A Holmes And Holmes Wedding

Yes, Groomzillas Do Exist

---

Lisa and I have been married for almost a year and a half. Time flies when you’re having fun but I still remember the day like it was yesterday. Lisa and I had completely opposite experiences on the day of our wedding leading up to the ceremony. We laugh because most people are familiar with the term “bridezilla” but have you ever heard of the term “groomzilla?” Unfortunately, “groomzilla” sums up my mood on the day of our wedding.

Let me explain why. There’s more to this story, I promise.

The Day Of The Wedding

---

On the morning of August 12, 2017 I woke up early with my groomsmen, and we went straight to the wedding venue for final set up. If you’ve been watching Holmes and Holmes, you know that the days leading up to the wedding were full of heavy rain, thunder, lightning, and wind. That meant we couldn’t set up properly – and that kind of weather is not good when you’re planning an outdoor wedding and reception!

Leading up to the day, we crossed our fingers and hoped that the clouds would part on our wedding day to make set up easy, but that morning it was still grey and over cast with slight showers. So that’s how our wedding day kicked off.

Rain or no rain, we needed to get this wedding ready! We did our best to get things as set up as possible. As the groom, I understand completely why the set up fell on my plate. The ladies have a lot more to do to get ready on the wedding day than us guys do, am I right, ladies? Between beauty sleep, hair, and make up, there’s a lot to do.

Since the lads and I had budgeted time for set up, breakfast, and getting dressed, we thought everything would be smooth sailing. However, when we got to the venue, we quickly discovered that there was a lot more work to do than we had anticipated. Hindsight is 20/20 and one of the biggest mistakes that Lisa and I made on our wedding day was not hiring a wedding planner. Lisa’s mother graciously offered to take on that role for us however, I think that even she underestimated just how much setup there would be on the wedding day.

I can fully admit that I probably should have done some more prep work during the week leading up to the wedding day. I was so excited for the big day that I ended up celebrating with the wedding parties and lost track of time. So you can imagine that on the morning of the wedding, with unpredictable weather patterns, and a lot of set up to go, the boys and I had our work cut out for us.

I remembered my lesson from the job site – always have a generator on hand, just in case there’s no power. So we started by setting up our generators to power the reception tent, no matter the weather. We also set the tables for dinner, and put out all the chairs for the ceremony. Of course, there were lots of other loose ends to take care of on top of all that.

Setup was fire number one taken care of.

The Case of the Missing Caicos

---

Before we knew it, it was noon, and we were in a race against time. The groomsmen and I decided to divide and conquer. After running around all morning, doing the best we could under stressful circumstances, we regrouped and met up back at the house to get ready.

Not long after I showered, I realized that Caicos wasn’t in the house. He had gone missing. As you can imagine, my heart sank. How the heck am I going to tell my soon to be wife that our new puppy had run away on our wedding day? Once again, my superhero lineup of groomsmen found a way to divide and conquer. After 20 minutes of frantic searching outside in the dismal weather, one of the groomsmen who had been taking a long shower opened the bathroom door and out trots Caicos. He had been in the washroom with him the entire time.

Fire number two extinguished!

The Battle of the Bowtie

---

With all of the morning commotion, my head began to pound and I was losing my cool. What I had anticipated being a fun and light morning had quickly turned into a wedding rescue mission and I was starting to feel the pressure.

The nerves took over, and I was struggling with my bowtie, trying to wrestle it on properly. Okay, I officially began to stress.

Thankfully, that is when the cavalry stepped in. My best-man, Derek Ullman, stepped into his best-man role and came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and said “Mike, I’ll take care of your bow tie buddy, just breathe and calm down”. It was then that I realized, it was official: I was groomzilla.

Dad Saves the Day

---

After all this, the camera crew began to show up, and my dad could clearly see that I was feeling frustrated. He sat me down, gave me a big hug and said, “Mike, everything is going to be okay. You are marrying the love of your life today and everything is under control”. It was in that moment that I was finally able to exhale and start having some fun. This became one of the most memorable moments of my wedding day.

That’s our fourth fire of the day put out. Thanks dad!

Now that the boys were all suited up, dressed to impress, Caicos was safe, and I was back in business it was time to hop in the limo and head to the venue. I shed that “groomzilla” skin and was now fully in the moment, taking everything in. When we arrived at the venue I couldn’t believe the transformation that had taken place since that morning. The team at Bruce Wine Bar had stepped up their game and put all hands on deck. They had picked up where the boys and I left off and man, I couldn’t be more grateful for their efforts.

The Wedding Ceremony

---

Standing at the altar in front of our loved ones made every single worry I had completely disappear. I kid you not, but when Lisa’s bridesmaids started their walk down the aisle, the sun burst out and the sky had turned from dark grey to a shining blue. Seeing the beautiful ladies walk down the aisle pulled at my heartstrings. It was seriously a magical moment that I will never forget.

Then, my favourite moment of our wedding day. When Lisa started walking down the aisle. I couldn’t hold it together anymore and started to cry. Didn’t you know that big 6’4 dudes can cry too? How could I not when I had this beauty walking down the aisle towards me! I hit the jackpot boys! She was perfect. As she walked down the isle everything moved in in slow motion, she looked beyond beautiful.

If you ask Lisa and I now, there are a few things that we would change about our wedding, but you can never know that until you go through it. No matter what, I think that our wedding day was perfect and even with the speed bumps, I wouldn’t change a single moment.

Of course the rest of the day was a success and the groomzilla had disappeared for good.

If you want to read more about our wedding, check out Lisa’s behind the scene blogs.

Related Articles