Alana's Stagette

My friend Alana will be marrying her best friend, Mike in 25 days! I was at her stagette this past weekend. Alana and I are fairly new friends. I met her through Amber. They work together at Superior Cabinets. We've been in the best book club together since October 2007. We share a love of wine, books (which go hand in hand) and laughs. Alana and Mike will be getting married at the Ranche in Calgary. It's a beautiful venue and this will be my 3rd wedding that I've attended there in as many years.

The Ranche in Calgary

Both of the weddings that I attended at the Ranche were at different times of the year and therefore quite different. The first wedding I went to at the Ranche was Christine and Brian's in late August of 2006. They were married outside on the side steps and had the reception in the restaurant. It was a very beautiful wedding. The second time was for Christien's friends Mike and Christina in October of 2008. They had the ceremony inside in front of the fireplace, followed by the reception in the dining room. What a difference a couple of months makes. Not only in the atmosphere, (Christine's being mostly outside and Christina's, more indoors), the menus were completly different. Alana and Mike's wedding will be at the beginning of October, however the one big difference for me at this wedding will be that they are getting married in a church. I haven't been to a wedding in a church since Barb and Mike's (different Mike) in 2004.

Back to Alana's stagette. She went into this night blind. Had no idea what we were doing, who was coming or where we were going. We were all told to wear something white for her "Like a Virgin" stagette. Which I must say, turned out quite well. All the ladies looked wonderful. We all met at Alana's at the beginning of the night for martinis and snacks. We just hung out and chatted for a bit. We played one little game where we got to take a piece of toilet paper and make some sort of accessory to complement Alana's lovely outfit for the night. The deal was that for every item that she removed, she would have to do a shot for. Amber and I colaborated on her headpiece, which I think turned out quite lovely. There were a few pieces removed before we headed down for dinner, and I don't believe that I saw Alana take any shots that night. Apparently the rules changed and it was either shots or drinks to make up for what was taken off. So I guess I can deal with that but I still think she's a cheater (wink, wink). We then walked down to stop #1, which was dinner at Wildwood. We had a set menu where we could choose our starter and dinner. It was delish! I overdosed on Bison. Surprised I didn't get the meat sweats. It was a really nice time hanging out, Alana getting a bit emotional, and having lots and lots of laughs. After dinner the girls decided to take Alana to Ducky's, which is basically a dive karaoke bar. I headed home just before they went into Ducky's, but heard that they stayed until they got Alana to sing "White Wedding". They went off to BLVD for some dancing and drinks and then to the ... Yardhouse. Sounds like she was doing okay the next day. A bit sluggish, but okay. I can't wait for book club so that I can get more dirt on the festivities of the evening. I am just very much looking forward to her wedding on October 3!