cute vases

I just about lost the link to this but I managed to track it down from How About Orange. I'm hoping to do some cute DIY and this might be one of them!

a few things are done!

The holiday break let me check some items off my wedding "to-do" list:

• Bridesmaid dresses have been ordered!
• Wedding gowns have been tried on and I'm deciding between 4 beautiful options!
• And today I picked up some of the lighting for our venue!

new styles

Every now and then I re-visit checking out bridesmaid dresses, and since its starting to get closer to July I should probably avoid putting it off much longer. The Dessy group has some new styles that are very pretty. And the prices are pretty good too - I tried to pick out ones on the lower side. The colour is mocha with an ivory trim, rather Birch Bark-esque. Flowers will be white/green and the wedding being outside means lots of green as well, so hopefully this colour combo won't seem bland.

Top left to right:
1)Dessy Style 6524 2)Aftersix Style 6554 3)Alfred Angelo Style D416

Bottom left to right:
1)Dessy Style 2750 2)Dessy Style 2752IV 3) Dessy Style 2717

pretty hair

Love this style. Very pretty and perfect for summer.

mmmmm

It's been a while since I've posted and that's because there's not too much going on with our wedding planning right now. The save-the-dates went out, with just a few more to hand deliver. In the meantime MammaB has been making delicious test cakes each time we see her. Yum! Rather than a traditional cake we're going to have a few different ones.

a new found love

I am completely in love with Gocco. What's that? The best little screenprinting device I have ever laid hands on and thanks to my Pig for introducing me to fun, its my new fav thing. My first project was our Save-the-Dates, which I've been working away at this week. No sneak peek yet... they'll be going out in the mail by next week.

what a way to go!

I haven't even bought my dress yet but I have to say, if I can bear to trash it after the wedding - this would be the way! I've been contemplating how to involve my gorgeous 3rd B in some wedding shots and, almost any way you cut it, it inevitably involves trashing the dress... so why not just go for it all out? I think its great and I think my B-equine would too (in a less cowboy more equestrian fashion, of course).

hands-free bridal shopping

Round one of the dress search is complete! Checked out some over-priced hometown stores on the weekend to get started in the crusade to find "the one". Fantastic first experience even if it didn't end in a purchase.

david's dresses

These dresses are from David's Bridal. There's a store in Duluth. Myself + 1 Lady will be there in October. Prices are good - $135 US. I like the mix of styles for the mix of girls. Easiest option?

dresses of a different shade

Oh the bridesmaid dress dilemma... so many options, such a tough choice. A bride featured on Little White Book decided on a scheme that I think looks absolutely fabulous, allows each attendant to choose their own attire, and allows attendants to buy from wherever they like at whatever cost they choose. Kind of seems to make sense I think. Check out the planning and the outcome below.

the look of love

Here it is: visions of our wedding that have been dancing in my head! A trip out to our venue this week had me very inspired and super excited for the gigantic and fun party we'll be having next year, aka our wedding! I think I'm researched out now and am pumped to get going on the actual "doing" of making this all happen.

back to solids

I'm such a flip-flop-er, I know: prints, no solids, no prints! Thank goodness for my bridesmaids its all just empty ramblings since the real dress hunt has not yet begun. I'll wait to check out dresses in Minnesota come October's Tegan & Sara concert. {Oh Tegan & Sara, how I love you so!} Back to the dresses, this one is super cute AND unbelievably affordable. Its shocking actually... its only $39US from Newport News. This poor model's shoes are hideous but the dress is oh so pretty!


While in the US in the fall I plan on checking out Watters and Davids. Here are some cute dresses from those stores. The nice thing about Watters dresses is that they're available in most major cites so it might be the simplest route. And prices are decent, under $200, but are they too formal?

in dreams...

There are 4 things that I know to be true about today's posting:
1. B never reads my blog so I'm definitely not spoiling anything here,
2. These Lazaro and Lela Rose dresses are way way out of my price range,
3. They are much too fancy for our casual outdoor event and
4. I would love love love to wear any one of them none-the-less!

photography

In all the browsing I've done in the past few months I've come across tons of beautiful wedding photography online. But I have to say I am completely blown away with the work of tim will fine art wedding & portrait photography. Its difficult to chose a couple of favourites from this site because they are all absolutely stunning. Even the website is wonderful. And to top it all off they produce gorgeous engagement photo books - what a fantastic idea!

pretty pretty patterns

These bridesmaid photos may just have me convinced on pattern over solid. I absolutely love these dresses, as seen over at the knot and snippet&ink.


The fabrics below are all wonderfully Finnish Marimekko cotton, which I think would be perfect for our hot July wedding. I love the big, bold, graphic patterns. They're all $42US/yard (unless I could convince my Dad to bring some back right from Finland, how cool would that be?!). My little bit of research indicates that a strapless dress like the above would need 2-3 yards per dress plus another fabric for lining since its cotton. However, I have no idea what kind of costs are involved to have a dress made... Is it possible to do for under $200 total??

colour

I'm going to take my first crack at an inspiration board this weekend and was embracing my design geek yesterday and played with Pantone swatches to sort out colour for our wedding. The item below is pretty inspiration for what's in store. And boy, would I love to have this gorgeous bag! I doubt the light blue will find its way into the colour palette, as per B's request, but its pretty none the less.

bcbg love

While on the topic of BCBGMAXAZRIA (see dresses below) I thought I'd post my very first wedding dress love. Just inspiration at this point as I haven't been out to try on dresses and all that jazz. I adore this dress and think it is just right for our not-so-formal outdoor wedding. Gotta love the not-so-expensive price tag as well - under $400 at Macy's.

dresses at macy's

These cute bridesmaid dresses are from Macy's. I really dig them all but am totally swooning over the one that is of course the most expensive, the BCBGMAXAZRIA on the bottom right.

Top left: Maggie London Sleeveless Crinkled Chiffon Dress, $168. Top right: Tahari by ASL Silk Sleeveless Empire-Waist Shantung Dress, $168. Bottom left: Maggie London Chiffon Ruched-Waist Dress, $168. Bottom right: BCBGMAXAZRIA Stretch Satin Cross-Front Dress, $280.

stunning dresses

These dresses are gorgeous beyond words. What more can I say? Photos from the entire wedding can be seen here. I've been stalking the comments to see if a reply comes in as to where the dresses are from: oh here it is, they are by Alberto Makali.

more fun with dresses

I had some fun with polyvore and came up with an inspiration board for some bridesmaid styles. I love them all and totally dig the combo but with only 4 ladies the mix and match might not play out quite so well.

wicked photographer

Choosing a photographer was a pretty simple task for us because we happen to have some ultra talented photographer friends who are guaranteed not to take your standard/boring wedding posey shots. Very sadly, Melanie is moving to Toronto so she won't be able to shoot for us (but fingers crossed that she makes the trip back to be a guest). Thankfully over the past year Mel has introduced us to Shannon Lepere, her fantastic partner in photography crime. We're super pumped to have Shannon shooting for us so I thought I'd share some of her work featuring the lovely Miss Melanie as her model. Check out more of Shannon's work on her website: www.shannonlepere.com. All the best Mel, we'll miss you tremendously... now lets just hope Shannon doesn't get any ideas about skipping town!

even more bridesmaid dresses

I wish I could remember where I found this lovely simple dress (Jasmine B2 in style 1085, also comes in green). They're surely pretty easy to make, if we go that route, as was suggested to me by a couple of the ladies.

Cross-Continental/National/Provincial planning with my bridesmaids will be a little tricky but we'll work it out for sure! Feel free to post comments on here ladies, what you love/hate. So far the "perfect" green and white patterned dresses seem to be the fav, which I'm thrilled to hear!

flowers for the boys

flower perfection

This bouquet/boutineer combo is just wonderful. I love the freshness and I think my B would love the absence of frilly girliness pinned to his lapel.