Lori’s (Bride’s) Speech

Hello everyone, thank you all for coming, and for your good wishes.

Not only have our close family and friends chosen to celebrate with Adrian and I today, but family from southern Ontario, Collingwood, Nova Scotia and as far away as Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, have made a special effort to be here. Your presence is the best present Adrian and I could ask for.

There are countless people whom I want to thank today.

I want to say thanks to my extended family, to all my aunts and uncles, to Aunt Hazel and Uncle Jules (a.k.a my adopted parents) for all the wonderful memories together and for being there for me my whole life, as well as my family in Warwick, England who could be here today; my grandmother, Alice Clements, Uncle Barry and Aunt Margaret, Sarah and Nick. A special thank you to my mother and father, David and Thelma, for shaping me into the person that I am today. And to my big brother Greg, Tiffany, Dustin and Hope for all their love and support throughout the years.

To Adrian’s parents, Tony and Lina, and Adrian’s sister, ; I know that in beginning you had your hands full raising Adrian, but you have influenced and molded him into the man he is today, the man that I so dearly love. Thank you for welcoming me into your family, and trusting me with Adrian’s heart.

I also feel so fortunate to now count Sanjay, Tania and Julia as part of my family. I feel blessed.

What can I say about my bridesmaids, Naomi, Catherine, Ashley, and Chantal. All of your friendships mean so much to me and I am so happy that you were able to be apart of my day. I have heard everyone say how lovely you look today, and I have to agree. Also my nieces, Hope and Julia, You both look like beautiful princesses today.

And my Maid of Honour, Leigh, thank you for being such a great source of support over the years. You have been my sounding board and a voice of reason throughout our friendship. Thank you for standing beside me today as Adrian and I exchanged our vows.

Saving the best for last, my new husband Adrian. (pause, turn to husband)

Adrian, I would like to propose a toast to you.

My dream was to find a man who would understand me without me uttering a single word.

A man whose values and spirit matched my own.

If I could have just one wish, I would wish to wake up everyday to the sound of your breath on my neck, the warmth of your lips on my cheek, the touch of your fingers on my skin, and the feel of your heart beating with mine. Knowing that I could never find that feeling with anyone other than you.

Adrian, thank you for being you!

And thank you everyone. I hoped it would be a perfect day, and it is. Cheers!

Father of the Groom Speech (Tony Bashford)

Ladies and Gentlemen — boys and girls —
I’m Tony – Adrian’s dad and on behalf of Lina, myself, and our family, we would like to welcome you all here today to celebrate the marriage of Lori and Adrian.

With the addition of Lori to our family, we are pleased also, to add David, Thelma and their family, to our extended group of family and friends.

Lori —-
For the last few years we have had the pleasure of to getting to know you. I am sure Adrian understands how utterly fortunate he is to have met you. We take this opportunity to welcome you to our family of Tania, Sanjay and Julia, and tell you that we are very happy to have you as one of us.

For Lina and myself, this is a very special day in our lives !
With this union and hopefully, the advent of minor additions, we are not referring to more cats, will provide us with life’s magnificent gifts.

We have been looking forward to this event for some time. There were many times when I was considering shooting the arrow, but to whom to shoot, in order to expedite.

There is much I could say about Adrian but you will be pleased to hear I will keep my speech to less than half an hour.

Adrian has always been a good son. You will note that I have not said a model son for there were times, particularly in year 1, when I was reviewing options for his colic and the stress it caused for all. Fortunately, this did pass and there is little more negative to report until the advent his driving license. Living ‘in-the-sticks’ Baden, motorized wheels for Adrian was like having a magic carpet on which to tour his realm — and what events did follow you may ask — well, we have not yet been fully informed.

Adrian is a professional, thoughtful, forward looking person and he often gives me ‘fatherly’ advice, which I truly do appreciate, even though I never take any notice.
I remember asking his 1st teacher in Kitchener for her comments — he was 6 at the time — she said, “He thinks beyond his years !”
This maturity and focus is what we see in his decision to marry Lori and move forward to the best, and most fulfilling years of their lives.

A good wife is the greatest treasure a man can have. We are confident that Adrian has found such a treasure. We trust that he will cherish Lori as much as we cherish him. May they have a long and happy life together and lots of visits from us so that we may see him becoming perfect like his dad.

Today, unfortunately, some VIPs are absent, particularly those from Italy and England — Lina’s and my countries of birth.

From Italy we are missing —
Dino and Rita Dianati [brother and sister-in-law]
— their daughter Ester and husband Sebastiano
Fabio and Lilia [brother and sister-in-law] and son Paolo

And from England we are missing —
Ann and Tony Barran [my sister and brother-in-law]:
— son Ian and their granddaughter Isabel
— son David and his partner Mary

I asked these VIPs to contribute some comments and sound advice for our couple —

As you are probably aware we Canadian Bashfords are also Italian but only Lina speaks the language so here’s Lina’s translation, of Don Dino’s contribution, to help us all —-

Dear Lori & Adrian:
Today, on this very special occasion, we would have liked to be with you to see the coronation of your love.
We wish you all the best on this joyous day.
Lori, we do not know you but we hope to meet you very soon.
It is also a very special day for Tony, Lina, and, David and Thelma whom we have not had the pleasure of meeting.
We are very proud to be a part of this international family.
Again, best wishes and congratulations from all of us —
— Dino, Rita, Ester, Sebastiano, Fabio, Lilia and Paolo

This is from Ann’s pen —

Congratulations Adrian & Lori on your marriage. We would have loved to have been with you in person to celebrate the start of your new life together, but as this was not to be, we will be with you in spirit and, at 7.00pm UK time, we will drink a toast to you both. Have a wonderful day.
Love from the Barrans
Ann, Tony, Ian, David, Mary and Isabel..


Lori must take the credit for the wedding plans with Adrian presiding as chancellor.
You have both done an excellent job and your brides maids and flower girls are looking fantastic.
And let’s not forget your courtiers — they too are looking sharp.

Finally, I would ask you all to join me in this toast:-

 – Here’s to the past, for all you’ve learned.

 – Here’s to the present for all that you share.

- And here’s to the future for all your plans together.

Family and friends, let’s raise a glass and toast to a lifetime of love and happiness for Lori and Adrian, the new Mr. and Mrs. Bashford.

[Also included is the full text from my uncle in Italy, who sent best regards on behalf of our Italian family]

Dino’s pen —–

Dall’Italia con affetto:
 
Cari Lori ed Adrian,
 
oggi è un giorno che ricorderete per sempre e vorremmo tanto poter essere tutti lì con voi per condividere la gioia che merita il coronamento del vostro amore.
Cari ragazzi, state per costituire una nuova famiglia, un momento fondamentale della vostra vita, perchè la famiglia è l’istituto più importante di ogni società civile, il pilastro su cui è basata l’organizzazione sociale e il progresso.
La famiglia, con la sua solidità, consente di superare le bufere e gli Tsunami spesso provocati dalla avidità e scarsa capacità di chi ci governa ed  è inoltre l’approdo sicuro di ognuno di noi nei momenti di difficoltà che purtroppo la vita può riservare. Per questo la giornata odierna è per voi così importante e vi auguriamo che la strada che state iniziando a percorrese insieme sia illuminata da stelle fortunate.
Da parte nostra siamo onorati di appartenere a una famiglia così “internazionale”.
Un pensiero in questo giorno di felicità va a Lina e Tony e ai genitori di Lori, che per ora non abbiamo il piacere di conoscere. Cari genitori forse in futuro dovrete abituarvi a vedere un po’ di meno i vostri “bambini”, ma questo sarà compensato dal piacere di vederli felici e sereni.
Di nuovo tanti auguri  a tutti,
 
Dino, Rita, Ester, Fabio, Lilia e Paolo.

QC ‘Minimoon’ Day 2

Today was another day of touring, with more pictures from me, and more shopping from Lori.  She did Simons for the second day straight, and I enjoyed the second straight day of partially cloudy skies (my favourite for photos  - not boring pure blue, or dreary grey).  I added the pictures from today to the set created yesterday.

I didn’t yet mention the nice hotel we are staying at: The Hotel Champlain. It is a very nice and roomy place… kind of ugly on the outside but really nice on the inside.

It has free continental-style breakfasts which are very nice, and an expresso machine which we made LOTS of use of.  The setup makes it very easy to have conversations with other travelling couples.

For us it was a great couple from Grand Rapids MI, who taught us the ins and outs of cruise vacations!  We hope that Tom and Cheryl have a great trip to Boston on the ‘Norwegian Spirit’.  Based on the look of the ship, they should do just fine.  :)

For dinner, we tried a place recommended by Urban Spoon called Charbon Steakhouse, which is in the train station.  We really enjoyed roasted scallops for appetizer and both had steaks which were excellent.  A bit on the pricey side, but a good meal for the last night of our ‘minimoon’.

My favourite picture of the day:

Our Quebec City Minimoon* – (Full-) Day One

The ‘plan’ for the honeymoon was limited by Lori’s time off work so we really were not going to have a full week.  We had talked about Quebec City, and since the weather looked favourable (cool, but sunny) we booked train tickets and a 3 night stay in Quebec City.

Arriving in the evening on Wednesday, we had time to have a great dinner at Gambrinus Restaurant where I was a bit adventurous and tried ‘Deer Ravioli’.  It was excellent, as was their Tiramisu, which I dare to say might be the best I have ever had.

On our first full day, Lori’s priority was Simons, and other shopping.  For me, it was pictures.  You can see some samples HERE.  We had great meals at Paillard (lunch) and Portofino Bistro (dinner) which were both excellent.

Well… time for bed to prepare for (full-) day 2!

*I have to credit my sister with coining the term ‘Minimoon’ for Mini-Honeymoon.  Nice!

New Links to Pictures

Since we are collecting shots from lots of sources, I have created a folder to catch as many photographers as I can on Flickr, and –of course– the one that Dee set up on Facebook:

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrian_f1/collections/72157622586616168/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=152033029620&ref=nf

Facebook Group for Photos and Video

Dee was kind enough (and tech savvy enough) to figure out how to set up a group on Facebook for everyone –well, those on Facebook– to share their photos and video.  Dee also has some more hosted photos HERE.

Drop me a line if this link doesn’t work… you never know with FB.

Thanks Dee!!

A&L

Initial Batch of Wedding Pictures Are Up!

Weddings are expensive affairs, but here is one example of a talent who’s contribution to the day makes me part with my money gladly (a very rare event, as Lori will attest)!

Garrett Elliott, our wedding photographer, took the following shots of the day which contain the following attributes:

• Tell the story of the day
• Show impressive creativity
• Make the bride, bridesmaids and groomsmen look stunning (admittedly not that hard)
• Made me look good (harder)
• Have captured memories which will last a lifetime!

Apparently the ones I am posting are just a taste of what Garrett is going to provide, so I am VERY eager to see the rest.

I will also be featuring links to my photographer friends that captured the day, and you will get to experience their incredible talent as well!   These will be posted once they are available.

Enjoy!
Link to slide show.

Adrian’s Speech

I got a lot of very positive feedback on my speech, which really means a lot to me, since I was keen to get across to my friends and family how important they are to me!

The text below was the original plan, which I deviated from a bit, so it isn’t 100% accurate, but it gets the major points across. If there was something you particularly liked that I missed, use the comments section to remind me.

Thanks!

Adrian.

Groom’s Speech

It looks like I get to speak last. I’ve always dreamed about getting the last word! This is going to be a while, so I hope your glasses are full, and your bladders are empty.

First I wan’t to start by talking about my parents, because, for me, that is where the story starts. Dad started off in Birmingham, England, my mom in Codigoro, Italy. Both being the adventurous type, they travel to South Africa, where they met and married in 1971.

Next, they did something for which I will always be thankful. [If I get laughs, wait and say “Yes that too, but what I was talking about was...”]

They moved to Canada, the best country in the world. Much better than Australia, where the motherland sent all the criminals. [Look at Phil & Mark] The moved to Canada, with a few months to spare, and then I was born.

While I will be forever grateful for that decision, it did pose one big challenge: our relatives were far far away.

Sitting in with my parents are the Thomsons and the Staplefords. Mike, Vivian, David and Lynn –and all their children– became an extended family to Tania and I, sharing Christmases, birthdays, Thanksgivings, family vacations and other special occasions. As a result, our childhoods lacked nothing offered by the close proximity to family, and I am very thankful to them for that.

Now for my parents.

Mom, as anyone who has experienced her cooking will attest, ensured there was never any risk to me growing up to be skinny, and showed me a work ethic that I will always strive to attain. Dad, you instilled in me the importance of education, a sense of responsibility and a desire to experience the world. Nobody could ask for two better parents.

Ok, now I am done with table one… just nine more to go.

Perhaps because of the unique experience of being a first-generation Canadian, it seemed that I have gravitated to those of the the same background. Manish, Johnny, Justin, John, Omer, Erik & Peter all have a similar experience, and I could probably even count Phil as a German-Chilean-Australian-landed-immigrant-Canadian. With this group, I have most of Europe, the Middle East, Oceania & Africa covered, giving me a much broader appreciation and understanding of the world. We also have Clint –our token French-Canadian– but as much as I like Clint, I can’t claim to understand the french any better.

One of my personal beliefs, is that the richness of your life is judged by the quality of your friends, and on this point I am never in any doubt that I am doing just fine. I want to single out some of the people in this illustrious group:

Manish, friend of 22+ years, who taught me that: “What doesn’t kill you makes for a good story.”

John & Johnny who helped my University experience at McMaster be one of the best experiences of my life. From them I learned there are two ways to make it through University, the slow-way, and the fast-way… I won’t name names.

My Nortel experience has been… well… mixed. But when people asked my why I stick around, I always say two things. The first is the great people, who I have learned so much from. Jason, Peter, Peter, Scott, Karen, Omer & my best-man Justin & all their families, are all people I can credit Nortel with bringing together.

Thanks to my groomsmen and best man, who stood with me today.

Tania, my little sister, who showed me how to pick a great partner in life, with my brother-in-law Sanjay. Also largely responsible for my niece Julia, who brings a smile to any room she is in.

[Scan room to guage the interest of the crowd, if they are looking bored, wrap it up]

So with the two themes of my speech: the value I place in my fantastic friends and my tendency to gravitate towards first-gen Canadians, this is a good segue to talk about my new beautiful wife Lori. One of the things I love most about Lori, is the group of people she has chosen as her friends. I have yet to meet one I don’t like, and I now count many of these people among the closest of my own friends. Her family –many of them here today– welcomed me with open arms, and I thank all of them and Lori’s friends for turning her into the woman I love so much. Of course I need not mention her beauty, of her ability to raise wonderful –if needy– cats. Those of you that have got to know her well will also appreciate her quirky side.

I love you baby.

A Ping Back to Our Engagement

Just in case any of you missed my post on our engagement, here is the link: http://bashford.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/our-engagement/

Wedding Schedule is Up!

You can check the ‘Wedding Schedule‘ page on the right hand side menu bar to check for the current wedding schedule and any potential changes.  If you still have any questions feel free to use the comment field below, or drop us an email (well… drop Adrian an e-mail… you know the drill).

-Adrian & Lori