Say Yes to the Dress!

Well, I’m very happy to report that I have found my wedding dress!!!  SQUEE.

I have to start off by saying that my experience at Bliss Bridal Boutique was unlike any of the other bridal gown shopping experiences I have had through this whole process.  Every single great thing I have heard about this place was right on.  When I first walked into their shop, I was immediately in love with their contemporary décor and relaxed atmosphere.  You get the feeling right away that it’s not just any old dress shop, which is perfect because you don’t want just any old dress!

 

 

Love the accents of shocking pink!

 

Frances met me for my appointment, and told me to go through the gowns and mark the ones I wanted, and she would gather them all up for me to try on.  Then I was left with MOB and MOH to go through the racks at our leisure.  I loved that, because there is nothing worse than a pushy salesperson who walks behind you and tries to tell you what gowns you will like and which ones you should pick.  I am really an independent shopper, so this was really nice.  I was so happy with the selection they had, and the fact that the gowns weren’t so jam packed into the racks that you can’t even see what the dress looks like.  They even have pictures attached to the sample so you can see the whole dress, which makes shopping even easier.  I found so many dresses that I wanted to try on, which was surprising compared to how many racks they had (as opposed to a place like David’s Bridal, where I went through their million racks and only liked 4 gowns, all from the Vera Wang line).  Especially since my list of requirements was so specific (strapless, sweetheart, sparkly, dramatic, edgy, no shiny white satin, no flowers, no lace, no ugly appliqués....) I was growing increasingly worried with each dress shopping trip that I wasn’t going to find my ideal dress.  But here it was a breeze!   I easily picked about 10 gowns and away we went!

 

 

Racks of gorgeous bridal gowns....

 

We were taken upstairs to a private area to try on the dresses.  MOB and MOH were sat in one room, and I was taken to another room to change.  I can’t even describe in words how awesome this was.  It was such a relaxed environment with NO pressure and there was tons of space.  Putting on a 50 pound dress isn’t easy, especially in a confined dressing room where the dress takes up so much of the space you can’t even see the floor.  My dressing room was huge and had a couch and full rack for the gowns, and also had a big mirror where I could see myself first.  Then I went into the next room to show the dress in front of another big mirror.  There were no other appointments booked at the same time as mine (a policy of theirs) so I got personalized attention, didn’t have to share mirrors, didn’t have to shout to communicate with my people, didn't have to wait around for the consultant to come back, and there were no strangers staring at me while I tried to pick a gown.  It was seriously pure bliss, so I can see why they are named as such!

 

 

Huge mirror.  Such a must.

 

Another thing I loved about Frances was she took the time to tie up the gown properly.  It’s impossible to see how a dress is going to look on you unless it is done up the way it is supposed to be worn.  A lot of places I have been to just cinch up the back with binder clips and close enough, because they want to get you in and out of there as fast as possible.  But she took the time to make sure that the sample dress fit me the way it was supposed to fit and even if it was a giant set of laces back there, cinched every single one and tied it up properly.  It definitely made a huge difference.

There was absolutely no pressure at all.  She didn't try to sway me one way or another, didn't make any comments about what she thought, just asked me my opinions and what I liked and didn't like about the dresses.  VERY unlike my first dress shopping experience, where the saleswoman said, "You're not going to find a dress that's better than this.  You should just buy it today."  So as I was trying on the dresses, I could just enjoy the experience and it was very clear when I had the a-ha moment.  I came across one gown that had a beautiful top that I wanted, and one gown that had a dramatic bottom I wanted.  We narrowed it down between the two and there was a clear winner!  I found the gown!  I am so unbelievably happy with this dress, it is absolutely gorgeous and I am so excited for Eric to see it, I know he will love it as much as I do. 

 

 

I said yes to the (mystery) dress!

 

My experience at Bliss was amazing and I would recommend it in a heartbeat to any bride out there!

 

Now, onto shoe shopping!

 

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

 

~M

Amazing.

I'm crazy busy at work today so I just wanted to make a quick post to share one of my favorite viral wedding videos of all time.  This is so cute and her reactions - totally priceless.
 

I tear up every damn time! 


Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

~M

DIY Delight

Well, we are officially getting married in one year and two days.  I feel like time is just flying by!  I can remember thinking to myself, “Oh boo, I can’t do anything yet, we still have 18 months, it’s too early to start planning” but now, I’m more like...

 

 

Wheeee, it’s time to start planninnnnng!

 

Which is sometimes followed closely by...

 

 

OH GOD I ONLY HAVE 12 MONTHS TO DO ALL THIS?!?

 

But mostly the excited kid thing.

Eric and I got all our big ducks in a row early:  venue, ceremony space, photographer, videographer, officiant, bridal party selection, and social venue.  These have all been booked and taken care of, so now we can focus on some of the smaller details.   My current most important mission is finding a dress.  Not only do a lot of dress places require a long ordering lead time (sometimes up to 8 months, and then you need time for alterations) but I also can’t make some other important decisions until I select the Big Kahuna.  I have heard a lot of great things about Bliss Bridal, so I’m taking the MOB and MOH there a week from Saturday to see what we can find. 

 

 

 

 

Love some of these gowns that Bliss carries...

Now that we are within the time frame to start looking at some of the smaller details of the wedding (although it is still a little early) I am taking an inventory of all the DIY projects I want to tackle.  I definitely don’t want to be frantically gluing rhinestones to napkin rings at 4 am, 5 days before the wedding, so I want to make sure I have lots of time to get everything done that I need to so that I’m nice and relaxed prior to the big day.  So I thought I’d share with you some of the DIY wedding projects that I am digging right now!

 

Colossalpieces

First off, Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for weddings, but it can kind of be a double edged sword.  You see all these lovely designer gowns and cathedral length veils, candid romantic photos of the couple looking immaculate from every angle, the 3 foot high spray flower centerpieces with individual lighting and ostrich feathers, the gorgeous tulle draping held up by hummingbirds with glittered wingtips, and the gorgeous brides with their perfect hair and teeth without even a hint of armgina in their strapless dresses (you know what I’m talking about).  This can give you some unrealistic expectations about what your wedding day should look like and also can lead to some budget-busting ideas pretty quick.

 

 

Gorgeous, stylish, blushing bride:  Seen on Pinterest.

 

 

Armgina: Not seen on Pinterest. 

 

However, there are some awesome ideas you can get from Pinterest and almost all the inspiration I’ve gathered for centerpieces has come from there.  I really love the idea of tall, grand centerpieces, especially since the ceiling in the Millennium Centre is so high.  So what I have in mind looks something like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So pretty.

Pulling all the pieces together (there are 22 individual parts for what I have in mind) will likely be a challenge, especially staying under budget.  Luckily I have access to some very crafty people with big discount cards.  ;)

Strassy Strass Strass

You all know I’m a big fan of strassing, and I’m going to do my wedding shoes, probably a Hyper Prive pump strassed in Swarovski Clear Crystal (again, depending on the dress).  But literally the only thing stopping me from strassing everything in sight is the time it takes to do it.  I have decided I am going to strass a pair of shoes for Aislin to wear so she matches me, which won’t take long because she has tiny feet, but I also want a strassed bouquet holder!  I saw these on Pinterest as well, but I don’t like the rows of fake rhinestones and prefer the sparkle that the strassing pattern gives.  So there will be many a night in the next 12 months where I will be hunched over the living room table with a big glass of wine, bedazzling!  (If anyone out there knows where to get a plain bouquet holder, let me know.)

 

 

Like this, but better.

 

 

Like this, but better.

 

And here's a video of a completed strassed ruby slipper that I have been meaning to post - just ignore the Packers game in the background :)

 

 

 

Put A Cork On It

Some of you might be surprised to know that Eric has been very involved with the wedding planning right from the start, and has really great ideas.  I know some grooms couldn’t care less, and just want to know what time to show up to the wedding and don’t have any further involvement.  Eric couldn’t be further from that, he’s in here like a dirty shirt!  He came up with the idea for our seating chart that I love – we are saving all the corks from all the bottles of wine we’ve shared, from the time we got engaged to the date of our wedding.  We are going to use the corks to make the seating chart which the table assignments will be pinned to.  I love that it’s such a personal touch and it incorporates our love of wine into our reception.  We will probably have enough corks to make three seating charts.  We drink a lot of wine.  Don’t judge.

 

 

 

Like this, but better.

Take A Number

I saw this in Martha Stewart Wedding (basically just a print version of Pinterest in that you feel like an inadequate piece of shit after looking at it) and I totally loooove the idea of glitterized table numbers.  Well glitterized anything really.  And my crafty MOH said they would be very easy to make!  Then she started saying something about heat embossing and something else, and I knew this would best be delegated to her list of tasks as she is the crafter extraordinaire.  I can’t even make pancakes without searing my hand, so something called heat embossing is probably best left to the professional.  But so pretty!  I love the 3D ones as well.  Very excited to sit down and craft it up with these....

 

 

 

Ombré....trés chic.

 

He Gives Me Butterflies

Squeeedeeeleedee I love these butterfly place cards.  They are so sweet and delicate looking, perched on the edge of a wine glass.  I know that place cards are not super popular with guests, and a lot of people just switch them around anyway, and to be honest I don’t care where anyone sits at the table, I just like these little beauties so much.  It’s sort of a pie in the sky DIY project, as they need to be hand calligraphed (um ya right?) and require a special cutting machine.  I do know a verrrrry nice lady with a Cricut who might be able to help me out, so it’s on the list of maybes.  ;)

 

 

 

Ahhh!  Love.

 

I’m not like a big butterfly lover or anything.  Sure I think they are pretty, but they wouldn’t figure prominently into the wedding or become part of any kind of butterfly “theme”.  But these do have a personal significance to me because of the story of when Eric and I first started dating.  For those of you that don’t know, this is not my first foray into the world of blogging.  Back when I was single, I had a dating blog called “Diary of a Mad Dater” that basically detailed all the hilarious, ridiculous stories of the dates I had been on with total duds.  Guy who Wears Woman’s Jacket, Guy who is the Intellectual Equivalent of a Ham Sandwich, Guy who Pays 3/4 of the Bill, Guy who is Weirdly Obsessed with Andre Agassi...et cetera.  So after quite a few of these disappointing dates, I was a little jaded about the whole process and males in general, and my expectations of dating (particularly blind dates) were starting to drop to the point where I just thought it was straight up funny.  And just as I’m starting to legit lose my faith in humanity and the male species, I went on a first date with a guy who actually made my heart skip a beat when I first saw him.  Okay, this guy is seriously handsome.  And then as we talked, I was further and further impressed.  Wow, he actually has a post-secondary education.  Okay.  He’s travelled the world!  That’s pretty awesome actually.  He has some really great stories.  He’s funny!  (“Does this rag smell like chloroform to you?”) Articulate and well spoken, check.  Charming!  Confident, I like that.  So by the time he walked me home, gave me a hug and I went inside, I was happily surprised.  I remember thinking to myself, well what do you know..........butterflies.  :)

That’s a really sweet ending to the story, so I’m going to leave out the part where I ran upstairs and phoned the MOH and excitedly yammered “I just had the BEST DATE!  Totally going to marry this guy.”  To which she appropriately responded, “Okayyyyyyy there.  WHOA.  Whoa there.”  And the part where he took six days to call me back after that.... ;)

 

 

<3 this boy.

 

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

 

~M

 

 

Wedding Party....Party.

This past weekend, Eric and I held a get together for our family and wedding party at his family’s beach house in St. Laurent.  The objective of this party was simple – get all our important people in one place so they can get to know each other and have some fun in a relaxed environment, before all the stress of the wedding sets in.  Having been a bridesmaid four times, I know that it’s not as simple as showing up and putting on a taffeta dress.  There is a lot to contribute to, work on, plan, and pay for when you are in a wedding party, and one of our major goals with our wedding is to make it as easy and enjoyable experience as possible for the people who are helping us with our big day.  And what better way to start that off than to ply them with food, booze and good times?

 

 

Because it’s just not as fun if everyone hates you at the end of it.

And everyone did get to know each other famously!  Here are some highlights from the weekend:

We love a good beach party.  We played ladderball in the street, drove some golf balls into the water, and set off fireworks after dark in the sand.  We had a bonfire, blared some sweet tunes, and were loud and obnoxious well into the night – things you just can’t do in the city.  Fun times!

 

 

Go FOB!

 

 

The view from just off the back of the house. 

If you serve it, they will drink.  No matter how much alcohol we purchase for these events, it is always gone by the end of the night.  Especially when we release the Kraken, a delicious black spiced rum that is a wedding party favorite.  As with the engagement party, the 40 of Kraken did a disappearing act pretty fast, and everyone started feeling quite jovial around dusk.  Increasingly fun times!

 

 

But why is all the rum gone?!?

We have (almost) mastered the escalation scale.  And what is the escalation scale you ask?  Well allow me to explain.  At any given time during a party, your level of drunkenness should not exceed the acceptable limit as outlined on the escalation scale.  I will allow my friend Barney Stinson to illustrate.

 

 

So for example, if it is 9:00pm, you should not be drunker than Point A.  Then moving further down the scale around 11:30pm, you should not be drunker than Point B.  If you are ahead of the escalation scale, you will likely pass out too early and miss out on fun times.  If you are behind the escalation scale, everyone will be having more fun than you and you will be the last one up, sad and alone.  It’s a fine art to tow the line, but I was impressed with how well our wedding party stood up to the task.  It’s a good thing knowing that the people that are charged with helping you with your social and wedding are going to be functional enough to carry out any duties they might have, BEFORE they end up barfing on the deck.

Never try to cook bacon on the barbeque.  And I’m just going to leave it at that.

We have a great group of friends and family.  Jokes aside, I couldn’t be happier with who we have chosen to be in our wedding party and I am really excited to get rolling with the social and wedding planning over the next 12 months.  I feel like our time as an engaged couple is flying by and we are about to get right into the thick of it!  It feels comforting to know that we have so many people supporting us, and now they all know each other a little bit better.  :)

 

 

Nothing says “get to know you” better than a group shotgun.

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

~M