Interview for Ethical Weddings...and more Video!!!

We're working on the next wedding recap entry for you all, but first, check out our latest interview, on Ethical Weddings blog. This interview was a lot of fun, as it wasn't the usual questions.

We know you're dying for more photos and more details, so for you, we have another video from Bytown Productions! Enjoy!

Mini Post: Our honey-stay-cation on Local Tourist Ottawa!

To tide you over into the weekend, we are giving you a heads up: if you're willing to skip ahead of the ceremony and reception recaps (posts coming soon, I promise), you can read about our 'honeymoon' over on Local Tourist Ottawa, a cool blog that is exactly as it sounds: a site where Ottawa residents are treating ottawa like the attraction-laden gem that she is.

Our honeymoon was a stay-home affair, so LTO had an interest in hearing about what we did. We got a new camera from our wedding (thank you...I dropped the old one and then filled with seawater. Long story,) so we even had pictures to go along with it. It was super fun to write, and I think you'll enjoy it! So go read about our honey-stay-cation here!

Foolin' around on our staycation: our visit to Hawkesbury.

Post-wedding media: keeping you busy while we compile photos

I know. I know. You're dying for more photos, and the details of how the day itself went. We haven't forgotten about you, and we're not trying to kill you with anticipation. It's just that, turns out, it takes a while to get a bunch of photos together, when the head shutterbug alone took over 1200 shots. So we're giving them a few days' grace and we'll continue blogging before you know it, all the nitty gritty details of the wedding, including the mistakes I made during the ceremony...I can laugh now. You'll love it. In the meantime, here's a list of blogs that covered our story since the wedding. These entries are great, you'll love them, and they even have some photos you've never seen before! Keep busy, take a deep breath, and we'll blog again lickety-split.

Aug 23, 2011, A Peek Inside the Fishbowl
http://networkedblogs.com/meAdc


Aug 24, Coffee with Julie
http://www.julieharrison.ca/living/the-project-priceless-wedding-was-this-social-experiment-a-success/


Aug 26, 2011, Splendid Events
http://splendideventsottawa.blogspot.com/2011/08/project-priceless-mission-accomplished.html


Aug 27, 2011, A Wedding Chaplain's Journal

http://networkedblogs.com/meAdc


Aug 28, 2011, Something More Comfortable
http://slipintoit.com/2011/08/25/an-upcylcing-trend/


Aug 29, 2011, Laura Elizabeth Photography
http://lauraelizabethfoto.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/happily-ever-after-the-project-priceless-finale/

On /A\ Morning: Television Interview Post-Wedding

Hey everyone!

We haven't forgotten about you; we are just giving the photogs a few days to get some photos together (the more, the merrier) while at the same time enjoying a very low-key couple of days off together. Hope you understand!

In the meantime, here's a TV interview we did this morning on A Morning Ottawa to tide you over!

Keep your eyes out, more posts are coming your way!

Announcements: a magazine article and a chance to meet us!

Two important announcements!

FIRST: You will want to pick up a copy of Wedding Essentials Magazine, at your local Chapters/Indigo store…and see Brian and Jordan’s grinning faces on pages 72-73! Wedding Essentials has done a two-page article on Project: Priceless and we suggest you check it out! You can also view it online here: http://weddingessentials.ca/currentissue_view.html

SECOND: We have a table at the Really Really Free Market this Saturda, June 4^th, 2011.

When: 10am-4pm

Where: In Vanier, at the corner of Montreal Rd and Begin St.

What: The RRFM is basically a swap meet where everything you bring and take away is FREE. So, you can bring, say, a table you don’t want anymore, and leave with, say, a lamp you love. You can also come and either just drop stuff or take stuff.

About our table: We will be there with a table, talking with people like you about our wedding, and collecting the last few things we so desperately need for our wedding! We will happily receive your items, and if something isn’t quite right, we’ll keep it at our table to share with others, so you don’t have to take it home again (unless you want to).

If you’d like to read an article about the RRFM, here’s a link:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Ottawa+Really+Really+Free+Market+takes+place+June+Vanier/4871324/story.html

Items We Need:

Here’s a list of items we’re hoping to receive at the RRFM:

-tablecloths: ideally white or off-white or light colours; patterns (ie. little flowers) are fine
-flat sheets: very clean, white or off-white or light colours; patters (ie. little flowers) are fine
-clean soup cans, empty
-a leather jacket for Brian, vintage-look; for an example click here.
-Christmas lights: ideally white ones

-size 9 or 9.5 kitten (low) heels in a light colour
-cool looking empty liquor bottles
-disposable flatware and cutlery (lots!)
-a small round, tall table for the ceremony

-tealights and other small pillar candles

Bring ‘em on by and come say hi! And hey, bring your copy of the Wedding Essentials magazine, and we’ll sign it for you like bigtime celebrities. ;)

See you there!

Media: /A\ Morning Interview, April 11 '11

A Big Thankyou!!!

19,000 hits and counting...wow!

What an amazing following we have; thank you, all of you who have stopped us on the street and said congrats, and to all of you who have helped us out.

We were on /A\ Morning Ottawa and didn't have time to mention all of you, and wish we could have. You are all amazing, and have really made this whole project special. We are grateful for everything from the smallest item to the largest!  If you want to see a list of all the offers please go to our Items and Services page (tab at the top of the page here).

We will post the link to our /A\ Morning interview soon. This continues to be so much fun.

Brian

Project : Priceless and Used Everywhere

We have just had the opportunity to partner with Used Everywhere to talk to CTV News about how we have used Used Ottawa in a creative way, to promote our wedding project.

Check out the news story on tonight's CTV 6:00 news and we will post a link once its available.

Brian from Project: priceless

Media! A fun (really fun) interview with Renee Madden, EZ Rock 99.7

So just a brief entry to make sure we highlight the super-fun, super-long interview we got to do with Renee Madden from EZ Rock 99.7. This was so much fun, and it was Bri's first time in a radio station, so we were really excited! The interview is a little over 20 minutes long; make a cup of tea, sit back, and enjoy! Oh, and there's tons of mentions of offers (both commercial and individuals) in the interview, some of which are a sneak peak for the next 'donations and offers' post!

http://www.ezrock.com/Channels/ihaveadream/story.aspx?ID=1320198

In the Media! Brief Overview

Hey.

I have a longer entry to write today, plus more offers to notify you all of, but just a reminder to those who haven't caught on yet: if you'd like to see the list of what media has covered us and when, you can click on the 'media' tab at the top of our blog and you'll get to see the whole chronological list.

We got so busy with the coverage we were getting that we've relaxed a little on posting a blog entry everytime there was coverage; but you all may be excited to hear, we have been covered in virtually every Canada.com-affiliated paper from the east coast to the west coast of Canada (we're still hoping for coverage in the National Post, just 'cause it sounds cool). As well, affiliates of the Ottawa Sun have reprinted Scott Taylor's story. The local papers that have covered us, with writers like Jessica Cunha and Sasha Johnson, are amazing and tell the story in a really intimate way. And the radio stations we've been on--two in Calgary, and one Ottawa Station to be aired this week!--have been so much fun.

When we first got engaged, I told my mom I wanted a traditional engagement announcement in the paper. This was before we'd really begun the P:P idea, and we ended up trying to figure out what the cost of an announcement would be, and how we'd cover it. I think we can safely say, we've now had one of the most amazing engagement announcements in the paper(s), ever!

Take a look at the 'media' tab. Share the links. And comment on this post, saying where you're from and how you heard about us. One of the coolest things about this crazy project is how many people we're getting to connect with. We love it, and we love hearing from you. :)

Media, again!

If you read our rebuttal post to the handful of negative (but vocal) commentators, you know that we've been in the media quite a bit lately. I'd like to take a moment and say thank you to all the kind and caring comments we've gotten as well. The lovers far outweigh the haters, though we did choose to offer a response to the haters so that any confusion on our project or ourselves would be clarified.

This week, we had further media attention through the following outlets:

Nov 12 2010: The Ottawa Sun, article by Scott Taylor: http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/11/10/16074076.html#/news/ottawa/2010/11/10/pf-16074076.html

Nov 12, 2010: Ottawa Start, http://ottawastart.blogspot.com/2010/11/ottawa-couple-tries-to-free-source.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FsBHK+%28OttawaStart+Blog%29&utm_content=Twitter


This is awesome. A lot of discussion about the concepts we're working with--social media, marketing, community giving, and the difference between a fun activity and a true charity--has been generated. We encourage discussion of the concept and the ideas. And we've had a huge amount of offers come through this week, so this media attention is definitely helping us spread the word. We're grateful to the press for picking up on our story.

We're working hard to get to a point where we can provide the world with a great list of this week's offers, so stay tuned; probably on Sunday, we will have them well sorted-out. We are being very careful not to post anything prematurely, so that we don't misrepresent anybody, any business, nor what they are precisely offering. I can say, the back-and-forth emailing I've been doing this week with people and businesses has been really fun, and I feel like we're becoming more familiar with our community. Everytime we talk to someone new, it's as if the world gets a little bigger, yet more intimate. Pretty cool stuff.

The day is off to a good start, and I have a lot of running around to do today, so it's good when a busy day starts off nice. I owe this entirely to sweet Bri, who made me toast, brought it to me in bed, and then took the dog out. These little things he so excels at tells me everyday that he loves me. Well, back at ya, Cowboy.

Media; Kanata Kourier

Okay, for those seeking it, you can get an online copy (or back issue) of the Nov 4 2010 Kanata Kourier by:
going to yourottawaregion.com
clicking on 'print versions' at the very top
sign in or open an account
find the Kanata Kourier and look for the Nov 4 2010 issue
our article (and AMAZING PICTURE) is on page 8, written by Jessica Cunha.

Super cute. Seriously. Take the time, sign up (and have access, free, to all the local papers), and see it. It's awesome.

In the media...well, kind of, but cooler...

So we have lots to update you guys on, but give us a few days to get our facts all in a row and give proper holla's to the cool offers we're getting since our appearance in the Ottawa Citizen! For now, we just wanted to highlight a cool and totally unexpected highlight that happened today.

A special shout-out goes to Audrey, who is in grade 4 at St George elementary school. Audrey is doing an assignment about us and our project this week for class. Good luck, Audrey, and let us know if you need any more help. Audrey, this is really cool and we're very honored to be the topic of your presentation.

This is most definitely one of those warm-hearted community moments that Bri and I hoped might happen. (Well, obviously we never expected to become someone's school assignment, but you know what we mean.)

Audrey, we would LOVE to get a copy of your assignment for our scrapbook!

Brian and Jordan

Media! The Ottawa Citizen, Nov 6 2010!

Wow, this article is huge and on the front page of the Lifestyle section of the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa's largest newspaper. I literally have no idea what to say right now, because I can't believe we're in so many papers, talking about our project. Here's the link, and I copied the article (in purple) below, in case the hyperlink doesn't work, but you'll miss our awesome photo:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/truly+priceless+wedding/3786705/story.html

We'll write more soon. :)

Ottawa Citizen, November 6 2010:

A Truly Priceless Wedding, by Joanne Laucius

Jordan Kent and Brian Bass got engaged last month.
It was perfect, says Kent. Baas, who had already obtained her father's blessing, got down on his knee Oct. 12 at an outlook in Gatineau Park and popped the question along with a ring he had secretly been saving for. A little money each week, one pay-cheque at a time.
But Kent, 28, a part-time community services worker and freelance artist, and Baas, 23, who is the manager at Davids Tea in Westboro, had a problem common among young couples -- lack of money.
So they decided, jokingly at first, to embark on a "wedding experiment" to see if they could blog, Twitter and Facebook their way to obtaining as much donated, borrowed or traded stuff and services they needed. Donors get a "shout out" on the wedding program, and businesses get links to their websites on the website.
"We're calling it a community experiment. It's been fun. Why sweat it?" says Baas.
"It's going to have to be free because we don't have any money," says Kent.
"Because we're not very traditional, we thought it could be very organic and different."
Not very traditional is a pretty accurate description. Baas's hobbies include juggling fire, riding a unicycle, his motorcycle Sookie, and acting as head referee for the Capital City Derby Dolls, a roller derby league.
The pair met two years ago and bonded over Baas's "really cool" skateboard.
"She tried to steal my long-board," jokes Baas, who was due to move temporarily to Calgary. But before he left, he convinced Kent to go for a ride on Sookie to Gatineau Park. "I fell in love with it," says Kent.
"And then she fell in love with me," says Baas.
Kent started playing in the roller derby league and now custom-paints helmets for players and referees.
"I knew I had found someone special," she says.
But she had also never been "a big wedding girl." Her own ideas of nuptial appropriateness lean toward an Indiana Jones-themed wedding with the bride trying to outpace a giant boulder rolling down her path on roller skates.
The germ of the idea for a wedding experiment was probably sown a long ago. Kent's mother Susan is an adviser to people who go bankrupt. ( "Two things can ruin a marriage. Finances and house-cleaning," says Susan)
Meanwhile, her father Bill is a photographer who has snapped a lot of weddings. And he has an encyclopedic memory of all the things that can possibly go wrong, even with the most expensive nuptials.
"She has never cared about having the big princess fairy-tale wedding," says Susan, who recalls her own wedding 35 years ago, put together when she and Bill were 20 years old with $700 and a little help from their friends. Susan wore an $80 dress, Bill wore a baby-blue suit, everyone had a good time, filled up at the buffet and the pair is still happily married.
"Money isn't the issue. It's about being frugal and responsible," says Susan. "My husband has seen weddings where they spend $50,000 or $60,000. It's not necessary to spend that kind of money for a community get-together."

Heather Hogan, the maid of honour, met the bride when she tried out as "fresh meat" for roller derby. "When Jordan first told me about Project Priceless I thought the idea was really cool. And as the project goes on, I am more and more impressed by the willingness of friends, family and strangers to help an awesome couple get married," says Hogan, a 29-year-old master's student who hopes to lace up her roller skates for some portion of the wedding. The project gives more meaning to the wedding, she says.
"I feel like it's creating this great sense of community and showing that if many people pitch in and help even just a little, great things can happen. Which is something we could all be reminded of in life," Hogan says.
Kent has ideas about what she wants, despite her non-existent budget. She wants to get married in a green dress, although she has had offers of three previously-enjoyed white gowns, including one worn by her late grandmother. She wants to carry a sheaf of bird-of-paradise flowers and white lilies.
The couple wants to the hold the wedding next fall, and Kent is already working on theme colours in autumnal tones of orange, green, brown and cream and wants to go with a tree theme of white-painted branches with twinkling lights on the tables.
Aside from that, Kent hasn't given much thought beyond four ground rules for the experiment: she and Baas have veto rights; they would encourage multiple offers; they can purchase elements they need, as long as they cost less than $10 and they want to keep it simple. "Financial kindnesses -- there has been one already -- will be pooled to pay for wedding elements that are not donated, borrowed or traded."
They have no idea how many attendants they will have, and the venue is still a big question mark, although Kent is hoping someone will come forward with an unconventional site such as a heritage building or an art gallery.
The only caveat, which comes from her father who has witnessed a lot of weather-related wedding disasters, is that the event can't be outdoors.
"Everything's completely open. We are not set on one idea" says Kent.
One thing for sure -- the reception will be potluck. The details are shaping up. Only two weeks after their engagement, Kent and Baas have already had more than 1,000 visits to their blog, powered by word-of-mouth and social networking.
Baas's aunt, a lawyer, offered to notarize the legal papers and an uncle offered a tuxedo for Baas. One friend offered to be the wedding photographer.
Susan wants to hold a silent auction so friends and family can trade their products and skills for the cash needed to pay for services the couple can't get for free. A New Jersey-based papercrafter, who owns a company called Pink Pug Ink, offered her services to a couple she had never met, perhaps because the bridal pair has a pug named Mr. Darcy.
If everything doesn't match, it doesn't matter, says Kent. "It's more about kindness and generosity than made-up metaphors," she says.
It's hard to tell if they will get their wish for a truly priceless wedding. Priceless in a money sense, anyway.
"If push comes to shove, we'll find a nice community centre," says Susan Kent.
This is one experiment I hope works out.
To see their progress visit: http://projectpriceless.blogspot.com/

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/truly+priceless+wedding/3786705/story.html#ixzz14XkiJFLW

We're in the media! LOTS of media!

So just a brief update, as we've been a little quiet for a few days...

We have had some really great media coverage! Keep your eyes out for your local neighbourhood paper on Thursday, which will feature an article by Jessica Cunha, a journalist on staff with the Kanata Kourier. The following local papers will carry her article (immediately or in the future):
The Kanata Kourier
The Ottawa This Week: West
The Ottawa This Week: Nepean

As well, the Kitchissippi Times has covered our wedding with an article by Sasha Johnson, also coming out this Thursday (Nov 4, 2010)!

I'm told a great place to find all these papers is your local library foyer. We found some at Loblaws in the foyer, too.

And on Saturday, watch for yet more coverage in the Ottawa Citizen...we'll pick it up and tell you where to look.

The search for a venue continues, and I feel just about ready to blog about the dress of my dreams...stay tuned. And keep your ears out for people or businesses who may want to contribute! We've had an awesome start but we've still got a long way to go. It's gonna be exciting the whole way through.

Media Coverage! Canadian Business Blogs

Hey, just briefly, as we head out to a Hallowe'en party, check out the first (of hopefully many) articles about Project: Priceless!

http://blog.canadianbusiness.com/weddings-that-don%E2%80%99t-cost-a-cent/