Advice For Brides-to-Be

 My mama and I 

Photo by Jessica Fairchild

Wedding #2: Yellowhead Brewery

Just wanted to share a few photos with you from Wedding #2 in Edmonton! You can see photos from Wedding #1 here ; ). Last month we threw a big party at Yellowhead Brewery downtown to celebrate our marriage with 100 friends and family, after tying the knot a few weeks before in California. I got to wear my dress again and we partied the night away. I seriously danced ALL NIGHT LONG. I didn't even have time to eat (except for a cupcake at about 1 a.m.) and neither did my hubby, we were having so much fun with our guests! But I hear the food was amazing ; ).

Details:
Venue: Yellowhead Brewery
Photography: Chicks That Click
Flowers: Endless Possibilities
Cupcakes: Flirt Cupcakes
DJ: Urban Metropolis
Hair: Angela at Ponytails + Horseshoes
Makeup: Alanna Orr

P.S. If anyone is looking for wedding decorations in Edmonton contact me, I'm selling them! styling@mariezydek.com

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

Holy Sh*t I'm Getting Married!

I really can't believe we fly out to California tomorrow to get married this weekend. Wow, how time flies! It seems like yesterday we just got engaged! I am feeling all sorts of emotions - I'm excited, happy, nervous, anxious, and eager to tie the knot. My heart is pounding as I type this in fact ; ), I am also looking forward to a vacation. We haven't been anywhere in a year (I know, "first world problems") or taken any time off really so I'm excited to get to relax a little, after the wedding. I won't be blogging while I'm away but I will be Tweeting and Instagramm-ing so if you feel inclined you can follow me on my adventure ; ). Thank you for all of your support!

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!

Wedding Guest Attire - My Picks

L to R: Jill Jill Stuart Floral Strapless Dress, Rory Beca Sevona Gown,  

Myne Gala Pencil Dress, Zimmermann Silk V Dress.

Clover Canyon Byzantine Scarf Dress, Splendid Combo Strapless Maxi Dress,  

Yumi Kim Jayne Dress, Shoshanna Kira Strapless Dress.

It's officially wedding season and I'm featured in The Edmonton Journal today along with some other lovely bloggers talking about wedding guest attire do's and don't's! You can check out the article by Sandy Joe Karpetz and see a photo of a dress I wore to my soon-to-be sister-in-law's wedding here. Above are some of my top dress picks, all from Shopbop. Which one is your favorite? Have a great weekend everyone! Tomorrow is my stagette/bachelorette party and I am so excited!!

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 ; ).

Links I Love: Wedding Planning Edition

Guys, I am getting married in less than 3 months (!!!) It's crunch time so I'm deep in planning mode. Most of the big stuff is taken care of like the ceremony and reception venues, flowers, photographers, etc. but my fiance and I are going away to get married and when we get back, two weeks after we come home, we're having a big party in our hometown to celebrate our "conscious coupling" (hee hee), which I thought would be less work but now it's like we're I'm planning TWO weddings and there's a lot more left to do. Oy vey! Luckily, I've come across some helpful websites to draw inspiration from and sites I can go to to purchase decorations, jewelry, party favors, etc. at competitive prices and I thought I would share my finds with my readers who may be engaged, are planning on getting married or who can use this post as a reference in the future.

For Inspiration:

Style Me Pretty - The Ultimate Wedding Blog. Just click it, you'll see ; ).
The Knot - Great ideas, from flowers to dresses to honeymoons and more. Oh, and if you're having a summer wedding outside, check out these 7 sunscreens that won't stain your gown.
Pinterest - This is pretty self-explanatory ; ) I have spent hours on here. Pinterest has basically planned our whole reception and ceremony ; ).

For Decorations:

Wedding Star - Shop themes including vintage, art deco, shabby chic, retro and wanderlust.
Save On Crafts - A DIY dream site! Discount wedding supplies and special event decorations.

For Jewelry:

Etsy - I bought my bridal jewelry and bridesmaid's jewelry from Etsy, they have a huge selection of beautiful earrings, necklaces, bracelets. Also, check them out for handmade decorations, too!

For Invitations:

I had my invitations made by Pinkpolka Designs. I was extremely happy with them and this company was so easy to work with and very accommodating. (And fun!)

I hope this has been helpful! If any of you want to share any wedding links you love, please leave them in the comment section below! Have a great weekend : )

xo

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!