The Wedding Binder

My girls were telling me that I needed a wedding planning binder.  Really?  I am all about keeping things digital as opposed to hard copies.  With so many wedding planning websites to choose from I was feeling a bit sceptical about needing a binder but I figured I should probably check them out anyway.  After all, one might be useful for compiling contracts and other bits and pieces along the way.

On a Sunday morning I popped into Chapters, our Canadian big book store, to scope out the selection.  The binders were pricey and there were a whole lot of things that seemed superfluous to our wedding.  I decided my best option would be to make my own so off to Staples I went.     

I picked a purple binder and printed off my inspiration board for the front cover.  Open it up and there is a pencil case in front.Inside?  I have pens (black, red and purple), white out, tape flags and some paper samples for some of the paper products I’m going to use.Next up?  The to do list!  I’ve checked a few different ones out, but so far I like the task list on The Knot the best.After that I have a bunch of different tabs:

• The venue: I have our contract, a booklet of steps to take now that we’ve booked the venue, the receipt for our deposit and other bits of pieces.
• The photographer: I have our signed contract and a price list.  I haven’t talked about our photographers yet, but trust me, they are AMAZING!
• The travel: I have our reservations for our trips out to Vancouver for our wedding planning, plus anything related to travel arrangements that have been made around our wedding.
• Receipts: Here I’m keeping all the receipts for any wedding related purchases that have been made.

I definitely feel like this is more useful since I can customize it and add to it as needed.  Did it wind up being more cost effective than the pre-built binders I saw at Chapters?  Hard to say since I then picked up this awesome purple Fast In Flight Bag from Lululemon to tote it around in!Just kidding, I promise I didn’t buy the bag just to haul my binder around…

Do you have a wedding planning binder?  Am I missing anything from mine that I haven’t thought of yet?

The Question of Glasses

Me and MOH-T, showing off my glasses that just happened to be new at the time of this picture.

I know a lot of brides struggle with whether to wear glasses or not during their wedding.  For me this is a no brainer.  I can’t wear contacts so I have to wear glasses.  It is a long story but I seem to have major issues with dry eyes and contacts so I gave up trying to find contacts that would work years ago.  The glasses that I am currently wearing are four years old though and I just went through a significant change in my prescription.  I need some new lenses!

What is up with all the wine in these pictures? Gazelle tasting wine in the Hunter Valley.

The problem is I really like these glasses.  And all I can think about is that I need to pick some new frames that will look good in engagement photos and at the wedding.  That feels like a lot of pressure!

Catching the sunset in Coupeville on Whidbey Island in Washington.

At first I thought about just changing out the lenses in my current glasses, but wow that is expensive!  I started looking at new frames but nothing was clicking.  This feels harder than wedding dress shopping!  I popped into Lenscrafters and almost purchased a pair of black plastic frames.  Almost.  The price was right and they looked alright on.  The girl was filling out my prescription on her computer and was telling me that the lenses would be a special order.  As she was filling out the information I was having buyers remorse and I hadn’t even purchased anything yet!  Needless to say I hightailed it out of the store.

The next night it was off to another store – Iris – and this time I brought Mr. Gazelle.  He’s a big fan of the current glasses and I really wanted his opinion.  We ran through a bunch of frames and I finally settled on these lovelies.  Bonus?  They are the same purple as our wedding colour!  Not that I picked them just solely for that reason, but because the colour works really well with my colouring.

Coach Bernice Glasses via EyeglassesContacts.com

Did you struggle with the question of glasses in your wedding?

Dress Shopping – Round I (Part II)

We made our way to the second Embrace store in Airdrie.  It was a completely unassuming store inside a strip mall, advertising dry cleaning and alterations.

They also have tuxes along with discontinued gowns sold off the rack.  Dresses in the store can no longer be ordered so it was a case of if you find it, it fits you and you like it then you kind of have to go for it.

We looked through the gowns and most of them were a size 8 or 10.  I knew a bridal size 8 wouldn’t fit and the 10 was a maybe.  Then BM-D found something and started getting excited.

“Look at this one!”

I loved the look of it.  Where is the tag?  What size is it?  Where is the tag….why can’t I find the tag??

Size 12.  A beautiful Justin Alexander dress.

We put it in the dressing room at the front of all the other dresses so I could try it on first.  Once again, the girls had to help me in and do it up.  It zipped perfectly.

As soon as I exited the dressing room I could tell.  I had the biggest grin on my face.  I LOVED it!!!!  This was also the first dress I tried on that other girls in the store looked at me and told me that I looked amazing.

MOH-T said she could tell as soon as I stepped out of the dressing room.  BM-D figured this would be the dress as soon as she saw it on the rack.  I didn’t want to take the dress off.

It had a lot of the elements I was looking for in a dress but hadn’t been able to find in the previous two stores.  And seriously, this dress fit perfectly…  But what to do?  I hadn’t had a chance to shop with my mom yet and she wasn’t planning on coming out to Calgary for another three weeks.  We took a bunch of pictures so I could send them to my mom later and I put the dress on hold.  Check out my girls – they both wore purple – the wedding colour!  And check out the grin on my face!

Sorry about the big pink blob hiding the dress I was wearing!  I’m trying to keep my eventual dress a secret until the big day!

Did you find the dress you wanted but couldn’t buy it right away?

Dress Shopping – Round 1 – Embrace Fashions

*WARNING* This post contains pictures of me in wedding dresses…if you don’t want to see any pictures of me in a wedding dress than look no further!  Yes FH, that means you.  Thanks honey! :)

For our second store we were making our way just north of Calgary to Embrace Bridal & Formal Fashions in Airdrie.  This was a very different experience compared to the Bridal Centre!  No appointment necessary.  I was interested in visiting this store because they were supposed to carry Justin Alexander dresses, the same designer of this fabulous gown:There was a lone girl working at the front of the store.  She directed us towards the wedding dresses and let us have at it!  The dresses were not in bags and we were able to pull whatever samples we were interested in trying on.  Fun!  I pulled a bunch of gowns and the girls had a blast pulling dresses too, making me their personal dress up doll!

For the first couple of dresses the girl working the shop was able to help me in, but pretty soon the shop got busier.  She was spread pretty thin as more groups came in so it was then up to the girls to help.  Serious laughs ensued as I attempted to jump and wiggle my way into dresses and the girls attempted to do me up.  Thank goodness I didn’t mind either of those girls seeing me in my skivvies!

BM-D got in on the fun, trying on some crazy bridesmaid dresses, including this bright yellow tulle and disco ball stickered number.I think for the first time I came out of the dressing room with a smile on my face.  This one was the Venus AT 4448.  This wasn’t the dress as I wasn’t a huge fan of the mini pick ups or the fabric of the main dress. This other dress also wasn’t the one as I wasn’t a huge fan of the asymmetrical ruching over my stomach.  The girls liked the sweetheart neckline and I liked the bow on the back.  Boy, I look like I’m taking this dress shopping thing seriously, eh?No sign of Justin Alexander dresses here though….sigh…  After making my way through all of the gowns we had selected to try on it was time to go.  As we were putting our shoes on the girl working in the shop asked us if we had been to their other location. 

Other location??

Did you share a lot of laughs with your girls when you went dress shopping?

Dress Shopping – Round 1

*WARNING* This post contains pictures of me in wedding dresses…if you don’t want to see any pictures of me in a wedding dress then look no further!  Yes Mr. Gazelle, that means you.  Thanks honey! :)

When we last left off on dress talk I mentioned that I wasn’t sure if I fit into the typical bridal style like most of the dresses I had seen on Say Yes to the Dress.  And then I saw this picture from Justin Alexander:

Image via Justin Alexander Bridal

When I discovered that it also came in a full length gown I realized that there may be something to this wedding dress thing after all. 

Image via Justin Alexander Bridal

I did some research on the net – scoping out a few dress shops in town and the different designers they carry. Because my mom is a 7 hour drive away I figured it would be worthwhile to try a few dresses on with my MOH and BM, see if there were any styles I liked and try to narrow things down before my mom would be able to visit.  I printed off some styles that I liked and made two appointments for a Saturday afternoon.

MOH-T put together some wicked emergency bags for all of us for our day out.  It contained a box of tissues, some lens cleaning cloths, hand wipes, mini Toblerone pieces, granola bars, gum and some baked Pringle sticks and a bottle of water.

First up we went to the Bridal Centre, easily one of the more posh bridal stores in Calgary.  To make an appointment you have to fill out a form online detailing your budget and styles you have tried on or that you like, plus you have to agree to only bringing two people with you, no children and no food or drink.

My consultant took us upstairs to the princess room, took a look at the printouts I brought and pulled a few dresses.  The first dress was a ball gown style.  When I put it on I felt…not a whole lot different.  I don’t know what I was expecting but was I supposed to feel different in a white poofy dress?

Unfortunately they didn’t have my favourite dresses that I had printed out in stock.  I found bits and pieces of dresses that I liked but no dress that really stood out as something that I would actually want to buy.  After trying on probably 15 dresses we exhausted all of the options in my size and budget.  I wasn’t sure if I would have that “oh my god, this is my dress” kind of feeling.  It was time to call it quits so I got dressed.  We had another store to hit up!

For our second store we were making our way just north of Calgary to Embrace Bridal & Formal Fashions in Airdrie.  This was a very different experience compared to the Bridal Centre!  No appointment necessary.  There was a lone girl working at the front of the store.  She directed us towards the wedding dresses and let us have at it!  The dresses were not in bags and we were able to pull whatever samples we were interested in trying on.  Fun!  I pulled a bunch of gowns and the girls had a blast pulling dresses too, making me their personal dress up doll!

For the first couple of dresses the girl working the shop was able to help me in, but pretty soon the shop got busier.  She was spread pretty thin as more groups came in so it was then up to the girls to help.  Serious laughs ensued as I attempted to jump and wiggle my way into dresses and the girls attempted to do me up.  Thank goodness I didn’t mind either of those girls seeing me in my skivvies!

I think for the first time I came out of the dressing room with a smile on my face.  This one was the Venus AT 4448.  This wasn’t the dress as I wasn’t a huge fan of the mini pick ups or the fabric of the main dress.

This other dress also wasn’t the one as I wasn’t a huge fan of the asymmetrical ruching over my stomach.  The girls liked the sweetheart neckline and I liked the bow on the back. Boy, I look like I’m taking this dress shopping thing seriously, eh?No sign of Justin Alexander dresses here though….sigh…  After making my way through all of the gowns we had selected to try on it was time to go.  As we were putting our shoes on the girl working in the shop asked us if we had been to their other location.

Other location??  Stay tuned!

Did you share a lot of laughs with your girls when you went dress shopping?

*All photos are personal unless otherwise noted.

The Bridal Expo

The weekend after getting engaged there just happened to be a bridal expo here in Calgary.  Given that our wedding is in Vancouver this wouldn’t be so helpful in finding florists, cake vendors, and the like, but it would be a great bonding experience with my girls!  MOH-T and BM-D and I made our way down to the expo soon after it opened on Sunday morning.  We I wanted to get there early while there would still be plenty of cake samples available (or at least I hoped)!

We entered the massive room with a plan to make our way through the space methodically.  Right away there were all kinds of wedding dresses on racks, available for purchase at a deep discount.  I took a quick peek through them but didn’t pay too much attention.  None of those dresses were anything close to what I was interested in, and as MOH-T said, they looked like they belonged on the discount rack.  I also hadn’t had a chance to try any dresses on yet.  I didn’t want my first experience trying on a gown to be inside some makeshift changing room with a bunch of other brides with crazed looks in their eyes trying to find a bargain dress.  I just didn’t want an inexpensive wedding dress that badly.  So we moved on.

There were some bridesmaid dresses around as well and this gave MOH-T and BM-D a chance to talk about dresses and ideas they like.  Plus they were able to point out jewellery that they thought was pretty too.Moving on from the bridesmaid dresses was a lady in an apron asking me if I was interested in cooking.  From the signs they had up it looked like they offered cooking classes for couples.  Interesting!  She then proceeded to tell me that if we attended a demonstration on some brand of cookware that I hadn’t heard of before that FH and I would each get a free apron.  I didn’t need a free apron that badly so we kept going.  There were also a few key stores pushing you to register that day.  FH and I have already talked about where we would like to register and that store wasn’t there.  Plus, we want to register together….or at least I do!  So…moving away from the home stores and the registration consultants…

There were plenty of wedding planners there and it was interesting to get ideas for elaborate tables.  Pink and gold anyone?  I thought this looked like it might have been from Carrie Underwood’s wedding. They are a little over the top, but it was definitely interesting to see!

Then there was the fashion show!  A few different bridal and tux stores showed off a few gown and bridesmaid dresses.  I couldn’t get any good pictures but there was one dress that looked like the girl had pooped ruffles.  The highlight of the show was really the guys modelling the tuxes.  Boy, get a bunch of women in a room, have some guys show off some good looking tuxes and bust out some dance moves while doing it?  Entertaining…

As for cake….was there cake?  Let me tell you, I found the cake!  And chocolates!That is a stick of emergency gum behind the cupcake that I had just been given.  In case you were wondering.  Some boudoir photography guy had just handed it to me prior to me snatching up a cupcake. I wish I had taken pictures of all of the cake I got to eat, but I think I did my best to sample.  One place had all kinds of different flavours to try – chocolate, red velvet, vanilla…  Yum.

Ultimately the most useful part of the day for me was looking at all of the wedding invitations.  I thought that I wanted to try and DIY invites but I really had no idea on a look.  I took pictures of plenty of invitation inspiration that really helped nail down some ideas.

Ultimately it was a really fun day out with the girls.  I’m glad that MOH-T and BM-D had a chance to spend some time together and there were plenty of laughs along the way in our my quest to eat lots of cake.  What did I learn from the day?

• Bring a camera!  You never know what you are going to want to remember and being able to take a picture makes things so easy.  I was able to show off some of the invites I found and get FH’s take on them once I got home.
• Make up a separate e-mail address specifically for the wedding to give to vendors.  If you want to enter any draws they will ask for an e-mail.  To avoid receiving a whole bunch of spam for years to your long term address just make a new gmail one.
• If you do want to enter draws you may also want to print out some address labels at home with whatever information you might want to give out on it.  You know, like your brand new, temporary e-mail address?  You could have them made up just outside the expo for $7.  I just used a pen at the end of the day.
• Don’t be afraid to say no.  There is a hyped up atmosphere inside an expo.  People will be pushing you to sign up for things.  It is okay to say no and move on!
• Don’t sit so close to the speakers at the fashion show.  Wow, were those things loud!
• Come home, sort through all of the flyers you picked up and immediately determine if they are really useful or not.  I grabbed a ton of stuff and before I had difficulties remembering what things were I sorted out what I didn’t need and tossed it.  Like a coupon for $50 off if I buy some huge amount of flowers from a vendor in Calgary.

Have you been to any bridal expos?  Did you have fun and eat lots of cake?

Defining Your Bridal Style

*I’m going to preface this post by saying don’t worry Mom!  I won’t give anything away about the final dress!  I’m only going to talk about my experiences leading up to finding the dress.

I remember being a young girl around 11 or 12 years old.  We were living in London, England and my mom and I were shopping at one of the department stores downtown.  We wandered past the bridal department.  They had bright white shiny dresses on the mannequins.  I really did not like those bright white shiny dresses.  I knew that whenever I did get married….several years later…..that I would be staying away from shiny and bright white!

*Personal photo.

Once Mr. Gazelle and I began to talk about getting married I figured it was time to add a new television show to the list of PVR recordings.  Say Yes to the Dress.  Ah yes, the show that allows women to shop vicariously for wedding dresses, gasp at the catty comments from friends and family on television and to shake our head in disapproval when a woman brings too many friends or her fiancé into the shop to help her make a decision.

It gives us a chance to see what women will buy with an unlimited budget.  As I watched the show I began to wonder whether my dress existed inside a traditional bridal salon.  The consultants proclaim to have a difficult time with a budget of $2000 and I knew I wanted to pay less than that.  I also had a hard time envisioning myself in a fit and flare gown in white satin with rhinestones on it.  Surely lovely dresses, but most definitely not me, and the kind that I saw women buying most often.

I began looking online at the simpler styles, like the Erica at J. Crew. 

Image via J.Crew.com 

While the dresses were pretty and budget friendly they were simple.  Would I be cheating myself out of that experience of finding a unique wedding dress?  Was there a dress out there that would fit my style and my budget?

How did you start to define your style as a bride?  Did you have a clear idea of the dress you wanted from the beginning?

Shopping for the Perfect Ring

It was sometime in university when I discovered it.  When I realized that the definition of all things romantic, sparkly and beautiful were contained in one place.  In one blue box tied with a white ribbon.  Tiffany & Co.

I always loved their jewellery but I never really thought I would ever own anything from there.  Then in 2007 I met up with two of my girlfriends to run the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco.  The setting was beautiful and the Ghirardelli chocolates served on the course were delicious!  The icing on the cake was that race medals were beautiful silver necklaces from Tiffany’s.The fact that handsome firefighters in tuxes were handing out those trinkets in little blue boxes of course had nothing to do with it…Mr. Gazelle knew when he saw the excitement on my face about my new Tiffany’s necklace that there was no other store that he would one day want my ring to come from.

Fast forward a few years we were driving home from work one day last summer.  We were planning a quick trip to Vancouver in August before Ironman.  Mr. Gazelle turned to me in the car and said, “I think that when we go to Vancouver we should go ring shopping.”

Me: “Okay…!”

Mr. Gazelle: “I was thinking we could start at the top and go to Tiffany’s.”

Me: “Really?  Are you sure?  But then we can go to other stores after that.”  For as much as he wanted to look at rings from there I never thought we would actually be shopping there seriously.

Mr. Gazelle began perusing the rings online trying to pick the right one for me.  Excitement ensued and he could barely contain himself when he thought he found the right one.  While a part of him wanted to surprise me, another part of him wanted to know if I liked it.  He caved and showed me and it was perfect.  It was exactly the one I would have picked for myself!

After that Mr. Gazelle spent about a month or so e-mailing back and forth with a lovely rep at Tiffany’s Vancouver store.  They discussed all things budget, design and quality.  She walked him through the 4Cs of diamonds, a topic that can be really intimidating and confusing.  Then as the big day arrived she had the rings in store that met his criteria.  She made him feel comfortable and knowledgeable about the big purchase.  As we left the store on a sunny day we both felt like it had been a one of a kind shopping experience.  I was a little sad that the ring was a tad too small and that we had to leave it behind.  It would be FedExed to Calgary later after it was sized.  I was still able to walk out with a little blue bag of jewellery  cleaner though, and this would give Mr. Gazelle a chance at a surprise proposal like he had been hoping for.Did you shop for an engagement ring with your fiancé or was it a surprise?

*All personal photos.

The Proposal

I haven’t shared our proposal story with you yet!  I raced Ironman Canada in Penticton, BC on August 29th, 2010.  What exactly is an Ironman?  It is a long distance triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mi (3.8 km) swim, a 112 mi (180 km) bike ride, followed by a full marathon (26.2 mi or 42.2 km).  It requires a ton of preparation in the months leading up to the race.  Mr. Gazelle was really supportive throughout my crazy training and he was my biggest cheerleader on the day.  He drove me to the start line at 4:30 am, was on the course throughout the day and was at the finish line when I crossed shortly after 11 pm.

We went home to Calgary a few days after the race and got back on with our normal lives.  On the Friday after the race Mr. Gazelle and I drove home from work contemplating dinner.  We tossed around going out for fondue or running to the grocery store to grab some steaks.  We didn’t make a decision in the car though and just went straight home.

We walked in the house and went into the kitchen.  There was food on the counter that hadn’t been there in the morning when we had left for work!  There were flowers on the dining table!  And there was a brand new fondue pot on the table too! 
Hello, love the deep purple mini calla lilies!

Mr. Gazelle wanted to surprise me and planned a special dinner for us to celebrate Ironman together.  He had dinner in hand so he encouraged me to relax and hang out on the couch.  He fixed up some of our favourite appetizers – dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon – and made my favourite cocktail, an el Diablo – tequila, crème de cassis, lime juice and ginger ale. 

Dinner was ready!  He prepared a classic Caesar salad at the table.  Yummy!  Then it was time for cheese fondue made with Gruyere and smoked Gouda.  There was French bread, cauliflower, broccoli and smoked garlic sausage for dipping.  As we were eating the conversation was fairly normal with no indication of what was to come.  Then all of a sudden he said, “Well, I do have something I want to ask you….will you marry me?”

He reached over to grab the ring out of hiding and placed it in front of me.

And of course I said yes!  The proposal was so us – at home, eating some of our favourite foods and enjoying good wine and great conversation!  And what a week – I became an Ironman on Sunday and engaged on Friday!

*All personal photos.

Did your fiancé plan a proposal that fit you as a couple to a tee?

Picking the Venue

Confession: Mr. Gazelle and I started scoping out wedding venues before we got engaged.  We knew we wanted a summer wedding and that we didn’t want to be engaged for too long.  We had to decide on what was important to us for our wedding:

• A small, intimate venue that would fit close family and friends – about 60 people
• A place where we could have both the ceremony and the reception in the same place
• A beautiful view
• Amazing food

We never talked about getting married in our home city of Calgary as we both preferred the idea of a destination wedding.  Since most of our family would have to travel for the wedding regardless of where it was held this made sense to us.  We decided to search around Vancouver – a beautiful city with amazing views of the water and the mountains.  It also happened to be the city that I went to university and a place that we both love to visit together.

One place that kept coming up as a great venue for weddings was the Brock House Restaurant.  The Brock House is a beautiful heritage house built in 1912.  It is located between Jericho Beach and the Vancouver Yacht Club, right on the water.

The front of the Brock HouseThe stairs that I will come down to walk down the aisle.

The Brock House has a gorgeous lawn where your ceremony will take place, and for smaller groups your reception is held on the second level of the house.

The lawn where our ceremony will take place.Imagine this room with tables and chairs.  It will be where our reception will be held.Are those chiavari chairs I spy?The room where we’ll have dancing and boogying.The Library – the room where I’ll get ready before the ceremony.

Add in the fact that in-house catering takes care of your entire menu and that all of the tables, chairs and everything else you might need it are provided.  It seemed like a great option since we would be planning everything from a different city.  Seeing the venue on the blogs of so many Vancouver wedding photographers sealed the deal.  The place was exquisite.  Having a chance to explore the house in person in August reaffirmed our decision.  As we strolled along Jericho Beach in front of the house we kept smiling and saying, “That’s us!  That’s where we are getting married!”Did you get that “a-ha!” moment too?

*All personal photos.

The Great Venue Debate

When the Future Hubs and I first began talking about the possibility of getting married he revealed that he would really like to get married on a boat.  A small, intimate ceremony with the ocean winds blowing and water all around.  Knowing that just to include my family members would probably require renting a whole other boat I wasn’t so sure this could work out.

I envisioned a slightly larger, but still fairly intimate ceremony in a vineyard, complete with good friends, good food and good wine to celebrate.  I had the perfect winery in the Okanagan in mind.  It had an amazing view of the Okanagan Valley, the setting was romantic and they made really good wine.  Plus they were building a restaurant on the property that was scheduled to open next spring.  FH agreed it would be a terrific option so I called to enquire.  Imagine my dismay when they told me that they didn’t do weddings.

I began looking at alternate wineries in the Okanagan but it seems like most wineries choose to concentrate on making good wine as opposed to promoting themselves as wedding locations.  The options that were available just weren’t appealing.

I switched gears, looking to see if getting married on a boat was an option.  I scoured the web for different cruise companies in Vancouver to see what the options were.  Somehow or other I wasn’t so sure that the food would be good and I couldn’t get visions of a dance floor like this one (from a recent dinner cruise I was on) out of my head.The options I could find weren’t really what the FH had in mind either.

So with that, now what?

Were you disappointed to find that your dream venue wasn’t a possibility for your wedding?