Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Crossing Off Left And Right

Wow it actually looks like the end is in site (kinda). We've done a bunch of stuff in the last month that makes the list almost bearable now. Kilts are taken care of and the boys will be wearing the black kilts like we wanted (yay they'll match the girls). Was a little fun trying to schedule them all in and work with the stores time but in the end our boys were just the right size for the kilts that were left. Okay so one of them may have to gain 5 pounds but we'll make it work.

The marriage license was really easy to get and no matter what budget you have for your wedding it will cost you at least $100 no matter what! Doesn't matter if you have a dress or flowers or food, you will be paying for the license if you want it to be legal.

The liquor license was also easy to obtain. I was really glad we were getting married in Vancouver as the city makes it really easy for brides and grooms. In other places you have to go to the liquor store and pick up the application. Then you go to your RCMP office and get them to sign it. Then you go back to the same liquor store and have the manager sign off on it before it's issued. We were in and out in under 10 minutes and even got to sample a new beer while we waited! Gotta love it.

The girls dresses are next on the list. They go for their first fitting today and I'm unable to come out. I can't wait to see how they look! Also on the agenda is plugging away at the do it yourself list (which seems to get bigger not smaller). The programs gave me some hair pulling but I managed to salvage them and I don't think anyone will know my measurements were off. Also trying to find ribbon to match our tartan but trying to make the pillow still seem cool enough for a 5 year old and 7 year old to carry.

So overall things seem to be on track *knocks on wood*. Lets just hope the weather stays sunny, the humidity stays down and my sanity stays level.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Bling Bling We've Got Rings, And Honeymoon, And...

Yay the rings are now taken care of and on there way in. I cannot believe that we ended up finding my ring at Spence Diamonds. I was so determined not to buy my wedding band there after all the trouble we had with the engagement ring. But while we waiting for the new paper work to be done I had a look around (bad karma) and sure enough found something I like. However this time we took the order to the Langley store and are letting them help us this time. So far so good but we'll see when the ring comes in.

We also booked our honeymoon and I can't wait. We're going to St. Lucia for 8 days and I'm already there on the beach. I think I'm actually looking forward to that and the relaxation more then the wedding. Nah. However most of my summer stuff isn't in great condition so I had the joy of going bathing suit shopping. Next is flip flops so I'm hoping people are having an end of summer sale.

Bootcamp is finally paying off. 4 pounds have been lost and 1% body fat down. I tried the dress on again and when mom zipped it up it seemed to go a lot easier for her then before. I'm probably going to do 1 more month so I hope I can loose that last little inch I think would make the dress look fantastic!

We hope in the next 2 weeks to get a bunch of stuff done. We finally got all the confusion from the kilt place sorted out and fiance will go for a jacket fitting next week. I don't think we're going to do the boys anymore in kilts as the store has been very vague about when they can and cannot rent and how they want us coming in. So we'll talk to them about it and if not then we'll just do tuxes. They boys will look good no matter what and tuxes were our first choice anyways.

And I'm hoping to get my fitting and hair and makeup trial done in the next 2 weeks as well. And of course there's all the cookies left to back (about 500+). I'm going to be so sick of cookie dough and cookies that I would want to even look at them.

Can't believe there's less then 8 weeks to go. Still a bunch of stuff to do and it feels like so little time to do it all in. But I'm sure somehow we'll pull it off...won't we?

Monday, June 23, 2008

All We Can Do Now Is Wait

So now there really REALLY is no turning back. The invitations (all of them this time) have gone out. Dropped them off in the mail box on Saturday night and even have photo evidence to prove it. Fiance must really think I'm a nut bar. We still have about 4 we have to hand deliver but it's nice to know I don't have to worry about them anymore. However now I have to worry that the RSVP's won't get lost in the mail. Here's hoping.

Also the bridesmaids got down to the tailor (all at once too) and the dresses are getting made! Yay. Their fitting won't be until August so I can't wait to see how they turn out. They all went with matching tops and all of them are similar to the matron of honours so I'm really curious to see how they turn out.

And only one more week of bootcamp left to go. I never thought this day would come! However I find myself in a love hate relationship with it. I really like the class and the people but we've all learn to hate showing up and seeing people standing around their cars. Means a run is going to happen. I figure it must be doing something with my brain too since I'm actually considering signing up for another month of torture...I mean fun. Oh well I hope this means that my dress can be taken in maybe instead of getting taken out!

Next on my list is looking at possible honeymoon locations and wedding bands. Hopefully we can each find something we like and doesn't break the bank!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Advil Is My Friend

So who's bright idea was it to sign up for bootcamp again? Oh wait mine. I felt so sore yesterday and yet you go and she does the warm up and suddenly you're like "hey this isn't too bad" then you start running and doing drills and the next thing you know you're limping around the house and can't even get up out of your seat without worrying that your legs will fall off. Oh well at least I know I'm doing something good for myself. Plus I keep reminding myself how maybe now the stomach part of my dress may look a little nicer then it did before I started all this!

So I've got some goals this weekend but I'm beginning to wonder if I'll get them done or not. I would love to get the girls down to the tailor to get fitted for dresses but with the bootcamp that's becoming hard for me to do. We also have to go shopping for rings soon. Although I've been told that most can be ordered in in a couple of weeks so I'm not overly worried about that. And finally I would like to get going on the kilt as it does have to come from Scotland. Was really hoping that it would get done last week but the store was closed. Oh well. Wish me luck that at least 1 of these things can get crossed off the list.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Still Alive...So Far or It's Offical Now

So I've joined up a boot camp for 4 weeks to whip myself into shape and see if maybe I can lose those last little inches that could make the dress look even more fabulous. I'm going back for day 2 tonight but day 1 wasn't too bad. The worst part was the 3 laps around the track. By the end I thought I would fall over and not get up again but somehow I managed to complete the session and didn't feel like I was as useful as a burlap sack. I was also surprised that I wasn't overly sore today which means after today's session I think I'm going to feel it tomorrow worse. Oh well we'll see how it goes.

On Friday the girls got together and helped me put together the invitation. Man those girls are good. I wasn't sure if we'd get all of them done but they had them whipped out and ready to go so fast I didn't know what hit me. I'm so proud of them. Mom and I showed them the material we picked out for their dresses so hopefully we can get down to the tailor soon and start working on making some dresses.

Next up comes a bunch of tasks. Fiance and I have to sit down and work out the song list. He's trying to get to the travel agent to see about a honeymoon destination. We've gotta talk to the people at Tartan Town about making a kilt and get tuxes or kilt rentals for others in the wedding party (family too possibly). And of course I really only have 2 or so weeks to track down the last of the family addresses. Wish us luck!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Scan scan away

So we went to the mall this weekend to start our registry. We were hoping to get all of the items we wanted at Home Outfitters done on Saturday but it turns out that you need an appointment with them in order to use their scanners. I did not like this. In my 5 years at Sears we never forced someone to leave and come back after they had made an appointment. I could understand if a scanner wasn't there then maybe we'd want to either come back later or schedule for another day but being told a flat out no bothered me. So we headed off to the Bay instead and had fun scanning a few items in there. We picked out our regular and good china pattern and I really love it! I wish we had a few more options or styles we liked but I do love the pattern we ended up with in the end. I think though the part I'm going to look forward to getting the most would be matching cutlery. We registered for good and everyday (8 sets of each) and it will be nice to have a KFS that all come from the same set and aren't 50+ years old. Still I thank fiance's Grannie very much for giving the cutlery to him or else we'd be eating with our hands.

We also went out to Tartan town and now have the tartan for one of the ring pillows (the other is getting ordered in). We looked into renting kilts for fiance for the wedding but were disappointed that they only had 4 styles to choose from and we really wanted his own tartan. However it turns out for about $500 he could have one made so he's got another month to decide but I think we're leaning towards that option. It would be really neat to see not only him in the kilt but maybe the groomsmen or guests as well!

The next thing on my mind is getting the girls wrangled together and shopping for dress material and starting to think about invitations. It took about 3 hours to cut out just the red paper but I found a great way to do it. Fiance goes and helps a friend of ours renovate and I take over the table and cut paper. I get to visit with them while they work and still get the job done (and keep the boredom levels at bay). I still have the white and black sheets to print off and cut as well which makes me wonder when fiance's going over to help again. Might have to plan a day soon!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Are The Eyes Glazed Over Yet?

Well not too much to post again. Sometimes I feel like it's the whole 2 steps forward, 1 back. I guess that does mean that progress is getting made but it just doesn't feel fast enough for me. I finally managed to contact the liquor store who is going to give us a quote on alcohol so I'm very interested to see what dollar amount that will be. If we're over $500 he'll throw in free delivery and we can return any un-opened bottles when we're done so I'm happy to hear that. I don't think we'll have any problem hitting the $500 mark!

I've been bugging mom to get our butts in gear and start thinking of the bridesmaid's and flower girl dress. We need to get fabric shopping soon or else they'll be buying some dress off the rack that either looks hideous or costs an arm and a leg and I don't think the girls like that thought. We're going to a wedding show next week which will be my first one with almost all of my girls. I've only gone before with my MOH and my mom so I'm curious to see what the other girls will think of the show. Don't really need anything too major at these shows. I'm still trying to find that royal blue garter though and a necklace I like would be nice. I would like to find out what type of jewelry the girls like in case I want to buy them something for their goody bags. Those are getting fun to shop for! Just have to find the bag next. Kinda an important factor.

I'm looking forward to moving ahead with the invitations. I sat down last night and started tracing out 5x7 squares to cut out. I got about 3/4 done last night (only had an hour) so it should be pretty easy to breeze through the rest. Just need a sturdy rule to cut them with and then we're good to go! I'll be happy when the cutting part is over. Why did I have to choose so many layers again. Oh right it looks good!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Criticism Overload

Oh man do I feel bad...but then I'm sure fiance and my dad do too. On the weekend I finally got all the pieces of the invitations put together for a mock run through. I've been having issues with size and printer boarders so I was really happy to have everything read to print out. So I showed it off all proud and of course I was expecting some criticism but for some reason the two of them going on about the invites made me loose it and I broke down crying. The funny thing is their suggestions were right but I was just so stressed out about everything I thought the world had come crashing down at that moment. But I think I've got the problem fixed now (crossing fingers that the printing will work properly again) and I can move on to the next trial.

Also this weekend I got 25 thank you cards done. These will be for shower gifts or to use after the wedding. I had sketched out a bunch of designs I found online and some of them look very nice but wow are they finicky to put together. So I've marked down which ones were easy to do and looked nice and hopefully I can continue working on them as the weeks progress.

Also hoping to finally nail down a decorator by the end of the week. I've got a few questions to re-ask but I think we already know who we're going with. My only question now is do we really need a ceiling treatment. In the beginning I was adamant that we have this and now I think I would rather save the money. But we'll see what happens. Funny how you change you mind as time goes on.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Let Them Eat Cupcakes

Wow can't believe it's been so long since I've written. Things are going a lot smoother now that most of the big stuff has been sorted out. We went taste testing for cupcakes the other day and walked away with 5 different flavours of cupcakes plus a vanilla cake to have for the actual cake cutting. I think that is going to be my favourite part of the night. I'm beginning to think maybe I should order a couple more just for fiance and I to have later.

We also got a lot of little things crossed off like the DJ (my maid of honour's wonderful uncle will be helping), guest book, and the bridesmaid's dresses. We're currently working on decorators next which is interesting. It seems like they are few and far between and some of the better ones are already either booked that day or won't call me back. Oh well we're meeting one more this weekend and we'll see what happens.

The other interesting thing happening this weekend is the meeting of the parents. This is the first time my parents will have met fiance's parents (well since elementary school anyways). Mom and future father in law did go to school together but it's been a few years since grade 6. Still should be fun.

I'm also trying to get a draft of the invitations going. I had everything ready to print out for the first time last night only my margins were giving issues and I had to go back and fix that. I'm hoping I've got everything correct now. We still haven't set a size yet either because I've heard rumors that a 6x6 invitation maybe more to mail than a 5x7 so looks like we'll try both out to see what Canada Post says. I'm curious to see what the difference is, not only cost but looks as well.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Some Day My Dress Will Come

So on Monday mom and I went out to another dress store this time run out of a ladies garage. Now I know that it sounds funny but let me tell you this lady had amazing options for dresses and the prices were outstanding. Best of all though is I THINK I FOUND THE ONE! I'm trying to figure out a way to show people the dress online without fiance seeing it. But I'm very happy and it works really really well with the tartan. Mom said too when I tried it on and put crinoline underneath it looked like I went from a size 10 to a size 4. That comment alone sealed the deal. But I'm going back on Sunday to try it on again and then hopefully I will be able to bring it home and it will be mine!

Also got together with the girls on Wednesday and had a really good talk about dresses, events and the day of the wedding. I'm very happy that the girls are now on board with the thought of long skirts as they really do look pretty on all of them. We're going to have the MOH in all red and the bridesmaids are going to be all black. I think this will really look sharp in photos so I'm looking forward to that. Just have to get the dress down to the tailors now to get a quote and then pick up fabric. Looks like things are progressing along nicely!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Yum Yum

So fiance and I went for our tasting at The Butler Did It and wow, what a spread we will be having! We opted to go with:

Appitizers:
* Assorted Mini Quiche: Sundried Tomatoes blended with Parmesan Cheese, Chopped Spinach and Feta Cheese, Bay Shrimp, White Cheddar and Gouda Cheese, Fresh Mushrooms and Tarragon, Smoked Ham and Cheese and Cheese Trio
* Assorted Foccacia Bruschetta: Roma Tomato and Fresh Basil with Fresh Parmesan Cheese, Calamata Olive Tapanade and California Grilled Vegetable Ratatouille
* Wild Atlantic Salmon Filets wrapped in Puffed Pastry served with a Fresh Dill Dip
* Spanokapita: Feta Cheese and Spinach wrapped in layers of Phyllo Pastry

Buffet
* Fresh Seasonal Vegetable Basket with a Fresh Herb Dip
* Mixed Field Greens Salad with the Butler's Fruit Vinaigrette
* Fresh Tomatoes, Basil and Bocconcini Cheese Platter drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil
* Spicy Thai Noodle Salad
* Sundried Tomato Roasted Garlic Pesto Penne Pasta Salad
* Baron of Beef (carved at Buffet) served with Horseradish, Dijon Mustard and Au Jus
* Chicken Piccata with a Lemon Caperberry Sauce (this dish was so good we actually changed our minds from pasta to this option)
* Herb Roasted Potatoes
* A medley of Fresh Market Vegetables
* An assortment of freshly baked Foccacia, French and Whole Wheat Rolls
* Fresh Seasonal Fruit Arrangement
* Canadian and Imported Cheese Board offered with a selection of Crackers
* A delectable assortment of Sweets, Cakes and Pies
* Torrefazione Italia Coffee
* Herbal and Regular Teas

I tell you if people go home starving then something is wrong! Now I've just got to get myself in gear and start getting the DJ and decorator booked.

So I contacted Myrna at MJM weddings and wow I did not think that they would book up as quickly as she did for viewings. I managed to get a fitting for next Monday luckily though. She is booked for all Saturdays until March and Thursday nights as well. I love the pictures she has on her website so maybe I'll find something nice there. If not I think I'll be going off to Everything But the Groom the next day!

Monday, January 14, 2008

And The Search Continues

So I visited a bridal store in Vancouver on the weekend and I wasn't expecting to find much but of course whenever I don't bring anyone with me that's when I find something that looks really interesting and is at a good price. I couldn't believe the sale this store had. Most of the dresses were $499-699 when they were originally priced for $1200. Definitely some good deals to be had. I'm finding though with the tartan it's hard to find a dress that really works well so my search continues. I have a contender at Everything But The Groom but I just want to see what some of my other options are out there.

Fiance & I are really looking forward to Friday though and the taste testing. If we like what we get we'll probably book them right away. Still deciding on whether or not to have appetizers as mom thinks it's a good think. I don't blame her for that though as having an open bar at 5pm and no food until 6:30pm may make some people a little tipsy. We'll have to see what we can arrange.

But otherwise things are slowly coming back on track. I keep poking fiance to get in touch with our officiant and help me with a DJ and then next it will be decorators that we have to meet. I'm hoping that that will be the last of the vendors. Then it's on to the DIY's!

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Gone Digital

Totally forgot about the other major thing I got done lately. Check out the website:

http://wedding.tfsb.org/

Back To The Grind

Well the holidays are over and not only am I in the full swing of things at work I'm also back into the wedding planning. Actually quite impressed that a few things have been done so far. Last week I went to the big wedding show in Vancouver with my Maid of Honour. Wow I couldn't believe the amount of people there. It was hard to move around and there were so many vendor to see but I found a lot of useful information. She ended up finding her dress there and for only $50 (score). Now we just have to convince the other girls to wear something similar which shouldn't be too hard. I found the two piece outfit available online for around $70 ($106 after shipping and taxes) so hopefully they may go for that idea.

Also yesterday I booked the limo and town car so yay now all of us can get around! I really hope Auntie E, Grandma & Grandpa enjoy their stylish ride home. It means so much to me to have them there and the rest of the family can relax with out worrying about getting them home safe.

We also have an appointment with The Butler Did it for a tasting. I'm really hoping that they taste as good as everyone says they do because we have heard nothing but good things about them. They won't be able to let us taste the ham or the beef but we can at least try 2 other entrees and 2 salads so that should be fun!

Next we'll be looking at decorators, chair rentals, DJ and I guess at some point I should narrow down the dress I'll be wanting. It's still over 9 months away and yet it all seems to be coming so fast lately. Hope I can keep up and not drive myself (or Fiance) too crazy!