The dream wedding..

Photography by Marie Labbancz via Brides Magazine

I am going to hit the ground running with this one. I am official sold on this idea. The dress, the shoes, the vintage appeal, beautiful cake.. oh My god.

We talk about ceremonies and venues and different things. We like things that have meaning, family oriented things. That is just us. We don't plan on marrying in a church, or having the big bash In a sought after venue everyone dreams of getting married in. (If you haven't read the past posts and are just getting into this blog you will be quick to discover we are looking for a no fuss casual affair)

Amanda and Daniel were married at the beautiful Bartan's Garden in Philadelphia, PA. She wore a beautiful white tea length, strapless, 2 piece gown. He wore a Paul Smith black suit to complete the casual look. The bridesmaids wore black dresses of their choice and the groomsmen wore black suits to complement the grooms attire. (I love this look. Classic, timeless.. casual yet chic)

The details of this wedding are absolutely wonderful. From the hand made invitations to the custom upholstered furniture everything was thought out extensively and executed with charm.
The guests were treated to a delicious spread of baby lamb chops and mushroom risoto catered by Philidelphia's Jeffery Miller Catering. The cake, decorated with details of small and large buttons, was a creation by Old City bakery. (whoever thought this up is a genius.. such a beautiful cake)

As a personal touch for the end of the evening, the couple gave out smoores and hot chocolate to departing guests (This is my kinda of affair)

P.S. who doesn't love smoores and hot chocolate??!!

This way to the wedding..

Photography by Millie Holloman via Once Wed

It's no surprise to anyone that I have a facination with the south. I love everything about the south. The food, the decor, the hospitality... it probably won't surprise anyone when I say I love southern weddings. This past week, the once wed blog has been featuring weddings in the southern state... Here's a sneak peak.. check it out if you have a second... very worth it..

A Little Something Personal..

Available to purchase from Westbyron on Etsy

I love key rings. This is why this one gave me warm fuzzies..

Lovely letters..

Frames made by nameframes on Etsy

I want to get started on this project right away.

I have alot of empty frames in the house to fill AND I LOVE photography!!!

Love it...

Maids from hell..

Photography by pinkchick83 on Flickr

So I got a little bored at home tonight. When I get bored, I research random things on google. Google is a magical tool you know? So I typed this little phrase above in the google search field to see what would pop up. I was unsuccesful The first time because maids from hell apparently translated to cleaning ladies from hell.

Back to the drawing board.. I then tried my second attempt at searching 'Bridesmaids from hell'.

I found this little number...

http://syracusesingle.blogspot.com/2006/07/bridesmaids-from-hell.html

First, read the blog post above from Single in Syracuse.. and then come back here to read what I have to say about this little ditty.

*Are you done reading yet??*

In my opinnon, (bear in mind, I am allowed an opinion) this women is a class act bridezilla.

"Out of my six girls, three have been the epitome of perfect bridesmaids. The girls want to know, on a daily basis, what it is I need them to do. They know I am planning a huge wedding on top of finishing two schools, working, and renovating a new apartment to make it move-in ready in two weeks. The other three ‘maids fall in and out of my graces daily"

I'm sorry. Did she honnestly expect ALL of her 6 girls would bow down to her? I get she asked them to be maids.. but there are better reasons to be mad at them. ( btw did you read the reasons why she picked them in the first place???) You're talking about 6 women who also have other things on the go.. Guaranteed not everyone is going to be on the same page.

And it goes on... dress shopping...

"Maid: Can we get strapless? I want strapless?
Me: No, I’d really prefer if you girls have a different neckline than mine. I’m wearing strapless. Maid: But I want strapless.
Me: (losing patience) I want you girls in a different neckline! So you look different than me!"

Ok, I get the bridesmaid she's talking about in this post is a little hard to work with, but honestly.. Would anyone really remember you wore a strapless dress and your maids wore the same neckline? Is it a faux pas to wear the same neckline as the bride? Someone help me on this..

At least they didn't wear white to her wedding..

If only...

Vintage wear at www.vintageous.com

If only it were still available...

*sighs*

I don't even care if it's not in my size.

**Side note** I would starve myself to fit this dress.

oh well..

Mrs Darcy's take on Ferris Bueller's wedding invitation..

Invites designed by The Future Mrs. Darcy
Also, available for purchase on Etsy

How awesome is this?? I wonder which one of the 2 picked this one out... Sloan or Ferris?

My.. ohhhhh my!!!

Wedding Photography by Tec Petaja

One word... Amazing.

A gelato wedding..

Photo by fdiazh on Flickr

mmm how good does this look?

Gelato shops gained popularity in Ottawa a little under 7 years ago. Currently, There are 2 well known awesome gelato shops in Ottawa with at least 2 locations each. Piccolo Grande (in business over 20 years!) and Pure Gelato. If you've never heard or tried Gelato, you are in for a real treat. (this has got to be my fave type of ice cream) Alot of the common flavors include chocolate, lemon, lime, orange, passion fruit (A MUST TRY) and the list goes on.. and on..

If you wanted to spend an afternoon testing the flavors, I suggest you go to the Elgin street Pure Gelato location. They will let you try every single item on the board without a purchase. (don't quote me on this... I don't want to be responsible if you get grumpy serving you the day you go! that would be too bad..)

Instead of the dessert buffet, you could probably have sometype of gelato bar! Piccolo Grande offers a gelato cart rental (with an attendant). The only downside to this idea, is the price... but when you look at it, they give you an all you can eat display of 6 Gelato flavors of your choice ( 30 Litres) for about $650 ( attendant will hang around for 2 hours to serve your eager guests).. It's probably less costly to have an all you can eat ice cart than it is to have a "happy hour" open bar for an hour.

Which brings me to my posting point.. Would you like to have a gelato cart at your wedding? I think it would be a major hit!! P.s. you might want to keep bibs on hand.. boys tend to make messes when they eat ice cream.. I know mine does..

Real weddings: Tim and Laura

Photography by Casie Whissell Sherwin

Tim and Laura were married at the St-George lutheran church in Toronto, July of this year. They were surrounded by close friends and family in an intimate ceremony followed by an elegant reception at the ever wonderful Drake hotel.

I love this idea of having an intimate setting with close friends and family to share your day with. No need to fuss with details, just have fun with it. Low key events = stress free day.

Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos with us Casie!!

Introducing... Martha Fridays!

I am a closet Martha fan. I've been secretly stealing my mom's Martha magazines for a very long time now.. she's never really said anything, but I know deep down inside... she knows...

There's nothing like a Sunday morning coffee shared with a little Martha R&R time. ( that's rest and recreation for the acronym impaired) In her honor, I have decided to come out of the Martha closet and start a new weekly Friday segment called... (are you ready for this?)

Martha Fridays

(not as climactic as I wanted it to be, but still very exciting!!)

So starting next Friday ( put it in your calendars girls), I will be posting all things Martha. I'm not sure what I'll talk about, but I'm sure It'll be good.

I don't doubt it.

Tune in....

Romantic inspiratons for a Thursday afternoon..

1. Engagement charms on Etsy , 2. Romantic Pink pearls , 3. Orange rose, 4. Beaded bridal shrug on Etsy, 5. Flickr Bridal Bouquet, 6. Custom bridal dress on Etsy, 7. vintage colored earrings, 8. Wedding dress staged, 9. Vintage wedding ring, 10. Shoes on Flickr

Got any tin cans?

Photo by Starrvartan on Flickr

This would make a lovely center piece... don't you think?

For the maids..

1. Lush gift basket, 2. Chloe black leather tote, 3. Purple Pashmina, 4. Peacock clutch on Etsy, 5. Purple Petals locket on Etsy,

6. Amethyst Purple Leather Journal with Handpainted Button on Etsy

How will you thank your maids?? I've been thinking about this for about a week now. When the time comes that i'm actually engaged, thinking about it ahead may have it's advantages.
The boy and I are planning on only having 1 attendant each. Here's the reasoning. It's not that we don't want a large wedding party, trust me!! It's actually a lose lose situation for us; 3 simple points:

1. We have wayyyyyyyyy too many good friends. To include some and not include others would be a terrible mistake and perhaps a never ending battle with friendships ending in the shitter. You laugh now, but you'd be surprised at how many of our friends would become bitter about the situation.

2. We don't want to hastle with difficult people. we already have our mothers to deal with... more than enough.. trust me! I would rather throw myself off the roof than to deal with 4 PMS-ing bridesmaids and 2 pissed off mothers..

3. Keeping it low key means, keeping it cheap.. which also means.. no hassle.

While we assesed the pros and cons, this was the better fit for us. Besides! what do we need a wedding party of 10 for?? At first, I did protest. But in all thruthfulness, it makes sooooo much sence! (I might have to do a posting about difficult wedding guests and stories about the maids from hell!!!)

Ok back to the main topic. Thank you gifts for the maids. It is customary to give gifts to your bridal party to thank them for putting up with your (pardon the language) S**t for the lenght of the planning. I have already picked out my maid of honnor. It's been the same for over 8 years. We have been the best of friends since grade 9 science class and plan on being best friends for years to come. I know her inside and out and we speak the same language all the time. *hold the laughs* she completes me.

I will not be following the customary engraved gift. My better half has received 2 engraved gifts as thank you gifts in the past and they are either being used as door stopers or collecting dust in the basement. Personalize it withought doing it the generic way.

Here's what I want to do. (shhhhht... can you keep a secret?)

Leather tote bag, pashmina, Lush beauty products, clutch, Spa gift certs, note book, locket and a thank you note. Ah yes... and apple juice ; )

Pumpkins and mums.. How delightful!

Flickr photos by Mimosa http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimosa0/2936998280/

Nothing like dark colored chrysanthemums to make someones day. On a walking tour in NYC, we walked past this pub called O'Neals. Outside on the front steps, they had a beautiful display of poted mums and strategically placed pumpkins lined up. I fell in love.

I have now decided, this is the look and feel I am going for. Dark red and burnt orange mums & pumpkins.. oh and leaves.. and paper lanterns! You can't forget them, can we?

I love the fall...

"Dear Guest: You're Invited to a Surprise Wedding, Just Don't Tell the Bride"

Photos from www.weddingstar.com

This article title kind of freaked me out... I'm not sure If i'd be very happy if this happened to me. Some people might like the in your face type of surprise, but I would be more embarrased rather than excited about this idea.

Have I ever mentioned I hate HUGE surprises? I think I'd throw myself off in the deep end after getting the news that the one thing I've been looking forward to planning since I was a little girl was not only planned without me, but executed in a way that everyone knew about it but me. I'm sorry not an idea I'm crazy about.

Surprising your guests with a surprise wedding is one thing... surprising the bride? Totally different ball game.

Read on.. this one seemed to work out for the bride and groom..

Thoughts?

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/190950

Manhattan loves Magnolia

Photography by Triple Designs inc.

I've just come back from a family vacation in New York City. What a city it is! It's been my third visit so far to the Big Apple and it never ceases to amaze me.

Times Square, the Meat Packing district, strolling through Central Park.. But nothing can beat this jem. There are lineups out the door for this place.. this pretty much speaks volumes on how good these cupcakes are!! World famous cupcakes, world class bakery.

One word: Magnolia Bakery (actually, that was two words.. but anyways) Who wouldn't want a bite of this...

Click here for the recipe provided by Kitchen Link: http://www.kitchenlink.com/cookbooks/2005/0743246616_2.html

Amélie.. How I've missed you..

Last June, my better half surprised me with an impromptu birthday weekend trip to New Orleans, Louisiana.Not only was this trip my first ever trip to the Southern states, it was also my first ever plane ride! (What a city! If you've never been to the Big Easy, I highly recommend you book a getaway trip)

The first night we got to NOLA (Short for New Orleans, LA), we took a haunted walking tour through the French Quarter. Our tour guide Holly, a local, was very entertaining and knew a lot about the city your average joe wouldn't know. She told us stories about Muriel's restaurant with the lone table set aside for the ghosts (in order to stop them from stealing the restaurant guests bread), Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre actress.. She also recommended a few restaurants she thought we might enjoy.. (and we really did!!) While walking down one of the side streets, I noticed a very cute sign above a brick wall (cute things seem to stick out... I don't know why). The sign read Cafe Amélie. We took a quick peek inside, and we immediately decided to eat there the following night.

And we did. What a place.. cobblestones.. candle lighting, beautiful brick walls.. just beautiful. We ordered a bottle of wine (expected) and browsed the menu.. the smells coming from the kitchen were too good to not be tempted.

I'm gonna zip pass a few details to get to the crucial point of the story.

After we had finished dinner, we still had about half a bottle of wine to go. Coming from a household who tends to polish bottles before dinners end, we weren't going to let this one go to waste. To make things easier, my better half decided that if each of us took a sip after every toast we made, we would finish the bottle in no time. So one at a time, back and forth, we toasted to the city... toasted the cobblestones, toasted to Holly (for guiding us there in the first place), toasted the stars... toasted Brad Pitt (long story.. lol) and it went on and on... it was kind of slow going for a little bit. I almost didn't finish my last glass.. and then something happened.

To break the pattern, my better half says "I've save the best one for last..". I started to get antsy.. I think I got a little too excited for what I thought was going to happen.. I started smiling lots.. getting sweaty (don't get me wrong.. it was hot.. but I thought he was going to propose!!) He gets to his last sip, looks me in the eyes (by that time, I'm blushing so hard my head hurts)and says... "To Rufus". I don't think it registered, because all that was running through my head was.. "I'm going to be Mrs Bleep*.. OMG I'm going to be Mrs Bleep*." And then it hit me. He didn't propose.. He toasted to the damn dog!!! (* to keep anonymity!!)

I was a little surprised and confused.. how was that saving the best for last??So the night went on without incident. I really didn't bring it up because after all, he did plan this fabulous little getaway on his own and I couldn't have sulked the rest of the trip because of this little "oops" moment. We took a carriage ride through the French Quarter, went to Coyote Ugly for shots and hung out with the craw fish mascot at Bubba Gump & co. We even walked on the set of Carmen Electra's new Flick "Mardi Gras". Overall, a great drunken night.

The morning after. We get a frantic call from my mother in law. ( I call her that because I've been in the family for 4 years now) She was freaking out asking if he'd popped the question.. (see I wasn't the only one with that on the brain!!) So he hangs up the phone, turns to me and asks me where she had got this crazy idea in her head from.. so I told him I too thought it was going to happen.. I think he felt bad about the situation lol

And then I added "When the time comes that you are ready to propose, it better beat a candle lit dinner, in a cobblestone courtyard in New Orleans.. and it also better not happen over the jumbotron at a Senators hockey game".

I think he got the picture lol

Ohhh boys... How I love them ; )

Things I like..

Bored? try this.. type random words on the Etsy search engine and see what you land on...

here is today's favorite.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_12&listing_id=15644319

I want this... Wanna buy it for me?

Falling in love..

http://thepinkbookblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/its-fall-yall.html

I've always dreamed about getting married in the fall. There is something about darker palettes that tickle my fancy. It's always good to see them after a long summer. It's very southing..
Venturing on The Pink Book Blog this morning, I saw this incredible idea board.. This is what I've always imagined.

A lot people say it's not very original to have pumpkins as a main theme at your wedding during the fall… but thinking about it makes me want it more…

Looky what we have here!

These Past few months have been slow at work. I guess with elections coming up, everyone hunkered down for several weeks. I've been reading blog after blog, switching back and forth to see what was new and exciting.. this stuck out.

I can't stop myself from salivating....

wouldn't this be fun for a cute welcome to the party appy/dessert? How about served with coffee?

Either way, see for yourself... mmm yummy goodness..

http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2008/09/triple-chocolate-mousse-three-ways.html

This months favorite cover..

https://www.brides.com/modernbrides

This months cover of Modern Brides
How ravishing!!!

Tele-drama!!

Lack of posts... omg, going out of my mind!

Let me catch you up to speed.

Reason 1.. not really a reason but here goes.
I have been sick for a couple months now, and I can't seem to shake this flu.

And now for the juicy parts..

The boy and I were watching TV last month when it went on the fritz. You turned it on, and all you could see was 1 line running halfway across the screen. Not cool considering we just pooled our pennies together to replace our previous car (see earlier posts). We were not looking forward to spending a ton of money on a brand new tv.

The better half decided to buy a second hand tube TV from some guy in the east end. BIG MISTAKE. Not only did the TV reek of cigs and was tainted yellow, ( non smokers here!!), but it was broke to start out with!! He asked the guy to show him if the TV worked, and hauled it in the car and off he went! The only feature he wanted in the TV, ended up being broken. He could not get his HD tv. (We discovered this after fitting the nook, and getting a couple guys to help moved the original TV out of it. btw, the original tv weighed about 300 pounds. Not an easy feat!!)

Soooooooooo my better half got this crazy idea to crack the back of the TV open to fix the HD input. I strongly advised him not to do it because if it broke, we would have wasted money. So what does he do? *all together now* He cracks it open!! What is most likely to happen when you open the back of a TV? *ready for this kids?* it breaks.

Like an idiot, I laughed. what else do you do after a half hour argument about NOT cracking the tube open??

So I had the upper hand and he cracked. We are now the proud owners of a BRAND NEW (emphasize the new) Toshiba 37" LCD television. I have vowed never to buy second hand electronics.. ever again.

This is where I can proudly use this phrase... I told you so!!! : P