amcs76's Green Wedding Blog - Wedding By Color

Hello Ladies...Long Time No Talk - I'm going to be an MOH!

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:20:00 PST

Hello Ladies! I know it has been a while, hope you are all doing great and that your wedding planning is going amazing. I miss all you ladies, and I try to check in every once in a while to leave comments here or there and catch up on who's married now. I have some very exciting news....one of my childhood best friends just got engaged on Saturday! We have been friends since we were 9 years old. We lost touch for about 5 years throughout high school, but have been back in touch now for about 2 years. She just asked me today to be her MOH!! I am thrilled and honoured and sooo excited to be apart of her wedding! The wedding isn't until 2012, so there's lots of time. I can't wait to get started and help her plan!! What is new with all of you?

Ask a Question - Have you seen the new "Upcoming Weddings" section on WBC home page?

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:52:00 PST

Hey Ladies, I just logged in to catch up some of my fellow WBC ladies, and I noticed on the front page of WBC that there is a new "Upcoming Weddings" box!! I'm so excited about this new feature that WBC has now! It makes it so much easier to give our best wishes to brides that are getting married soon. Just wanted to spread the word! :) I know I haven't been on as much as I used to, I'm trying to find the time to get back on here and comment and give advice to any ladies that need it. Things have been super busy with me. My husband and I moved into the condo that we bought 2 days after our wedding. So it took some time to adjust to a new town, a new place and unpack everything. Plus summer was crazy, and it seemed like there was some sort of event going on every weekend.I have also been busy with my wedding invitation & stationery business, and I just finally finished my website, you can check it out here if you like: www.weddingsbyah.com. I also am running a promo starting now until the end of September...you can save 15% off the total price of design services for invitation AND program design OR, you can receive 25 free save the date magnets (design included) with the purchase of $250 or more of services (incl. printing). Hope your wedding planning is going great for all of you ladies! xoxo, Ashley

Wedding Photography - AMCS76's Professional Wedding Pics!

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 07:45:00 PST

Hey Ladies!! They are finally here!! We went last night to pick up our pro wedding pictures....and there are over 1500!! The hubby and I picked up dinner and then sat in front of the computer for an hour and a half looking at all of the photos. Here are some of my faves, there are way too many to post on here. I haven't gone through all of them yet, so I'll be adding to this.

Wedding Photography - FREE Photobook from Shutterfly!

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:22:00 PST

Hey Ladies! I just got an email from Shutterfly with a coupon code for a free photobook! Here's the details: Before you know it, these long sunny days will be a memory. But with your FREE 8x8 hard cover photo book (a $29.99 value),* you can capture those memories and make them last all year long. * Free 8x8 hard cover photo book is a onetime use offer and is exclusively for the account of _____. It includes an initial set of 20 pages, and all incremental pages will be charged on a per page rate. Martha Stewart, Creating Keepsakes, licensed premium photo books, leather, padded, and soft cover photo books are not included in this offer. Taxes, shipping and handling charges will apply. Offer ends August 26, 2009. Promo Code: SUMMERBOOK You could use the promo code to make a free guestbook, or for brides that are already married, you could make a nice photobook with wedding photos.

ATTN CANADIAN BRIDES - Blog N' Win!!

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:32:00 PST

Hey Ladies! I just got an email from Wedding Bells. They are looking for 2010 brides to blog about wedding details on the wedding bells website. And you have a chance to win prizes if you are one of the brides selected to blog on their site. Check out the email below: Weddingbells is looking for 7 brides to join our expert team of bloggers. We want you to blog about your wedding planning details for weddingbells.ca and as one of the Weddingbells bloggers, you are eligible to win big! One grand prize blogger will receive an all-inclusive trip for two to the Riviera Maya, a $5,000 wedding dress, a $1,000 gift certificate from Peoples Jewellers, and she will have her wedding featured in Weddingbells magazine! Each of the six additional bloggers will win a $500 gift certificate at Peoples Jewellers and have her wedding featured as a "Real Wedding" on weddingbells.ca. Plus all of our bloggers will win a one-on-one consultation with a Clinique consultant and $300 worth of Clinique beauty products. Visit weddingbells.ca/bloggersearch for details. I believe it's only open to Canadian residents, because Wedding Bells is a Canadian magazine. Good luck ladies!! Let me know if any of you enter, I would love to hear!

Wedding Photography - Finally picking up my wedding photos on Thursday!

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:55:00 PST

Hey Ladies!! I emailed my photographer last week and told them I didn't feel I should have to wait any longer for my photos, as they had originally told me 6-8 weeks, and then tried to tell me that their turnaround time is 8-10 weeks. Last week was 9 weeks since our wedding, and I was fed up and frustrated because I just want my wedding photos! So she said that they will be ready this Thursday, so I'm going to pick them up!! I promise I will spend some time Thursday night posting a bunch for you all to see! I can't wait to see the photos! :)

Ask a Question - Which photo to use for thank you cards?

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:56:00 PST

Hello Ladies!! Hope you are all doing well, and that your planning is going great! I miss you all very much :( I haven't been on here as much as I would like to be. I have had a hard time adjusting to life after wedding planning, lol. So it has been hard to get the motivation to come on here, and I have been pretty busy too. As stressful as planning was at times, I miss it! Our photographer (Rivera Multimedia) emailed us 4 photos to use for our thank you cards. We're getting the rest of the wedding photos back soon, but I asked for the pictures for the thank you cards early so I can get them mailed out. Which one do you think I should use for the the thank you cards? I love #1, 2 and 4! I'm so excited, they even posted us on their blog!! http://riveramultimediaproductions.blogspot.com/

Market Place - Starting my own business...invitation & stationery design!

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:32:00 PST

Hey Ladies, Since my wedding is over and I am no longer planning, I have decided to officially launch my invitation & stationery business. A while back, I offered to design invitations or programs or place cards for free for 5 WBC brides, to establish a portfolio for myself. I have attached photos of those designs as well as a few other designs for other brides. I will be offering: Address Labels Envelopes Favour Tags Invitations Maps Menu Place Cards Programs Rehearsal Dinner Invitations Seating Charts Save the Dates -> offered in magnets or cards Signs (welcome, just married, etc) Table Numbers Wedding Shower Invitations Bachelorette/Bachelor Party Invitations Jack and Jill Tickets Monogram Design Please contact me for more info and for pricing: ashley@ashleyhatt.com Thank you ladies!!

NWR: - Our New Baby & House Pics!

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:03:00 PST

Hey Ladies! It has been a while since my last post. Don't worry I am still around and not leaving! I have been doing my best to still get on here and comment, but I haven't been on as often as usual. Life has been super busy the past few weeks. We got married on June 6th, then we moved on the 8th and we had to be out of our apartment the 8th so that was a stressful day. Then we spent that entire week unpacking and everything. We got our new baby (our kitten) the Thursday of that week. We named him "Top Hatt". Our last name is "Hatt", so that's how my husband came up with the name. I got to pick out our kitten, so he says it is only fair he gets to name our kitten. Here are some photos of him, he is soo playful. He cuddles right up to you at night, and he always sleeps on my pillow at night...it's the cutest thing ever. Futuremrscarrejola was asking me about the kitten, so I thought I would share some photos with you all. I also am posting some photos of the condo we bought. I posted some awhile ago when our deal was just accepted, but here are some photos now that we have moved in and got all settled. I hope all you are doing well, and that your wedding planning is going great!! I'm back from taking a temporary hiatus from designing wedding stationery. So if any of you ladies are interested in having a monogram, invitation, thank you card, or any kind of wedding stationery designed, please contact me at: amcs76@yahoo.ca and I can give you a quote.

More Wedding Photos - from AMCS76

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:59:00 PST

Hello ladies, I won't have the professional photos for another 5-7 weeks, but here are some photos our friends have posted on facebook. Enjoy! :)

More Wedding Details & Post-Wedding - Vendor Review From AMCS76 :)

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:52:00 PST

The day was amazing, and the weather was beautiful. We had such a great day, and we have been getting tons of comments on the ceremony and reception...and a lot of people have been saying it was one of the best weddings they have been to. Now for the vendor review.... Vendor Review Flowers Company: Bloomex Review: F (if there was a lower letter, they would get it). The flowers for the centerpieces were suppose to be delivered at my parents house the thursday before the wedding, between 9am and 12pm. At 12:50pm, the flowers still hadn't arrived, so I called the corporate/wedding sales manager we had been dealing with, and he said it's guaranteed to be delivered between 9am and 1pm (which was not what he had originally told me).....1pm passes and goes, and still no flowers. I call back the manager, and he says he'll look into and call me right back. After 30 minutes, still no call from him. So I call him back again, and he says UPS can't guarantee a window of 9am and 1pm for delivery because the delivery address is in a rural area. So the flowers didn't show up til 3:30pm. I was pissed, because he should have checked with UPS before telling me he could guarantee me delivery between 9am and 12pm. They were totally unprofessional, and very arrogant when I complained about the order not being delivered on time. I wasn't at my parents house when they were delivered (my MOH and I were getting pedicures), and my mom called my cell and said the flowers were shipped in boxes with no water!! WTF!! They didn't even have the flowers in wet foam, so the flowers weren't in very good condition after sitting in a UPS truck for 7 hours in 23C weather. Fortunately, my mom and my grandma cut all the stems and put them in buckets and put them in my parents basement overnight, and the flowers were much better by friday morning. I had so many issues with this company right from the beginning...please check the other postings on my blog about Bloomex if you would like more info. ->They don't deserve to have their website posted here. Photographer Company: Rivera Multmedia (Scarborough, ON) Review: A ++++ Absolutely fantastic company! Josh & Sonia Rivera (the owners and my photographers for the day) were so nice and so pleasant from the moment I went to meet with them to see their portfolio, and throughout my entire wedding day. I asked them to be at my parent's house for 12:30pm, and my dad said they showed up at 10:30am because they wanted to make sure they didn't get lost, and they didn't want to be late. They were great, and they had so many great creative ideas for poses and photos. They just kept wanting to take more photos, which was great. I would very HIGHLY recommend them. They have very reasonable packages too. www.riveramultimedia.com DJ Company: Orbit Sound Music Service (Whitby, ON) Review: A + They are very professional, and they have tons of experience. They really know how to get people on the dance floor and play a great mix of music. Our DJ was Shawn Walsh, and he was great. He filled in for the role of MC as well, and did a great job. They have really reasonable prices as well, and I very highly recommend them. www.orbitsound.ca Reception Venue Company: Villa Risi Ristorante (Newmarket, ON) Review: A - The owner and his wife are very nice people, and their restaurant is absolutely beautiful. The only reason I didn't give them an A + was because I was upset that he got a bit arrogant with my grandma the friday night before the wedding. But my grandma can also be a bit snarky, so I think he could have just been reacting to how she spoke to him. The food was amazing, and they even offered guests second servings if they wanted it. There was tons of food, and I couldn't eat it all. Their staff was very helpful moving all the tables and setting it up how I wanted. They even allowed us to bring in our own chocolate fountain and dipping items, and they helped setup and clean it up. The bar service was great, we had a cash bar, and I had no complaints about drink prices, or not enough bartenders. www.villarisi.com Gift Registry Company: The Bay (Oshawa, ON) Review: A + The Bay is definitely the best place to register. They are so helpful, and they have a large selection of things for you to choose from for your registry. Plus they also offer completion discounts on the items that weren't purchased off your registry, and you can add more items to the registry up to a year after your wedding to get the completion discount. They also have very convenient options for your guests to buy you gifts. You can place an order online, or if an item is out of stock at a Bay location your guest wants to buy a gift for you from, they can order it and have it shipped to the nearest Bay location, and then they call you when you can pick it up. Limo Company: David's Limo Service (Keswick, ON) Review: A - The owner was super nice. We originally had booked Flat Rate Limo Service from Keswick, ON but at the last minute he didn't have a black limo, and because they work with David's Limo, our booking was passed over to David's Limo. They called me the wednesday before the wedding, and went over everything with me, they were great. The only reason they get an A - is because they were late picking up my husband and the groomsmen, which put us behind schedule for the ceremony. No website, but their phone # is: 905 476 7819 Cake Company: N/A, made by our groomsmen's mom Mary Review: A+ (how could I not give her an A+, lol) Mary, our groomsmen John's mom, has made lots of cakes for us and our family. She does an amazing job, and her cakes are always really moist and tasty. She made our cake as a wedding gift, and it turned out beautiful. No website. Dress Company: Bridal & Beyond (Mississauga, ON) Review: C - Their customer service sucks, and they don't care about their customers once you have purchased your dress. When I went searching for a wedding dress, the associate helping me completely disappeared, and I had to ask an bride's BM to tie up the dress for me. I made the mistake of returning to purchase the BM dresses from them because they offered a 10% discount on the BM dresses because I purchased my wedding dress from them. We made an appointment, and arrived on time, and had to wait 15 minutes for someone to be assigned to us. Finally we got annoyed and just decided to start picking out dresses ourselves. Once we had picked a bunch of dresses my BM's liked, we looked for our associate to setup a fitting room so my BM's could try on the dresses. She was too busy helping someone else, so we took over two fitting rooms. After trying on a few dresses, the associate has the audacity to tell us we can only use one fittting room. Even though when I called I told them I was bringing 3 BM's, and therefore needed 3 fitting rooms. The associate completely ignored us the entire time. When we were finally ready to get the BM's measured so they could order the dresses, I had to snap on the associate because I couldn't find her, and she had ignored us the whole time. Needless to say once I snapped, she was right there at our beck and call. Horrible customer service, would definitely recommend going elsewhere. www.bridalandbeyond.com Jewelry Company: BitterSweet (Scarborough, ON) Review: A+ My MOH and I went to this store in September to find jewelry for myself, herself and the other two BM's. The associate was soo helpful and spent about an hour with us picking out jewelry. They had great prices, and had lots of promos going on. I bought matching necklace, earrings and bracelet for $75, and I got so many compliments on them. My MOH bought a beautiful cuff bracelet, and I bought the other two BM's matching earrings and bracelets. Great jewelry, and really nice company. www.bittersweetonline.com Manicure/Pedicure Company: Lovely Nails (Keswick, ON) Review: A + Really nice ladies who own it, and they do a great job. Their prices are very reasonable, and they do great pedicures and acrylic nails. www.lovelynails-keswick.com Makeup Company: Clinique (in The Bay, Newmarket, ON) Review: A They did a great job of my makeup, and my BM Erin's and MOH's makeup. It was free, and we just had to purchase $35 of products or more. They were really nice, and had a lot of great suggestions for colours. www.thebay.com Hair Company: L'Attitudes (Newmarket, ON) Review: A + I loved my hair, and they did an amazing job of all my BM's hair too. Their prices are pretty reasonable for weddings, and they are really professional. I would highly recommend. 905-836-5566 Tuxes Company: Moore's Review: B+ My husband and his GM's decided to order fedora's to wear in some photos, so they had a sample hat in the store that they tried on and they really liked it. They ordered it with their tuxes, and when the hat's came in they looked like sombrero's. The girl tried to tell me they had to be shaped, but they looked nothing like the hat they had in the store. My husband and I and his best man went on the wednesday before the wedding to pick up their tuxes, and my husband's buttons on his pants were missing. So they had to order him a new pair, and we had to make another trip back to the store on the friday before the wedding. They were pretty good to deal with, and they have lots of colour options for the vests and ties, and quite a few different tux options too. www.mooresformalwear.com Wedding Night Hotel Company: Markham Hilton (Markham, ON) Review: A + Beautiful hotel, and I love that they had 12pm checkout, and not the usual 11am checkout you see at a lot of hotels. The room was great, and the price we got was phenomenal. Very nice, would stay there again for sure. www.hilton.com Ceremony Music Company: Connor's Music/Bernadette Connors Review: B+ She did a great job on the music, along with her boyfriend. The music was beautiful. The only reason I am giving her a B+ was because I gave her my music selections in December, and she waited til 3 weeks before the wedding to tell me they were a bit too advanced (we used all classical music). But we ended up working that out, and she just practiced very hard, and it was beautiful. www.bernadetteconnors.com (PS. I designed her website too :) ) Ok ladies I think that is it for my vendor review, I am very tired now, lol. I will post more photos later this week.

AMCS76 is a MRS!! - I'm back and I'm married!!

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:44:00 PST

Hello Ladies! Just wanted to do a quick post for you all to let you know I am married!! The day was absolutely amazing and everything I imagined...it was a great day! I have posted a few pics for you all that my mom took with her camera. It will be 6-8 weeks until we get pictures from the photographer, and I'm still waiting for friends and family to post pictures on facebook. Don't worry there will be more photos to come! I will do a full post with vendor reviews in a few days. The husband and I are moving into our condo tomorrow!! So when I get a chance I will absolutely write a more detailed post. Thank you all for your sweet comments and best wishes, it means so much to me! I could not wait to get on here and let you all know how it went. I <3 you WBC ladies! :)

AMCS76 is saying goodbye! - Wedding is in 5 days! :)

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:32:00 PST

Well ladies, it has come to that time....time to say goodbye! My wedding is in 5 days (for some reason the counter to the right says 4 days?). I have a lot of errands and things to do this week, so I probably won't be able to get on here again until after the wedding. I am super busy at work, have to finish packing by tomorrow night. Wednesday morning I have to pick up my dress, then FH and I are heading to my parents place where we will be staying the rest of the week. Saturday at noon I have an appt to sign the paperwork for our condo, then all afternoon I have some running around to do, then FH and I are meeting the best man to pick up his tux Wednesday night. Thursday the flowers for the centerpieces are being delivered, then I have a pedicure appt with my MOH, then the rehearsal and dinner following that at my parents. Then Friday, my grandma, grandpa, MOH and my mom are all helping assemble the centerpieces, then my MOH and I have to drop my car off at the hotel so it is there for Sunday morning. Then we have appts to have our nails done, and then we have to head to the reception to setup everything. Then Saturday is the wedding! So needless to say, I have a pretty crazy week. Next Monday we are moving, and our internet won't be connected for a few days after that. so I will post pics from the wedding as soon as I can! And I'll make sure to post some vendor reviews too! I just want to thank all of you WBC ladies for all of your support, comments, suggestions over the past year I have been on WBC. You have all truly touched me, and I am so grateful for all of you!! I <3 you all!! See you on the other side :)

DIY Wedding - Groomsmen Timeline Cards & Reception Order of Events!

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:45:00 PST

Hey Ladies, Here are a few more DIY projects I have finished recently, but haven't had time to upload pics. I created an order of events that I put into a black frame, which will sit on the table with the escort cards. Any wedding I have ever gone to, I am ALWAYS wondering..."When do we eat?", lol. So I created a timeline of main events so our guests will know what time things are happening. Plus quite a few of our friends and family are smokers, and that way they will know what time to come back into the reception for the main things that are happening. I also made reserved signs for the church, I made one for my parents, one for FH's parents, one for FH's grandparents, and one for my grandparents. The reserved signs will sit on top of the pews, with the parents in the first rows and the grandparents in the second rows. I know that groomsmen/ushers will know where to seat them, but I wanted to make sure that no one sits in those pews especially because a few of our grandparents are older and don't have the best vision anymore. I made timeline cards for the groomsmen and the bridesmaids for the day of the wedding. I will be giving them out at the rehearsal dinner. I thought it would be good especially for the guys who can always use something tangible so they know what time the limo is picking them up. That's all for my DIY projects, I think I'm done, lol. I think this week is going to be completely crazy. I am working the next two days, then FH and I are both off from wed-fri, and we are heading to my parents place Wednesday morning to finish some wedding stuff and sign some paperwork for our condo. We take ownership of our condo on friday, so I am soo excited to pick up the keys! Our apartment is a TOTAL disaster right now. We have to finish packing by tuesday night because we are going to be at my parents from wed-fri, then sat is the wedding, and we won't be back at our apartment until Sunday night, and then we're moving money. There are boxes and stuff EVERYWHERE! It's a mess! I can't wait to move :)

Bachelorette Party - Pics from Last Night!

Sun, 31 May 2009 11:16:00 PST

Hey Ladies, My bachelorette party was last night, and it was sooo much fun!! My MOH booked a hotel room, so we all met at the hotel room at 5:30pm. We had jello shooters, food, and lots of drinks. We played a few games, including how well do you know the bride, hot potato with a thong (funny how I ended up with 3 thongs, lol), then everyone wrote in a "Sex advice" notebook and wrote tips, lol. There were about 10 of us altogether that were there. Then we went for dinner to Casey's (chain restaurant for those that haven't heard of it), had dinner. We were there for about 2 hours because the power kept going on and off because it of thunderstorms. After dinner, five people had to leave. Two of my friends from the city I live in had to go home, and 3 of my FH's cousin's had to go (one of them is 8 months pregnant). Dinner was soo good, and I am glad that so many people made it. Even FH's cousin who is 8 months pregnant came to dinner, which I thought was so sweet because she had said she couldn't make it because she thought we were only going to the bar. We went back to the hotel room after some people left, and had more drinks. Around 10:30pm the cab picked us up and took us to the bar. It was soo much fun and they were playing amazing music all night. There was a live band there, and they were asking me what my sash said, lol. So when they played the last song in their set they called me up to come to the dance floor. I danced ALL night, and didn't want to leave. My MOH and one of my BM's did such an amazing job! I had such a good night, and drink soo much! Thankfully I took two advil, and drank a whole bottle of water before I went to bed...so I am actually feeling pretty good today. Not like last weekend after our jack and jill, I was very hungover. So it was a fabulous night, and it went by so fast! It was a great night :)

Ask a Question - UPDATED speech...what do you think?

Fri, 29 May 2009 08:44:00 PST

Hey Ladies, I read all of your comments on my speech, and I decided to have one of my friends read it over and make some changes to it for me. She works in public relations, so she is amazing at writing speeches and any kind of communications stuff. So here is my new and improved speech: "I would like to take the time to thank all of our family and friends for sharing this special day with Mark and I. Many of you have traveled a great distance to share in this special occasion with us, and we couldnt be happier. Your presence is truly appreciated and means a lot to the both of us. I would like to start off with first and foremost thanking my parents; you have moulded me into the person I am today. Constantly sticking by me whether or not my choices were the correct ones, your ultimate goal was for my success and happiness in the future. I would like to thank my mother for always lending an ear to listen to my ridiculous rants throughout the years, as well as provide me with the greatest advice. To my father who constantly provided me with support and the push I needed at times. I would like to thank the both of you for the amount of time you have put into the preparation of this wedding, without the both of you this would not be possible. You are my role models for what marriage should be after 26 years. You have taught me that love is both forgiveness and patience, sticking together through the good times, and never giving up through the bad. "To Marks parents, Karen and Mark I know you had your hands full raising Mark, but you have influenced and shaped him into the man he is today, the man that I so dearly love. Thank you for welcoming me into your family. And to my Maid of Honour, Lindsay; thank you for being such a great help throughout the wedding. You have been my best friend and a huge source of support, not only during the wedding planning, but throughout our friendship as well. Thank you so much for your love and support and for standing beside me today. Saving the best for last, my new husband Mark. My dream was to find a man who would understand me no matter what the occasion. A man whose values and personality matches that of my own. I am so happy to finally be married to you; you truly mean the world to me. When I look into our future I know that I will be as happy as I am now. Not only have I married someone I love, but I have married my best friend. Mark, I love you and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I would like to raise my glass and toast to everyone for sharing this special occasion with us. Thank you all for coming, enjoy the rest of the evening. CHEERS " What do you think?

Bachelorette Party - It's tomorrow...so excited!

Fri, 29 May 2009 06:16:00 PST

Hey Ladies! My bachelorette party is tomorrow night and I am so excited! My MOH finally spilled the beans on what we are doing. She has booked a hotel room, so we are all meeting there at 5:30pm, going to have dinner somewhere, coming back to the hotel room to pre-drink, then heading to the bar, and then a few of us are staying the night at the hotel. I'm so excited, and it's nothing overly crazy which I love because I'm not really a party girl. Two of my friends from the city I live in are coming, plus my MOH and one of my BM's (the other BM is FH's sister and she is underage), three of FH's cousins, plus possibly two other friends. I can't wait :) I finally decided on what to wear: dark jean capris and black shirt....just have to buy some new shoes!! Lol. Well just wanted to share with you all! Tomorrow will also be only 7 days left until the wedding! Pleae pinch me it doesn't feel real! Lol. Ohh and yesterday the nicest thing happened....one of my co-workers is an older gentleman and he is also a reverend who does weddings on weekends, well he knows that I am getting married next Saturday, and he isn't in the office much because he's on the road meeting with new clients, etc. Well he came in and dropped off a card for me and my FH, and inside was a $50 giftcard to The Bay! I thought it was soo sweet that he remembered!

Ask a Question - My wedding speech...what do you think?

Thu, 28 May 2009 09:43:00 PST

Hey Ladies, I have pretty much finished writing my speech, and I was wondering if you would all help me out and read over it, and give me your opinions. If there is anyone that I should add to it to thank, or anything else I should mention, please feel free to share. Here is my speech: "Thank you all for being here today. A lot of our friends and family have traveled far to celebrate this day with us, and we are so grateful. I would like to thank my parents for everything they have done, and for all of their helping with planning our wedding. We really appreciate everything you have done. I would also like to thank our wonderful wedding party for throwing a wonderful jack and jill, bachelor party and bacheloretteyou are such great friends, and we couldnt have asked for better friends to be by our side today. I would also like to thank my maid of honour Lindsay who has been such a huge help throughout the planning of Mark & Is wedding. There have been many times I have frantically called or emailed her, stressing about probably the most minute thing about the wedding, and she was always there to offer me her honest advice. Thank you so much for your love and support, and for standing by my side today. To my parents: You are my model for what marriage should be after 26 years of laughter, tears, compromise, understanding, dependability, and above all, love. You taught me that love is forgiveness and patience, being together through the good times, and never giving up through the bad. To my husband: I am so happy to finally be married to you. "

9 Days to go... - In the single digits now!!

Thu, 28 May 2009 06:34:00 PST

OMG ladies, I can't believe it, only 9 DAYS TIL I GET MARRIED!! (ignore the countdown to the right, for some reason it's off by a day). Sooo crazy!! I only have 3 more work days after today, and then I am off for 12 days. We are moving two days after the wedding, so I have been soo busy packing and finishing up final wedding stuff. I can't believe it...it feels like not long ago it said over 300 days to the wedding, now we are in to single digits!

Ask a Question - Reception Program Timeline?

Wed, 27 May 2009 06:06:00 PST

Hey Ladies, I have a question. I am considering making a folded card to put on each table that lists certain events happening at the reception and what time it is at. Whenever I go to a wedding, my primary concern is, "when is dinner?", lol....yes I am always thinking about food! So I was thinking about making these cards (excuse the look of it, I quickly put this together as a mockup), so that our guests will know when important events are happening. What do you think....good idea or no?

Wedding Gift Registry - The store called, more gifts are in! :)

Mon, 25 May 2009 11:28:00 PST

OMG I am so excited!! My FH just texted me at work, and he said The Bay called (where we are registered), and that there are gifts in!! Which means someone has ordered a wedding gift from our registry. I am going there right after work tonight to pick them up. I just checked our registry, and there are two new items that have been purchased: Vera Wang Silver Grosgrain Picture Frame (that I wanted so badly, and didn't think ANYONE would buy cuz it was so damn expensive), and the small black swirl glasses. A friend of my family already bought us the larger black swirl glasses, so I am so excited that we have a set of large and small one's!

Ask a Question - Worried about the weather?

Mon, 25 May 2009 06:44:00 PST

Hey Ladies, I am so worried about the weather on my wedding day!! I keep checking the 14 day forecast. So far for the past three days, they are calling for sunny with cloudy periods. BUT that can change at anytime, so I'm paranoid about rain. The ceremony is indoors inside a church, and the reception is indoors as well. We are taking photos at a really nice park outside after the ceremony, and I really want to get some nice photos of us on a bridge that is in the park. I do have a rain backup, there is a building near the reception that has a beautiful marble fountain, and beautiful columns (I've posted some pics), however a permit is $72. The park is free, we don't need a permit. But if it rains it means we have to spend $72 to get a permit, and the permit has to be bought in advance...otherwise it is $107 if you buy the permit the day of your wedding. So I am praying for good weather!!

Jack & Jill - AMCS76 Pics from Last night!!

Sun, 24 May 2009 20:27:00 PST

Hey Ladies! So last night was our Hollywood themed Jack & Jill. It was so awesome, and we both had a great time! Our wedding party (mainly my MOH) did such a fantastic job on everything. There were probably about 80 people there or so. They sold gold fish insurance, and at the end of the night whose ever name was called, if they hadn't bought fish insurance, they would have to eat a fish. They didn't end up calling anyone's name, so my aunt took the goldfish home for her kids. They had about 5 different buckets that were being raffled off...one with grey goose vodka in it, a spa bucket, and a few other really cool buckets. They also were raffling off a $50 bill. And there were two envelopes for guests to put tickets into to try to "win" and be able to pie me in the face, and my FH in the face. FH's uncle won and was going to pie him in the face, but then a good friend of my family's offered $20 for the pie, and then FH's cousin offered $50 to pie my FH in the face. Then my MOH's boyfriend won and he got to pie me in the face. I thought he would take it easy on me, cuz he's my best friend's boyfriend and I know him pretty well, but he didn't hold back! Lol...it was the grossest thing ever. Even despite wearing a garbage bag, whipped cream still dripped all over me and my dress and my fair. My BM Erin was in the bathroom with me helping me wipe off the whipped cream, lol. I didn't shower last night, and when I woke up this morning, my hair was soo disgusting!! We also were really surprised we got to drink for free the entire night! We both had such an awesome time and had quite a bit to drink. A bunch of our friends from the city we live in made it out, it was quite a far drive for them, so we were so thrilled to have them come. My FH's dad even showed up which was a shock because FH is kinda estranged from his dad (long story). They had popcorn buckets on every table with popcorn from the movie theatre that my MOH and I used to work at (it's great to have connections!!). My mom and my MOH's mom got together and made jello shooters for the jack and jill...they were soo good and I had quite a few! I think they raised quite a bit of money for us, but they are keeping it a secret until the Rehearsal Dinner, and then they are going to tell us how much they raised. I was quite hungover today, had a bit too much to drink. My brother picked up my mom, my dad, my FH and I, and my aunt and her boyfriend around 1:30am. All 7 of us crammed into my brother's 5 passenger car, lol. They made me take the leftover cake home, and I ended up dropping a piece on my foot in the car, and I think my brother was a bit pissed I got icing on the carpet of his car (oops!), lol. We stayed the night at my parents, and as soon as we got to their place my FH went to sleep. I sat outside with my parents, and my aunt and her boyfriend (who both stayed the night as well), and drank two more coolers, and then went to bed around 2:30. Woke up at 10, and made the mistake of eating bacon and eggs. My FH and I left around 1:00 to head home, and I made him pull over twice because I was so sick. Ughh awful feeling! I don't think I have been that hungover in a few years. We had an awesome time, and I am so thankful to our wedding party for put so much time and effort into planning our jack and jill. My MOH's brother helped out, my MOH's mom, my mom, my grandma..everyone pitched in and helped. It was a great night!

2 Weeks to go - Til the Big Day!

Sat, 23 May 2009 10:32:00 PST

Hey Ladies, So as of today there is only 2 weeks to go until my wedding!! Holy crap! Tonight is our Jack & Jill...I am soo looking forward to it. It will be lots of fun and I know my MOH has been working VERY hard planning it. I will post pics tomorrow. Also, totally not wedding related.....I emailed a lady a couple weeks ago about a classified ad she posted on Kijiji, for a free orange kitten, and she had emailed me back before saying they were already spoken for, and that if anything changed, she would contact me. She emailed me today saying she hasn't been able to get ahold of one of the people who had wanted the kitten, and that if I was still interested she would call me. So we might be getting a little kitten!! I am sooo excited. I love animals, but the apartment we have been living in the past 3 years, doesn't allow animals. Now that we bought a condo and we are moving in two weeks, we are allowed pets!! Create your countdown widget and more at Blixy.com!

DIY Wedding - Finished the Escort Cards!!

Fri, 22 May 2009 21:14:00 PST

Hey ladies, I have spent the past two nights finishing the escort cards, and they are finally finished!! I am very happy with how they turned out. One more thing to check off the list!! :)

Ask a Question - Dipping ideas for chocolate fountain?

Thu, 21 May 2009 10:54:00 PST

Hey Ladies, So we are having a small chocolate fountain at our wedding reception. My mom bought the fountain for us last year from Wal-Mart for $50. It is soo much cheaper to DIY this, than to hire a company to do it. Most quotes I got for the rental of chocolate fountain, the chocolate and setup was $500 +. I bought a 2 lb bag of chocolate for $15, and I am wondering if I should buy another bag? What do you think? We have 126 guests, but we aren't having the fountain til 11pm, so I don't know if a lot of people will be at the fountain then, plus some of the guests may have left by then. Also, I need some ideas for dipping items. This is what I was thinking: -honeydew -cantaloupe -strawberries -grapes -lady finger cookies Anything else to dip? Also if there are any brides who have/or are planning to do a DIY chocolate fountain, I would love to hear any advice you have.

DIY Wedding - Completed Bridesmaid Survival Kits!

Tue, 19 May 2009 17:43:00 PST

Hey Ladies, A followup to the previous post... Tonight I went out and purchased all the stuff for my DIY bridesmaid survival kits. I bought everything at the dollar store. This was a pretty inexpensive project. List of items: Ziploc bags- free (already had) Cardstock for label- free (already had) Dove deodorant- $3 (for all 3) 8 pack of individual kleenex- $1 Tic Tacs- $1.95 (for 3) Bandaids-$1 (for one box) Tylenol- free (already had) Tampons- free (had a sample pack of 3) Lip Smackers- $1 (for 3) Total Cost: $8.98 (incl taxes) = approx $3 for each kit This is one of my DIY projects that I really enjoyed. I think my BM's will love them! **Also an update to the previous post, I found ziploc bags that are 4" wide, but they are far too small to fit much in them, so I will be updating the templates so that they are 7" wide (standard size ziploc bag). ** ****Forgot to mention, I purchased all the items from Dollarama (except the stuff I already had). To my fellow Canadian WBC girls, I highly recommend buying the things for your survival kits from the dollar store. I went to Shopper's Drug Mart after I went to Dollarama, and everything was about double the price. The small dove deoderant was actually more than double, it was $2.29 at Shoppers!! And I got it for a dollar at the dollarama :) ****

Bridesmaids - FREE Survival Kit Templates

Tue, 19 May 2009 13:11:00 PST

Hey Ladies, I was inspired by some labels I saw on a blog, for bridesmaid survival kits. The labels didn't fit my theme, so I decided to make my own and I am sharing the templates with you!! Bridesmaid Survival Kit Label Templates: Lime Green Pink Black Bride Survival Kit Label Templates: Lime Green Pink Black ****UPDATE****** Larger Versions of the Labels for 7" Ziploc Bags (standard size) Bridesmaid Survival Kit Label Templates: Lime Green Light Pink Black Bride Survival Kit Label Templates: Lime Green Pink Black **** Just download the pdf of the template colour you want, print onto white cardstock, cut out and fold in half. Put your items for the survival kit in a clear ziploc bag (the bag shouldn't be wider than 4") and put the label over the top of the ziploc bag, and staple the label to the bag. Voila! Ideas of things to put in the survival kit: -kleenex -tylenol -lip balm -stain remover -bandaids -mints

Ask a Question - How many days before the wedding should I stop tanning?

Tue, 19 May 2009 11:17:00 PST

Hey Ladies, I started tanning about a month ago, to even out my pasty white skin, lol. I have gone several times, and am getting a nice colour, that still looks natural. I am wondering how many days before the wedding do I stop tanning?

DIY Programs - How-to Instructions....

Tue, 19 May 2009 10:10:00 PST

Hey Ladies, A few of you requested instructions on how to make DIY layered wedding programs. Here are some basic instructions, dimensions and a template. Instructions: For my programs, I designed each page separately in Adobe Illustrator, and then had them professionally printed and cut. Each page is 1/2" shorter than the other. I measured the black cardstock backing so it was 1/8" larger on each side than the cardstock, and then added an extra 1 1/2" for the top fold over. I used a paper cutter to cut the black cardstock, and then folded the 1 1/2" flap. Lined up the 4 cardstock pages, and used a hole punch to put in the holes for the ribbon...then fed 5/8" black ribbon through the holes on the back, and then tied into a bow on the front. Dimensions: The first page- front cover, size is 4" x 7.75" The second page- ceremony, size is 4" x 8.25" The third page- wedding party, size is 4" x 8.75" The fourth page- thanks, size is 4" x 9.25" Template: I don't have a template for my program, but I did find some templates for layered programs that you can download from here: http://wedding-paper-products.com/Layered-Programs.php (scroll down you will see "Free Downloadable Templates") Hope this is helpful!