This is linds86's Blue Wedding!

Hello all!!
I hope your wedding planning is going well, and you're enjoying the festive holiday season!!
As for my wedding planning, things are certainly underway and lots has happened since I last wrote in the summer....here's an update:

1. We met with our decorator and she put our mind so at ease - she's taking care of pretty much everything from the flowers to the centre pieces to the card box, so we're really lucky to have her!!
If you live in Ontario, Canada, you can look her up and perhaps consider her for your wedding because she`s amazing and creative:
www.rachelaclingen.com

2. We had our engagement photos done - such a fun session and they turned out beautifully!!! You can check one out above and also on my main profile page I have posted on in black & white. We love them!!!

3. We sent out our save-the-dates a couple weeks ago - thank goodness!! Now guests can make their reservations for the wedding weekend well in advance.

4. We launched our website and have an Our Story, Events, Location Info and Wedding Party sections. We`re also using an online RSVP system so we don`t have to have guests send RSVPs back to us - so much easier to RSVP online for many.

5. My dress and the bridesmaid dresses are ordered and being made. We chose to go with a local seamstress and we`re so glad we did because she`s so talented. If you live in the Kitchener area of Ontario, check out her website: www.nocce.com

Well, I`ll be writing again soon with updates on our cake meeting and our menu choices as we`ll be meeting with our venue`s wedding planner in January. Any hints on best menu options anyone...please let me know.

Wishing you all a blessed holiday season. God bless!

How long did you date before you got engaged?
5 months...we knew it from the 2nd date.

Did you get the ring you wanted?
indeed, it's beautiful...give the FH an idea of the styles you like and good things come from that.

Was the proposal a complete surprise?
i knew it was coming, but i didn't know when. we went on a hike, he had me sit on a log and he started saying cute things in my ear...the rest is history!!

Do you wish you had a bigger/smaller diamond? If so How big or small?
smaller...my hands are too small for a honkin one!!

Did you cry when he proposed?
i definitely got teary-eyed but i was also giggling because i was so happy. :-)

Was the proposal romantic or creative? Explain how if you'd like.
creative & romantic all at once. we love hiking together with our dog, so the way he went about it was so true to "us".

When do you want to go for your honeymoon?
doesn't matter if it's right away or a little while after...i'm not picky!!

Are you buying his wedding band for him?
i hope so...we haven't really discussed who's buying.

Have you gone over your original wedding budget?
no, not yet...

What day of the year will your wedding be?
Sat, June 12th, 2010

What kind of weather?
sunny!!! let's hope so anyways...it's a waterfront wedding so let's hope the weather cooperates.

Inside or outside?
outside, on the waterfront.

Church/justice of the peace/other?
pastor/friend

How many people will be there?
100ish

Time of day?
2 pm.

Any kind of theme?
rustic/naturey...colours blue and brown

How many bridesmaids? Who would they be?
4 bridesmaids, 1 jr. bridesmaid
- best friends, mathieu's sister, my cousin and my little friend who's the jr. bridesmaid

What kind of cake/what will it look like?
hmmm...simple colouring with twigs/tree design.

Where will you have the reception?
in a dining room (NOT A BALLROOM!!) overlooking the lake

What kind of dress will you have/color/material?
simple, off the shoulder dress made of satin or taffeta...visiting the dress maker this friday for my first consult.

What kind of flowers in your bouquet?
gerbera daisies

Kind of engagement ring?
19K white gold, round cut stone

Kind of wedding bands?
my wedding band fits into my engagement ring ...we haven't shopped for his yet.

How will you wear your hair?
half up/half down with loose curls

Who will be important to be there?
all guests are important in our eyes.

Will the reception be big or small?
100ish...so relatively small but not too small

What will the groom wear?
black suit with blue tie and white shirt.

Where will you go for the honeymoon?
hopefully western canada.

How long?
2 weeks-ish

What will you do?
hike, relax, see the sites, enjoy each others' company

Will it be modest or costly?
modest/budget

What will you stay in?
tents, modest hotels

How old will you and the groom be?
groom 27, me 24

How long will you be engaged before you get married?
1.5 years

Live together before or wait till married?
wait till marriage.

Take a long time to plan the wedding or will it be simple?
it's looking relatively simple.

Will you do it yourself or with family or hire someone to plan the wedding?
mostly myself.

Will you write your own vows or use something pre-made?
hasn't been discussed yet.

Hello all,
I'm really stuck on what to get my bridesmaids as a gift for them...
I've seen everything from personalized t-shirts and flip flops, watches, gift certificates and other such things, but I'd like to give something really unique/different...

Any ideas?? I was thinking of making and painting pottery mugs or a tea set, but I wanted to get some input from you all.

Thanks for your help in this!! :-)
Happy Planning!!

Today I found a great photo which details perfectly what I want for my table centre pieces...they're potted instead of cut fresh which means they can be re-used by guests who take them home for the summer months. We're trying to have our wedding be as eco-friendly as possible by ensuring the venue serves food grown locally, ensuring decorations used can be used again at another wedding, using post-consumer paper for invites and then hand delivering many of the invites instead of mailing and using transport resources, etc.

Just wanted to post to give you all some ideas!! :-)

(We obviously won't be boxing our flowers as favours, so our centre pieces will be more like the potted flower in the back of the picture.)

I found this style on another bride's page and I fell in love...it never even occurred to me to use Carrie Underwood's hairstyle for my wedding style. I've wanted the half up-half down look for a long time, but I didn't know what to do with the front and Carrie's hair works well for me. :-) I'm happy with it!!

I'm really stuck with whether to hire a planner or not to...
I'm a full-time student just finishing up my degree (done in December), so I'm not so sure I'll have time to plan throughout the fall and winter when I'm in school and then trying to find a job.

Has anyone else struggled with this dilemma and, if so, what did you decide? For those who are already married and had a planner, was it worth it? Also, what is the typical cost for a wedding planner?

Hello!!
I've decided that I want hand-tied gerbera daisy bouquets...much like the one in the pic. Given that I'm either doing brown or blue dresses, I think white and yellow gerberas would be ideal.

Does anyone in SW or central Ontario know of a great (and price reasonable) florist?? Let me know!! Thanks!!

Sooo...I'm stuck between having blue or brown dresses for my girls. I'm having 4 bridesmaids and 1 jr. bridesmaid who's 13. We're thinking earthy browns and pastel blues as our colour scheme, but it's a June wedding so would brown be too dark??

My other dilemma is that blue isn't the most versatile colour, so the girls won't be able to wear the dress again after my wedding. Brown is more versatile and can be worn virtually anywhere.

Here's a picture of the style of dress I'm looking at in the two colours.
Let me know what you think!!!

I found this dress in one of the recent bridal magazines...it's by Alfred Angelo and it's an off-the-shoulder taffeta gown with a corset back. I believe I've fallen in love...take a look at the link.

http://www.alfredangeloca.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?style=1148

Now my question is WHY the heck are prices so different from one shop to the next!?!? I've called 4 or 5 different places and there's been a $300 difference between two places and it's the exact same dress!!

The whole wedding world confuses me...

Hello all,
I'm new here, but I wanted to ask everyone if they had a general guideline for when to hand out save the date cards. We're planning a Fri-Sun weekend wedding, so we want to ensure people plan ahead for the cost of the room for the weekend and ensure they book the time off.
Our wedding is in June, 2010, so would sending the cards out this fall be too early??

Thanks!!!