December 30, 2011

Enjoy the Bubbly!

Happy New Year!! Its been quiet around here these last few months as the Mr & Mrs purchased our first home thus the absence. Also, can't wait to share more details of the wedding but waiting on the rest of the pictures to come in.
Thank you for visiting my little bridal blog this past year, love the comments & feedback and hope to share with you soon the rest of the details.
Happy New Year & enjoy the Bubby responsibly!
xo
(image via Martha Stewart Weddings, photo by Christopher Baker)

November 1, 2011

Let them Eat Wedding Cake!

The Wedding Cake! Oh the story behind the cake...we just couldn't decide on the cake or let me state I couldn't decide on the final cake. Reason is that I wanted to honour the groom's family's Colombian heritage by having a traditional Colombian Wedding cake but I also wanted to incorporate our Canadian roots by having a traditional flavoured Wedding cake. So, we went from two cakes to one cake by incorporating both traditions and having a layer each of different cake. 
What is Colombian Wedding Cake:
recipe for torta negra (black cake)
450 grams turbinado sugar (demerara, light brown)
200 mls cognac
2 tsps baking soda (dissolved in a bit of warm water)
1 pinch ground cloves
120 grams powdered sugar
1 cup hazelnut (chopped)
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup currant
200 grams softened butter
400 grams self rising flour
1 pinch ground nutmeg
400 mls red wine
1 tsp vanilla extract
(recipe from yummly therefore a slight varied version might have been used)
The other layers consisted of vanilla pound cake with a mix of  Dulce de Leche & chocolate ganache as filling, yummy indeed! So yummy that at the end of the night one layer went missing...the catering had left it out for us to take home. Well one lucky guest must have loved it so much...
The cake was baked by Delicias Gloria, we sat down and designed the cake ourselves. I think the end result came out beautiful and delicious!
(photography credit by Renaissance Studios)

October 21, 2011

the Dress {wardrobe dept}

(trying on the dress at the Priscilla of Boston store in New York)
When past Brides say the day goes by in a flash believe it, its so true! It seems like only yesterday that my boyfriend proposed, getting used to saying fiance was a bit strange but saying husband...whole new World! My friends ask, "how does it feel?" no different from before. Is it suppose to feel different? I married my best friend and its always felt great! Without further ado as everyone has been asking about THE dress! So, I don't have the final pictures from the photographer so you'll have to suffice with various images.

The final choice of dress was a Melissa Sweet gown from Priscilla of Boston, in style Felice. I fell in love with the dress immediately, I had it on at about the waist when I knew it was the ONE. I wore the ivory version with ivory belt.
Melissa Sweet Designer Bridal Gowns and Wedding Dresses by Priscilla of Boston
(image glamour.com)
Thank you everyone for the well wishes you sent me!
xo
the Mrs.!

September 28, 2011

hair department {Eva Therese Studios}

Big question: down or up-do? Not disclosing so you'll have to see after the big day. Can't give away all my wedding secrets. But I will let you in on one hair secret... my go-to hairstylist for shiny beautiful hair, Eva Therese. She has "magic" hands, I could literally fall asleep in her chair. Normally when I go for a blow-out a salon I can feel the hairstylist tugging and pulling on my hair to get it straight but with Eva I can't even feel her working on my hair, amazing! And she loves talking beauty and hair products, so as a beauty blogger endless beauty talk is always on the agenda.
Check out a few of her clients

photo credit: Jeremy Clay


I've had two trials: up-do & down
Decisions, Decisions!
Find Eva Therese Studios on Facebook & her blog
Lots more pictures of her work!
(images: Eve Therese Studios)

September 26, 2011

the Final Cut {invitations}

With three weeks to go Wedding planning is coming to a near end. Cannot believe how time flies when planning a wedding, with less than a year the process has been somewhat smooth. The key is to use your time efficiently and thankfully with my work schedule it all worked out. Here is the final cut of the wedding invitations, overall I'm very happy with the way they came out. I would've tweaked a few things like ink and paper colour for the inside of the pocket folder but in the end your guests wouldn't know this (maybe now when reading the blog). And keep that in mind, don't freak out about little details your guests don't know your vision so overall presentation will {hopefully} look beautiful!
labels made by Buddy + Bean




Invitations by The Invitation Place
With today's social networking I realize that a few couples are going the evite route but I love the look and feel of getting invitations in the mail. What are your thoughts; paper or electronic invitations? 

September 9, 2011

To Veil or Not to Veil?

To wear a veil or not to wear a veil, that is the question? The fiance wants a bow, yes that's right a bow...ok can look very fashionably pretty if done right but I think that look works well on a very retro 50's style dress as my dress is a little more vintage looking than that decade I'd prefer a veil. Keep in mind I want to remove the veil & add a bit of bling bling afterwards...Can't give away too much info my fiance actually reads this!

Marisol Aparicio

oddly enough I really like this vintage looking mannequin's hair colour & of course the veil!


Big question which to choose?

September 8, 2011

Just a Girl after all

Just as the dress is an integral part of the Wedding day so is the apparel that comes beforehand. I'm not referring to intimate wear (that will be another post) but the morning of the wedding...How fabulous it is to be a girl, just wake-up & throw on a little pretty something!
kimono-style wraps from UnderWrapz
personalized robe from Chrissy's Creations
I love them all, which to choose?

September 7, 2011

Shoe shopping in London

If you remember back in March I {thought} I found my heels for the big day...however they were purchased before I had found my dress and the reality is they don't exactly match with the style of my dress. So, I'm back to heel hunting!
Recently in London I went to Harrods in hopes of finding heels...but either heels are way too high {what's up with that?} or too low as in "only Aunt Hilda would buy that low of a kitten heel". And of course way to expense, seriously who buys heels for close to $1000? Not a bride on a budget, yes even one that has gone above her initial estimate.
Casadei heels


Rene Caovilla (OMG! The soles of these heels are gorgeous, sparkly grey!)
Christian Dior (these would be perfect but they are way too high)
the Dior booties are fabulous but wouldn't exactly match my gown's style
I think these Valentino might be it!! Rather find them in Toronto.
Any suggestions?

September 2, 2011

Unveiled

Finally I have the dress now time to accessorize! Would love to wear a veil for the church ceremony and then after the veil is off for the party either add a fascinator or vintage clip. One of my favourite shops for veil inspiration (still on the fence ordering online as I'd prefer seeing it in person) is Twigs & Honey...seriously gorgeous items.
Love the veil cap look! Not sure if I could pull it off though...

(images via Twigs & Honey)
What's your take on the traditional veil or go with a headpiece?
Photography credits: Elizabeth Messina

August 17, 2011

the Bridal Shower {all in the details}

Earlier this month I had my Bridal Shower and although it was fun planning it with my closest relatives glad that its over, planning a shower and wedding simultaneously is a bit stressful especially if your like me where you love little D.I.Y details. If you plan far enough in advance you'd be surprised at what you can find online, such as free template downloads like my menu cards. The key is to search blogs and lots of blogs because there are so many....
Details:
Favours-mini Claus Porto soaps (love these luxury soaps & they're a nod to my Portuguese heritage)
Personalized lipbalms from Beaucoup, a nod to my beauty blog & love of makeup.
Stamps are a D.I.Y bride-to-be's best friend, easy to use & re-usable. Just customize the ink pads to your own colour palette! I picked these up at Michael's Craft store in the $1.50 clearance bin.
the groom-to-be hard at work
Menu-one of my favourite wedding blogs is Ruffled & that is where I came across the template/idea for my menu + the idea for the IKEA double-sided picture frame which costs $.99 perfect look for my retro themed shower! Two Brunettes designed the actual template, check out their site for more inspiration. The menu graphics were the PERFECT colours as it allowed me to expand on my chosen bridal shower palette of yellow, green & minty blue.
The menu's printed at Walmart Photo Center in one hour, easy to do & colour quality vivid!

Other details like green candles purchased at IKEA, great store for wedding items.
Invites- template purchased from Apple Blossom Print, check out my post here.
And lastly flowers, I chose colours that would tie in my colour palette too! Bought retro-inspired vases at Goodwill & brought them in to a local inexpensive florist, told them what flowers I liked & colour. Sometimes its best to let the experts put the small touches together hence the florist!

Yummy bridal shower cake by Pretty Sweet Cakes by Savera, red velvet cake + chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for those that wanted to indulge a bit more. Please excuse the flower detail as it was a hot Summer day & the humidity caused the flower to "melt".
a clean, fresh streamlined look is the end result
entrance: a wire mannequin form that I dressed up with a retro kitchen tea towel & vintage ribbon to tie into an apron. Guest/picture book and shower favours, as guests arrived I took a picture which I will develop & put into the book next to their signature. 
Loved the flowers!
Hope you got inspired by my retro themed Bridal Shower!
xo

August 11, 2011

a French affair {real-weddings}

Last month I travelled all the way to Paris, France to attend the wedding of my friend D'Arcy who married her sweetheart Sebastien. It was a gorgeous wedding outside of Paris at a romantic Chateau in the country-side.
love the fish-eye effect
the bride wore a gorgeous vintage inspired custom-made gown with lace removable overlay, the gown converts into a strapless gown for dancing
the reception was held on the Chateau's grounds in a tent,
although it was a rainy day the event was beautiful & intimate
the groom loves music (used to DJ in his early 20's) hence the table names
Lace overlay is off which means one thing...PARTY
the day after all the guests were invited back for brunch! What a fabulous idea, considering that most guests were from out of town it was nice to attend the next day in a more casual affair.
love the tablecloth change on the tables for brunch
Congratulations to the lovely couple! Had an amazing time, good music, good company and delicious food all the ingredients for a fabulous wedding.


July 25, 2011

bridal shower invites are in the mail!

The bridal shower invites are in the mail! However, by now most guests have received them {I hope}. With the Canada Post on strike back in June the invites went out a bit late. Better late than never! And I'm really happy how they came out. Rachel from Apple Blossom Print customized her invite silhouette to conform with my bridal shower colour theme. 
The theme, 1950's housewife, combined perfectly with Rachel's idea. The invites and envelopes were printed and purchased at Staples, the blank address labels and recipe cards purchased from Michael's Crafts (what a perfect colour match).
What do you think?
To see more of Rachel's work check out;
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...