And Stanley makes three...

happy valentine's day!

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:03:00 +0000

the "formal" shots...

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:39:00 +0000

I think our photographer did an incredible job.

'nuff said. enjoy!

Reception decor...

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:33:00 +0000

Here are some of our fun, little details. I used the scrapbooking paper as decorative backing for the seating arrangements on the log. The florist provided some extra blooms and greenery that we used in mason jaws around the room. In the next photo you can also see our little colouring books for the kiddies. They received these, some crayons tied in ribbon and crowns from the dollar store. (oh, and our bunting is below! - and above, and everywhere!)

Our sweet little receiving line. Everyone loved the old wedding photos. I collected them from family members, printed them in black and white and hung them with clothespins. A "clothesline" of them on twine was on the adjacent wall, and some were clipped to branches.

The mailbox is....my parent's mailbox. Seriously. I asked them to keep an eye out for an old one and they decided they needed a fresh one! The mason jars with sand and candles added a lot of sweet candlelight.

Have you head of this tradition? The single bridesmaids signed my shoe and the first one to rub off is the next to be married.

We sipped from my Mom and Dad's glasses that they used at their wedding, circa 1975.

The bench! My Dad's masterpiece!

Our decorator hung the lanterns from birch trees that were suspended from the ceiling. This was a surprise and so beautiful.

This was the bench by the end of the night. It's such a beautiful souvenir.

Next up - some professional bridal party shots!

let's look at the "in progress" photos, shall we?

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000

All of the photographer's photos look so great! The photos taken along the way aren't as polished but they give you some indication of the hard work we put in!

Our programs....

....made from a variety of patterned papers. The $40 paper slicer I bought from Staples was a priceless investment.

(my fingers are bleeding just looking at theses...)

Hair pieces in progress. Many glue-gun burns were involved.

The "kissing game" was done like a draw. I printed and cut "tickets". Half said "bride and groom kiss" and the other were dares. So whoever came up to pick one had to be brave enough to do what was on the card.

Table numbers. I just googled "how to make a photo look like a pencil sketch in photoshop" and got step-by-step instructions. I love google.

Found these vintage earrings the week before the wedding at the vintage store in my neighbourhood. So sad that I lost one somehow! The photo makes them look a little lack-luster but I think they were perfect!

We used the same vintage-travel-inspired scrapbooking paper on almost everything - the bunting, the programs and even to line some wooden trays my mom had that we used for chocolates and other treats on the receiving line table.

These photo cards were great. Many of our guests uploaded photos after the wedding so we had something to look at while we waited for the professional shots!

Logs, logs and more logs. My dad worked hard for us.

Seating chart (again, with the same paper). We nailed the table arrangements to the other half of the log that my dad made the guest book bench from. Glad I didn't have to carry it!

cake time!

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:01:00 +0000

We are lucky enough to have a very-talented cousin who owns her own cake business. She made our wedding cake as a gift to us. Yes, we're very spoiled.

The logs my dad cut were used to hold the cake and small votive candles around it.

I asked my sister to make the cake topper. I wanted me dressed as a bride and brian in his ski gear. She blew me away with what she made! We also made a ton of bunting for around the venue with different scrapbooking paper. I made a mini-bunting for on top of the cake to match.

Umm...doesn't that sound delicious. It was inspired by a cake we nicknamed "chippy" that we would order for every occasion back when I lived in Toronto. I still miss chippy.

(ps. behind it you can see a ton of trays - my mom and other family members made a TON of baking.) We also had fruit and cheese at the midnight snack/dessert buffet.

the table settings...

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000

You can see our centrepieces in the previous post, but here were some small table details.

The favours - leather luggage tags. I changed the DeHavilland logo (many of the planes have this in the museum) to have our initials and wedding date. I hope it's a fun, useful treat!

My dad slaved away cutting all of the birch trees from our backyard (he needed to clear out an area so we decided to repurpose the trees!). He also slices a ton of small and large logs to hold the cake, candles and table numbers.

Brian researched all of the planes in the museum and each table showcased one. We took photos found online and turned them into pencil sketches with photoshop. They were printed on cardstock with all of the "specs" on the back (wingspan, top speed, history, etc.). We slid these into small pieces of birch trunks to keep with outdoor theme.

Our menus were printed with the logo on the woodgrain cardstock that was also used for the invitations and programs.

Here's a bit of a panned out view of the reception site. The tablesettings, table cloths, napkins, etc. were all basic white (ie: no additional charge). We did rent the white chairs because the ones available were burgundy office chairs and the arms didn't fit under the table!

We had three, round "head tables". The centre one for B2 and I and our BM and MOH. The other two were for the rest of the bridal party and their dates. These three tables had different tablecloths. We didn't have much choice, but the silver was good enough.

We placed the birch trees in pots behind the head tables with some lighting to highlight them. You can see a few of the centrepieces here. B2's sister also found us a ton of vintage mason jars. We filled them with sand from our beach and pillar candles from the dollar store and placed them everywhere.
They also served as vases for the bridesmaid bouquets to decorate the tables and receiving line area.

the flowers...

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:00:00 +0000

My mom's friend was originally supposed to put together our low-budget florals, but his wife fell ill and he had to back out.

My ever-resourceful mother found an independent florist who was really affordable. She works in a grocery store floral department and does some weddings on the side.

These photos were the inspiration for the flowers. Of course, things didn't go exactly as planned, but I love how everything turned out. The kale wasn't available in white and pink and the proteas could only be guaranteed in yellow.

Plan B involved dahlias, hydrangeas and lisianthus (which look like roses to me, but a little more casual). I just want a loose, organic feel. The boutonnieres and centrepieces were made with lisianthus and succulents.

The centrepieces were made in tins my mom found through her gift store. Lots of moss, stones, succulent and twigs.

The broach on my bouquet was a piece from my dad's mother's wedding headpiece. My sister had a similar one on her bouquet.

I liked the mix of different colours. All of the girls looked gorgeous in their own black dresses. I loved how it didn't look like we had set "wedding colours".

The ties worked out great too! I convinced B2 to wear all black and the other groomsmen had the striped ties we found on Etsy.

happy weekend...

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 15:50:00 +0000

Wishing you a happy, snowy weekend.

Reception details to come next week!

our wedding - the ceremony part I

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:05:00 +0000

Here is my mom and cousin starting the procession. My godmother is playing the organ, a song that used to be played by my great aunt at all of the family weddings. We also had a family friend play the trombone for the procession at the end of the ceremony.

My groom and his mom...

And some of the ladies...

This might be my favorite photo of the entire day. He was soooo nervous.

And our mom's come up to light the candles...

A beautiful view from the back of our church. I love seeing everyone in the pews.

More to come!

our wedding - boys at the church

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:53:00 +0000

i loved the boutonnieres. Simple and lovely.

isn't he handsome?

I grew up around the corner from our church. This laneway was home to many bike rides.

We were the last wedding in this church. my mom and nonna were married here, as were countless other relatives. The church celebrated it's 100th anniversary and closed the following month.

Our programs! I'll have to show you the details in another post. brown cardstock covers with scrapbooking paper that had a vintage feel on the edges. The same paper was used to make bunting around the reception venue. The inside had witty little tidbits about the bridal party. Tied with twine.

I'm hiding here. He is nervously waiting to walk up the aisle with his mom.

our wedding - the morning part ii

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:00:00 +0000

oops. did i say boys? nah. the girly stuff is more fun.

my dress. hung on my dad's handmade fireplace.

I had the hardest time choosing shoes. I wanted something that didn't scream "bridal". found these the week before on sale and got a lot of compliments on them!

help from mom and sister.

One of my lovely BMs lent me the vintage bracelet she bought for her own wedding the month before. I looked for months for a bracelet like this and coudln't find anything this gorgeous.

ps. my mom has the greatest jewelry of all time - check out that ring!

last time it was worn all by itself :)

oh, the duties of a maid of honour.

my nana's broach, as a remembrance of her.

dad's "first look".

a peak into the craziness that was the day before.

flowers delivered!

the family.

Some of my BMs bought me a beautiful compact with our initials engraved on it.

our wedding day - the morning part i

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:00:00 +0000

It meant so much to have my great friends around me getting ready that morning. There is no better company!

What do you do when there is no power for make-up? Ask Dad for the Coleman lantern.

Pretty sister.

The girls were asked to bring a black dress and black or metallic shoes. Vintage-inspired accessories (like these amazing gloves) were welcome additions!

The hairpieces were made from small pink flowers (pulled off $4 Forever21 hairbands) combined with some ivory tulle and ivory, black and grey ribbons. The same tulle and ribbons were used with feathers and my Oma's broaches to make hairpieces for my sister and I (see next photo).

My lovely handkerchief from a sweet BM - vintage, with our names and wedding date embroidered. (This is now framed with small pieces of our invites in our dinning room.)

Next up - the boys!

our wedding - (finally, only 4 months later...)

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:53:00 +0000

So the exams are done and I'm completely free.

We've been lucky enough to share a great few months together as "marrieds". I love our little rental house and we've made it feel like a home. I love our puppy. I love my husband. I really couldn't be happier.

He's headed out west for a month or so for work where the skiing is good and the living is easy. Stan and I are left behind with lots of snow. We miss him already but it goes give me time to finally tell you about "the day".

As I mentioned earlier - a lot went wrong.

the collapsed tent.

the broken down bus.

the power outage (makeup in the dark!!).

the rain preventing outdoor photos.

the DJ forgetting our dinner playlist.

the wrong first dance.

the very geriatric rainy cottage honeymoon.

the very quick detour to plan B (NYC!)

the car accident on the way home from our plan B honeymoon.

but it was still the greatest day of all time :)

Recaps start this week! (if anyone is still there!)

a homemade video...

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 01:13:00 +0000

We didn't budget for a vidographer but my sister managed to capture a lot of little videos with my flip camera. My cousin also videotaped the entire ceremony but I still haven't figured out how to get my mac to read that tiny dvd.

So I put together a little video of the snippets throughout the day!

Enjoy!

B&B Wedding! from Bridget L on Vimeo.

(still no still photos yet! I'll get into details when I have those...)

happy thanksgiving...(i'm still here)

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 13:08:00 +0000

Wishing all of you in the US a very happy thanksgiving!!

The test is over. After four weeks of excruciating waiting (I was told it would be two!)...I passed!!

I just found out on Monday. The stress-filled me just wasn't up to reliving the wedding. I'm now free from studying, exams and anything-school-related for all of eternity. Oh, and I'm still waiting for our photographer's photos.

I got an email from him last week saying we should have the photos by next week! I think it'll be worth waiting to post his great photos instead of mine.
There are so many stories and great DIYs so keep checking in!

...but here's a sneak peak of a few guest photos..

Bridesmaid huddle!

I loved loved loved our flowers...

All of the DIYs paid off!

We travel economy...

Did I mention I loved the flowers?

Just married! (taken on B2's iphone)

Oh, and then we partied. Did I mention yet that some streaked? (stay tuned!)

ps. check out our dedicated, stay-to-the-end photographer in the last photo!

the recaps will come....

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 03:05:00 +0000

thanks for being patient!

life is a little crazy now. preparing for the last, single-most-important-exam of my life. just a few weeks away.

i can't even imagine how sweet life will be if i pass and never have to study again. (ever.)

so I'll be able to better relive it all once the stress is over. by then, we might have the photographer's photos too!

hope you're loving fall so far...

it was all perfect.

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:49:00 +0000

well, except for the hurricane-force winds.

the collapsed tent.

the broken down bus.

the power outage (makeup in the dark!!).

the rain preventing outdoor photos.

the DJ forgetting our dinner playlist.

the wrong first dance.

the very geriatric rainy cottage honeymoon.

the very quick detour to plan B (NYC!)

the car accident on the way home from our plan B honeymoon.

nevertheless, it was really really perfect. wonderful. special. fantastic. and a hell-of-a good time.

all the details to come. i just have to go to work.

i hope you're still here!!

just as a teaser, here is the "sneak peak" from our amazing photograher.

one week to go...

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:11:00 +0000

I'm getting really excited. The stress hasn't hit me yet (it may once I'm in my home town and with my parents as of Saturday). Dare I say it? I think we're ready. There is more to do - seating plan, last minute things...but we're on the right track.

I have photos of all of the little details I'm so happy with but I've decided it's probably best not to post them until after the wedding, since I don't want to ruin the surprise for those of you who will be there. It's only one week away so you won't have to wait long!

What's been happening...

- florist called in a panic that she can't get the proteas. I'm kind of happy because now we're using dahlias which were my first choice!

- programs are printed, cut, folded and tied. (and they look really fun)

- bridesmaid hairpieces are done and I think they look really sweet

- kissing game is printed, folded and ready to go.

- airplane table numbers are done and look way better than I expected. These might be my favourite detail.

- making tags to fit into the luggage tag favours seemed straightforward enough - print on business cards and slip them in. Turns out the template for the cards is all messed up and we've already wasted a package and have nothing done.

- B2's sister found us almost 40 vintage mason jars. I found ivory candles at the dollar store and let them burn yesterday so that they'd be short enough to fit. We'll put some sand from the beach at my parent's house at the bottom to make them a bit more sturdy but they look amazing.

- marriage license and prep course all finished!

- I finally found shoes!

So today I'll be printing menus, going to yoga and taking a walk to this cool vintage store near my house to see if I can find an interesting purse for the day.

I really can't wait to see everyone and get home!

THE wedding playlist!

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:15:00 +0000

gah! it's almost 2 weeks away!

I'm getting excited.

We haven't decided on the first dance/father dance songs but here are the front runners...

For B2 and me:

For Dad and me:

And now for the playlists! I struggled with how to make a great playlist. I found the answer. Ask one of your lovely and creative bridesmaids who is just amazing at putting music together and ask her to work night and day to come up with a great list. This delegation thing is great - you can easily find people to do things much better than you could do yourself.

Please disregard the order - that's for the DJ to decide. We may have too many/too few songs but we have a DJ to decide and fill in a few if the dance floor is empty! Click to open (it's really long and there may be repeats...but this close to the wedding you really wonder if it's worth your time to go through the whole list to look for doubles, the DJ will).

drumroll...

Songs for Bridget and Brian’s Wedding Reception – Pre Dancing Music
September 4, 2010

I and love and you – The Avett Brothers
1963 – Rachael Yamagata
French Navy – Camera Obscura
Through the morning, through the night – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Jason Mraz – Lucky
New York – Cat Power
Shelter – Ray LaMontagne
Feist – the park
1, 2, 3, 4 – Plain White Ts
Make you Feel my love – Adele
Love and some verses – Iron & wine
Such great heights – the Postal Service
You Will be My True Love – Alison Kraus
Blue Rodeo - Try
Nirvana - About A Girl
When You Say Nothing at All – Alison Krauss
Vivo Per Lei – Andrea Bocelli
Strange and Beautiful - Aqualung
January Wedding – The Avett Brothers
God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles
Something – The Beatles
Sarah Harmer – the Ring
And I Love Her – The Beatles
All you Need is Love – The Beatles
Blackbird – The Beatles
Ease Your Feet in the Sea – Belle and Sebastian
Lost Together – Blue Rodeo
Heaven – Bryan Adams
(They Long to Be) Close to You – The Carpenters
Sea of Love – Cat Power
A Message - Coldplay
Our House – Crosby Stills Nash and Young
Sault Ste. Marie – Dean Martin
Kissing You – Des’ree
Endless Love – Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie
Thank you – Dido
Your Song – Elton John
Can you Feel the Love Tonight – Elton John
Blessed – Elton John
The One – Elton John
Love me Tender – Elvis Presley
Radiohead - True Love Waits
Can’t Help Falling in Love – Elvis Presley
Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton
At Last – Etta James
Something’ Stupid – Frank Sinatra
I’ve Got you Under my Skin – Frank Sinatra
Imagine/John Lennon
Snow Patrol – you could be happy
The Raconteurs – Together
REM – nightswimming
Justin Rutledge - sleeveless in Vancouver
Band of horses – marry song
Stars – ageless beauty
Feist – one evening
Ohjbijou - wildfires
Carole King – So Far away
Smashing Pumpkins – 1979
Little Joy - Brand new start
She & Him - I was made for you
Today – Joshua Radin
Float On – Modest mouse
Say hey (I love you) by michael frantic and spearhead
Moon River – Frank Sinatra or Andy Williams (or any version really)
Isn’t It Romantic – Glenn Miller (Rod Stewart sings a good version too)
Beautiful – Gordon Lightfoot
It Had to Be You – Harry Connick Jr.
Bubble Toes – Jack Johnson
Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson
How Sweet it is to be Loved by You – James Taylor
You Were Meant for Me – Jewel
What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
The White Stripes - Fell in Love With A Gir
The Way You Look Tonight – Michael Buble
Holly Holy – Neil Diamond
You Wreck me – Tom Petty
Stick With Me Baby – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
You’re in my Heart – Rod Stewart
Tomorrow in her Eyes – Ron Sexsmith
Happiness – Ron Sexsmith
Open Window – Sara Harmer
I Love You – Sarah McLachlan
I Was Made for You – She & Him
Homeward Bound – Simon & Garfunkel
Old Friends – Simon & Garfunkel
Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder
Come On! Feel the Illinoise! – Sufjan Stevens
As Time Goes By – Tony Bennett
Wheat Kings – Tragically Hip
Have I Told You Lately – Van Morrison

Songs for Bridget and Brian’s Wedding Reception – Dancing Music
September 4, 2010

You Shook Me All Night Long – ACDC
Respect – Aretha Franklin
Love Shack – B-52’s
Taking Care of Business - Bachman Turner Overdrive
Stop! In the name of love
Twist and Shout – The Beatles
Mony Mony – Billy Idol
I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
"The Way You Look Tonight" (Frank Sinatra)
Old Time Rock and Roll – Bob Seger
You & Me - DMB
Living on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
Rasputin – Boney M
Kesha – Your Love is my Drug
Rihanna – Rude Boy
C&C Music Factory – Gonna Make You Sweat
I Want You to Want Me – Cheap Trick
Girls Just Want to Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper
Crash Into Me – Dave Matthews band
Groove is in The Heart – Dee-Lite
Pointer sisters – I’m so excited
Jumpin’ Jumpin’ – Destiny’s Child
Bootylicious – Destiny’s Child
Shelter – Ray LaMontagne
Make you Feel my love – Adele
Mercy – Duffy
Whitney Houston – I want to dance with somebody
American Boy – Estelle
La Roux – Bulletproof
I Feel It All – Feist
Low (feat T-Pain) – Flo Rida
I Can’t Help Myself – Four Tops
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham
Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns ‘N’ Roses
Shout – Isley Brothers
Lucky – Jason Mraz
Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z and Alicia Keys
Hurt so Good – John Cougar Mellencamp
SexyBack – Justin Timberlake
Golddigger – Kanye West
Milkshake – Kellis
My Girl – the Temptations
"Could I Have This Dance" (Anne Murray)
"I Saw Her Standing There" (The Beatles)
Louis Armstrong – What a wonderful world
Mr. Brightside – The Killers
Celebration – Kool and the Gang
Can’t Get you Out of My Head – Kylie Minogue
Poker Face – Lady Gaga
Never Had Nobody like you – M Ward
Doo Wop (That Thing) – Lauryn Hill
Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynrd
Ain’t no mountain high enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
When You Say Nothing at All – Alison Krauss
Like a Prayer – Madonna
Fleetwood Mac – Go your own way
Can’t take my eyes off of you – Frankie valli & the four seasons
Vogue – Madonna
Home – Michael Buble
Violent Femmes – Blister in the sun
Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
This is How We Do It – Montell Jordan
Promiscuous Girl – Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland
Harvest Moon – Neil Young
Hey Ya! – Outkast
Can’t Fight this Feeling – REO Speedwagon
Please Don’t Stop the Music – Rihanna
Satisfaction – Rolling Stones
Down – Jay Sean
Journey – any way you want it
Oh, Pretty Woman – Roy Orbison
Hips Don’t Lie – Shakira
Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA
Enter Sandman - Metallica
Shoop – Salt ‘N’ Pepa
Baba O’Riley – the Who
Noting Compares 2 U – Sinead O’Connor
Baby Got Back – Sir Mix-A-Lot
We Are Family – Sister Sledge
It’s Your Love – Tim McGraw with Faith Hill
Red Red Wine – UB40
Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2
With or Without You – U2
Brown-Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice!
Y.M.C.A. – Village People
It’s Not Right, But it’s Okay – Whitney Houston
Bust a Move – Young MC
Such great heights – the Postal Service
you're so vain Carly Simon
Jeremiah was a bull frog
Dancing in the Dark - The Boss
Dynamite – Taio Cruz
Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night - Black Eyed Peas
Bad Romance - Lady GaGa
Telephone – Lady Gaga
DON'T STOP BELEIVING/JOURNEY
SHOUT/THE ISLEY BROTHERS
CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU/VAN HALEN
BROWN EYED GIRL/VAN MORRISON
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham!
Jump Around/House of Pain
You've got a friend/James Taylor
Lady Gaga – just dance
Katy perry – I kissed a girl
Right round – flo rida and kesha
Single ladies - Beyonce
Bridge over Troubled waters/Simon and Garfunkel
Like a Prayer, Madonna
Bootylicious, Destiny's Child
Billie Jean, Michael Jackson (original version, no remixes!!)
Empire State of MInd, Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys
GROOVE IS IN THE HEART!!!!!
Sister Sledge- We are family
Dean martin- that’s amore
Don’t stop til you get enough – Michael Jackson
Foreigner – Juke Box Hero
The final countdown

in progress...

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:41:00 +0000

Can't talk much today - but read the post below re: our decorations...

here are some photos of them in the works!

This is the other half of the log from the bench - I'm thinking about laying on the entry table and nailing cards with the table arrangements!

THE decorations.

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:13:00 +0000

I have a to-do list (obviously). I feel like it gets longer as the time gets shorter. I think it's 37 days away! We've been away every weekend for weddings, etc. That, combined with started two new jobs hasn't left much "wedding" time.

But here's the decor "checklist". We'll see what gets done. (ps. these are photos I've collected over time and I don't know who to credit. Please let me know if you do!)

As a reminder, our venue is a bushplane museum - very industrial and full of cool planes. So we're trying to make the decor somewhat minimal and keeping the colours pretty muted because the planes are so bright.

My Dad got a ton of old birch trees from our yard and they will be put in pots and grouped behind the head tables and the bar. I'm making bunting (like below) to string through the trees. I was sure that using paper would bring colour, pattern and fun but can't seem to find scrapbooking books that I like.

Hopefully we'll have enough to drape it along the receiving line table and the head table. The head tables will just be round ones - the main one with me, B2, my MOH and his BM and the other 2 with the rest of the bridal party and their significant others.

The table numbers will also be held up by birch trees. I just can't decide if we'll make them like this:

Or this:

My dad has made a bench for us to use as a guest book from a giant log! So excited about this!

We'll have a clothesline of family photos above the dessert table:

We also have a few large logs that we'll cut in cross sections and use throughout the dessert and receiving line table.

For the kissing game, I'll print out some "Bride and Groom Kiss" tags and some "dares" for whoever is brave enough to pick something out of the jar.

I may print out one of these lovely banners from Martha for the head table instead of bunting.

Centrepieces will be something along these lines (minus the shells, but with more rocks, etc.).

Then we have to talk about programs, menus, table numbers....all of those paper goodies. Oh, and I just ordered lovely luggage tags as favours with our "logo" on it!

I think it's coming together. So many projects, so little time!

THE flowers (maybe?)

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:43:00 +0000

My florist is really sweet. She's also excited that we're hoping for some less-than-traditional flowers since she's grown tired of making bouquets of pink roses. (not that there is anything wrong with that oh-so-classic-and-timeless choice!)

So, I've sent a dozen or so photos of fun, asymmetrical bouquets, hoping that she would have some ideas sorted out at our first meeting.

Unfortunately, no.

I think she really expected me to have a photo of exactly what I wanted, and she would make it.

Some problems:

1) I don't know EXACTLY what I want (and was hoping for some help from her expertise)

2) We don't really have "colours" yet. As you can see, our invites were cream and wood grain, the girls are wearing their own black dresses and the boys have ties that are black, cream and grey stripes. Don't worry, I'm not planning a funeral, I've always imagined adding lots of colour (ok, muted colour) with flowers and decorations.

ps. more to come on the decorations...I'm making colourful bunting (with scrapbooking paper) for the birch trees the decorator is putting up, vintage mason jars to hold the bridesmaids bouquets on the receiving table, cross sections of logs to hold desserts, etc, and small logs to hold up the menus and table numbers....more to come!

So I decided that enough is enough, I can't spend anymore time thinking about this or trying to get her to help me put a few ideas together. Operation "just find a picture of flowers you like and get her to make them" began. It took 45 minutes.

Open to see what I sent...

The arrangement is made by Sepal and Twig (photos from their blog).

Some things will be a bit different - the berries have to change because these aren't available/ in season. But I like how it looks very organic, different, a little whimsical.

This means we'll use pink, white and deep purple in other arrangements (in a similar way) in the centrepieces. We're adding some lisianthus in deep purple or pink and may use them (with succulents) in the boutonnieres. Corsages for moms and grandmas will be cream lisianthus and greenery.

I'm getting excited and hope it all comes together!

THE invitations.

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:34:00 +0000

dum.da.dum.dum.

so here they are. i'm so glad we stuck to what we wanted despite parental complaints. we've gotten so many compliments.

my cousin actually brought it to work to prove to her co-worker that long-distance relationships can work. that co-worker has since gotten back together with her long-distance boyfriend. what can i say? we're saving relationships here.

i don't think the photos do them justice, but here they are. at the bottom you'll see the full file, so that you can actually read it! The long paper is folded and wrapped in the wood grain paper so that only "Bridget and Brian" is showing when it's pulled out of the envelope.

(click to enlarge the last one.)

you like?

THE shower.

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:36:00 +0000

I knew nothing about the shower except when and where. (I didn't even know that I'd match the entire decor. I swear, they are sneaky.)

My mom and sister (and bridesmaids) did an incredible job. I had mixed feelings about being the centre of attention and opening gifts in front of everyone. (Oh, that was awkward, don't get me wrong.) But, it was my first day back to this side of the country, I hadn't seen many of my friends and family since Christmas and it was pretty incredible to have all of the women in my life in the same room at the same time.

My mom and sister put so much thought into the details. My sister's speech was amazing. And I might have the most generous family of all-time. Our house is completely outfitted. New plates, glasses, cookware, towels...I could go on and on.

We're real grown ups now.

Oh, and the night before we all went out for dinner and dancing!

old friends...

old photos...

words of advice...

prizes!

favours!

many, many presents!

centrepieces...

the he said/she said game...

thank yous...

wedding sh** is expensive.

noreply@blogger.com (BEL) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:07:00 +0000

I know, I haven't shared much from last week - the shower, the menu for the wedding, the meetings with the florist and decorator and - THE INVITATIONS! (they are amazing!)
It's all coming, hopefully next week. This week has been crazy with starting my new job and this weekend is my bachelorette weekend at an undisclosed location.

Come back next week for the fun stuff!

But for today...
I realize that everyone knows that the minute you put the word "wedding" in front of anything the cost immediately goes up. bah!

Brian and I will have great careers. But right now we're just starting out and don't want to spend a small fortune on the wedding. We also wanted to include our families and friends and didn't really compromise on the guest list. Our parents are helping with some parts of the wedding which is amazing and we're getting hitched in a small town where feeding 200 people doesn't cost a year's worth of salary.

So things will be fine. But is all the little stuff that's starting to get to me. It seems like there's always something else that we "need" for the wedding.

Yesterday, I went to visit the amazing, sweet and very talented jeweller where B2 got my engagement ring made. I love that I know who made it and how excited he gets every time he gets to see it again.

So I went in yesterday to get a wedding band that fits into my ring. Here's a refresher on what the ring looks like:

The back of the ring is a band made of three small pieces of metal attached together. I went in looking to have a band of a similar width and appearance that fits around the ring with a little "bump" to accommodate the round part of the ring at the front. He had a great plan - simple, white gold band made in such a way that you can't see it over the main part of the ring so it doesn't ruin the look of the engagement ring.

Some facts:
a) I rarely buy real jewelry so I have no concept of how much things cost
b) I realize this is a one-of-a-kind-custom-piece and those things cost money

So the gold band? $912 plus taxes.

EEK! I was stunned. My ever-cool sister who was with me was however not shocked at all and thought it was reasonable and that I should just "just get it".

I just never imagined spending a grand on a wedding band - maybe I'm just naive.

Some options:
1) "Just get it." It goes with my ring, I'll wear it everyday forever, it'll be gorgeous, blah blah.
2) My mom is giving me her gold wedding band for when I'm at work and don't want to wear my engagement ring. I could just use that one for the ceremony and wear either the engagement ring or the wedding band, whatever I feel like doing that particular day. (My sister's rebuttal - it'll ALWAYS look like an engagement ring! you want it to look like you're married!)
3) Wear my engagement ring on my right hand everyday and get a small, pretty (maybe even a few stones!) band to wear on my left hand. Not custom made = much cheaper. (I saw a beautiful and delicate band with tiny diamonds at another jeweller's for $399.)

I'm leaning towards getting married with my mom's band but I do love the idea of having a wedding set and not just wearing my engagement ring on it's own. Also, her band is really wide and, working in the medical field where you have to wash your hands all day long, the really wide band drives me a little bonkers with water underneath, so I have a feeling I'll only wear it occasionally.

Maybe we'll cut out the appetizer for the wedding meal? jk :)