Merry Christmas from us!

Merry Christmas from Us!!!

Progress on Thank You Cards

My hand is about to fall off...I just finished writing thank you cards for my half of the list. Unfortunately, I did not adhere to my "five cards a day" idea and I am one day late in finishing them. (We had wanted to send them out before the end of November.) Now that I am done, I will help Colin complete the rest of our guest list. Unfortunately, our tardiness means that our cards will be mixed in with the Xmas card mail. Not ideal but completely unavoidable.

Wedding Reception Slideshow

If you had any difficulty seeing our reception slideshow using the link on the left, here it is again.

Just Five Cards a Day

Even though the wedding day has come and gone, that does not mean that wedding-related activities have come to an end yet. The principal task before us now is to send out thank you cards to our family and friends. At first, it seems like a very daunting task, particularly since I want to write custom messages in each card as opposed to writing the same standard "Hallmark" message in all of them. Our strategy is to write out five cards a day. Today was my first day writing out thank you cards and I can say that five cards in one sitting is an appropriate number.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Colin's cousin, Ivy from Hong Kong who was very kind in helping us order our invitations and thank you cards from Kamdo.

My Wedding Gown - Now What?

So, the big day is over and I am faced with a new wedding dress dilemna: what to do with it after the wedding. I knew this day would be coming ever since I bought my dress. I had my mother dry clean my wedding dress while Colin and I went off to our honeymoon. (Thanks Mom!) And now, it is hanging in my closet at my parents' house in a garment bag. After talking to a couple of other former brides, I know that my dress cannot stay in the garment bag for long. Otherwise, it will start to mold.
The way I see it, I have the following options:

1. Sell it
I could try to get some money back by selling my gown. It is in perfect condition and has only been worn once. If I were to sell my wedding gown, I would probably try to sell it myself versus give it to a consignment shop. I would need to put it up for sale soon otherwise it could go "out of style". I would also have to find a short bride since the gown has been hemmed - which could prove to be difficult.

2. Donate it
Shortly after we got engaged, I read an article in the Globe and Mail about the Bride's Project. It's an organization run by a woman in Toronto's east end who sells wedding gowns to budget conscious brides with all the proceeds going towards cancer research. I had initially thought about buying my wedding gown through this organization but her business hours were so limited that it made it difficult for me, as an out-of-town bride, to check out her collection. If I were to donate my gown, I would donate it here. I wouldn't be making any money off of it but I could be satisfied knowing that once my gown is sold, I would be making a contribution towards cancer research.

3. Box it and keep it.
I really like my wedding dress. I love the look and feel of it. I know that it is just a piece of clothing but for me, it symbolizes so much more. If I were to keep it, I would have to preserve it properly. And that means wrapping it and putting it in a proper box. And while you can get a box that has a window, enabling you to see the dress, it is not the same as seeing it hang off a clothes hanger. They say that when you keep your dress, you can pass it off to your daughter. But honestly, fashion trends come and go. I'm not counting on my daughter re-wearing it.

There is one other option that I have already ruled out: Trash it. Some brides basically throw it away or destroy it. Unless I had only spent $50 on my wedding gown, I would not trash it.

So, at this point, I am still not sure what to do. Option #2 is probably the easiest and requires the least amount of work on my part. Option #1 might be good to recoup some wedding costs. Option #3 allows me to keep it but where the heck am I going to find space to store it?

Any thoughts on what I should do with my wedding gown?

[By the way, I don't have the same concerns with my Chinese wedding gown. It was pretty cheap (lucky $88) and I figured one of my remaining single sisters/sister-in-law/single female cousins can take it when it's their turn.]

Vendor Review: Grower's Flower Market and Gifts

One wedding detail I didn't care a lot about were the flowers. Flowers eventually die, so I really did not want to spend a lot of money on them. As long as they were cheap and pretty, I was going to be happy. Roses seemed to be the natural and easiest option. We ordered our wedding flowers at Grower's Flower Market and Gifts on Avenue Road. We dealt with a woman named Nara. The store itself was definitely a "no frills" kind of store; well-stocked with all kinds of flowers but a bit messy. Unlike other florists who will show you portfolios of their floral arrangements, we basically talked about what kind of wedding flowers we wanted and used a few poorly pictures of flowers I had printed as a guide. On top of that, Nara couldn't really speak English very well and she scribbled our order down on a piece of loose paper in handwriting that I couldn't decipher. So, we took a BIG risk with going with this florist because we were never really sure what we were going to get. Even when I confirmed our order a few weeks before the wedding, I had no idea what to expect.

We ordered two floral altar arrangements. We had expected the arrangements to have more green hangy things at the bottom. As you can see in the photo below, they didn't. But like I said, I wasn't picky and they still looked nice.

Boutonnieres are bontonnieres. She couldn't really go wrong with a single cream colour rose. Colin's boutonniere was slightly different in that it was accented with green berries. If I could turn the clocks back, I would have made his stand out a bit more. They were simple and classic.
My bouquet consisted of about 25 roses altogether; a combination of cream colour roses and blue curiosa roses. I had imagined that my bouquet to be a bit bigger than it actually ended was. But I was too cheap to get more roses in my bouquet. I might have wanted maybe another 5 to 10 roses.I was really pleased with the bridesmaids' bouquets. They turned out EXACTLY the way I wanted. Their bouquets consisted of a dozen blue curiosa roses accented with green berries. The blue curiosa rose really complemented their dresses too.

We also ordered two orchid corsages for both of our mothers. Nara screwed this up. They were supposed to be pinned corsages but instead they were the wrist ones. And for some reason, Colin's mom's corsage came apart in the middle of the day. So, we had to send someone back to the store and pick up another one.

Overall, I would rate this florist's job to be 7/10. But then again, I was not a picky bride. If you really do not care about your flowers and you want to spend the least amount of money on them, I would encourage you to check this place out. However, if you want first-rate customer service, piece of mind, and a guarantee that your wedding flowers will turn out exactly the way you want it, go to a "real" florist.

Vendor Review: The Mobile Stylist

I hired Charlene, the Mobile Stylist to do bridal hair for myself and my three bridesmaids. Charlene is very creative; I was happy with all of the hairdos that she did. In particular, she was very good at making sure that our hair-dos would last all day by using products such as freezing spray. Although it didn't look it, my hair was hard as a rock.

The only negative thing I have to say about Charlene is that she can be late. She was late for my hair trial back in July and she was late on the morning of my wedding. On my wedding day, I had tried calling her cell phone to find out if she was on her way but couldn't get a hold of her. I later found out that she had changed her cell phone number. Not exactly the kind of thing a bride wants to worry about on the day of her wedding.

Despite her lateness, Charlene still did a good job and she is very nice. I would recommend her services to another bride as she can do wonderful bridal updos. Her prices were competitive to some hair salons in Richmond Hill that I considered. In the end, I really found it advantageous to have a hair stylist come to our hotel. The only advice I have if you're considering Charlene is to take necessary steps to ensure that she will not late.

As you may recall, I was against getting a tiara for my bridal headpiece. Instead, I selected two hair combs purchased from Bittersweet Jewellery to accent the design of my bridal up-do. Below is a close-up of the comb.

Vendor Review: Makeup Junkie

I have raved about her before but that won't stop me from raving about her some more. Joy, the Makeup Junkie, did an amazing bridal makeup job. Not only did I feel "oh-so-pretty" on my wedding day, my make-up stayed on all day...even after all the crying and kissing. The only touch-ups required were re-applying lip colour and powdering my T-zone.

Joy also did a wonderful makeup job for my bridesmaids. I don't think any of my bridesmaids wear much makeup on a day-to-day basis and I know some of them were a bit afraid that the makeup job would be overdone. However, Joy worked her magic and all of my bridesmaids were really happy with what she did.

I highly recommend Joy as a bridal makeup artist. In addition to doing amazing work, she is 100% reliable....meaning she was always on time whenever we had an appointment. I know that this is important for any bride who has a tight schedule. And the fact that Joy does not drive (yet) and that she relies primarily on public transit to get to her appointments demonstrates how reliable she is. (FYI - since Joy is a friend, I invited her to stay with me at the hotel on the night before the wedding...but she was perfectly punctual when we did our engagement photos and my makeup trial). The other thing I can say about Joy is that she is a true professional. She made sure her brushes were clean and she has great taste in makeup!

Below are a few photos taken at the hotel on the morning of our wedding. Thanks to Joy for making me and my girls look so beautiful on my wedding day! And I have to thank my wonderful husband, Colin who referred me to Joy's services. (Now, what would I do without him?)

Vendor Review: Hello DJ

We hired Lisa from Hello DJ to be our wedding DJ and she was absolutely awesome! I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a wedding DJ...or a DJ for any event. I saw her in action at a friend's wedding and really liked her style. Now, I am not exactly a music buff. Also, I have been to a lot of weddings in my life and all wedding DJs seem to be the same. So, the fact that Lisa caught my attention at my friend's wedding, was a sign for me that I had to hire her for our wedding. As well, I liked that fact that she was a hip, young woman who runs her own DJ business.

Lisa worked diligently for us all night long. (I have been to a few weddings where I saw the DJ more often at the bar rather then at the DJ booth). In particular, we appreciated how she was always ready to change the music to an appropriate song when our guests made use of the hula hoops for our kissing game. Plus, she was great at "reading" the crowd and always seemed to play the right type of music. All of our guests told us how much they enjoyed the entertainment.

I have previously blogged about our wedding ceremony music. The selection of our reception music was also carefully chosen as well. From the Pork Parade to the Last Dance song, the music was executed exactly as we had discussed. Here were our requests:

Bridal Party Introductions: Let's Get Married, Jagged Edge
First Dance: Somebody, Depeche Mode
Cake Cutting Ceremony: Ice Cream, Sarah McLachlan
Pork Parade song: Get Ready for This, 2 Unlimited
Bouquet Toss: Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper
Garter Toss: I'm Too Sexy, Right Said Fred
Last Dance: Save the Last Dance For Me, Michael Bublé

Thanks Hello DJ for making it a night to remember!

Our Wedding Day

It's finally here...the blog entry that you have all been waiting for!! Sorry it has taken us so long to write this. We did want to post it within a month of our wedding day. Enjoy!

Our wedding day was the BEST day of our lives. We were so fortunate to be surrounded by our family and friends. And we had so much fun. From the wedding ceremony to the reception, everything was just perfect! Here is a recap from both of us.

The Morning

Denise: I received my wake-up call at 5am. I quickly rolled out of bed and remember thinking "Man, I wish I had at least one more hour to sleep." But, not today. At around 5:30am, I started to wake up the other girls because I was expecting Charlene, the hairstylist to arrive a half hour later. Unfortunately, she was a bit late and I started to worry when I couldn't get a hold of her on her cell phone. Meanwhile, I had Joy, my friend and make-up artist, sleep over at the hotel the night before. She was able to start on my bridesmaids' make-up right on time. Once Charlene arrived (around 6:15am) , the morning became a bit of a blur. All of the girls took turns getting hair and make-up done while eating room service breakfast. I remember feeling a bit panicky because we were half-hour behind my schedule. But the girls' hair and make-up looked fantastic. We were just about ready to leave for the ceremony venue (around 10am) and I became a little bit more panicky when I overheard Joy talking to her husband on the phone. He was supposed to already be at the ceremony site setting up the keyboard. Instead, he was still on the highway! Anyway, I couldn't think about it at that time.

Colin: The morning was a blur for me... I woke up around my scheduled time (as it was very important that I not upset a certain someone today) , and made sure everyone was on schedule as well. Charles, one of the groomsmen, had slept over the night before and was also up bright and early as we still had to go wash his car (i.e: the bridal car). I was pretty nervous all morning and can't quite recall what I ate or much of the dialogue that morning. I do remember buttoning my vest all wrong. When Chen arrived, we all got dressed in our tuxes and after a few photos, we all hurried on our way, again as scheduled. It turns out that we didn't have to follow the schedule to a "T"; some well timed phone calls revealed that we would have to kill some time on the road to ensure that we would not arrive the same time as the bridal party and that I wouldn't see Denise until the ceremony. During the car ride up to Oakview Terrace, I had attempted to practice my vows, that I wrote myself, but I was a bit overcome with emotions so I stopped before Charles could see. I thought to myself that I could 'tough it out' at the altar.... boy, was I wrong!

Just Before The Wedding Ceremony

Denise: The girls and I arrived at Oakview Terrace just after 10am. I didn't know what was going on but I spoke briefly to Sandra, my Ceremony GM, who assured me that everything was perfectly fine. In the Bridal Room, I put on my dress and took some pre-ceremony photos with my parents and the bridesmaids. I was so excited; I couldn't wait to get married. The flower bouquets were waiting for us in the room and they were absolutely gorgeous - exactly what I had in mind.

Colin: Everything was perfect! Sandra, Steve, Valerie, Vincci, James... all the ceremony helpers did an amazing job. It was so good to see everyone there, especially, Niki, who was unsure if she could even make it because of another event. Our officiant, Frank, confirmed with me that I had my vows printed out for the big moment, and I did. For those who haven't known me for too long or haven't seen me play sports, I rarely wear my contact lenses. For my special occasion, I had them on, and as I found out later, the reason not too many people stopped to congratulate me at the entrance to the chapel was because they didn't even recognize me!! Well that's okay, I was pretty nervous that morning! Then the processional music started, and we started to line up for our grand entrance...

The Wedding Ceremony

Denise: The moment finally came. I remember leaving the main building to walk towards the outdoor chapel. It was the most perfect day to get married. The sun was shining. There was a slight breeze and I could hear my sister's beautiful music. I slowly walked towards the little bridge in the middle of the property and I could see inside the chapel. It was a full house! When the doors of the chapel first opened for my grand entrance, I was overjoyed to see all of our guests who came to witness our wedding ceremony. And then, I saw my handsome groom. For me, seeing Colin for the first time was definitely one of the highlights of the day. Contrary to the wedding rehearsal, the wedding ceremony was not a blur. I remember every moment of it. And it was perfect. It was not an overly formal ceremony but rather, it was light, romantic with lots of humour. I teared up, of course...but it seemed to hit Colin more. Everything was perfect...the readings, the music, the exchanging of our vows.

Colin: Well what can I say here... I always feel relaxed when big moments hit, and this didn't feel any different than any other pressure situation that I've been in. I managed a smile while making my way to the altar, and everything was going to plan. Frank was his usual self (I know this because of other weddings where he officiated that I have attended). I can do this! Well, the moment was upon me now, and Frank had asked me to say my vows. So out of my pocket came this piece of scrappy looking paper (about the only paper I could find for my printer the night before), and it was met with a burst of laughter. "Good", I thought to myself, thinking that I could clown my way through this. But as Frank held/hid my scrappy vows in his binder and I started to read the vows, I was completely overcome with emotions!! I tried to suck back the tears, but it seemed like I was fighting forever to regain my composure. The rest of the ceremony was pretty light-hearted and went off without a hitch.

Both: After the ceremony, we had a photo session with our guests and light refreshments were served. From our perspective, this was when things seemed a bit unorganized; guess that is the problem when you have such a large family. Also, our wedding photographer spent quite a bit of time trying to determine the best photo spot. He initially directed people back into the chapel but we did not like that at all...especially when Oakview Terrace had such beautiful gardens. Somehow, we managed to get through all of our group photos.

Wedding Photos at York University, Glendon Campus

Denise: The entire bridal party headed to Glendon Campus for our wedding photos. By this time, my feet were starting to pinch in my high heels. I think I would have had more fun if my feet weren't hurting as much. No major issues with photo-taking except that we all got bitten by a few mosquitoes. Joy and James (her husband) were great at keeping an eye on time for me. (They both understood how important it was to me that we adhered to my schedule..hee hee). We left on time and headed to DoubleTree International Plaza Hotel for the tea ceremony.

Colin: As we left Oakview Terrace, some of the bridal car decorations proved no match for 100km/h winds, and some of it blew off! Actually, it was quite funny and we had a good laugh about it; the decals on the windows were great! As we approached York University, Denise asked me to have the photo license handy... my heart dropped to the floor! I didn't have it with me! I had assumed incorrectly that in all previous conversations, she was referring to the license to Richmond Greens that we had (but were not going to use). What were we going to do when we got to the gates of the campus? How were we going to get our bridal party photos done?! I really screwed up this time!! Fortunately for me, we were met with an empty security gate and no grounds staff to check for licenses, and our bridal party photos went off without a hitch. As we were preparing to leave the Glendon Campus, a cheer squad out in the football field saw us walking and performed an impromptu cheer for us! Wish we had caught that on video!

The Tea Ceremony

Denise: The first thing I did when I arrived at DoubleTree was change into flat shoes and my Chinese red dress. The tea ceremony went very smoothly. Florence and Linda poured tea into the teacups. My sister, Valerie and Colin's sister, Julie served as our Tea Assistants and called out the names of relatives. I was impressed with our wedding photographer, who had already set-up and was ready to go when we had arrived. We finished the tea ceremony almost 20 minutes earlier than anticipated. So, Colin and I had an opportunity to mingle with relatives and take family photos before I changed back into my wedding dress.

Colin: I really appreciate Denise and her family for entertaining me with the Tea Ceremony. This wasn't a high priority for her, but I wanted this element of Chinese tradition on my wedding day. In the end, I had to broken knees from kneeling for about an hour, but it was all worth it.

Cocktail Hour

Denise: During the cocktail hour, we wanted to take photos with our guests as they arrived for dinner. (We had arranged to have a photo backdrop just for this purpose.) Things probably could have (should have?) gone more smoothly as I know we didn't get photos with all of our guests. (Sorry!) Some of my guests told me afterwards that they really enjoyed the cocktail hour because it gave them an opportunity to mingle before heading into the ballroom for dinner.

Colin: Everything was pretty amazing! The helpers really came through for us again! As Denise and I agreed, we wish that we were a little more organized with a receiving line and photos at the reception backdrop. Oh well, there's only a Take One on this set. After the fact we also realized that not all guests actually signed the guestbook. This was probably due to the large lobby that we had and that everyone was having such a good time socializing with each other. That's a good thing! If anyone wants to sign it after the fact, just let me know :)

The Wedding Reception

Denise: I had so much fun at our wedding reception! The decorations were more beautiful than I had envisioned. Our emcees, Reg and Vincci were funny and entertaining. Dinner started on-time and the food was excellent. I actually managed to eat my entire wedding dinner! The speeches were touching and heart-warming. Our DJ was awesome! What really made our reception was our kissing game. Instead of clinking glasses, we had hula hoops; Colin and I agreed to kiss as long as someone was hula-hooping. We chose this activity because we did not think many people would actually do it. Man, were we wrong! Some of the memorable hula-hoopers included little Cierra, who could hula hoop until pigs fly, Andre's little "adult-entertainment" show, and the Lee-Kwen cousins' hula hoop marathon. Throughout the evening, everyone kept asking me if my cheeks were hurting from smiling all day long. The answer was no as I was just soooo happy on my wedding day. Thanks to everyone who joined us on our special day.

Colin: As Denise said, our emcees were amazing! I got to play my two wedding games, Denise got to eat her dinner, I got to kiss my bride, my volleyball friends toasted me with some shots, and I managed to avoid my bright red Asian glow for the formal parts of the evening. I wish I had slightly more time to chat with everyone a bit more throughout the evening to catch up. I'm ecstatic that everyone stuck around to party right to the end!!! This is how we roll!! Special thanks again to Hsin-May and John for coordinating everything at the reception! Other than the 10 billion times John signed our guestbook, you guys did a stellar job!!!

Our Wedding Vendors

We are still working on our joint blog entry. However, due to pressure from E.J.L. to update our blog, we've decided to add an entry giving the "lowdown" on our wedding vendors.

Ceremony Venue: Oakview Terrace
Tea Ceremony and Reception Venue: DoubleTree International Plaza Hotel (Ten course Chinese banquet meal catered by Grand Chinese Cuisine Restaurant)
Photography site: York University's Glendon Campus
Bridal Dress: Mikaella (Style#1256)
Bridesmaids' Dress: JCrew ("Emily" dress in Spiced Wine)
Tuxedo Rentals: Moore's Formalwear (Alfred Sung)
Hair: Charlene Cordoba, The Mobile Stylist
Make-Up: Joy David-Tilberg, The Make-Up Junkie
Bridal Jewellery and Hair Accessories: Bittersweet Jewellery
Photographers: Images Toronto (Supplementary photography services provided by Wayne Szeto and Victor Lan)
Wedding Cake: Kathy Tang (Colin's cousin)
Flowers: Grower's Flower Market and Gifts
DJ: HelloDJ
Decorator: Prodeco Workshop
Audio-Visual Equipment: Presentations2go
Wedding Invitations, Guestbook and Favour Boxes: Kamdo

Wedding Photos Now On-line

Colin and I would like to write a joint blog entry about the wedding day. However, we are busy settling back in Ottawa and haven't had a chance to sit down in front of a computer together yet. I promise that we will write one soon (Don't worry, I have notes jotted down already).

In the meantime, our wedding photos are already available in an on-line gallery. If you attended our reception, you should have received our wedding photographer's business card with the website and password info. If you don't have the card for whatever reason, feel free to contact either Colin or myself and we will pass on the information to you.

I have already seen photos and videos taken by some of our guests. If there are more out there, keep them coming. We would love it if you could share those with us too.

Enjoy the photos!

Recap of the Days Leading Up to Our Wedding Day

Hi everybody! Colin and I returned from our honeymoon yesterday. We were really able to "get away from it all" and we had an awesome time in Hawaii. While we were away, we did not have regular access to cell phone or internet; so, I have been experiencing email and blog withdrawal. Now that I am back, I am blogging the first chance I get. This entry will provide a recap of the few days leading up to our wedding day. (Note: I wrote this recap down on paper while on the plane heading to Hawaii...so that I could more accurately capture my thoughts and emotions rather than try to recall two weeks after the fact.)

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Okay, only three more days to go. Tonight was our wedding rehearsal at Oakview Terrace. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a blur. I really hope it's not like that on my wedding day. Colin and I, along with both sets of parents, the entire wedding party, and our musician (my sister, Valerie) arrived around 7pm to meet Kris, the Oakview Terrace Coordinator. She quickly described how the ceremony would unfold. First, Frank, the Wedding Officiant would walk in followed by Colin and the groomsmen. Then my mom would be escorted by my brother, Colin's parents, the bridesmaids and then me escorted by my dad. One of the things I had really wanted to do was time the processional music properly. Valerie had kindly brought her keyboard to do this. Unfortunately, Kris made us walk much more quickly down the aisle. So, we really couldn't do it. We only had a half hour for the rehearsal before another party would come in. Despite the fact we weren't able to properly time the music, I was still glad we had the rehearsal. It gave everyone an idea of what to expect. In particular, the groomsmen who ended up standing on the wrong side of the chapel on their first try!

Thursday, August 21, 2008
On today's schedule, the task of the day was to stuff our wedding favour boxes. My Maid of Honour, Linda, had taken the day off to help me...because Colin wasn't going to!!! What was Colin's priority two days before our wedding? He was going to go with a friend and his dad to the casino in Niagara Falls. You may wonder how Colin got off the hook from wedding work. Well, Colin's friend is from Peru and today was the only day they would be able to hang out since we were leaving on our honeymoon afterwards. So, I allowed him to go out. Besides, I didn't think stuffing wedding favour boxes was going to take up a lot of time. Boy, was I wrong.

I had asked Linda to arrive at Colin's house in the early afternoon and we started to stuff boxes around 2pm. Early on, it became clear that it was not going to be a "quick and dirty" task even with the help of Colin's eldest aunt and mom! First, the boxes had to be folded AND THEN stuffed with six hershey kisses AND THEN tied with ribbon. (The boxes were not that easy to fold.)

After about an hour, we realized that we did not have enough chocolates to stuff all the boxes. So, Linda and I went out hunting for more Hershey Kisses. And we literally went hunting because the Hershey Kisses were not so easy to find. We had bought special gold-wrapped Hershey Kisses from the Hershey Factory in order to match the gold print on our boxes. Two hours later, we only found a few packages of the gold-wrapped ones at one store. In the end, I bought silver Hershey Kisses and Hugs chocolates to stuff the remaining favour boxes.

By the time we were done, Kirk (Colin's brother and Best Man) was home so we had an extra body helping us out. By 10pm, we had stuffed 252 boxes - the minimum number of favours required. My eyes were so tired by the time the job was done.

Thanks so much to Linda, Colin's Aunt, Colin's Mom and Kirk for all of your help!

Friday, August 22, 2008
With only day left and most of the planning done, today was dedicated to all of the tasks we could not do until today anyway. In the morning, I went to pick up some flowers from our florist, which were to be used as a wedding cake topper.

In the afternoon, we transported various supplies to our reception venue at DoubleTree International Plaza Hotel. Supplies included wine, engagement portrait and centrepieces. The centrepieces needed to be constructed. Instead of flowers, the centrepiece was going to be a two-tiered glass pastry serving dish in which we would place our wedding favour boxes on. Something different and also a great space saver on the dining table too! To decrease the risk of the glass centrepieces breaking, we decided to construct the centrepieces on-site. For this task, I had enlisted the help of Linda, Kim (one of my bridesmaids) and Hsin-May (our Reception GM). I was so grateful to have these girls help us today. Once we had access to a storage room, the girls quickly began building the centrepieces. They were wonderfully efficient. Once the centrepieces were done, they kindly stuffed the remaining wedding favour boxes.

Meanwhile I went off to a manicure and pedicure appointment. Colin also joined me for a manicure only. After a week of rushing around doing last minute wedding stuff, it was nice to spend two hours relaxing and being pampered. We went to ZenSpa which is in the DoubleTree hotel - not cheap but overall a good experience for me.

After my appointment, I quickly went back home because the bridesmaids and I, along with my make-up artist and friend, were going to check in at a hotel fifteen minutes away from Oakview Terrace. I wanted us to stay in a hotel the night before because I wanted all of us to be together and to be close to the ceremony venue as so that we wouldn't be late in the morning. Lights were out in my room at 10pm. As I fell asleep, I remember feeling happy and excited.

Chipped Frame!

I spent the last 2 days purchasing a frame and mounting supplies from DeSerres and had just finished mounting the photo last night, when I removed the protective corners and...



With a frantic call to DeSerres, they confirmed that I can exchange the frame after removing all the mounting hardware. Let's hope that's what happens in a few minutes when I visit the store.

Not Exactly Picture Perfect...

Today was such a beautiful day and I decided to check out the place where we plan to have wedding photos taken: York University's Glendon Campus. The purpose of this visit was really to orient myself and to figure out which parking lot would be the closest to the prime photo spots.

Unfortunately, my visit was only somewhat of a success. On the up side, I found the beautiful Historic Mansion, which had ample areas of shade. This was very important for our photographer.

And the front of the Historic Mansion was nicely landscaped with various flowers and greens.

Here is a close-up of the front door of the Historic Mansion.

Behind the Historic Mansion is supposed to be their "stunning" Rose Garden. Instead, I found a rather pathetic-looking one that did not even have a single flower at all!! The photos below do not really convey how pathetic the garden was. It was completely dead and dry-looking. Some people opt to have their wedding ceremony in the middle of the Rose Garden. I am so glad that we did not consider doing this. It was not a pretty sight.

So, I called Glendon Hospitality for an explanation. And I got a wide range of contradictory reasons. First of all, the guy started off by saying that this was the risk I took in booking an outdoor garden in mid-August as roses tend to die off around this time. This explanation does not make any sense at all because my florist told me that roses are in abundance during this time of year. Plus, he was trying to make it seem like I should have known better than to book photos at an outdoor garden in the summer. (Duh. Would I have had better luck in the winter?!?).

Then, the guy proceeded to tell me that with the combination of the excess rain and the fact that it has been unusually cool was another reason that the roses didn't thrive. I am no gardener but I have heard that the entire city of Toronto is more lush this year because of the rain.

Finally, another excuse the guy gave me was the fact that there is a Toronto-wide ban against pesticide-use. A bunch of hooey, if you ask me.

To give the guy some credit, he did explain where there were other photo op areas including the terrace behind the Historic Mansion and stoned stairwells sprialling downwards. These would be primarily historic architectural shots vs. gardeny shots. I was concerned that we would be limited in the types of photos we could take. I agreed with him; There are still some good photo opportunities...just not exactly what I had in mind when I imagined what my wedding photos would look like.

Thanks for the Bachelor Party

Thanks to Kirk, Chen and Charles for putting together a bachelor party for me this weekend! I know the timing of things weren't the easiest, considering that I live in Ottawa, but it was a great success!

Thanks also to the friends who made it out, even if it was only for part of the day. It was good to catch up and not have think about any planning.

For everyone else that is curious about what I did for my bachelor party, below are some photos. Remember, if its not documented by photo, it didn't happen :)

The Final Leg

I took advantage of the government's "marriage leave" benefit. So, Friday was my last day at the office. I am so relieved that I don't have to think about work stuff in the week leading up to the wedding. Now, I can run wedding errands and take care of all the last minute details.

Tonight was an important night for us. Colin invited our Reception GM, our Emcees and other key helpers to his house for a BBQ so that we could have a meeting and go over the wedding itinerary. It's a jam-packed day and our team of helpers are playing important roles in executing it. It was a good meeting and I now have a good level of comfort that things will go according to plan...more or less. Don't worry, I am prepared for the possibility that things will go awry...Really, I am. :P

What's left in the final leg before the wedding day? We have to finalize seating plans, assemble programs, stuff wedding favour boxes, attend a wedding rehearsal...There is plenty to do before the big day.

Taking a Break from Wedding Planning

This past Wednesday evening, Colin and I were "surprised" by a group of Ottawa friends with a party in our honour. The surprise party was originally scheduled for an evening in July - and it would have been a complete surprise at that time; However, we cancelled due to the fact that Colin was unexpectedly called back to Toronto for work.

Nevertheless, we were still surprised at who were among the guests including my curling teammates, my former managers, and Colin's former RK co-worker. We had so much fun. It was so nice to take a break from wedding planning and be surrounded by friends. Thanks to all who came for your support and well wishes.

Pray for Sunshine on August 23!

Throughout the summer, I have been monitoring Toronto's weather. In June, it rained more than usual. In July, Toronto reached a new high record for rain that month. I am hoping that the month of August will be relatively dry since the last two months have been so wet. In particularly, I am hoping that August 23, 2008 will be dry. However, the weather forecasts have not been very reliable all summer. There have been countless times when the forecasts have predicted rain but the rain doesn't fall. And then there are days that start off with beautiful sunshine only to turn into thundershowers by mid-afternoon.

I am praying for sunshine on August 23 and I hope you do too. If Mother Nature has to let it rain on our wedding day, tell her to at least wait until 3:30pm. (By then, we'll be indoors.)

Finalizing Details

The last few days have been spent on important wedding details including recruiting helpers, working out a schedule for the day, and finalizing our wedding program.

The next step is to meet with the key players and discuss the final details so that the day will be executed the way we planned.

It's all starting to come together.

Bridal Anxiety

I woke up at 4:30am today realizing that our wedding day is now two weeks and four days away. Colin is heading back to Toronto today and won't be back in Ottawa until after our honeymoon. This means that I will be here...alone. In thinking about the wedding, I'm freaking out a little bit. I fear that our wedding will not go even close to the way we have planned it. I'm worried that my guests won't have a good time. I'm second-guessing all the decisions we have made so far.

There are times where I feel like there is still so much left to do. But then I know we're ahead of the game in lots of ways. All I can do now is take it one day at a time until August 23.

Seating Arrangements are like Jigsaw Puzzles

The majority of the RSVPs are in now (except for a few stragglers who we are following up with). Now comes the fun task of figuring out seating arrangements for our reception. Ultimately, the goal for each table is to place a group of people together who will have a good time. The challenge is trying to balance the actual numbers with people who are "naturally grouped" together. And then figuring out where to place other guests who may not "naturally" fit with a particular group but ensure that these people will still enjoy themselves at our wedding reception. Figuring out the seating arrangements is sort of like working on a jigsaw puzzle. At first, you don't think it would be that difficult but in reality, it's not as easy as it looks.

Glamour Girl

This past Sunday, I had my bridal hair and make-up trial. Overall, it was a good experience. I don't think I have ever felt more glamourous in my life. The results were amazing; definitely "red carpet" style. To maintain an element of a surprise for the wedding day, I will not be posting any photos from the trial. Sorry! You're going to have to wait until I walk down the aisle.

Once Colin and I had booked our wedding date, one of the first things I did was engage my make-up artist. Joy, a.k.a. the Make-Up Junkie, is a professional, free-lance make-up artist and also the wife of Colin's high school friend. It was really important for me to find a make-up artist that I could trust because I wanted to look good for our wedding photos. Plus, I am a make-up novice. If I did my own bridal make-up, my mascara would probably run and the foundation would smear all over my wedding gown. It would not be a pretty picture.

Joy also did the make-up job for our engagement photos. I liked what she did with my eyes. And I was impressed with how I still had colour on my lips even after all the kissing photos! Overall, it was a very natural look. For the bridal look, Joy and I agreed that we would do something bolder and more glamourous.

I had some difficulty finding a hair stylist. I had asked a few friends for positive referrals but had no luck. I called a few hair salons near the ceremony venue but none could provide me with reasonable prices. It was Joy who referred me to the Mobile Stylist, Charlene, for bridal hair services.

At the hair trial, I shared photos of bridal hair with Charlene to give her an idea of what I wanted. At the same time, I let her be creative since she is a professional. I really liked what she came up with - beyond anything I could have imagined for myself.

For any bride who will be hiring professional hair and make-up services, I highly recommend doing a trial. This way, you can ensure that you will get exactly what you ask for and there will be no glitches.

Personalized Wedding Vows

A while back, Colin and I had agreed that we would write our own wedding vows. Actually, it was Colin's idea but nonetheless, I liked it too. To me, personalized vows would be more meaningful rather than reciting the traditional vows that everyone uses. We had also agreed that our vows would be kept secret from each other until the wedding day.

Our wedding officiant, Frank wanted us to write our vows and send it to him as soon as possible. I had written my vows weeks ago and it took me only an hour or two. I decided to wait until Colin had written his vows so that we could both send them to the wedding officiant around the same time. Finally, on a recent Sunday, Colin sat down and wrote his vows. He told me that it was a bit of a struggle and that it took him about 7 hours before he was finally content with what he had written. In any case, I was happy he had gotten them done and we sent our respective vows to Frank in separate emails.

When Frank got back to us, he had accepted Colin's vows. However, he told me that mine was twice as long as Colin's and asked if I would be able to cut it?!? I didn't really want to. How could Colin say all he needed to say in three sentences? Anyway, I shortened mine today. I just hope that the condensed version captures the intent of my original one.

A Day with the Women in My Life

My bridal shower took place this past Saturday and it was so much fun! It was wonderful to see all of the fabulous women in my life including my grandmother, my aunties, my cousins, and my friends. The afternoon was a bit of a whirl as the house was jam-packed with people. I spent most of the afternoon trying to catch up with all of the guests. There was tons of food - although, all I had was two cups of water and cake (Perhaps, this is foreshadowing what my wedding day will be like???). There were also lots of prizes and games, including a quiz about me, "Guess that Love Song that Denise is trying to Hum", and Pin the Penis on the Hunk! I would like to thank everyone who came to celebrate this special time with me and for showering me with generous gifts. It meant so much to me that you were there. A special thanks to my mother for hosting the party and to my sister, Melissa for decorating the place.

After the shower ended, I got to spend the evening with my bridesmaids. It was supposed to be my "bachelorette party". But if you know me, than you know I am a bit conservative and quite shy to typical bachelorette party games. Instead, we had a lovely dinner at the Brant House (which I highly recommend - food was good and affordable). As it turned out, about five other bachelorette parties were taking place there too. So, I was even more relieved that we didn't do a typical bachelorette party. After a lovely dinner, two friends: Ami and Minora joined us for a pole dancing class. Again, if you know me, then you know I am always up for a good workout. The instructor was pretty good and I think we all picked up a few moves... ;)

Thanks to my bridesmaids: Linda, Kim, and Florence for organizing the entire day's events. I am eternally grateful to have supportive and dedicated friends to help me with wedding planning.

(I'm still sorting through photos and will post shortly).

A Wedding How -To for a Sugar Rush in the Morning

Try eating four six inch wedding cake samples!

My cousin, Kathy had agreed to make our wedding cake and we were delighted to sample some of her creations. Earlier we had suggested some preferred cake designed, as well as a flavor of choice (lemon) and arranged for a tasting.

Certainly neither Denise nor I had thought it would be anything more than a cupcake or two; after all, it was supposed to be cake tasting... How many variations could there be? As you can see, we aren't the wedding cake experts, and were very surprised with the sample selection that Kathy created. Can you guess which one was our favorite?

Conveniently, the unfinished cakes made their way to Denise's wedding shower later that evening.

Wanted: A Master or Mistress of Ceremony

Looking for one Master or Mistress of Ceremony who can serve as a co-host for our wedding reception. Must be comfortable with public speaking, have a good sense of humour, and be fluent in Cantonese.

My cousin, Reg graciously accepted to be one of our MCs for our wedding reception. But he can only provide English-speaking services. He told me that unless we were ok with him counting up to ten and saying the name of colours in Chinese, we might want to ask someone else to provide Chinese speaking services. LOL. :P

We have a couple of contenders for the job...Beware, we may come knocking at your door!

Walking Down Memory Lane

It is fairly common nowadays to show a photo slideshow at the wedding reception. And while some people may think that the slideshow idea is unoriginal, I cannot think of a better way to honour the family and friends who have helped shape us to become the two individuals we are today. Colin has been taking the lead in putting together our slideshow and I just spent the day combing through old photos of myself. Man, there was a period between high school and undergrad where I was quite geeky looking and fat. I debated whether to include these in the slideshow. In the end, I decided to include them. I figured, "What the heck? Our guests will have a good laugh."

Get Ready to Dance!

Recently, we met with our DJ to discuss our musical needs for the dinner reception. In addition to a friend's recommendation, I picked this DJ because she's not into playing the typical cheesy wedding music like YMCA. (Of course, if there is a special request for YMCA, then who are we to deny what the guests want?) We really want to throw a fun party for our guests and music is key to this success.

So far, we have asked the DJ to play a combination of vocal jazz and adult contemorary (e.g. Diana Krall, Michael Bublé) while dinner is served. For the dance that follows the dinner, our top preferences in music genre include Top 40 Dance, Retro 80s, Hip-Hop. I would also like the DJ to "sprinkle" a few sets of the Disco 70s and Reggae. The DJ had asked us for our "Must-Play" and "Do Not Play" list. Colin and I are not picky but we specified that absolutely NO Celine Dion be played at all. Let us know if there are any songs that you would like to dance to at our wedding and we'll be sure that it's played.

Colin and I still need to pick songs for the bridal party introductions, cake cutting ceremony, and more importantly, the first dance. Some friends have already offered suggestions that we are seriously considering. I hope to finalize these details before the end of the month.

Thanks for the "Stag"!

A couple of weeks ago, I had a random conversation with my friend Vincci like this:


Like many random conversations that I have, I expected nothing to happen, until another friend on the Evite messaged me about it! I was only added to the Evite much later into the planning.

Well that's all history now, and I would like to thank Vincci for being such a good friend and organizing a fun co-ed night out at the Bier Market. Denise and I both had tons of fun forgetting about wedding invitations, flowers, booking venues, talking to vendors and the rest of the boring stuff. Also, a special thanks to everyone for not talking about work related things.

Thanks again for the big smiles, the great conversation and dancing up a storm!

What a Score!

This past Friday, Denise and I strolled into our local grocer to pick up a few items and she happen to notice that one of the wines (the white wine) we planned to purchase for our wedding reception was on a summer sale at the in-store Wine Rack! A full $3 dollars off!!!

So off we went today, along with Chen, to the local Wine Rack in Mississauga to pick up 5 cases of this stuff. The kids working a the store were a bit surprised when I told them I wanted 5 cases... it was pretty much the whole display/stock. Also, they didn't bother asking for a Liquor license (which I have), so the transaction was pretty quick and painless.

Now we're waiting a bit longer to see if the red wine goes on sale :)

Priorities

Being such a planner, I am anxious to get a lot of wedding details worked out as soon as possible. Of course, I can't go ahead and make decisions without agreement from Colin. Recently, Colin and I had an "intense" discussion related to the planning of our wedding. Basically, he was tired of planning and needed a break. Whereas I felt like we are running out of time, especially since the wedding is less than two months away. The conversation went something like this:

Colin: We should have your friends over for dinner or something.
Denise: We don't have time to entertain friends. We need to talk about the wedding and get things done.
Colin: ...
Denise: I don't know about you but I'm all about the wedding right now.
Colin: Well, I'm all about the "Happy ever after"!
Denise: ...
Colin: BUSTED!
Denise: [Feels like an idiot.]

Our Engagement Portraits

A while back, we received our engagement portraits from our photographer. Here is a slideshow of some of my favourite shots. The photos were taken on May 28 in the Distillery District of Toronto. Enjoy!

Honeymoon is Booked!

We have finally booked our honeymoon. In the end, we opted to go to Hawaii the day after our wedding. We will be spending six days on the island of Maui and six days on Big Island. Hawaii ain't cheap but it should be a good time. After much research, I hope that we made the right choices in terms of accomodation. In general, I tried to base our choices on quality factors over cost. Oh well, even if the hotels don't meet expectations, I'm sure that Hawaii itself doesn't disappoint its visitors...right???

Meeting with our Wedding Officiant

On Sunday, Colin and I met with our Wedding Officiant to iron out some details of our ceremony. It was a fairly productive meeting. An interesting moment occurred while we were discussing vows. The Wedding Officiant presented us with a choice between traditional vows (i.e. "I, Denise, take you Colin to be my lawfully wedded husband...etc.") and a contemporary version (i.e. "I, Denise, take you Colin to be my partner in life...etc."). Can you guess who liked the traditional vows and who liked the contemporary vows?

There are a few things that Colin and I have to work out including the selection of readings and readers. Other than that, the ceremony details are pretty much taken care of. Our Wedding Officiant has several years of experience and we are sure that the ceremony will be carried out as planned.

Great Friends that We Have

As our special day draws near, Denise and I have started to create the itinerary for the wedding day events. While we can do the up front planning, we realize that we can't do anything but smile, pose for photos and be all cheerful. I must say that we're really thankful for the friends that we have. Generally speaking, Denise has always done an excellent job in keeping in touch with friends and its easy to see why they would be so willing to help out. On the other hand, I'm the type of person who is a bit more private, and afford the same privacy 'distance' to my friends too. My emails responses are typical one-liners without the fluff (i.e: "Hi, how are things going... blah blah blah").

Let me tell you how thankful I am for friends who accept me for this and are willing to help when asked. Special thanks to our friends Sandy, Hsin-May and Joy for being our first designated wedding helpers with the most difficult tasks. For all of my other friends, I might actually call on you for help very soon.... and I mean an actual phone call.

A Note to our Out-of-Town Guests

This message is for our out-of-town guests who have booked (or will be booking) one of the hotel rooms that were reserved for our wedding at DoubleTree International Plaza Hotel. If you have booked a room for Friday August 22, as well as Saturday August 23, please let us know. You can send us an email through one of the contact links on the left of this screen. This is to ensure that you will get the discounted rate on the Friday night too. Thanks!

Small But Important Details

Colin and I have been rather quiet on the wedding blog lately but that is not to say that we have been slacking in our wedding planning. Since most of the "big" things are taken care of, we have turned our attention to the small details. And there are plenty of small but important details to think about like ceremony decorations, centrepieces, and bridal hair/make-up.

I have been working with my good friend, Sandra to come up with some inexpensive but fabulous looking decorations to dress up our ceremony site. I don't want to spend too much money on the ceremony decorations because we're not going to be at the ceremony site for a long time. However, a few decorations are necessary to create a romantic wedding atmosphere. So, we scoured a few craft stores and dollar stores in Ottawa and I think we have come up with some nice pew bows and wreaths to complement the floral altar arrangements we have ordered through our florist. Car decorations are next on our list.

Another decoration detail that we have finalized is centrepieces. Two weeks ago, Colin and I found our centrepieces when we were wandering around First Markham Place in Toronto. All I will say is that these centrepieces are unique and were quite a deal. We just have to figure out the logistics of transporting them to our reception site.

I have booked a hair and make-up trial at the end of July. In preparation for the trial, I have been browsing several stores in search of the perfect hair accessories and jewellery. My preference would be to have at least the jewellery picked out so that I can try it on during my second dress fitting next week.

The RSVPs are coming in!

The RSVPs are coming in and it only makes me realize that the wedding is fast approaching. Many of our guests have been successfully using our RSVP online form but I have gotten a few RSVPs via phone as well. I'm very happy that a lot of my out-of-town family will be able to join us on our special day. This includes relatives from as far away as Vancouver, Brandon (Manitoba), Boston and Trinidad & Tobago!!! Of course, we have received a lot of RSVPs from local guests in the GTA, as well as guests from Waterloo and Ottawa. (Is Ottawa considered to be "out-of-town" given that we live in Ottawa too?)

Keep the RSVPs coming!!! :)

Measured for our Penguin Suits

On Saturday, My groomsmen, the fathers and I went to Moores to get measured for tuxedos. The style that we have chosen is a one button jacket, ivory vest/tie combo... no one will be paying much attention to me that day anyway.

Surprisingly, getting all measured up was much quicker and easier than I expected. The reason we went with Moores is because they are quite cost effective and pickup can be done at different locations per person (although, in the end, we will all be going to the same store). In the end, the 6 rentals will cost an average of approximately $130.

All in all, renting the tuxes were quite painless, except for a minor incident as we were about to part ways and go about our own business.

For the remainder of the afternoon, my groomsmen and I drove around looking at various limousine rentals; it was a very good thing we went to look first before committing to anything, as some of the vehicles were a bit suspect. Even, though one establishment offered me an extended SUV, including champagne, red carpet, tax, tip for $600, we've decided to pass.

Some photos of the vehicles that we will not be renting will be posted shortly.

Strike a Pose!

Last night, Colin and I had an engagement photo session in the Distillery District. Our photographer started off by giving us a "crash course" in fashion photography. He gave us tips on how to pose, what to do with our hands, where to look etc. Colin is quite the natural model. He was very suave and cool when he posed for the camera. I, on the other hand, felt a bit awkward and at times, thought some of my poses were a bit exaggerated. I guess we'll have to see how the photos turn out (2-3 weeks). But overall, I appreciated how our photographer directed the session. I also appreciated how our photographer saved us $175. Apparently, you need a permit to take photos in the Distillery District but our photographer knew how to get away without paying for one. We took photos in several areas of the Distillery District he knew would be safe and it wasn't until the very end of our photo session that a security guard told us to stop taking photos.

Licensed to Get Married

I took today off work to take care of a bunch of wedding-related errands, including picking up our marriage license at Toronto's City Hall. We were originally going to get the license in Ottawa but the City of Ottawa charges a fee of $145 compared to the City of Toronto 's fee at $130. I'm not sure what is the reason for the $15 difference; but with wedding costs starting to add up, every penny counts and it is important to save where we can.

I arrived at City Hall in the afternoon and quickly found the Registry Services office. There was a small line-up so I had to wait but not too long. While I was waiting, I couldn't help but notice there were a lot of same-sex couples getting marriage licenses, including one couple who came from the US. I thought that was really nice. Anyway, after a few minutes, it was my turn. I dealt with a very serious-looking clerk. He reviewed my form, checked the IDs and then informed me that the marriage license was $400. I said, "Excuse me? Are you pulling my leg?" Then he replied (still with a very serious look), "Yes." I still wasn't sure whether he was joking. I asked, "It's $130, right?". And he replied, "Yes." If he had said no, then I would have just simply walked out and gone back to Ottawa. What a weirdo.

88 = Lucky

I went to Pacific Mall today with Colin's Mom and we were able to snag a "lucky" deal. I ended up getting a traditional-looking Chinese wedding gown for the lucky price of $88 (no tax). I say "traditional-looking" because apparently, it is still not the real thing...even with the 3/4 sleeves. And of course, none of my non-traditional picks were acceptable. So, I compromised. After browsing through a couple of stores, I finally tried on two dresses at one store. The dresses actually fit quite nicely; no alterations required. While I was in the fitting room, Colin's mom started to negotiate with the sales guy. She had gotten the price dropped from $130 to $100. I said that maybe we should just keep looking. The guy basically told us that if we left, then the deal was off. But maybe he could offer us more of a bargain: $90? Well, $90 was better but Colin's mom still didn't like the number. As you know, "8" is a lucky number. She asked if we could get a better price. And that's how we snagged the lucky deal of $88. Of course, we had to pay in cash. The purchase cleaned out my wallet because I only had $70 in cash. So, I had to borrow $20 from Colin's mom. :P

My First Dress Fitting

Colin and I left Ottawa at 5am this morning and arrived back in Toronto just in time for my first dress fitting. The dress fits just as nicely as I remembered. The only alterations required is shortening the hem and creating the bustle. I wore the heels that I was planning to wear with the dress so that the hem would be accurate. However, while the seamstress pinned my hem, they were starting to pinch my feet. I am definitely going to have to wear them in before the actual wedding day. Unfortunately, my veil didn't come in yet so we couldn't see the whole effect. I scheduled a second fitting for the end of June. And then I am told I would have to come in for one final fitting. How many fittings does a bride really need?

A Follow-up Note Regarding Round 1 Invitations

As you may recall from an earlier post, I was facing a guest list dilemma. I would love to invite everybody on my half of the list to both the ceremony and reception, but it is just impossible. My family is too big!!! So, in order to maximize the space at the ceremony site, we are distributing two rounds of invitations. That way, I can find out who from my half of the list cannot make it to the ceremony, so that I can extend the invitation to someone else. In an effort to be fair, I have distributed my Round 1 invitations to my immediate family and first level of extended family (i.e. my parents' brothers and sisters and their families). So, to my friends and second cousins who might be expecting an invite, don't despair if you haven't received anything yet. There is just a slight delay until I have a better idea on actual numbers for the ceremony.

Wedding Invitations are on their way!!!

Denise and I spent the weekend preparing the invitations. Well, the maps have been cropped, the labels have been printed, the envelopes have been stuffed and sealed!

The first round of invitations are now on their way! For some, the surprise will be in your mailbox, for others, they will be hand delivered.

Please R.S.V.P as indicated in the invitations to help us better plan our special day.

Thanks so much!

Custom Wedding Band

Some of you may know, I've been pondering getting a custom wedding band for quite a while. The reasons are as follows:

- Why does the bride-to-be get the diamond engagement ring and all I get is a ball and chain?
- Why does the bride-to-be get to have to get the diamond wedding band? A plain wedding band is still nice.... what do you mean I have no style?!
- Okay, if you can get the diamond wedding band, at least I want a small stone in my band.

Well, I've found the ring that I was trying to design... Here it is!!!

Hehe... All joking aside, I've been told that I am not representing myself enough in blog postings. Well, I haven't been coasting in our wedding preparations. Quite the contrary, I've been doing the behind the scenes work again. Upcoming changes include our RSVP page as wedding invitations are sent. Tomorrow, we'll be stuffing the envelops and licking the stamps (for those that will be hand delivered, it will be a proverbial stamp).

Wedding Cakes are Works of Art

The wedding cake is the next item we need to take care of. I did a quick search on the internet to get some ideas and there seems to be endless possibilities. Some of them were quite elaborate like the one in the photo below.

I thought this one was very cute. Just like a Tiffany's jewellery box.

I thought the mini wedding cakes were also a neat idea. Slightly different than the current wedding cupcake trend right now.

Although these ideas are amazing, Colin and I will probably select something more simple and classic. We have a pretty good idea what we want but I'm not going to reveal anymore now. You'll have to wait until the wedding day!

Who's the Bride?

After a meeting at work today, I returned to my desk to find out that my mother had been trying to contact me. She had phoned me at work. She tried phoning me on my cell. And, she sent an email to both my work account and my home account in an effort to track me down. What was the "emergency"? She was anxious to tell me that my wedding gown had arrived. I think my mother was more excited about the arrival of the wedding gown than I am.

In her email, she asked when I would be in Toronto next and to make an appointment for a fitting then. She also kindly informed me that she would be away Victoria Day weekend. I replied and told her that the next time I was going to be in town was actually Victoria Day weekend. I then asked if she wanted me to schedule my appointment for a day when she could make it. She emailed back and asked if I needed her to be there. I told her that I didn't "need" her but that if she wanted to come, I could delay my appointment to the following weekend. She promptly replied yes and told me to make the appointment for 10am. My mother is hilarious. You would think that she's the one getting married and not me.

Early thoughts about the Honeymoon

One common question that Colin and I get asked a lot is "Where are you going on your honeymoon?" To be honest, we have only given it minimal thought as we have been focusing on the actual wedding itself. A number of other questions come to mind: Should we go on a honeymoon immediately after the wedding or delay the honeymoon until the winter? How long should we go for? Should we have a relaxing type of honeymoon or a more active type of honeymoon?

There are two destinations that are next on our list of places to travel to: Greece and Hawaii. The logical next step would be to do a little bit more research about each place, determine which vacation spot interests us more and then take it from there. Some friends have kindly lent us Hawaii for Dummies, which I have been perusing with a lot of interest...But if you have any tips, ideas or advice that could help us make a decision, please feel free to pass it on!

In the meantime, Colin and I need to renew our passports. I'm a little annoyed because my passport expires in June (i.e. before the wedding and possible name change). So, in the event that I legally change name, I'd have to get a new one after that...what a hassle. Maybe we should have gotten married earlier? :P

Will You Marry Me?

Forget Tiffany,
Forget Cartier,
Forget Birks,
this may be the custom rings that we were looking for:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10501732

Tuxedo Shopping

Colin and I went to two stores to inquire about tuxedo rentals: Moore's and Tip Top Tailors. The rental process seems to be simple: select the desired style and then round up all the guys to get measured. Both places offered a discount of a free tuxedo rental when renting at least four tuxedos. Moore's seems to be the better deal as their complete package includes shoes, whereas Tip Top Tailors (which offers Freeman and Syd Silver formalwear lines) charges extra for shoes and accessories. Moore's also has their formalwear rental system set up so that all the guys don't have to go to the same store to get measured or pick up their tuxes. Now all we need to do is get Colin to decide on a style and we're good to go.

Flowers and Photo Location Booked!!!

Another successful weekend in Toronto! Denise and I have booked our flowers and reserved Richmond Green as photos after our wedding ceremony. Thanks to all the help from her bridesmaids for getting price quotes for the flowers.

Today, we also started our search for wedding bands and have come up with some excellent ideas as to what we want. Already, we are planning to complete this task on our next planned trip back to Toronto on May 2-5.

Who knew flowers could be so complicated? Part 2

Thanks to some thorough research done by my bridesmaid, Kim, we have a good idea where we will order our wedding flowers. The plan is to head to the store recommended by Kim this Friday and discuss details with the flower people. In preparation for this meeting, I was looking online for photos of the other floral arrangements we require, including the boutonniere. Well, who knew even with a single rose boutonniere that there could be a gabazillion different arrangements? Anyway, the following ones seem nice enough and are in keeping with the simple yet elegant theme.

Ottawa's Asian Renaissance

After spending our Saturday morning doing some household chores, we decided to resume some wedding planning activities. Today, our plan was to visit the Hershey Chocolate Shoppe and Visitor Centre in Smith Falls to find some sweet deals to fill our favour boxes with. I had thought that this trip was just to see what we might get for our wedding, but we ended up getting lots of goodies for our snack boxes.

Well, what does this have to do with the title? Well, on the way back from Smith Falls, we decided to take the 'scenic route' back to Ottawa (not recommended). We decided that the scenic route wasn't worth it, so I detoured off at Hunt Club. While stopped at a stoplight, Denise suddenly became very animated:

Denise: "Look! LOOk! LOOK!!!!"
Colin: "What?!....... Yay!!!!!
Colin: "High Five!" (inside joke from our night out at the Heart and Crown the night before)

So what made us sooo excited? Look for yourself... Denise couldn't resist snapping a few drive by pictures.

Am I dreaming?!


I HEART T&T!

This all follows closely to some previous dialogue I had with T&T:

From: Colin
To: T&T Supermarket

Is there a plan to open a store in Ottawa in the next five years?

And the Reply:

Dear Colin,
Thank you for your inquiry. In response to your question about having a new store in Ottawa - we do have this plan in our project. However, we apologize that we still cannot give you an exact date of when the store in Ottawa will be opened, or where. Our team of expert has been visiting the location, studying the market and initiating all paper works. Should you expect us to be part of your community within the next year or so.

We thank you for the continuing support and look forward to serving you next year.

Sincerely yours,
T&T Supermarket INC.
Customer Services Department
Eastern Region Office


It was at this time, I knew I could marry Denise and live in Ottawa.

Ramping up on the Wedding Planning

We're starting to get into serious planning mode now. We've printed 11'x17' calendars for the next few months leading up to our wedding and filled it with things to do.

Some highlights that are coming up:
- Engagement Photo Session
- First round of invitations!

August seems so far away, but then when we look at what still needs to be done... I just want to crawl under a rock.

Wedding Favours

Its been a while since I posted any updates, so here is a sneak peek at our wedding favor boxes. This Saturday, Denise and I will be visiting a secret location to find some goodies to stuff inside these boxes. We hope you'll enjoy them.

Planning our Ceremony

Our wedding ceremony will be held at Oakview Terrace in Richmond Hill. Yesterday, there was an "open house"; Colin and I thought it would be a good idea to attend in order to start planning the details related to our wedding ceremony. My initial expectation was that the property would simply be open to guests. However, the "open house" ended up being a mini-bridal show with several exhibits showcasing preferred vendors and endless samples of refreshments and drinks (including wine) . Just moments after we arrived, we caught the tail-end of a bridal show and the emcee announced winners of door prizes. To our pleasant surprise, we were the first winners. We won this lovely flower centrepiece.

At the open house, we met our wedding officiant, Frank Folz. We also talked to representatives from vendors located near Oakview Terrace, which we may consider because they have worked with Oakview Terrace in the past. Most importantly, Colin and I met the Site Wedding Coordinator, who seemed nice and helpful. We'll be speaking to her later on to finalize details and timing on the actual wedding day.

Additionally, Colin and I took this opportunity to really look at the property and assess what steps we need to take in planning the ceremony part of our day. Here are some photos of the grounds (albeit under snow).

Exterior of the Outdoor Chapel

Interior of the Outdoor Chapel

Gazebo at Oakview Terrace

Unfortunately, one of the negative aspects of having our ceremony at Oakview Terrace is that we have to be off the property by 1pm. This might be problematic when it comes to the photo session after the wedding ceremony. As a possible solution, we investigated other nearby places suitable for wedding photos with our guests. We learned about Richmond Green Park, which is only a 10 minute drive away from Oakview Terrace. It's still covered in snow but we snapped the following photos:

Waterfall Gazebo
" Interesting" Structure

On the positive side, the park is nearby and there are lots of spots suitable for taking wedding photos. On the negative side, there doesn't seem to be much shade, particularly at mid-day. This could lead to a lot of squinting eyes in photos. Anyway, once we finalize the details of the morning, we can figure out if we want to take photos here or at another location.