It has taken me what feels like a lifetime to write this blog entry! Basically, every snippet of time I had—waiting for an appointment, waiting for Brian after work, during boring parts in movies, and so forth—I have been adding to this entry. The challenge was that we’ve received so very many offers lately! And we are by no means complaining, but more just explaining why you’ve all had to wait to read about the goodies. But here ya go, I’ll get to the point….THE OFFERS:
FASHION
We had the most lovely evening last night, stopping at Victoire to see if they could suit me up with some vintage lingerie—their offer towards P:P. Victoire is a cool little store that I plan to blog about more in a couple days, but I suggest you check out their shop. They call their vibe ‘rock and roll tea party’, and this phrase has become my mantra for the entire wedding. You can check out Victoire at http://www.victoireboutique.com/ .
Kate of Flights of Fancy and I have arranged a further treat: you may recall, Kate is donating four feather hair accessories for my bridesmaids, and they’re going to be the MOST fun. We met with Kate this week and threw some ideas around; looks like we’re heading in an ostrich feather-type direction, with bits of old, upcycled costume jewelry to add some rockin’ bling. Well, we’ve now settled on a sweet trade, too: Kate is going to make my feathered piece as well, and in exchange I’ll be designing her an avatar for her burlesque personality. I’m so excited, not just for what Kate will make, but for what I’m gonna draw for her! Flights of Fancy: http://www.bombshellscloset.com/ .
EVENT PLANNER
We met with Amy Karlin of Splendid Events last week, and got to take her on a 2-and-a-half hour wild ride through our story, from how we met each other, to what offers we’re working with. Amy is not only adorable and a little ball of energy, but a smart gal with a great professional vibe. Amy is going to help us plan out our pre-wedding events, and help us get to the finish line. We have been horrendously remiss in our homework, which involves updating our list of 65+ offers and sending her some requested info, but this is exactly why we’re happy to have her on board to help! Amy, thank you so much for lending your services to our wedding. We are truly, deeply grateful. http://www.splendidevents.ca/index.html .
Melanie Villeneuve of Fantasy Events offered her services for wedding planning, as well; as we had already confirmed with Amy at Splendid Events, we had to decline. But we are very appreciative of the offer, and hoping to hear that she may be willing to stay on our list of active offers that we can share with any other brides we discover who could use a hand. I couldn’t find a website for Fantasy Events but if you’d like to contact them, Melanie’s email is fantasy.events (at) live.com.
DELICIOUSNESS
We met with Isabelle Crowe, our cake lady, last week. Isabelle is just awesome. We sat down and threw a hundred mismatched ideas out there, and she calmly and wisely picked through them. We are planning a folky mushroom/deer/owl type motif, but in our wedding colours, which should make things look wicked unique. Remember that Isabelle isn’t selling commercially (yet, or not very much), but if you’d like her contact info, you can always ask us to send it along.
And we received confirmation this past week of an offer we have been eagerly anticipating for weeks. The Candy Store in Westboro village is basically my second grocery store…anything in the fifth food group—deliciousness—I get from The Candy Store. Katie, the manager, is one of the coolest chicks I’ve ever met; the first time she served me, we ended up chatting about which Jane Austen films were the best while I admired her super-cool bejewelled eyeglasses. Diane, the owner, is a sweetheart too, and while I haven’t bumped into her in quite a while, she is every bit as sweet as her wares. Anyway! All that to say, The Candy Store is offering us a candy buffet: awesome ornate glass jars full of colour-coordinated sugary treats for our guests to gorge themselves on as a late-night snack. They’re even providing green apple candy floss. The Candy Store, you know we love you (as does our dentist and our gym memberships), and we are through the roof excited about this offer. It’s going to be the coolest wedding ever, and the candy buffet is what tips the scales. The Candy Store has amazing treats and lots of stuff from other countries and from your childhoods, people, so go get some nugat, dutch licorice, mallow cups, gourmet malt balls, or pineapple gummi bears! http://thecandystoreottawa.ca/ .
We also connected with a very cool, very geeky, baker who goes by the handle, ‘Geek Sweets’. Jenny of Geek Sweets is kinda my new hero. She has a site and a blog, and her recent entry, talking about the release of her inner ‘GIRLBEAST’, made me laugh and cry with empathy. We got to sample her cupcakes at the COLOURBOMB trunk show (more on this later) and they were delicious, playful, and inventive. Annnyway, Geek Sweets is actually making a very special wish of mine come true: she is offering macarons as take-home favours for all our guests. There is talk of a Black Forest flavour. I am so excited; macarons are one of my favourite things, and I had my fingers crossed that they would make their way into our wedding…and now they have! Thank you so very much, Geek Sweets! Check out her awesome site and blog here: http://geeksweets.squarespace.com/ .
Also incredible and beyond our wildest dreams: Little Cakes cupcakes got in touch with us this week and offered to supply our wedding shower with cupcakes. We sampled Little Cakes a bit at the recent WedByHand show, and we’re super excited for their bridal sampling night coming up in March…suffice it to say, their little cakes are little bites of joy. Their generous offer of cupcakes about rounds out our desserts for Project: Priceless…short of chocolates, I feel like we’ve now collected all the dessert trading cards. Plus-twenty to sugar! Thank you, Little Cakes! We are the most excited to blog about tasting night…mmmmmmmm! http://www.littlecakes.ca/ .
MULTIPLE OFFERS FROM INDIVIDUAL OFFER-ERS:
A lovely woman named Lily K has offered us a number of things, almost too numerous to list. Her husband, a carpenter, is offering to build our archway; aside from a second dress form, some disposable flatware, lights, and a jug, she is also networking with a tattoo artist about our ‘wedding bands’ (tattoos—not on the finger—as our keepsake…an alternative to the standard wedding band). Lily, thank you for your generous offers and we’ll be chatting with you to figure out which things we can use!
Another lovely woman named Kerry H has offered us the loan of her cake knife and server thingy. And they are REALLY cool. They have a branch and leaf motif, and are actually sculpted to look like branches. We have gratefully accepted this offer. Kerry, thanks for sharing something so cool, unique, and personal!!!
Melanie Lalonde wrote to us and offered us a wide array of offers, including jewelry of her making, makeup application, photo frames, card stock, and tea favours from her own wedding. Melanie, thank you so much! We’re emailing with her now to figure out what will work best.
A very cool lady named Patty S has gifted us with a few lovely items, including a can opener that opens cans without a sharp edge left behind. This is going to be very useful as we gather cans for our candles on the dinner tables at the reception! Patty, thank you so much for your lovely gifts; we’re looking forward to meeting you!
Sara O. offered us the loan of her cake toppers, two cute lovebirds from an artisan on Etsy. We were so touched by this personal offer, and were reluctant to decline…but we have plans to make our own and we’re really excited about it! Sara, thank you for offering to share part of your special day with us!
COOL LOCAL OFFERS:
We had a really unique offer from a website called thecitybuzz.ca. CityBuzz offered to air our wedding live on their site. We really debated this one, and decided we weren’t up for it; our wedding itself—the vows, the promises, the moment itself—just isn’t something we’re ready to have go live into cyberspace. The offer was greatly appreciated, though, and we say a big thanks to CityBuzz! http://www.thecitybuzz.ca/ .
We were also contact by a woman named Kelly, the Community Liaison from the Full Circles Ottawa group. Full Circles is a freecycling group here in town that we recently connected to online. They have an annual ‘Really Really Free’ garage sale on June 4, and we’ve been offered a table. Basically, it’s one giant garage sale where you can bring stuff and take stuff for FREE. Pretty amazing. You can check out the group at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=131795240201344
Josee from Creation Tres Art photography had offered us her services, provided we could take care of expenses, travel, etc. Josee, thank you so much for the offer; as we discussed, however, we’ve stopped accepting offers for photographers at this time. If you’d like to check out Josee’s site, go to http://tresart-eng.synthasite.com/ .
Some random updates you need to know:
We found CheeCha Puffs here in town, in our neighbourhood, in a location open til 9pm on weeknights. If you recall, CheeCha Puffs, a delicious healthy puffy potato-based snack, has been offered to us for feeding our guests. Tracey from CheeCha sent us a sample box of puffs, and we fell in love. We actually found a healthy snack that Brian loves! CheeCha is available at some Sobeys and Shoppers Drug Marts here in Ottawa, but we were having a hard time getting our hands on them because we shop at neither store very often…but lo and behold, they are now at the BulkBarn in Carlingwood Mall. I had to stop visiting the mall for the past week to stop myself from buying—and devouring—more puffs. Seriously, if you haven’t tried these yet, you’re missing out. They’re not just ‘tasty, for a healthy snack’: they’re straight-up tasty and give junky snacks a run for their money. I think I may need to stop into Carlingwood tomorrow for a cup of flour…yes, flour… http://www.cheecha.ca/
Oh, and Tamara: my sweet friend and bridesmaid Tamara completed the scarf/shawl she has been knitting for me to wear with my white dress on the big day. It is BEAUTIFUL. I hope to get a picture up here soon…or maybe I’ll make you all wait for it! I asked her to include a scrap of the yarn for me to use for any matching/coordination of other accessories, and instead she made me this really nifty knitted leaf-motif necklace. I just gotta tell the whole world: Tamara is awesome. She is one of those generous, genuine, whole-hearted people that inspire me in a special way. Tam, thank you for the love, support, and advice on weddings (and tonight, on marriage). You are an amazing friend, a kickass knitter, and generally a really cool lady. Brian taught me how to drive to Tam’s house tonight (it’s outside my usual driving sphere), so I plan to kidnap her soon for some more fun, involving either cupcakes or squash (the game, not the food)…or perhaps both.
Of course, now I can’t stop thinking of new knitting projects to get her making!
We’re having a lot of fun lately. The warming weather is raising our spirits and we are beginning the serious part of the countdown to our wedding. My hope is that our event planner Amy will help us get our timeline set so that I can feel like I can breathe, while still being effective with tasks. And I want to blog more often. Here’s hoping your spring is off to a good start, too; I encourage you to take a walk and visit a new (to you) local boutique this week! There’s some amazing talent out there, and some great little shops housing these treasures.
I’m off to try on gowns tomorrow. We’re still struggling with the tea-length white dress, and we desperately need a seamstress for the green ceremony gown, so we remind you to check out the ‘No Brian Zone’ to read more, and read through our latest wishlist post. It might be a little out-of-date as it’s hard to keep up with the plans coming together, but it’s a good place to start. Other than that, have a cup of tea and give someone you love a big hug!
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