand, we enjoyed a quiet day near the water.

Harrison Hot Springs - where we enjoyed several hours on Labour Day Monday.

Another view.

So that was our weekend.  We trust yours was a good one too.

Thanks for dropping by.