Sunday, May 29, 2011

Underneath It All

It is time to get alterations done on my dress which means figuring out what exactly I’m going to wear underneath it.  I decided to scope out the shapewear at Victoria’s Secret – specifically the bust minimizing strapless bra.  I may have mentioned that my dress didn’t zip up so I was curious what kind of effect this bra would have.  I put on my old standby strapless bra, measured the ol’ bust, put the tape measure in the purse and hightailed it to my closest Vickie’s.

My thoughts on the strapless minimizer?  I have never found a strapless bra that actually felt supportive.  It has underwire and is made out of a super stretchy supportive fabric.  It also has some strong elastic in the back that keeps things in place.  IMGP3424No saggy girls in this undergarment here.  As for its ability to minimize?  My bust measured exactly the same.  I still purchased it anyway for use with the wedding dress because it has to be the best strapless bra I’ve ever tried on.

As for the rest?  I was originally thinking about wearing a pair of my favourite Hanky Panky panties.  I have a pair in light blue that I bought way back in January that I have been saving in my underthings drawer.  For as much as I dislike the thought of wearing shapewear I may be changing my mind.  I’m thinking it might help to smooth things out a bit.  Maybe the Hug Me Tight High Waist Brief from Victoria’s Secret?  I’d like to not have to worry about sucking it in, but I am worried about being comfortable.  If it is hot, am I going to be boiling in all of this?

So ladies, please help me out!  Did you decide to go with shapewear to keep it all smooth, or did you go with regular skivvies?  What was your experience?  Do you have a great product to recommend?

Friday, May 27, 2011

Second Chances

I realize that I’ve been writing all of this time and I’ve never really told you the story of how the Gazelles came to be.

Like so many modern love stories Mr. Gazelle and I met through an online dating site, lavalife.  I had spotted his profile, sent him a wink because I thought he was cute, and he sent me a message asking if I wanted to go for a drink.  The usual me would have turned him down right away, and maybe after e-mailing for a couple weeks, then we could meet.  Instead I said yes.

Banff Sept 07 002The Gazelles early on in our relationship

We met for drinks on the Friday of a long weekend.  As soon as I saw him I totally thought I hit the jackpot because this guy was good looking!  Drinks went so well that we met for a movie on Sunday night and then again for a festival on holiday Monday.  We had definitely hit it off.

C-Level Cirque 09-07 010The Gazelles on their first hike – C-Level Cirque in Banff

Things were going pretty well.  We took our first vacation together to Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Feb 08 013Las Vegas Feb 08 035The Gazelles in Las Vegas

Mr. Gazelle cheered me on at races and even ran a few with me.

Vancouver April 2008 084The Gazelles at the Vancouver Sun Run

I thought that Mr. Gazelle and I were doing great.  We got along really well, enjoyed spending time together cooking and travelling and I saw us eventually moving in and getting married.  Unfortunately for me, Mr. Gazelle didn’t want to get married.  And once we realized we had reached an impasse in our relationship we broke up, just a few weeks shy of what would have been our one year dating anniversary.

Ribbon Falls 026One of the last photos of the Gazelles V1.0 together, hiking Ribbon Falls in Kananaskis

At first I was angry and thought that Mr. Gazelle was a bit of an idiot for not realizing how great of a catch I was.  Then I moved on with life, attempting to learn how to ski (yeah, that didn’t go so well)…DSCN2834

taking fun solo vacations…

DSCN1082on a road trip through Washington

and training for my first Ironman…IMGP1063A year and a half later I got an e-mail from Mr. Gazelle – totally out of the blue – asking for a recipe for something we had made together.  After a few e-mails back and forth he confessed that he had made a mistake.

Yup, I was pretty shocked.  He had made a mistake, but time had gone on and I pretty well told him that I wasn’t interested.  I realized though that maybe I did still miss him, so perhaps it would be worthwhile going on one date.  We quickly realized that things were even better than before as the Gazelles V2.0.  We still really enjoyed travelling together, cooking and riding our bikes, but we could see doing these things together for the rest of our lives.  Thank goodness for second chances.

DSCN3240The Gazelles V2.0 in Banff

In February we were finally able to celebrate a first dating anniversary together…it was a long time in the making!  In July we’ll soon have a new anniversary to celebrate.  Our path to wedded bliss wasn’t as direct as it is for some people, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.  I really enjoyed the things I did on my own in our time apart.  I believe that making the choice to get back together makes us stronger as a couple.  I also know that I can’t wait to marry Mr. Gazelle in less than two months.DSCN5032Was your road to the altar a bit bumpy?

Monday, May 23, 2011

Lord & Lady of the Rings

The Gazelles ticked another big item off the to-do list – we got our wedding bands!  With less than 2 months to go I think we cut things a bit close but we managed to luck out.

See, the thing is, we put off buying our wedding bands for so long because we were waiting for the Tiffany & Co. jewellery store to open up here in Calgary.  I was pretty sure I wanted a simple platinum band that matched the band on my engagement ring.  DSCN4344Well…I trotted on down to the new store within the first week of opening, tried on the wedding band and I just didn’t love it.  Instead I fell in love with a circle of thin diamonds that was way out of our price range.

Since I found the look that I loved I tried to see if I could find it for less.  We lucked out at Calgary JewelleryIMGP3392It was the perfect ring, at the perfect price, and in the perfect size.  Want to see it again?IMGP3397And here it is with my engagement ring…IMGP3409We lucked out that the ring in the case just happened to be in my size.  If we would have had to order a ring we might have had a tough time getting it in time for our July wedding.  So Hive, don’t do what I did – don’t put off the search for your wedding band for too long!IMGP3408As for Mr. Gazelle?  He decided to go for a tungsten carbide ring with a carbon fibre accent.  It looks very cool and very manly and modern!IMGP3414We also lucked out in that the standard size rings in most of the jewellery store just happened to fit Mr. Gazelle.  He’s definitely very happy with the style of his ring.IMGP3422The only thing is I was Googling for an image of the ring to show BM-D…and…I found it online for significantly less!  We ordered the other ring, we’ll compare it to the original ring and probably return the more expensive ring.

Did you almost wait too long to buy your wedding bands?  Did you find your ring online for a lot less than what you originally found it for?

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Wedding Day Timeline

We have a long weekend here in Canada so I have a plan to knock out a lot of wedding related tasks over the three day weekend.  We have less than 60 days left to go, so there is no time for fooling around!

My big task last night was tackling our wedding day timeline.  I started with the Wedding Day Planner in Google Docs which was a great template.  I took out the things that didn’t pertain to us and put in my own times for when flowers are to arrive or when vendors have access to our site.  I also tried to think about the photos we wanted to have done, how long did I think they would take, and when in the day should we schedule them?

The biggest glitch I had was figuring out how the reception should be structured.  We go straight from the ceremony to cocktail hour and then straight inside the Brock House for the reception.  Do we have a few toasts before dinner or do we get started on eating right away?

Who toasts?  The Best Man, our Maid of Honour….do our fathers toast?  And since Mr. Gazelle’s parents are divorced Father-in-Law Gazelle can’t really speak for Mr. Gazelle’s mom so then what?

So then we are done with dinner and toasts…when do we cut the cake and do our first dance?  FYI, dancing is in the same room as the buffet so I don’t think we can do our dance before dinner which I know is popular right now.  And do you know that if you Google “when to cut the wedding cake” the majority of your results will be “how to cut the wedding cake”?  No worries, I’m sure Mr. Gazelle and I can figure out how to cut the cake!

Do you have any tips on toasts, particularly with divorced parents?  Or suggestions on when we should cut the cake in relation to our first dance?  How did you come up with a wedding day timeline?

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Making Scents

I knew I wanted to buy a new perfume especially for my wedding day.  I will admit that my initial approach to choosing a scent was not quite the best way.  I was interested in trying was Miss Dior Cherie – not because I thought it would be right for me but because I’d heard about it and wanted to try it.  Yup, call me a sucker for advertising.

P133401_heroImage via Sephora

Luckily I played it smart before I bought it.  On a recent trip to the mall I popped into Sephora, sprayed the perfume on my wrists and walked away.  For the rest of the afternoon I kept sniffing and seeing how the scent developed and if I liked it.  It was the only scent I tried on, so my nose was not confused by any other scents.  After several hours I knew I still loved it so I picked the perfume up later.

On a Friday night Mr. Gazelle and I were at the mall after scoping out wedding bands.  I dragged him into Sephora as there was another perfume I wanted to smell.  Before we got to the scent of interest Mr. Gazelle got side-tracked by a big flat screen TV on the wall.  What on earth?  A super helpful sales associate came over and introduced us to Sephora’s Fragrance Finder.  The finder runs you through a series of questions to determine what type of scents match your personality the best.  Once you’ve determined your fragrance family it shows you what scents fall within that family and you can e-mail yourself notes on each perfume to help you remember it for later.  Considering your nose gets tired after about four scents this can help a lot!

I wound up really liking a perfume I never would have thought to try if I just would have sniffed the bottle.  Gucci by Gucci Eau de Parfum.

P206107_heroImage via Sephora

I’m not sure which scent I’ll pick on the big day yet.  The sales associate said that I needed to keep whatever my wedding day perfume is for wear on only the wedding day and for anniversaries.  I’m not sure that I want to save it for such special occasions in the future though!

Are you getting a special perfume for your wedding?  Which one?  And are you going to save it for your anniversaries only or do you want to be reminded of your wedding day a little more often?

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Mr. Gazelle Suits Up

Mr. Gazelle’s made to measure suit has arrived!IMGP3358Doesn’t he look handsome?  Very GQ…IMGP3366I think his three piece suit looks fantastic and it fits him so well.IMGP3368He obviously feels great in it.  He was a great sport and put on the whole ensemble including his dress shoes just so I could take a few pictures of him.IMGP3373Love the blue detail on his shoes!IMGP3335He also picked up these beautiful Mother of Pearl cufflinks to complete his look.IMGP3377They play nicely off the Mother of Pearl buttons on his suit.  Check out that lovely gray paisley lining!

Unfortunately Mr. Gazelle is still waiting on his made to measure shirt though.  The first fabric he picked out wound up running out of stock.  Then there was an issue with the second fabric he picked!  He’s hoping that his white dress shirt will arrive in time for the wedding.  If not, he ordered a back up custom dress shirt from Indochino just in case with the help of a Groupon we already had.

No matter what happens with the shirt Mr. Gazelle is going to look so handsome on our wedding day.  I cannot wait!IMGP3367Was your significant other super excited about their wedding ensemble like Mr. Gazelle is?

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Suiting the Gazelle Men

The Gazelle men have their suits!  We tossed around a ton of different ideas – purchasing here in Calgary, ordering custom suits over the internet and renting.

First up we went shopping with Groomsman M.  Finding a suit for him was relatively easy and he scored an awesome three piece suit from Le Chateau.DSCN4935DSCN4936Doesn’t that suit look awesome on him?  He tried the suit on with the tie we bought for him and a white shirt.  Love the ensemble!

Finding a suit for Best Man D was a lot trickier.  We were actually hoping to rent him a suit but we hit a total brick wall.  We wanted to rent a suit from Black & Lee since they have stores in Calgary and Vancouver.  We thought we could get measured here and pick up a suit in Vancouver.  Good plan in theory but unfortunately they only rent black suits!  Moores was another option but they only rent tuxes.  After the guys got frustrated with the lack of options Best Man D decided to buy a grey suit from Moores.DSCN5026DSCN5029D walked in, the salesman eyed him up and pulled this one off the rack.  It was perfect.  Here’s a shot of Mr. G and his best man.DSCN5030

The guys will be wearing their suits with an awesome boutonniere we got from etsy seller Pomp & Plumage.  The bout on the left is for Mr. Gazelle then we’ll see who gets gets which bout!IMGP2850editDid you hit a brick wall while trying to dress the men in your wedding party?

Friday, May 13, 2011

Time for Tea!

This past weekend the awesome Gazelle girls threw me a bridal shower!  If their phenomenal invitation was any indication, it would be quite the party.

My parents, my grandmother and my aunt all came out from BC just for the shower.  They worked so hard to get everything ready, along with my MOH and BM:

DSC00667at casa Gazelle the morning of the shower

I put on my best tea party dress and hat:

IMGP1580the Anthropologie Sing Sweetly Party Dress and hat from Chapel Hats

So many ladies got in the spirit of things and really dressed up.DSC00680IMGP1657

Tables were decorated with lace table cloths and old tea and biscuit tins held amazing flower arrangements.

IMG_6963Photo courtesy of Julie Browne

There were some amazing tea time treats laid out for us.  There was an assortment of chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad, cucumber and mint and smoked salmon sandwiches.  Mr. Gazelle had been up until 2:30 am making an Earl Grey cheesecake.  BM-D made a purple velvet cake.  My mom had mini carrot cake cupcakes and cranberry scones that we enjoyed with clotted cream and preserves.IMGP1594

We also had plenty of tea to choose from – Earl Grey, spiced chai, peppermint and a rather boozy blueberry tea.IMGP1595Finally at the end of the table there was a cookie bar set up with an assortment of some of my favourite cookies – chocolate chip, homemade Oreos, Pims orange biscuits and shortbread. 

IMG_6962Picture courtesy of Julie Browne

Plus there was a huge surprise – lemon glazed sugar cookies in the shape of Mr. Gazelle’s and my silhouette!IMGP3333

Seriously, how cool are those?

We played a few games.  Everyone had to draw a picture of how they met me, then I had to guess who it was.IMGP1601MOH-T (my sister-in-law) and I had a good laugh remembering when and how we first met.IMGP1604By the way, how amazeballs is her fascinator?  I wish I had a better picture of it!

We also played a trivia game – how well do Mr. Gazelle and I know each other?  I kinda failed miserably as I only got 14 questions right out of 30!  Although really, Mr. G did not make the answers easy on me…

Just as we were wrapping up Mr. Gazelle walked in with a bouquet of flowers!  He was here to help me unwrap presents!IMGP1620Photographic evidence shows that Mr. Gazelle really enjoyed himself.IMGP1626Can you guess where we registered?IMGP1638-editMy awesome grandmother made this wonderful piece of lace for us by hand.DSC00675I was so overwhelmed and touched by how hard everyone worked to make this shower go off without a hitch.  My MOH had a vision and she definitely made it come to life!  To say thanks for all of the hard work I had some presents ready for them.  I may only have had Christmas wrapping paper in the house.DSCN5005IMGP1647With my grandmother, MOH-T, my niece (and flower girl), mom and aunt.IMGP1660

A huge thanks to the Gazelle girls because they absolutely rock.  I had an amazing time and felt so loved and lucky.IMGP1664

Tell me about your bridal shower!

Pictures courtesy of Papa Gazelle and Auntie M unless otherwise noted.