On the 15th of each month we feature a new and magnificent wedding! This is more than just a weekly "best site" contest with a link to the couple's wed-site. We will take you through the entire wedding process...from the planning, to the actual event, and everything in between...including details which made each big day special.

It had to be you...it had to be you...
Collin and Darlene first met at a Halloween party that his landlord/friend was hosting at his house. After the party, Collin would show up where Darlene worked and would buy her coffee and chat. A year later, they began dating. What Darlene didn't realize, and Collin finally noted two years after they started dating, was that he bought a coffee to her every two weeks, on payday.

I wandered around and finally found the somebody who...
Collin took Darlene on his touring bike to Galliano Island, British Columbia. It's a small tourist Island off the coast between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia. Collin packed a picnic with non-alcoholic champagne, cheese, crackers and Darlene's favorite, cheesecake. They were over looking the ocean at Bluff's Point when Collin got down on his knee and asked Darlene to marry him. Darlene was incredibly happy, and naturally she said "yes!". They rode off to another point on the island and had a picnic lunch overlooking the ocean. It was breathtaking.

Could make me be true...could make me be blue...
The bride describes her wedding day:

"My wedding couldn't have been more perfect. We were married in a United Church close to home. My entire family and most of Collin's family were able to make it out. We asked everyone to dress in medieval attire. I was overjoyed to see that 75% of our guests were in medieval attire.

One of my uncles worked with the minister of the church for the vows. It was a special touch to have a family member marry Collin and I. The photographs were also taken by a family member.

A key point during the reception was a Scottish Tradition of a child handing a horseshoe to the bride. This is a wish of good luck to the bride and groom. Jason, my two-year-old cousin was walked up to Collin and I by his sister to perform this tradition. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen or been able to be a part of.

After all the stress that I saw people going through before the ceremony, it made me feel wonderful to see everyone have a good time during the reception.

I think the most special thing was my wedding dress. My sister-in-law made the dress. Again, the family touch. Not only that, it was created by many other designs into a one of kind original.

And finally, the look on Collin's face as I walked up to him at the alter. I handed him my Irish linen embroidered by my mother for this occasion and as I did Collin looked me at me with tears in his eyes and said, "You look beautiful" as his shaking hands put the linen in his jacket pocket. It was and will forever be the most exhilarating moment of my life."

And even be glad just to be sad thinking of you...
The bride describes the wedding party's attire:

"My dress was a tank top style bodice made of red crushed velvet with a gold lace trim on the 'V'. The back of the bodice had a tie of white lace. The front of the bodice had a gold Celtic knot decoration made of a thin gold rope hand sewn onto the velvet. The sleeves are flowing chiffon with lace edging. The skirt had a single chiffon overlay edged with lace and a two layered white silk skirt underneath. The train on the dress was 2 feet long. My favorite part of my attire was the tulle cloak that extended slightly further than the train of the dress and clasped at the neck with a white 'frog'. Horsehair is used to keep the shape of the hood.

My three girls wore ankle length, princess style dresses. Each had their own color, chocolate, red wine and forest green. The sleeves were a chiffon in the matching color that flowed in a Gothic style. Each girl also had a gold cloak. The Tartan shop from where we rented the kilts gave two options for color (as opposed to ordering your own family tartan directly from Scotland and pay over $700 for just the material). The Groom wore wear a red tartan and the groomsmen wore a green tartan. Included in the rental is the kilt, shirt, jacket, tie/bow, socks, shoes, and Sporran."

It had to be you, wonderful you...
The bride describes special touches to their special day:

"I made candle holders as center pieces for the reception tables. There were two candles per table. The cost was $60 for all the materials to make 36 candleholders. Included in the $60 was a bulk bag of 100 tea light candles.

I crafted the guest book pen for with fall leaves and green tape. When I asked my fiancé if he wanted a large heart behind the head table with our names on it, he winced at the idea. However, I liked the idea of having this tacky tradition as part of our decorations. What's the first step in a marriage? Compromise. I suggested that if the big heart wasn't tacky, but instead a beautiful image painted by me, would that be okay. He agreed.

On the internet, I found a wonderful design of two dragons forming a heart. I painted the dragons on a large piece of Bristol board and then painted our names in the middle. To add a little zest, I burned the edges of the Bristol board.

The wedding cake was a simple three-tier cake with basic white icing. The three round cakes were drenched with berries and fruit of the autumn season. And I made the cake topper: Two Bears sit in the basket (on top of the stuffing). They are dressed like the bride and groom with the ribbon. The apples are laid out creating the look of a full basket of apples. The roses adorn the rim of the basket. Final decoration is white ribbon around the handle of the basket.

And the one item that I am so glad I made was a basket in each of the lady's room and the gentleman's room. The gentlemen's had mints, toothpicks and Tums. The ladies had mints, clear nail polish, Tums, toothpicks and feminine items. The baskets had a ribbon tied to them and a few candles placed in each."

It had to be you...
When asked to describe what she would do differently if she could do it all over again the bride replied, "I think the only thing I would have changed was the choice for the wedding night hotel. Collin and I were originally not going to get a hotel and go home since we were low on our budget and were going to Whistler, BC for three days. However, as a surprise I rented a room in the hotel that my family was staying at. Because there were so many rooms rented, I got a fairly good deal. Well, the hotel put us in a room in a wing that was not used, and therefore not cleaned regularly. The room was a smoking room (which they didn't inform me of earlier) and even though I smoke I couldn't sleep in the smell that was in that room. The bathtub had bugs in it and the water was yellow. We tried rinsing out the tub three times before giving up. And, the courtesy coffee was just plain mud. Who knows how long that pack sat beside the coffee maker."

When asked what they would do the same if they had the day to plan all over again, Darlene replied, "Collin and I had a wonderful time at our wedding and there were no problems that are even worth mentioning. I wouldn't change anything. Except the wedding night hotel choice."

For more information about Collin and Darlene's wedding -- visit their their site.
And check out the October 2002 Fifteen Minutes of Fame with Jennifer and Dan.

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