blooming details

I got an appointment booked at Kensington Florists for a consultation on April 4th at 3pm. Looking forward to having them "wow" me with ideas.

Tina passed on info about another bakery I could try... Buttercream Bake Shoppe on 17th ave. It's right near one of the florists I was going to look at (Anne Paterson's Flowers), so we'll pop in. Plus, who can resist trying some simply wonderful cupcake flavors (peanut butter cup or raspberries n' cream)?! yum, yum. Thanks, Teens, for the heads up!

Looking forward to my trip to Calgary. I leave April 1, but I have about two weeks worth of stuff to complete before then. I'm off to it...

best man couture

While Lisa and my mom and I were waiting around at one of the bridal shops back in January, we took a moment to peruse through the bride's maid dresses. Seriously, what's with brides making their closest friends wear such hideous creations?! Bright yellow and turquoise taffeta ball gowns do not scream beauty. Granted, there were some decent dresses and even some very pretty ones, but at between $250-450 a pop I started wondering about what to do for Tina.

Tina, as most of you know, is Marcus' sister. She is his "Best Man" and also the only female besides myself in the wedding party. She and I haven't really gotten a chance to discuss options yet, but here is what I've come up with so far. I am offering to make a dress for her, so at least she can save a few hundred bucks, plus we can choose the fabric (preferably in black). Duchess satin is a good 'ol traditional dress fabric. The image to the left is from a Vogue pattern I bought recently. It's silhouette is very similar to my wedding dress. The best part about this dress is that I could easily alter it for Tina after the wedding so she might actually wear it again as a "little black dress".

blooming challenges

Yet another pressing "to-do" while I'm in Calgary is trying to find a florists or figure out what we're going to do about flowers. I am obsessed with the idea of having Calla Lilies as the main flower in my bouquet and in the boutonnieres and corsages. I think that Calla Lilies are by far the most beautiful flower out there. Trouble is, I'm really not sure if they'll even be available for a November wedding, and of course, they do tend to be more expensive than most flowers. The symbolic meaning of the Calla Lily is "magnificent beauty". My second choice flower is Ranunculus which means "radiant beauty".

So far my list of places to visit regarding wedding flowers looks like this:
-Allan's Flowers
-Sunnyside
-Kensington Florists
-Anne Paterson's Flowers

I have also had an offer from my friend about making up the boutonnieres and corsages, but I still need to find the flowers to order in. I've found some great ideas for various floral things:

- boutonniere with an added touch
- and being such a creative person, this idea caught my eye for doing boutonnieres and corsages
- I also love this idea because I have some beautiful handkerchiefs that belonged to my Grandmother and it would be wonderful to incorporate one of them

As with all the other wedding details, I have lots of ideas, I just have to narrow them down somehow. Wish me luck on finding a florist!

Oh my goodness!

So, the last month or so has been insane. Between work and work, my life has been more than a little full! I was down in San Francisco for a week at the Game Developers Conference at the start of March, and every day is crazy time at Verse Studios.

But, finally, more pictures have been uploaded to our album page! And The spring plants are now in the planter boxes, the seeds are sown, the rain... is still falling, but there are sunny patches now!

Next on my white board list: Invites and RSVPs!

And, of course, Kissing Sarah Lots.

wanted: ten dozen cupcakes

I'm in the midst of searching for a baker to do cupcakes for the wedding. Neither of us really wants to do the traditional tiered cake. We would like to have cupcakes for everyone (which, yes, is uber-trendy, but it also fits with the quirkiness of our wedding). That said, however, we want a single 4-6" simple cake to sit on top of the cake stand. Here's a few pictures to give you an idea:
-This one is a bit more fancy on top...
-This one is gorgeous, although nothing like our colour scheme

Anyway, I know that Crave is hugely popular in Calgary for their tasty cupcakes and they actually will do special order wedding cakes, but their prices make me hesitate. So I emailed Cakeworks to see if they will do orders of cupcakes, and sure enough, they do. Cakeworks' prices are about a $1-$1.50 less than Crave, so it makes them much more viable. I'm just not sure how tasty their cupcakes are. Think it's time to schedule some taste testing while I'm in Calgary. mmmm, cupcakes. I also have not forgotten about Lisa's friend up near Red Deer who does wedding cakes and cupcakes. Still need to contact her. So much to do...

say cheese

Actually, I'm fairly certain we won't have to "say cheese" to get the smiles right on the wedding day... I've got an appointment booked with our photographer on April 3rd at 2pm, so we can finally meet in person. We're going with Bud Moore, a long time Calgary wedding photographer, who happens to be one of my brother's neighbors. Marcus and I love his style of photographs, which are less traditional wedding pics and more artsy. What could better fit our personalities?! I'm excited to see more of Bud's portfolio when I visit his studio in April!

pre-marital classes

Marcus and I approached Reverend Mike at the Knox Presbyterian Church about doing pre-marital classes. We've been attending church there since Christmas and have felt really welcomed into the community. And, although, Marcus and I have been living together for over a year and a half, we still think it would be a good idea to go through some relationship counselling. Rev. Mike says he usually does four to five sessions, so I'm sure we'll find some helpful things out. Our first class is on Wednesday, April 18th at 7pm. We get to fill out scan-tron tests and everything! Marcus is very excited about taking a "test". He is missing school alot. Anyway, if any of you out there have helpful relationship advice for us, don't hesitate to pass it on. We're always eager to learn and improve.