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Hockey Saved My Wedding!

March 21, 2011

You read it right...hockey saved my wedding!
Images from www.good-times.webshots.com
To be more detailed...the NHL draft of 2003 saved my wedding!
Image courtesy of Google Image Search

In 2002, after almost five years of dating, moving, and living as a hockey wife "in-training"...I was presented with a ring and a proposal in a basement bar located in the North End of Boston!  I didn't just get a ring...I also got the job of planning our wedding.  

If you were to ask any wife of a hockey player when their wedding anniversary was,  I can almost guarantee their answer would be between the months of June and August.  You may find an exception for a couple who loves spontaneity...but a majority of weddings must be planned around the hockey season.  
Image courtesy of Google Image Search

A typical hockey season goes from September (training camp) through June (finals)!  If you plan your wedding for the end of the regular season...after mid-April...you might be guaranteeing the need for a postponement of a wedding due to play-offs.  Do you have a dream of a Fall wedding?  Why not get married in September, and then take your honeymoon to your new husband's TRAINING CAMP!
Image courtesy of Google Image Search
So when presented with choosing a wedding date, it was narrowed down to the end of June, July, or early August.  I chose June 21, 2003.  This date was perfect! 

✔ Saturday

✔Warm weather month

    No Hockey...(wait, there is not a check on that)....

When I told my family the date of June 21, 2003...they all said that was perfect or them.  When I mentioned the date to my husband's family, I was not greeted with such enthusiasm.  
Image courtesy of Google Image Search
You see, I didn't just marry a man who made his living in hockey...I married a man whose entire family makes their living in hockey.  If you google the NHL Entry Draft of 2003...you will see it occurred on Saturday, June 21.  Not only would my fiance be there...four other family members would be there as well. 

Not only did hockey dictate where I lived, and when I moved there...it also was now dictating which day I was to be married on!
Image courtesy of Google Image Search
So it was back to the calendar...and a new date was selected...June 28, 2003.  
Image courtesy of Google Image Search

The 2002-2003 Hockey Season was quite busy.  My husband was a head coach and I was flying full time as a flight attendant.  I planned my wedding while commuting from Boston to his hockey town...and traveling from coast to coast for work.   But finally the week of the draft was here.  I kissed my fiance good-bye and appreciated the fact I could just concentrate on our upcoming special day without interruption!  
Image courtesy of Google Image Search
The morning of June 21st came...and I woke up with a bad taste for hockey in my mouth!  To say I was still pouting that I had to switch dates of my wedding was an understatement...until I opened the blinds!
Image courtesy of Google Image Search
It was not just raining...it was pouring.  You know how the optimists all say rain on your wedding day is good luck?  Well, even the optimists would have told me my glass was half empty...with rain water!  Had we married on the 21st of June...we would have had to cancel our reception, which was going to be held on a boat.  Had we married on the 21st of June...our wedding would have been absolutely miserable!
Image courtesy of Google Image Search
June 22...the rain cleared and the humidity came in!  Boy did the humidity kick in!  The entire week leading up to our wedding was hot and sticky!  
Image courtesy of Google Image Search
June 27th...and our (outdoor) rehearsal dinner was upon us...the humidity broke...and we were gifted with a beautiful weekend.  The next day we were married on a beautiful sunny day.  It was not too hot...it was just PERFECT!  I owe it all to Hockey.  Because of hockey...I  had the perfect wedding day!
THIS IS US!!

41 comments:

Crystalball1 said...

Yay for hockey then!!! We planned ours around my dad's farm...fall is harvesting, spring is calving, summer is planting....so winter it was. We got married in December...i was hoping for it to be snowing, but NO it was beautiful and we golfed the day before our wedding...in December! In South Dakota!!! Crazy!!

CMD said...

I hear ya! I would have LOVED a winter wedding... but, June 26 it was :/. Since we didn't know where we'd be this year, I was terrified of my hubby getting a call asking him to come to a camp in July and leave me sitting on the beach in Jamaica to honeymoon alone (luckily, we found out right around the same time that we'd be heading to Europe this year... phew!) Not only that, but now both of our brothers are getting married also and have to plan their weddings around OUR hockey schedule so we can be there. Glad yours worked out for the better and you skipped all that rain! :)

Cakeologist said...

Cute story! I love all your posts - always well written and entertaining and the photos are so creative. Sounds like a beautiful wedding - although I would have been too seasick to fully enjoy a reception (no cocktails for me) on a boat.

April said...

Way to look on the bright side. LOL Kanin's hockey season just ended (October-March) and I can't tell you the number of times we had to cancel or change dates of things because of hockey. I can't imagine trying to plan a wedding around it. Glad you had your perfect day!!

Chrissy said...

Thanks for sharing your story! Love reading your posts! Happy Monday!

tvs take said...

Great story! Funny how things work out just as they need to. Thanks for visiting this am.

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Thank you. Always nice to know someone is enjoying them aside from my mother!
Cheers!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

OMG...I am so worried about figuring out next season...with my son starting hockey. Looks like I will need to invest in a good calendar!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

My sister was a little sea sick on our boat...thank god, because she would have probably consumed all of our booze!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

I always laugh when my family wants to plan something during hockey season. I look like a widow in all of our family pictures, as my husband is never in town with me. My Brother-in-law says he has never met my husband...isn't that funny!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Wow...I would be pretty pumped for great weather in December...and in the Dakotas of all places!

Amber said...

Insanity will be coming! I suggest any of the Mom calendars, though. Plenty of room for each person in the family and it makes it a lot easier to keep track of things!

Amber said...

I love the way things work out like that! I had rain on my wedding day, and it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Plus, I get some cute stories out of it.

Tiffany said...

Great story! Love how you found the humor in all of this!! :)

Donna said...

WOW! We on the other hand, planned my daughter's outdoor wedding on June 21st - which according to the Farmer's Almanac, was supposed to be a very mild day. Let's just say it wasn't. That sticky humid weather you had, moved here and was a guest at my daughter's wedding.

Hockey Wife Tales said...

I can remember feeling sweat drip down my legs at the rehearsal...but an hour later it was gone! Humidity can sure be a pain...but I like it more than bitter cold!

TexaGermaNadian said...

Aw, I love this! I guess it really does happen for a reason...even hockey things :) You could have just eloped to Vegas, I hear some crazy people in this world do that, lol ;)

Hockey Wife Tales said...

I actually thought of you when I was writing about spontaneous people getting married...but you at least had a cup to celebrate with!

Cheers!

Debbie said...

awww - such a sweet AND funny story. I love the hockey masks put in all the pictures. Very funny.

Wonderful Sister said...

At least if it had rained you could have used the lovely handkerchiefs your sister embroidered for you to protect you from getting wet!

Missy said...

Aw that is such a great story!! Love the dress too!Beautiful!

Rancher Mom said...

What a great story, glad everything worked out, as I am sure there was a lot of planning involved in it all! I always love hearing about perfect weddings (especially since mine was a courthouse drive-by.)

J Randayle Greyson said...

Whew! That was a close one!! And I thought I had it bad, being married to a fan of baseball....

Thanks for riding the train!!
The Survival Mama

Mrs. Hyde said...

Talk about blessings in disguise. Beautiful story.

Chelsea Healy said...

oh my gosh you are HILARIOUS!!

KT @ KT's Refinishing School said...

We had to move our wedding date because of the College World Series (baseball). My family all lived out of town and needed hotel rooms but every hotel we called would not let us reserve a block of rooms during the CWS not to mention trying to find a location for a rehearsal dinner when every restaurant in town is slammed with visitors. Rather than fight against the thousands of people who pour into Omaha each year for the CWS, we moved our wedding day a few weeks earlier to June 12th and all was well :)

Glad you had great weather for your wedding as well!

LesR80 said...

Everything always happens for a reason!

Ross said...

Odviously everything played out that way for a reason. It sounds like everything was just great on your special day! I was married at an old TB (tuberculosis) sanctuary on the lake that we spend our summers at. Everyone laughs when you tell them this however the setting and grounds are amazing, there and to this day it remains the wedding that the rest of the family talks about.

Hockey Wife Tales said...

TB sanctuary? Could we get a post on this please? sounds....interesting! Would love to see pictures!

Cheers!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

I say that every time we move to a new team...and so far it really has been true!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Wow...never thought of that. Our wedding was in a resort town, and we were lucky the hotel prices didn't rise until the following week.

Hope it all worked out!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Thank you......either that, or I am extremely bored!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Thank you.....

I miss my ab workouts when I read your posts and laugh so hard! Hurry back!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Happy to hop on board! Great hop. Always find great reads!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Um....maybe we could get a post on that! Hope you are feeling better!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Thank you.......

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Those were so lovely....but I have lent them to the local parachute club...they needed some extra parachutes, and they were the correct size!

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Thank you...what started as a way to post personal pictures anonymously...has turned my blog into something completely different! I have fun with it!

Ourfamilyworld said...

That's so hilarious!! Hopefully it did not rain!! Always magic happens on wedding days.
Glad I found your blog through thursday hop. Have a great evening
Ourfamilyworld

H M said...

Wow what a great story!! Yes unfortunatley I have fallen under the damned hockey schedule for my wedding too...hopefully I'll have as nice of a day as you had on July 3rd! Only hockey related thing I could think of is Jordan getting a European offer that day? That would be a GREAT thing though!

p.s. if your wondering why I am commenting on an older post it's because I'm catching up on all my "work-blocked" blogs. Doesn't my work understand that I need to keep in touch with the other hockey wives of the world?! Guess not. I'll just have to become a weekend frequent flyer ;o)

Hockey Wife Tales said...

Thanks for reading....I have had to take time off, but glad to see you are catching up! Best of luck on July 3rd! Enjoy your day...it will go by way too fast!