Making it Official

I'm happy to announce, we've booked a marriage commissioner to officiate our wedding ceremony; another item checked off the list. Woohoo!

cartoon found here

Originally, we hoped to have a friend officiate the ceremony. In the US, anyone can legally marry a couple, if they become ordained through an online course offered by the Universal Life Church. Quick. Simple. Painless. However, after some quick research, I discovered that not just anyone can legally pronounce us "husband and wife" in BC.

Unfortunately, Canada does not recognize this simplified method of becoming an ordained minister. The protocol is more stringent, more time consuming, and more uhhhh "particular" up here; back to the drawing board we went.

In the Province of BC there are two categories of people licensed to perform weddings:

1. Religious Representatives - of which there are two types:

• a pastor/priest/minister/rabbi associated with the specific house of worship where the wedding ceremony will be held
• an ordained reverend or minister not associated with any specific house of worship

2. Marriage Commissioner (replacing the justice of the peace) through the Government of BC.

We decided to go with a private marriage commissioner as appointed by the Marriage Act of British Columbia, mainly because there is a set amount they are allowed to charge for their services. For a very reasonable fee of 75.00 (additional 25.00 for rehearsal), plus a mileage fee of .49cents a km, a BC marriage commissioner will perform your wedding ceremony. You can search for marriage commissioners in BC here

After reading through various recommendations on the "west coast" section of the weddingbells forum, we decided to give Bob Buzza a call. He had our date free, and asked for our pertinent information. He mailed us a basic wedding ceremony booklet, but encouraged us to create our own unique ceremony. For no extra fee, he meets with the couple before the wedding day to discuss their wishes, and perform a mock run through of the ceremony; he also encourages questions by email and/or phone.

Bob was a pleasure to speak with over the phone. He was warm and friendly, and made me feel comfortable right away; all good attributes to have in a marriage commissioner. He chuckled when he learned Huxley is our "best dog" and prefers when a couple creates a wedding ceremony unique to their personalities. All in all, he sounds like a great guy. I'll let you know more once we meet with him in person in the spring!

For further information on how to get married in BC, take a peek at the Vital Statistics of BC website.

If you prefer a more hands on marriage commissioner, and are willing to pay a bit more money for the experience, I've heard a multitude of good things about Reverend Brent Sheppard. The Rev falls under the second category of religious representatives. He is not governed by the province of BC, and therefor sets his own fees (350.00 + travel fee for ceremony and rehearsal), however, I've never heard a single complaint about the cost. If we had it in the budget, I would definitely have given him a call! Find out more at his website: Hey Rev

Less than a year...feeling the pressure!

I can't believe it's September already! I always feel so old when I say that, but honestly, the time is just flying by.

When we first became engaged, we had 25 months to plan for the wedding. We chose a long engagement for a number of reasons. My brother was getting married in the summer of 2008 in Ontario, so we wanted to give everyone a bit of a break from all the wedding fever; we needed some time to save money, and I wanted plenty of time to plan. It was almost frustrating being that far out from the wedding, as I felt like there wasn't much we could do so far in advance.

I'd review the 12+ section of various online wedding checklists, and other than finalizing a budget, creating a guestlist, and searching for a venue, there wasn't much else listed! We even managed to finish a few "to dos" from the 9-12 month section.

Now, in what seems like the blink of an eye, we've jumped from 25 months to 10 months, and there are things on our checklist that aren't complete! And from what I understand, it's only going to get worse from here on in.

image source

Although I am feeling a bit of pressure, I am not feeling stressed. Something I know is a direct result of our choice to have a long engagement. Instead of searching for venues and photographers and competing with other brides for our date, we're working on invitation design, and centerpiece ideas.

So why the pressure? Because that 6-9 month checklist section is fast approaching, and there are a bunch of items on there that need to get done! Fall is upon us, Christmas is right around the corner, and before we know it, we'll be 6 months out from the wedding. When the planning started, the idea of getting married seemed so surreal. We were forever commenting "we have plenty of time" to browse magazines, read wedding blogs, collect photo references, and search out vendors; something we can't really say anymore ;)

Truth be told, I don't mind the pressure so much, as it means we're getting that much closer to the moment when my boyfriend/fiance finally becomes my husband! And that much closer to the HONEYMOON!! Can I get a woot woot!!

If the dress fits....ACCESSORIZE IT!!

Good news! All the finger crossing seems to have worked, because the dress, that I ordered from Frocks for my brother's wedding, actually fit. Huzzah!

Next up - accessories!

Since the dress is black, my plan is to accesorize with a hint of summery colour. I wasn't sure which colour, until I came across these babies on the canadian zappos site:

Lillie by RSVP

Aren't they purrrrdy? I've never ordered shoes off the internet before, so I'm a bit concerned about the fit, but I guess I'll know soon enough. Estimated delivery date: Friday, August 1st. Come to mamma little turquoise shoes!!

I was hoping to find a satin clutch to match; alas, time is limited, as are turquoise clutches. So, next best thing? Buy a black clutch; add turquoise accoutrement (ribbon, broach, clip on earring: something of that nature).

I saw this snappy little number (in black) at payless for 24.95. The silver ring is just begging for fluttering ribbons, and I like that it's a larger purse masquerading as a clutch. Bigger IS better!
I came across this darling black satin hobo bag, while searching Payless.com for a picture of the previous clutch. I don't recall seeing it at my local store, but perhaps I'll check again, just to be sure. I LOVE that it is satin. I love that it has a handle. I love a large turquoise bow attached to one side of the handle.


As far as jewellery is concerned, I'd love to make something like this bracelet with a similar earring set:

beautiful bracelet by fresh collections found here

I'm ashamed to admit that I have no idea if I have beads like this; I haven't looked at my bead stash in a (really long) while! Regardless, I know of a few fantastic bead stores in Toronto, so I *could* pick up the beads to make it. Big ups toronto shopping!

And to complete the ensemble, a little something something to pin into my updo?

These bobby pins made from recycled materials by etsy seller, foundling, are stunning

Gorgeous vintage inspired cameo barrettes by etsy seller Green Thumb Designs

Love the chartreuse beading added to the polymer clay flower on this barrette, by etsy seller, strandedtreasures

Love the mixture of teals and blues in this feather and flower barrette by etsy seller begurple

Doesn't this headscarf by etsy seller mixbaby seem very Audrey Hepburn?

Unfortunately, it's getting a bit late to start ordering items from etsy, however I'm feeling rather inspired after browsing through all the amazing artist's work on etsy. Hopefully, I'll be able to create something of my own!

Daddy's Little Girl

I am looking forward to a myriad of experiences on our wedding day. The ceremony, the pictures, the food, the first dance, the party, the love, the laughter, the joy; I could go on.

I must admit though, there's one particular aspect of the day that I've been looking forward to for a very long time. This little girl can't wait to dance with her daddy! Ultimately, I'll be leaving the choice of song to my dad's discretion, but there are so many beautiful one's out there, I thought I'd share a few.


Loudon Wainright III - Daughter


Heartland - I Loved Her First


Tim McGraw - My Little Girl


Martina McBride - In My Daughter's Eyes


The Beatles - In My Life


Natalie Merchant - Kind and Generous

So many more!!

Green Shoe, Part Two.

I'm happy to report, the conditioning has worked! My friends are on the hunt for green shoes :)

In fact, one was visiting relatives in Raleigh, NC a short time ago, and actually took pictures for me when she came across a few prospects at nine west.






I ruled out the shoe on the left immediately as it's suede and a bit too "john deer" for my liking.

The shoe in the middle is ok, but the style doesn't really mesh with my dress, and it just doesn't grab me, ya know? I want something a bit more, how do zey say.... glamourous?

I was however, drawn to the shoe on the right. An expeditious search of the nine west website, told me her name is "luxious" and she's on sale right now for 49.99. Not too shabby.

The only problem is, the green colour on their website looks nothing like the green colour in the picture my friend took.

I really want the green to be closer to chartreuse in colour. So a bit more yellowy then the green in the shoe pic above. And although they're cute, they aren't "quite" right.

But it's nice to know there ARE options out there!!

iPlay wedding

If you're a bride planning a wedding, you've probably heard all about iPod weddings by now.

Let me throw a quick explanation out there, for those that have no idea what I'm blathering on about. In this day and age of music technology, many couples are choosing to forgo the hired DJ in favour of creating their own personal play lists using iTunes. The music is then played through speakers hooked up to an iPod, or in our case, a laptop.

Obviously, as with any sort of technology, there is the possibility of things going horribly wrong. Mrs Tulip of weddingbee fame can contest to this. However, we are a fairly tech savvy couple, and have numerous friends that are as well. I feel confident that we will be able to pull it off without a problem.

*touches wood*

Best of all, it's super budget friendly, and we have complete control over the songs that are played during the reception. No macarena dance for us thankyouverymuch!

pic found here

In the meantime, we need to get crackin on our "must play" list! If you have any suggestions, please throw them out there. I'll leave you with a few possibilities to start things off.

You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon


Cecilia - Simon and Garfunkle


You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate


The way you make me feel - MJ

Some of the youtubes aren't the actual video's, but you get the picture ;)

*dances around livingroom*

in one year...

...I'll be married! Wow, it seems hard to believe that in one year, our friends and family will come together to help us celebrate our marriage.

Wooohooooo!

*happy dance*

Love you babe!