Engagement Pics!

Originally, we wanted to have our engagement pics taken at Grand Lake in the winter but ended up doing them in the late spring at a place we love to go barefoot running, hiking with Melli and relaxing: Odell Park in Fredericton, NB. The awesome Kandise Brown (www.kandisebrown.com) took our pictures. Check them out!

http://www.kandisebrown.com/2012/06/fredericton-engagement-photography-tom-kait/

Decor and a shout out!

For our wedding we hired Sylvain Pitre from W.E.D.S (Weddings & Events Designed by Sylvain) to do the design. The general theme is 'enchanted forest', which we're achieving by loading the place up with candles and... surprises? We're not letting the secrets out entirely!

A few cool points that I'd like to point out:

1) Place settings: I don't want to ruin the surprise here, because we both think these are super cool, but the place settings are a really cool by-product of a local process. You'll have to see them, but when Sylvain pulled them out and asked, "what do you think about these?" our jaws hit the floor.

2) Centrepieces: The centrepieces will be made up of glass cylinders with floating or tall candles in them. We've scoured the beach at Grand Lake and rounded up loads of beach glass that will be spread across the candles along with some locally collected beach stones. The design looks quite nice.

3) Tables: We've opted against the traditional round tables set up and are going with long tables. Think Harry Potter (clearly, we'll be sitting at Gryfindor and Slytherin isn't invited). In order to get everyone to their proper seats, we will have a seating chart set up in the reception, on which you can find your name and section where you're sitting. We'll arrange seating, but it's not steadfast: if you want to sit next to someone, you can juggle around. Just make sure that you keep your place marker - that's what will tell the servers your food order!

4) Flowers: For flowers we were caught in a dilemma: there's no option around here for local and organic plants. On the one hand, local flowers are non-invasive and potted plants may be planted after the ceremony without risk of spreading and causing issues. On the other hand, non-organic plants would mean fertilizer run off, which has been linked to algae blooms and other water concerns. As well, pesticides have led to health concerns in people, and run off is harmful to wetlands and other ecosystems. In the end we opted for the local option, figuring that the benefits of the organic flowers were more than offset by the flight up from South America that would be required.

5) So much more! Just wait and see!

Sylvain has been an awesome help, and his design is going to look wonderful. He's been so successful with his start-up business that already he's found a need to work on it full time. Congratulations, Sylvain!

Places to rest your head

I think by this point most of you have probably secured some form of lodging, but if not then here is a rough guide.

THE DELTA: The Delta is west of downtown, so people looking for a convenient location relative to the venue should take advantage of the discounted room rates we're getting for doing everything there. Rooms are reduced to $135 per night, but to get that rate you have to first book the night of the wedding and let them know that you're coming for the wedding.

UNB: The University has apartments that can be rented at an apparently quite reasonable rate. We've heard that the suites are booked up, but there should still be room for singles or doubles.

OTHER HOTELS: There are a handful of other hotels you can find through a quick Google search. The Crown Plaza is downtown and quite nice. Most of the other options will be up the hill, and therefore closer to the East Side Mario's than the Palate.

BED & BREAKFASTS: Fredericton has a great selection of B&Bs in and around the city. Look around online for a little while and you'll likely find somewhere that nicely matches your needs.

HOSTEL: The Fredericton hostel is, in a (two) word(s), kinda gross. At $30 a night it's a fairly cheap option, but not nearly as nice as many other hostels we've stayed in for comparable prices. The location is good, and based on the number of stoves and fridges in the place, I'd imagine they have a fairly large number of rooms. They have a pair of really nice old reading rooms, and half of the building has a really nice old feel to it.

APARTMENTS: There are apparently some apartments that can be rented somewhere midway between downtown and the Delta. If you are interested, we can try to find more information on this by request.

CAMPING: There are a few campgrounds near Fredericton, but reviews are few and generally unfavourable. Our backyard can probably fit one or two tents, but we'll have to pass it by our landlords first. Odell Park might be another option, though I'm not sure if camping is allowed, so you may need to hike into the bush a little while before setting up to avoid getting caught.

Dinner, Drinks, and Dessert

OK - it's been a while, but we're back. Sure, we never left, but we've logged back in and are ready to post another post. This one is about food: dinner, cakes, all that good stuff.

Food is extremely important to both of us. We are of the sort who carefully selects their food and opts for local and organic options at every opportunity. We research our food and try to correct health concerns by modifying our diet. Given this, we've tried to put a bit of extra thought into the catering and meal choices.

Back when we were selecting the venues food was a big factor. For outdoor venues the sky was the limit (although the clouds were fairly low then), but for indoor settings each venue had their own in-house catering service. At the Kingswood Lodge the food provided the last handful of nails for in the coffin: the taste was poor, there was a lack of organic or vegetarian options, and, our favourite, the location for the buffet would have had every golfer and their caddies walking through the party.

In the end the Delta came out on top. Their kitchen offers gluten-free options (the gluten-free margherita pizza at DJ Purdy's is great!), delicious vegetarian dishes, and the head chef makes a point of growing herbs on-site and shopping at the market every Saturday for local produce. Clearly this place was for us!

Not everyone is vegetarian - we know this - and not everyone wants to be - we know this also - but for one meal of one day we would like to request that everyone give it a shot (though you don't have to). As the invitations pointed out there are two options for meals (you're kind of locked-in to your choice, so resist the urge to change your order, please!):

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(1) Atlantic salmon: wonderful East Coast Atlantic Salmon, served with asparagus and baby potatoes.

(2) Vegetarian: succulent somethings over a luscious bed of I-don't-know-whats. OK - we're still working that one out. There are a bunch of great recipes on the table, and it's looking like they'll all be amazing dishes. If you're thinking, "I don't want to be hungry after eating the veggie option", fear not! We have your back. The other day we made one of the options (lentils with grilled aubergine) at home and it was so good Kait had thirds. Oh yeah.

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Now, with the dinner out of the way, let's discuss the cake.

The cake will be made by the wonderful folks at the Happy Baker, a great spot in downtown Fredericton.

In recognition of the many different diets that will be joining us we are putting together a cake for everyone. The current plan includes three cakes: one chocolate and vegan, one lemon and gluten-free, and one large vanilla for the rest of us. After the cake cutting, we'll be having the cake served as dessert by the wait-staff.

Gift Registry - Why you're probably here

(NOTE: More items to come!)

This is probably the reason why you're on the site so I'll try to keep it brief (I'm not known for my brevity, though, so beware!).

Although we tried to find a single store (or pair of stores) that could offer everything that we wanted we have been unable to find anything that met our needs. As a result, we have a few options available and a slightly more complicated process than we had desired.

The overlying concept that we're looking for is locally-produced, quality, low impact... stuff. For people from the Fredericton area we have a registry through Botinicals (details below), but for people from outside of Fredericton or New Brunswick there is no need to fear. If where you live is known for their awesome wooden bowls, then you can pick up one for a salad or fruit bowl. If there are really great local artists where you live then pick out a nice piece. If your area is known for their high-quality sports cars, then... well, you get the idea. We'd love to have a collection of things each with a special story and history, and nothing gives that sort of personal touch like locally-made goods.

Being both 'greenies' we are also looking for low-impact goods. Many of the items on our registry use natural fabrics or other extras - we know that these add a cost, but our preference is toward fewer high-quality, eco-friendly goods. Quality, not quantity, is the name of the game here.

OK - with that out of the way, here is a list of places where we have set up registries:

YourWeddingPresents.com - There aren't necessarily specific stores or products here, but it's the best way we could find to give a range of options with the criteria we wanted. Just go to "Guests", then enter either of our names (Joyce or Gillis) and the wedding date, July 2012.

Botinicals - slightly more low-tech than the others, this registry exists in a little yellow book behind the counter of the store in Fredericton. If you are interested in picking up a few items just ask for the registry for the Gillis Joyce Wedding. There might not be an online registry, but here is a link to the website anyways.

Mountain Equipment Co-op - The MEC Wishlist can be accessed by inputting Tom's last name (Joyce, that is) into the "Look Up" box at the MEC wishlist site. That will bring you to a list of Joyces, in which there is a "THOMAS" from "Fredericton" who has a "Wedding Registry". We're that one. Click the name and you'll find a list of things from MEC that we'd love, but that we're too cheap to buy. Thanks! :D

Sears.ca - We've set up a rather limited registry with Sears. UPDATE: Some people have had issues finding our registry through the normal means. You can use the following registry number to access the list: 201210226082.

NOTE: If you are out shopping one day and you find a wonderful (thing) that you saw on our registry, but it's not at one of our selected shops - buy it. We're huge fans of buying local and by no means wish to restrict people to "local to Fredericton". British Columbia has a wonderful wood scene - grab a wooden salad bowl! Maybe your area has great artists - we'd love a painting or sculpture! Fares - nothing from Amsterdam, please! If you do see something and pick it up, please let someone us (or our parents, or our best-people) and we'll get that item crossed off or otherwise removed from the registry.

Bling - The Story of Kait's Ring (mainly)

A few months ago, back in good ole 2011, we were talking a lot about our future and the topic of marriage came up fairly often. When Tom finally proposed, it was not with a shiny diamond ring - instead he used what he had on hand (literally! Ha ha... ha... I'm so sorry) and asked for her hand with his engineer's iron ring (and a promise of a better ring to come).

From there we worked together to design a ring, flipping between designs with aquamarines to diamonds, from yellow or white gold to mixed. We visited Bejeweled on King St. and we spoke with a friend, until finally we found a design that matched our dreams.

The basis for the design comes from this photo, which Kaitlyn found online. The simple design met Tom's minimalist standards and the ridge and pinch seemed to represent a mountain ridge and river; a nice tie-in to our natural sides.

Initially the material was a concern. Researching eco-friendly rings taught us a bit too much about the impacts of gold extraction and convinced us that recycled gold would be the only responsible way forward. Kaitlyn's mother, Diane, and grandmother stepped forward and very generously offered their wedding bands toward the cause, creating in the process a slight modification in the design - Diane's white gold would be used to build the ridge atop her grandmother's yellow gold base. Extra gold was provided by Diane in the form of gold nugget earrings and a necklace given to her by Greg after a trip to the Yukon many years back.

Diane's white gold wedding band over her Grandmother's yellow gold band.

Gold nugget earrings and necklace.

For the stone we went looking at Canadian diamonds through Brilliant Earth. Trading quantity in favour of higher quality we selected a diamond that made up for size in shear perfection of cut, quality, and clarity. (When it arrived there was an incident that I (Tom) am simply unable to put to words - ask someone else!).

I didn't risk removing the diamond from the case - trust

me that it's prettier than it appears here.

With materials gathered we commissioned Erica Sullivan to create our ring. Erica teaches jewelry at the NBCCD and is starting up a natural jewelry company, TerraInspirations. A bit part of her company mission is to minimize the use of harsh chemicals and develop environmentally-conscious accessories, and in her work she draws extensively on natural shapes and forms - in other words, she was perfect for the job.

Erica began construction on the ring, melting down the gold and reshaping it back at the beginning of March. Mid-way through the process we visited her to see the work-in-progress (and Tom got to pull some of the white gold through a die - oh yeah!) and shortly before Easter we had the opportunity to see the unpolished, near-completed ring.

Friday, April the 13th (the ill omens are offset by Kait's having been born on the cursed day) we picked up the ring and a bottle of red wine and, out on the back deck, we completed the 5.5 month proposal with the giving of a ring.

Final product.

:D

What about the wedding bands, you ask? What do they look like, you also ask? You'll just have to wait and see!

Good Times in the Maritimes; or, What Am I Going To Do On Saturday?

For those of you considering visiting from outside of Atlantic region you're probably wondering what else you can do in this part of the world. Well... lots. Atlantic Canada is a pretty cool place, with lots of interesting historical sites (first part of Canada colonized, after all) and plenty of things of to outside. We've put together a short list of fun sites below, but feel free to check out any of the provinces' tourism sites for more information.

(Note: none of these are in any particular order. Don't expect that a disappointing #1 will mean that the rest of the list is poor, too!)

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to include this: Fredericton has a tourism website you can reference for a list of events going on around the city. Of particular interest: Steven Peacock will be warming up for our ceremony at 12:10 on Friday at the Cathedral; Katherine Moller will be practising at the Lighthouse at 7:30 on Friday in preparation for our reception.
If you're looking to visit other cities, you're on your own to find the city's tourism site. 

Fredericton:

1. Downtown. Downtown Fredericton is about a 2 blocks x 3 blocks (blocks^2?) with a bunch of wonderful restaurants and shops. Particular favourites include: Read's (coffee, magazines); Cedar Tree Cafe (coffee, local, Lebanese food); Botinicals (local crafts and pottery); The Palette (restaurant); Brewbakers (expensive, nice restaurant); Picaroons (micro-brewery); The Garrison (local Tory Stronghold and seller of Halifax Garrison District beer).

2. Odell Park. Wonderful park on the west side of town. Look at any map of Fredericton and Odell will be the big green spot on the left. Beautiful trails of various sizes through lovely Acadian forest.

3. Grand Lake. Biggest lake in new Brunswick and only 30-45 minutes away from town. 

4. UNB Rock & Ice. Fredericton's largest indoor climbing gym! This wonderfully expansive gym offers spectacular 4m high walls and 20m of traversing! Great for the whole family, your first time is free!

... The UNB climbing wall is two old squash courts that have been converted into a bouldering gym. Access is limited, especially during the summer, but Kait and I both have access and can supervise. Summer hours are posted on the website.

5. Aura. Iyengar Yoga Studio and local, organic food shop. Yoga classes are $15 and the schedule can be found on their website (look for 'Yoga Above Aura').

6. Beaverbrook Art Gallery. I've never been, but it's on my list of places to visit.

7. UNB Woodlot. Most of the top of the hill (past all of the wonderful uptown development) the university owns and manages a respectably large woodlot. The forest is split by the highway (Regent St), with trail access on the west side over by the Kent, and on the East side just past the new strip mall on Knowledge Park Dr.

8. Trails. Fredericton boasts a rather nice and extensive trail network, some of which is part of the TransCanada trail system. There is a trailhead immediately next to the Delta that will take you downtown, or past and toward the Train Bridge, a beautiful old bridge that you can use to cross over to the North Side of town. Over there you will find many kilometers of beautiful nature trails, though locals tend to point out that the far side of the water is slightly less affluent, if you catch my drift.

9. Farmer's Market. On Saturday mornings the local farmer's market is held in Fredericton. The market features many wonderful local craftspeople, fresh local produce, wonderful cheese, bread and seafood, and many assorted hot foods (try the samosas and the roasted nuts - yum!). The market is held rain or shine at the Boyce Market building at the corner of Regent and George St., just outside of the downtown core.

New Brunswick:

1. Fundy National Park.

2. Hopewell Rocks.

3. Fundy Footpath.

4. Kouchebuquac.

5. Cape Enrage. Looks rather touristy, but the place is famous for a lighthouse and some very easy guided climbing.

6. Realistically it doesn't matter if you visit the tourist spots because, just by stopping in Fredericton for the wedding you'll make the folks over at tourism New Brunswick happy.

Nova Scotia:

1. Cape Breton. The Highlands of Cape Breton are an absolutely beautiful spot to visit. The National Park offers many campsites with a range of services. There are a range of trails, from short flat ones along the shore to longer ones up through the hills, and all are amazing. Go figure, the seafood is great, too.

2. Halifax. Lots of history and more than a bit of beer. Good museums for boats, military, and Keith's.

3. Dover Island. For any climbers out there Dover Island is a great spot for bouldering. The site of the annual Boulderfest, it is a solid collection of very grippy rocks. Ferry to the island is $20 and needs to be set up ahead of time.

4. Kejimkujic. Beautiful park on the southwest end of the province. Toward the top of our to-visit list.

5. Digby. The ferry from New Brunswick will bring you to this little town renowned for their scallops.

6. Other hiking spots. Recently a friend pointed out the website TrailPeak.com, which gives maps and photos for a number of trails around. His major recommendations were for Nova Scotia, around the Parrsboro and Chignecto Park area.

Prince Edward Island:

1. Um... the Confederation Bridge is pretty cool.

2. The  beaches are red - that's cool, too, no?

3. OK, I'm going to level with you: I've never been to PEI. In fact, the only four facts that I know about the island are: (1) the sand is red; (2) the lobsters are red; (3) the island's economy is built on tourism relating to a girl whose hair was red (Anne of Green Gables!!!!); (4) their energy production is green (wind!).
4. They compost... everything. 

Newfoundland and Quebec:

There are loads of things to do in each place. For the sake of keeping things short, however, I'm leaving you to find out on your own what they are. Neither are terribly close, after all (Newfoundland, in fact, is quite surprisingly far away).

America (Maine, in particular):

1. Baxter State Park. Baxter is a wonderful park that includes a number of small mountains and plenty of hiking trails. Last year we went to hike up Mt Katahdin but were blocked by bad weather and then by time restraints. In the north end of the park there are the Time Traveler's mountains, which I have heard are the most enjoyable trails in the area.

2. Acadian National Park. Climbing, hiking, and a whole lot more. While I have yet to go there I have seen photos and am enraptured. Very beautiful area. (Climbing is all trad, however).