A special wedding gift

I've been keeping a secret for months—OK, two months —and now it's time to share what I did. The only reason I kept it a secret was that I wanted to share all the details at once, and I just didn't have time to make that happen. 

As you know, M and Dillon were married on June 11, and my - how quickly time marches on. It's almost one month since that special day. 

It was about four weeks before the wedding, and I got this ridiculous idea that I could make them a special gift. Let me rephrase that - I wouldn't make the special gift, but I would facilitate it being made. 

Let's just say that I married my love of hobbies with this one. As you know, I have fallen big time into the world of jigsaw puzzles. It used to be a special thing to do at Christmas, but now? It's an everyday occurrence. Well, not quite, but I love doing them. And the more I chat to people, the more I realize that it's a huge deal. Many people do jigsaw puzzles. 

I had tossed this idea around much, much earlier, but just for fun. What if I made a commemorative jigsaw puzzle for the happy couple? Could I pull that off in four weeks? 

I was totally at the mercy of others, but let's see what happens. I sent the initial request to my friend Cynthia Frenette, an artist who lives in Nanoose Bay, BC, on the island, to see if she was up to the challenge. I also had to get in touch with a puzzle-making company before she would start. I contacted TheOccurence, which is located in Merrickville, Ontario, on the same day. 

Prices were agreed upon, and I passed all kinds of information about the couple to Cynthia and let her run loose with it. 

I also told the two contacts that it was my fault for leaving this so late, and if it didn't work out to get the puzzle to BC by the wedding, I was OK with that. Cynthia designs puzzles for other companies (this link only shows a few of her puzzles - she also just won the BC Ferry competition for The Villager puzzle company), so I knew she was up to the task. I got the preliminary sketch about 10 days after I gave her the ideas. She also had access to their IG accounts, and Dillon is constantly posting pictures. I think the picture of Cynthia's puzzle for BC Ferry was only on IG, and I don't have time this morning to find it. I'll let you know when it's available. 

When I saw the sketch, I was thrilled!!!! 

So I gave the go-ahead, and she finished the artwork. In the meantime, I was in touch with Brigitte at TheOccurence, so they could be prepared. Actually, I was late in contacting her, and I apologized and said that if it can't be done, I'm OK with that. I was in the middle of work-related stuff and juggling a lot at the time. 

TheOccurence got the artwork on June 1!!!! OK -- so ten days to make and ship a puzzle. Can it be done? 

YES IT CAN!!!! The folks at TheOccurence were the BEST. They went above and beyond to make this puzzle happen once they got the artwork. 

I'm sure Brigitte was ready to shoot me as I contacted her several times the day that I sent her the file. They didn't open it until late on Tuesday, June 2. That's how they work, and I just had to content myself with the fact that if it didn't work out, that was OK. 

OMG—can you believe they had the puzzle ready to ship on Thursday?! Hurrah for small companies and this one just happens to be Canadian!!! I was thrilled beyond belief. Please, please—you must support TheOccurence—they are a fabulous small business, and I want them to succeed. You can buy puzzles directly from their website or from PuzzlesCanada. OH MY -- I see a bunch of new ones! 

But before that happy event, we needed to figure out how to get it to Tofino on time. It's not like Tofino is in a major center. It's on the far side of Vancouver Island, and it's quite a drive. How much was this shipping going to cost me? Tofino is the red dot on the left. 

Tofino is very remote!

I thought of having it come to us, and we could take it with us on the plane. I had 12 copies made. Just wait—you will see the puzzle in a minute. 

We could have it shipped directly to Tofino, but how much would that cost? 

Then KU said, why not ship it to her sister in Vancouver, and they could take the puzzle over. OK -- that works even better, but we weren't sure when it would arrive, as some of them were coming by car on Tuesday and others by seaplane (limited baggage allowed) on Thursday, the day of the wedding. 

When I heard how much it would be to ship the package OVERNIGHT to BC from Merrickville, I said - let's do it. It was $75 for a relatively large and heavy box! So it arrived in BC on Friday morning, which meant people coming to the wedding by car could bring it. 

All that remained was for them to remember to bring the box, which I'm sure wouldn't be a problem, but it was just one more logistical thing I had to consider. Things happen accidentally, but there were always people coming by plane on Thursday. 

I got the box in my hands on Wednesday evening, and, of course, M spotted me carrying it to my hotel room. That girl just seems to be everywhere she isn't supposed to be. 

They knew nothing about the puzzle, as I wanted it to be a surprise for them. However, I also didn't want to spring it on them at the wedding, so I needed to share it with them at some point. So I asked her if she and Dillon could meet me in the room, as I had something to discuss with them. 

You could see from their faces that they were very apprehensive, as I would be when your mother tells you she did something and isn't sure you'll like it. 

When I showed them the puzzle, they were speechless!!! It was so much fun to see! And they LOVED it!!! It brings tears to my eyes as I recall that moment. So many questions—how did you get all this detail? My necklace is just like the one I wear! It was crazy and so much fun! 

We discussed where the puzzle would be displayed and decided it should be at the after-dinner party. As soon as the picture-taking was done, I scooted to that area and set it up so people could finish the puzzle at the wedding. NO ONE knew about the puzzle except for DH (he paid the bill) and KU and their family, but no one had seen it. 

I had a sign-up sheet so people could request a free copy of the puzzle. I handed out all 12 copies I had with me, and now I need to find the list so I can order more and get them delivered!!!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for—here is the puzzle. The reason it took me so long to share this is that I brought home the puzzle from the wedding, and I needed to make sure it wasn't missing any pieces. 

Our Wedding

The other night, I finally had some free time and got the puzzle together. Cynthia is known for her puzzles being somewhat challenging with all the detail. This one was fairly simple, but it did have some tricky bits. We didn't want to make it too hard because some of the people getting the puzzle are not super puzzlers, and we wanted them to have fun. 

No pieces missing from the wedding puzzle

And yes - Little Bear, who turned ten yesterday, was up front and center in the puzzle. Of course he was!!!

If I weren't in the picture, it wouldn't be complete! 

On our way back from the wedding, we stopped at Cynthia's to have her autograph the box. Thank you so much, Cynthia—you are a brilliant artist, and we love you!!!!! 

The box is autographed now.

Here's a picture of M and Dillon the night I showed them the puzzle. It was so much fun to share that with them and how it came about, although they were probably not in any shape to remember what I said with so many other things to think about, so it's all documented here now. 

The happy couple with their custom puzzle

I had a sign at the puzzle with a sign-up sheet at the after-dinner party. 

The sign at the wedding

The puzzle on display

The ideal plan would have been for us to have copies of the puzzle with us when we stopped to meet Cynthia in person. Although I have been friends with Cynthia for many years and she has done artwork for us before, this was the first time I got to meet her in person. On the way up, we stopped, and I got her to sign one of her other puzzles. Yep -- I carried that one all the way with me in my suitcase. Then we stopped on the way back and got her to autograph the wedding puzzle. And yes -- she is tall. We took the picture in her art studio. 

Cynthia and myself 

All I can say is we need to support our artists. This is how they earn a living, and I have another story to tell you about that, but it will have to wait. 

I was able to get |M's copy of the puzzle in the mail yesterday, and so they will finally be able to make their puzzle. She wanted one in the wrapper, and one they could assemble. So now they will be able to assemble theirs when it arrives next week. I'll crack it open every anniversary and put it together for them.

A massive shoutout to Cynthia Frenette and TheOccurence for making this happen in a very short time frame. I truly appreciate your artistry and skill. The gift was worth every penny!!!

Wow—on that happy note, I'm out of here! 

There is a virtual retreat this afternoon. It starts at 3 PM. 

Join Zoom Meeting
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Ciao!!!!!!