Wedding #1: Santa Barbara

Those are my cutie patootie nephews ; )

I'm so excited to be able to share my wedding photos with you guys today! Our wonderful photographers edited these pictures and sent them to us only 4 days after our wedding in Santa Barbara (talk about great service!) They created a slideshow for us so we could play it at our wedding reception in Edmonton, which took place this past Friday and was so much fun, more on that one later ; ) I hear stories of brides waiting six months to a year, even a year and a half for their wedding photos so my husband and I feel extremely lucky to get them back less than a month after we tied the knot! And I'm happy to be able to share some of them with you ; ).

I was never one of those girls who dreamed about her wedding day or what she was going to wear as she walked down the aisle, (I dreamed more about what song was going to be played) but I knew I didn't want a big wedding. When D. and I got engaged in beautiful Santa Barbara last year we fell in love with the city and I knew this was the place I wanted to get married. Luckily my now-husband thought it was a good idea as well ; ). We invited 22 of our closest friends and family to our wedding, (which just so happened to take place exactly a year later from the date we got engaged, I swear I didn't plan it that way!) and I'm so glad they all got to experience the charm of Santa Barbara.

We had a short, intimate ceremony with one of our good friends Kosi officiating, which was really special to us, he did such an amazing job! We hired a Spanish guitarist to play before and after the ceremony and we wrote our own vows. Afterwards our talented photographers took us to what could be described as an enchanted forest -seriously I thought I was in a fairy tale! - for photos. We couldn't be happier with the way they turned out! For our reception we decided to have it held in a private room at Stella Mare's, a French bistro located next to a bird refuge. I chose this venue because it looked absolutely adorable on the internet (this is how I did all my planning for our destination wedding), and you didn't need to add too many decorations because the shabby-chic decor was enough on its own. We also had use of the private terrace where our cocktail hour was held. The food and service at Stella Mare's was amazing! We didn't have a dance after dinner, we saved that for our Edmonton party ; ). Which was a good idea because we were both exhausted by 10:30 p.m. ; )

We couldn't be happier with how our wedding day played out. It was so weird because I was so calm and relaxed the whole day, which is SO un-like me! A couple of people asked me why I wasn't freaking out and I guess I just had a feeling that everything was going to go well and that at the end of the day I would be married to my best friend and would finally be able to call him my husband! It also helped that it was a very small wedding and I felt extremely confident with everyone involved in making everything run smoothly. I also had the best bridesmaids by my side, who were a great support ; ). Our wedding day was a day full of so much love, a day we will never forget. We felt truly blessed. Thank you for following along and for reading, I know this blog has been heavy on the bridal posts, I promise I'll go back to normal blogging next week!

Wedding Details:
Ceremony Venue: Santa Barbara Courthouse
Reception Venue: Stella Mare's, Santa Barbara 
Photography: Jessica Fairchild
Flowers, Decorations and Rentals: Casi Cielo Events & Flowers
Hair: Shelley Zydek (my sister-in-law!)
Makeup: Lisa Tatum (my cousin!)
Wedding Gown: La Sposa Pronovias "Mullet" style from The Bridal House
Earrings: Haute Bride
Shoes - Sterling 
Bridesmaid's Dresses: Bill Levkoff from The Bridal House
Men's Suits: Moore's

Outfit Post: My Wedding Dress

My husband and I!!! Photographs by Jessica Fairchild
  Makeup by Lisa Tatum
Hair by Shelley Zydek

Well I am back from vacation and I'm officially a wife! Thank you for all of your messages and congratulations on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. My husband (!) and I were overwhelmed with your kind words and well-wishes, thank you very much! It was a wonderful day and I can't wait to share more details on this blog within the next few weeks. I can't post a whole lot of photos of our wedding just yet because we are having a party/reception in a couple of weeks here in Edmonton with about 110 of our closest friends and family and we'll be presenting a slideshow of our wedding in Santa Barbara at that time so I don't want to spoil the surprise in case they read my blog! But, I can post a few of my dress!

When I went wedding gown shopping I knew what I wanted: A lace dress with 3/4 length or full length sleeves, nothing strapless. Well as you can see I changed my mind once I tried on this Pronovias La Sposa Mullet gown (I still laugh that it's called "The Mullet!") from The Bridal and Tuxedo House ; ) As soon as I tried it on I knew it was "The One." I wanted something classic, timeless and with clean lines. I chose not to wear a sparkly belt or a necklace, I didn't think I needed either but I did want sparkly tear-drop earrings to finish off the look. I actually bought some online but wasn't happy with them when they arrived, the faux diamonds weren't as sparkly as they were advertised in the photo, but I couldn't return them unfortunately so I thought I was stuck with them. But what's funny is that my friend Jayna texted me a photo of a pair of earrings she didn't wear on her wedding day a few weeks before our big day, asking if I wanted to borrow them, if I didn't have earrings yet. Perfect timing! It was fate! And they were the same shape and style as the pair I had bought but much prettier! So the earrings were my "something borrowed" on my wedding day. They are from Haute Bride. (Thanks again Jayna!)

I also didn't think I'd want to wear a veil but when the sales associate at the store suggested I try one on for sh*ts and giggles I obliged and again, I changed my mind ; ). In the end, I was happy with my decision.

I hope you're all having a great week!

xo

Wedding Wednesday Throwback: Keira Knightley

Talk about recycling! Keira Knightley got plenty of use out of her wedding dress, a Chanel Haute Couture little number Karl himself made especially for her. She first wore it in 2008 at the BAFTA awards, then for her nuptials to James Righton in May 2013 and again in December 2013 at a gala in London. I have to say I loved that Keira rocked the same frock three times, styling it differently each time because celebrities just don't do that. (Can you imagine the stir it would cause if someone like Gwyneth Paltrow was caught wearing the same thing more than once to different events?? The HORROR!) Keira just didn't give a sh*t what people thought and for that I admire her. For us regular folk, wedding dresses can be are really expensive (I'm talking thousands of dollars) so if you can wear it more than once, I say go for it! Of course, it depends on what type/style the dress is... I feel lucky that I'll get to wear my wedding gown twice - first in California at our very small ceremony and reception (which takes place exactly a month from today, eeeee!) and then again at the end of September when we host a big party to celebrate with all of our close friends and family in my hometown.

What do you think of re-wearing a wedding dress? Yay or nay? Sound off in the comments below!

Olivia Palermo's Wedding "Dress"

This past weekend style star Olivia Palermo wed her longtime love Johannes Huebl in Bedford, New York wearing a three-piece Carolina Hererra ensemble and cobalt blue Manolo Blahnik heels (a la Carrie Bradshaw), her hair tied up in an unassuming ponytail. Her outfit was completely unique and unexpected - I mean, she wore shorts to her nuptials! - and I absolutely loved it! I thought it really suited her. The cashmere top reminded me of something a ballerina would wear, it looked very soft, classic, timeless, and elegant on her. What about you? Did you love what Olivia wore or would you have liked to see her in something more traditional? Sound off in the comment section below ; ).

My Favorite Celeb Wedding Dresses

Kate Moss, Princess Grace, Megan Fox

Kate Middleton, Kelly Clarkson, Anne Hathaway

Ivanka Trump, Portia de Rossi, Lauren Parsekian (married to Aaron Paul from 'Breaking Bad', b*tch!)

Nicole Richie, Kate Bosworth

I totally forgot to publish this post! I created it back when I was perusing the web, looking for wedding gown inspiration and thought I'd share it here on the blog. As you can tell, I am a HUGE fan of lace ; ). But I also love clean lines - simple yet elegant dresses like what Megan Fox and Kate Bosworth chose to wear on their special day. I am very excited, my wedding gown has arrived, I just have to make an appointment to try it on! I can't believe I'll be walking down the aisle in it in less than 6 months! Which dress is your favorite? Hope you're all having a great week!

Swept Bridal Event

Gorgeous display of cakes, sweets and treats from Over The Top Cakes 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Swept Bridal event at the Royal Glenora Club and boy was I impressed. Twenty five vendors from Edmonton and surrounding areas came together for a non-traditional, boutique-style bridal fair offering brides-to-be to experience the beauty of a wedding with the best in decor, cakes, design, hair, makeup dresses, stationary and more. I was blown away with every single theme room - and there were four - the Inspiration Room, the Beauty Room, the Sweet Room and the Groom Room. I will admit I spent most of my time drooling over all of the desserts in the Sweet Room, don't judge ; ). Congrats to Erin Walker, Morgan Hrynyck and Hans Kristian Larsen for putting on a very successful event. I was literally SWEPT away (tee hee) and am excited and inspired to plan my wedding! Below are some more photos from the event.

Close up

I fell in love with this pretty dessert display at the Style Cakes Custom Bakery booth

Gorgeous right?! The Art of Cake. Flowers by Cory Christopher.

All of the desserts were styled by the very talented DESSERT STYLIST (!!!) Lindsey Wheatley of LOVEinc. She has the best job ever. 

Complimentary Bubbly 

 This beautiful, vibrant floral dress was hand made with tissue paper by Jessilyn Poole of Eve and Enoch

Vintage lace from Delica Bridal 

My friends from Glow Juicery handed out healthy samples. (I drink about 3 or 4 of these a week, they're delcious!) They have a juicery in the same location where I teach barre classes and will be opening another location in Sherwood Park very soon!

A beautiful, romantic centerpiece from Atmosphere Wedding Planning & Design 

 Cute table setting from A Modern Proposal. 

Stationary by Pinkpolka Design, where I got my wedding invitations from : ).

Cigars galore in the Groom Room from Hub Cigar

Have a great week!

Personalizing Your Wedding Dress

I recently chatted with the Edmonton Journal about how to inject personal style into your bridal wear like Man Repeller Leandra Medine, Avril Lavigne and Ann Hathaway (above) and what brides MUST consider when choosing their wedding dress. You can check out the article here and see some beautiful photos of my friend and fellow blogger Vickie (who also wrote the article!) playing dress-up in some absolutely gorgeous gowns from Delica Bridal. 

Have a great weekend!

My Wedding Dress Picks

Since getting engaged last month, wedding planning is in full swing, and the search for the perfect dress I will wear on our special day is on! Above are some of my favorite wedding gowns I found online, the first three are all Maggie Sottero and the ones on the bottom are from Allure Bridals. I think I want capped sleeves but that could change when I actually go try dresses on in store, which I hope to do soon, as soon as we set a date! I may change my mind, who knows, but these are the styles I like. I love, LOVE the lace, the beautiful silhouettes and how elegant all of these gowns are. Which one is your favorite?

 

David's Bridal and a Giveaway Winner

White by Vera Wang

Galina

 White by Vera Wang

 David's Bridal Collection

 Vera Wang. Recognize this bridesmaid's dress from Gossip Girl, anyone??

More Vera

Yesterday I was invited to take a private tour of the new David's Bridal store that just opened in South Edmonton Common. It's the first store to open in Western Canada after receiving an overwhelming positive response from stores previously opened in Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg and of course hundreds across the US. I was in bridal heaven as I walked through the store, "ooohing" and "ahhhing" over wedding gowns, bridesmaid and prom dresses, jewelry and shoes fit for a princess! I'm not gonna lie, I had my eye on a few dresses (2 Vera Wang, one Oleg Cassini!)  I'd like to try on once I get engaged ; ). Georgina, the head of PR asked if I wanted to slip into them then and there but I politely declined and told her I consider it's bad luck to try on wedding gowns before your significant other puts a ring on it!

What I love about David's Bridal is that all of the dresses are affordable. Bridal gowns range in price from $299 to $1600 and carry gowns from size 0 to 26. There's a very good chance a bride-to-be could find her dream wedding dress at David's Bridal, try it on and take it home that same day.

To celebrate the Grand Opening of the South Edmonton Common store, (10185 13th Avenue NW) David's Bridal invites you to a night of entertainment, gifts, hors d'oeurves and a fashion show highlighting the best trends of 2012 this Thursday April 26th from 6-9 p.m. *Please RSVP to Edmonton@dbi.com* And now until April 30th customers can take advantage of a special introductory savings of $50-200 off all bridal gowns (certain exclusions apply) with an additional 10% off any headpiece, bra, veil or slip and $20 off all bridesmaid, party and prom dresses. Also, the first 300 customers who enter the store will get a $50 gift card towards a $299 minimum purchase that can also be used on White by Vera Wang styles. Such great deals!

Thank you to Georgina and David's Bridal for the tour! I'll becoming back, hopefully sooner rather than later ;).

Annnnd, the winner of the Blue Vanilla Giveaway is Sarah from Haus of Sarah Rachel! Congrats! Blue Vanilla will be getting in touch with you shortly! Thank you to all who entered. Stay tuned for another giveaway coming up shortly!