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!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

Happy Holidays

So with Christmas fast approaching I have had little to nothing getting accomplished for the wedding. The only thing remotely wedding related is the chatting I've been doing with the girls on the Canadian Bride website. Always a please to hear what others have done and been through not just wedding related but also in life.

Lately time has been spent trying to get Christmas in order. It's going to be a busy one this year but I think we managed to not only squeeze everyone in but also make everyone happy. We start off with Christmas Eve dinner at future father in law's family, then onto my mom & dad's for presents. Christmas morning is with future father in law, then my Grandma's & Grandpa's for lunch followed by dinner at future mother in law's family. Boxing day is at future mother in law's place then dinner with my family. Then on the 27 I rest! Eh that's what Christmas is about though...family and no sleep!

But the tree is up, baking is almost done, most presents have been bought (just a few more to go) and just need to get wrapped. I think things are looking good so I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and will report more next year!

At Least It Will Be Official Now

Woo hoo we have double checked with our minister and she has agreed to marry us. It's so nice to know that our officiant is out of the way. I'm not sure why but this was one area that I was not looking forward to interviewing for. I really like the idea that she's someone we both know and get along with. I think I'll be a bit more comfortable knowing the person who is performing our ceremony rather than having some stranger standing up there marrying us.

We got the engagement photos back and I'm really happy with the way they turned out. I love the location that we shot at. There were actually so many to choose it was really hard for us to narrow them all down. In the end we have 28 really good shots that we're going to try and make into an album for our guest book. I'm impressed though at how well the shots turned out since we were giggling through out the whole shoot. Didn't think he would get anything decent.

Found the limos we wanted and in the price range we like so I went to go book them but they won't take bookings until the new year. Sigh looks like it's going to be a busy January since we'll have the limos, caterers and meeting the minister all squeezed into one month. Oh well at least January won't be a boring month.

The next thing on the chopping block is the girls dresses, decorators and chair rentals. It looks like we might be making the girls dresses since most of the ones in stores don't quite look right (think lingerie). Next week we're going to go try on a couple of separates and I'm going to try on the wedding dress at Everything But the Groom. I'm thinking that that dress could be "the one!"

Bringing It All Together

We'll I'm very happy with the work I've gotten done wedding wise over the weekend. I just hope I can keep this vibe going. On Saturday I dragged my fiance out (willing though I might add) to the Tartan store and finally buckled down and bought the material to make my sash for. It is the Cameron tartan (modern) in scarf weight which you think would be heavy but is actually very, very light weight. I'm just hoping it comes in soon because it will make looking for dresses a lot easier (I hope).

Also went to a wedding show on Sunday and was very impressed with the limo company I had read about. Originally I wanted to book them but they did not have the cars I needed but they were highly recommended. After talking to them and finding out that they actually have sedan cars as well as a new 10 person seater limo (not SUV) I think I'm going to get a quote and book them if they are free. Limo's are one of those things that seem to be hit or miss with people. You can get great rates but crappy cars and drivers or pay through the nose for good service.

The last thing on my plate this week will be going shopping with the girls. I realize that if I want them to wear either black or red dresses then they should go shopping before New Years as those are the colours that are out right now. Shopping around the mall with 4 girls and at least 1-2 little ones could be entertaining but I just hope we can even narrow down a few ideas. If the girls find their dresses maybe it will inspire me to find mine!

10 more to go

So we're at the 10 month mark now and still plugging away. Things are going a little bit better now. Still looking for a dress as I love a certain style but just can't justify the price. When did a white dress become so expensive. It's just a dress people. But I'm weighing my options and I'm not done looking yet so we'll see what happens.

Otherwise not too much in the way of progress is going on right now. The catering has been put on hold until Jan as the 2 companies that got back to us, and are in our price range would prefer that we wait until after Christmas as it is their busy season right now.

I suppose I should really be looking at limos and I have sent out a few quotes but with Christmas coming up I must say my mind is leaning towards that rather than wedding related material. I am getting together though with the girls to go shopping. Most of the stores have their Christmas dresses out right now an they're in the colours I'm looking at so hopefully in the next few weeks we might be able to find something that works and is in everyone's price range.

Mainly it's just keeping my head wrapped around all the things going on. We were suppose to look at engagement photos but that keeps getting postponed. Can't seem to find time to get out to the tartan store to look at material for the dress. Need to schedule shopping times not only for the girls but also for me to try dresses. There's upcoming wedding shows, baby showers, dinners, hockey games, etc, etc, etc that is making my poor little calendar fill up like crazy. Here's hoping that after Christmas things get a little quieter...if not here's hoping it's after the wedding. 10 months is going to come so fast yet so slowly!

Shop 'til you drop!

So many dresses...so little time. Well I started the search and I must say it's really fun going into a store and looking through all those dresses and trying them on. I started with an old fashion, book an appointment, pick 5 or so dresses and try them on. Very formal setting, you have a lady who comes and helps you, etc. All very nice and she actually managed to figure out what I liked right away which was very helpful. I tried on this wonderful dress she found for me in the clearance section and I tell you I'm seriously thinking about it. It would have to have major work done to it which I don't like the thought of but I really did love the cut of it.

We walked down the street and went to the next store which was the complete opposite of the previous one. This one you basically walk right in, pick a dress off of the rack and go try it on. Never mind the sales people just chose what you like. No contenders there but did find out that they are decorators so I might go back and talk to them about that.

The third store was somewhere in the middle (I feel like I'm describing the three bears here). It allowed you to go in and pick what you'd like, then the sales girl would give you the options one at a time and help you try them on. Very casual, could even take photos if you want. Found 2 more contenders at this store so now I'm really confused what to do. I think I'll head back out to a couple of stores I still want to see but as much as I love the one at the first store I can't justify the alterations and cost and therefore will probably go with the last store. I'm curious to see what else I find out there!

Oh so exciting

So went to my first wedding show this weekend. Well scratch that; first wedding show as a bride. It's a lot different as a bride then as a bridesmaid. You actually have to think about a lot more ideas and keep track of prices and detail. As a bridesmaid I just had to worry about shoes and a dress and sit back and enjoy the cake. Well no there is a little more to it then that is there. But anyways what fun the show was. My Matron of Honour was so sweet. She carried my bag around so I wouldn't have to carry anything and therefor just concentrate on talking to the vendors and getting ideas and prices. Apparently we offered this treat to her so who am I to argue.

I think the best part of these shows though is the cakes. I don't think I've seen so many different types of wonderful cakes in one place. And best of all you get samples! I think I must have eaten about 5 different types plus a strawberry dipped in the chocolate fountain. Mmmm was that ever good though. Don't think we need that at the wedding but they do look cool. My only thought was though after eating all this "where's that wedding crunch boot camp booth. I think I need to sign up for a session now.

So this upcoming weekend is going to be interesting. I booked a time to go try on dresses. Not sure how I'm going to react when trying them on but I guess we'll find out now won't we. I just hope it doesn't hit me like a ton of bricks. Don't need to go soaking up the dress before the big day. But I'm looking forward to it so who knows what will happen. It's very exciting but kinda nerve racking at the same time!

Can I Relax Now?

Well I'm finally feeling like things are going our way. We've got a ceremony location and now we've also got our reception location booked. Yes that's right the Scottish Cultural Centre got back to me and the dates are all confirmed now. Feels so good to know that things are finally progressing after so many months of waiting and not being able to do anything.

We went and took a look at Van Dusen on Friday and were very happy with it. I think we're going to go back though and see what other options we have for ceremony layouts if the weather is good. She only showed us the area where a tent could be set up if it rains so we want to see what our other options are. We're also going to try to scope out photography locations as well since they claim they can be quite a popular location for wedding photos during high wedding season.

We go on Thursday to sign the contract with the Cultural centre and have a walk through. It will be nice to see what we can work with so I can start getting ideas for decorations and layouts. We were suppose to have done our engagement shots today but the weather didn't agree with us so they've been put off another week now. Everything just seems to be coming along either fast or nicely. I haven't decided what. With photo shots, venue walk through's and upcoming wedding shows I just hope I can keep up with it all and stay on track!

Two steps forward, one back

So we thought everything was moving along swimmingly when we got a taste (again) of a minor set back. Turns out that FCYC is booked for a venue already on September 13 so looks like we're back to the drawing board on finding a reception venue. Going to start calling around at the Scottish Cultural Centre and Shaunessy Restaurant at Van Dusen. The SCC would be well in our budget and allow us our own food and beverages, but the restaurant is right on site and could be a nice place for people to go to get drinks and food right away if they want. If neither one of those work then I guess you'll be finding me next to the phone calling up every hotel, community centre and hall in the Vancouver area!

Let the planning begin

Hooray! We FINALLY have a date. So I'm a little miffed though that Van Dusen was taking bookings during the strike and did not inform me of this when I first contacted them. It just means though that we didn't get our first choice of dates but we did get our second so September 13, 2008 it is! Oh it feels so good to actually have something secured now. However poor dear fiance of mine will now get the joy of hearing me plan and sort out all the other details to come. He's a very good sport though and I think secretly deep down he likes it. However there still comes the fact that we have not viewed the actual location we picked to be married in so I will still have to contact them sometime next week and set up a viewing. Also we do not have a contract drawn up since that has to be done with the booking coordinator who doesn't know when she will be back to work. The lovely strike...um strikes again? The inside workers have made an agreement but the outside workers have not so until everyone is happy, no one works at Van Dusen yet. Oh well the most important thing is we've reserved the date, it's more than 11 months away and now we can start planning all the rest of the fun stuff. YEH!

Home sweet home

So we're back after an amazing trip. Ireland and Scotland are two very beautiful countries and it was very tough to come home. Can't believe though that when we did come home the strike was still on. I wouldn't have thought it could go this long. I thought for sure everyone was going to want to be back to work before Thanksgiving. Oh well. Not much we can do now but still sit back and wait.

So I didn't end up getting my tartan like I had hoped in Scotland. It turns out there are many different dye lots and patterns to choose from that we decided to do a bit more research at home here and then just go to our local Celtic heritage store and talk to them and have them order it in for us instead. Not quite the same I know but at least this way we know we get what we want.

Otherwise planning is still at a standstill right now. May start picking up the stuff for the invitations soon (paper, embellishments, etc.) but until the strike is over I don't really have much enthusiasm to want to plan anything right now. It's not exactly fun yet so I hope that changes real soon!

Trying to be oh so good

So I was shopping at the Bay downtown and I'm trying to be very good about not looking too much at dress until we come back from Ireland and Scotland. However the Bay has a Bridal store so I couldn't help but go in and see what they have. I was impressed that they weren't very busy at all and apparently weekends are the best time to come in.

So I walked around and found a couple of dresses that would be nice to try on sometime but I'm still determined to bring back a tartan from Scotland so the dresses will have to wait!

I'm hoping to get some inspiration today on reception ideas as a good friend of mine get's married today. She's moving to New Zealand soon too so I can only imagine how much fun organizing everything has been for her. Makes my organization seem like nothing.

Still no word yet either on the strike so I'll just have to cross my fingers that it will end soon. Thank goodness future mother in law is ready and willing to head down and book our date as soon as the strike is over. Hopefully when we get back we'll have the ability to go down, take a look and start booking everything else!