From Jenn, the photographer:

Thunder crashed outside my window that morning as I got out of bed and got my gear ready to head out to Stacey & Mark’s wedding. That is, Stacey & Mark’s outdoor wedding. In our e-mails back and forth during the previous week, Stacey wondered out loud why she ever wanted to get married outside in the first place. I wondered how she was holding up. But, as I drove down the winding country roads that led to her parents’ property near London, Ontario, the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun came out to stay. Their wedding was nothing short of perfection. From Stacey’s gorgeous dress to the acres of rolling hills and leafy trees surrounding their venue, to the tropical themed florals and the smiles on the faces of all their guests, I loved being a part of this wedding and couldn’t have asked for a better experience for my first time as the official photographer.

Thanks Jenn! It was such a treat to showcase this wedding.

Bridal Gown: La Sposa Fanal in Ivory
Florals: Rossini Floral & Event Planning

{images courtesy Stark Photography}

Options I can think of:
1. Seating Chart. The first box would be labeled “A-L” and the second “M to Z”. The escort cards would be lined up inside and the box would be similar to a library catalogue filing cabinet…
2. One that I think is more realistic….a gift card box. I initially thought about using a suitcase but scrapped the idea when I realized I wanted something worn and vintage (still on the lookout…). But would people understand that they can put their cards inside without stating the obvious tacky signage “thank you for your gift!”. yuck.
3. Just decor…fill the drawers with flowers….or use the box as a stand for something else.
4. Keep it for the home office and be done with it! But oh how I love how the color’s so purrrrrfect for the wedding.

Yes, I am slowly going crazy.

Came across these adorable mini mushrooms (likely made out of the same ingredients as macarons) over at Bakelab. I am a SUCKER for packaging so I love how they create & display food items in ways you wouldn’t normally see them. I know I can’t exactly head over there to try it out but it looks like they have an online shop that ships to any state in the US. Guess all us Canadians will have to dream about them instead..

{images: Bakelab}

ruffles

metallics

princess gowns

satin drop waist / mermaid

{images: yahoo}

{images: Reception Decor: brides.com; Dress: J. Mendel; Silk Corsage: DHBagsandFibreArt; Place Setting: Blue Sky Films ; DIY Favor Boxes (with instructions): Style Me Pretty ; Earrings: Lena Berard @ Revolve Clothing}

[1] Nova Scotia lobster with burrata cheese, sundried tomatoes, ligurian olives, and basil seeds.

[2] Thai-marinated lobster with avocado and mango.

[3] Pulled pork shoulder with sweet potatoes, pecans, and garden kim chee. (LOVE kim chee!)

{images from BizBash @ the Wine Spectator’s SoBe Wine & Food Party}

In fact, when I visited the “White” bridal shop in Yorkville (Toronto), I had a look at their ‘alternative wedding collections‘ which are usually designers who design for the bride that wants something simple & modern without breaking the bank. Lines that I would recommend if you’re going that route are Nicole Miller & Jenny Yoo which are available across Canada. But we’ll leave that for another post…

{images: martha stewart weddings & BCBG}

{images: design sponge & BCBG}

Below are a couple other options from BCBG that I came across which would be FABULOUS modern wedding gowns…

{images - top: bvweddings; middle: blogger brides; bottom: karen mordechai via kellyoshiroevents }

Annie actually suggested we go with gray…..yes, gray cupcakes! Well, gray icing to be exact. The gray cupcakes will have the green squares like the ones on my invitations and the green iced cupcakes will have the gray squares.

The cupcakes will be tiered on her lovely square stand (shown below in the photos)…and best of all, the mini cake at the top will be a cube covered in the little squares found again on my invitation. We thought it was pretty ‘meant to be’ because we mentioned we were going to Spain for our honeymoon and it just so happened she and her husband lived in Spain for 5 years.

The clincher was that the cupcakes tasted THE best out of all the ones we’ve tasted. Light and fluffy. I’m not a fan of icing that has a strong vanilla flavour and felt Cake Couture’s cupcakes were ‘just right’.

Here’s a look at some of their work for all you Edmonton brides looking for cakes!

{images: Cake Couture}