Saturday full of surprises!

As Saturday fell upon on us, on this crazy busy weekend, I woke up tired and in somewhat of a bad mood. I really hate when weekends fly by because it never feels like you have enough time to do anything.

However... if I had known how the day would have unfolded, I would have definitely woke up with a smile.

There were so many things going on in Ottawa this past weekend. The biggest most important event was probably the Stanley Cup Finals. The first of two consecutive home games for the Sens was Saturday night, and the city was a buzz. PC and I were attending the wedding of Patrick Bougie & Natalie Carr, which was taking place at the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata, a pretty prestigious hotel in Ottawa, that is frequented by the NHL players and legends.

To our surprise... we arrived in the door way and this banner greeted us:

The parking lot was filled with nice cars and very important looking people, all to which had media passes... and were buzzing about the lobby. PC and I checked into our room, and had this lovely view out our window:The wedding was at 3:30... and was outside the hotel under a lovely tent. Before heading down to the wedding site we checked out the facilities... where the reception would be, and what not. We came off the elevator and ran smack into Elliotte Freidman from CBC. I was star struck a bit, but he gave a friendly smile and continued right on with his quick pace. To our surprise, the NHL had taken over the reception room. It was a press conference area for the NHL, and Vincent LeCavalier was being interviewed as we turned the corner. Rumours were that Sidney Crosby had just been there... and later to the surprise of the bride and groom, he left them a worn, autographed Penguins jersey outside their door as a wedding gift - since he was staying in the room next to them!

We continued on with our tour, and made our way down to the wedding. It was a warm, humid day, threatening to rain, but it never did. The ceremony was beautiful.... absolutely beautiful, as was the bride and the entire wedding party.

After the ceremony, we shared some champagne with the happy couple, and really just enjoyed the afternoon. We were led inside the hotel for cocktails and appetizers, and en route, we bumped into, an old friend of my Dad's, Mr. Henri Richard.

(PC & Henri Richard)

He was being honoured at the Sens game that evening, and was staying at the hotel with his family. He was very personable, and indeed a very nice man!

We enjoyed the evening, the meal, and all of the events of the wedding. I was so amazed at how the hotel staffed turned the NHL press conference area into a very elegant and romantic wedding reception in a matter of hours - they were amazing. I think having the Stanley Cup finals interfere with your wedding would be a groom's dream come true, but a bride's nightmare, however Brookstreet Hotel deserves full credit for hosting both events with such class.

In between the reception, we were hanging out in the lobby bar checking out the game on the big screen... the Sens won 5-3, and it was a huge party from there on in.

After the reception came to a close, we were not even remotely finished with the night, so we headed down to the lobby bar for a few more drinks and took a few songs with Eugene Melynk on the piano bar.

You may recall a post I made about a year ago titled Move over Don Cherry... where I mention the fact that I heart Kelly Hrudey... I basically love this man, about an ounce less than I love PC. I joking said to PC in the lobby after we saw Henri Richard in the afternoon, that if I saw Kelly Hrudey, I WAS THE ONE GETTING MY PICTURE WITH HIM, not PC! As luck with have it... my hottie was in the building and the fact that I had a few glasses of wine under my belt, made the introduction even sweeter!

(Me & Kelly Mr & Mrs. Hrudey)

Talk about a nice guy. PC did most of the talking while I did the majority of heavy breathing. Kelly was really good about it. PC flat out told Kelly, that I love him, more than I love PC - and he said 'that's not necessarily a bad thing'! - I like how you think Kelly!

Anyways... the funniest part about the whole encounter was that en route to meeting Kelly, I breezed by Brett Hull, like he was a cab driver. Didn't even phase me... I was on a mission to meet my second husband... and I wasn't about to let anyone, not even Brett Hull slow me down!

We hung out at bar with him for the rest the night... I had a very nice conversation with Scott Oake, from CBC, about communications, CRA, and the media in general. He is just as nice in person as he is on camera. PC chatted with Scott Morrison, and after a while Elliotte Freidman showed up at the bar... also a nice guy, all business, but they don't come much more polite than him. PC and Kelly shared some beers, (I still can't believe it), and to round out the night Bob Cole and Harry Neale were in the house.

(Kelly & PC)

(PC & Harry Neale)

I woke up this AM with a headache, but let me tell you, the fact that I met Kelly Hrudey was well worth the headache. PC was also slow moving this morning, but he agreed the hangover didn't put a damper on the events of the previous evening. The bride and groom were off to sunny Cuba for their honeymoon today, and PC and I carried on with our day, helping friends move into their new home, attending a baby shower, and getting ready for my first day of work, tomorrow.

Hard to top this blog post for a while, but I think now these posts should make up for the lack of postings last week!

I am off to bed, and anxiously wantinig to get tomorrow over with. I will update you on the new job as soon as possible!