Vancouver Vows

Your eyes lit up the room when I gave you flowers.

2010-05-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

Next up on my list of vendor reviews - our florist, otherwise known as The Flowerbox!

Wedding planning and sticker shock are like best buds. Where one goes, the other is likely to follow. Kind of like that annoying younger sibling that insisted on tagging along while you and your 7th grade BFF spied on your 18 year old neighbour, aka beau-hunk extraordinaire. I'm kidding, I'm kidding - I love my little brother (now)!

Anyways, where I'm going with this is that I thought I was prepared for the sticker shock of wedding planning. And for the most part, I really was. I didn't bat an eye at the estimated cost of photography, invitations, catering, formal wear, party rentals, limousines - none of it surprised me.

That is, until I started researching the cost of flowers. My newly engaged self (aka pre floral research) happily thumbed through magazine after magazine of the most gorgeous floral designs. So much inspiration to be found, and oh the spectacular things that could be done with flowers. And sure there are "expensive flowers" but I didn't need those! Heck - just look at what people are doing with carnations these days! Right?

Hah! Consider me shocked. Now, I must point out that I understand the reason behind the cost of flowers, I really do. But I guess I never truly *thought* about the cost of florals until I started googling. Oh I googled alright, and gaggled and gurgled. Gah. Unfortunately, there wasn't room in our budget for big, lush, fancy flowers designs. And so it came to pass that our centrepieces would be DIY potted florals and ferns. I even considered arranging the bouquets and boutonnieres myself - until my bridesmaids lovingly ~~shoved~~ nudged me back from the brink of "DIY on your wedding day will make you insane" insanity.
Thus, it was with an embarrassingly (at least to my mind) meagre budget that I called to set up appointments with 3 different florists in Vancouver. And so, armed with all the clipped out, printed off, and dog earred inspirational photos of wild and woodsy floral designs, I carefully explained my ideas to each of the florists in turn.

The first florist was very sweet, albeit a wee bit scatterbrained. She was fairly new to the business, and although she had grand ideas, her proposal came in at more than double the budget I had given her. Strike One.

The second florist had been in the biz for a long time, and wasn't shy to admit it. Although her proposal was more in keeping with my modest budget, she just didn't *get* my ideas. When I showed her the photos of the wild looking bouquets, she said "oh yes, we can do something like that, only less messy and wild - you don't want it looking like that". Um what? Were you not just listening to me?!? Did I not just say that's exactly what I wanted? Aaaaand Strike Two.

By this point, I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to get the look I wanted for the price I could afford. And then I met with Sacha Thompson from The Flowerbox She chatted with me about my ideas, looked at my (piles of) pictures, and quickly put my worries to rest. She would use local, in season greenery and flowers. She'd make sure to incorporate my colours, and she'd do it at a price that would fit my budget.

Hoooooooooooooooomerun!

Without further ado - check out her amazing work!

(All photos taken by the amazing Gracci and Rico Pelaez)

Aren't they gorgeous? They were exactly what I wanted. Woodsy, textured, green, wild, yellow. I'm pretty sure the first thing that came out of my mouth when I saw them was [high pitched girly squeal] ahmaigad they're peeeeeeeeeeeeeerfect [/high pitched girly squeal]

A+++++ for The Flowerbox. I would work with them again in a heartbeat. Half a heart beat even!

PS. Bonus points for anyone who knows the song that this blog title refers to!

We're Glossy!

2010-05-30T17:09:00.001-07:00

Considering all the money I've spent on glossy wedding magazines, its very surreal knowing that our wedding is now featured in one of them! I know I hinted at the possibility before, but with the issue out on the stands, I can now confirm that we are indeed featured in the Spring/Summer 2010 edition of Real Weddings Magazine (local Vancouver wedding magazine)!

Needless to say, I was thrilled. All our blood, sweat, and tears (no exaggeration - all three occurred during the planning process) finally paid off. Yes, I know what you're thinking. Really? Did you really do all that work to get yourself featured in a wedding magazine? Wasn't the beautiful wedding day itself pay off enough? Well of course it was. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

But, really, let's be honest. Those details? You know the ones. The details that you slaved night and day over? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you may be horrified to discover that they can go overlooked on the big day (yes ladies it's true). So who is it that notices the details? Let's see, how about event planners, magazine editors, photographers, and of course the brides themselves. Scanning the magazines, blogs, and websites for inspiration. Oooing and aaaaaahing over each and every delicious detail. That's who notices. And now that many of the details of our wedding are laid out on two gloriously glossy pages of Real Weddings Magazine, I must admit, it feels goooooooooooooood.

And of course - kudos to our photographers - Rico and Gracci Pelaez! Without their amazing photography, we would never have been selected. I can't say enough good things about their work. Instead - you should just visit their blog and see for yourself.

Real Weddings doesn't have their current issue online yet. As soon as they do - I'll link to it ;) In the meantime - this is what the cover looks like! They chose some really nice colours to go with this issue don't you think? heh

And now - on to vendor reviews with plenty of photos!

Diamond Alumni Centre - Can't Get Much Better!

2010-02-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

Where to begin? Let's see - how about WOW.

Simply put - our experience with the Diamond Alumni Centre was nothing short of amazing.

From the remarkable price, to the amazing food to the beautiful view and the courteous staff - there is nothing I can find fault with. Vivian Tan, the coordinator of the venue, was always quick to answer my (many) emails. Regardless of whether it was a year out or two weeks out from our wedding, she was there with an answer to my questions. She was flexible and accommodating, making time to see us when we popped in (on 3 different occasions) before the wedding, and allowing us to store our decor in the backroom the day before and the day after the wedding (as we were short on set up /strike down time)!

Let's see, what else....oh yes the FOOD! We decided to go with the buffet option rather than a seated dinner. Now I know when one hears buffet they worry that the food will be overcooked, dried out, and cold, but folks, I'm here to set you straight. Our buffet food was hot, moist, and taaaaaaaasty! I had more than one person comment on how delicious the food was, and although I didn't get a chance to try everything, I can tell you that what I did try was superb! The buffet option we went with was called Centennial Park and included choice of 4 reception style platters, choice of hors d'oeurves, fresh rolls, various types of salads, choice of 2 entrees, a chef attended carving station, potato, rice, and veggie sides, a dessert selection and of course coffee and tea to top the night off!

We really wanted an open bar at the wedding, but were a bit worried about breaking the ~~bank~~ budget with premium liquors and drinks. When we mentioned our concerns to Vivian, she encouraged us to choose the liquors covered by the host bar, and allow the guests to pay for anything above and beyond our choices. Also, we were able to limit the number of wine bottles served with dinner, and were NOT required to pay for any bottle left unopened. Again - such flexibility!

The staff were courteous and polite during our ceremony and reception. Any questions or concerns were answered right away. The evening manager allowed my parents to pick up the decor the next day (instead of trucking it all home at 1am in the morning), and the friendly bartender offered us a bottle of wine to take home to celebrate our first night as a married couple!

The room itself is beautiful even without any decor! The palette is neutral and works with most colour schemes. The main room is large and open with glass windows for a back wall, high wood-beamed ceilings, a cozy fireplace, a dance floor, two open air patios and a stately wooden bar. We had 65 people attend our wedding, so we decided to have both the ceremony and reception in the large main room, but if your wedding is larger, they have a second room downstairs where you can have the ceremony if you want everything in one location.

Originally, we were wondering how to add lighting to the wooden beams, but were thrilled to discover the twinkle lights already wrapped around each one! That saved us so much time, and created such a lovely glowing backdrop for pictures. And of course, the other gorgeous backdrop is the spectacular view of the north shore mountains all along the back of the venue. Honestly, if people weren't talking about how good the food was - they were commenting on how beautiful the location was!

As you can tell by my review - we were thrilled with our venue choice! Now I've been asked to list both the pro's and con's of the venue, and I think I've summed up the pro's rather nicely.

As far as cons go, there are really very few of them. Some may not even consider the following as "cons" as for the most part, they weren't deal breakers or anything. And they did not impact our wedding day one bit. But for the sake of being complete - I'll give you my short list:

1. Distance to location from Vancouver: If most of your guests are driving from Vancouver proper, it is a bit of a drive to get to the location. For those guests that wish to drink but don't have a designated driver, there is the option of taking a taxi (approximately $40.00 to central vancouver area) or transit (some of your guests may not want to be on the metro in their finery) or a combination of both. If it's within your budget, you may consider hiring a couple drivers and some vans to take your guests home at the end of the night. This con really was not a big deal to us. Our guests didn't complain about the distance of the location, and a shared cab between 4 guests really wasn't too costly.

2. Minimum spend for Saturday/Sunday booking. At the time that we booked the wedding, there was a minimum spend clause of 5000.00 on saturdays, and 4000.00 on sundays. But really, if you plan on having more than 80 people at your wedding, it shouldn't be an issue. If however, you plan on having a smaller wedding, it may be difficult to meet the minimum spend. Again - this really wasn't a huge con for us. We decided to go with a Friday night, and since most of our guests were from out of town, they planned on making at least a long weekend out of the event anyways. For local guests that had to work on friday, we had a 5pm ceremony, so most only needed to take off from work a few hours early.

3. Circular dinner tables. Originally, I liked the idea of using rectangular tables for the dinner, but unfortunately, there weren't enough to go around for the seating tables when combined with the buffet, gift, cake and guest book tables. We ended up going with the round dinner tables (seated 8 guests comfortably but could fit as many as 10) and in the end I was very happy with the results, so once again, this wasn't a huge con for us.

4. Linen Selection. The linens for the circular dinner tables were 90" squares - which means they don't drop all the way to the floor completely. The four tips of the square do, but the space between is about 2 feet off the ground. Also - they only have choice of white or black overlays. So if you want anything fancier - you may need to add linen rentals to your budget. I didn't like the idea of using white on white linens, along with white dishes. It just felt a bit too bland and cold for the style we were tring to achieve. But I didn't want to spend scads of money on linen rentals either. In the end we decided to have 90" square tablecloths made from burlap! Sounds weird right? It worked PERFECTLY! They added colour, and texture, and looked great as a backdrop to our centrepieces . AND they were only $5.75 per tablecloth to have them made! That's cheaper than renting tablecloths and we got to take them home after! Speaking of which.....aAnyone want to buy some burlap tablecloths? heh

5. Chairs - the chairs are comfortable to sit in, however the backs are black in colour while the padded areas are in neutral tones. At first I was worried they might detract from our overall look (oh no, black doesn't "go" with our woodsy, foresty, chartreuse/mango decor whatever will we do?!?). Seriously - they were fine. Sure we could have opted to rent chair covers, but once again, we didn't have the budget for it, and the covers we saw (during a pre-wedding visit), sat a little funny on the backs of the chairs; they weren't bad, but they weren't perfect either. I decided to let this one go - and I am so glad I did. Honestly - the only people noticing the non-matching chairs are you, and maaaaaybe a friend in the midst of planning her own wedding (so yeah - basically just YOU) ;)

Aaaaaaaaand that about sums it up! Anything else you want to know? Leave me a comment with your question and I'll be happy to answer 'em for ya!

Here are some of our professional photos that best capture the beauty of the DAC:

Notable Photos!

2010-02-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let you know that the reviews I'll be posting over the next couple months will not include many wedding photos.

Why you ask?

Well it's NOT because I enjoy torturing you, and it's certainly NOT because we don't have any, and it's definitely NOT because we aren't happy with our photographers (the exact opposite actually)!

You see - our amazingly wonderful photographers have submitted our wedding to REAL WEDDINGS magazine! And since it's a publication (duh), they obviously prefer that the weddings they choose have NOT been previously published - which includes putting photos on public blogs. Not that I have this massive following (or any following for that matter) but I don't want to go ruining any chance we have (no matter how slight it might be) you understand right?

So I'll post what I can, but you may have to wait a month or two for more detailed photos!

Happily Ever After...

2010-02-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

Wow - I wonder if there's an award for longest time span between posts? If there is, I think I should nominate myself! I have no idea how other blogging brides are able to keep their posts up to date in those last months before the wedding - all I can say is KUDOS to them! I had to give up that ghost long ago. And in the end, I'm glad I did as I was able to hold on to some semblance of my sanity.

Since the dust has settled, and things are "back to normal" for the English household - I figured - why not write about our wedding after the fact? I've had a few comments asking for our experiences with various vendors and venues - so let's do it!

Over the next few months, I'll review each of our vendors in turn, starting with the venue as that seems to be where most of the interest is. But make sure you check back for the rest, as we had the most amazing vendors - really they went above and beyond!

But before I get into the reviews, let me start out by saying:

Our wedding was the most wonderful, amazing, love filled, joyful, beautifully fantastic day of our lives (so far)!! Seriously - everything seemed to go off without a hitch. I was so worried about everything "falling into place" and in the end, everything worked out perfectly. When asked by other brides what I would have done differently after the fact, I honestly had to think about it. There were only a few very minor things that I might have done differently - but they didn't affect our enjoyment of the day one bit!

More to come...but for now I'll leave you with this photo teaser from our amazing photographers - Pelaez Photography:

Making it Official

2008-09-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

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!!

2008-07-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-07-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-07-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

...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!

A New Frock!

2008-07-14T17:36:00.001-07:00

Ok, so this post is not related to MY wedding, however, it is wedding related. I need a new dress for my brother's wedding. On the surface, this does not seem like a difficult task. I love to shop; I love to shop for clothes; I love to have a good reason to shop for clothes!

The wedding in question, is not for another month. Plenty of time to find a simple, tea length, semi formal dress right?

Wrong. Oh so woefully wrong.

The fashion gods are mocking me my friends. This season, everything is either too short (hello underwear), too clingy (hello belly button), too patterned (hello cringing photographer), or too casual (hello jersey with pockets).

Oh I know what you're thinking.....

"Tcha! It can't be THAT difficult. She obviously hasn't looked hard enough"

Why don't I run you through the list of he stores I've visited so far, hmm?

RW & Co
le Chateau
Suzy Sheir
Smart Set
Jacob
Plum
BCBG
Reitmans
Sears
The Bay
Narcissist
Barefoot Contessa
Spank
Fairweathers
Bryans
Tenth and Proper
Plenty
Zara
H&M
Frocks

From that entire list of stores, I found ONE dress that fits my prerequisites. This lovely little number is exactly what I'm looking for! She's called "Meg" and she's the creation of Lynn Lugo

Isn't she perfect? So Audrey Hepburn. So simple. So elegant. So what's the problem?

They had a size 8 and a size 14. I felt a bit like Goldilocks (minus the 3 bears). This one is tooooo big. This one is tooooo small. Where's the one that's just right?

Apparently, it's at the Lynn Lugo warehouse! Well actually, thanks to the amazing staff at frocks, its en route to their store. So why am I still in a tizzy? The dress is a size 10. And although the size 8 zipped up when I tried it on, it was ridiculously tight around the midriff. So much so, that I'm afraid the 10 may still be uncomfortably tight. However, the staff and owners of frocks think otherwise. In fact, they're so convinced it will fit, they didn't require that I pay for the dress up front (as is their normal policy since they are first and foremost a sample store, and must pay to bring the dress in to their store). Isn't that sweet of them?

I really hope they're right. Like really really really HOPE they're right. I am afraid to admit how much I hope they're right. I'm worried, I'm setting myself up for a huge disappointment.

*crosses fingers*

Did I mention it's in black shantung silk? Every girl needs a simple black party dress.

[mantra] please fit, please fit, please fit, please fit, please fit, please fit, please fit, please fit [/mantra]

Green shoes? Really?!?

2008-07-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

The title of this blog post tends to be the response I hear most often when mentioning my predilection for wearing a nice bright pair of chartreuse coloured shoes on my wedding day.

Even my mom said "well, you've always liked doing things your own way"! But to be perfectly honest, the idea is not a new one, and it's not even all that unique anymore. Wearing colourful shoes on your wedding day is becoming quite the trend!

Check out these photos:

Oh fuschia, when DON'T you look good?

Orange would be beautiful at a fall wedding...

If red was one of my colours, I would definitely incorporate it into my shoes - so sexy!! pic found here

Love the turquoise peep toe with cute bow combo!

I covet these chartreuse Christian Louboutin beauties. pic by cheri pearl photography

But these next lovelies, well....they shall be filed under "my true heart's desire" Such gorgeous shoes. The PERFECT shade of green. Seriously, I think I might swoon. Too bad my bank account feels the same way after sneaking a peek at the price tag. Oh Christian Louboutin, why do you tease me so?

pic by marie labbancz photography

My budget cringes at the mere mention of Monsieur Louboutin. Thus my search for a more palatable alternative begins. And you know what? Finding the perfect pair of chartreuse peep toe shoes is not as easy as it sounds. Crazy I know! If you happen to come across a pair, please do let me know :)

'do inspiration

2008-06-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

Now that I have my dress, I've started ruminating on other aspects of the big day; namely, shoes and hair dos! More on shoes to come; let's chat about hair today!

My first inclination was all up, curls in the back, hair sprayed to heck. Something elegant, and coiffed. But as I started searching through coiffed updo pictures, I realized that I don't really like that look for me. I wear my hair in a slicked-back pony tail so often these days, that it wouldn't be all that special really.

A gorgeous 'do, just not for me!

The finger wave along the side is fantastic, but a bit too coiffed for the look I want.

With this in mind, I started to contemplate a looser, more romantic updo. A definite possibility, however I'm hesitant to ask for a "loose" updo, lest it become a fallen out down-do before the night is through! Love the soft curls, and the half up do feel, even though all the hair is pulled up.

During my search for a romantic and loose updo, I came across romantic and curly HALF up dos. Surprisingly, I liked them. Even more surprisingly, I liked them A LOT. Just the soft romantic look I'm going for.

And last, but certainly not least, the full down do. I adore the vintage, 40's glamour feel of the do below! I'm just not sure that my hair could ever look that smooooooth. I guess that's to be expected when you live on the we(s)t coast, and you have somewhat curly hair to begin with.

I haven't booked a hair trial yet, but I will be getting my hair done for my brother's wedding in August. Maybe I'll try one of the hairstyles above, just to see how it pans out. Now which one to choose?

Fuchsia POP!

2008-06-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

I'm still deliberating over the colour palette for the wedding. Well actually, it's just one colour I'm deliberating over. The chocolate brown, moss green, chartreuse, and champagne colours are all a definite go.

But what to use for POP?

Fuchsia looks pretty poppin' next the the other four colours doesn't it?

Hmm, I wonder if I can sneak it in without making things too pink and girly. Not that I mind pink and girly, but the fiance might have something to say about it. Personally, I've always thought fuchsia is kind of a sexy colour. Especially when it's used sparingly ;)

And the winner is....

2008-06-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

ME!

I entered a contest at weddingbee to win the ultimate portable wedding planner by Mindy Weiss, and I won!!! Bee contacted me this evening to ask for my address so she can ship it to me. Ahhhh so exciting!

How gorgeous is this?

"Twenty-five sections help you to organize and plan your wedding day: Contacts, Location, Wedding Schedule, Registry, Budget, Attendants, Guest List, Invitations, Wedding Dress, Tuxedo, Rehearsal, Ceremony, Showers, Favors, Menu, Wedding Cake, Flowers, Music, Photography & Videography, Hair & Makeup, Floor Plan, Rentals, Transportation, Honeymoon. Plastic clear sleeves allow you to hold loose items like fabric swatches, business cards, or magazine clips. A large notepad allows you to jot down your notes or questions with vendors. Each divider contains hints, tips and checklists to help you organize efficiently"

Watch out organization - here I come!

*sits and waits patiently for the mailman*

I'll get you my pretty....and I'll bring you home too!

2008-06-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

I never expected to find her so soon, or to fall so head over heels in love with her. I was dubious of other women's stories. How is it that you just know? Did you really cry when you found her?

I am a believer now.

As I watched her from across the crowded room, I knew. I tried to restrain my excitement, for fear of disappointment, but it was too late. She must be mine. She WILL be mine. She is mine.

And that is the story of how my wedding dress came to me.

That's right; after visiting 6 different wedding boutiques, and climbing in and out of, what felt like, a billion dresses, I finally found THE ONE. I never thought it would happen to me. There were tears in my eyes!

I am delirious. I am exhilarated. I am euphoric. I am a woman with a wedding dress.

I would post pictures, but my fiancé puts in an occasional appearance around here, and I haven't figured out how to hide part of the post yet, so if you're dying to see what it looks like, just leave me a message and I'll send you a pic....or ten :)

And I've left the best news for last; the dress was a sample dress! So not only did I bring it home right after I bought it, but I received an AMAZING deal on it!

I think my face might split in two from all this grinning.

I'd like to give a big shout out to all the lovely ladies in my life that helped me shop for this beauty. Mom, Jane, Liz, Sarah, Payal, and Michelle - you guys are the best!!

As an aside note, did you know that the word pulchritudinous describes something that is characterized by great physical beauty and appeal? I just found that out today.

My dress is pulchritudinous.

More from Pelaez Photography...

2008-06-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

Rico and Gracci have so many beautiful images on their blog, here are a few more just because!!

WOW!!!! How amazing are their photos. Needless to say we are super excited to have them shoot our big day, and our engagement photos too!

Behind the lens...

2008-06-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

We don't have many pictures of the two of us together; lots of one or the other, but very few of both. I guess that's what happens when you make photography a hobby. Expensive cameras, with expensive lenses are very difficult to hand over to a random stranger so they can take a quick pic of you and your significant other!

You know what else is difficult when you dig photography as much as we do? Finding a wedding photographer whose work you LOVE for a price you can AFFORD. But after much searching, I'm happy to report that we did just that :)

In fact, I'm way more than HAPPY, I'm elated, overjoyed, and ecstatic about our photographers!! Ok, ok, I'll stop babbling and start introducing...

Pelaez Photography

Rico and Gracci are a husband and wife team whose pictures really do speak for themselves!

to be continued....

Hi(atus)

2008-06-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

Why hello there. It's been a while hasn't it? In my defense, there wasn't a whole lot of wedding stuffs going on for a while, and I was getting ready to head to Toronto to visit my best gals. Now I have all sorts of fun things to report, and with the wedding just over a year away...well there'll be lots more to talk about!

So without further ado, we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming :)

More than 2 colours?

2008-04-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

These days, instead of just one or two main colours for wedding decor, brides are choosing a whole wedding palette, which, I'll admit, I'm pretty stoked about. I like the idea of having a couple colours that are the main focus, but I also like having different shades of those two colours, plus a few complementary colours, and one colour that adds POP!

It's not easy coming up with a colour palette. But photoshop and a fiance that works wonders in photoshop definitely make the job easier! So far, this is what I've come up with.

I'm going to keep working on it, as I'm not quite sold on it. Will post more as I make 'em. In the meantime, let me know what you think!

Huxedo!

2008-03-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

Nope, that's not a spelling mistake. Huxley, is going to be a part of our wedding!

We weren't sure if he'd be allowed, but the event coordinator at the DAC just emailed us and gave us the go ahead to include him. YAY!

If you're wondering why we need permission to include someone in the ceremony, it's because that "someone" happens to be a 2 year old Chocolate Labrador Retriever and the "apple of our eye".

Our whole lives pretty much revolve around him, and so of course, it only seems natural to include him in our big day! We're not sure how he'll be involved, but we've got lots of time to figure that out, and start his "lessons. We'll have to find him a spiffy outfit to wear, hence the Huxedo!

Some recent pics of our big baby:

Aren't I a handsome fella?

Walking on a tree.

Throw the stick dad!

Big jump!

My favorite little creek in Robert Burnaby Park.

One more for good measure.

Spring has sprung!

Oh Heavenly Day...

2008-03-17T23:09:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not a "Pachabel's Canon in D" kinda girl. With that in mind, I've been searching for the "perfect" song to walk down the aisle to.

Heavenly Day by Patti Griffen is currently a top runner. The only problem is, I kinda like it as a first dance song too! haha

PS. This was the best sounding youtube version, so please excuse the "inspirational" pictures that go along with it ;)

10K is how long?

2008-03-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

As part of Project Sexxxy, my plan is to sign up for the 10K Sun Run with the BC Cancer Agency team. As a prelude to this crazy idea, I've been running about 3 times a week, slowly building up my endurance, in the hopes that I'll be ready for 10K by April.

So why haven't I signed up yet? Well, until this morning, I had some doubt as to whether I'd be capable of running 10k without keeling over . I didn't want to embarrass myself by passing out half way through the race! So far, I've been doing 4 and 5k runs, but that's HALF of what I'll have to do in April.

So this morning, I sucked it up, and decided to see what 10k felt like. The burnaby conservation area is made up of a network of paths, with one in particular that winds all the way around it for a total of 11k. I had lots of time, a dog that needed exercise, and the motivation to see just how LONG 10k really was.

And guess what? I DID IT! Well, essentially I did. I stopped to walk for about 0.5K due to some very nasty blisters (the rest of my body felt fantastic). I soon discovered that the blisters hurt less if I ran, and finished off the rest of the run. It felt soooooo good! Not once did I get a stitch, or a cramp or a "oh my god I can't breathe" moment, and I wasn't even dead at the end of it all. Obviously I had a good running day, and I know that doesn't happen all the time, but at least I know what 10k looks and feels like, and I know I am capable!

As you can tell, I'm pretty proud of myself today :)

(picture of burnaby lake from here )

My first ballet.

2008-03-02T18:54:00.001-08:00

My friend Johanna and I went to see the Royal Winnipeg Ballet perform Sleeping Beauty at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre this past friday; it was simply amazing. I've never seen a ballet in theatre before (on tv sure, but never in the theatre) and I am so glad that I finally had the chance.

(all photos by David Cooper)

The dancing was just breath taking! They tell the story with such graceful movements, it was honestly incredible. I can't wait for the next one!!

And best of all, there was a wedding in the final act. Hmmmm bridesmaids in tutu's with frilly lace on their bums, I kinda like it! Just kidding girls, although filly underwear is always fun ;)

Thanks for the awesome experience Johanna!

PS. There were so many little girls in the audience wearing tutu's and sporting rosettes in their hair - so cute!

The 'moon!

2008-03-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

Planning our wedding (aka big awesome party) is ever so exciting for a crafty, DIY, decor-loving lady like myself. Unfortunately choosing colours, creating centrepieces, and mocking up invitations just doesn't hold the same allure for my fiance!

Planning the honeymoon, on the other hand, is definitely something BOTH of us are looking forward to. The hardest part so far has been deciding where we want to go! There are so many possibilities; it's hard to know where to start.

In anticipation of making such a "difficult decision", I signed up for a year's subscription to Conde Nast Traveller hoping it might help to narrow things down. We received our first magazine in the mail on Thursday, aaaaand I think it might actually make the decision HARDER!!

So what do we know? Well, we'll want a chance to relax and spend some much needed time alone after all the stress of the wedding, so a somewhat secluded beach would be nice for at least a couple days. However, we're not really the "laze around sunning ourselves for 10 days straight" kind of people either, so we'd like the opportunity to explore our surroundings, do some adventuring, and learn about the local culture. That still doesn't really narrow things down too much does it?

Let's see, what else? As I mentioned, learning about the local culture is important to us, so we'd like the chance to visit an area that has a very different culture from our own (being the relatively untravelled Canadians that we are, this still doesn't narrow things down much!).

Since it's our honeymoon, we'd also like to luxe it up a bit, because really, when else will we get the opportunity to do so? I suppose after we win the lottery, but that's not bound to happen for another year or two yet ;) So, what do I mean by luxe?

Mmmmmmm private plunge pools,

or private hot tubs,
or rooms with just 3 walls and amazing views,

or outdoor showers,
or stunning decor,
or overwater buras!and of course, the requisite spa.

(photo credits: from top to bottom, maravu resort - fiji, ladera resort - st.lucia, kona village resort - hawaii, ladera resort - st lucia, next 3 photos from likuliku resort - fiji, last photo from Tabcon Grand Spa resort in Costa Rica)

Seriously, I can spend ALL DAY gazing at the picture galleries of luxurious resorts on far away islands!! However, many of the above pictures are from very high end resorts, which means, with our budget, we'd only get to stay for a week (if that). We'd like to spend 2-3 weeks in wedded bliss if possible, so while we want luxury, we also want bang for our buck! Thus if we can spend a few nights living in the lap of luxury while pretending to be Chace and Muffy from Beverly Hills, and the rest of the time like the regular folks we are it would be ideal!

As far as adventures go, we're fairly open to anything. From tennis to jetskis, ziplining to jungle hiking, volcano climbing to snorkeling, hang gliding to cave spelunking...you get the picture!

So to recap we would like to honeymoon in a place that:

is somewhat secluded
is not too touristy
has a beautiful warm beach
has the opportunity for varied adventures
has a different culture than our own
has both luxury and not-quite-luxury hotel options
offers relaxing spa packages
is affordable enough to allow us 2-3 weeks vacation

And the top 3 spots (for this week) are:

1. Costa Rica
2. St. Lucia
3. Europe (yes we realize this is rather broad and vague - heh).

Stay tuned for more from our 'moon planning adventures!

Hanging Things

2008-02-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

I haven't honed in on any specifics for the decor at the reception yet. Partially because we're a solid 17 months out from the date, but mainly because I have a million great ideas, all of which are fantastic in their own right!

Recently, I've become obsessed with things that hang; hanging lanterns, hanging terrariums, hanging lights, hanging vases, hanging candles, hanging ornaments, and even hanging crystals.

Paper lanterns are a relatively inexpensive way to create colourful impact during the day, and a dramatic lighting effect during the evening. They come in a million different hues, so you're sure to find one that matches perfectly with your wedding colours. And if you're lucky, you might find a recently betrothed bride looking to dump her paper lantern inventory at a deeply discounted price ;)

Chartreuse - the perfect green!

A lovely tent set up!

Strings of paper lanterns at night.

Not too long ago, Miss Canary blogged about Yvonne's beautiful Knot Bio on weddingbee.

(above photo taken by john and joseph photography)

I knew from the moment I saw them, that I must have the hanging glass vases and candle holders. The resulting inner conversation went something like this:

Oh wow, those hanging ornaments are gorgeous. I could do so many awesome things with those. I could hang single fern leaves, moss, bear grass, orchids, candles.... *daydreams* Oh wait a minute. They're blown glass ornaments!! They are going to be waaaaaaaaay to expensive for your budget, so don't go and get your hopes up. But daaaaaaamn they're REALLY nice.... *daydreams* Hmmmm......it can't hurt to just check the price, because then you'll know for sure. Go on, check CB2 and see how much they are. *searches* Less than 5 bucks each!!!! LESS THAN 5 DOLLARS!! I can afford that! At least a few anyways. I WILL DO IT. I will order them online. Oh crap, they're glass, I wonder how well they'll ship? Better yet, do they even ship to Canada? *searches* Yes, yes they do. Waaahoooo! *happy dance*

Orchids in the hanging glass vases from the CB2 site
(have I mentioned how much I love orchids?!?)

And of course, once an obsession begins, one must alway add more fuel to the fire! Aren't these hanging crystals gorgeous? I think I'll start hitting up antique stores and garage sales for old crystal chandelier pieces.

photo of Erin Cole's wedding taken by Leigh Miller

Any other hanging ideas out there?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

Sooooo, I've been the worst blogger in the whole wide world. But to be honest, this stuff is HARD to keep up with. haha. I have so many ideas for blog posts, but so little time to actually post them properly (with pictures and links and such)!!

And of course, I have an excuse - my charger for my laptop is on the fritz. It's not a good excuse, but it's valid one(in my opinion) because it means I can't post while relaxing in front of the TV! It also means I have to use patrick's computer to post and well, he uses his computer too!

But don't worry, I'm ordering one tomorrow. And all will be well in the world of blogging soon there after!

In the meantime HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!!

A little something for those who are pro valentine's:

And a little something for those who are anti valentine's:

xo
amy

Tiny Terrariums for Everyone!

2008-01-25T00:14:00.000-08:00

I don't even know if we're going to have favours at our wedding. It just seems like such a waste of money for something that will either be eaten or tossed out! A waste of money that could be better used elsewhere in our budget or a waste of money that could be donated towards a charity.

Then again, would it really be a waste of money if we were to give out TINY TERRARIUMS?!?

How cool is that? And do they not fit PERFECTLY with our outdoorsy theme?

I found the DIY over at cottageliving a while back and I just can't stop thinking about them. I realize they would be a HUGE undertaking, and I'd probably want to stab my eyes out by the end of it. But how amazing would they look on all the tables? Heck, we could even incorporate them into the decor as part of our centrepieces or something.

I mean, I have LOTS of time right? I could do a practice run to see how easy it is, and to see if they last longer than 2 days before dying right? RIGHT?

Or perhaps I'm just crazy?

:)

Bridal Elegance

2008-01-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

While I was home for the holidays in December, I went dress shopping for the first time, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience!

Like many women, I wanted my mom to be with me the first time I tried on wedding gowns. When I suggested the possibility of a dress shopping excursion during my trip home, she mentioned a bridal store that she had recently visited with my soon-to-be sister in law. Thus my first dress shopping appointment was made!

I'll admit I was feeling a bit nervous prior to my appointment. I'd heard horror stories about haughty and intimidating bridal consultants and hoity-toity bridal stores with all sorts of rules and regulations. Of course, I should have known I'd have nothing to worry about.

From the moment I stepped foot in Bridal Elegance, Wilma and her daughter Tara made me feel right at home. Tara looked through my favorite dress clippings and asked me some questions to get an idea of the look and feel I was hoping to achieve. She also asked if I was open to suggestions, which I assured her I was. Together we picked out 8 or 9 dresses to try on!

When Tara heard me complain about the crappy (and only) strapless bra I'd brought, she offered a much nicer one for my use. As an added touch, they also provide a slip for the bashful bride who is unaccustomed to the help of a "lady in waiting" in the change room ;)

Tara was the perfect consultant; she listened, she made suggestions, she was honest, she was courteous and she was friendly. She spent over two hours with me, tying up dresses, doing up buttons, carrying trains, and watching me primp in front of the mirror. All this while knowing that my wedding was more than 1.5 years away and would be held in Vancouver.

So for all the southwestern ontario brides out there in the midst of the wedding dress hunt, make sure you give Bridal Elegance a call. Beautiful dresses, affordable prices, and friendly consultants, equal a really fun dress shopping experience!

So what kinds of dresses did I try on? I didn't take any pics while in the dresses, but I managed to find a few of the professional photos online from the designer websites.

Ah the trumpet style dress! The above is from the Alfred Sung collection. I don't think it's the exact one I tried on, but it's very similar. A very beautiful dress; unfortunately, it didn't really work on my figure. I am somewhat straight waisted, without a whole lot of hip, thus all the wrong areas were emphasized!

Again, this dress with the cute little cap sleeves is from the San Patrick collection. Again, it's not the exact one I tried on, but I did try on a couple that were similar in styling. I really wanted to find a dress that wasn't strapless - just to be a little unique from EVERY other dress on the market these days. Alas, the sleeves ended up making my shoulders look like that of a football player. And I don't actually have broad shoulders to begin with!

This lovely number from the Jasmine collection was the 3rd runner up on my list! The full pleated bottom and the unusual detailing around the natural waist were both quite unique; the drop waist was to dye for - perfect for my body type! Unfortunately the seam around the drop waist between the beaded area and the pleated area just didn't sit right on me.

This is another dress from the Alfred Sung collection, and the 2nd runner up that day. I really loved this little A line dress with a slight empire waist and a beautiful lace overlay. The sample size was a tad bit too small on me, so it was hard to get a really good idea of what it would look like when properly fitted. And as the consultant pointed out, the next size up might be too big, thus requiring a whole wackload of alterations (aka more money).

And again, another from the Alfred Sung collection. The lace and sequined overlay on this dress were gorgeous. But the ruching at the top, and the visible line across the midline just didn't do it for me. Also, the sequins sewn under the arm area felt like they would wreak havoc if worn for longer than half an hour at a time!

I definitely learned a few things from my first excursion!

1. Finding a non strapless dress that looks good on me might be a difficult feat.
2. Empire waist is not always a good thing.
3. As beautiful as the trumpet style dress is, it's not really suited to my body type.
4. Dresses with a bit more beading and a bit more train are not a bad thing.
5. Sweetheart necklines look good on me.

Can't wait for the next dress outting!

SAVE THE DATE!!

2008-01-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

The event coordinator from the DAC booked our date - so it's OFFICIAL!!

Everyone mark Friday July 17, 2009!!!! on your calendars and get ready for a party - BC styles!!

Lucky for me, my fiance is free that day, so it looks like we're getting MARRIED!

:)

PS. Happy Birthday Babe!!

One step closer...

2008-01-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

The coordinator from the DAC is sending us the paperwork for the venue contract. Our day is open, so as soon as we send back the signed paperwork with the deposit, it's ours.

I can not WAIT to finally have a set date.

Almost there....

*giggles*

Project SeXXXy

2008-01-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

Like many brides-to-be, I want to look beautiful on my wedding day! Now I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and beauty is a state of mind and so on and such forth, but for me personally, beauty also means feeling good about myself.

I don't know about you, but I tend to feel good about myself when I am working out and following a nutritious healthy diet; something I haven't excelled at lately. In fact, if I were to grade myself, I'd probably award a D- for my lack lustre efforts. Breakfasting on chocolate for the win!! Admittedly, I knew the month of December was going to be a complete bust, so I willingly threw myself off the wagon with a simultaneous promise of climbing back on come the New Year.

And so with the New Year began a New Assignment. A little task I like to call PROJECT SEXXXY! Unfortunately I can't take credit for such a fabulous title, and I can't give credit where credit is due as I don't know where I first read the caption. I know it was among the many wedding blogs I browse, and I know it was a term used by a bride-to-be with similar wedding day aspirations, but darned if I can find it now. So if I borrowed this title from you, please do let me know and I'll be sure to give you credit!

In the past I have done weight watchers with great success. But after I reached my goal weight, I had a very hard time sticking with the plan. They claim it's a lifestyle change, and that you CAN eat what you want, but that's just a big load of crap, at least in my case. Because eating two pounds of chocolate for breakfast does NOT fit into their plan!

Now I know that eating two pounds of chocolate doesn't really fit into any healthy lifestyle plan, but I realized after a while, that weight watchers created a bit of an unhealthy obsessive compulsive reaction to the foods I ate. Because of that, the passion for continuing the "lifestyle change" waned. The pounds crept back on. The "good feelings" started to slip.

And then I got engaged! Hurray, I'm getting married. Oh no, everyone will be looking at me. Hurray I'm going on a honeymoon. Oh no, I have to wear a bathing suit. Yada yada yada. But at least now I have a goal. And I'm starting very early so I can ease into a new routine. And this time it WILL become a lifestyle change.

I'm actually feeling pretty confident about Project Sexxxy and the idea of a lifestyle change. Mainly because I have a fabulous friend who has offered to be my personal trainer in return for knitting and snowboarding lessons (I'm totoally getting the better deal out of this bargain)! Michelle is a competitive cyclist, but in the past has also been a competitive runner, rower, and triathlon athlete. Truly inspiring!

Needless to say, she knows her stuff, and her motivational skills are next to none ;) She is EXACTLY what I need to get my butt in gear.

So what are we doing and what are my goals? At the moment, I'm starting off slowly. Mainly cardio and some weight training. Running, exercise tapes, hiking, biking, and snowboarding. Changing it up to keep it interesting is key! My long term goals are fairly simple - look my absolute best for the wedding and more importantly the HONEYMOON. I really want to have a nicely toned back and arms for the wedding dress, and a trim tummy and legs for the honeymoon bikini. Short term goals include running a 10k race, incorporating more fruits and veggies into my diet, and "looking good" for my brother's wedding in August 2008.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.....

(I'll keep ya updated)

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T20:35:00.001-08:00

Wow, I can't believe the Christmas holidays are over and the New Year has begun!! We had a wonderful holiday full of (way too much) good food, lots of family fun, amazing snowboarding runs, and a whole wack load of crafty goodness :)

I flew home to visit my family over the second weekend of December, which meant lots of quality time spent with my adorable niece! She was full of smiles for her aunty and was *this* close to walking. I'm sure I'll hear about her first steps any day now.

Of course, right before I left for home, I was crafting away like a mad woman, trying to complete a zillion christmas presents! I was a little concerned that I was in over my head, but all was complete in the nick of time ;)

The cute little fun fur cape and pyjama outfit I made for Jordyn turned out really well. I'll have to post a pic of it later. I was able to finish my mom's scarf (while out there - AFTER I wrapped it up and gave it to her - haha) and my (soon to be) sister in law's wrist warmers (on the plane ride home) as well. And thanks to a lovely Micheal's gift certificate, and an amazing New Years sale at Fabricland, I am completely stocked up on yarn and fabric once again.

Both Patrick and I completed our Christmas shopping a whole week in advance (completely UNHEARD of) and had a devil of a time waiting until Christmas eve to open all the presents under the tree! On the 24th we drove out to Chilliwack to pick up our Christmas dinner. During the drive we found some fresh cut wood being sold along the side of the road. Sooooo much cheaper than buying it at the local gas store; and much nicer smelling than a firelog from the local grocery store.

We had Patrick's brother and girlfriend over for dinner on Christmas eve, and Christmas Day. And ooooooooh did we EAT! Baked brie, matzo ball soup, sausage rolls, broccoli soup, roast goose, roast potatoes, wild rice, steamed carrots, and chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!!

Luckily our holidays weren't all about eating and sitting around. We made sure to fit some snowboarding and hiking in there too! I tested out my new snowboarding boots (bestest present evar) which are amazing; good bye heel slip! Helloooooo control. So much so, that I'm actually working on a new trick - buttering! And of course, we've been out with the pup every day hiking up a storm at Robert Burnaby Park and Buntzen Lake.

New Years was a quiet but fun affair. We stayed in, ordered Thai food, drank some Yuki Hotaru (only the best saki ever) and played board game after board game! Good times. Not much completed on the wedding front, but with a year and a half to go, I've still got plenty of time.

We'll be booking the venue this week; finally we'll have a date for everyone. The next big vendor to book will be the photographer. More about that soon!

Friday's child is loving and giving...

2007-11-26T17:51:00.000-08:00

I generally don't put too much thought into the days of the week; other than counting how many are left until the weekend. However, after learning that our beloved venue has a minimum food spend of 5000.00 on saturdays and 4000.00 on sundays, you can bet I started giving more thought to the days of the week.

I've always felt that the optimal day for throwing big bashes is saturday. No rushing home from work to get ready before going out or having people over; a chance to catch up on some much needed sleep the morning of; plenty of time to prepare for the evenings festivities, and a whole day dedicated to recovery following the big event.

Thus, when planning our wedding, I was naturally inclined to choosing a SATURDAY. No need for guests to take an extra day off. Lots of time to prepare the venue. Rehearsal dinners on friday, and a full day of recovery on sunday (or a very hung over flight home).

Unfortunately, most brides tend to agree. Thus the idea of "minimum spends" was born. If your big bash can't step up to the plate, someone else (with a bigger bank account and a larger guestlist) is gonna steal your date!

Although 5000.00 seems like alot of money, if one has 100 guests, it's actually not a difficult number to meet. Even with 80 guests it's doable. But anything less and it starts to get dicey. And since 75% of our guest list is from out of town, it's hard to know how many will actually be able to come. I really hate the idea of adding random guests to our list just so we can make that minimum spend. And so it looks as though we'll be holding our big event on a friday night instead.

We'll most likely have the ceremony at 6pm, with a cocktail hour immeadiately following. Dinner at 7:30-8:00ish and reception from 9:30pm to 1:00am. Sounds reasonable right?

I really only have two concerns:

1. The timing might be a bit tight for those guests that are in town and working. Some might take the afternoon off but not everyone can afford that luxury. Plus it may coincide with "rush hour". Of course, Vancouver doesn't really know the meaning of "rush hour" but traffic is traffic, and nobody likes getting caught up in it!

2. Out of town guests will need to take at least one day off of work if not two. Although the wedding will be friday evening, I am guessing that some guests will want to fly in on the thursday instead of the friday morning. Again, not everyone has the luxury. Of course, since the wedding is friday night, those same guests have two whole days AFTER the wedding to enjoy all that vancouver has to offer.

In the end, it seems as though Friday is really our best option. We could go with a Sunday I suppose, as we'll most likely meet the 4000.00 minimum food spend. But I'm worried that people will leave early so they're ready for work or their flight the next morning. And those that are out of town will still have to take the Monday off work anyways. And friday nights just seem more glamourous and party like! Friday it is.

I realize the following poem is about the day of the week that a child is born on, but really now, why couldn't it be about the day of the week that two "children" decide to get married on? I mean, it says right there that Friday's child is loving and giving. Seems pretty fitting to me :)

Mondays child is fair of face,
Tuesdays child is full of grace,
Wednesdays child is full of woe,
Thursdays child has far to go,
Fridays child is loving and giving,
Saturdays child works hard for his living,
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

I also discovered that I was actually born on a Friday. Coincidence? I think NOT! Then again, Patrick was born on a tuesday. Hmmmm. Oh wait, his parents were married on a friday! Yet another good reason for us to get married on a friday :)

What do y'all think? Friday work for you?

The ONE - aka the Diamond Alumni Centre!

2007-11-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

After a couple of disappointing venue visits, I'll admit, my hopes of finding THE venue were a wee bit deflated. Happily, our trip to Queen's park seemed to turn our luck around. After discovering the lovely and affordable Centennial Lodge venue, we decided to try our luck with the venue gods one more time. So I made an appointment to take a peek at the Diamond Alumni Centre on SFU's burnaby campus.

I was a little concerned that it would resemble a university cafeteria rather than a wedding venue, but my concerns were completely unfounded. What a gorgeous venue with a gorgeous view and a gorgeous rental price. In a word, it was PERFECT!!

Tucked away on Burnaby Mountain, the Diamond Alumnic Centre (DAC) boasts a "panoramic view of sea and mountains" and a "dining experience like no other". We haven't had a chance to test their food, but if it's anything like the promised view, it will be nothing short of spectacular!
Upon first entering the venue, we literally walked down the stairs, across the room, and directly out onto the balcony; the view was that striking. The first words out of Patrick's mouth were "let's have the wedding here" and the first pictures he took are from the balcony :) The top two pictures above are looking left and right when standing on the balcony. Bottom left is the front entrance of the venue, and bottom right is the incredible view of the North Shore mountains.

They were busy setting up the room for a wedding, but the event coordinator, Vivian, told us to come right in and take a look around. After wandering around for a few minutes, Vivian gave us a bit of a tour and answered all my questions.
Sorry for the small size of the pictures; we took so many and the room is quite large, so it's easier to put them all together. As you can see, the style of the venue fits perfectly with our "outside in" theme. The combination of stone fireplace, wood beams, and full wall of windows provides the elegant, woodsy, organic, lush foliage feel we're going for.

Vivan showed us the room downstairs as well. I doubt we'll need this area, but it's included in the rental fee so we figured we'd better take a look.

And I saved the best for last; the rental fee for the room is only $320.00 for the day. That's right, I said 320.00!!! Of course, that price is with the discounted alumni rental fee, but even the full price of $850.00 is very reasonable for such a beautiful venue. The rental costs include the upper and lower rooms, tables, chairs, white linens, glasses, dishes, flatware, podium and microphone (have to bring in own sound system for dancing) and bartender(s).

As with any venue, there are a couple caveats. They aren't major issues and so we're prepared to deal with them considering how much we adore the venue.

Caveat # 1.
The room is large. I'm not talking warehouse large, but if we end up with only 50 guests, it may be feel a bit too roomy (more to come on the difficulties of estimating the number of guests a bit later). To counteract this concern, Vivian suggested we set up the ceremony/cocktail hour at one end of the room, and the reception/dinner/dancing at the other. Which seemed like a reasonable suggestion.

Now I know I said my preference is to have an outdoor ceremony, but it's hard to argue with a $320.00 rental fee for the entire wedding, never mind the relief of putting aside all weather related stress associated with having an outdoor ceremony on the we(s)t coast.

Caveat # 2
Can't bring in our own catering and booze (with exception of wine which is subject to an 8.00/bottle corkage fee). Normally, this would be a concern, but their catering menu is reasonably priced and very tasty looking. I'll report back on taste after attending their annual Christmas buffet in December.

Alcohol will be more expensive, but at least we can save a bit by bringing in less costly wines. And if they supply and serve the beverages, its one less thing I have to worry about during those last few weeks before the big day!

Caveat # 3.
The venue has a minimum spend (includes, rental fee, food, and non alcoholic beverages) of $5000.00 on saturday and $4000 on sunday. With such a large percentage of our guests flying in from out of town, it's hard to estimate our final attendance numbers. We'd need at least 70 guests to make the saturday minimum, and I'm not sure we can guarantee that many guests! Lucky for us, there isn't a minimum spend on fridays; which leads me to...

Caveat # 4.
The venue is only available from 3:30pm until 1am on fridays because they are open for lunch on weekdays. Thus, if we want to avoid worrying about meeting a minimum spend, we'd have to be comfortable with having our wedding on a friday evening. Something like: ceremony at 5pm, cocktails 5:30pm to 7:30pm, dinner 7:30pm to 9:30pm, dancing 9:30 to 1am. We actually prefer friday evening over a sunday, but will touch on that topic in the next post.

Caveat # 5.
Photo ops. SFU campus is a bit of a concrete jungle (as are many university campuses). Although a good photographer will find excellent photo opportunities no matter where they are, we may need to travel elsewhere for the specific photo ops I have in mind. If we have an evening wedding, we could have the photos taken before the ceremony thus wasting less time traveling, and spending more time celebrating with our guests.

Although there are 5 "caveats" listed above, none are "deal breakers" (at least in our eyes anyways). Add to that the amazing scenery and the equally amazing rental fee and well, we just can't go wrong!! So we're pretty sure this is the one. Of course, things can change, and since we can't actually book the venue for our 2009 date until the New Year, it's possible that we might find something else.

But I doubt it ;)

UPDATE: See my review of the Diamond Alumni Centre here!

Venue Three - Centennial Lodge

2007-11-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

After traipsing around from island to island, we soon realized that the logistics of using an island venue for our wedding might be more headache than its worth! As such, we decided to try our luck a bit closer to home.

Which is how we found ourselves exploring Queen's Park in New Westminster on a beautiful Saturday morning this past October.

Centennial Lodge is in the northern corner of the park, overlooking McBride Blvd, across from the band shell and very close to Rainbow Playland! I wasn't sure what to expect before visiting the venue, as I hadn't heard or even read much about it; considering the very affordable rental costs, I was prepared for the worst. Which made my surprise at finding such a lovely venue, all the more sweet.

The lodge works very well with our "outside in" theme, with it's rustic beams in a deep chocolaty brown, and it's huge double fireplace made entirely of stone. The mountains can be seen peeking up behind the trees from the window and balcony view, and the park itself has many many picture opportunities.

Better yet, the cost for renting the facility for the entire day (from 11am until 1am) is only $667.00, and one can bring in their own caterer and booze! The ceremony can be performed in the same area with tables and chairs switched around before dinner. Or there is a lovely rose garden a little way down the path that can be rented for another $199.00 with chairs and staff setup or $95.00 without.

The rental fee for the lodge includes tables (round or rectangle) and chairs, a portable bar, and use of the kitchen for warming food. Decorating happens the morning of as the venue is usually booked out the night before - especially in the busy summer months.

There are only a couple drawbacks about this venue. The park itself is a "community park" and as such, is more than likely very busy during the summer months. It was fairly quiet when we were there, but it was the second weekend in October. Considering the proximity of the venue to the picnic pavillions, playland, petting zoo, and kids water park, I think it's safe to assume that the area will be teeming with dogs, children, parents, and tourists on a warm sunny Saturday afternoon in July.

Although the view of the mountains is present, it's hard to miss the much closer view of the traffic on McBride Blvd.

And finally, the ability to bring in one's own caterer and booze is a bit of a double edged sword; money can be saved, but with savings comes much planning. More vendors to meet and hire, more items to rent (linens, dish ware, and flatware,sound system), and more things to organize! More planning equals more stress. So it's a bit of a trade off!

Needless to say, we were pretty excited about this venue possibility. It met almost all of our wants, and it is very affordably priced. We were pretty much sold, until we went to visit the last venue on the list - The Diamond Alumni Centre at SFU. Stay tuned...for the one! Or at least we believe it's the one for now! heh

Our two favorite colours: Green and Brown!

2007-10-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

We've checked out two new venue's since my last post, and both are definitely contenders. There might be an end to this venue search yet!!

*pauses to listen to the collective sigh of relief*

But before I go into great detail about the last two venues, I want to talk a bit about our "theme" and colours. I think it will help to have an idea of the overall feel we're going for when reviewing the last two venue options.

We essentially want to bring the outdoors in! Picture dark wood grains, lush foliage, natural forests, overgrown gardens, and organic textures, all with just a hint of simple modern elegance. Little hard to picture? Thought it might be, so here's an inspiration board that I came up with last night.

Obviously, we can't use every idea on there, but it provides the overall feel that we're aiming for. A "feel" that banquet halls with crazy carpets just won't blend with!

Here are a few more pictures that I came across recently.

Love love love these pomander balls for ceremony decorations. And from what I understand they aren't too difficult as a DIY. Mums are a fairly long lasting flower too, so I could probably make them a few days before the wedding. I'm sure I'll be loving the last minute crafting - heh.

I like the combination of grasses, twigs, flowers and woodgrain in the above centrepiece.

I adore the pods and bamboo arrangement above. Simple, yet striking. Having said that, I'd probably include a bit of greenery :)

Found these lovely invites on the knot's "green and brown" bio list (from mauidjenn's bio). I love the colours, textures, and overall feel they give. Even the pebbles are a nice added touch.

This cake is absolutely gorgeous!! I can only imagine how large the price tag is on it. Probably a wee bit beyond our budget.

This cake has a similar feel but on a smaller scale. Perhaps its a bit more budget friendly!

These bouquets are all gorgeous. I love how they are somewhat different from the norm; a bit more "wild" compared to the perfect posey!

The ring!

2007-10-21T22:53:00.001-07:00

I had always thought I wanted a diamond solitaire with a platinum or white gold band for my engagement ring; something similar to the lucida from tiffany:

Nothing quite that big or even close to that expense of course. The thought of owning a ring that costs over $10 000.00 gives me heart palpitations just thinking about it. My mom will confirm that my track record for losing things is quite extraordinary! As a child, the phrase "Amy Ellen, you'd lose your head if it wasn't attached!" was a daily statement at my house. What can I say, I was a bit scatterbrained back then, and I'm still a bit scatterbrained now, much to my fiancee's chagrin!

So prior to our engagment, during the few instances when our discussions turned to engagement rings, I briefly mentioned my style preferences; but what I really made sure to emphasize were my cost preferences; as in don't you dare spend a lot of money on the ring!! Not only was I concerned about losing a 10 000.00 dollar ring, but I could think of a million other, more important things, that we could use the money on.

During these brief discussions, Patrick made it clear to me that he didn't want to buy me a "boring solitaire" and that he wanted to find something more unique. In the end, I knew I'd love anything he picked out, as it would be special for that very reason!

I present, my engagement ring. It's designed for Tiffany & Co. by the famous architect Frank Gehry; best known for his design of the Guggenheim Museum in Spain, The Dancing House in Prague, and - closer to home - the recent renovations of the Art Gallery of Ontario. This ring is from his Torque collection, and is absolutely amazing. It sparkles like nobody's business, so much so, that I've been caught gazing at it under the halogen lighting in odd places like the elevator, or the bathroom! And it's a comforting feeling knowing that my fiancee knows me better than I even know myself. I love my ring, and not just because he picked it out. I love it because it is unique, and it is so me!

And a final pic of the ring on my finger:

And before anyone asks, yes there is a band to match! I actually have three choices, rose gold, yellow gold, and white gold. I think I'll stick with the white ;)

Next stop, Thetis Island: Overbury Farm Resort

2007-10-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

In my search for the perfect venue, I came across a lovely lodge resort on one of the lesser known southern gulf islands. With a population of approximately 350 people, Thetis Island can be reached by ferry from Chemainus on Vancouver Island, or by seaplane. Entirely privately owned, with the exception of the public roads and a few miles of public shoreline, Thetis is mainly forested, with some farmlands, meadows and wetlands. Island life is relaxed, rural, peaceful and crime-free.

Overbury Farm Resort is a scenic 10 minute walk, or a quick 2 minute drive from the ferry terminal. A popular family resort in the summer, Overbury only rents the premises for weddings during the "off-season". Depending on the year, this generally means that the last two weekends in July, and the first 3 weekends in August are unavailable. Of course, this still leaves plenty of opportunities for a beautiful outdoor summer wedding.

We enjoyed a quiet night at Overbury Farm resort this past September; while doing so, we took some pictures and spent some time discussing wedding related business with the one of the owners: Arlene.
One of the fabulous things about booking your wedding at Overbury Farm Resort is that everything from the decor to the flowers to the cake to the food is included in the rental of the resort, allowing you to spend less time stressing over the details. Pictured to the right is a view of the back of the main house with all the beautiful gardens.

Rental costs include personal use of the grounds for the entire weekend, use of the glass enclosed pavillion for the reception (tables, chairs, stereo system, dance floor, and bar tender), catering (food, dishes, white linens, cutlery, and glasses), flowers, decor, ceremony set up, tent set up for cocktail hour, and use of the large room in the main house for bridal party preparation. We were quoted an approximate rental price of 6000.00 - a very reasonable price for all that's listed above! Of course, this was only an estimate. If one has grand ideas with regards to the decor or the type of flower, or a specialty menu, the price may alter accordingly.

It was love at first site when we took our first tour of the glass enclosed pavillion. Regardless of whether the doors are open or closed, one always feels close to the outdoors in this gorgeous reception area.

The floors are heated which provides warmth on a chilly night, and the doors can be left open to the cool breezes on a warm summer evening.

As you can see, the venue is quite large and could easily seat 100 people or more. With such a stunning view of the water and the vancouver island shoreline, and the high beamed ceilings of the pavillion, there really isn't much need for further accoutrement!

There were a couple settings for the ceremony, the most obvious being the back lawn with it's white arbour and healthy green grass. The other option was to have the vows on the beach.

There are two main items that are not included in the cost of the rental: alcohol, and accomodations. For most, the knowledge that one can buy and bring their own booze is an added bonus as this is a huge budget saver. Overbury has a "serving it right" certificate, so a bartender is included in the rental costs.

The accomodations range from 165.00 a night for 4 people (extra adult = 35.00 each) for the crescent point cottages, Dad's house, and the Batchelor's Quarters, and 100.00 a night for 4 people (extra adult = 25.00) for the summer cottages. Altogether they can accomdate 60 people overnight. If you plan on inviting more than 60 people, there are a number of B&B's on the island that can help house the rest of your guests.

The crescent point cottages are modern, clean, winterized, and self sufficient. They have a full kitchen with the necessary pots, pans, dishes, cutlery, and cooking items, a bathroom with shower and towels, wrap around deck, and BBQ. All four cottages are situated close together and make for a great gathering area for a rehearsal dinner on the friday night.

Dad's house also has a kitchen, and bathroom with shower. Although it's a bit more rustic in appearance, it's no less lacking in charm.

The summer cottages are definitely the most rustic out of the bunch.

They were very clean, and each had an enclosed porch with a double bed, which would make for a cool evening sleep on a hot summer's night.

No running water, and no electricity mean outhouses and a shared shower house for these four cottages.

Overbury Farm Resort is an outstanding setting for a wedding. The resort is a family owned, family run operation, and it's obvious they take great pride in all they have to offer. Their "all in one" pricing is very reasonable, and provided a stress free option for planning one's wedding. Arlene seemed very open to suggestions and ideas, and was happy to show us pictures of previous weddings, and letters from happy couples that had married at Overbury. Although we very much wanted this venue for our "dream weekend wedding extravaganza", there were a few things that just didn't work for us.

*With over 75% of our guests flying in from out of town, the logistics of getting everyone to the island, and placing everyone in appropriate cottages seemed a bit overwhelming. Making all these arrangements would most definitely add to the stress of wedding planning.

*Finding vendors such as photographers, hairstylists, and make-up artists who will travel to the venue might prove to be costly, or may limit our choices if we went with those nearby

*4 cottages without electriciy and water means 20 sleeping spots without electricity and water. On a normal cottage weekend, this probably wouldn't bother most of my friends and family, but on a wedding weekend, it seems a wee bit lacking.

*Relying on two different ferries to transport ourselves, our cars, our parents, the bridal party, the alcohol, the extra decor, the rehearsal food, the tuxes and gowns, and any other necessary items is not a good idea. Our trip back from Thetis island on sunday afternoon took 8 hours due to crazy line-ups at the departure bay terminal - and that was in September (we're planning our wedding for July)!

*The "all in one" rental price would seriously limit my personal invovlement in the decoration/flowers/party department. For most, this is probably a good thing; for a crafty DIY person like me, not so much!

*The peaceful island life lacks a bit of oomph! Again, with so many of our guests coming from out of town, we want a few more options for site seeing, recreation, and shopping. not that thetis island is devoid of any of these things, just somewhat lacking compared to vancouver or victoria.

And so we keep looking!

Venue one: Rivers Crossing Retreat

2007-10-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

We began the search for our venue immediately after almost after becoming engaged. I'd always heard that once the venue is booked, everything else falls magically into place - hah! We'll see about that.

First stop - The Treehouse at Rivers Crossing Retreat

This is a new venue on vancouver island, situated in the Highlands, appoximately 15 minutes north west of downtown Victoria. It's a truly gorgeous area with great potential.

They currently have one main reception area called 'the treehouse' which holds approximately 60-70 guests for a sit down dinner. There is also a room on the second floor that could be used for a kids room, dance floor, cocktail hour, etc. They are also in the midst of building a second, slightly larger, reception venue with multi-tiered decks extending down to the amphitheatre, which is the perfect setting for an outdoor ceremony, and pictures. They were still working on the landscaping at the time of our visit, but again, there was tremendous potential there (photo courtesy of Rivers Crossing Retreat website)

Sandy, the event coordinator, was very pleasant and accommodating; she answered all of our questions, and seemed open to suggestions and requests. We were quoted $1200.00 for rental of the treehouse and amphitheatre for the day, which seemed very reasonable considering the beautiful setting and the future potential of the venue.

The inside of the treehouse is very warm and inviting. The wood floors and beams are made of trees from the property, and the decor has a slight tuscany
feel with rich colours of rust, gold, and sage. You can see the sound system to the left of the picture, and the lovely stone fireplace on the right. (Note: the kid's toys are not part of the decor, they are currently running a daycare out of the building during the week until the daycare centre is built).

You can see the kitchen through the pass through window in the pic on the left. Its also a good pic of the faux paint finish on the walls that gives it that hint of 'tuscany'.

These bench seats run all the way around the room and are a good representation of the colours used throughout the venue. Perfect for a fall wedding!

We didn't take any pictures of the outside (or so it seems after searching endlessly through our picture files) but it was definitely a beautiful setting, you'll just have to take my word on it. And as they complete the buildings and landscaping, it will only become more beautiful.

What worked for us:
*reasonable rental rates
*beautiful setting
*new venue
*friendly event coordinator
*beautiful setting
*caterer of our choice
*bring in our own booze

What didn't work for us:
*a bit far from downtown Victoria
*only one hotel nearby and very expensive
*no view of the mountains (lots of trees)
*venue was a bit too small for our liking
*booking on "potential" is a bit of a risk
*colours of treehouse don't work with our theme
*beast to choose vendors from victoria (which means many more ferry trips for us)

In our situation, the con's outweighed the pros, but I have no doubt that this venue will be the perfect spot for many happy couples out there.

Next venue: Overbury Farm Resort on Thetis Island

The great venue search of 2007.

2007-10-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing we're not planning on getting hitched until the summer of 2009, because otherwise, the search for the "perfect" venue would be much less enjoyable and much more stressful.

We've looked at two different options so far, and while both had great potential, neither were quite right. We have very specific criteria, and a somewhat limited budget, which makes things slightly complicated, though not impossible.

Our dream venue is one that incorporates a lodge, cabin, or barn like setting with high wood beams, wood floors, and large open spaces; Rustic, but not too rustic, thus it works well with our outdoorsy, woodsy, organic, casual yet modern green and brown theme. There's an area nearby for an outdoor ceremony which incorporates mountains, lakes, and trees as the backdrop. The venue is easy for our guests to get to (75% are from out of town), and there are inexpensive rooms in the form of cabins or lodges for our guests to stay in. Once our guests have arrived, there is no need for them to go elsewhere as there will be much to see and do in the general vicinity.

Of course, there are dream criteria, and then there are realistic criteria. Realistically speaking...

We must have:
*ceremony and reception in same location
*area for outdoor ceremony
*personal choice of caterer
*option to bring in our own booze
*area for pictures nearby
*rental until 1am at earliest

We would like to have:
*lodge like feel
*view of moutains
*park or woodsy type setting
*colours that work with green and brown theme
*proximity to central vancouver
*venue booked with our party only

We do not want:
*banquet hall with crazy carpet
*old school 80's decor
*to have our ceremony inside
*to share our venue with other weddings

And all of this must fit within our budget (food/booze/venue under $5000)

It doesn't seem like a tall order to fill on paper, but the actual search has been somewhat disheartening. It seems like everything that falls into "dream venue" category is too expensive, or too far away. And many are too far outside the city limits. There are still a few left on our list of possibilities. And so, my plan is to discuss each venue; the pros, the cons, the costs, the pics, the good the bad and the ugly.

Stay tuned for the first venue we visited: Rivers Crossing Retreat on Vancouver Island.

My organization inspiration.

2007-10-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

I'd like to think I'm an organized person.

I've created a clippings notebook with sections for each of the various wedding categories: dress, decor, flowers, bridesmaids, stationary, cake etc. This way all of my magazine inspiration is in one place.

I've created an excel spreadsheet for the guest list, and a question list for venue visits.

I've created a budget, and I plan on sticking to it!

I even bought a PDA, just so I could have everything organized and always with me!

So I thought I was doing pretty good, until I saw this post by Miss Canary of weddingbee . All I can say is WOW!! Talk about inspiring. And the best part is, she's provided the templates for each of her organizational creations, which I will definitely be using!

Thank you Miss Canary, for sharing and for being so amazingly organized. I bow down to thee.

The engagement story.

2007-10-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

Most couples planning a wedding have an engagement story with which they regale their friends and family. We are no different; and so without further ado, here is our sweet story, which was more than 6 years in the making!

If you'd told me 7 years ago that the extremely young, extremely arrogant, and extremely cute tribe poster, known to me back then as "KiFe", would one day become my fiancée, I probably would have laughed and told you not to quit your day job. I mean, come on! He's the same age as my brother! That's way too weird to even consider...right? So how the heck did we end up engaged and planning a wedding you ask?

After the disintegration of a long term relationship in the fall of 2000, a close friend suggested I keep things light. You know, set my sights on just having fun for a while! Earlier that same year, I'd actually met KiFe, during a trip to playdium with a group of friends. He was much cuter in person, and much less arrogant too! In fact he had a wonderful sense of humour and was very easy to talk to. My intentions were completely innocent at the time as I was an "attached woman", but after the break-up all bets were off!

Recalling my friends sage advice, Patrick and I started hanging out, but not before clearly stating our intentions: we are only having fun; we are NOT getting serious; we are not ready for a relationship. Un huh. Riiiiiiight. And well, you know the rest of the story!

Fast forward 7 years to June 2007. We'd been talking on and off, about getting married, for some time; but there always seemed to be something getting in the way. He wasn't working. We were moving. I wasn't working. We were moving. I was going back to school. We were moving. We had very little money. We were moving; you get the idea. At this point, I'd pretty much resigned myself to idea of "living in sin" for the rest our lives!

Thus, upon arriving at Horseshoe bay, after a weekend of camping on the sunshine coast with my girl guide unit (yes, I'm a girl guide leader and I love it), I really didn't suspect a thing. It had been raining and cold all weekend, and although the girls behaved wonderfully, the leaders were exhausted by the time the ferry arrived at the terminal.

I called Patrick earlier that afternoon, to let him know that we made our ferry and that I would be at the terminal in less than an hour. Looking back now, I recall thinking that he sounded fairly giddy and happy on the phone. He mentioned how much he missed me (as did I) and asked if I was up for doing anything after I got back. He suggested shopping (which really should have tipped me off right there, he NEVER suggests shopping - haha), and being the shopaholic that I am, I jumped at the suggestion. Thus he stealthily discovered my mood and energy level and determined that the proposal was a go. And still, I never suspected a thing.

After Patrick and Huxley (our dog) met me at the ferry terminal, and all the girls were handed off to their happy and relaxed parents, we jumped into our little mazda 3 to head home. On the way, Patrick asked if I would mind stopping at Cypress Mountain to take some pictures. Seeing as this is not unusual request, suspicions were still not aroused. We parked at the second lookout point, and since it was rather deserted, let the dog out for a run. Patrick set up his camera on the tripod and asked me to stand in front of it so he could set the focus. Again, this is not an unusual request, and so I stood in front of the camera completely unaware of his plan.

Now you would think that because the day was extremely cloudy and because there was absolutely nothing to see, I might have thought something was up, but I didn't. I was just happy to be home, happy to be wandering around on a mountain with my pup and boyfriend, and happy at the idea of having a shower and sleeping in my own bed that night! Thus proposals and engagements were the last thing on my mind. That is, of course, until Patrick came to stand with me in front of the camera, and called out: "Huxley, come over here while I ask your mom to marry me!" He said some lovely mushy things, most of which I can not remember due to my shocked but happy state, and of course, I said YES!

"GET OUT!!"

"Awwwww..."

"It's beautiful!!"

"smoooooooooch"

"I'm engaged!"

Aren't we cute? For the whole sequence click here!

The requisite wedding blog!

2007-10-09T00:31:00.000-07:00

Well, since everybody's doing it, it must be a good idea right? RIGHT?!?

I'm sure most will roll their eyes at the thought of yet another rambling blog describing all the minute details of some random couple's "unique" wedding. Believe me, I was one of those "eye rollers" not too long ago!

But after the exhilarating elation of our engagement began to ebb (oh the alliteration; my english teacher would be so proud) and the realization of the daunting task that lay ahead began to overwhelm, I soon discovered just how useful the blogs of my fellow brides-to-be really were!

If you're anything like me, the first thing you do when faced with such a challenge is research, research, research (aka: surfing the web). And so it was during my first few days of "research" that I discovered the wonderful world of wedding blogs. Useful, not just in their ability to update family and friends of the blogger, but to provide information to other couples in the process of planning a wedding. Whether you share the same geographical location, the same budget constraints, the same family stories, or the same love for DIY projects, you really can learn a lot from the millions of other brides that have been in your exact same position not too long ago!

Which leads me here, making my first wedding blog post; hoping, not only to keep my family and friends abreast of our wedding plans, but to help other brides by sharing my own experiences during this exciting and often overwhelming time!

PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!