2010 Wedding To-Do List

Below is a list of things we still need to figure out for the wedding, organized by the month I hope to accomplish those tasks in. Am I missing anything? I'm sure I am.

January

• Get sample invite
• Write invite copy
• Get guys’ outfits
• Block off hotel rooms
• Start the registering process
• Make short list of cake bakers
• Make short list of florists
• Make short list of officiates
  

February

• Figure out flowers & hire a florist
• Figure out hair & make-up & book
• Hire cake baker
• Hire a DJ
• Hire an officiate
• Buy invites

March

• Figure out ceremony music
• Pick first dance song
• Figure out rings
• Have all guest list info in our magical guest list spreadsheet

April

• Send out invites
• Figure out favours
• Book our hotel room
• Get hair highlighted & book July appointment

May

• Have sister’s outfit figured out

June

• Book nail appointment
• Have food figured out
• Buy photo permit

July

• Buy remaining parts for the centerpieces
• Decide on signature drink
• Figure out rehearsal dinner
• Write thank you speech
• Create DJ “must-play” and “no-play” lists
• Create photo “must-take” list
• Confirm day-of schedule with venue
• Confirm photo details with photographer
• Confirm all other vendors (baker, florist, DJ, officiate, etc.)
• Give final head count/details to venue
• Figure out seating chart & submit to venue
• Buy liquor permit
• Buy wedding licence
• Get hair cut & highlights
• Create centerpiece/table décor “bundles”
• Create/buy card box
• Create escort card things

August

• Buy alcohol
• Steam dress & veil
• Confirm who is doing what & make a handy chart that explains it all
• Make emergency kit
• Get nails done

Already Done

• Venne booked
• Attendants picked
• Engagement announced
• Dress bought & fitted
• Shoes & jewellery bought
• Photographer hired
• Colours figured out
• Centerpieces figured out
• Guest list created
• Invites decided on
• Guestbook bought
• Insurance purchased

Not Worrying About

• A ceremony site
• Programs, save-the-dates or menu carts
• Limos
• A honeymoon (we’re doing that in 2011)

Upcoming Toronto Wedding Shows

It’s almost time for the January wedding shows. Here’s a look at what’s happening when. For hints on how to survive a wedding show, read this post.

January 2-3
Total Wedding Show
International Centre, 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga
$15
This huge show features all the usual suspects and the chance to win a diamond ring.
More Info

January 8-10
Canada’s Bridal Show
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St. W., Toronto
$15
Another big show. Many vendors who do the Total Wedding Show will also be at this one so don’t feel like you have to hit up both shows.
More Info

January 15-17
The Wedding Show
The Carlu, 444 Yonge Street, 7th floor, Toronto $17/$20
Featuring 115 hand-selected exhibitors, this intimate (as wedding shows go) event is best for brides with cash and a love of the finer things.
More Info

January 16-17
Canada’s Wedding Expo
Toronto Congress Centre North. 650 Dixon Road, Toronto
This big bridal show includes a “How To Dress Your Man” seminar.
$15
More Info http://www.canadasweddingexpo.ca

January 22-24
National Bridal Show
Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto
Brides who register in advance are free; $15
I think I might check this one out this year. It features some stuff on green weddings and is doing a Rich Bride, Poor Bride casting call.
More Info

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you from WedTO! I’m going to be off doing Christmas stuff over the next few days but will be back next week with plenty of fresh posts.

Wedding Dress Fitting Tips

So on Thursday I saw my dress for the first time since I bought it back in July. While I was a bit worried about whether or not I would still love it, once I got it on I knew that it was still the dress for me.

Besides leaning that I still loved my dress, I also learned a few dress fitting tips that I’m passing on below.

1. Be well rested and well fed before going to your fitting: I had been up at 4 am that morning (early flight) and hadn’t eaten much other than a doughnut. As a result, I got a bit dizzy during my dress fitting and had to sit down (but at least now I know that I can sit in my dress).


2. Have clean hands: Before you touch that dress make sure your hands are clean and don’t contain remnants of that chocolate bar you were just eating.


3. Remove most jewelry and turn any rings inside: Rings, bracelets, watches and necklaces can and do catch and damage dresses so take them off or, in the case of your engagement ring, turn the stone to the inside. Of course, once the dress is on you can (carefully) put on whatever jewelry you want so that you can see the full effect.


4. Bring the right shoes: This is an easy one. Without your wedding day shoes, the dress might not be altered to the correct length.


5. Bring the right underwear: For some dresses, what you’re wearing under it isn’t an issue. But if your dress isn’t like that, bring your wedding day underwear so that you can make sure that everything sits where it should sit.
   
   


6. Don’t suck it in too much: Yes, you want to look slim and perfect in your dress. But at the same time, you also want to be able to drink, eat and breathe. A good fitter should realize when you’re sucking it in to extreme but still, help her out and don’t spend the whole fitting with your gut ridiculously sucked in.
   
7. Try on your veil too: If your getting your viel/headpiece at the same time as the dress, try it on too so you can check and make sure you're getting what you want.


8. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or point things out: If something looks weird, politely ask about it. Make sure to stay calm and use a friendly/curious tone so that you don’t put the seamstress on the defensive. If though you notice a major flaw (wrong size, a ripe, a stain, missing elements) and the store doesn’t want to do anything about it, start working your way into bitch mode.


9. Bring a camera or even better, something that records video: Now, some dresses are easy to do up and have a simple or even no bustle. My dress is not one of those dresses. So I had my mother use my phone to record how the dress is laced up and how the bustle is done.


10. Get a garment bag: Depending on the store you might have to pay extra for this but it’s worth it since a good quality garment bag will let your dress “breathe” while protecting it.


11. Ask how the dress should be stored: Are you fine to leave the dress for months in a zipped up garment bag? When should it be steamed? Are there any precautions you should take when storing/steaming/cleaning the dress?


12. Have a plan for where the dress will live: Before you leave to pick up your dress, know where it will call home so that it doesn’t spend the next week hanging out on our couch or hanging from a curtain rod in your living room.

Unique Toronto Wedding Venues

I’d just like to take this moment to remind everyone about the WedTO Venue Chart. It lists over a dozen Toronto wedding venues that are hardly your typical banquet halls. Venues profiled include The Carlu, the Steam Whistle Brewery, Casa Loma and the Gladstone Hotel.

I hope you find it helpful!

Seeing My Dress Again

Today I’ll be seeing and trying on my dress for the first time since I picked it out and ordered it back in July. I’m really hoping that I still love it.

I’ve been looking at the photos I have of the dress and while I still love the neckline, the silhouette and the back, there are a couple of details I’m having second thoughts on. I don’t want to reveal too much about my dress so let’s just say that the skirt includes a detail that at first I loved but now I’m questioning. But since it’s the type of detail that I can’t really change I guess I’m stuck with it.

But maybe once I get my dress on again I’ll change my mind (again) about that detail. But even if I don’t end up loving it it’s not what I would consider a “dress-breaker”. It’s the type of detail that most people won’t even notice and in all honestly I can live with it.

I have no intention of being a “two-dress bride”. For one thing, I can’t afford to buy a new dress (I didn’t even buy the first dress, my parents did). And if I did buy a different dress, it would look very, very similar to the one I currently have so really, what’s the point?

After I bought my dress I was really worried that I’d end up seeing that perfect one somewhere else. But so far the only dresses that I’ve liked better are those that cost oh, $5,000 or more so I feel good that I’ve made the right choice. Hopefully I’ll still feel that way after today’s fitting.

Toronto Life Wedding Guide

Toronto Life’s first-ever wedding guide hits newsstands today. I’m a bit surprised that they’ve never published one before, wedding magazines are usually fairly easy money (at least in the magazine world), but whatever, it’s here now and I plan on picking up a copy tomorrow to read on the plane(I'm headed to Alberta for Christmas).

I see that the cover features a cake that looks very similar to the cake design we were thinking of going with. I guess that means we have good taste?

Anyway, I generally find Toronto Life’s guides quite informative and practical so I think it’s safe to say that this is one wedding magazine that you’re going to want to pick up.

Best Spas in Toronto

Need a break from planning? Or maybe want to treat your maid of honour and bridemaids? Then consider taking them to the spa. BlogTO’s listed the city’s top 10 over here. A warning: Many of their picks are pricey.

If you want to check out a place that’s still great but is a little more affordable, check out Ritual 2, down on King West. There’s another spa down there that I’ve been to that was also well-priced and now I’m completely blanking on what it’s called. I think it’s something like “Blah and Blah”. Anyway, once I remember, I’ll be sure to post its name.

Amazing Wedding Invites: Etsy Edition

As promised, I’m going to share with you some of my favourite invite designs. I figured that I’d dedicate this entry to Etsy designs since that site is packed with original, eye-catching looks. While the designs on Etsy aren’t generally the cheapest, may if the items on there are reasonably price and most can be customized so that the design goes with your colours/themes/whatever.

* = shop offers a print-it-yourself option

Ras Ideas – We’re likely going to get our invites from this well-priced shop

Unless Someone Like You – Makers of the best save-the-date ever. They can also incorporate custom portraits into the invite design

DIYPaperie* – The shop above’s print-it-yourself side

Lovli Day – Offers text-heavy invites in a range of great fonts

Izzy and the Bean Design* – Dozens of designs that put a contemporary twist on traditional layouts

Modern Ink – Check out this shop if you want a clean design that emphasis your wedding colours

Green Quice – I love these urban invites though they are a bit out of our price range

Ello There – This shop’s designs are a little too cutesy for me but might be perfect for you

SilhouetteBlue – Home to some really simple and sweet designs

Wedding Invites

Back in May, I wrote about how I’d found my ideal invites at Michael’s. They were cheap, the colours were appropriate and they looked good enough.

Well now, a few months later, I’ve changed my mind on the whole invites-from-Michael’s thing. Yeah, they were cheap but they were also a bit boring and predictable. While I agree that it doesn’t make sense to spent a ton on stationary, I do think it’s okay to spend a bit to get something that suits your wedding and that, hopefully, makes people excited for it.

There is some truth behind the saying that the invite sets the tone for the invite. If you get a big, elaborate invite, you’re likely going to assume that the wedding will be a big, elaborate one. But if you get a plain, generic invite, well, you’re likely going to assume that the wedding will also be on the plain and generic side and no bride wants her guests to make that assumption about her wedding.

My mom has been sending invites to me that she and her friends have been getting and they almost all look the same. I’m all for simple but come on, there’s tons of ways to do “simple” that doesn’t involve black ink on heavy, plain white paper (and no, gluing a coloured ribbon doesn’t really personalize the invite).

Over the past few weeks I have seriously looked a hundreds of wedding invite designs, most in the low-to-mid-price range. There are lots of affordable options out there, including plenty of print-your-own styles so there’s really no excuse for boring invites.

In my next entry, I’ll highlight some of my favourite designs/designers that I came across on Etsy. But first, an invite “reality check”:

• Throw the idea of a 1$ invite; stamps along run over $1
  
• To keep it cheap, keep it simple: no pockets, no flaps, no ribbons, no jewels, no double-lined envelopes. Instead spend your money on an eye-catching, appropriate design
  
• Going with a postcard-style RSVP card is generally cheaper than a card and envelope combo (though trickier to print if you’re doing DIY printing)
  
• I’m going to dedicate a separate entry to DIY printing but for now remember that DIY printing doesn’t equal free; you still need to pay for paper and ink
  
• And before you get too attached to a DIY design, make sure you have whatever computer program is needed to print it (I’m amazed at the number of brides on bridal boards who don’t have Word so they can’t print many DIY templates)
  
• Sometimes it’s just plain worth it to spend the extra cash. For example, get your return address printed on your envelopes/RSVP postcards. Yeah, this can cost extra but it’s one of those things that’s worth the cost

Wedding Website Winner

A few weeks ago I started my hunt for a wedding website website and I not have a winner: Momentville.com.

Yeah, yeah the name sucks but on the plus side:
- it’s free
- it has a template that I like and that works with our colour scheme
- it’s super-easy to edit text and photos
- it’s super-easy to add in new pages
- the budget and RSVP tools look like they will be useful (assuming I remember to use them)
-my website will never expire
- it claims to be a carbon neutral company

On the downside:
- it’s not as customizable as I would like (though if I upgraded to the a paid site I could basically create my own template)
- there’s no seating chart tool
- the interface is kind of ugly though it is easy to use

Based on my somewhat limited research, most free wedding websites offer basically the same tools/features (guest list manager, photo gallery, budget stuff) and are all generally pretty easy to use. The big differences are templates and the length of time your website will “live” for (some websites will expire after a year or two) and just a warning, there are a lot of ugly templates out there.

If you’re willing to pay for a wedding website, check out Wedquarters.com. Its own site is pretty slick looking and seems to offer some great template options. You can also choose to pay for a custom domain. www.trueloveforeven2010.com anyone?

Ever Taken a Wedding Dress on WestJet?

In a couple weeks time I’ll be flying back to Alberta where, among other things, I’ll be getting my dress fitted and altered. Then, if all goes to plan, it will get to come back to Toronto with me.

So my question to all of you is what’s the best way to get the dress back? I’m flying on WestJet and I can’t remember if WestJet has those little closets at the front like some Air Canada planes do.

Currently it looks like I have two options:

1. Shove it in the overhead compartment – I know that a lot of destination brides put their dresses in a good garment bag and then carefully place them in the overhead compartment however, my dress is much, much larger than your typical destination wedding dress. I’m also worried about all the other crap that my dress will need to compete with in the overhead compartment (leftover Christmas turkey for example).

2. Stick the dress in a big box/other container: this is the option that I’m currently leaning towards even though it means checking my dress. It will first be placed in a garment bag, then folded in two and placed in a large box. I feel like the dress will be safer in a box even though it does mean placing a lot of trust in the airline/barrage handlers.

I think either myself or my mother will be getting in touch with WestJet soon to see what they recommend. They don’t have any info up on their site on this topic which sort of surprises me since they fly to a lot of destination wedding locations. Maybe something to add to their FAQ section....

Have A Fun Wedding: The Guests

Part two in an on-going series about making your wedding fun.

This is an easy concept: To have a fun wedding, you need fun guests.

Now, that’s not to say that every guest needs to like a character out of Party Monster. You’re talking about your wedding after all and so you’re likely inviting more than a few people who you wouldn’t be inviting out on a Saturday night to the club.

But, unless you’re having a super-small wedding or your parents have hijacked the guest list, you should have space to invite at least of few life-of-the-party type people.

These are the individuals who will get people talking, laughing and dancing and they’ll help to make your wedding a memorable, enjoyable event. I know that putting together a guest list can be one of the hardest parts of wedding planning but if you’re short on space and/or money and you have to choose between that high school friend who you haven’t seen in years and a newer but really fun friend, go with the fun friend.

Then have your fun friends “work” for you by strategically placing them at tables where they can get spread their fun-loving nature. If all your fun friends are friends, do split them up but put their tables beside each other so that they can still socialize with each other as well as with your other guests.

If you have any fun friends who are big into dancing, chat with them in advance and let them know that you’re counting on them to get the dance party underway (no pressure!).

Your guests are a tremendously important part of your wedding and who you invite can really impact the atmosphere so if you want a fun wedding, make sure you’ve got at least a few guests who you can count on to bring the party.