From Sparkly To Spouse

The End of an Era

2009-10-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

I've been hinting away for a few weeks now, both on this blog and on Twitter, and the time has finally come to bid my adieu to Blogger. I am so very excited to finally share with you my new blog home base: A Little Coffee with my Cream and Sugar. You'll also notice that I have changed my name on Twitter to @alittlecoffee.

I do hope you will visit my new blog, update your blogroll links if you have been kind enough to link to me, and update my feed in your feedreader. The new feed URL is http://alittlecoffee.com/feed .

I will leave this blog here; however this blog started off as a wedding blog called From Sparkly to Spouse, so it will revert back to that name and I will be deleting all the posts since I broke up with Chris. You will find all the content from that point onward (comments and all!) over at A Little Coffee with my Cream and Sugar. This blog will be a record of my old engagement and will no longer be updated.

Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading here. I have met such lovely people through this blog and have found a true passion in blogging. Please keep following me and stay in touch at my new online space!

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping, Part III

2008-01-03T20:45:00.000-08:00

Part I
Part II

My bridesmaid dress shopping excursion with my sister is finally done! Kelsey and I went back to Frocks yesterday on my lunch break from work and it was a very productive, satisfying trip. Kels tried on eight dresses, including all of those that Kate and I really liked, and we have now decided for certain that we will be going with a dress from the Simple Silhouettes line (note that the dresses featured on their website are the brand new 2008 collection, but we will be ordering from the 2007 collection.)

The jury is still out on whether to order the same style dress for each bridesmaid or allow them to each choose their favourite from the collection -- and in the event they all get the same dress, I have not yet decided which style to go with. We discovered some happy news at Frocks - they have adjusted their dress prices for the stronger Canadian dollar in the last week. Their $350 dresses are now going for $310, and if you order three or more of the exact same style dress, there is an additional $30 discount on each dress. I would like to offer my girls the option to select their favourite style from this collection, but there is a $30 incentive for them to all choose the same dress, so maybe I'll leave the choice up to them.

I should preface the photos of Kelsey in the dresses by mentioning that contrary to what I originally expected, Kate looked fabulous in both strapless and halter styles, and in fact was quite comfortable with the idea of ordering one of these styles. Music to my ears!

All of the dress photos below are dresses from the Simple Silhouettes line. Here is Kelsey in the first dress she tried on, a halter style. Please ignore her dorky facial expression and gimpy arm. She is a totally ham in front of the camera and was making silly kissy faces. She's also a snowboarder prone to falling on her ass, or in this case, her elbow. She's stuck with the cast for the next week! Hence, Gimpy Arm will be making guest appearances in all dress photos today.

I'm posting this photo first because this particular sample dress is actually the colour that we will be ordering! It is called Fern and I just love it. It's not exactly the shade of green that I had in mind, but it's got more depth to it than the sage I've been seeing everywhere and so far my mom, Kate, and Kelsey love it. I think it's the sheen of the raw silk fabric that makes it so attractive; the darker green colour reflects lighter and brighter when the light hits it a certain way. The sash is actually one shade lighter and called Sage. I'm on the fence about what colour sash to order.

Keep in mind that in the photo above, the dress is actually three sizes too big for Kelsey (you can see the clips on the back of her dress in the mirror if you look closely). As a result, I think the halter straps come out a bit too wide and make her look a bit flat-chested, but in the correct size I think this dress would be stunning on her.

Next up, strapless number one:

This photo features Gimpy Arm in all its glory, no? Gimpy Arm says hi.

This one is the colour Sage. You can see the difference in shades of green if you compare this dress colour to the one above. This dress is cut with an empire waistline. It's cut quite slim so it's not a very floaty empire waist, but you can tell it's empire because of the high placement of the sash. We quite liked this dress.

Below is the second strapless dress:

This strapless is cut with a natural waist and it is Kelsey's favourite dress. Shown here, the dress has a thin dark brown ribbon hemmed along the neckline, but we would order it without this detail if we choose this dress.

Lastly, here is the third strapless dress Kelsey tried on, called the "Tulip":

Kelsey wasn't too sure about the puffy skirt part; she thought it made her hips look too wide. I thought it actually looked quite fun, like a party dress more than a bridesmaid dress. But it was obvious she wasn't comfortable in this one, and then she also pointed out that the top of the neckline was cutting in and giving her a weird silhouette in the boob area, so we decided against this dress for her. (My mum loved the colour of this dress so much she tried to get me to switch to this colour, even though everything else at the wedding will be blue and green. Kels and I had a chuckle over that.)

So the current contenders are the first three dresses pictured, and will be ordered in the Fern colour, probably with a sash in the colour Sage. What do you think? Let me know which one is your favourite in the comments!

Spotlight on Sweet Thea Cakes

2007-12-28T18:00:00.000-08:00

Chris and I recently began the hunt for the perfect confectioner to bake our wedding cake. I spearheaded this project as I'm the one with the sweet tooth in this duo. We joke frequently in fact that we each have our "candy": mine is baked pastries, and Chris' is meat. Such a carnivore, that man. We both thought it was hysterical one time at Whole Foods when we literally found a product called candied salmon. Someone must have thought that up with Chris in mind.

Anyway, as a baked goods connoisseur, wedding cake is obviously very high on my list of priorities for our celebration. I scoured the net looking for other Vancouver brides' recommendations, searched wedding vendor listings, emailed married friends for their suggestions and read up about wedding cakes in general.

We narrowed it down to three choices, one of which was Sweet Thea run by Thea Wilgress (pictured right) out of her home in New Westminster, which she has outfitted with a commercial baking kitchen. Her website should give you an idea of her creativity and the quality of her designs. Thea holds frequent "open house" cake tasting sessions which you must RSVP to, and then can drop in anytime during the open house hours. Chris and I attended one on December 1st. I was very excited because we went at 11 am so I got to eat cake for breakfast.

Ultimately, we decided not to go with Sweet Thea because my dream cake is white chocolate and raspberry flavoured, and while Thea does offer such a cake (see the "White Heaven" cake description on her Menu Sampler page), we weren't that impressed with it. The flavours were too mild. But it was a tough decision, because we were convinced that Thea would have been amazing to work with. She was so nice, professional, creative, and had excellent customer service. Her prices were reasonable, and of the five cakes we tasted that day, two were truly outstanding: she has an absolutely to-die-for lemon chiffon cake, and a flourless chocolate cake that was delicious. I'd never had flourless cake before and expected it to taste like something was missing, but really it was just smoother and more velvety in texture instead of being "cakey" with crumbs. That was not a bad thing! We are considering having one tier of lemon cake in our wedding cake, but decided not to have an entirely lemon-flavoured cake. We also didn't want a chocolate cake, so we didn't book her. But if you are interested in either of these two flavours for a wedding cake, you should absolutely check her out. You'll be missing out if you don't, because her recipes for these two are soooooo yummy!

2007 Review

2007-12-28T10:11:00.000-08:00

Got this from And You Know What Else?

1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before? Planned my wedding. Threw a gourmet dinner party for a few friends. Joined a company sports team and won the tournament. Declined attending said company's annual holiday party. And probably many others that I can't recall just now.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more next year? The most important one I set last year was to lose weight. By May I was down from 168 pounds to 155 pounds. Today, I weigh 162 pounds, so I put some of it back on and must really crack down on that, so as not to waste all my hard work from this year. Yes, I will be making new resolutions for the coming year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope! But my hairdresser, who is loosely in my circle of friends, is currently 7 months pregnant and will shortly become the first of my friends to join the parent club.

4. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? More fun. I've been feeling too much like I'm in a rut lately - just going through the motions, like there's no purpose to anything. I need to shake up the old routine.

5. What dates from 2007 will remain etched in your memory, and why? June 24, our best friends tied the knot.

6. What was your best achievement of the year? Deciding to suck it up and continue working at my job without constantly complaining. I have options that will change my career in the future, and I realized I need to be patient. I've also worked hard to maintain positive family relationships.

7. What was your biggest failure? I do still sometimes complain about work, and this has to stop if I want to be regarded positively. I also failed quite spectacularly in the second half of the year at eating a healthy diet, and my health is important to me, so I will be focusing on that in the new year.

8. What was the best thing you bought? An empire waist top from RW & Co. that is simply fabulous (and also no longer available, which is why I'm not linking to it.) It was cheap, a cute black & white pattern, and endlessly versatile - I can wear it on its own for a night out, with a cardigan at work, with jeans to dress it down, with black pants or a skirt to dress it up. It fit me at 155 and 165 pounds, and I could lose more or gain more and it would still fit. It would even work if I got pregnant until I was at least 6 months along. (NO, this does not mean I'm trying to get pregnant.) LOVE IT.

9. Whose behaviour merited celebration? Nicole Richie's turnaround since falling pregnant. She now looks healthy and appears to be on the right track with a good relationship and a new children's charity that she founded.

10. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Britney Spears. I've been rooting for her to get her act together, but I have finally given up hope.

11. Where did most of your money go? Paying off my line of credit (now officially paid off), rent, and paying off my car (finally own it 100%).

12. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Getting married.

13. Compared to this time last year, are you a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? Sadder, thinner, and richer. That first one seems out of whack, hmmm. But then, it's hard to compete with this time last year, when I had been engaged for exactly four days. At least my answer proves that money and weight loss don't buy happiness!

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping, Part II

2007-12-20T15:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the comments about Sparky, y'all. She was a sweet girl. I just needed to take a moment to give her a moment in the spotlight. The hardest part was the moment when I finished composing the blog post and got ready to click on "Publish Post." It felt so final, like she wasn't really gone until I published it. I'm feeling better now though, even though there are still lots of tears. What can I say, my family is nuts. We love our pets like they're people.

But back to wedding planning. Life goes on :)

As you will recall from Part I, I have four bridesmaids with different body shapes, and I am looking for a unified (though not necessarily identical) look that will flatter all my girls. I'm seeking a blue or green cocktail length dress in a shiny or silky fabric. Ideally green.

Now, brides planning a wedding with green as a main colour, take heed: most bridesmaid dress designers currently offer green dresses that fall into one of two camps. They're either in the washed-out sage & celery camp, like this:

Which, don't get me wrong, looks great on some girls, especially with a tan. Or they fall into the dark, hunter green camp, like this:

And I was looking for something pretty much smack in the middle, more vibrant than either of these offerings, something more like this:

This, as it turns out, is no easy task. After searching high and low, the best options I've found in a green resembling this shade are Aria in the shade "leaf," and David's Bridal in the shade "clover." My Canadian readers may notice the flaw in these solutions: neither of these lines are available north of the border. In fact Aria is *so* not available north of the border that you have to mail order sample dresses to try on and then mail back to LA, all at your own shipping expense.

So it was at this point of frustration when I began to consider a blue & green colour scheme, and having the girls wear blue dresses. There are a wealth of blue bridesmaid dresses available in every shade of blue imaginable out there, so this may be the solution we need. So I am now considering dresses similar to the vibrant green above, or a blue such as this one below, or possibly even darker:

I've noticed I've been very drawn to slightly shiny or silky fabrics rather than matte ones, and I wanted to look only at bridesmaid dress designers that carried silky fabrics I liked and an A-line dress silhouette with shoulder straps. The designers that fit these criteria the best, in my opinion, are Dessy, After Six, Jenny Yoo, Simple Silhouettes, and Charsa.

What do you know, I can hit all five of these designers with two stores in Vancouver, one of which is the bridal salon where I bought my wedding dress - how convenient! In fact, After Six and Dessy dresses are carried at a multitude of bridal salons in Vancouver, but my preference goes to Lisa's because they were so great helping me with my wedding gown. My favourite dress at Lisa's is After Six dress #6513:

The other store to hit up in order to try on the three other lines (Jenny Yoo, Simple Silhouettes, and Charsa, in addition to three other lines) is Frocks. Frocks is a fabulous, fabulous store. It only carries bridesmaid dresses, no bridal gowns, so they are specialized a bit and carry six designer lines. They have great lighting, friendly & helpful staff, comfy couches to sit on and a coffee table with candy jars on it. I have no idea how the candy jars are supposed to help anyone with fitting into the beautiful dresses they carry, but I digress.

Frocks highly recommends that you call ahead to make an appointment, to ensure they will have a fitting room and staff member to help you. Now to prepare you, Frocks is slightly higher end, as are the dresses they carry, and that is reflected in the $350+ price tags for each dress. But in my opinion, their prices are worth it. My very frugal bridesmaid Kate even said herself, "you know, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'd rather spend the extra $150 so that I can get one of the Frocks dresses." Oh, and did I mention you are allowed to take photos in Frocks? This is a big deal. Take your camera.

I'm not going to post my favourite dresses from Frocks yet, because there are just so many that I love. I need to narrow down my choices a bit. That will be occurring soon, because my sister and maid-of-honour Kelsey flew in from Ontario today for the Christmas holidays, and we will be going bridesmaid dress shopping shortly. Stay tuned for instalment three: our shopping excursion!

Farewell to Sparky

2007-12-18T20:57:00.000-08:00

I was going to post the second instalment today about bridesmaid dresses, but sometimes life throws you curve balls. Today my lovely 14-year old cat Sparky was unexpectedly put to sleep, and it's all I can think about. So even though this is really a wedding blog, I hope you will indulge me in a slight departure from my usual topic so I can post a little goodbye to my sweet kitten.

We got Sparky when I was 13 years old. We actually adopted her and her sister Freckles when they were 8 weeks old, but Freckles only lived for a few months, so Sparky has been the lone cat all these years. My younger brother Andrew named her Sparky; I have always felt compelled to tell people that throughout the years because I always thought her name was more fitting for a dog! She was full of personality. She could play with socks for hours if she thought nobody was looking, but she would always play it cool if she knew she was being watched. Heaven forbid we thought she was having fun! In the photo above, she might look like she's glaring at the camera, but she always would close her eyes halfway like that when she was happy and relaxed. She loved to sit on the back of the couch looking out the window and have "conversations" with squirrels she could see in the trees.

Sparks has always been a bit of a queen. She's been a pleasantly fat cat for most of her life and we never could figure out why. I think she made a game (and a meal) out of bird hunting in the backyard because we never fed her enough to explain her rotund figure! She OWNED the house and considered the rest of us simply occupants who shared her space, with her permission, except for the pesky dog, who was most definitely there against her wishes. She would always demand tuna juice and bits of cheese whenever she smelled them, as though we owed her that much in compensation for tolerating the dog.

From day number one we've loved her loud motor engine purring, dainty little white "socks" and super soft fur. She runs the show so we only pet her when she decides it's okay, but she loves a good cuddle before falling to sleep every night on someone's pillow. And she's been really therapeutic to have around for my brother Andrew when he was recovering from severe clinical depression. That's Andrew with her about a year ago on the left - Andrew is showing off her "stretch cat" pose.

In recent weeks, our plump cat withered away to not much more than a skeleton and would never finish more than half her food. We knew she was getting old and that something might be wrong for her to get so skinny so fast. But then she started eating several tiny meals a day of wet food mixed with kibbles, and she put some weight back on, so we thought she was getting better. This morning though, my mum noticed she'd eaten nothing in 24 hours and had been drinking insane amounts of water, and so she took her to the vet. They did some tests and found a tumour in her mouth and advanced cancer in her liver, and her thyroid was all screwed up. He tested some fluid and the result was very bad. He told my mum that he could send the fluid away for testing and would get results back on Thursday, but he wasn't sure she would make it until Thursday. It was a big shock because Mum thought she was just taking Sparkles in for some tests and would take her home with some medication. But it was decided that it would be better to put our old girl to sleep, and she never made it back home.

It's been a sad day, but it sounds like Sparky turned downhill fast today and was really suffering, and I would never want to prolong that. We'll miss you, old girl. Wishing you endless cans of tuna and big blocks of cheese in kitty heaven. Maybe you'll even catch a squirrel up there.

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping, Part I

2007-12-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

Taking into account the level of importance I'm placing on the bridesmaid dresses (medium, I'd say), my tastes, and the figures of my girls, I have come up with several criteria for the dresses.

First off, while I initially thought that bridesmaid dresses would be not only important but really fun to pick out, in reality it's been more of a PITA so they are now hovering lower on my list of priorities. I would like my girls to like the dresses and hopefully feel inclined to wear them again if the right occasion were to present itself, and I would like the dresses to fit in with the wedding colours. Other than that, I don't really care that much. I have a number of criteria that I created because I have to put some effort into finding these dresses, but in the end if the criteria are not all met, I will not be terribly upset. At the end of the day, they could show up in pouffy eighties meringue-like tulle confections and I wouldn't really care, because I'll still be married at the end of the day. I have my priorities. Those are the vows, and the cake ;)

So take my criteria more as suggestions than strict rules. You know, like the way Montreal drivers treat stop signs. (Sorry, Canadian joke.)

That being said, here are my bridesmaid dress criteria:

The dresses must be tea length or cocktail length. I hope I don't see floor length gowns on any of my wedding guests except me, but I definitely won't be seeing them on my bridesmaids. It's not because I want the glory of being the only girl decked out in a floor length gown, I just don't like long dresses in general. I make exceptions for wedding gowns! Plus, shorter length dresses make them more re-wearable.
The dress must be either blue or green. Initially, the wedding's colour scheme was primarily green with pink accents, so the dresses were going to be green. But I'll be damned if I can find a bridesmaid dress line that carries a nice, vibrant shade of green - the majority seem to offer either washed out sage or deep dark forest green, with the exception of a handful of US-based companies that we don't have up here in Canadaland. (David's Bridal and Aria are notable exceptions) So I started thinking that blue and green would look good together and the girls could wear blue. The jury's still out on what colour we pick.
No bridesmaid will come within ten feet of chiffon. *Hates chiffon fabric.*
I have noticed that when I'm browsing dress designs, I am always drawn to metallic or shiny fabrics. I'm like a magpie, what can I say? Satin would be okay, but ideally I would love the girls to wear taffeta or dupioni silk.
I have not yet decided whether or not they should all wear identical dresses, or choose the style of their choice from a certain designer in the same fabric and colour.
Lastly, I want my bridesmaids to be happy with the choice.

Next installment will feature dress designers I have found that meet my criteria. Stay tuned - there will be pretty pictures and lots of dress ideas if you have a blue and/or green colour scheme!

Rainbow Signature Drinks Series: Red

2007-12-05T15:57:00.000-08:00

Oooh, lookit me, all Christmas-like. First I post green drinks, now red. How holiday-ish. In honour of that, here is a pepperminty signature drink (plus some other red ones.)

Peppermint-Cacao Cocktail

Adapted from Epicurious

1/4 oz peppermint schnapps

1/2 oz vodka

1 1/4 oz creme de cacao

Mini candycane

Red cake decorating sugar

Ice cubes

Method:

Moisten rim of a martini glass by dipping upside down in a very shallow dish of water. Then dip rim in red sugar.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes and add liquid ingredients. Shake for 15 seconds, then strain into martini glass. Garnish with candy cane and serve anytime in December or January. :)

Spicy Caesar Cocktail

from The Art of the Drink

1 1/2 oz vodka

Dash of worcestershire sauce

Dash of Tabasco sauce

Salt & pepper

Top with Clamato juice

Celery salt

Garnish

Method:

Rim a Collins glass with celery salt. Add vodka and top with Clamato juice. Add worcestershire sauce, tabasco sauce and salt & pepper. Garnish with your choice of garnish items: celery stalk, green bean, asparagus stalk, or a stir stick skewered with a shrimp, green olive and lime wedge. Drink up for a slightly spicy, savoury thirst quencher!

Sangria Punch

From About.com

1 bottle of red wine

1 lemon, cut into wedges

1 lime, cut into wedges

1 orange, cut into wedges

2 tbsp sugar

Splash of orange juice

2 oz gin

1 cup sliced strawberries or raspberries (frozen or fresh)

1 small can diced pineapples (with juice)

4 cups gingerale

Ice cubes

Method:

Pour wine in pitcher or punch bowl and squeeze juice from lemon, lime, and orange wedges into the wine. Toss in the wedges (leaving out seeds if possible.) Add pineapple, sugar, orange juice, and gin. Chill overnight.

Add gingerale, berries and ice just before serving.

Tagged!

2007-11-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

Apologies to all for the extended absence from blogging. I will explain at the bottom of this post. I've been tagged by Linda of Silly Little Mischief for the 7 Random Things meme, and it occurred to me that a meme might be a good way to get back in the swing of things for blogging. So without further ado:

1. In grade school, I was best friends with a girl named Ashley. Her birthday was January 22nd (I still remember that to this day!) and mine is February 4th. We once discovered that we were supposed to have each other's birthdays! When our mothers were pregnant, I was due on Jan 22nd and Ashley was due on Feb 4th. Weird eh?

2. I hate turtlenecks with inexplicable passion.

3. I will only chew the Extra brand of gum.

4. I am freaking awesome at conducting mystery customer calls to obtain information. I have to do it for work in an industry that does not like to share info, so we have to pretend to be customers.

5. I actually enjoy commuting to and from work in rush hour traffic, most of the time. I like blasting my music and singing along. It gives me a chance to get revved up in the morning or unwind after a stressful day. It's a good buffer between work and home.

6. My dog will only drink water from the bathtub, not from her water bowl. When she's thirsty, she sits in the bathroom next to the tub and whines until someone runs water for her and puts her in the tub to drink.

7. I used to be a competitive gymnast as a kid until I broke my arm on the bars at age 11. After that I refused to get back on the bars, so I couldn't compete, and I took up coaching gymnastics instead.

So that's my 7 random things! I'm not tagging anyone because I think half the Internet has done it already. Heck, I might have even done this meme before!

As for my extended absence, I've been going through a very rough patch recently and felt the need to take a break from a number of things - not just blogging. In the last few weeks, I've learned that my great uncle died, my uncle has been diagnosed with bone cancer and has been given less than two years to live, and my grandmother is going downhill rapidly.

And in addition to all these things, my sister is going through a personal dilemma that I'm trying to help her with, I'm dealing with a very unhappy and unstable work situation, and have been sick with strep throat two weeks ago and a cold right now. All of this put together has resulted in me spiralling into a significant bout of depression. I have not been diagnosed by a doctor because my work benefits don't cover much in the way of psychology, but we have plenty of first-hand experience with very severe clinical depression in my family and I recognise the symptoms beyond just feeling sad. I'm about 95% certain I'm suffering from mild clinical depression.

That has been my life in a nutshell lately and has resulted in my taking several days off work, blogging, exercise, and wedding planning. However, I am definitely feeling much brighter and happier at the moment. I don't think I'm cured, but things are going better, and I am back! Sorry for the absence but I hope you understand.

To my reader "desperatelyseekingvenue" who commented on the previous post, I decided not to post the venue I chose on this blog until after the wedding. The reason is that I've heard some pretty crazy stories about uninvited guests showing up at your wedding, or calling and cancelling vendors or stealing gifts from the gift table. It seems to happen frequently enough that I don't feel comfortable revealing the venue when I have also revealed the wedding date! But if you really want to know, email me and I will share. Laurashannonsmart at hotmail dot com.

Ten Thousand

2007-11-13T16:42:00.001-08:00

Sometime yesterday, probably while I was watching Jennie Garth do the rumba on Dancing With the Stars, this site got its 10,000th hit. I am perhaps more giddy about this fact than I should be.

Chantilly Bridal Boutique Sale

2007-11-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

Hey all you Vancouver brides, here's some great news. If you are in the market for bridal or bridesmaid gowns, Chantilly Bridal has just adjusted their pricing to reflect the strong Canadian dollar, since their gown prices are based on their prices in the US. This means savings of $200 - $1300 per dress. No, that's not a typo! In particular, their Alvina Valenta, Jim Hjelm and James Clifford gowns have been reduced by up to $1200, so if you love these designers, make an appointment pronto. (They do strongly encourage you make an appointment). Their phone number is 604-299-0888 and they are open Tuesday through Saturday.

By the way, I didn't buy my gown from Chantilly, but I LOVE them (no they didn't pay me to say this!) I was treated superbly well when I visited this bridal boutique in January, and I did find a gown that I fell in love with. It was $500 over my desired budget and I found a similar but much cheaper gown at a different boutique, so I bought that one instead, but I still dream about the one I found at Chantilly and the lovely girls who work there. If only I'd waited, maybe my dream dress is in my price range now!

The Music Man

2007-11-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

DJ - booked! We went ahead and booked DJ Enzo of Music Maestro DJ Services. Be warned! They have the most godAWFUL website I have seen since 1997. If that website had been the first I had ever seen or heard of the company, I would have no doubt written them off immediately and found someone else. But I knew Enzo was good because he had DJ'd at my high school's alumni reunion weekend a couple of years ago and was FANTASTIC. He got the vibe just right - he started off at our sports day event and pumped the retro upbeat tunes all day. Then later in the day we had a garden cocktail party which was a fancy affair at the headmaster's house, and he brought out the subdued, jazzy background music which was just perfect. You would never have guessed it was the same guy. When I saw their website, I very nearly wrote him off despite knowing how good he was (yes, I was THAT unimpressed), but when I reflected back on his ability to read the crowd, I decided to get over myself and book him. So he's booked, and I'm happy, but was almost too embarrassed to link over to his site for you guys for fear that you think I consider their website professional. I don't.

So what went into our decision-making process with regards to music? A fair bit. We initially considered a live band, a DJ, or doing the DIY iPod wedding thing. We determined early on that a live band was probably out of our budget, not to mention the fact that my fiance is a drummer and was pushing rather hard for his own (heavy metal) band to play so that he could be drumming all night. That made it easy to eliminate the live band option - Chris was dead set that if any band was to play, it was going to be his band. I was not open to having either heavy metal at the wedding or having my brand new husband on stage all night away from me. Nuh uh. Sorry pal. I'm all about personalization, but this isn't quite what I had in mind. He pouted a bit but I don't think he ever thought I'd go along with that plan!

So then it came to deciding between a DJ and an iPod. I really wanted a DJ and Chris really wanted an iPod. We thought we could choose good dance music ourselves so it wasn't the playlist I was concerned about; I was just really worried that whichever friend we asked to man the music would screw up at some vital moment and play the wrong song for the first dance! Chris thought that the cost savings of the iPod wedding outweighed the risk of screwups. Our budget was tight, so I finally relented and we had initially decided to go the iPod route. But a couple of months ago, Chris' parents came through and told us they would give us a certain amount towards the wedding. We had given up hope that they would contribute and created our budget as though they were providing $0, so this was a nice surprise. And the boosted budget made it possible for us to afford a DJ.

Now I'm fretting that I won't have enough control over the playlist. You can't win for losing. I'm trying to keep in mind that the biggest reason we booked him is his ability to read a crowd and play the songs that will get people dancing, so I should just give him a short must-play list and leave him to it.

The Hostages Have Been Released!

2007-11-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

Check out these beauties. My photographer kicks major ass. We are embarassed to admit, however, that out of all the gorgeous photos from our engagement photo session - ENGAGEMENT session, where the goal is to obtain beautiful photos of an engaged couple in love - our hands down favourite photo is the one that includes neither my fiance nor myself. Our fave is the one of our cute-as-a-button pup running through the autumn leaves, and as much as we love the photos of the two of us together, we just can't compete with that kind of cuteness.

All photos credited to Scott Johnson of SDJ Photography.

Photos Held Hostage

2007-10-31T16:37:00.001-07:00

Many apologies. Swamped at work and had no time to post in the last week.

My engagement photos are being withheld by a rebellious downed server. They're ready! My pretty photos were ready yesterday, but I haven't seen them yet because as soon as our photographer tried to upload them, his site went down and won't be back up until past my bedtime tonight.

Hello, Murphy... I see you're hard at work again, as always. You bastard. Release the photos!

Engagement Photo Shoot

2007-10-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Chris and I had our first engagement photo shoot with our awesome photographer Scott. Initially it was scheduled for October 2nd, but that day (and most days this month), the weather did not cooperate and we ended up rescheduling. Luckily, last weekend was the warmest, most perfect weather I have ever seen during a weekend in October, and we were able to take full advantage!

We brought our dog Sierra with us because we wanted her in the photos. I agonized over what to wear and I'm not 100% happy with the outfit I chose, but it wasn't bad in the end. I was extremely nervous about the shoot because I'm not used to being in front of the camera and know that Chris hates having his photo taken, so I just didn't know what to expect. And I didn't have any real ideas about what photos I wanted other than that we wanted some of just the two of us and some with Sierra.

I can't share the photos with you yet, because we haven't seen our previews, but I have a few tips on how to prepare yourself for an engagement photo shoot and what to expect:

Avoid wearing black, white, or patterns. (Black shoes and small accessories like a belt are okay.) Neutrals and bright colours are great.
Dress at the same level of formality as your partner and avoid wearing clashing outfits. Coordinate your styles without being matchy-matchy (i.e. if you are wearing dark jeans, black heeled boots and a pink sweater, he should wear jeans, dressy shoes and a collared shirt in a colour that won't clash with pink.)
Wear dressy casual, versatile clothing. Put some thought into what you wear. Please tell your guys that jeans, old sneakers and a wrinkled t-shirt is not going to cut it.
You may need to lie down in a pile of leaves, walk in the sand, or climb over rocks to find the perfect pose, so a skirt might not be ideal. I had to take my shoes off to climb over some big boulders to get a good pose!
Don't wear your hair up in a fussy style that you need a mirror to fix if it comes loose. I learned this the hard way after we shot a pose with my lying on my back with my head in Chris' lap and my hair got messed up.
Don't bring loads of bags with you, because you'll have to cart them around all afternoon.
If you are doing a shoot with your pet, bring a friend with you to watch the pet when you are finished the animal shots, so you can continue your shoot in peace.
Bring a few photos with you of other engagement shoots that you love or bring some ideas of what types of photos you'd like to take. We didn't do this, and I wish we had. We had no vision of what we wanted and left it all up to our photographer. He did a great job anyway though and had tons of ideas! But if you don't tell him what you want, you can't expect him to read minds.
Choose a location that is special to you and your fiance.
Or, choose a beautiful location with many colours. Doing an engagement session in the fall makes this easy, because the multi-coloured leaves falling from trees add instant colour to your shoot.
Relax and listen to your photographer's directions. He or she should make you comfortable and give you instructions on what to do.
If the sun is in your eyes, close your eyes and ask your photographer to tell you a split second before he clicks the button to open your eyes. We did this a lot because the sun was making my eyes water. It worked pretty well.

Rainbow Signature Drinks Series: Green

2007-10-19T22:52:00.001-07:00

I am starting a short series of posts on signature drink recipes to match your wedding colours, so there will be two or three recipes for every colour of the rainbow over the next couple of months. I am not promising to do this series uninterrupted by other wedding posts, but I think this will be a useful resource for brides, since having a signature drink is a popular way to personalize your wedding. A signature drink is also a great way to cut down on open bar costs by offering a mixed drink option without needing to stock a full bar; you can offer simply beer, wine and your signature drink and guests will be happy as clams all night.

I'm starting with green since green will be my main wedding colour and I'm on a major mojito kick at the moment. As such, guess what my first suggestion is? Mint mojitos!

A mojito is a very refreshing drink to sip on a hot day, so they are ideal for a warm outdoor summer reception. Traditional mojitos are clear in colour and, while some are a translucent pale green colour, but if made correctly they all have a vibrant splash of green in the muddled mint added to the liquid and sometimes used as a garnish. One key point is that for your drink, you can tie it in with your colour either with the colour of the drink itself or with the colour of the garnish.

Mint Mojito

2-3 oz white rum

Juice of 1 lime

2 tsp sugar

2-4 sprigs of fresh mint

Soda water

Crushed ice

Method:

Combine mint, sugar and lime juice in a Collins glass. Muddle together (mash with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves and you smell the mint.) Fill the glass with desired amount of crushed ice, add rum, and fill to the top with soda water. Garnish with a lime wedge and mint sprig.

Another option is the apple martini. Most typical recipes you will find online are quite sour, so here is a slightly sweeter option for you. If you prefer a sour flavour, google "apple martini" or "green apple martini" for loads of results.

Green Apple Martini, as posted on Nick Gardner's blog.

2 oz vodka

1 oz Green Apple Sour Puss

Ice

Sparkling green apple juice

Method:

In a shaker, add ice, vodka and Sour Puss. Shake well. Pour into martini glass and top with 2 oz of sparkling green apple juice. Garnish with an apple slice, lime slice or lemon slice.

Laura's Gastronomic Adventures

2007-10-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged! The lovely Ashley of Another Wedding Blog filled out a food meme and tagged me so here goes.

1. How do you like your eggs? Scrambled and cooked to death.

2. How do you take your coffee/tea? Coffee: with one packet of Splenda, 1 milk and 2 creams (I have it down to a science) Tea: any kind of black tea will do with 1 1/2 packets of sugar (unless it's a small cup) and milk. I'm half British, shut up.

3. Favourite breakfast food: Pancakes with syrup and strawberries, or an extra crispy English muffin with butter and whatever toast condiment strikes my fancy at that moment.

4. Peanut butter: Smooth and creamy…sometimes with honey or strawberry jam (sounds good Ashley!)

5. What kind of dressing on your salad? Ranch if I'm feeling indulgent, raspberry vinaigrette if I'm trying to be good.

6. Coke or Pepsi? Diet Pepsi, but I don't generally drink pop.

7. You’re feeling lazy, what do you make? Boil some frozen Duso's pasta, top with Classico tomato-based pasta sauce and parmesan cheese. Seriously that Duso's pasta is so good, I could care less if it's not homemade.

8. You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order? Pepperoni, tomato and green pepper - my favourite kind! (See Ashley? Long-lost twins.) Sometimes veggie pepperoni (I'm just coming off a 2-year stint as a vegetarian and sometimes guilt gets the better of me)

9. You feel like cooking. What do you make? I love trying new recipes. Next up on my list to try are this tomato paella and this penne with shrimp in a tomato cream sauce. I think I may die and float on up to heaven on a fluffy white cloud labelled #9, so if I suddenly disappear from the face of the blogosphere, you'll know why.

10. Do any foods bring back good memories? Chocolate rumballs, shortbread cookies, Marmite on toast (I said I was half-British, right? Do not try this if you weren't raised on it. That's all the warning you get), asparagus cheese toasties, treacle tart, tomato soup with cheese melted in the soup.

11. Do any foods bring back bad memories? Brussels sprouts. Nasty stuff. Also, some cherry- and grape-flavoured candies are unfortunately reminiscent of cough syrup.

12. Do any foods remind you of someone? Most of the nostalgic foods listed in #10 remind me of my parents... the chocolate rumballs and shortbread cookies are both recipes I used to help my mom make at Christmas time when I was a kid :) The rumballs didn't have real rum in them till I was older, don't worry. Treacle tart reminds me of my grandmother.

13. Is there a food you refuse to eat? Brussels sprouts, soy milk, and farmed fish. Also most red meat.

14. What was your favourite food as a child? Tomato soup with cheese cubes melted in it.

15. Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like? Broccoli.

16. Is there a food that you liked as a child but now hate? Wheat thins.

17. Favourite fruit and vegetable: Pineapple or strawberries, tomato.

18. Favourite junk food: Chocolate and pastries. Even better if it's a chocolate-flavoured pastry.

19. Favourite between meal snack: Chocolate.

20. Do you have any weird food habits? Honestly I display a lot of the characteristics of a compulsive overeater but I manage to keep my portions in check so I'm not overweight. I know I have a bit of a sugar addiction going though. I hide junk food from my fiance so he won't know I've had it, I tell myself that the calories don't count if nobody saw me eat them, and I have to do things like put half my dinner away in the fridge before I start eating so that I don't eat it all in one sitting.

21. You’re on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on? Veggies & dip, rice crackers, granola bars, non fat yogurt, soup...

22. You’re off your diet. Now what would you like? Fettucine alfredo with chocolate cake for dessert.

23. How spicy do you order Indian/Thai? Mild-medium

24. Can I get you a drink? Water, pineapple or orange juice, coffee, or any fruity girly martini will do nicely, thanks.

25. Red or White Wine? I'd usually say red, but I'm on a white kick lately. Lovin' the Chardonnay. Whatever you do, don't serve me Merlot. A fiery loathing of Merlot wine is part of my identity. My friends are always trying to serve me Merlot mixed with some other red wine and see if I'll notice, and I always do!

26. Favourite dessert? Cheesecake or creme brulee.

27. The perfect nightcap? Black tea with milk and sugar.

I am tagging Five Blondes, Fabulously Broke in the City, Advice From a Single Girl, Flip This Body and Hunna's Happenings.

Not for the Faint of Heart

2007-10-12T09:47:00.001-07:00

Two days ago, I spent money on what could be considered my most ridiculous, frivolous, unnecessary wedding expense. What might that be, you ask? An ice sculpture? Coloured linens? Draping for the walls? Lighting specialists?

No on all counts. Well, actually we are going with coloured linens, which I have been told repeatedly is a waste of my money but I just don't care goshdangit - it's my wedding and I want green tablecloths. But that's not the most frivolous. No, mine is a vanity expense. Some brides drop wads of cash on tanning. Some get their teeth whitened, and some get their hair coloured the perfect shade of golden honey blonde. Some spend loads on personal training to slim down two sizes. What do I do?

I get plastic surgery. I'm so embarassed to admit it! But it's not what you think. I swear there was no boob job or liposuction involved. I would not have ever thought of this procedure as plastic surgery, but technically, that's what it is because it was medically unnecessary.

I have had a small cyst on my arm for the past four years. I ignored it for the first year. Afraid of what it might mean, I buried my head in the sand and carried on in denial. (Note to readers: do not do this. If you have a lump develop randomly on your body, get it checked out. Do as I say, not as I do.) Finally, when I had to go to the doctor anyway for a routine check-up, I asked him about it, terrified of his response. He seemed thoroughly unconcerned, much to my surprise but also intense relief. It was just a cyst, he said. Nothing to worry about.

For some reason, I began to hate it much more once I knew it posed no threat to my health. I suppose the only emotion it had previously evoked in me was worry, and now that was gone, loathing bubbled to the surface. This ugly bump was disturbing the flawless surface of my skin (Flawless, ha! But really, my arm was much prettier without the cyst poking out.) About three years ago, I started thinking about having it removed. It didn't occur to me this was plastic surgery, it was just getting the icky intruder out of my arm.

This summer at my check-up, I told him I was getting married and would be wearing a strapless dress. I wanted my arms to be smooth and I wanted that cyst gone. I'd wanted it gone for years anyway; now I had the motivation to get on with it. He referred me to a plastic surgeon, and I realized immediately I was being vain.

But they set up an appointment for a consultation anyway, so I went, not wanting to be rude. Once I told the surgeon what I wanted done, he said it would be no problem, it would cost $300, and he could get me an appointment next week. I freaked out a little. I just wanted to ask some questions, I didn't know if I would really go through with this. I mean, surgery? For the wedding? Who does that?

I do that. I thought to myself I'd been wanting it out for three years. The sooner I did it, the sooner the scar would fade so I should go ahead and get it done quickly. So on Wednesday afternoon, I found myself lying face down on a table in a hospital gown, awake and breathing nervously while the very nice surgeon cut out the cyst and tried to occupy my mind with idle banter about where I went to university. I could barely remember where I went to school, I was so grossed out at the numb feeling of pressure on my arm as he sewed it back up. But it was over quickly. My arm now looks like this:

That dent better go away, is all I'm sayin'. I am not trading an outie for an innie. It's surprisingly not very painful at all, I barely feel it and haven't taken any painkillers. I'm taking it easy on the exercise this week, and the stitches are coming out on Oct. 23rd. I can't wait to see how it looks with the stitches out.

A Blooming Relationship

2007-10-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Our florist is officially booked! We settled on Balconi Floral Design Studio, based on West 2nd Street in Vancouver. We met with one other florist as well, but Stephanie from Balconi immediately pulled ahead in the race for our affections... and our cash!

The other contender was Margitta's Flowers, based out of Lonsdale Quay in North Van. Heading into the florist vendor selection process, I honestly thought we would go with Margitta, since she's been our family florist since I was a little girl and I wanted to give her the business. But when we went in to meet her, we felt very much like we were interrupting her work, and we had an appointment so we should have had more of her attention. She shot down all my ideas, telling me they were "too expensive." This struck me as odd, because wouldn't you think as a business person she would be hoping I would purchase flowers that were expensive? I wanted her to give us a price and let us decide if it was too expensive or not, but this was very difficult. And lastly, we felt that Margitta really likes to be given a colour and a budget and left to do the floral design herself. I have a lot of specific ideas that I wanted, and many of them were not her preferred style (Margitta likes to use a lot of greenery with her bouquets and I want to avoid that). If you can put up with her very blunt style of communication though, Margitta is actually a good option for a bride who doesn't want to spend too much on flowers because her flowers are very reasonably priced. She's also a great option for someone who doesn't have a specific floral vision and would like their florist to choose the flower varieties and design the bouquets.

It was a different experience at Balconi. When we met Stephanie, she was prepared for us. She welcomed us into her very bright, airy, open shop which was beautifully designed. She was very professional and made us feel important. She let us ask all the questions we wanted and took specific notes, then got back to us with a quote quickly afterwards. She was very knowledgeable and creative with flowers but let us take the lead in telling her what style and varieties of flowers we wanted.

My only complaint with Stephanie is that she was a bit inflexible. Her prices are fairly high and she seemed surprised (not in a good way) that we tried to negotiate with her. But she did negotiate and we came to an agreement we are all happy with. From here on out, it is no longer about the contract and prices but it's about the flowers, and that's what Stephanie does best.

Stephanie is not a good option for a bride with a tight floral budget, but she has lots of great ideas and does beautiful work, so she's worth considering if you plan on spending a fair bit on flowers. Here are a few pictures from her website to give you a taste:

Delurking Day

2007-10-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hey you... yes, you there, reading this post. The one sitting way at the back of class, slouched down in your seat, hiding behind your book so you can sleep without the prof noticing. Sound like you? Well, today is Delurking Day. I want to know who you all are!

So, I'm asking the following, and please answer, even you lurkers who never comment on blogs!

Who are you? Where are you from? And what's your best wedding tidbit? I want to know the most original or fun detail or memory you have from a wedding you've attended. Please share!

I'll go first: I'm Laura, I'm from Vancouver BC, I'm getting married next August, and the best idea I've seen recently at a wedding was holding a rehearsal dinner at a winery with a tour of the winery and a tasting of the wines for all the guests.

Dress Code Guide

2007-09-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

Wondering how to interpret the dress code on a wedding invitation, or what wording to use on your own invitations? Visit the Dress Code Guide.

That seals it - I think we're after Lounge Suit/Cocktail Dress at our wedding. I think it will be the most appropriate way to request that people dress, given our mix of guests and the wedding attire problem discussed on here a few months back!

Happy Feet

2007-09-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned, Chris and I are salsa dancers. Very rusty salsa dancers.

We took salsa lessons together for about a year, but we haven't done any salsa dancing in about two years. We got through the beginner class quite smoothly and moved on to the level 2 class right away, which we decided to take twice to ensure we had a good grasp of all the moves before moving on the level 3. By the time we had completed level 2 twice, we felt ready to take on level 3, but decided to take a short break from salsa lessons as we were both really busy and burned out at the time. The break somehow stretched out over two years!

When we decided to do a salsa routine at our wedding, we knew it was time to start up salsa lessons again. Our first class back was last night. We did feel ready for level 3 two years ago, but we've been out of practice now for longer than we were ever IN practice, so we decided to enroll in level 2 one more time to get back into the swing of things and we'll take level 3 in a couple of months. We also might take some private lessons closer to the wedding to get our dance routine choreographed by a professional, but we'll wait and see how we're doing with moves on our own; if we have a big enough repertoire of moves by then, we'll probably just choreograph it ourselves.

If any other Vancouver brides out there are interested in taking dance lessons leading up to their wedding, I wanted to recommend our dance instructors to you because they are nothing short of outstanding. We attend classes run by Urban Beat Dance Co., who operate out of a few locations in Vancouver (we've taken classes at dance studios on Fraser St., Granville St., and now Robson St.) In addition to salsa, they also run classes for hip hop, West Coast swing, and freestyle dancing on a regular schedule. They teach accessory dances such as tango, merengue, East Coast Swing, and ballroom on a rotating schedule. The prices are really reasonable - $88 per person for eight 1-hour classes and if you take the same class a second time it's half price. Check them out if you need dance lessons!

Marriage Commissioner - Check!

2007-09-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday evening, Chris and I met with our marriage commissioner for the first time. Our wedding is still almost a year away, but we decided to book our marriage commissioner early. A lot of them weren't even accepting bookings this far out, but I'm a nutjob and I'm really uncomfortable booking the rest of the vendors when I don't even have the one that matters. Flowers and photos and a pretty dress are well and good, but they don't matter in the end if you have nobody to marry you!

Kim is a client of my dad's and he recommended her to us shortly after we got engaged. We don't want a religious ceremony, so it was natural that we would opt for a marriage commissioner rather than a priest or minister. She is just a lovely, fabulous person and we're so happy she will be joining us in marriage.

Most officiants in Vancouver charge around $200-$300, but Kim only charges the government-set rate of $79.50 for the ceremony and $25 extra if you also want her to attend your rehearsal. She does also charge mileage of $0.48 per kilometre to drive to and from your location from her West Van home, but she is by FAR the most affordable we've found, and one of the nicest to boot! She doesn't charge much because she doesn't do it for the money (and judging by her gorgeous home, she doesn't need the money.) She just does it because she loves to marry people and take part in such an important moment in people's lives. That is the right reason to do it, in my opinion.

Kim provided us with two different ceremony formats to choose from which we can tweak as we want, or the option of writing our own ceremony. We can also write our own vows. In BC, the only things that are necessary in the ceremony for us to be legally married are the following:

We must each state that we know of no lawful reason why we cannot marry each other. This basically means we are confirming that we are not already married to someone else, we are entering the marriage willingly, and that we are of legal age to marry. This part is in lieu of the old-fashioned tradition of asking the congregation if they know of any reason why the couple should not marry.
We must each say "I, , take you, , to be my lawfully wedded wife/husband..."
We and our witnesses must sign the marriage license
We and our witnesses must sign the marriage register

Other than that, we can do what we want and Kim is willing to perform it for us! We can add readings of our choosing, a speech, our own vows, exchange rings, a blessing ritual... whatever we want. The only thing Kim cannot do is any religious reading, but we can ask someone else to do a religious reading if we want to. We may ask my Mum to read a passage from the Bible, because she's very upset that we're not marrying in the church and this would make her feel better to have some sort of religious aspect included.

After meeting with her, here are a few questions I would suggest you ask your marriage commissioner or officiant when you meet with them:

How many weddings have you officiated?
Why do you perform weddings for a living?
May we write our own vows?
Can we customize the wedding ceremony or do we have to choose pre-written ceremony programs?
When do you need us to provide you with our finalized ceremony program and written vows?
Will you attend the rehearsal?
Can you suggest some popular readings to include?
Can you suggest some good music choices for the processional and recessional and during the ceremony?
Do you require that we complete any premarital counseling? If so, do you offer this service or can you suggest some counselors for us?

If anyone is interested in having Kim officiate their Vancouver wedding, here is her contact info:

Kim Hunter, Marriage Commissioner

Tel: 604-921-9606

Let me know if you would like her email as well and I would be happy to provide it via email.

DIY Flowers Frozen In Ice

2007-09-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

I booked my wedding date for late August based on the time of year least likely to rain in Vancouver. It wasn't until long after the contract was signed and the deposit paid that I gave much thought to flowers.

As it turns out, I'm really drawn to flowers like this:

And this:

And this:

Those are parrot tulips, ranunculus, and peonies. Three flowers that are all in season in May. Before that, I fell in love with cherry blossoms, which are also in season in May. I am clearly intent on making this a difficult task for myself! I thought I was making things impossible, but maybe not so.

If you love a flower that is out of season for your wedding, all is not lost - you can freeze the flowers when they're in season inside blocks of ice, and display them like ice sculptures at your wedding. Imagine something like these on display at your guest book table:

I would absolutely love to display something like this with pink peonies frozen inside at my wedding. This was my green thumb neighbour's idea who lives below us and grows the most beautiful garden in our backyard, so we're going to give it a test run with a dahlia, which we have growing right now. If it works, we'll plant peonies and parrot tulips and freeze them in ice blocks in the spring for my wedding! Here's a quick how-to that I found at Hallmark, of all places. I've adjusted some of the steps based on how we plan to try it:

You can use any container for freezing including ice trays, baking pans, yogurt containers, vases and pitchers. Just make sure it's freezer-safe (glass might crack.)
Using distilled water for best clarity, fill the container with a bit of water (less than one third full) and freeze. This is because the flower will sink to the bottom of the container, so you want it floating in the middle of the ice instead of touching the side of the ice block.
When the water is frozen solid, remove from freezer. Place flower on top, and pour water to fill remainder of the container. Leave a tiny bit of room at the top as water will expand when it freezes.
Freeze completely.
When it's time to take the ice block out of the mold, simply dip the mold in hot (not boiling) water and it should slide out easily.

We'll let you know how the trial goes with pictures!

The Blogging Biggest Loser Competition

2007-09-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

The new TV season is just starting to gear up and I am so excited! We have a PVR at home so we tape a lot of shows and watch them at our convenience, and as such I am a bit of a TV addict. One of my favourite shows is The Biggest Loser.

I love the original reality TV shows, they are a great escape. I think they've gotten a bit out of control in recent years with everyone trying to hop on the reality TV bandwagon to make a buck off stupid show concepts, but the originals like Survivor and The Amazing Race will always get my attention. Somehow, though it's not an original, The Biggest Loser managed to break through the noise and catch my interest and I followed along faithfully last season. I love that it's a reality show that actually has a purpose that is more than just entertainment for TV viewers and prize money for players. Everyone wins on this show because every participant starts off at a very unhealthy weight, and everyone learns how to live more healthily on this show. They all lose weight and many seem to keep it off. It has also motivated countless viewers to jump on the bandwagon and get healthy themselves.

I've been looking forward to the new season, which begins on Tuesday Sept 11th at 8 pm on NBC. It comes at a good time for me, as I'm taking the month of September to refocus my efforts on healthy eating and fitness with the goal to lose some weight. Earlier this week, my new blog friend Jessie announced that she is forming a Blogging Biggest Loser competition, so I decided it's a perfect way to join in the fun. Here are the rules:

1. Leave Jessie a comment letting her know you want to join.
2. Post on your blog about the competition and encourage others to join the fun.
3. Leave Jessie a comment once per week throughout the competition letting her know what you gain or lose during the week.
4. Jessie will list each contestant in the sidebar of her blog. She will also list how much each person has lost or gained. This will be updated on Tuesday nights after the newest episode of The Biggest Loser airs.
5. After the show's big finale we can see who the Blogging Biggest Loser is.

Anyone care to join me - head on over to Jessie's blog and join in the fun! There's no prize for winning but it would be a great support group if you're looking to lose some weight, regardless of whether or not you like the show.

Managing Wedding-Induced ADHD

2007-09-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

I have the attention span of a gnat with regards to creating a vision for my wedding. It's not that I don't find it interesting - au contraire, ma cherie - it's just that there are so many great ideas out there and I want them all. Even if they are mutually exclusive ideas.

I've gone from wanting pink everything to pink with either silver, black, chocolate, indigo or green. Then latched onto green and thought of mixing that with pink or white or both would be great. I've gone from loving an English tea party to a sleek Vegas bash to a Spanish fiesta. I've wanted clean, modern lines and also traditional, old-fashioned bouquets with fluffy flowers like peonies and roses.

When we went to visit a florist last weekend, I had to describe my vision. I do actually have a specific bridal bouquet in mind, so I talked about that, which uses pink, white and green flowers. Unbeknownst to me, Chris assumed I'd done away with all my other ideas and had settled for good on pink and green, and was thrilled I'd finally decided what I wanted.

Afterwards, I made the mistake of mentioning that I was considering switching to blue and green as the main wedding colours, and sending him another inspiration board themed around the idea of a Gatsby-style reception (via Faye & Greer):

Chris got mad.

He's fed up with me changing my mind. He kept saying, "I thought the colours and the theme and everything were all decided already! Why do you keep changing everything? How can I decide anything if you won't stick with a decision? What has actually been decided?!"

Well honey, the only things that are set in stone are the things that we've got signed contracts for. That would be, uh, the venue and the photographer. Oh, and my wedding dress. (More on that later.) That's it. If only he would do the one thing I'd asked for his help with and research DJ's, we might have that decided too, but alas he's been promising me for a month that he'll get on that next week.

I got upset at his reaction because I just wanted him to share my excitement for possible ideas and wanted to know his opinion. (Turns out he actually prefers green & blue over green & pink, ha! See, it's a good idea!)

I think there are several issues at hand here and they're all fairly common:

I have a severe case of wedding brain and talk about the wedding a lot. Chris is very understanding but would rather talk about other things.
Although I like certain colours, I'm having a tough time nailing down a specific vision and seeing how all the details will come together for a cohesive look, so I keep getting attached to decor themes that I like the look of. Chris is afraid things will look too "theme-y" if we do this.
Chris is an action guy, not an idea guy. He's uncomfortable with having so many variables that do not have any firm decisions made yet.
The wedding is lower on Chris' priority list than it is on mine. He will work on it when he's caught up on everything else, whereas I will happily procrastinate on everything else to work on the wedding.

How to work through these issues:

Find an outlet to talk about wedding stuff with like-minded individuals so that you don't talk non-stop about the wedding with your fiance. He is probably wondering to himself what happened to his hockey-loving, dog-walking, relaxed girlfriend, and who is this high-stress detail-obsessed girly girl hunched over the colour-coded binder in the living room? Hi, Weddingbee. You are my saviour.
Only ask your fiance's opinion if he will actually care. He probably has an opinion about what food you will serve for dinner at the wedding. Maybe not so much on whether to use dupioni silk for the tablecloths.
Conduct a major planning session with your fiance and anyone else who is helping with planning decisions. In a couple of hours, work through all your options for items that need to be decided, and make some decisions. Do some brainstorming in areas where you feel you are lacking vision. Come out of it with a to-do list and make sure you have accomplished something at the end of the session or it will be a waste of time for everyone.
Make sure to set aside time with your fiance to do things you used to do before you got engaged, and relax!

Diet & Fitness Plan Update

2007-08-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

I am a lazy, lazy bride who doesn't keep her promises to keep you all apprised of my progress on the weight loss and fitness front. I am sure none of you actually CARE, but it does help me stay on track and stay accountable if I know I have to admit to the world on a monthly basis how I'm doing. But alas, I haven't updated you since May.

I haven't written about it for a couple of reasons. I haven't had anything to report, for starters, because I've done virtually nothing over the last three months to facilitate my weight loss. I have been training for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer (totally successful and inspirational event, by the way - I raised over $2200 and walked 60 km in two days. Then I slept for 12 hours a night and walked stiffly enough to be mistaken for a zombie for several days afterwards. Can't wait to do it again in 2009!) which involved dedicating so much time to walking that I stopped going to the gym. And walking, while necessary when training for an event like that, just doesn't really pack the same calorie-burning punch as a good aerobics class or personal training session. I started to gain back some of the weight that I've lost, and I was embarrassed to admit to this minor failure.

But it's a bit of a slippery slope, and not having to admit to the world that I've gained some of it back means not having to admit to myself that I've gained, and that means not having to admit to myself that the lack of exercise and the constant snacking is detrimental to my health. Not being accountable to you guys makes it easier to ignore my weight gain, and sticking my head in the sand is no way of dealing with this.

This morning I weighed in at 159.6 lbs. I haven't gained a whole lot of the weight back, only four lbs. That is a manageable amount to fix, but it's also one third of the total weight I've lost since January. I don't want to undo all the hard work I put in earlier this year; it's so much easier to gain than it is to lose! So September is the month for me to get back on the bandwagon. Plus, I have my engagement photo session on October 2nd and I want to look as good as I did back in May!

I will be back on SparkPeople. Back to calorie counting. Back to writing a note on my Vision Board at home every day saying that I commit to weighing 140 lbs. Back to portioned Teddy Graham snacks as my only source of chocolate (gah! That will be the hardest one.) And back to the gym, of course. I started on Monday by returning to yoga, and it was obvious that I'd been out of practice for awhile, but it felt great.

If anyone feels like sharing their healthiest and yummiest recipe in the comments, go nuts, I'd love to try some new stuff! Focusing on trying new foods rather than eliminating favourite foods is a good way to start a new diet regime.

New Chapters Photobooks

2007-08-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

Great news for my Canadian readers!

Chapters (for all you Americans reading, that's the Canadian alternative to Borders or perhaps Barnes & Noble) has just come out with a new line of photobooks, a la Blurb or MyPublisher, for us North-of-the-border Canucks. Excuse me while I do a little happy dance in the corner here!

The photobooks look to be of good quality and have numerous options in terms of colours, textures, book sizes, and customization. They have themed designs for wedding, baby, travel, and "fun" (whatever that is?) albums.

The album prices start from $34.99 ($39.99 for the wedding themed ones) and also offer mini-books from a mere $9.99! We have actually weighed our options quite carefully with regard to photo albums, and although we love love LOVE the beautiful ones you can purchase through your photographer, we have concluded that a fancy album is not something we need at this point in time if it's going to cost us $1200 or more. We are going to take our photos and create a photo album for under $100 and still have a lovely coffee table album and be able to look at the same beautiful photos. If we decide later that we miss the fancy album, we can buy one at a later date perhaps as an anniversary gift to each other.

We also plan on creating two more of these albums to give to each of our sets of parents as gifts for the wedding. Another great use for these is to make a photobook of your engagement photos, with plenty of white space on each page, and use it as a guest book. Have your guests sign the pages at your wedding.

Happy Pre-Anniversary To Me

2007-08-23T12:31:00.001-07:00

Today is exactly 365 days until I tie the knot with my sweetheart. I am so excited. Finally crossing the 12-month countdown mark!

And the Winner Is...

2007-08-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

A quick update on my bridesmaid dilemma of a few weeks ago.

Thank you so much to everyone who chimed in and gave their opinion. It was very valued and helped me realize that Naghmeh really was the wrong choice - even though I would really love for our friendship to be close, it just isn't and you can't force these things.

Having said that, I realized a few days after writing that post that I had overlooked a rather obvious candidate. It is now official that my fourth bridesmaid is Cary (of Ryan & Cary's wedding "fame"). I was so relieved and happy when it occurred to me that she was the perfect person for it, and felt pretty dumb that I didn't think of her sooner.

I asked her yesterday (via email... I know, I should be shot) and got the following response back shortly afterwards:

Hey! I would be honoured to a bridesmaid in your wedding, thank you!! What a great surprise! I would love nothing more than to be up there with you guys and am so very touched that you thought of me.

Now I really CAN help you with the wedding planning ;) I'm super excited!!! Tell me what I can do. Yes, still wrapping things up from my own wedding but I always have some time and would love to help!

Cary

Think she's excited? I kind of think she's excited. I'm so glad that she's so thrilled. I was a little nervous to ask her so long after the other BM's had been chosen since it would be obvious that she wasn't a first pick, but I don't think there's any resentment because she didn't expect to be picked in the first place.

The Salsa Dancing Solution

2007-08-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

I have had a dilemma on my mind for a few months now about what dress to buy for my wedding. I went gown shopping within a week of getting engaged and found THE gown of my dreams, which happened to be $1100 because I am a kick-ass bargain hunter when the mood strikes. It was very stress-free and over quickly. I didn't buy it though because I had SO long to go until my wedding so I figured I'd try to lose some weight first, so that I wouldn't have to spend an arm and a leg on alterations later. I still haven't ordered it, but I do still love it. It is similar to this style (this is not the exact dress, because they wouldn't let me take photos unless I was putting down a deposit.)

But after a few months of talking about the wedding with my fiance, we determined that we want to surprise our guests with a salsa dance as our first dance, though it is already the worst-kept secret in history because I can't keep my lips sealed about it for some reason. Chris and I have taken salsa classes for awhile and love it, so it would be very "us." But can you imagine trying to do a steamy Latin number while attempting to avoid tripping over that hem? Yeah, I thought not. You can do many cool dances in a big ball gown - a waltz, a foxtrot, even swing - but you cannot salsa with that much pouf. Impossible.

So I contemplated a different style dress. It was when I began to consider other options that this Alfred Angelo dress caught my attention:

I really love the lace sheath look and do genuinely like this dress. But I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that I would have to give up my gorgeous princess gown. It didn't help that everyone else I asked unanimously told me it was stupid to base my wedding dress style on a dance I wanted to do (which I still do not agree with, because the first dance is one of the most important moments at the wedding for me.)

But it is all a moot point now, because I went to the dentist this afternoon. Say wha? I know you're wondering how the dentist could help with this decision! But my dental hygienist Laura is getting married in November so she and I both have serious cases of wedding brain so we always talk weddings when I go there. She came up with the most brilliant idea that now seems so obvious I'm embarassed I didn't think of it first.

"Why don't you just get a cute white calf-length flowy salsa skirt and pair it with one of those 'Bride' shirts, or a white salsa dress, and just wear that for your first dance when you enter the reception? Then just change right back into your wedding gown afterwards!"

I'm so doing that. No compromise necessary for the wedding gown itself. I am thinking something like this (in white):

Paired with this (in white also):

I admit it will seem unorthodox at first to my guests if I make my grand entrance in a skirt and tank top, but I think they'll understand as soon as the music starts to groove. And nobody will be disappointed when they see me back in my gown later on!

What do you think? Crazy? Too casual? Too many wardrobe changes? Great idea?

In Training

2007-08-09T14:59:00.001-07:00

Just an FYI guys - I feel a little guilty for updating this blog so sporadically in the last two or three weeks and although I'm trying to get around to it, this may continue a little bit longer. I'm a participant in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer which kicks off in 9 days. In addition to being an awesome fundraiser for breast cancer research and treatment, it's also a pretty intense athletic event for participants in which we walk 60 km in just two days. (I know it's just walking, but I did it last year too and believe me, training really pays off!) Therefore I'm in training at the moment and need to train on pretty long walks, 2-4 hours at a stretch, leaving me with little free time.

It'll all be over by the end of the day on August 19th, and I will return after that!

Wedding Day Attire Tips

2007-08-09T14:19:00.001-07:00

My friend Cary came over this past weekend and we spent a good bit of time reminiscing about her wedding and things she learned, things she would have done differently, tips for my wedding day, etc. Four very good bits of advice came out of the discussion that I thought I would share with you:

If you plan to wear a veil, and want to have it over your face as you walk down the aisle and have someone lift it over your head when you reach the front of the ceremony location, remember you will need a double layer veil! Cary didn't actually make her mistake, but it was a funny story that her sister-in-law Lauren told her on her wedding day. Apparently at Lauren's wedding, she only had a single layer veil and her family insisted she wear it covering her face as she walked down the aisle, so it looked like she was wearing it backwards!
When selecting a gown, be mindful of the fact that many of your bridal portraits will likely be from the knees up or the waist up unless you specifically request that your photographer take mainly full length shots. This is important if the gown of your dreams has a plain bodice but lots of detail at the hemline of the dress; those beautiful details may be lost in many of your photos.
Test out your bustle ahead of time! Cary thought hers was quite secure, but her dad stepped on her dress during the father daughter dance and pulled out the bustle. Her mum sewed it up for her afterwards, and it got stepped on and pulled out twice more before she finally gave up and just held up the train with her hand for the rest of the night.
Keep white chalk in your wedding day emergency kit just in case. Cary scuffed up her gorgeous wedding shoes quite badly just before the ceremony began, and was grateful to have chalk on hand to cover up the black scuff marks!

One last, bonus tip from the Don't Be a Bridezilla camp:

Once the wedding day arrives, the bridesmaids dresses are picked out, the shoes are chosen, and the day is underway, stop worrying about everything being perfect. Do everything you can to make everything perfect ahead of time, but on the day of the wedding, it's too late to fix any problems, so relax and enjoy the ride. Try to see the humour in any minor mishaps!

Tag! I'm It!

2007-07-31T13:51:00.000-07:00

HamiHarri from Another Wedding Blog tagged me in this 8 things meme that's making the rounds of the Internet! Players list 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, players then tags 8 people by posting their names and makes sure they know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at the tagee’s blog.

1. I suffer from a severe case of chronic procrastination. Surprisingly, I always manage to meet my deadlines. I think my ability to do so only encourages my procrastination further, since I'm obviously managing just fine even if I waste half my time putting things off.

2. I have dual citizenship in Canada and England, which came in handy when I decided to do my co-op work term in London, since I didn't have to get a work visa. I have travelled to the UK 5 times.

3. I really didn't like small breed dogs until the moment I laid eyes on my Shih Tzu puppy Sierra when she was 8 weeks old. I was converted to a lifelong fan on the spot. But I still like big dogs too :)

4. I am a total sugar addict, with particular weaknesses for pastries and chocolate. I'm not usually very tempted by cake though, and yet I cannot *wait* to go on wedding cake tastings. I don't usually make it through the day without some sort of sweet treat.

5. I often daydream of moving to Australia with Chris and Sierra and taking up residence in an apartment on the beach, supporting myself by freelance work, and surfing and sunbathing in my spare time.

6. I can count on one hand the number of dreams I can remember, and they are all nightmares. Except one very weird one in which I was living in a cartoon ice world. One was a wedding day nightmare where I'd forgotten to do everything; guests were showing up for the ceremony and I hadn't even booked an officiant or picked out a wedding dress.

7. I'm a total pop culture junkie - I love Celebrity Baby Blog and People magazine, and I relish trash TV like Big Brother and So You Think You Can Dance. Actually, I don't even consider SYTYCD to be trash TV, it's THAT much fun!

8. I organize my closet by rotating items from the back so that all my clothes get worn regularly. It drives me berserk if Chris moves something out of order to bug me, which he takes great pleasure in doing (he's a prankster). I am aware this makes me nuts. I don't care.

I'm totally not tagging anyone though. I swear everyone's answered this meme already!

Couples Therapy

2007-07-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

This has to be the best way to break bad news. Go on, read it. I'll wait. The rest of the post won't make sense without it.

So, yes, this is an excellent strategy for breaking bad news. Because then your bad news will seem trivial. I'm not sure that was Heather's point, but that's what I'm taking from it!

Chris is highly skilled at this strategy. He likes to get my heart racing every once in awhile, to "keep me healthy," or for his pure amusement and for getting his way. It works very well on me, though I'm not sure why.

For example, Chris just got back from his 10 day trip, and he calls me up at work the next morning to say, "Hey, um, I need to talk to you about something right now..."

Long drawn-out pause.

Me (mildly alarmed): "Okay... everything alright?"

Him: "Yeah, well... um..."

Pause.

(Somewhat more alarmed.)

Pause.

Looooooong pause.

(Becoming notably worried at this point.)

"Okay, so, I met this guy in Vegas who's travelling up to Vancouver. Can he come and crash at our place for 6 1/2 weeks? He's at the airport right now so I need to go pick him up right away."

See? If you follow up the CATASTROPHIC, FATAL heart attack with the mild stroke, it doesn't seem so bad in comparison.

Too bad for Chris, I am used to his tactics.

Too bad for me, dude is going to be there when I get home tonight anyway. For 6 weeks. Grrrrrrr.

Introducing SDJ Photography

2007-07-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

I finally got confirmation that our contract and initial deposit has been received by our first choice photographer, and we are BOOKED, baby! I was feeling a little competitive about our photographer, we love him so much I wanted to hoard him and keep him all to myself, my little secret just in case one of my (ten or so) readers happens to want to book him for the exact same date as me (ha!) But now I can breathe a sigh of relief and introduce you to Scott of SDJ Photography.

I got in just before a price hike, but Scott's still quite reasonably-priced for what you get - his packages start from $3300 but the great thing about him is that he doesn't charge by the hour. So even with the basic package, you get photo coverage for your entire wedding day, 12+ hours, and also an engagement photo session. If you can find a better price for a (good) photographer in the City of Vancouver for a full day of coverage, I will give you my first born child. Okay not really. But I did a ton of research on photographers, and while Scott is not the cheapest, he is (in my opinion) certainly the best value for your money that you will find anywhere in the GVRD, hands down. In addition, I cannot possibly stress enough what a cool guy he is. He spent almost two hours with us (because we had so many questions) showing us his albums, answering questions, talking about different package options and making sure we were 100% comfortable with the contract. He's really flexible and is all about making sure you get what you want for your wedding photos.

Without further ado, here's some examples of his work which is just pure eye candy to me. All images are credited to SDJ Photography.

Missin' My Babe

2007-07-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

This week is hard. Chris is away on business for 10 days, well sort of. He left on Thursday last week for Seattle for 4 days and arrived back home very late on Sunday night. He was home for 12 hours, but I only got about an hour and a half of conversation with him, and then yesterday he flew to Las Vegas and isn't returning till Sunday night, super late once again so I won't really see him until next Monday after work.

I was enjoying having the place to myself for the first couple of days. It was nice to stretch out and have the ENTIRE queen size bed to myself for a change! Er, well, except for Sierra. That little munchkin may only weigh 9 pounds, but she sure is a bed hog. Luckily I can pick her up and move her if she is hogging my pillow.

But Chris didn't even have Internet OR phone access in Seattle so I didn't get to speak to him at all for four days, and now he has Internet but barely any time. He's only online late at night when I am supposed to be sleeping, so I am sleep deprived this week! I feel like my day is incomplete if I don't get a chance to kiss him goodbye or hello and ask him about his day.

The worst part for me is leaving Sierra at home by herself. Chris works from home so she usually has him to keep her company. I can't imagine how I could ever work when I have kids because I've been suffering from terrible guilt for leaving my dog at home for 10 hours straight every day. She sees me getting ready to go out and gets excited for a car ride, only to have me break her little heart (and mine too) and shut her inside the house. I mean, how do you say no to this little face?

Little girl misses her daddy. Business trips? They suck. Come home soon Chris!

Ring Inspiration

2007-07-16T16:09:00.001-07:00

Ever since I got engaged I have had fun popping into jewelry stores to check out the wedding bling. It's so funny, before I was engaged I never particularly fantasized about my wedding or any of the details so I thought I would be pretty relaxed about most aspects of it. But somewhere along the way I've managed to come up with an ideal look for pretty much every aspect and all of a sudden, nothing else will do!

As soon as I started thinking about what I might like my wedding ring to look like, I quickly found my mind visualising a brushed white gold ring, about 3 mm in width, with small diamonds spaced several mm apart around the entire circumference of the ring. I thought this was a fairly simple sounding design, but to my surprise, not ONE of the jewelry stores I've been into has carried anything that even remotely resembles this picture in my head.

Which is why I giggled with glee when I stumbled upon this blog post by Stacy with some trendy new ring designs! I present to you the physical incarnation of my (apparently trendy) idea:

Except it's not brushed gold. But now that I see it in all its shiny glory, I'm kind of rethinking the brushed look. It's quite pretty as is, isn't it?

I'm curious how you guys all wear/plan to wear your wedding ring. Do you have an engagement ring? If so, are you wearing your wedding ring on the same finger as your engagement ring, or different fingers? Did you get your engagement ring and wedding ring made to match? The issue I'm having is, as you can see in the photo of my engagement ring in the right sidebar, the band on my e-ring is quite wide (I haven't measured, but I would guess 5 or 6 mm.) I love my ring but now that I have begun thinking about a wedding band to go with it, I realize that the width of the band on my e-ring will maybe look a bit excessive when combined with a second ring. I mean, that's a lot of metal for one little finger!

I've always wanted to wear my e-ring and wedding ring on the same finger but I fear it will be too much together. I'm considering just wearing my e-ring on my right hand once I'm married, which my fiance doesn't like but understands why I'm considering it. The only alternative I can think of is to ask him if he would prefer if I kept the e-ring diamond but melted down the band and had it remade into something thinner, maybe 3 mm. I would strongly prefer this option, but I have a feeling he'd be highly offended because he painstakingly selected this ring and loves it on me. Ah, what to do, what to do...

Oh Seven Oh Seven Oh Seven

2007-07-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

Today is a big day for weddings! As many of you will already know, today is one of the biggest days in history for weddings, as the number seven is considered a lucky number by many and the date format today is 07-07-07. Conveniently, it also falls on a Saturday, the most popular day of the week for weddings, smack dab in the middle of wedding season. A few weddings taking place today:

Eva Longoria & Tony Parker

Miss Lemon from Weddingbee

Ash&Jerm from The Knot

Today is also a big day for another reason. July 7th, 2007 is the big day for LiveEarth concerts worldwide. LiveEarth is the concert series spearheaded by Al Gore, the man behind An Inconvenient Truth, and the concerts are to draw attention and support to the increasingly urgent issue of global warming.

In honour of this big day I have taken the LiveEarth pledge and encourage you to do so as well. I also wanted to post a few "green" wedding tips to help reduce the environmental impact of your wedding:

1. Hold a wedding in your hometown rather than a destination requiring air travel for all your guests.

2. Use local resources and vendors as much as possible. For example, use only flowers that are in season in your local area so that you don't have to have them flown in from another country. Create a menu that uses only local organic ingredients.

3. Use only recycled paper for all your wedding stationery.

4. Read this post by Miss Radish on Weddingbee for some inspiration.

5. Use a rented hybrid vehicle as your getaway car.

6. Buy your engagement and wedding rings from a vendor who uses only ethical diamonds and precious metals. Check this list on Green Weddings for a starting point.

Bridal Party Symmetry

2007-07-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

I have a minor dilemma with regard to my bridal party and am seeking your feedback! When Chris and I got engaged, one of the first and easiest decisions we made was selecting the members of our bridal party. We each picked three. I picked my sister and two best friends. Chris picked his brother, my brother, and his best friend. It was a done deal.

But Chris has another friend named Justin he recently decided he wants to add. Justin is an old friend of his from high school who he doesn't see much anymore because he moved away, but they spent a lot of time together recently because Justin also attended Ryan & Cary's wedding and they reconnected really well. I have absolutely no issue with having Justin as a groomsman - I think he's a great guy! That is not the problem.

But I'm sure you can see where this is going. Now we have an uneven wedding party with four guys but only three girls. The three girls I've chosen so far are perfect choices because there are only three girls in my closest group of friends and it's not leaving anyone out. But if I add a fourth, I feel like I'm picking and choosing between a few friends who are all in my "second tier of friends," if you will, and I don't like the feeling of having to "rank" my friendships because I consider them all to be equal. So what to do, what to do....

Option 1: Leave it uneven. The thought of the asymmetrical sides nearly kills me. But I can admit that perhaps that's just my obsessive, detail-oriented nature talking and maybe I should just deal. Can't help it though, don't like this option... MISMATCHED sides! Captured for all eternity in our wedding photos! GAAAGGHHHH!! Yes, I am crazy.

Option 2: Ask my friend N to be a bridesmaid. This is probably my favourite option, but also kind of awkward. I met N only 2 years ago when she was hired at my previous company and we've only been close for about 18 months, when she was promoted and I began working closely with her. We hit it off immediately and outside of my sister and two best friends, I do consider her my next closest friend. However, now that I left the company, we only see each other for lunch every few weeks and rarely get together for any other reason. I think if I still worked at my old job, it would be a no-brainer to ask her, but since I'm not there anymore, the frienship has suffered a little... Maybe it's just a mental hangup of my own, but it doesn't seem like we spend as much time together as I would have imagined and bride & bridesmaid would. Plus there's a bit of awkwardness:

a) She knows all my other BM's were chosen months ago. So she'll know she wasn't a first choice and might feel like she's just being asked to be there as "filler."

b) I have had a persistent suspicion for the duration of our friendship that I consider her a closer friend than she considers me. Which is fine most of the time but occasionally bothers me a little - I want her to think I'm as cool as I think she is! So I'm afraid her first thought might honestly be that it's weird I didn't ask someone I've known longer, or she might think that I'm overestimating the friendship. I think this has a lot to do with my own confidence and insecurities, but there you have it. These are real fears, and the reason I haven't addressed it with her is that I'm afraid she'll confirm them rather than deny them.

c) A few weeks ago we had a discussion about the bridal party back when I thought it was a done deal with 3 on each side. I had mentioned that if we had any more people in the bridal party, she would have been my next choice and she seemed flattered. Now I think if I were to ask someone other than her, she would be hurt.

Option 3: My friend Tiffany from New Zealand. Tiff and I haven't seen each other in ten years because she lives in NZ, so we're not that close anymore, but we used to consider ourselves best friends. She said she would come to the wedding for sure, but does seem slightly worried about the travel cost. There are pros and cons. If she were made a bridesmaid, this would surely be the incentive to make sure she comes (and for me, this would be a true highlight of the wedding)! Plus, my mom LOVES Tiff and would be thrilled if she were a BM. On the minus side, I don't want her to feel guilted into coming if she can't afford it (and of course being a BM would only add to her expenses), and I imagine it would be tough to get dresses fitted and ordered across international borders. Also due to distance, Tiff can't help plan or participate in any pre-wedding activities (showers, bachelorette party).

Option 4: My friend Cornelia from Germany. She's definitely going to come to the wedding, which I'm super stoked about because I only get to see her once every few years. I would consider her a closer friend now than Tiff. But there are the same distance issues as with Tiffany, since Cornelia lives in Europe.

Option 5: My friend Y from Vancouver. I met her through Chris 3 years ago and have hit it off with her really well. I consider her almost as close a friend as N is. She wouldn't think it was weird if I asked her (I think she would just be excited), but she also wouldn't think it was weird if I didn't. It would be easy to organize BM dresses for her because she's local. But I don't think Chris would want her on my side. Why? She's his ex. (She is on the guest list though and he's cool with that! And yes, I'm cool with it too. I know it makes me crazy to be good friends with my fiance's ex-girlfriend, but moving on...)

So...

I think mainly due to the discussion I had with N about her being my next choice if we'd had room for four in the bridal party (thinking of course that we did *not* have room!), I am most comfortable with either option 1 or option 2. If I think about my own feelings about my various friendships and put aside everything else, N is still the one I would like up there with me the most (even if I'd never said anything about her being my next choice. I mean, I said that because it was true.) It's mainly the potential awkwardness that is getting in the way of me wanting to ask N, I just wish I could have her as a BM but bypass all the weird feelings that might go along with it.

So my real questions, I guess, are these: Is it better to go with the closest, most supportive friend, even if that comes with a possibly awkward discussion? Should I have a heart-to-heart discussion with N and choose her anyway, or pick an "easier" option? Does my mom's opinion matter on this? (I know it's important to involve parents in some wedding decisions, but I'm not sure if this is one of them...) Do you need to have been friends for a long time with your bridesmaids? Would it be better to just have an uneven number on either side and avoid dealing with any of this?

Congratulations if you actually read all the way to the end of this post. You deserve a prize.

Ryan & Cary's Wedding

2007-07-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

Still no photos from other wedding guests have arrived in my inbox, so I will go ahead with my own photos for your viewing pleasure! I didn't have my camera for the ceremony, but I did go back to the ceremony location the next day to take some photos of the site. This is the staircase where Cary made her grand entrance into the courtyard at the White Oaks Resort & Spa (warning: automatic music), it was truly breathtaking:

This garden was where the ceremony took place. It was a Jewish wedding, and the chuppah was located on the patio area here. Ryan & Cary were married beneath the front of the chuppah, while their parents stood further back under the chuppah. The groomsmen stood to the left and the bridesmaids to the right.

A photo of the ceremony program and the bubbles (in such a cute champagne flute bottle!) that were placed on all the guests' seats at the ceremony.

A closeup shot of one of the bridesmaids' bouquets. Cary chose purple and silver as her main wedding colours so this worked really well with the colour palette. Once the reception began, they had the great idea of using the bridesmaids' bouquets to decorate the couple's sweetheart table.

A not-so-great photo of the table settings and centrepiece. It's a little hard to see, but the centrepieces were large bowls of floating candles and flower buds. A very pretty, economical centrepiece idea!

The bride and groom cutting the cake. This is the best shot of the bride and groom that I can share with you because I promised I wouldn't post photos on my blog in which you could see their faces! They're internet and camera shy :)

The night before the wedding, after the rehearsal dinner, Chris and I took off to see Niagara Falls with one of the other couples in the wedding party. Isn't it gorgeous? This is taken from the Canadian side. I love how you can see how much mist it gives off - it is absolutely incredible.

The day after the wedding, we had several hours to kill in between the morning brunch and our flight back home, so we headed into the historic district of Niagara-on-the-Lake which was a few kilometres away from White Oaks. It is such a sweet little town. Storefronts like the one below are the typical style.

When they say historic, they aren't kidding. There are horse carriages all over the place! I love the gorgeous little hotel building behind it.

It was absolutely sweltering in Ontario that day, so we walked down toward the water where there was a bit of a cool breeze going on. Another tourist was kind enough to take a photo of the two of us:

That's all folks! If I get photos of any other wedding details I will be sure to share them with you later on.

Hindu Wedding Details

2007-07-02T21:45:00.001-07:00

Posts will continue with details from Ryan & Cary's wedding, but I had to share Mighty Girl's post from today. Mighty Girl is one of my regular blog reads that is not wedding-related. It's written by the fabulous Maggie Mason (a good friend of Dooce's, by the way) and she attended a Hindu wedding on the weekend, and posted some photos that she took. I love the use of colour in Hindu and Asian weddings, and think anyone can draw inspiration from the colour palettes and decor details, regardless of your culture.

A few of my favourites:

Maggie has more photos of the wedding on her Flickr stream here, if you are interested.

Floral Inspiration at the Hotel

2007-06-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

I know I promised photos from the wedding I attended over the weekend, but I am still kicking myself HARD for forgetting the camera during the ceremony. I'm hoping some of the other guests' photos make their way to my inbox in the next couple of days so I can share those with you instead. In the meantime, a compromise!

The wedding took place at the White Oaks Resort & Spa (be warned: annoying automatic music ahead if you click on the link, but there is an icon to turn it off) in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Upon setting foot in the hotel, I immediately noticed the floral arrangements in the lobby and public areas. They were nothing to do with the wedding, but there were wedding-worthy so I snapped a few pics to share some creative arrangements with you. Enjoy!

I'm not exactly sure what type of flower these are, but loved the punch of yellow and how it played off the red couches. I also liked the way they stacked the vases on the centre coffee table. A close up of these flowers:

The flowers below were in the lobby. I loved each idea separately or all together as shown here - 3 ideas in 1!!

In the separate vases are branches, calla lilies, pale pink peonies, and you can just see some orchids peeking up at the bottom left.

These orchids are the ones you can see peeking into the bottom left corner of the photo above. I also really love this tulip display in the wide open, fishbowl-like vase and the abundant greenery. On a tilt like this, it probably wouldn't work as a centrepiece, but would be great in a guest seating area outside the main dining room.

The hotel used a lot of gerbera daisies like this one. I think this is a stunning, money-saving option. The glass beads in the vase are an unexpected touch, and look at the impact achieved with just two blooms.

These tall orchid vases are quite majestic and stunning. I really like how they layered the rocks and soil in the bottom of the vases.

Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Hodgson!

2007-06-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hey y'alls, this is a quick one to let you know I've been out of town since early Friday morning in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario for the destination wedding of our close friends Ryan & Cary! Ryan is Chris' best friend from high school and Chris served as the best man, so was busy the entire weekend with wedding duties (a celebratory golf round with the boys, wedding rehearsal, wedding party photos, etc. Chris is not a golfer and describes the golf as, "Awesome, 'cause I sure got my money's worth. I shot 138, so I got two rounds for the price of one. Ha!") I got a little more time to myself as I was not in the wedding party, but there was plenty to keep me busy too. I got to attend the wine & cheese party (which was the rehearsal "dinner") and the brunch yesterday morning after the wedding, and had a bit of time to potter around the absolutely charming historic district and waterfront area of Niagara-on-the-Lake. We just got back to town late last night.

I also had several hours to do my nails in preparation for the festivities, and it's a good thing I did, because I used to paint my nails all the time and was good at it so I thought it would be fine to do them myself and save some $$ on a mani/pedi. But I don't do them anymore *ever*, so I mucked them up several times over and needed all the extra time to fix them. Note to self: get a pedicure and manicure for your own wedding, you cheapskate!

I forgot my camera in my hotel room for the ceremony so I unfortunately have no photos of that. But I did boot it to my hotel to grab the cam during the cocktail hour, so photos of the details will be forthcoming! I haven't unpacked the camera yet, so stay tuned.

In other news, it's my sister's 21st birthday today. Happy birthday Kelsey!

Snap Happy: Photography Styles

2007-06-21T02:04:00.000-07:00

I know a little about photography from my previous job in marketing, and our photographer Scott (more on him later...) has also been really helpful and forthcoming about information we needed to know but might not have thought to ask him. So I thought I'd put together a handy resource with information about wedding photography in a short series I've dubbed Snap Happy.

First of all, there are four main types of photographers you should be aware of so that you can determine which style you are most drawn to:

Photojournalistic: This type of photographer is also sometimes referred to as the "reporter" style because this style aims to be unobtrusive, to take photos in the background and to capture moments as they unfurl, sometimes without the subjects being aware that the photo is being taken, in much the same way as a photojournalist would do for a news story. The subjects are not posed. The advantage to this style is that you will get a number of candid shots which capture the true feelings and special moments that occurred during the day that you couldn't have foreseen or instructed your photographer to capture. The disadvantage is that if it's important to have certain specific posed shots with your new husband/wife, your family, the wedding party or any others, you should be aware that this type of photography is not the photographer's strength or passion (though they should still accommodate your request and be able to create a good image if they're worth their salt). Also, this style is currently quite trendy, and its popularity may mean higher prices.

Photo credit to Reportage Photography.

Traditional: Think of this as a posed-photo pro. If you love the typical shots of the couple cutting the cake, the couple walking off into the sunset hand-in-hand, the wedding gown hanging in a sunlit doorway before the bride puts it on in the morning, and sets of photos with the family and wedding party, then this photographer is for you. They should do a great job of these types of photos. The disadvantages are that this type of photographer tends to take the same photos at every wedding, making your set of photos a bit cookie-cutter. When done badly, this style has the potential to be truly *awful* in terms of the cheese factor, although when done well, they are lovely. Your photographer may not do well when deviating from a list of must-have shots and may not be proactive about capturing unscripted, unplanned moments.

You should also keep in mind that my description above is somewhat biased, as I'm not particularly a fan of traditional photography, so take it with a grain of salt :)

Photo credit to Sherri Koop (who, by the way, is not strictly a traditional photographer, but this particular photo is an example of the style.)

Artistic: This style of photography doesn't have pros and cons so much as a style that you either like or don't. So let me describe the style, and rather than telling you if it's good or bad, I'll let you decide for yourself. This type of photographer is very original and creative. They will take both posed and non-posed photos, but they will be sure to capture unusual images - they may shoot from unusual angles, arrange the light differently than most, or crop the photo in a surprising way. This photographer loves interesting contrasts and is likely the type who will suggest a trash-the-dress session or an urban, gritty location that provides a surprising backdrop for the fancy finery of a fully-decked-out bride and groom in wedding attire. This photographer sees Photoshop as their best friend; they don't care about the truthfulness of the moment so much as the quality of the final image. They see each photo as a piece of art and will painstakingly colour-correct and edit your photos to perfection. Their style can be seen as very unique, modern, and edgy.

Photo credit to Chris + Lynn Photographers (who also have a great photoblog by the way - check it out.)

Freestyle: This is the photographer who doesn't like labels. They don't box themselves into any single style. Scott considers himself a freelance photographer and describes his style as "taking the photo that needs taking at any given moment." If that is a posed photo, great. If it's a candid, emotional shot, no problem. Artistic? Sure thing. The advantage is that they don't limit themselves and are practiced at all types of photography. The disadvantage is that the old adage, "Jack of all trades, master of none," may come true.

I hope this has given you an overview. I want to give you the lowdown on our photographer in a later post - he's booked, but the deposit hasn't gone through yet so I'm keeping him a secret except for his first name until it's a done deal - but I will tell you what I was looking for and why. I mentioned above that I don't like traditional-style photographers; they are too structured for my tastes. I wanted some traditional shots but I needed someone who wasn't restricted to that. I also love love LOVE artistic-style photography, but not for my wedding. It's too over-the-top for me, which I find a bit risky for such a special day - I want my photos on this day to convey timelessness, elegance and emotion, not edginess. That is not necessarily the case for everyone.

So what were we looking for? A freestyle photographer with a bit of a bias towards photojournalism. And that describes Scott to a T. The photojournalistic style and the way it captures moments and emotions was non-negotiable for me, but we needed someone who would also be comfortable capturing some posed shots of our families and the wedding party so we wanted a bit of freestyle mixed in.

Tablemate Trivia Icebreakers

2007-06-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

Because I am completely nutso (and also because Weddingbee constantly posts great tips that compel me to start planning aspects of my wedding that I truly have no reason to tackle for months), yesterday I organized my wedding reception seating chart. Yes, I am 14 months out from my wedding. I have 104 guests on my guest list and only room for 80 in our budget. And I don't know who will accept and who will decline.

Nonetheless, I have a completed seating chart that - honest to God, I don't know what everyone complains about it being so stressful and time-consuming for - took me about an hour to complete. I figure once I send out invites and start getting RSVP's back, I will just tweak the seating as necessary.

Once I looked at the combination of people I've arranged at each table, I realized that although I think everyone will get along well, many of them don't know each other and some of our guests are shy. So how would we get them talking? I didn't want to give them a hokey icebreaker game to play at an elegant wedding, it doesn't seem fitting. A few subtle hints wouldn't go amiss, though. This morning I had a great idea: at each person's place setting, I will include a sheet of paper titled "Tablemate Trivia" with a few tidbits about each person seated at their table.

As an example, one of my tables includes guests named Jessica, Michael, Annette, Steve, Neil, Kathy, Gary and Heather. (Some names have been changed to protect their privacy) The Tablemate Trivia sheet will read something along these lines:

Tablemate Trivia

Thank you all for joining us at this very special celebration. We hope you will enjoy yourselves, taste some wonderful food, and make some new friends. To help you get to know those seated with you this evening, here are a few fun facts about your table mates!

Jessica & Michael are originally from Zimbabwe and came to Canada several years ago. They have travelled extensively and lived in diverse locations including Vancouver, the Kootenays, Africa, and Las Vegas. Michael now works marketing real estate and the two have a three-year old son.

Annette & Steve live in the same complex as Chris and Laura. Annette has magic hands - she's a massage therapist to the stars when they're in town! She's also an avid gardener who ensures Chris and Laura get their vitamins with her extensive vegetable and herb garden. Steve is an animal lover and walks his dog as often as he can.

Neil & Kathy have known Laura since she was 14 and their daughter Alison and she went to school together - Alison is a bridesmaid today! Laura, Alison and Neil all work together at the same office now. Neil and Kathy love to escape to their cabin on an island off the coast.

Gary & Heather know Chris because Gary and Chris are both magicians. Gary and Heather are both teachers, and Gary teaches a magic class at his school that Chris helps to teach. In an interesting twist of fate, though the connection to this couple is through Chris, Gary used to teach at Laura's school, where Neil and Kathy also sent their kids!

What do you think? I am so excited to provide my guests with a few talking points, because I've placed certain guests together because of cool little things they have in common but might never discover on their own through casual conversation. This ensures they will have a few conversation topics, without forcing them into any invasive or awkward icebreaker games. I love it!

Vancouver Florist: Roa Floral Designs

2007-05-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was walking along the Seawall downtown, and passed several shops. I've walked past them before but never really paid attention to what vendors were there. This time, one in particular caught my eye because it was a wedding vendor! I had to stop in.

I'm glad I did. Roa Floral Designs look like a great, creative Vancouver wedding vendor! Cecilia Roa runs the business, which she opened in 2005 after several years in health care dreaming of doing something more creative. She specialises in floral designs, but also does event decor for weddings and corporate events. Check out some of her work from her online portfolio:

Diet & Fitness Plan Update

2007-05-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

I'm losing steam! But still at least the numbers are going in the right direction. This morning I weighed in at 155.8 lbs, down 2 lbs from last month. I ended April at 157.8 lbs and then bounced back up to 159. I wavered between 158 & 159 most of the month and then finally in the last week dropped back to 157. This morning, after being really good this weekend, I saw the first major drop in a month when I dropped down to 155.8. My Body Mass Index is now 24.4.

I haven't stuck to my goal to count calories this month. I know this is what yielded better results for me in the beginning and I believe that if I go back to counting calories, I'll start losing weight faster again, but I really just can't be bothered anymore. I have done a number of days this month where I counted calories for breakfast. A handful of times I counted for lunch as well, but I never made it through to the end of dinner! I'm going to try aiming for a "light" feeling after eating instead - make sure I never feel stuffed at the end of a meal, just no longer hungry. I'm hoping this may work better for me.

I've done well with the fitness this month. I have been rowing twice a week in preparation for our end-of-season Corporate Rowing Challenge regatta (which was yesterday, and we came in second place out of 15 teams!!) I went to my personal trainer twice but now my sessions have ended with him. He did give me a printout of all my workout plans though, and starting next week I am going to try them on my own at my gym. We'll see how that goes - if I feel I'm getting nearly as much out of it on my own, then I'll stick to that; if not, I will consider purchasing more sessions with him, but they're expensive so I'm going to do my best without his paid assistance!

My fitness goals going forward are to attend yoga once a week, do strength workouts twice a week and begin ramping up my training for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer, a 60 km charity walk in which I will participate in August. I walked last year and trained a fair bit in advance but felt I would have been in better shape if I had trained more. So, I have some long walks in my future!

My Wedding Venue

2007-05-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

Does not do contracts for venue bookings!!!!!

Ummm.

!!!!!!!

DOES NOT DO CONTRACTS! FOR SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLAR EVENTS!!! NO GUARANTEES! I be confuzed at their logix?

"We are a private club, we are not really all that... how you say? Fancy? We're a little more simple than that."

Ummm, harrrrumph, grrrr.

Feedback appreciated.

GRRRRRRR.

Canadian Invitation Companies

2007-05-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

In my bloggy adventures, I read about lots of wonderful invitation designers who create designs so luscious I want to eat them through my screen. Invariably, though, the majority of them are based in the USA - a fact that has very nearly caused me to tear my hair out on more than one occasion. I like supporting local business owners, I like paying in Canadian funds, and I don't like waiting weeks and possibly paying large customs fees on products being shipped to me!

As such I have put together a short list of Canadian invitation designers to assist you in your quest for delicious wedding invitations.

1. Zing Paperie & Design

This Vancouver-based invitation designer create clean, simple but elegant designs and make a statement with colour rather than busy patterns:

2. The Write Place

I first heard of Vancouver-based The Write Place at the Wedding Fair, and they have done some pretty gorgeous, creative work across a variety of different styles and budgets. On the website they have 25 wedding invitation designs to view, but in their store on Arbutus Street there's literally hundreds to choose from. Their claim to fame was designing the invitations for the wedding of CTV's Tamara Taggart. Examples of their work:

3. Epiphany Designs

This is a fairly new invitation company started in the last year by the lovely Calgary-based blogger Andra. Andra discovered her creative side when she got engaged and designed her own invitations - she loved it so much that her own invitation company was born! Check out her yummy designs:

4. Tear Drop Weddings

Toronto-based Holly has received plenty of kudos for her whimsical, fun design style. I am personally in awe of her, because she manages to create designs that are cheeky and cute, and somehow still elegant enough to use as a wedding invitation. Or, if you think they're a bit too cheeky, she's absolutely perfect for save-the-dates and shower invitations! See below:

Settling the Score

2007-05-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

A quick update on my venue dilemma - we have booked the venue! Finally! Thanks you guys for the advice about going over his head. The funny thing is that what actually worked was going under his head, so to speak. While the director was away recovering from his surgery, the manager in his department, Remo, (who reported to the director) did give us a tour of the property. Remo was unable to do the actual booking - that had to be confirmed by the director when he'd returned - but he was super. Very professional, friendly, helpful, and flexible. I've been trying to get through to him for several days when I was having trouble with his boss, and finally just as I was heading out the door on Friday afternoon, my phone rang and it was Remo.

So we're booked for next summer for the date we wanted and the venue we wanted, and the best part is that Remo will be our official wedding coordinator. Not his boss.

Next up: book a photographer and officiant!

A Rant, A Question and A Parasol

2007-05-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

First off, I feel the need to apologize for the sporadic posting of late. Which is ridiculous because I know it's not like all you millions of readers out there are floundering without my voice, hanging on my every word! And yet still I feel the urge. So, I'm sorry.

The deal is that I'm running out of wedding stuff to talk about in the absence of any actual planning. And why am I not planning my wedding you ask? Well, planning has sort of been on hold for the last couple of months or so, while we wait and wait and WAIT for the lazy, condescending wedding coordinator at our first choice venue to finalize his club calendar so we'll know what dates are available for us to book the freakin' wedding and move on to other things. I was originally quite patient. The guy is older and had to be out of the office for a month because he had some major heart surgery and needed to recuperate. Fair enough, although business must go on in his absence and it would have been nice if there had been someone else to take care of this while he was away, but whatever. I was told to call back at the end of April and he would be back. Well he was back, but certainly hadn't gotten around to the club calendar yet. Please call back the first week of May. No problem. Called back the first week of May and he didn't remember me and treated me like an inconvenience to his day, and told me he was far too busy to be dealing with such petty things as a club calendar. Call back in two more weeks.

Two weeks was yesterday so I called. Five times, and he didn't answer. After the fifth call I left a message. Then I called again this morning because I knew from past experience he won't return the call anyway (he's ignored phone messages on several occasions). He told me he was in a meeting (then why are you answering your phone, dimwit?) and to call back in half an hour. I've had enough of being given the runaround, so I told him to call me back instead. He sighed with obvious annoyance and said, "Who are you again?" Took down my number. It's now two hours later and he still hasn't called back. I'm not quite sure what to do at this point. We absolutely *love* this location. There is no other place quite like it in Vancouver, and their prices are surprisingly reasonable, so we have no choice but to just put up with this schmuck if we want the location. Our second choice location is a distant second, and my parents don't agree with us on the second choice, so I'd rather not go there unless I have to. On the other hand, I feel kind of indignant about being treated like such a pest and rewarding the jerk for his behaviour by handing him several thousand dollars for the privilege of chasing around after his inconsiderate self. Part of it is me just wanting to have a little power and tell him "Fine, we don't need you that badly, if you're going to be so disorganized and rude then we're not going to give you our business." That's just me being frustrated though so I can put that aside to be practical. The bigger problem is that I don't trust him to deliver the organization of event details correctly for my wedding day.

At what point do you sacrifice your vision in order to tell the staff that you will not accept their poor customer service and will take your business elsewhere? I don't know where to draw that line.

On a happier note, one of the best moments so far in my wedding planning was when one of my close friends Tiffany who lives in New Zealand, and I haven't seen in 11 years, told me she was going to come to my wedding! Now she's helping share wedding details with me via email. This morning she sent me pictures of her sister Sascha's wedding in which she was a bridesmaid.

I loved this photo the best (Tiff is the short one in pink on the far right):

Aren't these parasols a lovely, unique idea for a summer wedding? I also think it's neat that Sascha had two different colours for her bridesmaid dresses.

Stag Party Shenanigans

2007-05-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Chris' best friend Ryan is getting married next month in Niagara Falls, and Chris is the best man. As I type this, Chris is setting out in his car up to Kamloops for the bachelor party - the one he's planned himself from scratch. Now, Chris is a bit of a notorious prankster, and although he's pretty tame now, he's had his share of wild partying days and I have a feeling he's going to relive those days in all their blazing glory this weekend. I'm simultaneously amused and nervous at the activities Chris might have in store for Ryan.

All I know is that tomorrow morning, they're going golfing. Then there will be paintball, during which my fiance's solitary goal will be to inflict as many technicolour bruises as possible on the groom. Later on, there will be drinking and Ryan has to complete a list of tasks (classy things like finding a girl to flash her boobs at him.) Then something about Ryan being "buried" (huh?!) and having to find his own way home. The party ends and Chris is coming back home on Sunday. For some reason, Chris has arranged for Ryan to have Monday and Tuesday off work.

No cameras are allowed on this trip, to ensure that no photographic evidence exists of the hijinks these boys get up to. I am 100% certain that many, many details are being left out of the weekend plans I've been told about, and Chris can take a secret to the grave. So unless Ryan tells his fiancee what transpires (entirely possible - he's a blabbermouth, and she'll definitely tell me whatever he tells her), I will never know what went down.

Boys will be boys. I am so terrified of what Ryan's going to do to Chris as payback next year at his own stag. He better come home in one piece.

Cherry Blossom Invitations

2007-05-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Laura and I am an addict. I surf invitation designs all day on the web searching for the *perfect* cherry blossom design for my wedding invitations.

My slight love affair with cherry blossoms has grown into a bit of an obsession. Since I posted about my centrepiece options, one of which involved cherry blossom branches, I have decided to probably go the traditional floral centrepiece route to keep my mom happy. So I thought if I just say no to the cherry blossom centrepieces, that would be the end of my fixation. Quite the opposite though. If I can't have cherry blossom centrepieces, then I must find new ways to use them. Invitations! Wedding cake! Wish tree branches! The options are endless.

Anyway, every minute I've spent procrastinating in the last week has been spent searching for the perfect cherry blossom graphical pattern that I could trace and scan for my invitation design. It must be just right: graphical, not too "photographic." Contemporary with clean lines, but not so simple that it looks too casual. It must be elegant and yet fun. And it must be the right shape to curve around the top left corner and bottom right corner of my invitation.

I have an image folder full of graphics that are close but not quite right, but today I found it! One Blossom designs are gorgeous and had just what I'm looking for. It's not my colour scheme, but after I convert this to the perfect shade of pink, behold my cherry blossom motif:

I want the placement of the floral pattern more like this though:

I've managed to become so picky about what I want my invitations to look like, and also so appalled at the high prices of custom design, that I am going to try my hand at designing my own invitations. I have never done any graphic design before, and don't know my way around Photoshop even in a vague way, but we do have a Photoshop software on our computer and I have about a year to figure it out. I'm sure I can manage! Let the fun begin. It'll probably take me all year.

Diet & Fitness Plan Update

2007-04-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! Another month has gone by and it's time for me to 'fess up to my victories and shortcomings. Drumroll please....

This morning I weighed in at 157.8 pounds, down 2.6 pounds from last month. So my weight loss rate has slowed somewhat from my previous 4 pounds a month, but that's hardly surprising. I got stalled for 3 weeks where I just hovered between 159 and 160 lbs, so boy was I happy last week when I saw a bit of a drop again down to 157.4. I gained back to 159 last Friday, and then was really good this weekend and am back down to 157.8. My Body Mass Index is now sittin' pretty at 24.7 - yay, I'm officially in the healthy zone!

So, the details on what I've been doing this month. First off, I've done really well with fitness. I'm continuing my weekly appointments with my personal trainer, who totally rawks by the way and if anyone is interested in personal training sessions on the North Shore, shoot me an email or leave a comment on this (or any) post and I will be happy to refer you to him. I am going to yoga on Monday nights when I'm free (which is not every week, because I have a volunteer commitment every few weeks that takes place on Monday nights). And I joined my corporate rowing team, which practices on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Also, I walk my dog on Saturdays and Sundays - yesterday we walked her for almost 2 hours! Although I haven't noticed a huge drop in weight this month, with all the fitness activity I have really noticed myself getting stronger. It's especially noticeable at my Wednesday personal trainer workouts, where each week I'm able to complete the activities from the previous week faster and with more weight. It's really motivating. It's also getting easier to complete my 250 calories of cardio after the workout.

The diet part, however, I have to admit I basically just took the month off and did a bit of self-sabotage in that area, and that's why I didn't see the same results as I have previously achieved. I just got sick of dieting and rebelled a little bit, so while I still watched my portion sizes, I stopped calorie counting and chose less healthy snacks. My biggest problem continues to be my sweet tooth, and I get hit with a strong chocolate craving every afternoon usually around 3 pm, and most of the time I have given in to it. This must stop! In the first two months I did really well at ignoring it or eating something healthier like fruit, so I need to refocus my efforts that way.

The last thing I've done this month is to watch the documentary "The Secret" recently and I'm applying the principles of the law of attraction to my weight loss journey. I've been focusing on positive thoughts, telling myself I weight 140 pounds, that I look slim and healthy, I enjoy fruits and vegetables, and that I'm happy with my body.

The best thing that happened this month is that I really AM happy with my body now. Those first 11 pounds to go were the most important ones and I now feel like if I lose more weight, that's a bonus, but if I don't, I look pretty damn good as it is. I'm so proud of the work I've done already.

For Those With Entrepreneurial Tendencies

2007-04-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is not related to anything about weddings, but I just wanted to let all my Vancouver readers know that my bloggy friend Michelle Goodman has written a book that's been published! Michelle, a Seattle-based writer, authors the fabulous blog Anti 9 to 5 Guide for anyone interested in the freelance/start-your-own-business lifestyle, and now she's written a book of the same name which seems to be getting some rave reviews.

She is coming up to Vancouver this week to do two book readings at local book places on Thursday and Friday. If this interests you at all, head over to these locations to meet Michelle and pick up a copy of her book (I can't wait to get my hands on a copy and dive right in - guess what I'll be doing this weekend?). Details of her appearances are as follows:

Thursday, April 26th, 7:00 pm

Sophia Books

450 W. Hastings St.

(604) 684-0484

Friday, April 27th, 7:30 pm

Vancouver Public Library

Alice McKay room, Lower Level

Central Library

350 W. Georgia St.

(604) 331-3603

Co-sponsored by Banyen Books

I'm attending the Friday book reading so if you're there, come and say hi!

If you're based in Washington DC, Baltimore, or New York, and you want to meet Michelle, she also has events coming up in those cities. Check out her website for more info.

Ooh La La, Les Chocolats!

2007-04-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

So, I met a friend for lunch near my office today, and as I was walking back from lunch, I decided to take a different route than usual rather than waiting for a red light to cross at the crosswalk. As I strolled through a small downtown park lined with boutique stores on one side, I glanced over to check out the retail outlets. And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a brand spanking new "chocolate café" called Mink Chocolates that has been open only five weeks!

Anyone who knows me will know that I could not possibly pass up the opportunity to check out this little gem. They have coffee AND chocolate in abundance! What's not to love? Thankfully I was stuffed full from a healthy lunch and was able to resist the glorious feast I found displayed before me: organic dark chocolate ganache bon bons with handpainted edible artistic designs; white chocolate flavoured with rose petals; milk chocolate spiked with cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, cloves, ginger and turmeric; dark chocolate filled with passionfruit purée and coconut milk; a chocolate fondue bar; hot chocolate made with your choice of 77% dark chocolate or 38% milk chocolate.

And much, much more. Including gift boxes, and my second thought (right after the thought about wanting to take up residence in this shop permanently) was that these would make absolutely delectable and beautiful wedding favours if you are after an elegant edible treat for your guests. It's also great because you will be supporting a local small business. Check out their website (be sure to read their story - it cracked me up) and stop in for a coffee. And if you see me there, please swat me away like a fly. This place is very bad for my diet. Very. Bad.

Wedding Guest Attire Problem

2007-04-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

I have a problem. Here's my situation, it's a little awkward:

I come from a privileged background, whereas my fiance has done very well for himself but it wasn't always that way. He didn't have much money growing up and most of his friends are still really poor. As in, can't afford clothes that would be appropriate wedding attire. Not just one or two of them, we're talking about half of the guests on his side.

My family have generously donated $20,000 towards our wedding. This means we can afford our dream wedding venue, which is a private golf & country club for members only (except for events) that has a dress code including jackets for men, no denim, etc. I think it's rude to come to a wedding wearing denim or no jacket (if you're a man), I thought this was common knowledge whether you're poor or not. So I didn't think this would be a problem, but I was informed on the weekend that most of my fiance's friends can't afford a suit or a nice dress, but they are his friends and they're good people and he is not going to exclude them and maybe we need to just have a different type of reception. He wants to just book a bland banquet hall or something, where there are no restrictions on attire.

I am trying not to go all bridezilla on him, but I'm having a hard time accepting this option. I was hoping for THIS:

But I'm now getting scary visions of THIS:

For one thing, there is no way my parents will allow the money to be spent on this type of venue, and for another, I will be getting a wedding that is totally not what I wanted and much less than what we can afford. I feel sorry for his friends that they can't afford the right clothing, but I don't think that altering our plans so that people are allowed to wear jeans and tshirts to a wedding is fair. They should know this is not appropriate and either decline the invitation, borrow an outfit from someone, or buy from a thrift store as far as I'm concerned. I don't want to seem heartless, but this is my WEDDING. I already had no idea how to bring our two sides together as it is, they have absolutely nothing in common, and if some of them show up dressed this way it will put me in a very awkward position. The clubhouse would be well within their rights to kick them out, since they have a dress code and it's a private members club.

So basically, my question is, how would you handle this situation? Can you see any possible compromise?

Interview with Chirky

2007-04-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of Jes, of Chirky fame. I read her blog every day, or whenever it's updated, whichever is most frequent! Today she posted her interview with Whoorl, and asked her readers if they wanted to be interviewed, to post a comment to her blog. So I did! And here is my interview with Miss Ferris:

Jes: If you could live anywhere, would you move?

Me: Well that's sort of a loaded question. If I were single, which I'm obviously not, then yes I would. I would move to Sydney, Australia in a heartbeat. And I would travel up the Coast and go snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, I would say G'Day to anyone who would listen, and I would even try to like Vegemite. Because Australians are laid back and cool and I keep having a recurring dream about going back down under to live.

But of course that's just a hypothetical situation. In reality I have a fiance and a dog, and we are a little family who live together, so I wouldn't just up and leave them. We would have to decide together about the best place for us to settle, and for now at least, we've decided that place is Vancouver. Chris is a magician (I know! Crazy, eh? He's really good though, not one of those corny kids magicians you're picturing) and his ability to get regular gigs depends on his network here in town, so it's harder for him to move than me. I don't mind in the slightest - having Chris and Sierra the puppy is much, much better than having an exotic address!

Jes: What snack could you not live without?

Me: Chocolate.

Jes: If you were invisible for one day, who would you spy on?

Me: It would either be Colin Cowie or Mindy Weiss, so I could get an accurate "day in the life" experience to understand better what event planners do for a living! I want to start my own wedding planning business but I worry sometimes about my lack of experience. It would be so fun to see where their inspiration comes from, how they accomplish the results that they get and all that jazz.

Jes: Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

Me: No. But I always wish I had when it comes time to put them back on.

Jes: How much sex is too much sex?

Me: Four times a week is definitely too much, that would cross the line from "fun" to "chore." I need my sleep!

So – wanna play?

A - Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
B - I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
C - You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
D - You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
E - When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

The Simple Dollar's Wedding Registry

2007-04-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have been reading blogs for three years, much longer than I've been engaged. As such, I follow a large number of blogs that are not wedding-related. One category that I read frequently is personal finance, and one of my favourites is The Simple Dollar.

The author, Trent, is only 28 and has a wife and young son. Today, he posted about his ideas for useful wedding registry items. He is very frugal and lists some items that will help couples every day as they start their lives together, rather than just sit on the mantlepiece looking pretty. Items that will reduce the amount of debt couples incur.

Useful for couples putting together a registry, or wedding guests looking to buy gifts!

Visit The Frugal Wedding Registry: Wedding Gift Ideas To Help Put That Special Couple On a Sound Financial Path.

Mushy Mush

2007-04-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

I spend too much time worrying about frustrating external factors about our wedding. Primarily, what my family thinks about me marrying Chris. I've posted before that my mother particularly has a difficult time with my choosing Chris as my life partner. I don't know why, but it does cast a bit of a negative light on the whole event for me. I also stress out easily and worry about stupid details regarding the wedding, like what style centrepiece to use on tables.

But sometimes when the frustrations build too much or I feel like I'm driving Chris nuts with wedding talk, I like to take a step back from the process and just think about why I love him. It reminds me why I'm having a wedding, why I'm lucky enough to have centrepieces and favours to think about, and it reminds me that he's worth fighting with my mom for him. He's great, she just doesn't see it.

Why my fiancé is the best man for me:

He doesn't have to get up early like me, but he does every day to take the dog out to the backyard when she wakes up with me, so that I don't have to get up an extra 10 minutes earlier.
He sets up my favourite TV shows to tape for me when I forget, without me asking.
He lets me steal his tshirts and sweatshirts, even when I go on business trips.
I hate washing pots and pans by hand, so when I leave them sitting by the sink "to do later" (bad habit of mine), he always washes them for me.
When he's watching TV, he'll invite me over to the couch by lying down and holding out his arms, leaving the perfect spot for me to lie down next to him and rest my head on his shoulder. And my head fits on his shoulder just perfectly. Lying with him like that is so comfy sometimes I can't be bothered to get up and go to bed after the show is over.
On weeknights when I have to go to bed early, even though he stays up late he will come to bed and tuck me in and stroke my hair until I fall to sleep. Sometimes he shakes up the routine with a foot rub instead.
He smells good, and sometimes walks around the house wearing jeans with no shirt on, and that is just yummy to look at.
My meat-and-potatoes guy didn't even bat an eye when I turned vegetarian a year and a half ago, and always adapts his recipes for me so we can still eat together most of the time.
He tries, he really tries to fold my socks together in pairs the way I do them. Usually mis-matches them, but A+ for effort.
He calls me at work every day to see how my day is going.
He won't let me carry groceries into the house, he always carries them all himself, even if there's 20 bags. I find annoying in an endearing way that he'll try to carry all 20 at once rather than have me carry any.
He insists I wake him up every morning to kiss him goodbye before I leave for work.
He always brings some country music for me to listen to on long road trips so I don't have to listen to his heavy metal the whole way. (Sometimes I wonder how our tastes in music never caused us to break up)
He plans treasure hunts for me to find my gifts on my birthday. And sometimes when he buys me surprise presents for no reason at all.

Floral Conundrum

2007-04-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

I have a dilemma. I have three very distinct ideas for reception table centrepieces, and I cannot decide which among the three I should use. So, a little assistance please!

Introducing candidate numero uno, the Submerged Orchid, at left. I love the clean, simplistic look of this centrepiece. I know it's quite minimalist, but I would surround the base of the vase with votive candles to add a little something extra. I think this would look really cool as the sun sets and the room grows darker.

Here is candidate numero dos, the Floral Branches, at right. I have been considering using branches as a theme throughout the wedding decor. I would love to have a branch-y wedding arch, a wish tree with wish cards hanging from branches, and branch-y centrepieces. What I'd really love is to use cherry blossom branches, but seeing as I'm missing the 2-week season for those by about 4 months, I can compromise! I will most likely use a cherry blossom design on my invitations, theme be damned, because I just love them and want to incorporate the look somehow into the wedding.

I also see this as a way to achieve a large, tall centrepiece look without spending an arm and a leg on flowers. I might use white flowers or pink flowers on the branches.

Lastly (and maybe leastly), candidate numero tres, the Colourful Roses, at left. As I've said, I'm more partial to tall centrepieces, but if I go with low centrepieces, I would definitely pick something with lots of flowers (as opposed to a single bloom or branches) and use square vases. I would most likely display a mix of roses and stephanotis, and a mix of pink and white flowers. If I were to go with this low floral centrepiece, it would tie in more closely with the other flowers used in the bouquets.

Now I would probably agonize over the Submerged Orchid or the Floral Branches anyway, but I've thrown the Colourful Roses into the mix because it is also pretty, it coordinates with my other flowers, and I think my mum would really like it. My mother and I have very different tastes. I am drawn towards cleaner, more contemporary, more minimalist looks and I make a splash with colour. My mother likes large bouquets with a more classical/traditional look and she definitely likes lots of white with only small accents of colour. She's specifically told me that she doesn't like the Submerged Orchid or the Floral Branches looks because they don't look "wedding-y" enough, she thinks they look like arrangements you'd find on someone's coffee table. She would prefer low floral centrepieces, mainly white with accents of colour.

I am not willing to compromise on the colour issue. I will be using more colour than my mum wants. But if I'm not willing to give on that, then maybe I should give a bit on another element of the centrepieces? I don't know how much leeway I should give her in this decision. My parents are footing the bill, after all! I would be more willing to compromise and go with the Colourful Roses look if it was generally more preferred.

So without further ado, please vote in the comments for your favourite look! Do you prefer the Submerged Orchid, the Floral Branches, or the Colourful Roses? If your first choice is Colourful Roses, please also let me know which look you prefer between Submerged Orchid and Floral Branches.

Many thanks!

Blush Bridal Boutique Sale

2007-04-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

Blush bridal salon in West Vancouver is holding a designer sample sale for the next month at their boutique location on Bellevue Avenue! Blush is an awesome salon. As is fitting for a bridal boutique in West Van, they are very upscale and their regularly-priced bridal gowns start around $2000. A little out of reach for many brides. However, when they hold their sample sales, you can score some of their top designer gowns off the rack at half price or even 70% off. When I was gown shopping in February with my mom, I *almost* bought one of their Pronovias gowns off the rack for a steal at $670. I decided against it finally because it was a little bit too small and I wasn't feeling super confident that I'd be able to lose all the weight that I wanted, and it turned out to be the best decision because a few weeks later I found my dream gown at another boutique. But I have nothing but good things to say about Blush, and their selection is fantastic. They also have some great jewelry and veils.

I'd strongly recommend making an appointment rather than just walking in. The store is not solely a bridal boutique (they also sell bridesmaid gowns and other evening wear), and the bridal gowns are locked away in a private room which you may not be able to get access to without an appointment. You will be required to remove your shoes in the bridal area so take slip-ons. Photos are not permitted unless you purchase the gown.

The image above is a bit blurry so the contact information for the boutique is as follows:

BLUSH
1403 Bellevue Avenue
West Vancouver, BC
604-925-3218

When you're done, head down the street to Crema, the newest coffee shop on the block (I'd link to it but they don't appear to have a website.) It's on the corner of 15th and Bellevue. Great food, lots of sunny tables and comfy chairs, and yummy coffee! It's a great place to chat about the gowns you just tried on and maybe make a decision.

Casting Call for Vancouver Brides

2007-04-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

My fiance Chris came across this listing on Craigslist a couple of days ago:

TV SHOW LOOKING FOR BRIDES-TO-BE LOOKING TO LOSE LBS. FOR THE BIG DAY

Attention Vancouver-area brides-to-be: Would you love to lose 10 pounds before the big day? Our new weight-loss and "body sculpting" series wants you! We'll provide a personal trainer and personal dietitian to help you look your trimmest and slimmest for your walk down the aisle! Four weeks of expert advice, guidance, and hard work await those selected.

Send us a description of yourself, digital photos, contact info as well as the exact location of your last ten pounds (hips? tummy? seat? arms?)

On a lark I decided this could be fun to apply to, and who cares if I don't get picked, or it turns out to be a fake listing or something? So we conducted an impromptu photo session in our living room this evening featuring Chris as the photographer. Want to see his mad photo skillz?

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Boys will be boys.

Okay really, here are the photos he took. I am now cringing that we didn't choose a different backdrop, and he's all, what? It looks fine! And I'm all, what do you mean, WHAT? It is messy and the floor is riddled with cords for all your manly electronics. But I think I look pretty good in the photos at least! Maybe with some creative cropping and Photoshopping we could make the room look better... (oh who am I kidding? I couldn't navigate my way around Photoshop to save my life.)

This is me at 160.2 lbs, making every effort to employ some of the tips I've read about posing for flattering photo angles: chin up, raise your arms slightly rather than pressing them against your body, turn to the side slightly.

Diet & Fitness Plan Update

2007-03-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Still alive here. I'm sorry about the long break between posts, it's been a tough week. I was at a funeral on Tuesday for a family friend who passed away from breast cancer and have had a difficult time the last few days processing it. But I am feeling much better now and able to move on.

Time for a weigh-in update! I weighed in this morning at 160.4 lbs, down four pounds from last month. Still chugging along at the same rate of losing four pounds a month. My Body Mass Index is now down to 25.1 so I am SO CLOSE to being in the healthy range! Just need to get that number down by 0.1 and I will officially be in the healthy zone. That will be a happy day. And it might come in the next week or so.

A few people have begun to notice my weight loss progress at this point. Not everyone, as it's still a fairly subtle change at this point, but my mother has noticed that my slim fitting shirts look a little better and a coworker mentioned the other day that they can see in my face that I've lost a little weight. So that makes me feel good. My shirts all still fit me fine but some of my pants are now a little on the baggy side. They need to be taken in or replaced soon. I'm worried about the point at which I need to replace clothes in a smaller size, because I didn't actually budget for a new wardrobe. Consignment stores, here I come!

So the weight loss is going well. I was feeling really fired up for the first two weeks of March. About two weeks ago, my motivation for the diet portion just bottomed out entirely though. I saw a recipe for lime bars that I had to try, whereas previously I would have resisted making them. (They were so good though - I highly recommend them if you're looking for a sweet treat!) The problem was not the bars, which are surprisingly only 165 calories each if you cut the batch into 12 bars. The problem was the sugar tailspin that they sent me into, wherein I was back to craving sweets every day. Not good for a dieter with a sugar rush habit. So the last two weeks actually haven't been the best in the diet department, but I made up for it in the fitness department. I've been working out 3 times a week plus one or two dog walks a week.

My current challenge is to refocus on the diet and get the sweet cravings under control. I know that the secret for me is to go a week without eating any sweets and I'll stop craving them all the time. The fitness plan is under control for April because I've joined my corporate rowing team which practices twice a week for an hour and a half, beginning on Thursday. Combine that with a couple of dog walks, one personal trainer workout and one yoga session per week and I could probably eat another batch of lime bars anyway and still lose weight, but that's not exactly the idea I was going for.

Blossoming Tea Favours

2007-03-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

I am a bit of a coffee fiend. I need my daily caffeine fix! So this afternoon, I wandered into a Blenz location, ordered my regular size nonfat white chocolate mocha, and moved on to the barista station to wait for my drink.

(Quick aside: you have GOT to try a mocha if you are ever in Blenz and you have any sort of affinity for the fancy schmancy sweetened cappuccino-type beverages. Because while most coffee shops use packaged chocolate mix that is basically flavoured sugar to make their syrup that goes into mochas, Blenz actually uses melted Belgian chocolate. And you can get them in white, milk, or dark chocolate. That is my little marketing pitch of the day. Kidding! They didn't pay me to say that. They are just pure deliciousness in a cup and I couldn't possibly deprive the rest of the Vancouver population of that juicy tidbit.)

While waiting for my tasty beverage of choice, I got a little sidetracked browsing some of their store products, and it turns out they have some pretty cool stuff! On display they had a cool clear glass teapot with tea inside and a flower steeping in the tea. It looked quite pretty, and I got thinking, hey, do they sell these?

Turns out they do. The product is called Blossoming Tea, and basically they are herbal teas made from steeping flowers. When you pour hot water over the tea leaves, they unfurl to reveal a gorgeous flower in your teapot. You can buy little packages of 2 blossoming tea flowers for $5.49, and the package is really cute - it is about the size of a card deck but a in a pretty brown paper box with a picture of a flower on the front. Got the wheels turning in my head that these would make a neat little wedding favour! I have no intention of paying $5.49 per favour (dude! That's $440 for 80 guests!) but something tells me they've never sold more than 2 or 3 of these per day in a single store, and I'm looking at buying 80. Hello, bulk discount!

Okay so technically the effect of the flower in the teapot is only visible if your guests have a clear teapot like the one on display in the store. A very savvy little marketing move on their part - want the unfurling flower to show? Then buy our tea AND our teapots! So it may not be the ideal favour for that reason, but there's yet another option - you could even use these as table centrepieces. Use a clear teapot instead of a vase, pop one of these babies inside, add water, and presto! Unique centrepiece! Add a few more flowers or curly branches to enhance the effect.

The moral of the story is, get thee to a Blenz location to sip on a delectable mocha while mulling over the myriads of interesting wedding favours you could create by purchasing them from a retail outlet that sells something other than wedding items. Think bath product stores, kitchen gadgets, bookstores, coffee shops... and don't be afraid to ask for a bulk discount! Wedding favour vendors are used to selling 100 of a single item per order. Coffee shops? Not so much. Many would jump at the chance to sell 100 orders of a product at a discounted price.

The Getaway Vehicle

2007-03-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

In addition to my obvious wedding blog habit, I follow a lot of personal finance blogs. One of my favourites is Make Love, Not Debt because it is written by an engaged couple planning their wedding on a huge budget which they are paying for themselves, and they also discuss relationship finances and getting out of debt.

This morning they wrote a how-to post on DIY wedding car decorations that will save you some serious cash rather than buying one of those wedding car decoration packages. Go check it out!

Debate: Ceremony Wording

2007-03-18T18:50:00.001-07:00

Chris and I had a wee little verbal scuffle yesterday. Don't worry, we kissed and made up. But it was interesting to me that the subject was even a point of disagreement and I was wondering how all of you readers handle it.

The issue? The specific wording in the ceremony and the vows. Before we were engaged, I've frequently mentioned when we've been hypothetically discussing marriage that I will not promise to "love, honour and obey." I will use the word respect or cherish instead. Apparently Chris thought I was kidding or just being funny, but I was very serious even though we might have laughed about it at the time! I also take issue with the phrasing of being "given away" by my father, and would prefer that the officiant asks "who brings this woman to be married to this man?" rather than "who gives this woman?"

I know the wording I prefer is not traditional, but the traditional vows were written decades (centuries?) ago when women were considered property and not whole people in their own right. A bride was property given from her father to her new husband, and she vowed to obey her husband who was the head of the household. From my minimal research online, it seems that the traditional vow using the word obey is no longer in common usage, and yet Chris still wanted me to make that promise! I was stunned. I am not budging on this: I don't obey him now and I don't intend to start once we're married. We are equal partners. I voice my opinion and expect him to make as many compromises as I do; I will not simply do as I'm told.

It turns out he doesn't expect me to obey him either, which is why I couldn't understand why he wanted me to include that wording in my vows - why would he want me to make a promise we both knew I wouldn't keep? Well, Chris is a very traditional guy and he wants to keep the old-fashioned wording for tradition's sake. He loves to honour history and said nobody would actually expect me to obey him. I'm sticking to my guns though. I take my vows very seriously, they are lifelong promises I intend to keep, so I'm not going to promise something I have absolutely no intention of following through on. I would feel like a fraud! I am not going to keep outdated wording in my modern wedding that keeps alive the notion that women are inferior to their husbands, or men in general.

In the end, we agreed to leave out the word "obey" from the vows, but that my father will "give me away." Chris pointed out that the meaning of being given away has changed over time, and that it now represents a woman transferring from her parental family to her new family. I am not as much of a stickler on that one so I'm okay with this compromise.

What do you all think, and how are you/did you phrase the wording in your own ceremony? Am I being too nitpicky, or do I have a valid concern? Do I sound too much like a feminist? Leave your answer in the comments!

Review of Sage Bistro

2007-03-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

I am thinking it's time for me to get back to some venue reviews, for all you Vancouver brides! A few weekends ago, I visited the Sage Bistro with my mom. (Hey, I never claimed to be punctual with my reviews!) This place has a lot going for it, and I would highly recommend it for someone on a budget. Here's my list of pros and cons:

PROS:

The head event planner here would be an absolute dream to work with. Super friendly and chatty, and chock full of creative ideas and vendor suggestions (and clearly very honest also - he won't hesitate to tell you which companies will rip you off or deliver poor quality products either). He will answer every last question you have and let you spend as much time as you need looking around

The floor layout is quite unusual. It would be bad for a really large wedding because although it's all one room, it is visually broken into different sections so guests in different parts of the restaurant would feel disconnected from the action. However, for a small wedding around 80 people, it is an awesome layout because all the guests can sit together and there are other logical sections with plenty of space for the dance floor, gift table, buffet, etc.

There's an outdoor patio with a pond that can accommodate a wedding ceremony. It's not gorgeous, but it's not ugly either and could be nicely dressed up for a wedding. Guests would also have use of the patio during the reception if they want to go outside for some fresh air or to smoke.

If you don't like their outdoor patio for the ceremony, the absolutely breathtaking UBC Rose Garden is directly next to the Sage Bistro building and can be booked separately for ceremonies. It will be private for a ceremony, so only invited guests will be permitted in the garden, although passers-by would be able to watch from the viewing area where the photo was taken.
Amazing views of Burrard Inlet across the water
Very reasonable pricing for venue rental and catering services
Catering is very willing to work with you on customizing the menu. For example, we don't particularly want to include dessert in our menu because we want to serve wedding cake for dessert, but most locations include dessert in a set menu and won't adjust the price if you choose to eliminate it.

CONS

How to put this delicately? The room decor could be described as "retro," and not in a good way.
There is a small parking lot in front of the building, and it would fill up quickly. After that, adequate parking might become an issue
Although the food at UBC is delicious, some of the menu options (especially the vegetarian items) just didn't seem wedding-appropriate to me. A little too casual, although I get the feeling that you could probably work with the chef to improve it

The parking wouldn't have bothered me too much as there is other parking at UBC, guests just might have had to walk a short way. And I found myself wanting to make this place work because so many things were right about it. But in the end, the ugly did it. With decorations, the room would be much nicer, but there's only so much you can do - it would still be the same room underneath and it wasn't up to my expectations.

Make a Wish

2007-03-16T23:57:00.000-07:00

I don't like the idea of a guest book. I mean, I like it... the notion is sweet. But for me, it feels old-fashioned, outdated, and overdone. I want something that is personally more meaningful to me at my wedding, so I've been looking into other alternatives. Recently I saw a post on Weddingbee about wish boxes and I was sold. I love this idea.

I would just love a gorgeous box like this blue one (only I'd prefer it in pink), filled with wishes from my guests. I know I would keep this box on display somewhere prominent in our home, perhaps on the mantlepiece in the living room, and read through the cards often. A guest book would get tucked away somewhere dusty with the rest of the photo albums.

In that same post was also this photo of wish cards hanging from tree branches. I love the outdoorsy look of bare branches all dressed up with ribbons, and I would like to create an arch made of branches like this to be married underneath. Wouldn't it be romantic to dress up the arch with ribbons, flowers and the wish cards written by our guests? I adore the thought of being married under the good sentiments that our close friends and family wish for us; it practically oozes good luck!

It does present a slight logistical problem, but I think it's do-able. The issue is ensuring we have received all the wish cards in time to hang them prior to the ceremony. I think we will include blank wish cards in the invitations (heck, there are so many items to include with the invitation mail-out, what's another one? There's RSVP cards, return envelopes, maps, and now wish cards too!) and ask my guests to write a wish for us and send it back with their RSVP card. Maybe that will even have the added bonus of boosting the RSVP response rate :) Anyway, I'm thinking that should take care of at least a third of them. I am expecting about two thirds of my guests to "forget" to RSVP, so we will also have a small table set up when guests arrive with blank cards, pens and clothespins, manned by an usher so guests can fill out a card before the ceremony starts.

I'll get a heart-shaped hole punch and punch a hole in the corner of each card I receive back and tie it to a piece of pink or white ribbon. We'll tie those ribbons with wish cards to the arch, and we'll also tie on a bunch of extra ribbon loops. Then those wish cards that are filled out before the ceremony can simply attach their card with a clothespin to a loose ribbon. I actually think this effect will be very beautiful in a rustic, outdoorsy sort of way! I tried to find a photo of something similar but nothing is coming up, so maybe I'll be the first to do this. After the wedding is over, we'll take all the cards off the arch and keep them safe in a wish box.

What do you think? Too labour-intensive, or will it work?

Precious Moments Bridal Open House

2007-03-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

The Precious Moments Bridal Open House event is taking place tomorrow Sunday March 11 - don't miss out if you're looking for wedding decor ideas! Sorry for the last minute announcement; I only heard of the event just now.

The event takes place at the Best Western Abercorn Inn, 9260 Bridgeport Rd., Richmond. If you can see past the crappy quality of the images above, which are all courtesy of my horrendous photo skillz and not anything Precious Moments did wrong, it looks as though they have some lovely design ideas!

In Pursuit of Gossipy Answers

2007-03-09T23:40:00.000-08:00

Michelle posted the following on her blog today:

Girls, when you leave a comment on this post, I will reply with these 5 things about you:

1. I will tell you what song makes me think of you.
2. I will tell you what tatoo I think would suit you.
3. I will tell you my first opinion of you.
4. I will tell you the color or flavor of jello that I'd wrestle you in.
5. I will give you a nickname.

I couldn't resist. It was the nickname that got me. The only nicknames I've ever had in my life are Lala (courtesy of my baby sister when she was 2 and couldn't pronounce my name properly), Smartie, and Laura Dumb. (Those last two are thanks to my surname Smart. Kids are so creative!) I've always wanted a nickname.

The catch? I have to post her answers on my blog! But that's okay because they were rather entertaining, and mildly wedding related. Here goes:

1. GOING TO THE CHAPEL... for obvious reasons.

I think of the movie "Father of the Bride" when I hear this song! Was it on the soundtrack? Must have been.

2. 2 little hearts entwined at your ankle. (pink, to match your blog)

Cute. I like it. I'm a little embarrassed that I like it, but I'm a girly girl! I'd probably end up getting a white lily if I ever did get a tattoo though. I'm all for something pretty and flowery, because the fact that it's a tattoo provides all the edge I need. Who are we kidding though? I'm deathly afraid of needles.

3. I thought you were an animal rights activist at first. I saw your pic on my blog holding a dog. I thought you were from the SPCA. Oops...tee-heeee.

(Michelle is referring to the photo at right of me and my puppy Sierra, taken the day we got her, which is my profile pic on MyBlogLog.)

Not too surprising - animal welfare is my "pet" cause - pardon the pun! I walked in Paws for a Cause last year benefiting the SPCA, but I don't work for them. Chris has vetoed that idea because he knows I'd end up wanting to bring all the animals home to save them. I'd put up a fight, but I have a sneaking suspicion he might be right...

4. I'd wrestle you in white jello. Vanilla flavor. Just for us brides :-)

Okay I will admit that initially upon reading vanilla, I did not proceed to the next sentence because I was too busy being all indignant about the fact that I'm more interesting than vanilla. Well actually that's up for debate but I prefer to think so! But then I read the rest, and of course! White is for brides! And I love vanilla! And really, jello wrestling? That's more fun than I usually get up to on a Saturday night.

5. TRUE BLUE

Aww I think this is sweet.

So what do you guys think about her answers? Got any other suggestions about me? If you're a regular commenter, let me know if you want me to answer them for you! But the rules are the same - you must post my answers up on your blog!

Yours Truly,

True Blue

X Files

2007-03-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

Michelle, another Vancouver blogger and bride-to-be, wrote a fun post this morning that is somewhat meme-ish in fashion, but it's related to relationships so I thought I'd jump in! The question is: Do you remember all your exes from your first one, in chronological order? This is not counting one-night stands, quick vacation flings, or any other romantic pairing that you don't consider to be a "relationship." I'd be interested to hear yours in the comments! Here's my history. It's a little longer than I had thought!

1. Rudy when I was 16 and in high school. First boyfriend and first kiss. Lasted 10 months, which was about, oh, 9 months too long. The trouble was that I met him when I was 12 when he was a really sweet kid, and kept thinking that sweet kid was hiding inside the emotionally unavailable jerk that he'd grown up to become. By the time we broke up, he knew pretty much everything there was to know about me. What I knew about him: his taste in music (I believe the Spice Girls were his favourite), the classes he was taking, the amount of money he had won in academic scholarships, and the fact that he was embarassed to take me anywhere on a date where his classmates were likely to show up.

His redeeming qualities: he was smokin' hot, and was smarter than all top 5 of the smartest kids in my hardest class combined. As a result of his smarts, he won over $100,000 in academic scholarships to university. I was a bit of a slacker through to the end of grade 11 when it came to meeting deadlines for assignments, but I wasn't about to be completely outdone by my boyfriend. So I worked hard in grade 12, and I got a 4 year scholarship to university. So I have him to thank for that.

2. David in grade 12. Lasted only 11 months, but boy did I ever love him. We broke up because he was a year younger and was left behind in grade 12 in Vancouver when I started first year university in Ontario. We tried the long distance thing, but it didn't work out in the end. I cried for about 2 months straight. I still run into him at high school alumni events from time to time. He found another girlfriend at the high school when he was in grade 12, and he lives with her now. I am genuinely happy for him.

3. John when I was 19. Lasted one month, till the day he unexpectedly took me to meet his parents and introduced me as "the last girlfriend I'll ever have because she's perfect for me." I couldn't get out of there fast enough, and haven't seen or heard from him since. Hope his foot tasted good.

4. Brian. This was the second most stupid "relationship" of my life. I met him on Yahoo chat. He lived in Texas and I lived in Vancouver, and we never actually met because every time we made plans to meet, he backed out. I am not entirely sure why it took me 4 years to drop his ass. I did, however, get sick enough of waiting that I dated people in "real life" at the same time. I don't think I'm supposed to be proud of that but the fact is, I'm glad I had a little fun during that time rather than wasting all 4 of those years!

5. Uh, Rudy again... all I can say is that my judgment was clouded in the face of such immense hotness. A weird summer fling in between 1st and 2nd year of university, I should have known better. He cheated on me with his now-wife, at which point I finally stood up for myself and yelled at him over the phone for his behaviour. He yelled back, then hung up on me. I still can't believe anyone would marry him. Part of me hopes he's a much nicer guy with her, and part of me figures she deserves what she gets for being dumb enough to tie the knot with him.

6. Jurjen, my Dutch boyfriend through the rest of my time at university. I loved him so much, but our lifestyles and goals were way incompatible and I spent 3 years with him trying to find a way to fix our incompatibilities so it could work. I often still think of him and wonder how my life would be different if I had married him instead. I know I made the right decision in leaving.

7. Nick. The number one dumbest mistake of my life. Another internet relationship who not only backed out of plans when we arranged to meet, he faked his own death in a car crash to do so (he got his "friend," Megan, who I also chatted with occasionally, to break the news to me). I guess he didn't count on me doing a little research on auto accidents, news stories and obituaries and digging up his lie. Turned out that "Nick" actually was Megan, and she was a lesbian. I am not gay, so I can only laugh.

8. Chris, my fiance and the man I'm going to marry. We've been together for 3 years, living together for 2, and got engaged at Christmas. Gettin' hitched next summer! Thank God my love life is normal and settled now - I'm very content with it that way!

Wedding Things

2007-02-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

For my Vancouver readers, you may be interested to hear about a wedding company based in Yaletown (they also have opened a New York location so their website is in US prices) that is holding a sample sale next month. Wedding Things is a "wedding essentials" company that sells items such as invitations, stationery, favours, bridal party gifts, chocolates, cake slicers and cake trays, and more.

The sample sale is on Saturday March 10 from 11 am to 4 pm and will be accepting cash only. If you stop by, please say hello if you see me there!

Diet & Fitness Plan Update

2007-02-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

I promised I would weigh in and update you all on my progress on a monthly basis, and I'm going to keep to that promise! So... drumroll please...

This morning I weighed in at 164.4 pounds, down four pounds from last month. That's about a pound a week, in the healthy weight loss zone. My Body Mass Index is now down to 25.7, down from 26.4. The healthy BMI range is between 18-25, so I'm making some progress. For me, a BMI of 25 will be achieved at 159 pounds.

That's the good news. The bad news is that I was 163.4 pounds last Friday when I weighed in, and I'm quite certain that the extra pound I've gained back is actual weight, not water weight. I was doing really well but this week I've just been struggling with the diet part of the plan.

I have been doing quite well with the fitness. I have room for improvement; I go to the gym for cardio followed by yoga on Mondays and I have a (very intense) session with my personal trainer on Wednesdays, and I make sure to either go to the gym once more or do a home workout one other day of the week and I take my dog for a hike through the hilly trails in our local park on the weekend for at least an hour. I would like to be doing one more solid workout per week. I have signed up for the rowing team at work, and we will be holding practices twice a week for an hour and a half each beginning in March, so that will help.

It's definitely the food that is causing me to slip up. I have been tracking my calories fairly carefully which has ensured that when I do slip up, I don't slip TOO far at least! Before when I was simply guessing at the calorie content of my food intake, I know I was consuming far more. I found the first few weeks of the reduced calories went quite well, and my biggest problem in the last week is that I've been hungrier more frequently during the day. I'm still looking for the right way to space out my calories evenly throughout the day so that I'm not getting hungry in between meals. Today I got hungry at 3:45 and had no food left in my packed lunch so I gave in and bought a chocolate bar from the vending machine! For the next three days I'm going to try eating a snack mid-morning and eating my lunch an hour later, so I'm not ravenous by the time the workday is coming to an end.

The best thing has been that although I don't see a huge change in my body shape yet, I feel more confident because of the effort I'm making. And my jeans, while not loose yet, are no longer bordering on being too tight. So things are going in the right direction.

I Pine for Tar-Jay

2007-02-21T13:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know that this is a Canadian, Vancouver-based wedding blog. I know, I know! And I had no intention of peddling American goods on here because, I love all of ya'll Americans, but it's annoying to surf the web for goods of any kind and find page after page of cool stuff only available in the good ol' US of A. So I was all about local or at least Canadian bridal goods on here.

I'm also a total sucker for cute stuff and I'm officially throwing that rule out the window, just for this post, to bring you this delicious cuteness because I know I have American readers out there (say hello won't you?!):

This is technically not intended as a flower girl dress, but dude! How cute is it? I think it would work well as a flower girl dress for a wedding with pink as one of the theme colours. And it sells for the whopping price of $17.99. Pretty nice savings for a flower girl dress. And how bout this for a ringbearer's outfit for $24.99?

It comes in grey too. On an unrelated note, the tshirt that Noah is wearing in this post is the reason I was browsing the Target website in the first place. And I can't find it on sale! I totally wanted to buy it for my friend's 6-month old baby boy. (I find it funny that I feel the need to explain my browsing of an American store's website.)

Oh, how lucky you Americans are for the shopping you are spoiled with south of the border!

Merging Finances

2007-02-21T12:35:00.000-08:00

Chris and I moved in together in December of 2004, so we've had some shared expenses for awhile now: rent, groceries, cable TV, Internet, household supplies and appliances, a few joint purchases such as our bed sheets and a good knife set, and anything to do with the dog such as food, toys, supplies and vet visits. Up until now we have maintained entirely separate finances. For groceries, we take turns paying and keep track of roughly how much each purchase is to keep things even (so that it doesn't turn out that I pay $200 one trip, then Chris pays $60 the next trip. If that happens, it's Chris' turn twice in a row!). For all other shared expenses, we pay half each for every purchase.

We've talked in past about how we plan to change our financial plan when we get married, but this was always a hypothetical discussion because we were not engaged yet. Our plan was therefore a little vague on specific details but basically amounted to having a shared account and credit card for shared expenses and shared investments/savings, and each maintaining separate accounts for our personal expenses such as my car payments/insurance and "fun money".

Since we got engaged in December, Chris has become increasingly irritated at the beginning of each month when it's time to pay bills and he keeps saying, "why don't we just merge the finances now? This is stupid. We're getting married anyway."

He's absolutely right, there's not really any valid reason not to merge the finances now, and it would presumably be less hassle to have the money flowing out of one account instead of two separate ones.

But I am resisting this suggestion and find myself changing the subject every time it comes up. I get annoyed every time he suggests this. We've always talked about merging finances when we're MARRIED, not when we're engaged, so maybe I just don't like changing up the game plan. I know I'm not upset at the lack of tradition with the notion of making such a change prior to marriage; I mean, we're living together already so that's a much bigger and less traditional move than merging finances. I think I'm fighting the loss of full control of my own money and it seems like a loss of independence. Even though the exact same amount of my money will be going toward the exact same expenses every month, now my money will be kept in an account to which Chris has access and control, and although I trust him implicitly and know he would never mismanage the money, I just like having sole control over my cash. This has been a completely unexpected reaction on my part. I did not foresee any emotional reaction to a financial decision like this.

So today I am actually asking for rather than offering advice. If you're married, how did you handle merging the finances, and was this merge accompanied by a healthy dose of emotions for you? If you're unmarried, how do you plan on merging finances, if at all? Do you think we should merge accounts now, or should we wait until we're married? I hope you'll all share your experiences and advice with this apprehensive control-freak!

Review of University Golf Club

2007-02-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

So, here's the first in my series of reviews of potential wedding venues in Vancouver. First up is the University Golf Club out at UBC.

Note to self: it takes longer to get there than you think!! Do not do this on your wedding day if you book this venue...

I really like this venue. When you first enter the grounds in your vehicle, there is ample free parking and as you walk or drive up to the clubhouse, you see a grand entrance that is very beautiful. It's exactly the type of first impression I would want my guests to see. The style of the building is of an old building that has been kept up to date in style without ruining the character.

I was interested in this location for holding the ceremony and the reception. The ceremony would take place in the garden, which is separate and blocked off from the golf course so it would be quite a private setting. The garden is currently going through quite an overhaul; it's basically a mud field at the moment because they're moving the pathway and 3 ponds to create space for more guests at wedding ceremonies. It will be open and ready for wedding season in May, though, and you can see already what they are doing and that it will be beautiful. There are lots of flowers, a sweeping path that makes for quite a dramatic entrance for the bride, and a gorgeous gazebo where the couple will stand to be married. Following the wedding, there is a lawn just up the walkway where you can host a cocktail hour while the wedding party is getting photos taken.

Then the guests would move to the clubhouse for the reception. There are two event rooms that can be rented out. One can accommodate 80 people and the other can accommodate 200 or so. It is only cost effective for us to consider the smaller room. When we walked into the room, my first thought was, "Wow this is beautiful!" followed immediately by "Wow, this is a really small room!" Our party could comfortably fit in the room, but it feels quite small and the dance floor is really tiny.

Pros

Lots of parking
FREE parking! Hard to find in Vancouver!
Entrance to the clubhouse makes an excellent first impression
Privacy for the ceremony
Love the garden setting and the gazebo
Minimal ceremony decor would be required because the garden is already naturally decorated with plenty of flowers
Bridal party can use the locker room to touch up makeup and wait until the ceremony is ready to start
Staff will do all setup & tear down for you
Convenient setting for cocktail hour
Private patio for the reception room
Reception room is beautiful, light and airy with large windows and a great view of the garden
Close to Jericho Beach and Spanish Banks for a photo session if we didn't want all our wedding photos to be at the golf course
Food menu is priced reasonably and sounds fabulous
Event coordinator Joni has a very no-nonsense, efficient style and I have absolute confidence that she would get things done right. But please see caveat about her in the first bullet point of the cons below!

Cons

Holy hell, the event coordinator needs to take her meds. Can you say BEE-ATCH?? She mentioned she'd been doing her job for about 19 years, and I'd say that's about 18 years too long for her. She has absolutely NO enthusiasm for weddings and gives you the general impression that she just wants to get her day over with. If I'm going to pay you thousands of dollars and hold my wedding there, could you at least pretend to be excited for me? You may have booked thousands of weddings here, but this is the only one for me so I'd like to see some positivity about it!
Lack of enough chairs for the ceremony guests. Club will provide 40; I would have to rent out the remaining 40 from a rental company such as Lonsdale Events or have half my guests stand (and I kind of think that would look like I just didn't order enough chairs and should consider re-enrolling in Grade 4 math). There is no guarantee that the chairs would match the club's if I were to rent.
Reception room feels really small
Tiny dance floor
Contingency plan for ceremony in case of rain is to hold the ceremony in the reception room on the dance floor. It would be fine except there's only enough room for 20 seats on the dance floor; all other guests would stand around the room which will be set up for the reception. Better than Mayfair Lakes though - at least there would be an aisle for me to walk down!

The verdict? Well, the jury is actually still out on this one. It's still a strong contender, but we want to check out a few other venues first to ensure that we can't do better, because there are a few cons. Actually Joni herself is the biggest con because seriously, she's just got an off-putting personality. But I also think she'd get the job done well and take care of all the details, and I can deal with her PMS-y attitude if she can do a good job for me. I'd rather have her than an incompetent sweetheart! I'll keep you updated.

My Nightmare Wedding

2007-02-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

This morning did not get off to a particularly good start. My alarm clock jolted me awake at 6:45 am to a foggy state of exhaustion. I turned the alarm off and proceeded to oversleep by an hour, making myself late for work and forcing me to pick up Starbucks for breakfast instead of something healthy.

When I did wake up for the second time, it was again a jolt. (Followed immediately by me yelling, "Oh SHIT!" when I realized what time it was.) I woke up from a dream about my wedding. In my dream, the ceremony was about to begin. For some reason, it was an indoor wedding ceremony; not what I have in mind at all! Guests were seating themselves and I am watching excitedly, peeking between closed curtains of my bridal room where I was getting ready.

But wait! I wasn't ready! I was dressed in my jeans and tshirt. My toenail polish wasn't dry yet. My hair was still wet and pulled back into a ponytail and my makeup was half-finished. I had forgotten to pick up my wedding dress from the bridal boutique. And apparently I had also forgotten to book a justice of the peace to officiate the wedding. I hadn't written my vows, and once the realization hit me that the ceremony was supposed to begin in 10 minutes, I began panicking in my dream. We had spent so much money on the wedding and now we wouldn't even be getting married because there was nobody to marry us. All our guests would have come for nothing. I was mortified. And then I woke up.

I'm not sure what this dream signifies. I am a big believer that your dreams can steer you toward realizations, dreams, and goals and help you to understand your emotions, hidden fears and unspoken desires. But I really don't get this one. Why am I panicking about lack of preparedness for my wedding? It's still a year and a half away; I am hardly running out of time!

Did any of you experience nightmares leading up to your wedding?

Sunset Bay Yacht Charters Breach of Privacy

2007-02-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

I take my privacy very seriously. When I attended the 2007 Vancouver Wedding Fair at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in January, nearly every vendor who attended was running a contest for some sort of prize. The entry form for these vendors required you to submit your email address in order to be contacted in the event that your name was drawn. As it turns out, many of the vendors have also gone through all the entry forms and used the email addresses to send marketing information. This is sometimes annoying and sometimes useful, but either way, I don't mind it too much. After all, I did provide them with my email address.

I did not, however, give them permission to share my email address with all their customers. Which is why I was alarmed to receive an email from Sunset Bay Yacht Charters in Vancouver (a harbour cruise company that rents out their yachts for various events, including weddings) with 75 email recipients' addresses visible in the "To:" field. I was immediately glad that I had only used my hotmail address, but it is obvious that some others have used their work address or personal address. I consider this, at best, a despicable and intrusive corporate policy. At worst, it's illegal. To quote one passage from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, "The collection, use and disclosure or your email address without your consent is a serious and growing privacy concern. It may also be a fraudulent or criminal matter."

I have therefore responded to the email from Sunset asking them to immediately remove me from their mailing list and informing them that I will never use their services and will be informing my readers about this breach of privacy, because I will not support this practice. I encourage you to warn others never to sign up for a newsletter, update or invitation list with this company and not to support them by booking any events with them.

These sorts of intrusive practices should never occur anymore, but they will not stop until consumers show companies that we will not tolerate them.

Freshen Up

2007-02-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

A great idea to add a special touch to your wedding is to dress up an out-of-the-way part of the venue you probably wouldn't think of: the bathroom! It doesn't really need decorating, unless you're feeling really flush with cash and want to throw in a flower bouquet or two. But what really gets noticed as a lovely touch is a basket of toiletry products.

This is an overlooked place where you can really wow your guests with a detail they will appreciate, at minimal cost. Bathrooms are always so predictable: stinky, with low-grade soap and paper towels, if you're lucky. If it's a really nice bathroom, it might be cleaner, smell nice, have a nicer grade soap and offer towels in a basket.

Consider offering a basket filled with the following items:

Hand lotion
Room spray
Mouthwash and mini paper cups
Perfume
A handheld mirror
Cotton balls
Q-tips
Hairspray
Dental floss
A small bud vase with a single flower in your wedding colour

Too Top Heavy?

2007-02-09T14:55:00.000-08:00

No, not that kind of top-heavy. I'm talking about the possibly envy-inducing problem that many brides agonize over: having too many friends. What happens when you have a large group of close friends and want to include them all in your bridal party? Well, you could have ten bridesmaids but that does make for a lot of people up front at the ceremony, and it will look especially awkward if your total number of guests is small. It will seem as if half the guests are up at the front with you. Not to mention the cost of the dresses! And tux rentals! And wedding party gifts!

So, what's a girl to do in this situation? You don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, which can occur if you ask one friend to be a bridesmaid but not the next friend. And you want all your close friends to be involved. Here are a few ideas:

Simply choose one maid of honour and best man. Once you start adding bridesmaids, the number can be difficult to cap.
Consider asking one or more friends to be "guests of honour" rather than official members of the wedding party. Your guests of honour will have reserved seats in the first or second row at the ceremony.
If you have two wedding colours, have your official maid of honour or bridesmaids wear a dress in one colour and your honorary bridal party members wear dresses in the other colour, to recognise them as special guests as well.
Give your guests of honour special tasks such as helping to set up decorations, do a reading during the ceremony, sing or play an instrument during the ceremony, act as ushers (for men) or act as the Master of Ceremonies at the reception.
If you have a large number of women (I'm thinking at least 6) you wanted to include but couldn't, here is a tip that I LOVE and may even incorporate in my own wedding. Have all of these women assigned to an aisle seat for the ceremony, spaced throughout different rows. As you walk down the aisle, they will be right there at the aisle seat as you pass them, and they should each be holding a single flower. As you pass each of them, they will hand you their flower and these will make up your bouquet as you get closer to the front. If there won't be enough flowers, start with just a small bouquet and the additional flowers will fill it out. What a special way of recognising these special people in your life, and the flowers they hand you along your walk up the aisle symbolises their love for you and their support of your marriage.

I hope you find these tips helpful for minimising problems with large wedding parties, and maybe even adding a special, personal touch to your big day.

You're the One that I Want

2007-02-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

I admit, the post title is the only thing about this post that is remotely related to weddings. But I am a dog fan, and moreover, I grew up with a golden retriever, and this is the coolest dog ever. Maybe even cooler than my dog. Don't tell anyone that little secret.

For your viewing pleasure. Crank the volume - this dog is dancing to Grease's You're the One that I Want! I can only imagine his trainer went through barrels of dog treats teaching him this choreography.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q163/fatdoctor/?action=view&current=besttraineddogever.flv

Wedding Website

2007-02-05T23:01:00.000-08:00

I came across a fabulous website today for brides and grooms to be. One great way of keeping your guests aware of what's going on with your wedding plans, and a great way to document your relationship online and share fun facts about you as a couple, is to create a website for your wedding. These sites typically feature photos of the couple, the story of how you met and/or the proposal, the wedding date, links to your registry, details about your wedding venue location and maps, and more. Many of these sites cost money to set up. Many of them have really hokey template designs. Some of them don't have enough features.

I found a great one today! Mywedding.com is free and has a good mix of different style templates. Something for everyone's style. It also has local wedding planning guides for various US cities (too bad I'm Canadian!)

Check out the page I set up in about 20 minutes for Chris and I. It's not finished yet but I like it! Isn't the photo of us hilarious? It's from a 70's costume party last summer. Chris thinks I'm a goof for using that one.

Breaking News: We're Getting Married!

2007-02-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

So your gorgeous fiance took you out for a special night and just as it was ending, he bent down to "tie his shoe" and when he looked back up at you, he was on one knee, ring in hand, singing your praises and asking you to be his wife. You're blissfully happy and want to shout the news to the world! But how exactly should you go about doing that?

Telling people was a weird thing for me. Not so much telling acquaintances and friends from work, but rather telling the really important people in my life. This was an announcement of great magnitude, and it seemed as though the announcement needed to be special in some way, nearly an event in its own right. But I didn't know what to do. The whole scenario was very awkward for me, so I just blurted it out to everyone at the first available break in conversation.

Before we got engaged, Chris had asked my dad for his permission to marry me. So my dad already knew that the proposal would be taking place on Christmas Eve at Chris' parents place in Kamloops, and that I wouldn't get to see my family until 3 days later when we got back into town. Chris assumed I would want to call my family right away to let them know the news, so he had told my dad I would probably call that evening. But this didn't seem right to me. I told Chris I wanted to wait to tell them in person and show them the ring. This was partly true, and it is also partly true that I was dreading telling them and I was stalling, putting off the announcement until I'd had time to sort out my thoughts. I knew that my dad is cautiously supportive of my relationship with Chris, but my mother is opposed to my choice of Chris as a life partner.

So, a few considerations when telling people you're engaged:

How will they react to the news? Will they be happy, or sad? Will they be shocked or are they expecting the news? Do they like your fiance? If the overall vibe will be excitement, then you can pretty much break the news however you want. If you think they will be disappointed or shocked, it is probably a good idea to break the news to them one-on-one, and you'll probably want to do it without your fiance. That way they will be free to react naturally without others witnessing it, possibly embarrassing them. And if they express some hesitation or seem upset, it won't be embarrassing or awkward for your fiance to be there. It's kinder to everyone.
Do you want to tell them right away or keep it a secret for a bit? Will you tell them over the phone or in person?
Prepare for a bombardment of everyone wanting to see your ring.
How will you tell people from out of town or those who are away for an extended period of time? It's probably best to call or write to them rather than waiting until the next time you see them. Also, if you're sending out save-the-dates or engagement party invitations, consider whether you want these to serve as your announcement, or whether you want them to have heard the news from you personally before they arrive.
Will the announcement be upstaging someone else in some way? It's not a good idea, for example, to announce an engagement at someone else's engagement party, wedding, or other once-in-a-lifetime event that is all about them. Let them have their day, and have yours later.
Will you make an announcement in the paper?

Of course there is also the issue of who to tell first. Traditionally, the bride's family are the first to know, followed by the groom's family second. Following that would be immediate family, wedding party members, close friends, and then the rest of the world. We totally broke those rules because Chris proposed to me at his parents' place, so they were the first to know, but my family were next, and we told everyone else in suggested order.

How did you tell everyone? Did you do anything special or just blurt it out?

Confession of a Chocoholic

2007-01-29T06:25:00.000-08:00

I love food, and it shows in my waistline. If you're anything like me, you're probably thinking about dropping a few pounds prior to your big day. I have some food and weight issues that I finally have the motivation to put behind me: my wedding day photos. I am not hugely overweight; I am 5'7" tall and weigh, as of this morning, 168.4 lbs, and I look like I weigh less: most people guess about 140 lbs, and I know I can safely add another 10 onto that number to adjust for people being polite. So I reckon I look about 150 lbs.

I'm in the borderline healthy/risky zone for the Body Mass Index with a current BMI of 26.4, and I wear a borderline size 10/11 in dress sizes at most stores. I feel that the "borderline" is the problem for me, in terms of how I deal with weight loss. I tell myself that I'm not really IN the danger zone, I'm just close to it, and I'd better watch it. Three years ago I got up to 172 lbs, and had a minor freak-out that resulted in a total clean out of my pantry of anything unhealthy, and I started eating healthy and working out regularly and lost 12 pounds. Since then, I set 170 as my red flag weight. This means if I hit that weight again, I absolutely need to get my butt in gear to lose some pounds. I promised myself I would never again weigh over 170. I'm not there yet but I'm only 1.6 lbs away.

Now that I have a wedding looming, I realize that 170 is too high. It's too comfortable for me, it allows me too much wiggle room, and it's too close to being an unhealthy weight. A healthy weight for someone of my height is between 118-159 lbs. So I am readjusting my goal. I know that due to my bone structure, I will never weigh 118 lbs; I just don't have a thin frame or tiny bones, and that's fine. But I could quite conceivably weigh in the 140's. So my goal is to hit 140 lbs for my wedding and to maintain a size 8 dress size thereafter. For health reasons, I'm going to set my new red flag weight at 159.

I'm embarrassed to share these numbers with the Internet. But I'm doing this for accountability. I need someone to keep me on track and I think having to admit my weight publicly puts a little bit of pressure on me to deliver on my goal. Once a month, at the end of the month, I'm going to share my stats with the Internet on this blog and you can keep me on track.

This post is also to share with you a great discovery and my new addiction (let's hope it will prove an appropriate substitute for my chocolate addiction!!). SparkPeople is the most helpful website you'll ever find if you're on a weight loss mission like me. It has a ton of resources such as personalized meal plans, personalized workouts, calorie tracking, weigh-ins, recipes, articles, message boards (seriously, the message boards are my favourite part. The people on there are real, intelligent and soooo supportive.) and a whole lot more. And the best part? The website is 100% free to use. It offers resources that I'd expect to pay for from any other company such as Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers. An awesome find. If you decide to sign up, please use my username SMARTL as your referral; it will help me get more SparkPoints! I highly recommend this site, so far the calorie tracking feature has shown me the error of my ways. I've been vastly underestimating the number of calories I consume per day, so it's helping me rethink the way I plan my meals.

Hat tip to Julie of Flip This Body for pointing me to SparkPeople. And by the way, if you want to read about a weight loss journey from a real person, Julie's blog is THE place to be. Head on over!

08 23 08

2007-01-26T22:44:00.000-08:00

It's official: Chris and I are putting off the wedding until August 2008. We'd narrowed it down to either the Marriott or waiting until next summer, and next summer won. My parents would have gone with the Marriott if we'd really convinced them we wanted it, I think, but they were very concerned that we would regret it years down the road. And I think they might be right; I mean, my vision is to hold an outdoor garden ceremony, and this is a downtown corporate hotel. Their outdoor patio with hanging baskets is nice, but it overlooks a bunch of skyscraper office buildings and you can hear the traffic below. Not exactly the lush floral gardens and singing birds I had envisioned.

I am so relieved now. My dad has agreed to add another $2500 to the budget if we wait, because he has an extra year to spread out the costs. Plus, I'll take my own advice to boost the budget some more.

We are now coming at the planning process from a position of power rather than helplessness. We don't have to take what we can get, because most couples who will be getting married next year aren't even engaged yet, let alone booking their venues. We can get married wherever we like and we're pretty much guaranteed it will be available, and that's a nice feeling! I can relax a bit.

We are now back to the drawing board with booking a venue though, of course. We have a new list of locations to consider that I'm really excited about visiting:

Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club
Point Grey Golf & Country Club
Shaughnessy Restaurant at Van Dusen Garden
Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club
Stanley Park Pavilion
University Golf Club
Queen Elizabeth Park: Celebration Pavilion for the ceremony, Seasons in the Park restaurant for the reception
La Terrazza
Sage Building at UBC
Diamond Alumni Centre at SFU
Grouse Mountain
Bloedel Conservatory
Garden City Residences' arboretum
Arbutus Club
Terminal City Club

What's Your Cup of Tea?

2007-01-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

I thought of a great idea for a wedding theme the other day. It works especially well if you have British heritage, spent any amount of time in the UK, or love British culture, but it can really work for anyone: English High Tea. Here are a number of ways to weave this theme into your wedding celebration without being hokey:

As you leave the church or ceremony site, have guests throw tea leaves or dried flowers instead of rice or confetti. Dried flowers actually work well if you think that's nicer than tea leaves, because herbal teas can easily be made from dried flowers.
If you will be holding a cocktail hour for your guests while you and your fiancé, family and wedding party have photos taken, have an English High Tea cocktail party. Have servers present each guest with a cup of tea as they enter the cocktail party, or if it's buffet style, have a few different types of tea set up that guests can select. Suggested types that you should offer are a typical black tea such as Orange Pekoe, Earl Grey or English Breakfast, a green tea, an Oolong tea, and one or two herbal teas such as peppermint, chamomile or rosehip. *BONUS* Serving guests tea during "cocktail hour" will significantly reduce the liquor bill during this time, which will keep your costs down if you are having a hosted bar.
Instead of typical hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hour, have a few English High Tea foods to snack on: bite sized tea sandwiches with crusts removed (think cucumber and dill, shrimp and avocado, and egg salad sandwiches), scones with whipped cream and jam, crumpets with honey or fruit compote, fruit tartlettes.
Instead of table numbers, or in addition to table numbers, name your tables with different types of tea. Possible names include: English Breakfast, Assam, Darjeeling, Orange Pekoe, Earl Grey, Peppermint, Chamomile, Honey Lemon, Oolong, Japanese Green, Chai, Masala, Rosehip, Pu-Erh.
Offer your guests a package of teabags in a sweet mesh drawstring bag in your wedding colour as your wedding favours. Label the bags with "Suits Me to a Tea."
Use teapots instead of vases to hold your flower centrepieces. No need to ensure they all match; as long as they're in the right colour scheme, I think this is even cooler if they are all different.

Budget Booster

2007-01-21T23:21:00.000-08:00

I read a great tip today in a wedding magazine. It was listed under cost-cutting tips, but it's actually better than that: it's a way to boost your total budget, so I had to share it with my readers.

Once you've set your overall budget and the wedding date, if you can swing it and your wedding date is at least 6 months away, invest the entire amount in a low-risk 3-month investment such as a CD or bond. If your wedding date is even further away, invest it for as long as you can. You should be able to make a few hundred dollars in interest to add to the budget.

Location, Location, Location!

2007-01-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

Note to self: Trying to book an August wedding venue 7 months prior to the event date leaves you with sparse choices. All the good ones will be taken.

Chris and I have been approaching various venues in Vancouver about booking a wedding on the weekend of August 11th or 12th, 2007. Our budget has eliminated many from the list of contenders, and lack of availability has eliminated most of the rest. Last week, we had only four contenders that were in our price range and available that weekend: the Marriott Pinnacle Hotel, Newlands Golf & Country Club, Mayfair Lakes Golf & Country Club, and Hollyburn Country Club.

Chris and I loved the Marriott, but my parents felt it was too "bland." I expected this problem; they say they like "buildings with character," whereas I would describe their taste as old-fashioned. I like the Marriott for its contemporary decor, and that is the precise reason my parents dislike it.

The other three locations have been eliminated as possibilities one at a time by Chris and I for a variety of reasons. Newlands offers an all-inclusive package that covers venue, food & beverage, decorations, wedding cake, music, tux rental, flowers and photographers. This is great, but if you don't want or need one of the items included in the package, you can'[t drop the cost by eliminating that item. This poses a problem if you don't like the particular vendor they use. They don't serve martinis and don't even have martini glassware, and they are located way the hell out in Langley. And one of the rooms we can afford overlooks the parking lot, while the other is in the basement and looks like it was decorated in the 70's. Crossed off the list.

Hollyburn would be great for a reception, but I'm not thrilled with the options for holding a ceremony there. I want an outdoor ceremony, weather permitting. They have two outdoor ceremony sites: one right next to the parking lot, and the other on a surface so sloped it can't accommodate chairs, so all the guests would have to stand. The indoor conference room for the ceremony is about as blah as it gets.

And Mayfair Lakes has two fatal blows against them. They actually do not offer the bride or groom any opportunity to taste the food that will be served at the wedding. They have a "no tastings" policy, even if you offer to pay the price of a full meal. That's a dealbreaker right there. But it gets worse: they have a beautiful outdoor ceremony site, but their contingency plan in the case of rain involves holding the ceremony in the reception room. With guests sitting at the (circular) reception tables. Kiss that dream of "walking down the aisle" goodbye - there would be NO AISLE! I found this funny.

Chris and I chose our wedding date carefully. We really wanted August 11th because it's a Saturday. I've always wanted a late summer wedding, and beautiful photos are a top priority for me so I want to minimise the chance of rain. So August makes sense. We can't do the weekend prior to the 11th because it's a long weekend and it's considered a no-no to upset your guests' long weekend plans with a wedding. We can't do the weekend after because a friend of my two bridesmaids is getting married then, so they'll both be out of town. And the week after that, my sister (and maid of honour) is leaving for university in Ontario. She'll be gone until April except for a short trip home at Christmas.

So as it stands right now, we have one remaining option that we like for this summer: The Marriott Pinnacle. If we can't convince my parents that this is a desirable venue, we're looking at August 2008.

I thought I'd be more disappointed at the prospect of waiting so long, but there's so much to do between now and getting married that I'm more relieved than upset.

Signature Drink in Your Wedding Colour

2007-01-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

I've been toying with the idea for a signature drink at the wedding. I love the idea of a martini for a number of reasons:

To me, a martini is fancy, exciting, a bit exotic, and delicious. It represents a fun night out to me, and I'd like to serve them at my wedding if for no other reason than that it is what I want to be drinking during the reception!

It's a great way to tie in your wedding colours to a unique idea by serving a coloured beverage.

If you have a host bar at your wedding, martinis can be an expensive item to include. But if you serve a signature martini, you can ask the bar to stock only the ingredients for your martini recipe, and this cuts down their required inventory. For this reason, and because you'll be serving them in large quantities, you can likely negotiate a better price than the regular charge for martinis. It's a good way to serve a fancy drink at a lower price.

I think it makes for a great tie-in to a cool wedding favour idea. If you serve a signature drink at your event, you can choose one main flavour component from the recipe (such as strawberries for strawberry liqueur, or an apple for apple sours) and present this item as your wedding favour, with a recipe card for the martini attached so your guest can make the drink at home.

Last night I went out with Chris and my friend Sherry for dinner and drinks at Earl's after work. As I perused their feature menu, a martini recipe caught my eye: the Wild Orchid. Boy, did it sound yummy. The ingredients listed were Smirnoff vanilla vodka, champagne, strawberry liqueur and lemonade. I ordered one and really enjoyed it. It was a lovely pink colour and very tasty, sweet but not cloying, served with a flower garnish.

My wedding colours will be pink, white and silver, so it occurred to me that this martini might be just the ticket as a signature drink. It's the right colour, delicious, and I could use fresh strawberries as a wedding favour with a recipe card. I can't stand the idea of spending upwards of $100 on some wedding favour gimmick that most guests will simply throw away.

Table Names

2007-01-11T14:00:00.000-08:00

I read this great idea on Your Dream Wedding on a Budget this morning and I just had to share. A great detail at your wedding is, instead of having table numbers, to have table names. You can name the tables after important milestones, places, events, activities etc in your relationship. It shows a bit of creativity, shares your story with your guests, and creates a talking point for people sitting together at a table.

I think we'll have ten tables at our wedding, so here are some of the table names I'm thinking of creating:

Viva Las Vegas: Chris and I went to Vegas for our first real vacation together. We nearly missed the trip - two days earlier, I was up all night with the stomach flu and thought I'd have to cancel, and I was dreadfully disappointed. But I rallied and felt better two days later. Then we nearly missed our flight, but due to some fantastic Alaska Airlines employees, we got there! It was the best long weekend ever. I'm a bit of a stresser-outer, so Chris thought the last-minute stress would ruin the trip for me, and he says he was surprised by how relaxed I was and how much fun we had.

Spicy Salsa: A couple of years ago, we decided to take a class together and chose to learn salsa dancing. We enrolled with this awesome dance school Urban Dance Beat and actually got relatively good. We mastered the beginner class quickly and took the level 2 class as well. We're severely out of practice now but plan on dancing salsa at the wedding immediately following our first dance, so we'll have to take some more lessons together beforehand.

Magic Mania: Chris is a magician. Not just a hobbyist, it's what he does for a living and he's REALLY good. He does shows, he works for an online magic company doing their new product development, he's written 2 magic books, and he teaches a magic course at a private high school here.

The Godfather: Chris' favourite movie series of all time. He quotes it constantly, imitates Marlon Brando's voice, uses it in his screen name when he plays video games, watches mafia movies all the time, and his dream vacation is to Sicily.

Blogaholics Anonymous: 'Nuff said, right? I'll give my poor, bewildered guests more explanation than that.

Lavalicious: We met on Lavalife, much to my mother's dismay. I was away at school in Ontario, and knew I would be returning to Vancouver upon graduating. Although I grew up in Vancouver, most of my friends had moved away since I left, and I thought I wouldn't know anybody when I came back. I was looking to make friends more than find someone to date, but I got more than I bargained for.

Chapters of our Lives: For our first date, Chris and I met at a local Chapters. We then went on to play a game of pool which I later realized was an event orchestrated specifically to get Chris a second date with me. That schemer bet me a shoulder massage that he'd win, then lost on purpose. So I had to see him again to collect on my massage.

Canuck Fever: We are huge Canucks fans. What can I say, we Canadians love our hockey! This reminds me, I must put Chris' friend Erin at this table. She's a die-hard Oilers fan.

Lazy Dog Days: We're big animal welfare advocates, and I in particular have a soft spot for animals. We have so many animals stories that have been part of our relationship, but some of the best involve my family's dog Jasper, and our little 7-month old pup Sierra, who worships the ground Jasper trots on. We even hope to involve the two of them in the wedding ceremony!

Head in the Clouds: One of the cornerstones of our relationship is that we are always supportive of each other's ideas, dreams and growth. Because of the room we give each other to dream, we both dream big and share new ideas with each other. Our favourite fantasy involves wild financial success that allows us to run our own businesses and start an animal welfare charity.

Budgeting 101

2007-01-06T21:26:00.000-08:00

When I got engaged on December 24th, one of the first thoughts to set in after I came down from the high of getting engaged was, "How are we going to pay for this?" In my family, I am the eldest child and I have a younger brother and sister. It's been a longstanding joke for years that when my sister was born and my parents saw that she was a girl, my dad's first comment was, "That's another wedding we have to pay for!" Figuring there was a bit of truth to that sarcastic comment, I assumed my parents would help out at least somewhat, but I didn't know to what extent and couldn't help but worry that we might be on our own for costs.

I did beat around the bush while we were over at their house, dropping obvious hints such as "first thing we need to do is nail down a budget this week if we want to get the wedding organized in time for August..." and thankfully, my dad got the point. I was hoping to avoid asking him flat out if he would be contributing. On Thursday, I had a meeting with him at his office to set a budget and discuss wedding plans. He asked me to arrive with a list of all the items I think we'll need to include in the budget, so I spent most of Wednesday evening perusing The Knot and various wedding magazines to ensure I hadn't missed an item. The long list comprised the following:

Venue rental
Buffet dinner
Host bar
Bridal gown, alterations & accessories (veil, shoes, garter, jewelry)
Groom tux rental & accessories (cuff links, shoes)
Wedding rings
Officiant fee
Wedding cake & cutting fee
Invitations, RSVP cards, map to location, envelopes, postage
Flowers (bouquets, boutonnieres, centrepieces, other decorations)
Photographer
Music services
Limo rental
Marriage license
Rehearsal dinner
Hair & makeup
Prewedding grooming (waxing, manicure, pedicure, massage)
Wedding favours
Bride/groom hotel room
Attendant gifts

This is quite a comprehensive list, although we purposely left certain items off that we don't prioritize highly, such as chair covers, videography, flower girl/ringbearer costs, guest parking, etc.

We talked about possible locations, costs for items we had seen prices for, and my relationship with Chris. In the end, my dad committed to providing a generous sum for the wedding, and after agonizing over the budget, Chris and I decided that we will also contribute approximately $2000 of our own to help afford some small indulgences we would otherwise need to forgo. My dad's contribution is a lot of money, but as we are now finding, when you have a guest list of 90 (not an unreasonably large wedding, and we only expect between 70-80 guests to accept), the costs add up quickly.

Frilly Girly Things

2007-01-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

This week has been a big, crazy whirlwind of wedding planning activity. We've settled on a dream date: August 11th, 2007. I can't wait to post more about all the activities, but yesterday, I went dress shopping with my mom and my sister, and obviously talking about dresses must come first. Obviously.

Normally, dress shopping does not come ahead of setting a budget and booking a venue, but my sister lives in Ontario and attends school there. She flew back today and won't be home to Vancouver until April when the semester ends, so if we didn't go dress shopping yesterday, she wouldn't have had the fun of going dress shopping with me!

I didn't have a lot of time for researching bridal shops in Vancouver, but I did find a few by checking out the exhibitor list for the Wedding Fair taking place this weekend. If you're looking for bridal shops, check out the exhibitor lists at bridal/wedding shows in your area and it should give you a few to start.

I made a list and headed out to Broadway in search of Bride To Be. Alas, that was a bust because there was no parking and it appeared that the shop, although visible, was closed and the property for sale. So on we went to Chantilly Bridal Boutique, and oh! my! word! What a great shop. I was bowled over by how great the staff were, and they had a lovely selection of dresses. The gowns are beautiful, good quality and with nice details, but not nearly as pricey as some other boutiques (I tried on dresses ranging from $950 - $1700). I was also pleasantly surprised to hear that their gowns would be ready in 4 - 5 months instead of the standard 6 months to order, which is helpful given my short time frame.

I had an idea of what I was looking for. I wanted an A-line silhouette with at least 1-inch thick shoulder straps, but no sleeves, and showing a little but not too much cleavage. See Exhibit A:

My shopping buddies were having none of that though, and made me try on strapless gowns. I was dead set against strapless until I tried the first one on, and from that moment I was sold. I will probably go for a strapless sweetheart neckline instead now!

I have never been so nonchalant about flashing perfect strangers my underwear, but after I rubbed my index finger raw trying to do up the zipper on the first few dresses, I gave up and walked out of the change room fully unzipped and showing plumber crack for the rest of the dresses! The first dress I tried on drew audible gasps from my mom and sister, just as I'd hoped their reaction would be when they saw me in a wedding dress. It was a beautiful white strapless gown with an A-line silhouette (fitted to the waist, with a puffed out skirt), and was my second favourite dress that I tried on. But the best one was a GORGEOUS strapless A-line silhouette also, but with more details. It has a full length tulle skirt with a satin hem anchoring it, and a sparkly sheath that goes over the top of the bodice. It's difficult to describe but I would be happy as a clam if that is the dress I select. I was relieved to hear that the time frame for that gown is 4 months so I have a bit of time to shop around, and if I find nothing as nice, I will definitely buy it. I didn't want to take it off.

Just Engaged!

2007-01-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

Chris proposed on Christmas Eve at his parents' place, where we were spending the holidays together this year. The ring was the last wrapped box under the tree, hidden behind all the other gifts. I spied it from across the room after about half the presents had been opened, and my heart skipped a beat. And then resumed beating at a furious pace! Once all the other gifts had been opened, Chris fished out the tiny box from under the tree and got down on one knee as he handed it to me. It was still wrapped, but the on-bended-knee part was a dead giveaway! I tore off the wrapping paper with shaky hands, and struggled with the box... the clasp looked like a hinge, okay? So I'm trying to open it backwards for about the longest 30 seconds ever. Finally Chris put me out of my misery and showed me how to open it, and I momentarily felt silly for not knowing how to open it, until I was blinded by the bling bling inside the box. He didn't make a speech or mince his words - just uttered one question, "Will you marry me?" Of course I said yes, and we all celebrated with champagne. I took the apparently unconventional route of opting not to phone everyone I knew but waiting until I saw them to show them the ring. I thought it was a more fun way of announcing our engagement.

I am so excited for what this year has to bring. We are hoping to hold the wedding in late August, which will make for a busy 8 months leading up to that date! I've started this blog to chronicle the journey of my evolving relationship with Chris as fiances, the planning of the wedding, the wedding itself, and life as newlyweds.