Hi girls,
Just wondering what you all think about ribbon backdrops?
I am wanting a backdrop for ...
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02/18/2011
  Listography. I bought this book for my Maid of Honour Jules and it's amazing. I think I need one for myself. Or maybe I have enough lists going on already. |
hi. my name is amanda.
and i'm a late night lister.
the clock ticks 2:46am and my eyes pop open as a bomb goes off. it didn't go off on my street. not in my house or even in my room. it's going off in my head. over and over and over until it wakes me up and keeps me there.
program fans. menus. cake toppers. bowties. invitations. italy. oh italy. i start tossing and turning in my double bed. filled to the brim with the pooch, the cat and the boy- and i've wrapped the sheets around me so many times i have mummified myself. family gifts. stag and doe shirts. confirm this. confirm that. hair trials. italy. oh italy. the clock ticks 3:46am and the bomb has now exploded my head all over the bedroom and i am more awake now then i am after my extra large double double. what is wrong with me? i try shaking my head-that usually works. not this time. i start saying paul's name. paaaul. paaaaaaul. paaaaaaaul. PAUL! he wakes up. "whats wrong?" "im having a panic attack" "why" "cause were getting married in 4 months and nothing is done" "and what would you like to do about it now?" think. think. think. "cry" i tell him. he kisses me and says we'll get it done. every last thing on the list. the list i had made sometime between 3:00 and 4:00am. the list that's 2 pages long and written with pure, honest, real fear. the clock ticks 4:46am and i am more exhausted then i was when i went to bed. i roll over and focus on my breathing. and when i wake up, i realize i had been dreaming of italy. oh italy. |
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02/15/2011
  save the date~they love ice cream  save the date~they're getting married |
save the date {video}
~things i would do if the boy wasn't shy~
so i have decided that i would post some of the FABULOUS ideas i have come across during my last 14 months of wedding planning (who am i kidding? my last 14 years of wedding planning) that i am going to categorize as "things i would love to do for our wedding, but can't for one simple reason: the boy is shy".
the first thing i fell in love with was the idea of a "save the date video". yes. video. a mini-movie of the bride and groom, turned into an electronic save the date to be emailed and shared with family and friends invited to the wedding. please? yes, it has amanda written allllllll over it. what it doesn't have, is paul written on it. anywhere. not the back. top. front. under the cover. in the dust it collects. no where. nada. i tried to get the boy to give in. oh i tried. i even cried. and we all know that usually does the trick. well not this time. take a peek at this save the date video. it was sent to me by one of the girlies i work with, and topped all the others i had previously envied/fallen in love with/hated out of jealousy. Lex & Loren - Engagement/Save the date! from Brinton Films on Vimeo. is this couple not the friggen' cutest couple you have ever seen? omg i love cute couples. i love the subtitles and all the fun locations they chose. i love the ending when they are on the hill all sweet and snuggly and his hat rolls off. i LOVE the song and how happy and fun it is. the whole video is the perfect prelude to what you can only assume is going to be a very sweet wedding. so jealous. just another thing i would do if the boy wasn't shy. |
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02/07/2011
  I love you not only for what you are,
but for what I am when I am with you. |
~monday morning mush~
after a FABULOUS weekend that includes 4 flea market finds (an antique gold frame, a vintage brooch, a sixpence for my shoe and a turquoise bubble vase), 3 thoughtful emails, 2 bridesmaids dresses purchased (more on them later) and 1 robin's egg blue 1955 {royal quiet deluxe} typewriter i am feeling tingly all over.
even more exciting then all of that (if it's possible) we have started working on the last draft of the wedding ceremony with our {officiant} sheldon. the ceremony includes a few traditions that we are really excited about, our very sweet vows and a poem that sheldon chose that brings me to tears every time i read it. we emphasized that our relationship started out as friend's and turned us into what we are today: best friends. if this poem was all that was said during the ceremony, it would be enough. every word is true, honest and real. it's almost like paul and i wrote it together, from the deepest part of our hearts. here it is, because it's simply too amazing not to share. be prepared for the goosebumps. ~Love~ By {Roy Croft} I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out. I love you for putting your hand into my heaped up heart and passing over all the foolish, weak things that you can't help dimly seeing there, and for drawing out into the light all the beautiful belongings that no one else had looked quite far enough to find. I love you because you are helping me to make of the lumber of my life not a tavern but a temple, Out of the works of my every day not a reproach-but a song. I love you because you have done more than any creed could have done to make me good, and more than any fate could have done to make me happy. You have done it without a touch, without a word, without a sign. You have done it by being yourself. Perhaps that is what being a friend means, after all. are you monday morning mush now too? cheese and rice someone get this girl a tissue. |
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02/02/2011
  Red and Turquoise baseball theme  Baseball Banners and Jazz  Baseball Banners and Jazz  This is the "logo" I made up for the shirts and tickets.  The logo on a baseball tee. The boys will be in blue, and the girls in red.  I would love if our tickets looked something like this.  Baseball Gumballs  Jello Shooter Tray Idea  Moose and Goose Space  For the Popcorn  For the Weiners |
stag and doe? fo sho.
the 7 year itch has turned into the 7th inning stretch.
and it is for this reason and this reason alone, that we decided to have a {stag and doe}. here in southern ontario, we LOVE our stag and doe's. they are one of the cheapest and most fun ways to see people you haven't seen in a coon's age, have some drinks and enjoy a serious spread usually made by the family and friends of the bride and groom. what more could you ask for? i wasn't originally down for the whole idea and thought maybe we could do away with it. it seems like a lot of work with no guarantee that people will show up, or that you will end up breaking even at the end of the night. but i would be lying if i said i haven't loved almost EVERY stag and doe i have attended, and wouldn't want to miss out on a party that would bring everyone together to get duuuurty. with that being said, i made the boy compromise with me. yes we'll have a stag and doe, but i want to do it at a specific place and i want a theme-i can't just plan a party with no theme, rhyme or reason! that flares up the the {ocd} in my like somethin' fierce! so he agreed, and a week later we booked the {moose and goose} for the main event. it's the perfect location, sitting in the heart of my hometown of thorold which just so happens to have it's own special place in my lil' heart. it sort of has a "cabin" feel with lots of wood and even more potential, which is perfect. after the venue was booked, i racked my brain trying to figure out a theme. something that represented "us" and would be easy to run with. my girls and i threw some ideas around, but didn't really have that moment when you know it's the right one. until one day while sitting on the couch watching what else-baseball, that the light bulb went off and it was decided. a baseball themed stag and doe. my blue jay loving, stat memorizing, waaaay too obsessed for his own good fiance's life is now complete. think banners and signs, bubble gum games and weiners on the grill. tickets with stubs, popcorn machines, cracker jacks in paper brown bags and my sexy lil' wedding party in matching baseball tee's. we have come up with so many ideas, it's almost too much to handle. i briefly considered calling up the manager of the {blue jays} to see if they can send some of the boys over to party with us for the night. i think paul would pee himself. saturday april 16th is game day, and i'm actually REALLY excited for it. i can't wait for everything to start coming together and hope that everyone who comes enjoys themselves and has lots to eat and drink as we "root root root for the cowley's". i know. cheeseball. and i love it. |
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01/28/2011
  tickle his pickle  dr.sadie allison "the penis genius" |
How to {Tickle} his {Pickle}
i know you're curious
mmmmm.....pickles. i've been known to sneak into the fridge to grab a midnight snack a time or two, i can't help it, they're my all time favourite food. if i could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, yes, it would be pickles.
that being said, it's not a wonder this book caught my attention and had me very intrigued. {tickle his pickle} by {sadie allison} is a "hands on guide" to learn your way around your boy's dink-his meat and two veg. his gigglestick. his willy, weiner, wanker-whatever you wanna call it. the title alone had me cracking up-not that comparing the boy's cash and prizes to a gerkin is anything to laugh at or poke fun of. wouldn't want to do that to his poor ego. if you're anything like me, you have a few brides in your life that are planning their wedding's alongside yours. bridal showers are fun for the "traditional" kitchen necessities and lingerie....but if you're looking for the perfect bachelorette party gift, this is your opportunity to give the bride-to-be her own lil' "guide book". something she can refer to in times of need, like for spicing things up and quick refresher courses. why they didn't teach this one in college, i'll never know. i plan on grabbing a couple copies to share with some of the "dirty girls" in my life. i know they will appreciate it...and so will their boys ;) my hope is that the author comes out with a sequel or two, and if she finds herself in a "pickle" and needs some help coming up with any names, i have a few up my sleeve: "Caress his Cornichon" "Delight his Dill" Pleasure his Polski Ogorki" the options are endless.... |
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01/24/2011
  This is ridiculous.  Watersedge ceremony  Holy Guacamole.  Prettiest Arbour  Married under the trees  Mix of Chairs  WOW  Chandelier Arbour  White Chiavari Chairs  Door Arbour |
~ceremony decor~
and this is the part when i go into the ugly cry
since the day our officiant sent me the first draft of our wedding vows i have avoided planning the ceremony like the plague. oh, and this was the line that did it all: "as we begin today's celebration i ask who presents this woman to be wed" (father responds I do). cue the tears.
with less then 5 months to go, i can no longer push this off. the ceremony just so happens to be THE MOST important part of the day (who knew), and i think the decision as to wether or not i wear white panties or blue ones that day can be put to the side. i know. decisions decisions. so far, my major plans include the fabulous white chiavari chairs that will be lined up into rows. i want to jazz them up somehow...either the aisle facing chairs or the back row, with flowers, ribbon or something fun like a banner. the thought is there, i'm just not sure what. i have always loved big ol' trees and think getting married under one is the most romantic way to get married outside. conveniently, our ceremony is going to be along the {niagara river} putting us literally a few feet from the watersedge~which is tree lined and really pretty. this is our ceremony site:  my original plan for the "altar" was to stay simple and sweet, building a garden arbour (or more like watch my dad build me an arbour) because i like the idea of being able to keep it for after the wedding and put it in our garden. it will be decorated with some fresh florals and a vintage chandelier. then i discovered the most amazing door frame aisle entrance and decided this needs to be added to the mix. we conveniently have two wooden doors that are older then god in our garage, as they were removed from our home when some renovations were done a million years ago-they are perfect. so we will get married under the arbour, and enter the aisle way through this amazing door frame concoction that looks something like this:  i know. amazing. i feel i have made some signifianct progress on the ceremony front, and am looking forward to creating all the little details that will make it as "amanda and paul" as possible. and just when i think i am ready to start working on those arts and crafts, i go back to our wedding vows and read "for after today you shall say to the world: this is my husband. this is my wife". and then i start bawling all over again. |
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01/18/2011
   nataschia's booth. perfect. Some of the goods I collected while at the show.  {cake opera} amazing.  nwp~www.nwphotoblog.com~ |
i died & went to wedding heaven.
{wedding show} the cream of the crop
this past weekend i had the amazing opportunity to go to the 2011 {wedding co} wedding show, held at {the carlu} special events venue in downtown toronto. my photographer-turned-friend nataschia had sent me an email asking me if i wanted to join her for a day of drooling over cakes, decor, florals, photographers and anything else wedding related you could think of. i was so pumped and obviously said yes, thinking that there is nothing i would rather do on a grubby winter weekend in ontario.
then the plans changed. nataschia was invited to set up a booth and display her talent as a vendor at the show! she obviously said yes, and instead of being just a bride visiting the show, she asked me to take a road trip to help her out with things at the show. so friday afternoon, we headed up to toronto to set up her fabulous lil' vintagey booth, complete with an {ines di santo} wedding gown (worn by one of her brides) her now-famous "loveseat" that was a must in our own engagement session, a guitar and a pair of cowboy boots. yeeee hawwwww! it was perfect. we met with brides and wandered around the show to catch a glimpse of all the other vendor's goods. the show was INCREDIBLE. the cream of the crop: every vendor put together a booth that showcased not only what they were all about, but more like individual works of art. as i worked on lap #3 around the show, i could feel myself turning from a springy shade of leafy green...all the way into a "your mom painted your rec room in 1988" hunter green. i was embarassed. for about 10 seconds. and then i realized i was so envious because i wanted to be a part of it. a fair estimate would say 80% of the vendors were female and under the age of 35. all proudly displaying their unique gifts and talents for everyone to love. a few that stood out and have since had the crap creeped out of them: a} ~mango studios photography~ i'm not even going to explain why. just go to their site already. www.mangostudios.ca b} ~cake opera~ sweet baby jesus. she had black glittery lobsters crawling up her cakes. like, for real? yes please. the owner also refers to herself as an 'artist" not a cake decorator, which i love. www.cakeoperaco.com c} ~love the design~ oh i do, don't you worry. stationary. photography. fabulousness. i want this girls life. www.lovethedesign.com basically, if you're a bride living in the {gta} or close enough to it to take advantage of any and all of these amazing vendors, please do. and if you're still engaged next year (cause i'm not gonna be...yeuuuu!) please go to the {wedding co wedding show}. you will not be disappointed. promise. |
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01/13/2011
  a girl after my own heart. and typewriter.  just typin' her lil' heart out. |
blah blah blog.
{a year} of posts in review
beard of zeus! time flies when you're planning a wedding.
today marks one year since i wrote my very first post and here she is! since that day i have become hooked on reading all things wedding related online, and have become a serious daily stalker of 3 sites in particular. {green wedding shoes} is my go-to site and has never, ever, EVER let me down (well...maybe when she posts weddings that make me so jealous i have to look away). i love her taste and writing style, and think she is an absolute peach. {style me pretty} is amazing for daily inspiration, diy tutorials and gives me hope that one day, my lil' ol' wedding just may make an appearance. recently added to my roster is a site that isn't "wedding specific" but may turn into more wedding inspiration as the girl who writes it is recently engaged. {cupcakes and cashmere} is a site dedicated to fashion, diy, food and pretty things in general. emily, the girl behind the site, is the prettiest thing and has AMAZING style. i love seeing how all of these bloggers do their thang-how often they post, what they post and why they are posting it...makes me the happiest girl. my greatest fear is that my wedding will come and go (tear) and i will be left with fingers itching to type, a head full of things to say and an empty heart. i have always had a thing for written word, and have grown to LOVE writing and the freedom it gives me to get it all out: and then share it. i can't explain the feeling when i become so inspired by something that i have to try it out and turn it into something special-something "me". it's almost as good as the feeling you get when you discover you have done that for someone else. i have received NOTHING but the sweetest feedback, comments, emails and love notes from friends and family who enjoy reading what lil' ol' me has to say. (my all time fave is when i find out that a real life BOY has been reading along, and has the balls to admit it). if i can make someone laugh, bring tears to their eyes or entertain them enough to want to message me and share in my excitement-to tell me to keep writing and keep being excited...then how could i ever stop? so {the plan} is to keep going. long past the wedding. until i run out of things to say. is that possible? paul says "never". lucky him. <3 amanda xoxo |
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01/07/2011
  This is so fun. And that drink looks DELISH.  The perfect shade of pink.  Amazing!  My nails for our engagament photos.
{photo credit: nataschia wielink}  OPI Bridal  OPI Bridal Shades |
strictly girl talk: the nail situation
after stumbling across the picture of this bride and her stinkin' cute red polka dot nails, i started to think about how i wanted my own nails to look on the big day, including my little piggies. i will probably stick with the same colour on my toes as on my finger nails but am debating between a classic bridal pastel, or something a little more fun, unexpected and vibrant.
{opi} makes the prettiest bridal polish in shades of pink, ivory and beige~and would look really cute on super short nails. i also like the way french manicures look, but i feel the need to stray from that for some reason, and go for something a little more unique. for our engagement photos i had my nails painted a cherry red by {opi} called "big apple red" that turned out perfectly in all the photos. it added just the right amount of pop and jazz. i will probably co-ordinate my nails with my bridesmaids, and hope that my nail girl "rose" can help me come up with something fun and girlie. most likely pretty in pink. who am i kidding? definitely pink. |
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01/05/2011
  Can't I just sit back and have someone make the list for me? Please?  Bite my fingers right off. |
guest list + amanda =
preparing for my heed to pop off
i have to thank my lucky stars. the first year of planning this wedding has been easy peasy lemon squeezy. until. until right about now.
firming up the guest list has damn near killed me. we had drafted a copy of the guest list when we first got engaged, and every month since then, i have made a point to go back to it and see if anything has changed. it's sad to see a name getting crossed off the list that you were positive 12 months ago would be a part of your wedding day. but such is life and the show must go on. thank the good lord that paul is practical. he doesn't feel the need to invite people out of "respect" for so and so...or because they went to so and so's wedding, so we need to invite them to ours. that's just not his bag. his philosophy has changed my way of looking at things, and that is my favourite part of being with paul-he can still teach me things after all these years. we do respect our families wishes to be able to invite people who are important to them, even though we wouldn't necessarily invite them if we had the choice. it's not that we don't want them there...we just feel like that day should be reserved for the special people who are a part of our lives now-and will be in years to come. being an italian-this doesn't really jive. it doesn't matter if you have never met great great great zio giovanni twice removed living back in the old country in your entire life-he has to come! i could curse my italian-ness sometimes. life lesson being learned: bite the bullet. and statazeet. |
acowleysoontobe
| 10 | months since wedding |
{amanda}
{paul}
Jun 11, 2011
niagara on the lake,
Ontario,
Canada
navy hall
navy hall
nataschia wielink
Pink
long awaited. shabby chic. pink and green. vintage. lace. tented. peonies. outdoor. antique. fun. romantic. not soon enough.
number of visits: 18004
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