Your Ultimate 2-month Wedding Checklist
01 Jun 2012 1 Comment
in Blog Tags: marriage, wedding planning, wedding expenses, budget wedding, ceremony, wedding, wedding checklist
I’m not usually one to sing my own praises, but seriously folks, this checklist is one of the most complete and kick-ass references you’ll ever find on the interweb. 
Necessity is the Mother of all invention, as the saying goes, as I am now at the two month mark. How did we get here already? Seems like not so long ago that I was thinking about this far-off daydream, and now I’m waking up and realizing this is happening in eight weeks!
Here I get to brag and report that my fiancée has been so supportive and helpful in this process even when she had to focus on her studies. If anyone reading is a bride with a partner who is not pulling their weight in this- kick their butt already! Clearly delegate some tasks to them, ones that they show interest in or can do easily. Think of this process as a metaphor for your marriage! Weddings, like a lifetime together, require people working together.
Well enough of the banter, here is the:
Ultimate 2-month Wedding Checklist!
Please note: to make this checklist even more awesome, you have the option of adding on “or get someone else to do it” to almost every item!
Gotta look good
• Schedule your dress fittings. Remember to bring stockings, shoes, the appropriate bra, hair accessories, jewelry, a camera, and your mom or best friend
• Personal wedding accessories; have them decided or if you’re going to order anything, do it now (hello, Etsy!)
• Finalize list of must-have photos. Give a copy to your photographer(s)
• If you want to start something new, begin pre-wedding beauty regimen now (milk baths? teeth whitening?)
• Go to your hair and makeup trials, or start doing your own
• Confirm hair, makeup and any other appointments on or close to your wedding day
Ceremonial matters
• Write your own vows, if you are. Let the officiate know of any readings or other special requests
• Meet with your officiate to finalize the ceremony, including attendant’s names and processional order
• If you haven’t already, confirm your ceremony music plans, as well as pre- and post-; whether that’s booking musicians or making iPod playlists
• If your venue is outside or has an open floor plan, think about how you want the seating arranged for the ceremony, and where the aisle/altar/chuppah/arch will go if you are having one
• Will you be making your own programs? Get started on that job now, or make your print order
Getting organized
• Assuming you have already sent out your invitations, you can now begin to keep track of your RSVPs, stalking your mailbox or your inbox every day (squeee!)
• Finalize list of responsibilities for key players and bridal party. Have a friendly get-together with everyone and delegate who is going to do what
• Make plans for rehearsal dinner
• Invite selected guests for the rehearsal dinner
• Confirm honeymoon plans with travel agency/hotel/airline/etc.
• Make checklist of items to bring for the honeymoon
• Finalize receiving line, timeline, and itinerary of the day/weekend
• Begin writing thank-you notes for bridal shower and early wedding
gifts you receive, and update your registry at the same time
• If not already done, purchase thank you gifts for your wedding party
• Are you doing favours? Figure that s#!t out
The Tiny Print
• If your venue does not provide it, find out where to get your marriage license, and purchase it
• Tackle outstanding legal matters if applicable (e.g. name change, pre-marital counseling, blood test, etc.)
• Do you want something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue? Lock that down
• If you need a passport to travel on your honeymoon, get that application in now
There. Now you are armed with the most comprehensive second-to-last-month-before-wedding checklist. Use it wisely, young bride-to-be, and all will be well. And before you get overwhelmed, remember to use the optional add-on: get someone else to do it! Weddings should be a team effort, even if it’s a team of two.
Let me know if this was helpful, and good luck!
Making “practical” your wedding theme
26 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Blog Tags: bridesmaids, bridesmaids dresses, budget wedding, decor, DIY, eco-wedding, marriage, my musings, wedding, wedding expenses, wedding planning
I think most of us start with the best intentions to be sensible in our wedding planning. Not many of us have an unlimited budget or sugar daddy, so us practical brides-to-be set the budget, make the spreadsheets, tackle the DIY challenges, and search for the best deals on everything.
Despite these goals, it can be surprisingly easy to get carried away by that nasty creature: desire. 21st century brides have it bad. We are overwhelmed by images of other people’s weddings online and in magazines, so we naturally begin to compare our future wedding to theirs. Some days, it may feel like you will never live up to your own expectations! But trust me, it’s not the burlap or bird cages or patio lighting that will make your wedding special (although they can all, admittedly, make your wedding LOOK awesome), not the “perfect” dress, or chivari chairs or the most expensive flowers, but the incredible love between the newlyweds and their family and friends.
I am glad that I discovered some excellent, down-to-earth websites and blogs early enough in my planning to keep me grounded. I’m talking about offbeatbride, apracticalwedding, intimateweddings, and even weddingbee. Sure, I looked through all the wedding dress images and used the timeline feature on theknot, but the advice on there seems to be for women who are nothing like me. And stylemepretty? Oh please.
In the last few weeks I am proud to say that I have made some practical decisions that left me feeling liberated! With little more than two months to go, I am finding that I can more easily discern what is important, and what is not. Confirming your numbers and catering order with your venue/banquet manager? Important. Having your bridesmaids’ dresses match the table overlays? Not so much.
Speaking of bridesmaids dresses, that was one area where practicality was paramount. I knew early on that I wanted them in different dresses, one that they chose that flattered their body. My partner and I eventually settled on coordinated mismatched, asking them to get a dress in shades of purple. We went shopping together one weekend, and couldn’t believe the prices! What started out as a reconnaissance trip to look at styles and see what was out there, ended up being a reality check.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve worn second-hand clothes all my life. I still buy new sometimes, but I have no issue with consignment and thrift stores. So I suggested that my ‘maids go that route, and continue looking on their own free time. Within 10 days they had both found dresses: one for $32 (silk chiffon!) and one at $7!!! My third bridesmaid, my sister-in-law, already owns some great dresses in purple so I think she’s set. Hooray!
Next was shoes. I had started a pinterest board of some possibilities for my feet. I discovered that Sears (a big department store in Canada) carried a lot of the brands I had been looking at. I immediately fell in love with one of them (really comfy Clark’s- strappy 2.5 inch heels), but they only carried them in brown or black. If I wanted the white, I would have to order through their website (meaning I wouldn’t get the 30% off sale that day).
To be clear, I don’t wear white really, ever. So why I was even humming and hawing over this seems silly now. I walked around Sears, considering the implications of not wearing white shoes. Huh? I finally got over myself, after talking to my sweetie, when I realized that if I bought the white pair I would probably never wear them again after the wedding. And for the good money I was about to spend, I wanted to continue to enjoy them. So I bought beige. Scandalous, I know.
Another area that my fiancée and I are trying to be really practical is decor. We naively under-budgeted for this initially, and had to eventually accept that we were going to spend more than we first intended. I’m planning to offset this extra expenditure after the wedding by selling as much as I can through craigslist. This fits with my “green” wedding M.O. that everything we use must be already second-hand, recyclable, biodegradable or edible, and/or have a life and purpose post-wedding. If that purpose brings some money back my way by another bride-to-be, all the better.
Now, let’s talk briefly about money. Oooohhh, such a touchy subject, I know. And certainly one in which to value practicality! Be very clear with yourselves and each other what you are willing to save, spend and go into debt over for your wedding. Early on, discuss with your parents (both sides) to determine whether they are willing and able to contribute anything. That way you know what kind of budget you have to work with before you book any vendors. Budget high, and try to come in under. Know that things will change (usually going up, unfortunately!).
Make lists: what is absolutely important to have, what would be nice to have, and what you are ambiguous about having and could let go. Don’t waste any energy and time on things that you don’t care about, even if every wedding you’ve been to had a, b, or c, or your Moms think you really need an x, y, or z. If anything feels like it’s more trouble (or money) than it’s worth, it probably is. Axe it- without guilt. At the end of the day when you aren’t starting your marriage in a ton of debt (whether you are actually carrying it, or it’s emotional debt for one of your parent’s carrying it) you will be glad that you didn’t waste the extra money on things you could care less about!
Ultimately, I feel that 21st century brides have more choices- and this can be negative and positive. It’s negative when, like I described above, we get sucked into thinking we “need” things for our wedding that we DON’T. (off the top of my head: air-brush make up, white limos, $150 bridal bouquet, dove release…)
But it’s a positive when we realize that we have more choices than ever before: meaning almost NOTHING is “required” anymore unless YOU want it. Don’t want to wear a white dress? Cool! Rather have burgers and beer and a backyard wedding? Awesome! Want to save your money for an extended honeymoon? Opt for a small courthouse ceremony and dinner at a fancy restaurant. Lovely.
So think outside the box! You can be imaginative and practical at the same time- in fact, it’s required. Tell me, what practical wedding decisions have YOU made?
Making paper heart strings
14 May 2012 1 Comment
in Blog Tags: budget wedding, decor, DIY, eco-wedding, paper crafts
In my last post I talked about the pulling-out-hair moments that can accompany your DIY attempts. What’s that famous quote? “The best laid plans of DIY brides often go astray.” So true. Fortunately, they are not all grief and despair. Some craft projects are easy, pain-free, and so affordable that you just love making them. This was my experience making heart strings!
I first came upon the inspiration on Pinterest (imagine that!), and pinned it to my wedding DIY board:
I had to figure out how to make them by studying the photo, since there was no tutorial. They seemed to be constructed from four, identical paper hearts, glued together with a string down the middle. So, I went to Michael’s to get pretty paper. I lucked out and got a big book of 180 sheets of craft paper at 50% off, with lots of patterns and colours.
First we had to make a stencil. I downloaded a simple heart shape from the interweb (after my sweetie’s attempt at “free hand” didn’t work out so… symmetrically), uploaded it to a word doc, and made two different sizes. We also made a star stencil, since we plan to make star strings as well. My partner drew them onto the card stock, and cut out the shapes with an exacto knife. Then we traced as many hearts as we could fit onto the craft paper.
these are all the supplies you need
You need four to make a heart, and I chose to use two different colours that had the same background pattern. To assemble them easily, you will need to fold them in half.
make sure you fold them the correct direction
Then, take the glue stick and attach three of the hearts together, aligning as best you can with the center fold. The 3-D heart quickly takes shape.
ta da!
Have your twine/string ready, and put a line of white glue down the “spine” of the heart, on the open side.
mmm… glue…
Place the twine into the glue, where you want the heart to be on the string. I used my finger to push the twine into the glue, to make sure it adhered nicely.
gotta get a little sticky
Glue the last heart on, and make sure it’s all stuck together.
Trim the edges to your satisfaction. You can adjust the length, decide how many hearts per string, have various sizes or all the same- it’s up to you. 
For a few days in a row I worked on this craft. I even started watching really bad wedding shows on Netflix as I traced, cut and glued the hearts. After three episodes of Bridezillas, I’d had enough. Of the show, that is- I love making these!
purdy heart strings!
We finished them off by tying two wooden beads at the bottom. In total I made 6 strings, and intend to make more. They are a cheap, easy, and pretty DIY craft for wedding decor, and I will definitely use them to decorate my home after the wedding, or if they are damaged they are easy to recycle. Bonus! Please let me know if you give these a try too!
The dark side of DIY
04 May 2012 1 Comment
in Blog Tags: budget wedding, Celtic wedding, DIY, eco-wedding, invitations, marriage, when things go wrong
It’s almost a given for every couple getting married that they will do some DIY. The type, style and amount of DIY projects is up to the individuals involved, but gettin’ crafty and saving a few bucks is the norm these days.
However, it’s not always a sunny day in Martha Stewart’s craft room. Glue guns can burn you. Paper really can cut you. You may run out of a supply before you are finished, or realize halfway through a project that you are doing it wrong and need to start over. Or, such as in my case this week, technology can fail you.
Two weeks ago we received a package in the mail. Our invitation paper supplies had arrived!
Tree-free, recycled, handmade cardstock from sweetinvitations.com
I’ve been very excited for this- we just passed the 100-day mark, and putting the invites together and getting them in the mail really sends a clear message of “this s#!t is gettin’ real.”
We chose to assemble them ourselves at home because a) it would save us money, b) I wanted design control, and c) I thought it would be easy to do. I. Was. Wrong.
I spent hours getting the layout just perfect. We deliberated over the wording for a few days. We spent three evenings cutting the gatefolds, in preparation for the big assembly, and even had a friend who has fantastic hand writing come over to address all our envelopes.
we cut the gatefolds from handmade Hemp paper from Thailand
Then, when we tried to print a sample on the vellum paper, the printer didn’t like it. It pulled it through, but wouldn’t print on it. Angrily beeping, crunching noises coming from within, the warning on the screen read: Paper loaded incorrectly.
A quick google search and I discovered that vellum is notorious for being difficult with home printers. I called the lady who I purchased our supplies from, and she suggested we try it on a friend’s laser printer, that maybe it was the ink-jet printer that was the problem. One woman online said she had to tape it to regular paper and then it worked. We tried that, and it worked once, and then continued to chew up the others. As well, that one good print we got turned blurry after 10 minutes of drying. And really, I didn’t want to have to tape 70 invites- too finicky. Overall, it was a complete bust.
Was I upset? Did I cry and throw a tantrum? Surprisingly, no. I knew that I could eventually troubleshoot this problem and figure it out, and I wasn’t stressed about the time because we were doing this early.
Therein lies one of my best pieces of advice for all DIY brides: get things done early. If you want something done by a certain date, start it a month, or months, before. Pay no mind to your bridesmaids or co-workers who tease you for working on your wedding crafts/decorations/favours 6, 8, 12 months ahead of time. Who wants to leave it all to the last minute? You want to be able to enjoy your engagement, so spread out the work load (and yes, that means delegating tasks to your hubby-to-be-too!).
Fortunately, this warning tale of the Dark Side of DIY has a happy ending. Turns out, the business owner was right, and my friend’s laser printer worked perfectly. My fiancée and I went home and right away spent the 45 minutes it took to glue the vellum to the card stock.
Then we tested the Celtic knot rubber stamp on the invite.
putting our personal “stamp” on our invites
Here’s how it will look inside the gatefold, and then sealed with our monogram sticker.
our finished invites!
My other fabulous pieces of advice in regards to DIY-ing your invites are to have extra; address the envelopes while they are empty; and don’t stamp them until they are addressed. We did one and two, but eagerly stamped before they were all addressed, and one goof and you waste a stamped envelope.
Despite the bit of stress at not being able to print them on our own printer, I am glad we chose to DIY our invites. With the right supplies, time, and some imagination, you can create truly unique invites that reflect your wedding style and even, in our case, your environmental values. Best of all, these were affordable! 70 invitations cost us $137: that includes the cardstock and vellum paper we bought from sweetinvitations, the gatefold paper we got at a local paper store Ya-ya Paper, and the monogram stickers from Vistaprint. Add postage and our grand total is $168. That’s $2.40 per invite.
It’s been such a crafty week here at our place. I’ll leave you with a little teaser of the other DIY wedding decor we’ve been working on… heart strings!
Beach Wedding Decor
29 Apr 2012 2 Comments
in Blog Tags: beach wedding, beach weddings Vancouver, decor, seashell decor, starfish decor
I’ve blogged about wedding dresses, bridesmaids, colour schemes and themes…. but I haven’t really talked much about decor. This is definitely one area I under-budgeted for initially. The best tricks are to buy used items from thrift stores and from Craigslist; to DIY with paper, felt, streamers, fabric, etc; and to keep it simple. Easier said than done, because it’s fun to let your imagination run wild!
Since beach weddings are uber popular, and also because my own decor theme is ocean-inspired, this blog is dedicated to decorating ideas for seaside weddings. In most cases, if you click on the image it will link to the vendor. Please note: I am not in any way associated with these sellers.
Ocean-inspired wedding decor:
Seashells and starfish. There are so many ways to use them! They are easy to scatter around tables, display in vases or bowls, and instantly create the seaside mood.
Michael’s craft store carries a starfish garland, or you can make your own.
These are the seashell-decorated frames that my partner and I made.
Beachy centerpieces: 
Fill fishbowl vases half with sand, add a few shells, stick in a pillar candle, place on a square mirror et voila!
I love these! The pink orchids are so tropical, and match the pink in the shells. LED tealights were used to make the centerpiece glow.
Beach wedding favours:
These lighthouse tealight holders are cute, aren’t they? Could be used in decor and double as a favour.
These sailboat tealight holders are nice.
I like these as well- sand and seashells.
Or, starfish wine bottle stoppers make a practical (and pretty!) gift.
Don’t forget your bridal accessories:
A lovely rhinestone clam shell necklace.
Sugar starfish hair pins for a natural look…
… or white pearl starfish for more glamour.
Aisle decor:
Starfish attached with seashells to green sea grass.
Tropical flowers and petals are colourful and biodegradable.
Illuminaires are a great choice for a beach wedding at night since they are visually stunning, practical (they provide light and direction), and easy to DIY too!
It’s no wonder why beach and destination weddings are hugely popular. Even if you aren’t getting married on an actual beach (like me- I’ll be on a boat), it can be fun to incorporate starfish and seashells into your decor theme; although I must say I think it makes the most sense if you are close to water at least. Of course, brides will be brides, so who’s to stop a prairie wedding from having a beach theme? Lol!
Are you have a beach wedding, or an ocean-inspired theme?
Making Earth-friendly choices for your wedding
20 Apr 2012 4 Comments
in Blog Tags: budget wedding, decor, DIY, Earth Day, eco-wedding, green wedding, my musings, wedding planning
To commemorate Earth Day, I am dedicating this blog to discuss how you can make your white wedding a little more “green”!
If you’re like most people, you care about the environment, recycle, use a travel mug, buy organic and local food when you can, and probably make a lot of small, but positive, earth-friendly actions and choices in your day to day life. So why wouldn’t you want to do the same when planning your wedding? It’s a great way to not only feel good about your event, but show others that eco-weddings can still be affordable AND fabulously chic.
Top 10 Things to Consider for an Earth-friendly Wedding
1. Have your ceremony and reception in the same location.
Unless they are so close that you and your guests can walk or bike from the ceremony to the reception, you and all your guests will be getting back into their cars and driving. Car exhaust is the number one way that individuals contribute to air pollution. Choosing to have your wedding all at the same location is a good idea for other reasons too: convenience, cost-effectiveness, and less stress!
2. Use recycled paper for your stationery needs, or use e-vites and your wedding website’s RSVP feature.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but deforestation is a serious concern, and the process of paper making is toxic to human and environmental health. There are many options for couples to use recycled, tree-free, and even seeded paper (plantable paper that contains wildflower seeds!) so you are supporting ethical and sustainable paper companies. I purchased mine from a terrific local company, sweetinvitations.com Another option is to use the internet. Wedding websites are very common these days, and you can send out very pretty email invites and direct your guests to RSVP back on your wedsite (or give your phone number if Grandma isn’t online).
3. Hire a caterer that uses organic, locally-sourced produce and free-range, ethically-caught meat and seafood.
Organic food tastes better, and you feel good knowing it was grown without pesticides or GMO seeds. When you buy free-range and ethically-caught meat and seafood, you are “voting with your dollars” against factory-farming, and unsustainable wide-net ocean fishing. When you can’t get organic, always choose local.
4. Wear a pre-owned wedding dress.
Sadly, many brides think they need to buy a brand-new, $1500 dress to fulfill their wedding fantasy, without looking into other options. Does someone close to you still have an old gown? A creative seamstress can re-work that dress to update the look and suit your style. Or, capitalize on all those gorgeous gowns being worn for only one day and go hunting on craigslist, ebay, preownedweddingdresses, smartbrideboutique, or the classifieds of online wedding communities like weddingbee and offbeatbride. Oh, and for the bridemaids: co-ordinated mismatched is IN! Choose a dress (together, ideally) that they truly will wear again.
5. Grab deals on used decor on Craigslist, in thrift stores, or borrow from friends and family.
This one saves you money AND is a good environmental choice. Your decor doesn’t need to be new- with “shabby chic” being a popular trend right now, there has never been a better time to decorate your wedding with thrift store finds or gently-used items from a newlywed bride, desperate to sell her stuff.
6. Consider the post-wedding usefulness of everything you buy/make.
My fiancée and I refuse to use any disposable, one-time-use decor. Anything we buy or DIY must have a use post-wedding, double as a gift to someone, be able to be re-sold, be recycled or second-hand to begin with, or be biodegradable or edible!
7. For “bridal beauty”, support a salon that uses organic, cruelty-free hair products and cosmetics.
I have been using all natural products for my hair and skin for the last 15 years. Natural, organic cosmetics can be harder to find. Thankfully, one of my bridesmaids connected me with a make-up artist that works out of Vancouver’s only green-certified earth-kind salon, Clover. I am very excited for my salon experience on the morning of my wedding, and knowing that their eco-ethics are aligned with mine makes it so much better.
8. Buy only fair-trade, organic flowers if they are imported, or support locally-grown blooms.
Hands-down, the floral industry has the heaviest pesticide use of any crop, and workers on the flower farms in South America have terrible respiratory diseases because of it- never mind the almost-slavery conditions. Choose local whenever you can when it comes to flowers, or buy from somewhere like Whole Foods that is dedicated to providing fair-trade blooms.
9. Encourage your guests to carpool or use public transit.
I’ve included this on our wedsite. You can’t control what other people choose to do, but you can at least mention it to make them think about it. As for limos for the wedding parties, I’m actually torn on this one. Because if renting a limo means one vehicle is transporting 8-10 people instead of three, then maybe the good offsets the bad. I’ve looked into hybrid limos, and they aren’t very common- yet. So I’m on the fence.
10. Wear ethical jewelry.
Is that slavery or strip-mining on your finger? You want beautiful bling AND a clean conscience when it comes to your wedding jewelry. If you can, going the antique route by wearing a family heirloom is a wonderful choice. If you don’t like the style, you can have the stones re-set in a new band, or somehow re-worked. Otherwise, we are fortunate now in 2012 that there are many, many ethically-minded jewelry companies and diamond alternatives. Check out brilliantearth, bluenile, ingleandrhode, and ruffandcut to name a few.
This is by no means a comprehensive list! Check out these online resources:
www.greenbrideguide.com
www.ecowedding.org
Happy eco-wedding planning!
Co-ordinated mismatched saves the day
11 Apr 2012 3 Comments
in Blog Tags: beach wedding, beach wedding colours, beach weddings Vancouver, bridesmaids, bridesmaids dresses, Celebration on Water, Celtic wedding, color scheme, decor, mismatched bridesmaids, purple bridesmaids dresses, same-sex marriage, wedding, wedding colors, wedding colours, wedding planning
Choosing our wedding colours was not a simple decision that we made early on and never changed our minds. Before I got engaged I didn’t even know you had to choose wedding colours! And I had never heard about weddings having themes. Maybe I’ve only been to traditional weddings. Or I didn’t notice.
We have changed our colours quite a few times. Our first choice, Mango Orange and Aqua Blue, was the result of us trying to play up the “beach” theme. Our venue is a big ferry boat docked on the ocean, but we are not on a beach. A girl can dream, no?
After I was informed by one of my bridesmaids that she refuses to wear blue, we switched to Persimmon and Plum. That’s wedding-speak for orange and purple. It was less “beachy” and more “tropical” and I thought I could live with that. I was having a hard time letting go of the aqua blue however, because we had already started down the path of the seashell theme in some of our decor DIY, and it seemed an obvious match.
Now, I’m happy to say that we have made our final decision on our colours AND our theme, thanks to weddingnouveau.com
‘Enchanted Summer Evening’ in Blue, Green, Purple and Pink.
We chose to get married on August 1st since it’s the midsummer full moon; an auspicious and magical night to celebrate our love. These colours fit perfectly with our desire to have an earthy, whimsical aesthetic with our decor, since we are creating a Celtic-inspired ceremony with our Reverend. Also, the seashell decor won’t be entirely out of place since we are, as I mentioned, right on the ocean.
One of the most stressful parts of planning this wedding has been deciding the wedding party attire! When you are too definitive (THIS exact dress, in THIS exact colour) you come off as controlling, bossy, and (gasp!) a bridezilla. When you’re too sensitive to everyone’s feelings and try to please everybody, you usually end up not pleasing yourself.
At last we have discovered our saving grace. Co-ordinated mismatched! I think it’s a new trend, and for good reason.
We’ve decided to take ONE of our colours, purple, and have them in varying shades. Once my girls decide on their dresses, then my fiancée will match the shades for the ties on her butch-maids. So she gets her colour-coordination (with variety) and my bridesmaids get more freedom in choosing the dresses. Happy Happy. This is one wedding trend that I hope is here to stay.
Here’s some of our inspiration pics.
If you want to see more examples of coordinated mismatched wedding parties, and even some completely mismatched, I started a dedicated Pinterest board on the subject. Check it out.
