The LWD

Just as chic as its black counterpart and equally as alluring and versatile, I have to admit I am completely obsessed with the prettiest of Little White Dresses. While I'm not sure I could have ever completely skipped a traditional wedding gown in place for a shorter, sassier version, I was in fact a two-dress bride - and immediately following our first dance changed in this little number below. A girl's gotta somehow shake what her Mama gave her! The lovely lace detailing and scalloped edges seriously gave me butterflies when I first found it online and the stark whiteness of it looked stellar against my tan when I wore it on our honeymoon. But the best, most coolest part of this little gem was scoring it for $75.00 at Lulus. Excuse me while I try to bust out my inner fashionista here...

I have to say I am pro-LWD. What about you?

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Our Reception

After our family and bridal party portraits, Andrew and I headed upstairs to meet our guests for our reception. We didn't have a fancy grand entrance to a picked out song but instead walked in to cheers and clapping from a room full of 97 of our loved ones. We also skipped seating our wedding party at a head table and instead opted for a sweetheart table. The members of our bridal party sat throughout the rooms with friends and significant others while Andrew and I sat in a position to be able to see each and every person who was there with us that day. As we walked into the room we made our way over to cut our cake while there was a bit of sunlight still streaming through the windows. Cutting our cake was sort of odd, as I kept thinking "Oh my gosh, you're cutting a wedding cake, Rhi! On your wedding day, in a wedding dress!" I am so silly sometimes.

Funny story, I was so worried that our incredibly perfect cake would fall apart when we cut into it that I told Andrew we had to cut nice and slow to get the most perfect piece. Except the piece we cut was so tiny - like an awkward looking semi triangle - that when we went to serve it onto our plate we couldn't get it out from the remainder of the tier. Turns out I was trying to serve the piece of cardboard that was in between the top and middle tiers; Andrew had to let me know that the cardboard wasn't going anywhere and I had to put our server underneath the piece of cake instead. I think our 'cutting of the cake' took at least a good seven minutes.

Then when we went in for the customary 'feeding each other cake' move, my loving new husband decided he'd try a bite of our cake himself first, and my goodness I was not impressed with that! I think I may have even sneaked a bite myself too just because he sneaked a bite so I would too. Here's a little series showing what followed next. I love our expressions in the photos!

My Dad said Grace for us, and started it out the same way we've done it for years in our home: "Dear Baby Jesus," and guests couldn't stop laughing. I just love my Dad so much. Without him our reception wouldn't have been as touching, heartfelt, sweet and memorable.

We ate dinner, had a little wine (and by little I mean Andrew had a glass and I drank water; since there was no way I was going to risk drinking too much, forgetting anything and feeling yucky in the morning) and we even were able to make it around to each and every table. Andrew started on one side of the room and I on the other and we each went to every one of the 10 tables to greet and chat with our friends and family. I loved being to do that since our cocktail hour was spent taking photos.

Then we enjoyed some toasts and had the pleasure of listening to my Dad's speech. Which will forever remain as the most special thing he has done for me. It's was really long and involved multiple props most of which were my childhood stuffed animals. But the kicker was the doll-like-stuffed-toy that was found at the Goodwill by my Mother and turned into a mini replica of Andrew thanks to my Grandpa, Dad and Maria, a family friend, who even found Nike running shoes like the ones Apb wears and a plastic golf club that they attached to the doll as the conclusion to the speech. My Dad - and that doll - stole the show. And I was one very appreciative and happy bride. With a tummy that hurt from laughing. The expression on some of our guests faces were simply priceless.

We also wore these buttons...

And we danced and twirled to Van Morrison's Into the Mystic.

And then my Dad and I danced. To My Girl by the Temptations. After all I'm his only daughter and was born in the month of May. 

And Andrew and his mom danced too. To Unforgettable, by Nat King Cole. And I fell in love with him all over again. I am such a lucky girl.

What was the best part of your reception?

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The Dessert Dresser Finale

"I have a dresser I am bringing in, sort of like an actual dresser you might use to put your clothes in," was one of the phrases I consistently explained to people in the months leading up to our wedding. It was so difficult for people to conceive that I was going to use a dresser, of all things, to lovingly house all of the treats we had selected for our guests to take home as favours. I still remember finding the dresser on the side of the road as I drove home from work in January of 2010. How I even noticed it is beyond me yet I knew I had to have it, so I illegally parked my little Jetta on the side of the road that late afternoon, in the dark, with my four ways flashing as I stood next to it (in a sort of 'this-is-mine-way' like anyone was going to take it) while my Dad and very embarrassed mother came to help me load it up. The look on my Mom's face as her and my Dad pulled up to the dresser was pure disgust and I with a hard to miss look of pure joy on my face gleefully climbed back into my car and drove home on cloud 9. 

"What are you going to do with it?" she asked once we put it in the garage. I muttered something along the lines of "You just wait," and then spent hours and hours over the summer months cleaning, priming, painting and decorating this hot mess up and even blogged about it here, here and here. But it wasn't until our wedding day, after I finished setting everything up and had called the salon to tell them I was so very sorry I was an hour behind (true story. humiliating, I know) that I was able to stand back and think to myself, "Not bad, Rhi. Not bad." It surely wasn't Amy Atlas inspired and wasn't the most eloquent of sweet tables but it was perfect. Even more bittersweet was just a few short weeks after the wedding, when I was at work, my Dad sold the dresser at a garage sale. For a dollar. Left over wedding candy not included.

And a few heads up if you're considering having a sweets table, candy bar or dessert spread at your wedding regardless of if you or someone else will be designing and purchasing the products for it. I can't stress this enough but they take time and money. I don't have a total cost of exactly how much our Dessert Dresser cost but it was well over a couple hundred dollars just for the cost of the candy and treats. Add in the Sweet Love sign from here, the paint and wallpaper for the dresser revamp, the gift bags, the containers and then the time it took to source out everything, order, pick up, and set up the day of and you have yourself a little bit of a challenge. Nevertheless, guests loved our little work of art, said they had seen nothing like it before and watching people fill up the little Thank You bags I had so lovingly made myself was really a highlight of the day. A ginormous thank you to my Dad for lugging it over to our venue the morning of and to my three girlfriends who helped me carry each and every jar in from the car to upstairs.

{The Details}

Jelly Bellies - Unless your guests love Jelly Beans, skip them. They are pricey and no one eats them.

Chocolate Malt Balls - These go a really long way and are very affordable. From the Bulk Barn.

Devils Food Cake Pops - A bit expensive but a crowd favourite and the first treat to disappear, get them here.

Multi-coloured Sweettarts - I bought close to twenty rolls from the corner store and they were perfect for the hardcore candy lovers.

Orange Flavoured Truffles - Guests loved these and my Mother in Law still talks about them, from Lakeshore Pastry.

Mini Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies - These were much smaller than I expected but still cute. The etsy seller is no longer active.

Cookies and Cream Mini Cupcakes - I had to include cupcakes. After all it said so on our Save the Dates. From Sweetness Bakery.

Raspberry and Vanilla Bean Macarons - Another crowd fave; once guests actually came around to trying one, via

Raspberry filled Chocolates - Absolutely melt-in-your mouth genuine Belgium chocolate. A little pricey but well worth the money.

Rock candy swizzle sticks - So hard to find when you look for these two days before. But they added a little fanciness to the table.

Handmade Maple Marshmallows - Unique and added a bit of patriotism to our set up. Delicious and purchased from this seller.

Chocolate-Dipped Oreos with Espresso Crystals - I made them myself at home the day before. Time consuming, sure, but very easy.

And last but not least a photo of the bags I made myself for the guests to fill up. The tutorial to make them can be found here. Can I get three cheers for a sweets set up? P.S. I know some of you would like to cyber punch me right in the face right now but please would you go vote over at the Lovelies for me if you haven't already? There are a few days left to vote and my fierce competitive streak has seemed to get the best of me! Comments and facebook likes both count as votes and I truly appreciate all of the love lots of you have shown already. I adore you all xo

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Our Wedding Details {Part II}

If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know I am obsessed with details. Completely and utterly infatuated with the lovely little things that make a wedding or event so special. I became so involved and wrapped up in the creation of the details for our day that on more than one occasion, I ended up placing less importance on other elements to our big day like our menu, officiant, rehearsal dinner and so forth (not that these things weren't important it's just that the other crafty items were much more my thing and thus more interesting and exciting. Yeah yeah my priorities weren't exactly straight). 

A few days after our wedding while I tanning, or rather frying, my poor skin in the Bahamian sun I got to thinking about our wedding details. And I felt like perhaps I hadn't added enough. There were a few different projects and vintage pieces I had completely forgotten about in the whirlwind, I mean in the days leading up to the wedding and as a result were left behind at home. I kept asking myself "Did everything look alright?" "Did I infuse enough Andrew-and-Rhiannon-are-in-love-ness into our day?" "Were my efforts to make our wedding special evident to our guests?" I wasn't quite sure then. But now, thankfully I'm sure. Our wedding was uniquely ours and I feel so proud of everything I created.

I love that we bought our vases from the Dollar Store and used two different colours of lace to spruce them up a bit. This was a really easy and fun project for Andrew and I to do together and saved us a ton of money since we didn't have to rent or buy vases direct from the florist. For those of you who have asked or may have ended up asking eventually the flowers used in our centerpieces were pale purple-pink stock, Belles of Ireland, ivory garden and Vandela roses, and pale pink lisianthus. I think our florist also threw in a few pale yellow roses which wasn't what was planned but out centerpieces looked beautiful so I'm not complaining. Our table numbers were vellum and thanks to the tea light beneath them, during dinner really cast a beautiful glow throughout the small dining room.

Our cake I discussed in this post and really I can't say enough great things about it. Luckily for us the chargers, linens and chair covers were included with the caterer who choose. My gray nail polish is an Essie colour and a hue I always wear on my nails. It matched the sash on my gown. The Love mugs from Anthropologie were one of my favourite details since they were the one thing we had as the focal point to our sweetheart table. And I can promise you that when I bought the mugs, it wasn't an overdone wedding trend yet :) It seems like every wedding recently has their share of Anthropologie monogrammed mugs! 

{The Details}

Balloons - online balloon depot

Our Cake - I Do Wedding Cakes

Cake stand - HomeSense Canada

Love mugs - Anthropologie online

Macaroons - Lemon Tree Patisserie

Bride and Groom signs - lilmissi on Etsy

Vellum table numbers - iLUMIEnate on Etsy

Team Bride and Groom Buttons - repchi on Etsy

Cake server and knife - (a gift from my bridal shower) Bowring

He Said She Said cards - designed by me, printed by Papertalk Press

Lace and ribbon and centerpiece vases - Fabricland and the Dollar Store

How did you (or do you plan to) infuse personality and uniqueness into your wedding day?

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Our Wedding Details {Part I}

I really wanted to have a vintage vibe to our wedding and throughout the majority of the planning process did my best to stick to this vision. Yet, now that I've looked back on our photos I'm not sure if the whole vintage theme really fits the description of our day. To be honest, I'm not sure what description does. We had so many vintage colours incorporated into our day like pale greens, muted blues, soft oranges and dusty pinks. We had our fair share of weathered wood, framed chalkboards, lace and mason jars decorating our venue. But we also had bow ties, tuxes, a little sparkle, a little sass and a lot of sophistication. Essentially we had wedding style that sort of evolved into its own. If you had to classify our wedding into a category what would you go with? I'd love some suggestions!

Our programs from the ever-so-fabulous Michelle at Papertalk Press, sat in a teal crate my Mom keeps her magazines in at home. An old shutter I scored, was spray painted white and included a sign letting the ladies know that yes indeed there were flip flops for their tired dancing feet. The girls loved it - and me - for thinking of them and every single pair was gone before the dancing even started. The pink drink flags were the result of a quick DIY craft night and tied in with the gray and white straws which gave guests a couple different ways to "Drink in Style" as I liked to call it. The desk drawer I scored for 50 cents at a reuse center was painted by yours truly, re-knobbed and served as the official flip flop carrier.

You may remember this project and you may have also seen it on Ruffled's blog. I adored our seating chart and know that our guests thought it was a pretty nontraditional way of letting them know what table they were sitting at. Creating this structure and hand writing all of the shipping labels truly was a labour of love and team effort between my sweet neighbor Matt and I, but well worth the effort. Below is our signature drink sign written on one of the framed chalkboards I made. Mine was called the Perfect 10 and was a peachy concoction garnished with a candy peach ring. I scored a perfect 10.0 in college my senior year on the gymnastics team, hence the name for my drink. Andrew's drink was called The 19th Hole and was a mint flavoured champagne drink. Andrew has a deep passion and love for golf as does his Dad, which is how he created the name for his. 

When guests arrived to the ceremony location they were greeted with the above sign sitting on a Secretaries desk that I had painted and finished in a vintage white wash. In addition to to the teal crate of programs for them to take, we had a jar of pin buttons available for all of our guests, that read Team Bride and Team Groom. It was tons of fun seeing what button every guest decided to wear but I have to admit there were far more Team Groom buttons left in the jar at the end of the night :)

Instead of a traditional guest book we wanted something we could display in our home and always be able to easily look at. We had one of our favourite engagement photos made into a canvas and then had guests sign the canvas with words or encouragement and love. It now serves as the main focal point on our living room wall and beside it is the framed Love Illustrated artwork I gave to Apb for Christmas. If I ever had to save anything from our home, I'd go for the canvas first. It's incredibly special to us both. Here's a shot of the signed canvas as it sits in our little apartment now. Right along my 'popped up' leg is my Mom's note to Apb and I and it reads "So proud to call you both mine. Love Mom" I heart that so much and I'd say about once or twice every other day I find myself standing in front of the canvas reading the sweet and kind notes of love.

{The Details}

Shipping Tags - Staples

Girl's flipflops - Old Navy

Apothecary jars - HomeGoods

Custom canvas - Gallery Direct

Custom Coasters - My Own Labels

Birdcage card holder - Save on Crafts

Gray and White Straws - Can Do Chefs

And just to prove that you can't possibly do it all yourself: since I foolishly decided to run around all morning setting things up and directing vendors where to go, I actually forgot, to put Sharpie pens in the milk glass vases (in case your wondering why the two vases are sitting there empty). It wasn't until after the ceremony that my sweet Dad told me the pens weren't there and guests were wondering what to use to leave a note! Thankfully he went to my car for me to get the pens so guests could start signing away. 

Stay tuned for so many more posts like part II of our wedding details, the recap on our Dessert Dresser, all of the yummy bridal party portraits and of course the recap from our reception. Oh and if you haven't already won't you please please please vote for this little blog over at The Lovelies? I truly appreciate everyone's unwavering support and love and big hugs to all of you who have stood behind me. Also, I just wanted to let you all know that I've absolutely adored sharing our wedding with you this week as it's made me feel like I've gotten to celebrate a second wedding this time with all of my blog readers as the guest list. Hopefully all of the RBS+APB wedding overload has been somewhat enjoyable and useful for both the married, engaged and pretty-obsessed friends out there. Much love xo

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Our Wedding Ceremony

I'm not sure I can accurately describe what it's like to get married. And I don't mean the entire experience of having a relationship, planning a wedding, and doing things that "married" folk typically do. But walking down the center of a crowd that has seemingly parted for you, sharing your deepest feelings in front of your loved ones, committing yourself for the rest of your life to someone who still gives you butterflies; it's an out of body experience to really submerge yourself in the act of getting married. I was sure I knew what to expect and feel when I walked down the aisle towards Andrew but nothing could have ever prepared me for what I felt when I finally locked my gaze into his gorgeous blue eyes. So cheesy but hey this chick tells it like it is. And his eyes really are that blue.

I adore these photos of my Dad and I walking down the aisle together. The plan was to hold hands, not link arms, but I think he couldn't help but hold on with his other hand. And that was perfectly fine with me. I've never seen my Dad look so proud or happy nor have I ever been so proud to call him my Dad. I especially love the third photo from the top; one the righthand side is my college gymnastics coach Kathie, peering down at what looks like to be the back of my gown. If anyone has seen me at my complete worst and watched me evolve into the woman I am, it would be her. On the left handside of the photo, is my Dad nudging my brother Josh halfway through our walk together. It was a cute little way to let him know we love him. And that we could see him sitting in his aisle seat with his cute little smile-smirk. I love you guys so much and am entirely thankful I've been blessed with you as family members.

Our ceremony was special to us as we completely built it based on what represented us as a couple. We left out traditional ceremony readings and long winded verses and instead included a poem, kind-hearted and good-natured advice from our officiant and we exchanged personal, handwritten vows. Incorporating both of our Moms and all of our guests into the ceremony was equally important, so we asked our officiant if we could put a twist on the standard ring ceremony. Andrew's sister and her husband took our bands and walked them to the back of the room. One side of the room was handed my band and the other was given Andrew's. The guests were asked to pass the rings along and bless it with words and love before passing it on to the next person. Once the rings ended up at the front our moms came forward and passed the 'blessed rings' to our officiant to give to us. We made sure to do this during the signing our of license so guests wouldn't feel restless or bored; it worked perfectly and was one of my favourite parts of the day.

My sweet girlfriend and one of the people I've become closest to in just the past few years did a reading near the end of our ceremony. It was important for me to include her in the most meaningful part of our celebration. She read a Louise Cuddon poem called "I'll Be There For You," and did it perfectly; I could tell she had practiced and practiced. I found myself smiling bigger and bigger which each line she read as many of the things in the poem had actually happened during Andrew and I's five years of dating. A few guests laughed at specific points in the poem and it was the perfect way to wrap up our ceremony before the declaration of husband and wife.

{The Details}

the wedding party walked down the aisle to: Nothing Fancy by David Barnes

the processional: Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson (love)

first kiss as husband and wife: You Are The Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne
vows: Personal. We wrote them ourselves and kept them private until the ceremony. Mine are here.

readings: Love is Patient, Love is Kind (Andrew's pick) and "I'll Be There For You" by Louise Cuddon (mine)

Andrew I loved marrying you!

What was the best part of your wedding ceremony? 

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Our Balloon Release

Throughout our entire engagement, there was one thing that always stood out in the back of my mind. Regardless of where, when and how we would get and be married, it was important to somehow pay tribute to my sweet Nan; she was one of the most important people in my life and losing her is still something I often struggle with emotionally. The problem however, was finding a way to incorporate her into our celebration in a private and meaningful way. I needed something that was equally as special as she was. Something just as close to the heart as she was to mine. One day during endless thoughts of all things wedding, it came to my mind.

Those two giant peachy balloons weren't just props for pretty pictures but were instead our way of including Nan and her spirit into our wedding. When she passed away in May of 2008, it was only two days before my birthday. In lieu of a funeral we had a little get together at my Grandpa's house where we ate food, shared memorable stories about Nan and as a symbolic nod to her life, we released thirty pink balloons into the heavens; each balloon carrying a handwritten note from the friends and family that had gathered in her honour. I remember saying a few words to the group of forty plus people that had stood in the backyard, before we each let go of our notes. And as soon as released our ribbons, all at once the balloons clustered together into the clouds. One giant pink cluster bright against the blue sky. We watched in silence until the cluster of pink turned into a colourless speck and we stood still until that colourless speck was no longer in view. I was the last to leave the backyard that day.

On September 24th, there weren't any notes sent up into the sky via helium filled balloons. But instead, I stood in front of the man I was about to marry, and whispered a few unrehearsed words that came from both my heart and from the most tender part of my soul. Andrew listened patiently. He told me he missed her too. And I think I let one single tear slide down my cheek just before I looked up to catch a few rays of sunlight finally shining through those rain clouds that had forced our wedding inside. Our guest list was finally complete.

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Our First Look {Part II}

These series of First Look photos are some of my favourtites from our wedding day. When our gallery of images was first posted online, I skimmed through the hundreds of proofs anxiously clicking through each page trying to soak it all in. Because of the size of the thumbnails, I was never really able to see the expressions and detail captured in each and every photo. Yet, when I took the time to really look through each image individually, and when I was able to study our facial expressions through each experience on that day, I could see how much emotion was in each shot. Seeing Andrew and I's expressions upon seeing one another for the first time, watching our expressions change throughout the entire experience, and seeing his expression when he opened his gift are truly so special to me. I've seen that face below only a few times in the five plus years I've known this man and I have to say I love it. Surprising and giving Andrew things to show him how much he means to me is one of my favourite things to do.

P.S. For anyone who is wondering, seeing Andrew before the ceremony did not take away from the excitement and experience of 'walking down the aisle' towards him. In actuality, if anything the first look helped me turn any feelings of nervousness and anxiousness from the whirlwind of that day into a complete sense of excitement that simply radiated from me as my Dad and I walked down the aisle. A lot of brides fear first looks as they think it will take away from that life changing experience when you start your walk. I can promise you that's not the case but to be fair, first looks aren't for everyone and I understand that. I just wanted to explain my personal experience!

What about you guys? Are you for or against the idea of a first look? Here is Part I of our First Look!

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Our First Look {Part I}

Andrew and I decided to do a first look. Although we never really discussed making this decision we just sort of fit it into our timeline that day. My thoughts were not only will a first look provide our photographer with a chance to get some photos of just the two of us, but having that time alone with Andrew would be unforgettable, meaningful and special all neatly bundled up into one pretty package; and it was. I request for him to have my bouquet in hand so when he turned around we could trade off and I could gift him with a custom engraved watch I had purchased for him as a surprise wedding gift. As I tiptoed up to him on the terrace of our venue, I felt a type of nervousness, excitement and quietness in my heart and belly that I'm not sure I have ever felt before. I knew all of our guests were inside peering out the various windows and doors anxiously awaiting Andrew's expression once he turned around, but the experience of seeing my groom for the first time that day is complete indescribable. Funny enough, as soon as Andrew turned around all I remember saying is "Hi" in a really low whisper, like I was afraid someone would hear us and impose in on our private little moment. As if projecting my voice any louder would make the moment seem any less perfect than it was. For the first few minutes we stood there unable to look at anything else around us, conversing back in forth in quiet whispers remembering to breath and let it all soak in. I remember shaking a little too. Shaking with anticipation as I told myself over and over again, 'This is your wedding day!' And just like that I knew I was the luckiest girl alive.

Stay tuned for Part II this afternoon!

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Getting Ready {The Guys}

It was around 3:00 pm the afternoon of our wedding when one of my groomsmen called my cell phone to ask where I was. I told him I was in my room getting ready but the truth was I was up there trying to calm down my nerves. My nerves weren't kicking in because I wasn't ready to get married, but the sheer fact that this was the biggest day of my life was cause for some pretty anxious feelings. This would finally be the moment I'd see all of my wife's hard work come together; where we could finally celebrate being husband and wife with our friends and family (and let's just say that I was involved in some aspects of the planning process but it was her amazing taste and talents that put most of our wedding together).

When I hung up the phone with my groomsmen, I headed downstairs where surprise, surprise all of my friends where waiting there for me with beers in hand and a well-stocked cooler (just for the record, I'm not much of a drinker so it was all for these guys!) Windows rolled down and music blasting we all drove over to the wedding venue in my friend's Denali. The room, which we called our 'man cave' was something you'd expect Hugh Hefner to be hanging around in. No, it wasn't filled with Playboy bunnies but the walls were floor to ceiling dark wood, the fire place was blazing, stacks of books covered the walls and antique furniture sat throughout the room. We all grouped together and shared stories from our college days and the night before when all of my friends decided to party until the early morning hours. 

While my good friend Dave helped me with my boutonniere, I figured it was time for all of the guys to open the gifts I had purchased for them. I decided that a traditional flask that most guys seem to give as gifts to their attendants didn't quite represent our lifestyles. After all we aren't college kids trying to sneak booze into football games anymore! I had found a great website that sold wine kits with personalized wood boxes, stainless steel bottle openers and wine stoppers and knew it would be perfect for my friends.

My amazing wife wrapped all of the guy's gifts for me in this blue wrapping paper, the night before the wedding and bought each of us a small individual bottle of Crown Royal. When we got to the groom's suite that afternoon all of the gifts and little bottles were waiting for us guys. We used the Crown Royal to make one last toast before we headed out for photos.

I also gifted my Dad, who is a watch aficionado, with a great black leather watch similar to the one I bought myself for the wedding. I made a small speech thanking my Dad for always being there for me, and we shared a few sentimental moments together right before I received word that it was time for the first look. As I made my way out the the venue's terrace, I faced the water waiting for my wife to arrive. I thought back at how amazing she is and how lucky I am to have her and before I knew it, there was a little tap on my butt and a beautiful voice said "Hi".

Stop by tomorrow morning for photos of our first look and how we really felt about seeing one another before the ceremony! To read about what the girls were doing upstairs to get ready, check out this post here.

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Getting Ready {The Girls}

My dress. Le sigh.

After an incredibly busy and somewhat stressful morning the day of our wedding, I was more than happy to finally sit down, champagne glass in hand, make up brushes doing their thing across my cheeks. As I sat there eyes closed, face being transformed, I tried not to let my mind go a mile a minute about the things that were happening. People were in and out of the bridal suite with questions for me, my bridesmaids were running around helping Amanda grab different details for photos, I had my girls open their gifts from me and Andrew's mom and sister even popped in once my gown was on to see how I was feeling. Although everything was such a whirlwind that day, I loved being with my girlfriends and my Mom during that hour of girly prep time; there was a sweetness in the room and a sense of excitement that only a bunch of females could possibly create on an afternoon of someone getting married.

{The Details} My wedding gown was Diana by Enzoani and was my one huge wedding splurge. I actually found the dress almost a year and a half before our wedding via a bridal magazine and remember thinking how much I loved the gown and how unique the floral sash was; how could I possibly find out where this dress was being sold? Fast forward exactly one year before our wedding date and a friend called to tell me that the dress, my dress, was in fact downtown in my hometown's bridal shop's window. It was meant to be. I went that day by myself to the salon, made them take it off the mannequin, tried it on, knew it was the one. Thanks to my incredible Dad we had the gown paid for within a week. I had the lace straps removed as I thought the straps made me look shorter than I really am (I am 5'1). My veil was a fingertip lace-trimmed beauty that was a last minute purchase when I realized I loved it much more than the bubble veil I previously purchased. My shoes were ivory t-strap heels with a ruffle down the front of each shoe. Except last minute I changed my mind and decided to wear a pair of old silver-gray closed toe shoes that in my mind were more comfortable and competed less with the detail on my gown. My earrings were from a kiosk in the mall and they cost $30.00. In an effort to not compete with my wedding rings and my dress. I opted to not wear any other jewelry or accessories. 

My plain old shoes. Cost me $45.00 when I originally bought them a few years ago.

Here I am helping my gorgeous Mom get in her beautiful purple-hued dress. Her gown is actually a Jessica McClintock wedding gown that's made in a purple as well as a white. She scored it for under $100.00 at Neimans and it fit her spunky and fun-loving personality to a t. Plus she worked very hard to lose a lot of weight in the months leading up to the wedding so having a gown to show off her hard work was definitely a necessity :)

I found the mismatched Mason jars for the bouquets at a vintage flea market and used shipping tags to label each vase for each one of my four bridesmaids. Their bouquets consisted of ivory Vandela roses and white ranunculus tied with champagne coloured ribbon and ivory lace. My bouquet was made with the same flowers but also included my favourite, a few cream-hued garden roses. To add a little sass and tie in with the sash on my gown I bought black satin ribbon and a thick banded lace to have tied around my bouquet. In memory of my Nan I had a silver vintage hummingbird pin added to the stems of my flowers. In this post I talked about how I asked my Mom to be the only one who helped me get my dress on; and how it was one of the best decisions I made that day. I then had my girlfriend Emily help tie my sash and my girlfriends Jenna and Melissa help me fasten my veil into my hair. The bridesmaids wore pearl earrings, pearl bangles, cocktails rings I gave them as gifts and black cotton halter dresses from J. Crew which were on sale for $99.00. I asked each girl to wear a pair of black shoes that they loved most and that they would be comfortable in. I didn't want things to feel stuffy, over-done or too traditional. And I wanted my girls to have dresses they could and would wear again. 

My sweet Dad seeing me for the first time that day all dressed up as a bride. I just adore him! And come back later this afternoon to check out a post written by Andrew. He talks all about what dudes do to get ready for a wedding and surprisingly it turns out they do a lot of the same things us chicks do too :)

What was your favourite part of getting ready on your big day?

P.S. If you haven't would you please be so kind as to vote for me over on The Lovelies?! 

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Our Wedding Featured on Style Me Pretty

This just happened. And I am stuck wondering if this week is even is even happening to me. I am so overjoyed that I can finally show off our beautiful wedding photos from Amanda Wilcher, so go on over and check it all out and if you don't mind (I am such a pain in the butt since I asked you to do this exact same thing on Monday!) leave a comment. But promise me, pretty please, you'll come back next week to read all of the recaps I've done. Because I have an entire week planned of recaps full of photos that aren't in the SMP gallery and stories I've been dying to tell you all since the day it all happened! Thank you everyone for your sweet words and comments that have plastered a permanent goofy smile on my face. I am sending out one huge ginormous bear hug to each and every one of you. Happy Friday xo

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Wedding Do's {Things I Did Right}

Since I have gotten all of my wedding photos back, have returned from the honeymoon and have had close to four months to reflect on our big day (gosh how time flies!) I thought a list of some of the things I am happy we did wedding-wise would help guide other brides-to-be in their planning stages. This post doesn't include any recaps or summaries of the vendors we hired or services we paid for but instead are things that I believe most brides-to-be can benefit from even if they only consider the decisions I made. Also this list is strictly based off of my preferences and I do understand not every single chick out there will agree with me! Such is life my blogettes :)

{number one} The best mutual decision Andrew and I made was having a smaller guest list and thus an intimate and in my opinion, more meaningful celebration of our love. The guest list was no doubt one of the hardest things the two of us tried to create (especially since we did it over the phone together). But once we put our minds to it and figured out who was important in our lives and who we'd wanted to share our day with, we managed to come up with a concise list of people to invite. If I could get married all over again, I'd like to say I'd make the guest list even smaller but then I'd be leaving people out, people would have to come to the wedding dateless, and so forth. Bottom line; I am a sucker for a small wedding and intimate celebration. Plus, thanks to the small guest list and item number two on this list, I was able to enjoy and finish my dinner and make it around to every single guest for more than just a few minutes.

{number two} After weeks of trying to convince Apb that we needed to have a sweetheart table rather than a massively long head table, I'm glad I came out on top with that battle (sorry Bear). Our wedding venue was very unique in the sense that the bar, dance floor, and dining area were all separate from one another. What used to be the upstairs bedrooms in Paletta Mansion is now converted into an intimate and cozy dining area for a maximum of 10 round tables. Uhm? I couldn't even imagine putting a table in there to fit both of us and our entire bridal party. And our attendants dates? Where would they go? Having a table for the two of us ensured we would enjoy our meal, made time for the two of us to speak to one another with limited interruptions and actually was the only time during the entire day where I was really able to sit back and let it all soak it. This was definitely one of the best choices we made emotionally, aesthetically and logistics-wise. Here's our little table, with our adorable (and affordable!) mugs centerpiece before silver and glassware and lace covered votives were placed out.

{number three} I didn't have a Maid of Honour and Andrew didn't have a Best Man. To make a long story short, at first I was disappointed at the thought of not handing over such a title to one of my girlfriends. But the more I thought about it, especially now looking back on things, I felt terrible doing what felt like rating or ranking my girlfriends. I didn't want to choose who would be seen in guest's eyes as my 'closest, bestest, nicest, known-the-longest' girlfriend and instead had four people who matched this description stand up with me. I must say however, I have nothing against brides and grooms who select MOHs and Best Mans this just happened to be the way Andrew and I did things. We are so blessed to have been surrounded by so many kind, loving and special people that day.

{number four} Asking my Mom to help me get into my gown rather than have a group of people fussing and picking over the bustle, buttons and so forth on my dress, was one of my favourite decisions. My Mom didn't play a huge part in the planning process of our wedding so I knew asking her to help with this task would be a special moment between the two of us and would thus provide an opportunity for some memorable photos. I then asked one bridesmaid to help with my sash and another to assist with my veil. This photo is one of the many of my Mom helping me get my dress done up and I will be forever grateful for it because it makes me heart feel so happy. I love you Mom.

{number five} One thing that didn't seem like a wise choice at the time but my goodness are we ever thankful for now, is we didn't charge or use credit for any of our wedding purchases. Because of this we might have not made room for a fancy band, videographer, Chiavari chairs (my goodness I wanted them so bad), letterpress invitations, custom linens, expensive accessories (my earrings were $25.00), cocktail hour entertainment, out of season florals, a limo or even a fancy getaway experience. However, we went away on our honeymoon to the Bahamas with a sense of accomplishment rather than a sense of dread of coming home to a stack of bills we'd have to figure out how to pay off. That was one of the best feelings returning home as a newlywed; started a new chapter with a clean slate.

{number six} One of the things that was truly the most memorable and special during our wedding day was our ceremony. Rather than follow a traditional ceremony structure, Andrew and I built our ceremony from the ground up, carefully selecting components that best represented him, me and us as a couple. We wrote our own vows, only included elements that were deemed meaningful (rather than 'expected'), honoured Andrew's sister and one of my best friends by having them each do a reading (Andrew picked a scripture, I selected a poem) and we included both our Mothers and all 93 of our wedding guests by having a unique ring ritual where everyone blessed our bands as they were passed around the room. I will give a more in-depth recap of the ceremony in the future but in the meantime you can check out my vows here. I think there was a fair share of laughter and tears in the room that day since our 30-minute ceremony was a complete reflection of who Apb and I are as individuals and as a couple - a little quirky and very much in love. Here I am reading over my vows as I get my make up done.

What elements from your wedding, the planning process and the end result are you most proud of? Looking back is there anything you did that still makes you feel confident and happy in your decision? Stay tuned for a list of the things I would have done slightly different too, have a lovely night loves! xo

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Don't Compare It's the Road to Madness - Part II

Last night was a rough one. No, nothing happened to me, everything is OK, I am healthy, safe and happy. It's just that I came across this specific wedding. This really gorgeous Californian wedding where I swear on my life the floral bill probably cost the same as our entire venue. Judging from the photos the bride and groom had a pretty high end swanky wedding and well, I felt sad and slightly jealous. Actually, I felt defeated. Because our wedding didn't quite measure up. Here I am trying to break into the world as a wedding planner and it's as if my own wedding day was sort of a let down in the aesthetics departments.

As a bride-to-be, some of us spends years, months, and weeks trying to imagine and pin-point how we are going to feel when we slip on our wedding gown and go from bride-to-be to bride. We imagine feeling pretty, we imagine feeling the same emotions that we get when we look at lovely photos. We imagine feeling lots of different things depending on the type of woman we are; sexy, cute, happy, sophisticated, gorgeous, complete, dreamy, your best. We imagine our backyards, our ballrooms, our art galleries, our mansions being turned into these romantic paradises nothing short of looking like the photos we've been staring at since we started our inspiration folders upon our engagement. We picture custom candy bars, live bands, paper poms, phootbooths with little heart shaped chalkboards; we imagine all of these things and manage to scheme up all of these perfect and completely personalized expectations. Then in such a short amount of time we cross our fingers and hope we can fulfill them within a few short hours. We go through the emotional experience of becoming married hoping to feel something physical that we've schemed up through mental expectations. That was such a deep sentence, wasn't it?

I'm a Mrs now. No longer a bride-to-be or bride. No need to tell people "I'm getting married in 2 months!" And to be completely honest with everyone, I feel a little down I'm no longer a yet-to-be. Because this means I have to move on and accept my wedding day as is. Some days are really easy to do so. Some days, like last night, are extremely hard for someone such as myself (perfectionist, lover-of-all-gorgeous-things, aspiring wedding stylist) to do so. I think to myself that I could have been a better bride, I could have picked prettier florals, I should have picked this, that and all of those. I should have worked harder while I was in school to save up more money for that vendor, or that pair of shoes. I should have thought things over more, hired a planner, asked for help. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. It's the same little phrase my sweet and supportive husband keeps reciting to me over the phone every time I bring up the I'm-feeling-bummed-about-our-wedding-conversation. Bless his heart, I love him.

Yet at the time of planning our wedding, everything felt so right. We did what we could afford. We paid every single bill upfront without using credit. We had a fabulous day. We were surrounded by love and happiness and support. We got married! The funny thing that gets me about wedding blogs, features and all the pretty pink fluff in the blogosphere is no one ever really considers the money that goes into planning and creating the majority of these gorgeous affairs. Time and time again this is one of the main reasons I end up appreciating our own special day, because we did what we could financially to have our day be not only beautiful but special to us as a couple coming together as one. When you add in videographers for $5,000, florists for $3,000, a band for another $2,000 and custom linens, draping, lighting and styling for x, y and z amounts, well thank you to the couples who fit this bill; your weddings are gorgeous and such a treat to look at. For the rest of us married folk, you know, the ones who ran around like a nutcase decorating their venue the day of because paying someone to do it wasn't feasible, the ones who did their own makeup and hair to save a bit of money, the ones who used carnations in the centerpieces because peonies weren't in the budget, your weddings are gorgeous too. Because they are yours and that's what makes them so darn special.

Andrew always asks me at the end of our discussions if I truly want to be a wedding planner and stylist. It seems to him, to be a bit torturous for me to be swarmed with gorgeous images of weddings day in and out, when I feel so 'deprived' of such beauty of our big day (sounds way more dramatic than it really is, I promise). Sometimes it is hard. It's the whole I want what she's got thing. And for split second I feel a bit of dread like what have I gotten myself into? But then I think of how special I can make a bride's day be for her, I imagine the things I could create for her so that when she does walk into her reception she feels blown away by the decor, I visualize a bride's face lighting up when I tell her this flower is just as pretty as that. And I feel happy because I have a marriage and the rest of my life to have days with my husband that are far greater than the day we became husband and wife.

Love you Apb. Thanks for marrying me :)

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Our Wedding Day, From the Groom

When my new wife asked me to write my personal perspective on our wedding day for her I was curious as to why. Yet, quickly I found out that this would end up being a part of her amazing blog. While I don't claim to be a blogger, designer or even a very creative person, one of the reasons I love Rhiannon is because she is my missing half. Divulging from the traditional 'man-view' of weddings I'd love to share my true feelings on our wedding.

When we first started our adventure into wedding planning, I told Rhiannon there was only one thing I wanted control of and that was the food. I understand approximately 99% of the people who read this blog are women, and I can reassure you that it's next to impossible for a man to get excited about the little things during the wedding planning process. And that's why I left most of the planning up to Rhiannon and thank goodness I did because I can't even imagine what our big day would have looked like had I of been the one making all of the decisions.

Sure, I agree with Rhiannon. Not everything was perfect. But I couldn't have imagined our wedding being anything better, especially considering out budget and available resources. When I first arrived at our venue with all of my friends, the first thing I wanted to see was the dining room as this was the center point of my wife's hard work. I can remember walking up the stairs and as soon as I turned to the right, I noticed our candy bar. Considering how much web searching Rhiannon does you can imagine I've seen my fair share of candy buffets. Yet in my opinion ours was the absolute best. It wasn't the largest, and it didn't have the most expensive treats, but it was us and it was perfect.

I walked into the dining room with one of my groomsmen where we both stood in awe of the perfect table settings and flowers. I can admit I'm not a flower kind of guy and when my wife asks me if I like a certain kind of flower, I tend to just say "Yes babe they are beautiful," even though I have no idea what she's talking about (sorry Tiny!). But I can confidently say I thought the flower selection and arrangements were just perfect.

As you heard, the food that we were provided was different than what we originally tasted. But I am proud to say that most people finished each and every last bite and that included my Dad who informed me after the dinner that the chicken was 'kick a**!'. One of my fave parts of our dinner service was actually the dessert; a rich chocolate mousse covered in chocolate and finished with a raspberry sauce that I honestly could have eaten two or three of. And we still had our amazing cake to eat after that!

Everything that night seemed to blend together. I wish we could have slowed things down to fully enjoy every last minute. Except looking back on the entire night, I am so proud of my wife's hard work and dedication to everything. Sure it rained a bit, Rhiannon was kind of stressed out the morning of, she lost her camera battery that day, we left a few things to the last minute, and some of my friends got a tad out of hand thanks to the numerous rounds of shots at the bar, but in the end I wouldn't have changed a thing. Because in the words of my beautiful new wife our day was 'completely and perfectly ours.'

In case you're wondering, the best part of the entire day was our first look. Being able to see my wife dressed up in her beautiful gown will always stay with me as one of the most special and beautiful moments of my life. You rocked that gown babe and may I say you looked out of this world. I love you.

Could I get any luckier? I am entirely blessed to have married the guy who wrote the above for obvious reasons. And just to keep you on the edge of your seat, above is a photo from Amanda of our first kiss as husband and wife. A moment in time I will never ever let escape my mind. Love you more than words xo

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