This is sarahdarling's Black Wedding!

Hello all you lovely ladies out there, long time no see right? Well, not exactly. Though I'm not an active poster or commenter on here anymore I do stop by from time to time to see what's shaking - and I only comment when I feel I have something valid to say, but really try to keep that to a minimum. Now that I am a wife (WIFE!) and not a bride I don't really feel like this is my home anymore. But don't be sad! I've started a new blog and would love love love if you guys stopped by to say hi or wanted to follow along.

About 6 months ago my husband and I bought a 1922 semi-detached little gem in downtown Toronto and we've been pouring all our energy and free-time into fixing it up and making it ours. This new blog chronicles all our design ideas, missteps and diy projects. I *just* started it at the beginning of the month so it's just a baby still but I have big dreams...
{ThisDarlingHome} (totally appropriate right?)

{hubby doin his thing in the living room}

Also, yes I am still designing cootie catchers! To date I've had almost 200 sales in my Etsy shop Darling Girl Paper and still going strong. I've decided to offer an exclusive discount to the WBC community because it was you ladies who convinced me to start this business in the first place. For a limited time enter coupon code WBC10 at checkout to get 10% off your design.
You can also follow me on my facebook page for access to more coupon codes and sales...


Ok, so now we come to the part of the post where I can talk about how awesome marriage is. MARRIAGE IS AWESOME!!! If you're prepared for it. Here is what I have learnt in my first year of marriage...

1. Marriage is hard. It is the single most confusing state I have ever found myself to be in. There's no turning it off or walking away and the moment it starts to feel perfectly comfortable you realize how crowded it is. And as soon as you claw back those extra inches of quiet and solitude you begin to see how lonely it can be and all you want is to get wrapped up in it again.

2. Marriage is also incredibly easy. Being part of a team makes tasks 99% easier. And because this person is legally partnered with you they're sorta obligated to help you install new interior doors or make dinner for 8 people. I always have someone to lean on and talk through my bad days with, he's there when I go to bed and I know who's making breakfast on Sundays.

3. Nothing and everything changes. We are still the same people we were before. We still watch the same movies, laugh at the same fart jokes and act like irresponsible adults. But now we are husband and wife. I get to introduce Jeff as my husband and that immediately changes peoples perspective of us. It's like some switch gets flipped in peoples brains and all of a sudden we are taken more seriously, which is nice but also sad that society uses this label as an excuse to treat you differently.

4. You lose a little bit of yourself. I used to be Sarah, and now I am part of the Sarah&Jeff Dynamic Duo. It seems that along with my marriage and new last name I've added a whole extra person to my identity. The question isn't, “what are you doing this weekend?” it has become “what are you&Jeff doing this weekend?” Although I appreciate peoples efforts to include my loved one, I also wouldn't mind being treated as an individual.

5. Agree to disagree. I am right 99% of the time, coincidentally so is Jeff. The good thing about being human beings is that we don't have to agree on everything. And the things that never used to matter when we were dating now have the potential to explode into full blown arguments...until we realize we are not the same person and having different opinions is what keeps things interesting.

6. Marriage is a secret club. Once you're married too I'll show you the secret handshake.

7. I am incredibly lucky. Incredibly lucky to have found someone who not only puts up with my bullshit and ridiculousness, but finds it adorable and comes back for more. He laughs at my jokes and funny faces and knows just what to say to make me smile at the end of a long day. He works harder than any person I know and still comes home looking for ways to make my life easier. Jeff is more than I ever dreamed of, more than I ever thought was possible and more than I ever felt I deserved.

This turned out to be a long one...if you're still with me here is my parting message. The ladies on this site are amazing and there's so many of you I miss. And I still love receiving emails from new brides who have found my blog and have questions or ideas they want to share with me. Keep em coming! I love getting those emails and dipping a toe back into the wedding planning world.

Much Love
MrsSarahDarling
xoxox

I knew I wanted to make my own book after the wedding and I knew I wanted to use Blurb (blurb.com). I've used Blurb before and they are awesome. You just install their software, upload your pictures to the program and start designing your book. You can either use their premade templates or make your own.

Well our books came in the mail last week and they are so absolutely gorgeous that these pictures hardly do them justice at all.

If anyone doesn't want to pay the crazy fees that some photogs charge to make these coffee table books I highly suggest using Blurb. It's fast, easy and very reasonable. Our books are hardcover, measure 13x11 and have a little over 100 pages for $80.

We ordered 5 to give to our parents and grandparents and thought it would be fun to include a DVD of the engagement slideshow and wedding video I made. Everyone loved theirs!

Before the wedding I posted about how we couldn't hire a videographer, but we did purchase a digital camera and was going to have a friend tape the night for us. Well...that didn't exactly go as planned. Instead of a couple hours of footage we ended up with 20 minutes. Yep. 20 minutes. Luckily a friend of my mom's had her camera and got some more footage for us and friends have been quite generous in sharing their pictures with us. I *just* finished editing this last night and though it's not as pretty as some as the gorgeous films out there it still makes me smile no matter how many times I watch it.

The Highlights (in case you didn't want to watch the whole thing)
start - getting ready
2:15 - the big reveal
3:30 - the ceremony
4:50 - kiss and cocktail hour
6:40 - reception starts
7:40 - dancing


If we could do it all again we would have found the money for a different photographer (obviously because I still hate that man) and a professional videographer. I didn't realize how important it was to me until it was over. Ah well, c'est la vie!

Also, please let me know if anyone has troubles viewing it. THANKS!

Sidenote: today is our 2 month anniversary!

Hawaii was absolutely amazing!!! If we were American I can tell you that we would still be there right now. I've actually started to look into the immigration process (being Canadian) but it looks quite daunting.

We did so many absolutely incredible, breathtaking things!

We went hiking, horseback riding, swimming, snorkelling, surfing, caving, ziplining, dancing...so much!

If anyone is thinking about going to the Big Island and needs advice or tips don't hesitate to email me because I am bursting with information!!!

(no idea why some of the pics rotated)

I'm sitting here at the airport hotel with my hubby watching MythBusters and anxiously awaiting 6am tomorrow morning when we board the flight to Houston...then Honolulu...and finally Hilo, Hawaii.

It's been about 6 weeks since the wedding and this much awaited honeymoon feels so much more deserved now! We'll be gone for 2 weeks and although it's been tough to wait, it has given us something more to look forward to after the wedding.

Stay well ladies and if I miss any of your weddings...HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!

*ALOHA*

These are the last ones I swear. We were happy with the cocktail pictures because they were candid and what we had been asking for. And again, so many are in black and white because everything had a pinky haze around them. Looking at these makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.


(Immediately after the ceremony)


(*LOVED* this!)


(First Dance...all those lessons definitely paid off!)

So I guess all I have left to do is some vendor reviews and then my posting days will be over. I guess another countdown is on!

(Holy smokes this uploader took forever!)

So here is the ceremony and detail shots from our "pro photographer". We were actually pleased with the detail shots and some of the ceremony ones. Again, they've been heavily worked on because everyone looked like they had a sunburn.


(My *AMAZING* bouquet! I LOVED it!)


(Bouts for the guys)


(Tears of Joy Basket)


(Favours + Seating Tags)


(Cootie Catchers!)


(So romantic with all the rose petals)


(Aerial Shot)


(The most delicious cupcakes in the world...for serious)


(Happy Little Robots)

As I slowly get over my anger over the photos I can now look back and reflect on what an awesome night it was. I have a couple more pics coming, but I give up on the uploader for today.

I have given up on uploading all the pics at once (darn you picture uploader!) So I will break them down into categories. This one is dedicated to the bridal party and...The *BIG* Reveal!


(Getting Ready)


(Butterflies!)


(Just one more moment...)


(Hello!)


(tears, kiss, tears)


(Checkin out the goods)


(Yay for waterproof mascara!)

I know at first glance the pictures don't look as terrible as I described in the previous post. Keep in mind these have had HOURS of photoshop poured into them to correct the colour and crop out the crap. And they are nothing like we talked about with the photographer beforehand. I'm getting over it, but it's really hard.

UPDATE:
Here are some examples of before and after. Can you tell which is which?

Oh girls. I can't believe this has happened. All that hard work I put into the wedding. All the hopes and dreams and diy time. All the effort....

We got our pictures back from our "professional photographer" last night and they are 3,000% terrible. I couldn't believe my eyes as I looked at each picture on the computer last night. 80% of them are just garbage. After I finally stopped crying last night I spent hours cropping and colour adjusting as much as I could. My REAL photographer friend has offered to take a look at them and fix what she can.

Let me explain...people are orange. ORANGE!!! Or dark. Like in shadows. The pictures aren't centred. Yeah! How hard is it for a professional photographer to put the subject in the centre of the frame. Some of the pics aren't in focus. Dude! You have a digital camera....LOOK AT WHAT YOU JUST TOOK! Then the backgrounds...I obviously didn't notice because I had other things on my mind because of the WEDDING but why is there glare coming of frames, bathroom signs and just random people in the background of out pictures??? He messed up our "thank you" sign shots. He messed up our red shoes/black crinoline/argyle socks shot. I sent him very specific examples of what we were looking for and he majorly failed.

To put it in perspective...if I put our "professional pictures" up next to snaps taken by our family and friends YOU CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE. There is no sense of style or artistic intention in any of them. It looks like he pointed and shot.

Who would do this to someone? I can't even post any of them right now because I'm too embarrassed. I feel like I've been cheated out of something that could have been so beautiful and now will never be. We found this photographer through our venue. Met him, looked at his work and his website. And he cost as much as any other photographer out there.

I'm giving myself a stomach ache again just by writing this. I feel physically ill and like I'm going to be sick. And here come the tears again.

***UPDATE***
To give you a bit more background on him:

He has worked as a photographer and as an A/V producer for the Ministries of Correctional Services, Natural Resources, and Tourism & Recreation. From 1982 - 1988 he was the official photographer of visiting heads of state for the Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs and The Premier of Ontario's Office. Margaret Thatcher (U.K.), Francois Mitterand (France), The Aga Kahn, and Bishop Desmond Tutu (S.Africa) are among his photographed subjects. Other government clients include Tourism Canada and the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Technology. In 1988, he shot the World Economic Summit. He also won the Governor Generals Medal. So this is why we felt comfortable with him. Hell, he's been shooting for 40 YEARS!

The pictures that have been posted on facebook have been heavily, heavily, heavily edited and cropped and I feel that it is completely ridiculous to have to do my own post production on my wedding photos. They should be complete when he handed them to me.

My engagement pics (that were awesome) and mentioned in a comment were done by my bridesmaid/photographer who has worked SO HARD to fix this jackasses mess and will be doing a reshoot with in June. I love her and highly recommend her for any bride in the GTA who wants a photographer who truly cares about their work. Her name is Angela Martin and she is a true gem.

We *just* emailed him our complaints letter. I'm nervous to hear what he says back. Thanks for all your support again. I've calmed down some, but still not happy.

Purplenat1!

Congrats and I'll be emailing you soon for all the info I need to get started.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered! If anyone who entered is still interested in getting one designed send me a message and I'll give you 15% off your next order...but hurry because my honeymoon is fast approaching and time is slipping by!

{If anyone who didn't enter the contest, but would still like a cootie catcher, message me on here and I'll honour a 10% discount for you...you must mention your WBC screen name to get the discount. Thanks!}