ANNA RICE BADMINTON

     At the end of August my life began a new chapter: marriage.  Our wedding celebration was great, it was by far the best day of our lives. Even though my married friends had told me how special it would be, I couldn't even come close to understanding until it actually took place.

   The day itself was a perfect Vancouver day. There is no city in the world as gorgeous as Vancouver on a hot sunny day.  Everything to do with the wedding went off without a hitch, despite a nightmare I had in which I spilled red juice all over my dress just minutes before the ceremony.  There was one little mishap that occurred right as Bobby and I were exchanging our marriage vows.  Our little ring bearer was playing at the back of the church and he decided he'd climb up onto the ledge and turn the light switch off.  Once we realized what had happened everyone laughed and we picked up right where we'd left off.

   Just before my dad and I were about to walk down the isle, I confessed how completely nervous I was and how I hadn't been so nervous since I walked out onto centre court for my first match at the Olympics in Beijing.  My dad told me some wise words and I relaxed a bit, even though my pulse was still beating as if I'd just done 30 sets of 20 seconds on/10 seconds off speed footwork.

    After the ceremony was over it was as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, it honestly felt like I had just won the All England title...or at least how I imagine that might feel ; )  I was so happy and excited for the party to start.  There are no words to express what it feels like to enter a room filled with your closest friends and family and to know that they are all there to celebrate and show their support for this new partnership.

   We ate, drank and danced all night long, and from time to time I looked around at all our friends from different areas of our lives who had gathered together for this special day and I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

    The days that followed the wedding were both fun and sad at the same time.  After so much planning and anticipation, it was suddenly all over.  There were some very teary goodbyes, especially those with our friends from Denmark with whom we had shared countless memories throughout the past 9 years and whom we would no longer be seeing on a regular basis.

    We recouped from the chaos and excitement of the wedding week by chilling out in Hawaii for our honeymoon. I had never been to Hawaii before and I can pretty safely say it is the closest thing to Heaven on earth that I've ever seen.  The weather is absolutely perfect and the atmosphere is so relaxing.  We surfed, we snorkeled, we parasailed (though this wasn't my favorite event as I ended up puking on my new husband), we swam, we sunbathed and we...well, you all know what people do on their honeymoons...

    In the weeks since our return I've been trying to get back into a training routine but it's been tough.  There's still lots to re-organize and get settled after almost a decade of living abroad.  Re-adjusting to life back in Canada has had its challenged, but we are managing well now thanks to the endless support of our families and friends.

    Here are some pics from the "Big Day"...

                                                                              (photo by Jessica Pedlow)

 Me with some lovely International badminton ladies

The Groom (centre) with brothers

     I have also uploaded some more wedding pictures to the Photo Gallery, which you can view here.

   My next trip takes me back to the city where I played my very first international tournament: Guadalajara, Mexico in 1998. Back then I was competing in the Pan American Junior Championships and next week- more than ten years after my first trip there, I'm heading back for the adult Pan Am Championships.  Stay tuned for more from Mexico...