"You could WIN one of these FABULOUS PRIZES...."

Hello all!  It's October 16th, which means we're exactly one month away from our wedding social!  We're very excited to have a huge party with all of our family and friends, and today I wanted to share with you some of the awesome prizes that we will won by lucky people in attendance at our social!

Everybody loooooves prizes!

 

 

 

Blame it on the Alcohol

 

 

 

 

This glorious rye-scented "perfume" has sweet, crisp notes in the nostrils.  It is one of the best and longest lasting perfumes on the market, as it also comes out your pores the next day.  May also be accompanied by bad-decision making, feeling the unstoppable urge to fight people, and a skull rattling hangover. 

 

 

 

Nothing makes for a better pillow for sleeping off the hooch than someone else's crotch.

 

 

 

 

 

Hockey Night In Winnipeg

 

 

 

 

This grand prize includes some cool Jets swag and two tickets to see the Jets play at MTS Centre!  Great seats - Section 222, Row 1, Seats 1&2.  Completely unobstructed view of the entire ice!  Go Jets Go!

 

 

 

Think Geek

 

 

 

 

This white 16GB iPad 3 was donated by M Group Chartered Accountants LLP and SignalPoints (formerly Envision Technology).  Candy Crush looks even more dazzling on the beautiful retina display!

 

 

 

 

Up and At Them!

 

 

 

 

Take a romantic and relaxing hot air balloon ride for 2 with Sundance Balloons!  Eric and I were lucky enough to go on a hot air balloon ride and it was really amazing.  Such a neat experience and really awesome views, with a glass of champagne after the flight.  Would definitely recommend this to anyone!  Except people with a fear of heights, I guess.

 

 



 

You don't realize how huge they are until you're standing next to it as they blow it up!

 

 

Great view and super relaxing.

 

 

 

 

Kitchen Party

 

And for the aspiring chefs and kitchen junkies....

 



 

 

Cuisinart toaster, blender, and salt/pepper shakers!

 

 

KitchenAid Food Processor!

 

 

KitchenAid Slow Cooker!

 

We also have some sweet add-ons to these prizes, including a huge set of white serving dishes so you can display your delicious concoctions in style, as well as cookbooks and more!

 

 

 

 

Let's Have A Fire

 

 

 

 

This awesome backyard steel firepit was graciously donated by Bestway Fence Systems (thanks Donna and Denny!).  We're going to make a sweet "snuggle" package out of this including Bestway swag, fleece blankets, insulated mugs, and a free introduction to whoever wins the gigantic bottle of rye, to begin the start of a beautiful friendship.

 

 

 

A Girl's Best Friend

 

 

My personal favorite is this gorgeous diamond necklace, with a retail value of $1,300.  Ladies, the photo (even with hipstery instagram filter) does not do this stunner justice.  The sparkle factor is huge!  Sigh.....love.

 

 

 

Attraction to sparkly things.  It's one of the 24 similarities between women and fish.

 

 

 

Show Me The Money

 

And just in case you're someone who none of these prizes appeal to, you don't want to spend time ripping up all those little tickets, and you're going to be too drunk to carry out a big basket of goodies at the end of the night, we also have a prize of $1,000 in cold hard cash.

 

 

Rock on.

 

 

 

There are still LOTS more prizes to be announced, so stay tuned!

 

So if you don't have tickets yet to this super social happening at Greendell Community Centre on November 16th, send me a message to set some aside for you now!  They are really starting to move fast so get yours ASAP.  Also I have to send out a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us thus far, either by donating a prize or buying tickets.  Also a huge thank you to our wonderful wedding party for helping us with the social, my awesome MOB for designing a cupcake menu of over 20 (yes, twenty) flavors, and my amazing amazing amazing FOB for working so hard at gathering social prizes for us.  We love you all so much!

 

 

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

Social Planning - Not As Easy As It Looks

When Eric and I originally got engaged, we were on the fence about having a social.  For any of my non-Manitoban readers out there (and there are a few, from as far away as the UK and Australia!) a social is a pre-wedding tradition whereby the bride and groom throw a big party, where paying attendees come and buy drinks, tickets for silent auction prizes and other raffles, and it is considered a fundraiser to offset the costs of throwing your dream wedding.  From reading a couple of non-Manitoban wedding forums and blogs, I can see that anywhere else, this would be considered tacky.  But for us, it’s as ubiquitous as cold weather and perogies.

 

 

Socials!  Wooooooo!

The reason we were on the fence about it is, let’s face it, we are no spring chickens.  We are both going to be in our 30s by the time we get married, and we are both well established in our careers.  Could we really ask our friends and family to pitch in to help us pay for our wedding?  I can definitely see the point of view of the people out there who poo-poo socials for couples that are already somewhat on their feet.  But it’s a personal decision, and in my opinion all you have to do to convince yourself to have a social is draw up a budget for your wedding, and compare the amount of time until your wedding to the amount of money you have to save, and voila.  Convinced.  Weddings aren’t cheap no matter how you slice them, and while there isn’t a lot that would stop me from trying to throw the wedding of my dreams, I certainly will do anything I can to avoid going into a mountain of debt.  So the poo-pooers don’t have to come.  Besides, for me, the experience of having a social is more valuable than the money made from it.  It’s a Manitoba tradition, and I’ve been attending socials for 11 years and I finally get to be the bride at one!  Surrounded by all of our own family and friends and important people!  Fun!  Social prizes!  Dancing!  Cold cuts!  Need I say more?

 

 

Nothing like the glorious sight of a large tray of cold meat when

you are wasted off your ass at 11:30 pm.

 

While the various little details of the wedding are a large source of forethought and planning and stress for me, I was not worried about the social at all.  Rent a hall, get a DJ, gather up some prizes, make sure you have the makings of a great Canadian sandwich including rye bread, cubed cheddar and a big bottle of yellow mustard, and away we go.  Easy as pie.  Turns out, it’s not that simple.  A lot of our friends that have gotten married recently have expressed that the social was 10 times more stressful than the wedding.  At first I’m thinking, what?  That can’t possibly be true.  Here I am meticulously gluing miniscule rhinestones on a pair of shoes one at a time, while imagining the 22-part centerpieces that will need to be assembled and how I am going to put all the pieces together without blowing the budget and a social looks like a breeze.  Then we started planning and learned a few valuable lessons very early.

 

 

Right?  RIGHT?!?!?!? 

 

Lesson #1:  Don't jump the gun.  Similar to the fact that you wouldn’t announce a wedding date until you’re sure you have a venue, you shouldn’t announce a social date until you’re sure you have a hall.  To my (perhaps naive) surprise, it’s incredibly difficult to find a social venue in the city that holds more than 350 people, on a Saturday, especially if that Saturday is the one right before St. Patrick’s Day.  So we had to give up on that date, which actually ends up working out better because our new social date gives us the venue we want at a time of year that is convenient and gives us more time between the social and wedding to switch our focus to all the DIY projects that I really want to incorporate into the wedding.  So our for real, actual, set in stone social date is November 16, 2013!  Yayyyy!

 

 

On like Donkey Kong.

 

Lesson #2:  Be prepared to make it rain.  Throwing a social costs a hell of a lot of money up front.  Sure you will make it all back, but for a risk-averse accountant such as myself, this type of gambling on the future and pinning your hopes on your attendees isn’t totally in my comfort zone.  You have to pay for the venue (which I will say is a LOT more than I thought it would cost), the booze and liquor permit, the DJ, the social tickets, any prizes that you have to buy that aren’t donated, the late lunch, the ice, mix, cups, plates, napkins, forks, chips and pretzels, the liquor tickets, the prize tickets, the grand prize tickets, the 50/50 tickets, the perfume draw tickets, the bags to put tickets in, the poster board to post the numbers on, the decorations, the cash box....the list goes on and on.  I definitely know that you have to spend money to make money and this is all fine and good and I want to have a social so I know its necessary.  It’s just really hard to be spending money left and right when my primary focus right now is to save money for the wedding!

 

 

Whomp wahhhhhh  :(

 

Lesson #3:  Your social cannot be lame.  There seems to be just as many elements to planning a social as there is to planning a wedding.  This is because the Manitoba social has evolved from the simple and quaint friends and family get together of the 70s, to a rip roaring, Las Vegas style, glittery sparkling game show.  Social throwers are trading in rail drinks and OV for premium spirits, shots and Heinikegs.  My beloved assortment of cheese cubes on foil trays are being replaced by pizza, samosas, perogies, and McDonald’s cheeseburgers.  And if you don’t have at a minimum a barbeque, a large flat screen TV, a patio set, a texas mickey and round trip tickets to the moon, your social prizes suck.  Because this momentous occasion is such an institution in this province, on any given Saturday in April there could be upwards of 20 socials going on in the city.  So now you need to make yours stand out!  Themes!  Decorations!  Fabulous prizes!  Pyrotechnics!  Full buffet!  And make sure you are selling Grey Goose for $2.25 a shot!

 

 

 

I know right?

 

So while social planning can be a little stressful (I think I have a lot of friends...do I have a lot of friends?  How many friends do I have?  How many will actually come to my social?  Will their friends come?) we are taking a more traditional approach but also luckily have a few little tricks up our sleeve to ensure this will be an amazingly good time.  I don’t want to give away everything just yet, as everyone knows that the List of Fabulous Prizes needs to go on the Facebook Event Page, but let’s just say the FOB is hard at work making sure that all who attend will be appropriately wowed.  But as a little teaser, here’s a sneak peek at our social ticket!

 

 

Booyah!

 

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

 

~M

To Video or Not To Video...That Is the Question

When Eric and I first downloaded the wedding planning app and took a look at all its neat features, one of the coolest aspects of it was the budget calculator.  It allows us to enter the whole budget for the wedding and then it automatically allocates a sub-budget for each category based on average percentages spent on different aspects of the wedding, which we can then edit based on the plans for our wedding.

 

Budgets?  Spreadsheets?  Calculations?  LOVE.

 

So when we saw there was a line for “Videographer” we right away thought that it was a place we could save some money.  $1,500?  Pfff.  Try zero.  Thinking we were being super realistic, we thought when are we ever going to sit down with a bowl of popcorn and watch our wedding video?  Probably never.  So, BAM.  $1,500 extra into the shoe budget.  (I’m kidding, but I was so happy that shoes had their own line item in the budget on this app!)

 

 

WANT.  Wait, what was I talking about again?  Oh yes, videos.

 

So then, like the breezy, budget-savvy bride I like to pretend to be but everyone knows I’m not, I start bragging to my girlfriends about all this money we’re saving now that we’re cutting out super lame non-essentials like a videographer.  But then they start pointing out some interesting thoughts to me.  Tara, my MOH, told me she watched her wedding video a bunch of times after the wedding, and had people come over to hang and take a look at it, and it was a great way to remember the whole day because it flew by in such a breeze.  Then another one of my bridesmaids, Melissa, told me her friend that just got married was really happy that she got a videographer, because she was so nervous up at the altar that after the fact, she forgot what she said to her husband and what he said to her!  Ack!  So now I was conflicted, because the memories of the day are what are really important to us.

 

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

So continuing in my research as to whether or not we should include this in our day, I went to the Almighty Wedding Authority, theknot.com.  On the site I searched for articles about videographers, and found one that just featured testimonials from brides regarding whether or not they chose a videographer and how it turned out.  Here were some of the quotes:

 

"The only regret I have about our wedding is not having a videographer. The day goes by so quickly -- you really miss so much of it. I look back now and wish I would have spent the money for it."

"I just got married in June, and we had both a photographer and a videographer. I am so, so, so thankful that we ended up going with the video. It was something we almost cut to save money, but it was so worth it! When we got the pictures back, there were many guests and moments that were missed -- and thankfully were caught by the video. I hate being videotaped, but I never even noticed him throughout the day."

"DO IT!!!!! I promise you will not regret spending the money. You may not think you want to relive every minute, but after the day you have been meticulously planning for months flies by in what feels like seconds, you will be desperate for a way to remember it!"

 

So at this point, I am now really starting to think that a videographer is worth the money and that we should consider hiring one.  And then I saw this quote, that hit me right in the gut:

"I regret not having one. I thought that I'd never watch it and I'd have my pictures, but there's a lot of your wedding that, as the bride, you don't get to see. For example, I wish I could see what was going on inside my ceremony tent before I got there. I wish I could see my flower girl walk in.  I want to be able to see the look on my husband’s face as I was coming down the aisle again.  The whole thing went by so fast -- I'd kill to have more memories of it."

 

Oh, goodness.  Of everything in the world, there isn’t a faster way to my heart than these two:

 

 

This was when we were on our way to getting engaged!  Swoon.

 

 

 

Heart = melted.

 

From then on, I was sold.  This girl is totally right!  I’m going to miss out on seeing a lot of the ceremony.  When Eric walks in, when he seats his parents, when my brothers seat my mom, when my bridesmaids come in and when the ring bearer and flower girl come down the aisle, I’m going to be hidden in the back waiting for my turn, and trying to console my sobbing FOB (love you Daddy!) and I’m going to miss everything.  I want to be able to see that, especially if Aislin comes down the aisle like this.  HILARIOUS.

 

And two of the things that I’m looking forward to most about the day are the first look, when Eric sees me for the first time during pictures, and then seeing him again as I’m coming down the aisle.  And I have to agree with these brides, I don’t think pictures can always capture everything.  So, mind officially changed.  Eric and I found a reasonably priced videographer that has really nice sample videos online and has been endorsed by a friend of his, so we will be meeting with him to check out some more of his work tomorrow night!  Phewf.  I do believe it will be money well spent.  Besides, who doesn’t want a movie with themselves in the starring role?  ;)

 

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

 

~M

Wedding Traditions: Yay or Nay? (Part 1)

So when Eric and I started to get into some of the smaller details when it came to wedding planning, we found ourselves questioning certain aspects of traditional weddings and whether or not we wanted to include that in our day.  We are not terribly traditional, nor do we want a boring, cookie cutter wedding that our guests can’t wait to get out of and go somewhere more fun.  We also have a budget to stick to, so we need to decide what's really important to us and what we can feel comfortable letting go.  So today I thought I’d share with you some of the things we’ve been discussing and whether or not we’re going to incorporate it into our big day.

 

Engagement photos

Luckily, we were both on the same page with this one.  We don’t see any need at all to spend thousands of dollars on photos of us in our plain clothes.  Wedding photos?  Ultra important.  Engagement photos?  It was hard to come up with a reason why.  Because that’s what you do?  To send out Christmas cards?  For a Save The Date card maybe?  To get comfortable in front of the camera?  We both just thought it was kind of a waste of cash, and we’d rather put that money towards getting a really awesome photographer for the wedding.  Now, I’ve talked to some other brides that have said when you book the photographer for the wedding date, sometimes they will throw in an engagement session for free!  In that case, we probably will but otherwise, we’re saving that dough for when we’re all dolled up.  (And we came up with a really awesome idea for a Save The Date card that will only require one photo of us, and we can do it quick and easy!  Boom.)

Verdict:  Nope.

 

Cute, but we can really do that anytime.

 

Open Bar

Oooh, the everlasting wedding argument.  Do you let your guests go wild on your dime?  Or make them bring cash to your party if they want to indulge?  I can definitely see both sides of this argument.  If you have an open bar, a lot of times people will get hammered, leave half full drinks everywhere, and a lot gets wasted that the bride and groom still have to pay for.  On the other hand, a lot of wedding guests say a cash bar is a hassle and just reduce the presentation they offer the couple to pay for their drinks.  Regardless of the pros and cons of each, it is very important to us to have an open bar for our guests.  We enjoy our bevies, our friends like to drink (a lot, as evidenced by our engagement party) and we know a lot of our other guests enjoy a sip or two now and then...Dance Moms, I’m lookin’ at you.  We don’t want our guests worrying about paying for drinks, we just want them to have a great time.  This is why it was important that the venue we book allows us to bring in our own booze.  We want to have premium liquor and a signature drink (cosmopolitans...natch), and we also have a little something extra planned between the ceremony and reception... 

Verdict:  Drink and be married!

 

Wave your hands in the air like you just don’t care!

 

 

 

This could be you.

 

Groom’s Cake

Neither Eric nor my dad (affectionately dubbed FOB on this blog) had heard of a Groom’s Cake before.  Basically this is a way for the groom to be recognized and represented on the cake table.  The wedding cake itself is usually a tall, white, sparkly beast – all things bride.  Groom’s Cakes are fun because they allow for the groom’s interests to be displayed at the wedding.  When I first brought up the idea to Eric, he was sort of indifferent and asked a few questions, particularly what would be on it.  When I said that it usually is the groom’s favorite sports team or something like that, he said “You had me at Oakland Raiders.”  Now, a Groom’s Cake would normally be considered a splurge because as we all know, wedding cakes are usually pretty expensive.  But because MOB is also the Cake Boss Supreme, we’ll be able to get Eric a ridiculously awesome cake for just the price of a few hugs.  Right mom?  Right? 

Verdict:  RAIDER NATION!

 

Like this, but way better.  Have you seen my mom’s cakes?  Check them out.

 

Awkward Wedding Party Dance

Why?  Just why.  The only reason I can think of why people do this is because it’s a tradition.  That is not a good enough reason to slam your bridesmaids and groomsmen together for 4 minutes of pure awkwardness.  I liken this dance to kids at a junior high dance.  You can’t dance too closely, but it’s also weird if you’re too far away.  You can’t chatter in their ear the whole time, but it’s also weird if you don’t talk at all.  You can make some small talk, but you are also three inches from their face.  It’s creepy to look them in the eye the whole time, but you also don’t want to be looking around either so your partner feels like you’re counting down the seconds until Amazed by Lonestar is over even though really, they feel the same way.  Nobody needs to see our wedding party dance with each other.  We want everyone up on the dance floor right away!  Finish your dinner and let’s party!

Verdict:  Save it for the sock hop.

 

Pretty much looks EXACTLY like this.

 

Bouquet and Garter Toss

Yet another tradition that nobody seems to question and therefore it’s included at every wedding.  Let’s break this down.  When a single girl is at a wedding, she’s probably feeling a few pangs of jealousy as it is.  Not saying that every single girl is dying to get married, but I’m sure there are a few fleeting moments of wondering when her prince charming is going to come along.  Do you think it makes said single girl feel better when suddenly, the party is stopped.  The lights go on.  The DJ booms over the microphone “LET’S GET ALL THE SINGLE LADIES ON THE DANCE FLOOR!”  Then people around her start pointing it out to her.  “Go on, you’re siiiiinglllllle!  Get up therrrrrre!”  So she begrudgingly goes to the dance floor with all the other single girls, on display for everyone to see.  Yes everyone, I’m single!  Take a look!  Nope, no man over here!  Then the bride turns her back and shuns her poor, lonely single friends, and tosses her bridal bouquet over her shoulder.  Take my used scraps losers, I’m married now!  And since it’s well known that the bridal bouquet is the last chance any of these single girls have at romantic happiness, things can get a little vicious.  Clawing, pushing, shoving, scratching...until finally, one single girl emerges victorious and can dream of the day she gets to throw a bunch of flowers in her single friends’ faces. 

 

 

Let’s tear it to pieces in a humiliating display of self-loathing!

As for the garter toss, hilarious.  For as excited as the single girls get when they see the trajectory of the bouquet heading straight toward them, the guys could not care less.  Most of them are three sheets to the wind already and don’t even know what they are doing up there.  Not to mention the awkward moment where the bride has to sit on a chair and her groom has to root around under her dress to find the thing.  And if it takes any longer than 8 seconds, people lose interest.  Why stop the party for this?  Worst.

Verdict:  This tradition needs to die.  Now.

 

 

Could this be more awkward?

 

Fireworks

 

 

Come on, a girl can dream can’t she?

 

Verdict:  I think they are illegal downtown.  But if I could get away with it, I would.

 

Funny story:  When I asked for Eric’s input on this list, he came up with tons of good examples and the list ended up needing to be split into 2 parts.  Then he goes, “your shoes? ;)”  My groom thinks he’s pretty funny!  But seriously, those were never anywhere but the “Absolutely Necessary” category.

 

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

~M