Wedding Day! (mixed up)

T-Minus 1 day!

Sooo my big wedding is tomorrow. Lately I've been going a little crazy with the planning and find myself wishing that the wedding was just over - as awful as that sounds. All of the plans I had in the beginning...most of them I put into action but many of the final details have just been decided by me going with whatever was easiest. A decision I do not think I will regret. Man this wedding planning is hard work! Exciting news on the food front. I have been harvesting a lot from my garden these days. 1 summer squash (another on the way), a handful of grape tomatoes, spring greens, radish, calendula, and herbs. YUM. My CSA food share has been more than filling in the rest of our fruit and veggies and Ryan's meat from last fall's hunt is just about finished.

Ryan picked up our tree favours earlier this week and they turned out far better than I had expected. We ended up paying a little extra but the farm wrapped each tree very nicely in a burlap sack and tied a dark purple ribbon around the top. Just have to finish printing out our instructions for the trees. I am hoping to get a final budget for our wedding posted after the wedding a la 2000 dollar wedding blog style.

Tonight we are hosting our rehearsal dinner at our house. On the menu:
BBQ Chicken
Baked Potato
Corn on the Cob
Homegrown tossed salad
Caesar Salad
Key Lime and Lemon Meringue Pie
Strawberries from our foodshare

I'm really looking forward to relaxing on that beach now...

Big Wedding Update

The wedding is in a little over a month and I haven't posted any updates lately.

Firstly, we have been getting many compliments on our homemade invites. Ryan and I spent two whole days crafting them and then several weeks gathering up the addresses, writing personal messages for some and addressing the envelopes. We ended up paying probably the same as a basic wedding invitation made. I can definitely see why most brides leave this to stationers. Never the less... we were quite happy with them too.


Ryan wrapped the ribbon on them so that they looked like little gifts.

Other exciting news.. we got a trial version of our cake in time for Canada Day. For those of you that remember, I was planning on making my own cake but those plans went out the window when I got a job. A collegue of my mom's who just happened to take the same decorating courses as I did is planning on starting up a business on the side and is going to give us a great deal on the cake. Here is the mini version! (chocolate inside - Ryan's request - and thinly rolled fondant on the outside because some people don't like the taste/texture of it but I like the look)



We have picked out the music for the ceremony and I'm quite happy with it. The procession will be the same song that my parents used at their wedding which is meaningful. Also, we asked my grandfather to do one of the readings which he happily agreed to do and then mentioned that he had been hoping to maybe sing a solo at one of his grandchildren's weddings and we happily agreed to having him do so :)

On the attire front, I bought a pair of shoes! My mother wasn't too thrilled they do not have a high heel but really I just wanted something where my feet wouldn't kill me by the end of the night AND most importantly something I could wear again. I have been dying to wear them to several outings this summer but refrained from doing so because it just wouldn't be right. This is a good sign that I will indeed wear them again.


And now, off to sort out Ryan and Brendan's outfits for the big day!

Limbo....

I cannot lie.. I am missing being a stay at home mom a lot. As I mentioned in my last post, I gave up cake decorating twice a week to spend time with Brendan since we only get 2 hours/day to see eachother. On the other hand...I also enjoy working and spending my days with adults having adult conversations. The two jobs I interviewed for which both sounded really promising didn't come through. For both I was the second place candidate. I guess it wasn't meant to be. I've been reading through many many job boards and sending out resumes with not a lot of luck. My contract at my current job is up at the end of this month so hopefully something good will come along before then. But I really don't know...

The wedding is fast approaching. We got our quote for the alcohol from my brother (he owns a bartending company) which isn't nearly as expensive as we had budgeted for AND Ryan's parents have offered to pay for the alcohol which is pretty nice of them. So far we are on budget. I am hoping to get a nearly complete budget posted soon. I'm getting a little stressed out from all the planning and I think I will be really happy once the wedding is over and I can relax.

For now I leave you with some photos of what we've been up to lately:

Wedding Update

So.. The wedding is less than 4 months away now. I hadn't really been keeping track but yeah! Someone better light a fire under my ass now. So much to do still!

This past week I feel that I got a whole lot done.

- Finished off the guest list (106 people!)

- Narrowed down my colours: Peach, Green, Gold and Purple

- Got my flowers all sorted out with our local flower lady who operates out of her basement. She did the flowers for a friend of mine's wedding. We are doing the reception flowers on our own. For all the bouquets etc. for the wedding party the cost came to $350 including delivery...I plan on doing up a budget in the near future to highlight all the amazing deals I have been getting.

- Arranged to meet with the organist who has offered to provide her services free of charge! I've known her for quite some time from the church my parents went to since I was born!

- Got fabric swatches for the bridesmaids dresses. We are having my mom's seamstress make the dresses at a very reasonable price. I have decided to let the girls choose their own styles and they will all be in the same green stretch satin material. Gold shoes!

- We have been having some trouble deciding on a honeymoon destination. We are only planning on going for a 4-day weekend, likely in September, because we feel a week would be too long to leave Brendan and hard for Ryan to get off work. Ryan wants to go to a beach and drink but I really don't want to do something like that and it is hard to find an all-inclusive for only 4 days. Places like Mexico and the Dominican have also made me apprehensive these days with all the recent misfortunes of Canadian couple travellers. I would love to go to NYC or somewhere in New England. I have thought about Quebec City too. I'd love to hear any ideas anyone might have of somewhere budget friendly, close by and where I won't go crazy with nothing to do. I know the point of a honeymoon is to spend time alone as newlyweds but honestly, I think I would go crazy secluded with just booze, a beach, and a hotel room.

Spring is near!

The weather has been tricking us lately. Snow one day, rain the next, snow again, bright sunny skies. I am convinced that Spring is coming though. Unfortunately I have been neglecting my seedlings just a wee bit and they are pretty darn dried out. Hopefully I wont have to start all over again. I have just been so busy with everything lately.

Thursday Brendan started actually crawling, moving hands and knees. It was so exciting to see.

On Saturday, the girls, my mom and I went out dress shopping and I got the PERFECT dress at the Bride's Project like I mentioned I was going to in my last post. I couldn't believe the price and I found out the owner is an Alumni of the same university as me (GO FIGURE) so I felt good supporting a fellow alum. It is not the "traditional" white wedding gown but that is alright because I am far from a traditional bride. We also decided on a sage green colour for the girls and a goldish colour for Ryan's neices. Getting the dress makes it all the more real. After shopping - it only took me two hours and I kept trying on dresses I'd never choose because they wanted me to try everything on just to make sure - we went to Pappas Grill on the Danforth. It is an awesome Greek place that my parents used to take us to a few times when we were younger. It seemed like a suiting place to go after dress shopping because the last time we were there was with my dad. I decided to go Greek and have Greek Salad and Greek Pizza. YUM. Saturday evening my aunts were at my mom's so I went over for a girl's night and drank wine and ate a fabulous meal.

I've gotten to spend a ton of time with Brendan this week because the sitter's oldest son got pink eye and together we thought it best that Brendan hold off until tomorrow to go back. :S . Unfortunately, I was depending on a free day to finish up a paper that is due this week for the Women and the Law course I am taking. Thankfully, my sister has agreed to watch him tonight so I can go work at the library. We also found a new food Brendan likes. Avocado blended with raw spinach. So healthy! I don't know why I didn't think of it before. The guy eats it up!

Frustration. Wedding Plans.

Why does everything with the label "wedding" cost so much????

PHOTOGRAPHY. I saw a friend's wedding photos which were absolutely gorgeous. Her photographer specialized in creative photography. The photos looked like they were straight out of Modern Bride. She honestly looked like a model. I asked her how much her photographer was.. $2200 - just to take the pictures! GET OUT. I started to reason with myself. The photos were really nice. I called the photographer just for fun. She was all booked up but referred me to another photographer who does similar stuff. Price tag: $3500 starting package. YEAH RIGHT. After seeing more and more similar pricetags, I started to play around with some of my photos in photo editing programs which is something I have never done. I actually achieved some similar looking photos using the effects. I think I have decided to "creatively" edit my own wedding photos and invest in a good photoshop program to do so. A family friend who takes really good pictures has offered to do my photography and put together an album as a wedding gift. This would save me thousands and hopefully I'd get comparable results and have the printing rights.

In the end I'll be marrying this guy - we'll have many years worth of photos. One day isn't so important.

DRESS. Most dresses I have seen are going for upward of $500 for really simple styles. I just can't justify spending this type of money for a dress I will wear once. (Especially since I can make whatever dress look like a red carpet gown using photoshop as I mentioned above). A couple of my girlfriends and my mother and I are going dress shopping downtown Toronto this weekend. We have an appointment at the Bride's Project. This shop donates the proceeds of sales to children with cancer. All of the dresses are donated by brides, shops, designers etc. I really loved this idea. Helping a cause and saving $$. This is also part of my vision of having a somewhat eco-friendly wedding. Wish me luck. Some dresses I like:

FOOD. I have looked into organic catering. We are having an evening wedding so no dinner. But we are having a cocktail reception and dance so we will require finger foods. Let me tell you, much like "wedding" anything with the label "organic" or "local" is atleast double the cost of anything non-organic. Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to make my own food for the wedding and then I can shop for the ingredients at local farms - perfect since the wedding is in August. I am still planning on making my own wedding cake to practice the skills I will learn at my cake decorating courses I am taking this spring.

MUSIC. I have secured a DJ at $850 dollars. Expensive, I know. But the cheapest I could find that still offered lighting, selection of songs, option for guests to request, an MC, consultation and get this.. the most important "a properly attired DJ". Now for my song list...

Family Day and The Birthday.

Michelle and I out celebrating both our birthdays on the 13th in Peterborough. The drinks just turned out fuzzy for some reason. It mirrors my state of mind at the time :)

Today I turned another year older. This year was pretty special. This was my first birthday with Brendan. I really cherished the time I spent with him all day. It made me think of how lucky I am to be able to spend all day every day with him when so many other women have to go back to work sooner. I've been really lucky. It also made me think that there will probably be not too many more birthdays like this one where I am not working. Last year I got pretty lucky as my birthday fell on our new stat. holiday "Family Day". I was pregnant with Brendan then. Ryan had the day off work and we went out to dinner, went to see a movie and had ice cream. Seems like so long ago.

Today's Events

• Woke-up at 8:30am and cuddled with Brendan for a good 20 minutes in bed.


• Went out to the grocery store to pick up some groceries.


• Treated myself to a coffee and bagel for breakfast.


• Recieved several calls (and many more facebook messages) from family and friends wishing me a happy birthday


• Ate a nice dinner with Ryan that he helped prepare (complete with wine)


• Put Brendan to bed and got a visit from friends who brought with them cupcakes for my birthday and Sarah (my MOH) got me a wedding planner and a DIY bride book which I absolutely love! - these will definitely help me plan my shoestring budget wedding. :). 

As for Family Day...This year, Family Day was on the 16th, we went to mom's house for a turkey dinner. Even Brendan got to enjoy dinner. He ate wee pieces of broccoli, cauliflower, potato and turkey. This was Brendan's first time having non-pureed turkey. He really liked it. I enjoyed taking the left overs home for some fabulous home-made turkey soup.

On the agenda for tomorrow.. shopping for used books and thrifting for clothes for Brendan oh! and ordering some seeds for my container vegetable garden I have planned for this summer.

Progress!!

I can officially check off one of my previous resolution postings. I have signed up for two consecutive cake decorating courses this Spring in hopes that if I feel comfortable enough, I can make my own wedding cake for August.

Some inspiration...

This cake is from the website of my favourite coffee and dessert place in Peterborough - Black Honey. No doubt it is vegan, organic and as local as can be :) Really my fall back plan if my cakes don't turn out well!

Another reason why I wanted to take this course.. Brendan's 1st birthday is coming up April 30th. I'd love to make him a really cool cake.

I just really loved this cake. Isn't it gorgeous?

Somewhat late resolutions...

This year I was so busy I failed to make any New Years resolutions.. a 25 random things about myself note made me think of some things or rather goals that I would like to accomplish this year. Here it goes:

- Volunteer more. Ideally I am hoping to volunteer at the young mothers help center nearby. As a young (fairly young - by today's standards) mother, I feel like I could really help some young women which is really important. Especially when many of them do not have the support that I was very lucky to have. I also already have my name in as a volunteer for the city's peony garden. It would be nice to help the community and enhance my "green thumb".

- Buy less, buy less new stuff, and buy more local - in these tough economic times, we need to help our communities the best we can.

- Read books for fun. This is something I haven't done in a loooong time. Since I am done with school I can finally read for pleasure. Not that I didn't really enjoy most of my university readings. Infact.. I loved most of them.

- Get back to running. Something I gave up a long time ago and really made me feel good.

- Find a job I really like. This one is pretty important, I think. Ryan enjoys his job working outside. I would really like to find a job that I would love to go to every day. Especially since I am leaving Brendan. It would be nice to atleast enjoy the place I spend 8 hours a day at.

- Various home reno projects. This time small ones! Fencing in the yard, reupholstering the dining room chairs, getting the lawn and gardens under control. Planting some organic herbs, veggies and a small tea garden.

- Take various interest classes --> Cake decorating, flower arranging...

and finally... spending more time relaxing as a family.

(These have been on my mind lately. I love peonies. Once I get my garden in order I plan on planting a whole bunch of them. They are a very strong contestant for my bridal bouquet at the moment. I can't wait for spring.. and I did mention volunteering for the peony garden in the above note so the picture is somewhat relevant)

An August wedding sounds just lovely...

You read it right - we're getting married! :)..  We've set the date - August 15th this year!! Nothing too big. An evening wedding at the church and a cocktail reception afterwards. Brendan will be our little ring bearer. It only feels like the next natural step after having Brendan (well I guess Jake was first), getting a house, and being together for awhile. But still I'm pretty excited. It will be nice to formalize our relationship and the prospect of spending forever with Ryan makes me feel very very lucky.

The Rock

Besides this, the following are what we have been up to lately:

Finger painting - loved it!

All ready for swimming lessons!

Renos are really coming along now. We're actually painting! Voila new bathroom!

The kitchen is coming along nicely too. Note the fabulous pot lights.

In other news... Brendan is almost sleeping through the night!!! At our recent visit to the pediatrician, I mentioned my difficulty sleeping through the night. Yes MY difficulty. She informed me that the reason why he was not sleeping through the night was because I was feeding him during the night and that for a baby of his size - she did say that.. my son is officially "chubby" - he shouldn't need to eat more than he does during the day and there is no reason why he cannot sleep 8 hours without food. And here all this time when I could've been peacefully sleeping 6-8 hours. So we had one night of me weaning him off nighttime feedings by just comforting. Absolutely no feeding and him very upset with me for a whole hour and then the next night.. slept a full 6 hours. Last night.. woke up once. I went and rubbed his head and he fell right back asleep until the morning. Why don't people tell you these things!!!