Sunday, July 30, 2006

I'm at the cottage til Wednesday. Will write when I'm back. :)

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

I know its early but I started thinking about invitations... Should I make my own DIY from scratch? A kit from Michaels? I did not want to spend that much money...

I went to my local scrapbooking store (Cherished Scrapbooks) and found some inspirational cardstock, patterned paper and a paper trimmer for 40% off (score!).


This is my inspiration invitation:


I think I'm going with the green for invitations, RSVP cards, and place cards and the pink for the program fan. Once I do a mock up, I will post. The cost? Approximately $96 for paper (invitations, placecards and programs) and envelopes (invitation and RSVP) for $20US. Not bad! I will have to make 120 invites and over 160 program fans (enough for 200 guests?).

Update: Okay, so instead of $0.85/sheet, I just bought 2 packs of 100 of the parakeet (green) for US$45.38! Okay, I know its super early but what a deal! With exchange of 1.14, its $51.73 so $0.52/sheet! I decided to forgo the pink (quartz) for the program fans (they didn't have it in stock). I bought it from www.scrapbook.com. I'm having it shipped to my head office in the US to avoid duty. My invitation budget just got slashed! :)

Monday, July 24, 2006

I'll write about some of my attire for my wedding today but first I'll start with my new purchase this afternoon:


I got the Crocs in fushia! :) I'm all ready for the cottage next week. They'll also be perfect for our honeymoon next year when we go walking in the waterfalls.

My dress:
I know Shaun looks at this site but he has promised not to look at this link to my dress.

I never actually tried any dresses on in Canada. I was visiting my friend Jen in New York and tried on some at Kleinfeld's (super expensive) and at RK Bridal (reasonably priced). RK Bridal is where I found my dress. Someone else was trying on this dress and I patiently waited until she was done with it. Now, I'm the type to be in and out of dresses in less than 5 minutes (its hot and heavy!) and this girl was in hers for like 20 minutes plus. She was even holding fake ugly flowers to see if she felt like a bride. :P I ended up trying on about 10 dresses and ordered my dress from Netbride. I ordered it in early June and the outside date is in October. I can't wait to get my dress.

My Shoes:
I hate my feet! I have very, very flat feet that are not conducive to shoe shopping. I love shoes! See the conflict? I'm actually a bit glad for my horribly shaped feet - they save me a lot of money from buying all the shoes I love in the stores. Finding wedding shoes was a nightmare. I went everywhere (and I do mean everywhere). I wanted silver sandals. That sounds like an easy order but given my flat feet and my dislike for stilettos (and they are the in shoe this season), these shoes were almost impossible to find. I ended up at an outlet mall and found my shoes at The Shoe Warehouse for $39.99. I can deal with the price and my feet are happy in them. :) I will, however, be changing into comfy platform flip-flops for dancing later in the evening.



Sunday, July 23, 2006

I'm going to start working on a business plan but that will take a while so the next couple of posts will be dedicated to wedding planning!

I religiously check the messageboard of Weddingbells, Frugal Bride and Couples. As Shaun lovingly refers it to my "wedding porn". I really can't seem to get enough of it!

Since being engaged on April 2nd and setting the date for May 26, 2007, lots of planning has happened. I'm a little tired of people asking what has been done but that's probably because so much has been done and then I start reciting my long list. While the wedding is still 10 months away, the vendors that we wanted to go with are pretty popular and it really is "you snooze, you lose". Some of the ones that I approached in early May were already booked! I think its better to be prepared and ready than searching when the good vendors are booked. I'll post a couple of items each day (most are already detailed our w
edsite.

Our venue: Kleinburg Golf Club
We had visited so many places before seeing KGC. Most of the venues that we checked out were fine, that is, there was something positive about the place but there was something (generally pretty major) that we didn't like about it. With KGC, we loved it. The only negative is that its about 15 minutes away from the closest hotel which is not too bad I guess. We really loved the fact that we could get married outside in front of their gazebo.


Our Bridal Party:
We chose them right away! They're listed on our wedsite (with pictures).

Our Officiant: Rev. Frank Russell
The wedding coordinator at Kleinburg Golf Club, Wendy, provided us with a list of referral for services (even before we signed the contract). I heard some good feedback off of Frugal Bride and we decided to meet with Frank. He's very talkative and seems like a kind man.


Saturday, July 22, 2006

Day two, on a roll!

It's not a great day, weather-wise. Our barbecue that we were supposed to go to got cancelled. I did get in a 12K run this morning and am now starving. We need to go get some groceries!

I've been looking into jewelry making further. I've found some decent websites for bead prices (Canadian and US) and am looking into the process of registering my "business" and getting a vendor license (to get wholesale discount pricing). There is an exhaustive list of websites with information about starting a business in Ontario. So far, I've found this website useful: Your Guide to Small Business

I've also found this site helpful and am still reading through it:
The Home Jewelry Business Resource

There is a ton of information on the BeadStyle Magazine Forum. I am such a messageboard junkie!

Looks like an Internet surfing day...

Friday, July 21, 2006

I tried to start blogging before but here it goes again... I read blogs everyday so why shouldn't I have my own?? Embarassingly, its been about 2 and 1/2 years since my last attempt. I hope this time it will stick!

There's so much going on with my life right now... I'm getting married next year (yay!), have to finance wedding and reduce debt (boo!), could potentially lose my job in the reorg of my company (f*^#!), and excitingly, thinking of starting my own business - jewelry-making. This would be something part-time but is not only enjoyable but hey, I could make some money out of it!

I started making jewelry last year and started with Christmas gifts. They were a hit and I'm in the midst of making my own bridal jewelry and bridesmaids jewelry. The line between wedding and jewelry is blurred...
I'll be blogging on my life (hopefully regulary), probably focusing on the wedding (as it consumes my life) and my potential jewelry making venture.