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11/19/2008
computer-crash
computer-crash
  
Oh NOOOO!!!
Computer Crashed this morning!
My computer completely died this morning (I'm on a computer at work right now). Completely. Died.

Its been having problems for a few weeks now, but I didn't really think too much of it. Its a bit older but I didn't forsee a complete system crash. It won't even load the operating system. At first I wasn't too panicked, but the more I think about it, the more I realize how much stuff I have on there. Wedding stuff being only a tiny fragment of that information, but its still important! Plus the cost of a new computer is going to be a bit damaging to overall budgeting right now (especially just before Christmas, wedding, etc.).

I have digital copies of vendor contracts (because I'm 5 hours away most contact has been by email), edited images for graphics, proofs for invitations, etc. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to get the files restored at least!

My only small consolation is that the majority of my media files were not being stored on my main hard drive, but on an external drive (movies, music, photos) so they should be intact.

BACK UP EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!! Crap. crap. crap.
11/07/2008
parasol henna
parasol henna
parasol green swirl
parasol lampshade
damask lamp
damask votive
parasol hennaparasol green swirlparasol lampshadedamask lampdamask votive
  
Damask-y find!
Its not perfect damask, but there are some good finds!
I'm being anti-work productive today, but I'm finding some great wedding stuff!

I know I've been to this site before, and I'm pretty sure it was because someone posted about this site here, but its worth mentioning again. Luna Bazaar has an amazing selection of paper decoration everything and in just about every colour of the rainbow!

I've looked at the parasols they had online before, but they've listed some new ones like the gorgeous henna-printed parasol in the key pic! There is a matching parasol-style lampshade too.

They've also updated their functionality- you can actually search by theme colour now (there are a few listed on the menu at the left of their main page, but if you click on "More Colour Themes" they have literally dozens of colours to search.

There are some expensive goodies (like the scroll lantern) but the paper goods are really reasonable (under $10 for handpainted parasols). Check it out (and join me in my truancy!)

lunabazaar.com!!!!
11/07/2008
pear ornament
bottle stopper
glass lamp
pear boxes
pear candles
pear chocolate
pear cookies
pear ensemble
pear ornament
pear shakers
silver shakers
pear jar
PearCookieCutterM
bottle stopperglass lamppear boxespear candlespear chocolatepear cookiespear ensemblepear ornamentpear shakerssilver shakerspear jarPearCookieCutterM
  
Goodies
My obsession continues...
I know I'm the only pear-crazed bride on here (that I've seen yet- if there is another one hiding out there then let me know!!), but I've managed to collect a huge range of pear-themed wedding porn so I thought I'd post it all in one place!

The range of pear favours that are available is a little staggering actually. My personal favourite is the little pear trinket boxes for favours, but I couldn't justify spending $3-4 each on little ceramic pears for every guest. Plus, what the heck are people going to do with their little pears afterwards? I might order a couple little ones for decoration only but we'll see.

Who knew that my obscure little obsession was so popular?
11/06/2008
pear coaster
weddingpaperdivas
perfectpair la petite fleur
pearinvitation3b
black and white
COUTURECARD_245
pear coaster
fluttering details
stationery stop
babiesbridesandmore
th_APerfectPear
exquisite papers invite
weddingpaperdivasperfectpair la petite fleurpearinvitation3bblack and whiteCOUTURECARD_245pear coasterfluttering detailsstationery stopbabiesbridesandmoreth_APerfectPearexquisite papers invite
  
Invitation
DIY Inspiration for Invites
I've been working on our invitations for the last few days. I've found a LOT of pear invitations online (and an awful lot of stationery studios with "pear" in their name!). These are a few of my favourites. The key photo was a custom invitation designed by an artist with the bride adding the lettering- way above my talent or budget level! I really like the design and simple pear graphic on the Wedding Paper Divas invitation so I think my text will be based on that. The pear gatefold is really pretty so I'll add that in too. We'll see what I finally come up with soon...
10/27/2008
May 9, 1502 - Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain for his fourth and final journey to the New World.
May 9, 1502 - Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain for his fourth and final journey to the New World.
  
New Program Ideas
Why I love DIY!!
I was browsing around on the web today and came up with a fun idea to include in our programs. We want to have more than just the usual run down of names/titles and the ceremony information in our programs.

I'm already planning on including a short history of the church that we're getting married in (The Stolen Church in Windermere, BC- very romantic story about a man stealing the church from their hometown after the town was mostly deserted because his wife missed it so much). I also want to include the Celtic tradition "Which tree did you fall from?" (from good old Martha). But I also thought of including a section on significant events that happened on the day of our wedding- historical events, worldwide holidays, famous births, etc. Its really easy to find that kind of thing online and its an interesting little tidbit to include that isn't much more work than just copy and pasting!

This is why I love DIY! I can keep playing around and changing things almost as long as I like!!
10/26/2008
Bridal envy- courtest of theflirtyguide.com
Bridal envy- courtest of theflirtyguide.com
  
Ask a Question
Bridal Envy: Keeping the Sanity
After reading a post on mindchronicle's page about experiencing the lows and self-criticism of Bridal Envy I really started thinking about how I'm going to keep myself grounded. Its so easy to look at magazines, celebrity weddings and even friends (who seem to have unlimited imagination and creativity- not to mention unlimited budgets!) and feel like you just can't compete (even though you understand deep down that its not supposed to be a competition!!).

How do you ladies keep your heads on straight amongst all the bridal envy pitfalls out there?

The one thing I like to remind myself of is that the lavishness of the day says nothing about the happiness of the marriage. I went to two friends weddings a few years ago that were a week apart (they didn't know each other though). The first wedding was extremely over the top. Absolutely gorgeous, but it was wildly expensive. Think perfect red roses everywhere, designer gown, imported tiara, upscale hotel, incredible gourmet meal, exotic favours... the works. The second wedding was very pretty, but much more budget conscious- community hall, wildflower decor, single flowers rather than a full bouquet, small candy favours, basic buffet dinner... you get the idea.

I remember thinking at the time that although the first wedding was beautiful, the second one felt more real and personal. Flash forward a few years. The first couple were only married for about two years before they got divorced. The second couple are still together and still an incredibly adorable pair.

It might be a little petty, but I can't help feeling like the bride's attitudes towards their big day were somewhat reflective of their perspective on the marriage that was going to follow. Rather than being crazy about details and making "THE BIG DAY" mean everything (Bride #1) I want to remember that its only ONE DAY and look forward to being together with my husband for the rest of our lives (Bride #2).

Any little stories or thoughts that keep your head in the right space as your day creeps ever closer?
10/22/2008
My ultimate goal- relaxed wedding.  Stress now, relax then!
My ultimate goal- relaxed wedding. Stress now, relax then!
  
Back to Planning!
Wow its been awhile! Other than occasionally popping in and looking at other people's blogs I've been disconnected from wedding planning for weeks now! I was sent out of town (again) for work and haven't had time or energy to think about any kind of wedding planning for weeks! When I got back the other day my counter is suddenly under 200 days left and I feel like I have nothing done!!

Bonus though- my brother married the sweetest girl in the world last August and she also happens to be a floral designer! Yippee! I talked to her over the phone last week and she's really excited about doing our flowers and loves our colours which should make life much easier!

To do this week:

- I need to get deposits in and contracts to our venues this week.
- Call church and check to see if the pastor has the right email address (I've never received the emails he was supposed to send)
- update wedding website for directions and hotel bookings for guests
- go shopping with MOH for her dress!
10/04/2008
photographer
photographer
  
Photography
They want to hold my pictures hostage!!!
Another photographer question. I'm really having trouble with this type of vendor!! Has anyone ever heard of this before?

One photographer that I really like will provide a low-res cd of all pictures right after the wedding (for emailing, etc.) but the high res cd of pictures won't be given to us until a year after the wedding!! As far as I can tell, this is pretty much a way to force you into buying prints from them rather than printing your own - who wants to wait a freakin year?!

Has anyone ever heard of anyone else doing this??
10/03/2008
wedding photographer
wedding photographer
  
Ask a Question
Photos- how long are you planning?
I'm trying to decide how long we want to book our photographer for, how much time between the ceremony and reception and cost-wise where to draw the line at total insanity.

How long are you planning your photo session between ceremony and reception? I'm actually very used to going to weddings with a minimum two or three hour gap between ceremony and cocktails, but since I've started planning I've realized that a lot of brides try to avoid that long a delay. There are a lot of really cool pictures that people have posted as examples. How long would these all take? How much time do you need to get your pictures the way you want?

How long are you having your photographer onsite? The difference between a 4 and a 6 hour package with the photographer that I like so far is about $300, not huge but if I don't need him hanging around... And how much is your photographer charging for their time (are you getting prints out of the deal too?)? I know its kind of hard to compare photographers in different areas since the price spread is usually massive, but I'd just like to know what people are considering reasonable.
09/29/2008
cupcake with sign
art nouveau cake
cupcake with sign
art nouveau cakecupcake with sign
  
Cupcake inspirations
New ideas to add
I've been out of town for work for a couple of weeks and haven't been able to do any planning. Of course during this period our reception venue sent me all kinds of contracts and pricing info that I have to review NOW and send back ASAP! Oh well.

I found this picture of cute little cupcake signs (deepest apologies if it was on another WBC page- let me know and I'll credit whoever I might be scooping this from!) and I think with little monograms these would be great to pop onto cupcakes! Just a little extra decoration and something personalized.

I love this art nouveau cake with cupcakes too. I have yet to find a baker, so I can still be extravagant in any ideas that I like before budgeting becomes a hard reality!
09/19/2008
weddingdresses
weddingdresses
  
Ask a Question
Was it the first dress you tried on?
I've been watching a lot of "Say Yes to the Dress" lately. I had no interest before I actually bought my dress, but now I relate to at least a few of the brides on the show (I most certainly do NOT relate to the 10-11-12 thousand dollar price tags!!!)

One thing I have noticed is that a LOT of brides seem to get attached and ultimately buy the first dress they ever tried on. They may try on a lot more gowns afterwards, but go back to the first one eventually. Even if its not even close to what they had in mind when they went into the store.

I did buy the first dress that I tried on too. I had a very specific but slightly different dress in mind when I went in and it was a close second, but the first dress was the one in the end.

How many other brides here ended up buying the very first dress they tried on? How many more did you try on after the first before going back to number one?
09/17/2008
ellembee hoodie
ellembee hoodie
ellembee shirt
ellembee chandlier
nm damask throws
nm damask rug
ellembee hoodieellembee shirtellembee chandliernm damask throwsnm damask rug
  
Damask hoodies
I want- I need- I must have one!
I found these amazing damask shirts from seller Ellembee on etsy.com. She has a whole range of styles, colours and designs. I also noticed the gorgeous black chandelier on the aqua top- I can think of a few brides around here who should be asking for early Christmas presents.... I like these because they remind ME of wedding stuff, but most people would just think "cute shirt!" I'm just not attached to all of the stuff labelled with "Bride". I always smile when I see someone wearing it, but its just not for me.

Also found gorgeous damask rugs and throw blankets. Both from Neiman Marcus. They will unfortunately remain wish-list-only items!!!
09/12/2008
housewife
housewife
  
Ask a Question
Crappy nicknames! This could be a long list...
I was just reading soontobepayton's most recent post and noticed something that kind of irritated me. Nothing to do with her or her post, but something someone else said to her fiancee about getting married, that "maybe he should go home and talk to his woman and decide if that's really what you want to do."

There are two things about this scenario that irk me:

1) Why in @#$%$^ does anyone ever think its their business to question your decision to be getting married??!? Unless there are serious issues of substance or physical abuse involved (or something similar) then WTF do they CARE!!?! And why suddenly make it their F*cking business?

2) Questionable "nicknames" for a person's spouse, partner, whatever. This one doesn't make me quite as pissed off, but it does irritate me when I hear my fiancee's work buddies refer to me (or to anyone's girlfriend or wife) as "his old lady". Other titles of dubious distinction include:
"his woman" - on the surface not too bad, but usually said with a derogatory inflection that makes me grit my teeth
"ball and chain" - 'nuff said
"future ex-wife" - hasn't been said about me (that I know of!) but I have heard it from "the boys" on occassion

Have you ever heard any new "titles" that seem to want to attach themselves to you now that you're engaged?
09/12/2008
images
images
  
Envelopes, online shopping and bridal shows!
Oh my!!
A big shout out to futuremrspearce09 who solved my envelope problem for me! I've been searching for black envelopes for invites, but couldn't find a price I thought was reasonable, especially when most were online and shipping rates to Canada were ridiculous! Found a lot of 100 on ebay for $22, with only a $5 shipping charge!

Other online goodies I've picked up recently are my perfect pair jar and cards, personalized black napkins and cake topper all from apersonaltouch.com (essentially all from Weddingstar). They ship insanely fast!!! I ordered on Labour day Monday and the box arrived on Friday of the same week! Shocked I say!

I'm also planning on going to one of the bridal shows in my area on Sunday, but I have no idea what to expect. It seems like a lot of it concentrates on "fashion show" but I already have a dress. I know to get a sheet of address label stickers to enter contests, but I'm really not sure if I'm going to find anything worth my while there. We'll see I guess...
09/10/2008
Exactly 4 minutes walk from our reception hall!  Yay photos!  Now I just need a photographer...
The Stolen Church- in 1896 a guy actually stole this church from their hometown for his wife because she missed it so much!
The inside of the Stolen Church
Exactly 4 minutes walk from our reception hall! Yay photos! Now I just need a photographer...
One of the waterfalls
Little black bear that was crossing the highway about half an hour outside of town. Yes- he made it across ok!
The Stolen Church- in 1896 a guy actually stole this church from their hometown for his wife because she missed it so much!The inside of the Stolen ChurchExactly 4 minutes walk from our reception hall!  Yay photos!  Now I just need a photographer...One of the waterfallsLittle black bear that was crossing the highway about half an hour outside of town.  Yes- he made it across ok!
  
Booked venues! Sweet!
At freakin last!!!
My fiancee and I took the weekend off and ran away to BC to book venues. We met with the minister at the teeny little church in Windermere - amazingly perfect person to marry us! We hadn't ever talked to him besides setting up the meeting, but ended up chatting for an hour and a half. He actually has a lot of the same hobbies as Nick and I so it was kind of like talking to an old friend.

Immediately afterwards, we went over the the hot springs resort and met with the events coordinator. Also a woman after my own heart. Flexibility seems to be her middle name - they're willing to tweak pretty much any detail I feel like changing in our package. They're giving us a smoking deal for deal for booking hotel rooms as a group. We went on a short hike around the property and found two waterfalls and a gorgeous old wooden bridge for photos!

Whew! It was a busy freakin weekend but we definitely had time to relax in the hot springs pools too! I'm happy that at least a few of the really big questions are answered now!
09/04/2008
IMG_2534
IMG_2534
IMG_2535
IMG_2534IMG_2535
  
New DIY project!
Card box treasure chest
I love all of the DIY card boxes you ladies have been posting on here lately. I checked the prices of plain boxes at Michaels and they were $20-25 each! I figured I would just look for some boxes somewhere else, but my FI found this treasure chest at Michaels on the weekend. He's a welder so he's going to make a metal frame to put the box into with some kind of damask-like scrollwork. Either that or we'll make it look like an old damask treasure chest. With some paint and details it should look pretty good in the end!

I've also been having a lot of fun with people at checkouts at Walmart and Michaels lately. Buying large numbers of random items makes people very curious. We had a few people ask us what the heck we were doing when we bought 8 boxes of fake pears from Walmart the other day. Some people have actually offered some really neat ideas while waiting for the cashier to run us though!
09/03/2008
happy
The Stolen church in Windermere, BC.
happy
The Stolen church in Windermere, BC.happy
  
Booking venues site unseen!!
Why would anyone do this?
I'm finally getting to meet our officiant and actually SEE our probable venues!!! We live in Alberta, but are getting married in BC. So all of our planning so far has been done via email and telephone. I haven't actually seen either the church or the reception hall! Mind you, I also haven't put down any deposits yet, so nothing is set in stone. We're finally able to take a weekend and go visit our sites and meet with the minister and the events coordinator at the church and resort respectively. I'm hoping that everything goes really really smoothly (all fingers and toes crossed!) because I really don't want to have to start from square one again!!!!

Incidentally, has anyone had problems with vendors not contacting them back? I've been trying to get a hold of a local photographer who has a great portfolio and is really affordable (small miracle in itself), but after two emails, I still haven't gotten a response. All the photographers who have been quick to get back to me also have insane price tags - surprise, surprise. Any suggestions?
09/01/2008
candybar7
Got these drink napkins in black with silver - only $12 for 50!
Our topper! My FI loves it!
Perfect guest book alternative - n'est pas?
candybar7
Got these drink napkins in black with silver - only $12 for 50!Our topper!  My FI loves it!Perfect guest book alternative - n'est pas?candybar7
  
Candy Buffet
Anyone doing a candy buffet needs to check this out!
Labour day shopping! I picked up the last batch of apothecary jars I needed for all my favours today. My fiancee insisted that I get 10 more than I need, but that's probably not a bad idea. I think I've pretty much cleared out all of the Michaels in town of these jars now.

I also got some more of the clearance damask tissues from my earlier post. gotta love $1/pack! Picked up some different green card stock. The kind I bought turned out way to lime-y so I'm hoping that the new stuff doesn't look so neon.

And I bought the goodies I was looking for on apersonaltouch.ca Their sale is ending on Wednesday, so I wanted to get my 20% discount!! I had been holding off because I didn't want to buy all my jellybeans yet, but they had the best price I had seen... until last night!!!


ANYONE doing a candy bar - go to bulkfoods.com!!!! Amazingly cheap prices on bulk lots of candy! Shipping is really reasonable too- even to Canada!

So now I can hold off on buying the beans until way closer to the event (like next year!) Its been a good weekend!
08/31/2008
pear board
pear board
black and white board
pear boardblack and white board
  
Inspiration Board
Black damask and pear boards
Its been a rainy Sunday so I played around on polyvore and put together a couple more inspiration boards. One board is all about the black and white damask - check out the black feathered parasol! LOVE IT! I love finding goodies on polyvore that I could theoretically buy immediately (assuming that I had a magic money tree). The other board is more thematic for my wedding than a product placement. I really like the pale pink with the green and black. I might use a bit of pink in my bouquet now...

08/30/2008
My first invitation mock-up came out backwards!  I want the fold pocket on the right side!
perfectpair la petite fleur
damask la petite fleur
Chartreuse and purple! Love it!
Favour jar - still needs a label and I think I want black and white ribbon instead
My first invitation mock-up came out backwards! I want the fold pocket on the right side!
I like how it looks on the outside. Replace my little pear sketch square with a black and white pear photo. I like the belly band a lot though!
perfectpair la petite fleurdamask la petite fleurChartreuse and purple!  Love it!Favour jar - still needs a label and I think I want black and white ribbon insteadMy first invitation mock-up came out backwards!  I want the fold pocket on the right side!I like how it looks on the outside.  Replace my little pear sketch square with a black and white pear photo.  I like the belly band a lot though!
  
DIY long weekend projects
Because wedding projects are more fun than cleaning my house!
I'm thinking about invitations today. I found a few more gorgeous inspiration pics from La Petit Fleur.

Since we're diy-ing the invites, I made up a rough mock-up of what I have in mind to show my FH. The front will have a black and white photo of pears that I really love and the inside will actually be typed rather than just my handwriting!

I also started doing rough try-outs for favours. I found these little apothecary jars at Michaels and used a 25% off coupon to pick them up for just over a dollar each! We're filling them with Juicy pear flavour jellybellies. Now that I have them together, I think I want black and white ribbon instead of black and green. I'll pick up some clear sticker labels at Staples and print them myself with a damask design. Either round ones for the top of the jars or rectangular for the sides of the jars.
08/29/2008
psycho girlfriend spork dress
psycho girlfriend spork dress
  
Spork Dress
Provide catering supplies from your skirt!
I'm really excited about the new WBC black/white colours! I've switched my allegiance to the dark side from green. I'm keeping my green accents, but I'm kind of hoping that the black might actually help me focus more on the damask-black-white thing. My FH has been complaining about me incorporating too much green!

In celebration of new things - I present the Spork Dress!!! This dress is actually made of sporks (at least the skirt). Combine with any tank top to create the ultimate gown for your special day!! Just imagine the possibilities - your caterer runs out of utensils! What now?!? Spork dress to the rescue!! Its not just a fork! Its not just a spoon! So many ways to use it! And with the new ultra-jumbo size skirt, you can provide a multi-purpose utensil to each and every person no matter how many extra guests your parents insisted on inviting!!!! Order today!!!

* Please note - giant UFO hat covered in small fake mouse heads (yes that really is in the description from the designer) not included. See in store for details. Batteries also not included. Limited time offer- there are only so many sporks in the world! Get yours now!!!

Light my fire sporks
Also available in coordinating colours to equip an entire team of cutlery couture superheroes!
08/26/2008
cutesygirl white
Samara front
samara back
EL-406-DOLL
cutesygirl white
Samara frontsamara backEL-406-DOLLcutesygirl white
  
Wedding Dress
Yay I beat the Maggie mark-up
I bought my dress today - its Maggie Sottero's Samara with the black accents! I wanted a dress with some black and after narrowing it down to Samara or Vincenza I finally decided and went with my MOH to buy it today! Its kind of weird, I wasn't really excited about it until now - after its half paid for and on its way! Yippee!
I had wanted to wait until after some of the September bridal shows, but as posted before by irishpocahontas I think, all of Maggie's gowns are going up 10% next week!

* Bonus - I was actually a smaller size than I thought! Silly little vanity, but I was expecting to order a 14 or 16 since I usually buy those sizes in most stores, but they measured me and said that my waist was a 10 but my bust was a 12! I went with the 10 and I guess I'll just have to take shallow breaths!
;-D

Side note - I'm looking for white shoes with black lace trim with fairly low heels. I've found a lot of them in goth or rockabilly shops but they always have 4"+ heels. I need 2" or less to avoid extra hemming! If you come across anything of the sort - please let me know!
08/25/2008
annoyed
annoyed
  
One of those Days
A little to the good, a little to the bad
Its been an up and down couple of days! My car essentially broke down yesterday (its been iffy for awhile now) so I was going to drive my fiancee's truck instead for awhile, no biggie since he has a company vehicle for work. And then my neighbor woke me up this morning and told me that the truck had been broken into last night! They didn't do any real damage though and only stole the satellite radio unit. Kind of pointless since I've already permanently deactivated it - it won't ever work again! But its probably already been sold to a pawn shop.

The other sucky news is that I don't know when I'm going to be able to go and look at my hall! We had planned a camping trip the weekend after labour day to go out to BC and check out the halls at the resort, but now my FI can't get the weekend off! YUck! So, I need to figure that out pronto!

But good news- I went dress shopping with my mom on Saturday and picked the dress I want! I had already narrowed it to two so I picked between those. I came home to check price differences online versus in the marked up store, but the price difference isn't enough to risk buying online, so I'm going to buy it tomorrow!! YAY!

I also bought my veil on Saturday. It goes perfectly with my dress, with black and silver rhinestones scattered along the scalloped edge. The dress has a lot of black detailing which is exactly what I wanted. The best part was that the veil was half price!
08/22/2008
anthro mono plates
anthro mono plates
anthro horta champagne
anthro monogram
anthro peacock
anthro mono platesanthro horta champagneanthro monogramanthro peacock
  
Monograms
Only in Tiffany blue
I found a bunch of new goodies on anthropologie.com. Sadly not much damask (only a picture frame that was a little too busy for me!) There are an awful lot of fun monogrammed bits there though! I love the monogrammed plate sets, but they only come in the Tiffany blue colour, no green. Same with the peacock frame - I love it, but its not quite right for my theme. Anyone going for the peacock thing though, check out the site, there's a lot of peacock bits (china, frames, decor) in different categories.

I think that I might actually get the champagne flutes, they have matching wine and water goblets too. I'm also looking at the pewter fronted monogram letters. They're under $15 and look really cool. I haven't decided if I want to use any monogrammed stuff yet though since I think it looks odd having my first and last initials be the same now!


anthropologie.com
08/21/2008
rainbow cupcakes
rainbow cupcakes
  
Rainbow cupcakes
Seriously, this is the coolest cupcake I have ever seen! So easy to make too - I'm thinking that you could just do theme colours instead of a whole rainbow couldn't you?

Cupcakes Blog!
08/21/2008
Personalized mini cheesecakes!
pewter-chairs-color-200
personalized_baking_mix_blue150
square-monogram-cookies200
Gift for BM!
The little pear is cute, but I can't see spending almost $150 on place card holders. I hate the card though.
Personalized mini cheesecakes!
Pear candles
Pear cookie cutters - would go with the baking set!
Tea in the welcome bags would probably be a nice touch
pewter-chairs-color-200personalized_baking_mix_blue150square-monogram-cookies200Gift for BM!The little pear is cute, but I can't see spending almost $150 on place card holders.  I hate the card though.Personalized mini cheesecakes!Pear candlesPear cookie cutters - would go with the baking set!Tea in the welcome bags would probably be a nice touch
  
Wedding Dress
DIY girls ROCK!
I found all kinds of goodies over at Beau-coup.com

They have everything on their site 15% off for another 2 days, but I'm not sure how attached I am to any one particular thing. Some of them are wishlist, some of them made me think of other brides on here, and some I might actually purchase! ;-D

The one that made me fall over laughing is the main picture - Mini Personalized cheeesecakes! In three gourmet flavours! Minimum order of 6 in each flavour. Price? Why, only $24 EACH!!!!! WTF?!?! SERIOUSLY. Who does this?? Can I go to their wedding please?

I saw these cookies and thought of the really cute decorated fortune cookies that people have diy here. Why pay $5 per cookie? They are pretty, but it could be accomplished way cheaper!
Square cookie

Another of my "I can do that better!" thoughts. This favour is a little pack of cookie mix/muffin mix. I KNOW that I can pull it off for less than $5-6 each! A little jar of baking mix (either make it yourself or buy the muffin mix packages at the grocery store and distribute them into jars) and a cute measuring spoon. Maybe I'll add something like this into the welcome baskets for people to take home after the wedding.

Baking set

I've also found a great reception addition: Pear Cider! There are mini bottles that you can get from favor stores (as in the picture). There are also large champagne-style bottles that look really nice and you can get them at IKEA! Interestingly enough, the full size IKEA bottles cost the same as the mini favour bottles...hmm...
Mini pear cider
08/20/2008
20
20
  
Sale ending!
apersonaltouch.ca 20% discount ending!
amcs76 posted a little while ago about apersonaltouch.ca as a great place to get weddingstar products at 20% off. Apparently that deal is a limited term one since their sale is ending on September 3. If there's any little tidbits that you wanted to pick up - do it soon!
08/20/2008
Belsoie 1073A
Belsoie 1073A
Belsoie 1022BK
Belsoie1064A
Saison black
david's 3
Belsoie 1073ABelsoie 1022BKBelsoie1064ASaison blackdavid's 3
  
Bridesmaids
One is easier than ten!
I've kind of simplified my life immensely and I'm only having one maid/matron of Honour (yes she's married, but Matron sounds like a hospital nurse from the 1800s!). So, finding a great bridesmaid dress (there is no such thing as a bridesmatron dress anyways!) is much much easier! I'm thinking basic black with either a white or chartreuse accent (like a sash). I know that her bouquet will probably be mostly bright green! Here's a few ideas I've kicked around.

There are two definitive guidelines:
1) At least ankle-length
2) No straight across strapless (have you ever noticed how many bm dresses are strapless these days?!?)
08/20/2008
3053E
Riley Front
Riley back
Vincenza front
Vincenza back
Saffron
Samara back
3053E
Riley FrontRiley backVincenza frontVincenza backSaffronSamara back3053E
  
Ask a Question
Is it pure lunacy to order a designer dress online?
Here is my problem. I love Maggie Sottero dresses! Love them. I want a dress with black accents on white and she has a few styles that are amazing. I tried on some of the Alfred Angelo colours and they just didn't "Wow" me. I have tried on all these dresses at the only local bridal shop that carries Maggie. I LOVE Vincenza and Samara but I only tried Riley on with silver detailing and didn't realize it came in black as well so I want to take another look. Saffron was a little too much lace and layering for me.

Now, my problem is local mark-up. The ONLY salon within a hundred miles that carries Maggie gowns is seriously out of whack with prices for the same gowns everywhere else. I've seen Vincenza listed online for under $1100 usually (sometimes less than $1000). The salon here wants almost $1800! Before alterations! Same with Samara, I've seen it online at bestbridalprices.com for a little over $800 but here they want $1350. I'm inclined to order online and just get it altered here by a pro, but I'm also concerned about ordering online.

Its an awfully large and important purchase (duh!) and I've heard a lot of stories about fakes and copycat designers. One of the things I love about the authentic dresses is the incredible structuring in the dress. I'm a DD/E and a dress that has a solid enough corset that I don't need to figure out specialty undergarments is a godsend! I want to make sure its REALLY from Maggie Sottero. There are no online stores endorsed by Maggie's website so I don't know who is trustworthy. Has anyone ordered Maggie Sottero online and KNOWS that their dress is authentic? Help!