A Mixed Bag

I know, I KNOW.  I missed my blog again last week.  Thankfully I didn't get too much heat for it, I think everyone in my life knows that tax season is a gonger and some Wednesdays the blog takes a backseat to the sea of files in my office.  So if you see some sporadic posting between now and June, you'll know why!

 

"Yeah.....you're going to have to work this weekend."  I feel you Milton.

So I was very much looking forward to this week's blog, because over the weekend, I finished the ruby slippers I was strassing!  If you remember this post, I did them as a practice run for what will ultimately be my awesomely awesome bridal shoes.  And I am glad I did, because I learned a LOT that I will apply when I tackle this super DIY project.

...but you will have to wait to find out what that was.  I was so excited about the shoes that I took them to the dance studio on Tuesday to show them to my little Dorothy and let her try them on.  Of course she looked fabulous in them, I mean come on.  But then I let her dance in them - and unfortunately one side of one shoe lost a lot of rhinestones.  I started strassing using one specific type of glue, but it was thin and didn't stick well and halfway through I thought better of it and switched to E6000.  So the side that had the crap glue on it now looks pretty bare.  So I have to go back and fix that and unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures of the shoes before they got all patchy.  So that post will have to wait!  The good news is, the other shoe didn't lose a single stone, so I know I've got the right glue product now! 

 

It's my turn next!  Yayyyyy!

So until I can fill you in on all the details of that particular DIY success, I thought I'd share a few updates with you and then gush about a couple of featured weddings that I am obsessed with these days.

I'm happy to announce that Eric and I have booked our photographer and videographer.  Two more things off the list of 135 things to do, done! 

Carrie takes such pretty and dreamy photos...

We have also decided that we are going to have our social centered around St. Patrick's Day next year!  So if you are reading this, consider yourself booked for March 15, 2014 for an evening of fun and frolicking amidst prizes wrapped in cellophane, plain chips on paper plates, plentiful booze, and cheese cubes.  And Eric and I will have tons of inspiration for our social, because........wait for it.......

 

SQUEE.

We are heading to the beautiful Emerald Isle this year!  Hooray!

I am so unbelievably excited for this trip to Ireland, because I have always wanted to go there.  It made the short list for our honeymoon, but after we picked South Africa it was put back on the "someday" shelf.  Well someday is now September 5, 2013!  Hopefully while we're there we'll get to see the ruins of McAuliffe Castle and have a pint of Guinness with some locals.  I'm especially pumped to visit the Cliffs of Moher and find me a horcrux.

Reeeeeeeteeteeteetee!

Anyway, back to the wedding blog. 

I just love glamorous, sparkly, elegant weddings.  I know I harp on it a lot, but I am so not the vintage lace/mason jar type of bride.  So when I see a wedding that gets away from that trend and goes big and beautiful, I gobble it up.  I wanted to share with you a couple of weddings that I found on Weddings In Winnipeg that I absolutely adore. (Click on the photos for a closer look!)

The first is one that I bookmarked a long time ago.  My absolute favorite part is the way that the stationery and design is incorporated into every aspect - their seating chart, menu cards, table cameras, favor cards, table numbers, everything!  And what a beautiful bride!  I envision myself with a goofy smile on my face all day so I really loved the photos of her looking so happy.

 

 

 

 

 

So pretty!  See the full post here.

 

 

The second is a wedding that was just posted today, and the photos caught my eye instantly.  Gorgeous dress, gorgeous bouquet, and gorgeous décor!  Love.

 

 

Beautiful right?  See the rest of the photos here.

And so ends today's hodgepodge of wedding blogmania!  See you next week, fingers crossed!


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