This is ilaaloo's Pink Wedding!

I am thrilled with them... I got them done through a vendor on EBAY of all places.

The lady is wonderful to work with, she will customize anything you want and they only cost about 50 cents each.

I can't wait to send them out!

I just thought I'd post a few photos of us, and explain how we came to be!

My cousin Greg went to Guelph University here in Ontario... he was roommates with Alex and after meeting many times, in January of 2007 we really clicked.

We started dating after he showed up for my 30th birthday party last year, and we've been inseparable ever since.

He is going to be an AMAZING step-father to Taya... she is very close with her real dad but also thinks the world of Alex... they are super tight.

I can't wait for us to join together as a family!

Alex moves in to my house on May 31st - just over 2 weeks!!! YAY!

Here are a few things I've come across that have caught my eye.

1 - A photo table where we can display pictures of loved ones that are no longer with us, such as grandparents or other relatives that have passed away.

2 - Customized letters for the cake table... "I DO".. they are sold on Ebay for about $5 a letter. I have some that I bought for my daughter's bedroom, and they're great!

3 - Head Table Decor... I just think that this photo shows a lovely, elegant head table. I love the feel of it.

4 - Flower buckets to hang at the end of the aisles where I will be walking during the ceremony. Maybe something hanging from every other chair.

I'm confused - again - LOL!

I always planned on a fall wedding, and part of the reason WHY is because why on earth would I want to take a tropical honeymoon in AUGUST? It always seemed so silly to me, and I've always dreamed of doing an "all inclusive" Sandals type thing.

So, now that we've changed our date to mid summer, I'd LOVE to hear some ideas of where we can go for the week following the wedding!

Where are you summer brides going?

We live just outside of Toronto, Ontario... in case you need to know.

I'd love some feedback - thanks!!!!!!

Well the date has been changed... August 1st, 2009 it is!
I am SO happy to be getting married 6 weeks earlier than planned, and although I'm sad to not be wed in my fanily's historic church, I am in LOVE with this beautiful garden ceremony site at the resort where we are having our reception.

We have it all booked now, let the good times roll!
: )

Here is a play list of songs that I can't wait to hear on our special day! 

Wow it looks so pretty when it's all together!

I just got so excited!

Okay I'm not the best at putting these things together - lol - but these are the colours that I am using for my vision of the wedding...

From flowers to dresses, linens to cake, everything will fall within this scheme.

I think that it would be a fantastic idea to give away personalized cds to our guests at the wedding.

Meaningful songs from the ceremony and reception, like our first dance, etc. would make the gift very personal. Alex and I like a really wide range of music, from dance to oldies to classic rock, so the cds would be (hopefully) appealing to everyone!

Everything would be on there from Bill Haley & The Comets to Michael Jackson to Stevie Wonder to Earth Wind & Fire!

I like it also because it's not edible or burnable or something that won't even exist in a few months, you know?

For some reason I just seem to find a lot of guest gifts to be very cheesy, but this one I love.

Also am CRAZY about the presentation style in the photo...

... then who goes the day of the wedding to set up flowers in the church, put centrepieces together, and just generally make sure that everything is as it should be?!?

I have this nightmare that we're married, and everything is great, and then we get to the hall and it looks TERRIBLE, nothing like what we wanted!

My mom said that the morning of her wedding she popped up to the hall to check on things herself, but I really don't think I will have the TIME to do that! Our hall is about 30 or 40 minutes north, and the first appointment of the day is hair at 9am.. that's AFTER I wake up, shower, eat, greet the girls as they arrive AND somehow take care of my daughter, who will be 5.

?!?!?!?!? Maybe a wedding planner is a good idea after all...

As soon as Alex and I got engaged, he surprised me by puchasing "www.alexandmb.com"!

It's not done, there is a lot still to add... but here it is in case anyone would like to see some pics and read how we met, etc...

http://www.alexandmb.com

My Mom brought this over today... and I am in love with it.

Her parents were married for over 55 years, and died within a year of each other at age 93. I couldn't imagine a better role model for Alex and myself.

They represent true and undying love in my eyes, and this was their cake topper, over 60 years ago.

I am going to see if I can have someone touch it up a little bit... but I am using it no matter what.

It hasn't been used since their wedding, apparently it was put away and my mom only came across it recently... how incredibly special!

I see it as a real blessing of our day.

***UPDATE*** (or not)...

I've lost my zest right now. The wedding seems so far off, what am I doing buying a dress a year and a half early?!? *sigh*
I don't know, I just sort of stopped thinking about it. I think I will wait a few months and see what I think.

Besides, people keep making me feel stupid for wanting to plan or purchase things so soon... "Why are you doing that NOW when there is SO much time still?!?"

Blah.
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Ap 17/08:

I went in today, to try on my gown one last time for my mom. (The Dallas Marie by Maggie Sottero, photo is at the bottom of the page...) I was going to order it and today was to be the big day!

So I try it on, and it's one size too big. The lady says "Here, I will grab a random dress in your size from Maggie, they all fit the same... just so you can get a proper idea of the fit."

No problem. So she comes back in with some other gown, and I throw it on just to see the size of it.
WELL GUESS WHAT???

I come out, I look in the mirror, I look at my mom, and we both go "Oh my God..."

It's my dress!! My mom has been SO unemotional through this whole process, and she got a little choked up over this dress!

I can't believe it.
So here in lies the question... it comes in Light Gold, and also in Ivory. I tried both on, not sure which I like better. I am ordering it this week, and need to decide!

The veil I'm wearing in the photo is also the one I'm getting.

Dress: $925 with free alterations
Veil: $119

Not bad, I'm happy with that!
So - what does everyone think?!?!?!?!?

We met with Johnny on Saturday, and I can't tell you how impressed we were!

He has an amazing style, so candid and unique. I'm COMPLETELY confident in our choice. The package will come to around $3K, but it includes a lot... so I am content.

Here is a sample of some of his work... I'm so HAPPY!

Anyone in the Toronto area that is looking into photographers, I highly recommend checking him out.

http://www.johnnylamphoto.com

I'm SO sorry, this is so not cool to ask... but I figure hey, if you don't want to answer you don't have to!

I'm just lost when it comes to the photography... most of the places we've looked at are coming in at around $3000 to $4000!!

That seems like SO much. We finally found one spot that will be closer to the high 2Ks, which is much better but I'm still hesitant.

My neighbour told me she paid $700 for her photos when she got married a few years back! That seems SO cheap, but I think you get what you pay for, and photography means a lot to me!

Please offer your opinions, I'd value anything you have to say on the topic!

Thanks girls...
: )

This is from the "Joseph Abboud" collection.

Maybe because I'm a celebrity news junkie... and Cabo San Lucas seems to be THE place to go lately... but it's been my dream for a while now to go there.

I have not been on a vacation in 10 YEARS.. yes.. 10!!! I went to Jamaica for a week when I was 21, and that was it. I will be 31 in April and neeeeeeeeeeed a beach.

Here is a photo of a random Cabo resort.

Heaven.

My beautiful, hilarious, brilliant, inspiring, supportive partners in crime!

I am NOT a necklace girl... so even though I plan on wearing a strapless gown, there will be no necklace for me.

I plan to wear some chandelier earrings, with a decent sized bracelet.

Here are a few ideas, I LOVE these earrings! They are from Emitations.

My cousin (and MOH) Rosemary also owns an INCREDIBLE jewellery company called "MISS THING"... she has everything including bridal and flower girl accessories.

www.missthing.ca

*** UPDATE ***

We will NOT be getting married in this church, unfortunately. I did love the idea, and I love what the church means to me and my family... but it just isn't going to work out.

The priest at this church is NOT who I want to perform the ceremony. He is very old, and a little senile if you ask me. His Italian accent is SO strong that I cannot understand a WORD he says, and the few friends of mine that have been married by him have warned me to stay away.
Apparently he launches into 50 minute sermons and is really a loose canon.
We don't even want a full mass, but I think he would just do one anyway, and what are we supposed to do at that point?

So, we have made arrangements to have BOTH the ceremony & reception at Hockley Valley Resort.

In order to do so, we had to change our date, so YAY we are getting married earlier, on August 1st, 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

: )

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This is the only photo I could find... I will go take one myself since this one is pretty weird.

It's a BEAUTIFUL old red brick chapel, built in 1833 - by my great-great grandfather!

His name is actually carved into the bell at the top of the tower, and my ancestors' names are engraved in the stained glass windows.

It has such incredible meaning to me and my family... and my maternal grandparents are buried in the cemetery just outside. I

It's a precious old country church, and I can't wait to get married there!

This Kate Beckinsale updo is my favourite so far by a landslide... but I also love the soft look of just puling some hair back from the front...

Any thoughts?

I am really not into all these new-fangled ideas that people seem to have for getting the bride and groom to kiss during the reception...

I don't want to have a putting green on the dance floor, I don't want people to get up and sing, or kiss each other to make us mimic them...

Is there anything simple and classy out there that I don't know of? I'm a pretty simple gal.

: )

I'd love to hear all your ideas! Thanks...

Okay so 200 cupcakes is a LOTTA cupcakes... and I'm not sure that Alex is entirely on board with the idea - yet - but I just find traditional wedding cakes so BORING.

Why oh why do people take photos of you cutting a cake? I just don't get it. Half the people don't even have any of it, and they are insanely expensive.

So, I'd rather have cupcakes... everyone gets their own, no cheesy cake-cutting photos (no offense!) and it's just a touch of something a little different.

There is something about this look that I love... it's tailored, but still romantic.

The cream/brown/pink is right up my alley, and I love that it's all neatly packed together like a little book...

So it will look something like this.

The hall comes with your standard business meeting chairs, which I refuse to leave as is!

This is something along the lines of what I'd like over top of them...

What I'd REALLY prefer to do is rent those beautiful gold spindle chairs that you see below in the photo of the hall... but they are $8 each to rent, and we have 200 people!

These slip covers tend to be about $3 by comparison.

We are having our dinner reception for 200 here at this incredible resort... we love it because it will be GORGEOUS that time of year, and everyone can stay right on site!

Here are a few that I like...

My tastes are possibly changing!

I still love the champagne and mocha dresses, but now there is a shade from the DESSY collection called "kiwi" and I can't stop looking at it!

Is Kiwi too "spring" for my September wedding?!?

It's a gorgeous colour. At least there is lots of time to decide...

This is my little girl... she will be 5 at the time of the wedding, and will be our flower girl.

She is taking her role very seriously, and was VERY proud to try on this beautiful dress last night...

This is by the Dessy group, and the sash can be matched exactly to the bridesmaid dresses, if I get them from the Dessy line too.

Here is the breakdown I'm thinking of...

BRIDE - bouquet of cream & soft pink roses

BRIDESMAIDS - bouquets of cream roses

FLOWER GIRL - small bouquet of soft pink roses

(or some similar combination, like what you see to the left...)

USHERS - wearing boutenier of a single cream rose

One gorgeous, perfect, dreamilicious, tear-inducing Maggie Sottero gown!

My dress has the soft pink sash, not the burgandy, but other than that it's the same.

I have honestly tried on at least 30 gowns, and after this one all I ever wanted to do was put it back on!! I know that the wedding is a year and a half away, but I know this is the one for me.

All the beads and lace and itchiness and heaviness... and then I put on this light, soft, whipped cream confection!

LOL!

It's as comfy as my jammies, and I can't wait to wear it!!!