Look at me, posting at a reasonable hour on a school night! Now let's see, what have I been meaning to tell y'all about Erika & Paul's wedding... oh yes, here we go:

Congratulations Erika & Paul!!

This past weekend, I was privileged to witness the marriage of two fantastic people - my good friends, Erika & Paul. I've known Erika for several years now - we first met at a science outreach conference where she was representing SFU and I was there on behalf of UBC, but we really got to know each other and become good friends when Erika's lab moved to UBC and she joined our chapter of the science outreach organization. Erika has managed to juggle completing her Masters (and now working on her PhD), family, friends, teaching, volunteering more hours than there are day (I'm pretty sure she must have a time machine, or an army of clones, because I don't see how else she could possibly get all the things done that she gets done!). Despite having long hair, she never, ever wears her hair down. I once, in all the years I've known her, saw her take her hair down. It was at a bar in London, Ontario and within 2 minutes of her taking it down, it was completely submerged in her beer. I'm not just like the end of her hair either, I'm talking like a good 3 or 4 inches of her hair were sitting in her beer when I pointed this out to her. True story. Erika and I have enjoyed such adventures as pairing up 200 volunteers with 100 teachers one night while she Norway and I was in Vancouver (god bless msn messenger!) and her being the greatest cock block ever (on the same trip to London, Ontario as the above-mentioned hair-in-beer story, but at a different bar). Blog That Needs a New Name readers may remember her in such roles as:

• the resident biologist for Eagle Cam
• the inventor of the "Official Young, Single & Fabulous Kit" I received for my birthday
• the host of the 12 Bars of Christmas
• the person who never has her eyes open in photos with me
• guest at my half birthday
• the girl who borrowed her dad's truck not once, but twice, on a moment's notice to help me move and take 300 kg of garbage to the dump
• hostess at the cabin where scientists gathered last summer (FYI - this year's retreat to be held there again in the fall)

I don't remember the first time I met Paul, but I'm willing to bet it was at a pub. I can definitely tell you that he was at my half birthday, was a co-host of the 12 Bars and invented "Beth's Law". Paul proposed to Erika at the top of the Chief after they hiked up it (how freaking cool is that??). And, get this, he put the ring instead a kindersuprise egg! Now that's a story to tell the grandkids! Paul has a wicked good sense of humour and is a super nice guy - and I'm really happy that he and Erika got married! W00t!

As for the wedding itself, I have alluded some of the many cool features in my previous two postings, but I'll elaborate now that I'm not typing under severe sleep deprivation¹:

• the wedding was held at this cool property out in Langley - there were a few buildings, a little pond, and even piggies!
  


• Erika & Paul wrote their own vows and they were really touching
• I have heard, but have not yet seen, that there is a picture of Erika sticking out her tongue at Paul in the middle of the ceremony! That's so Erika & Paul!
• the first dance - they started out dancing to the Princess Bride song - it was very romantic, with the dipping and spinning and suchlike and then, partway through the song, the music cut out, and everyone in the room sort of gasped in shock that the DJ would allow a fuck up like that to happen at this critical moment... but then another song came on and then another and then another - there was jive, there was swing, there was country and yes, there was Michael Jackson's Thriller - and they had a dance routine for each of the songs. Like I said: best. first dance. EVER!
• Linda's sister, Gloria, did my hair. She did Linda's hair too. Doesn't our hair look wicked awesome?
• speaking of looking wicked awesome, check out my eye makeup. I was in Shopper's Drug Mart the day before the wedding and got suckered in by the marketing of "eyelash jewels" - while the "jewels" looked much more like water droplets than jewels², I still thought they looked pretty cool. At least until they got all mushed up by my nicely straightened bangs and so you couldn't see them anymore (which was pretty much before the ceremony was even over).
  

And this concludes my reportings on the wedding adventures of Erika & Paul!

¹Just moderate sleep deprivation, so it's all good.
²the ad for these jewels have an eye where the drops are photoshopped to look like there are sparkly, cut diamonds on your lashes! Good thing I wasn't expecting that to happen in real life!