Make Your Own Wedding Photo Book

I’m not a Mac user (other than my phone) but wow, I wish I had so that I could use Mac’s iPhoto book-building feature.

Photographers will charge you hundreds of dollars to make a personalized photo album but with iPhoto, the digital copies of your photos and a bit of creativity, you can create a 13x11-inch, hardcover, 20-page book for $50 ($1.149 for every extra page).

To see the whole thing in action, check out this video.

While I’ve never made one, a friend of mine has seen the results and was quite impressed. Of course, while Apple gives you the tools to create a truly professional product, it is up to you to supply the high-quality photos and typo-free copy.

Hmm... I wonder I can rent a Mac Book from somewhere?

Our Thank-you Postcards

So we’re still waiting to get our photos back (so much for three-four weeks). I’m not worried we won’t get them, just anxious to see that at least some turned out and also anxious to get going on our thank-you cards.

Actually, we’re doing thank-you postcards instead or regular cards and yep, we’ll be jumping on board that trend of using our wedding photos on the front.

We decided to go with postcards because they’re quicker (no envelope) and a bit cheaper, at least with the company we’re going with.

And that company is: Vistaprint. I came across Vistaprint while researching invites and though they didn’t quite have what I was looking for invite-wise, they do offer a ton of great make-your-own-postcard options.

Since we don’t have any photos yet, I’m not sure what template we’ll go with but I’m sure we’ll be able to find something that works since Vistaprint offers dozens of options. They also offer plenty of options if you’d prefer a folded or flat card.

While I’ve never used Vistaprint, the reviews I’ve read online about them are generally good (at least the Canadian version). They’re quick, give you want you asked for and while the quality isn't amazing, the prices are great.

The site layout is a bit clumsy but I think anyone who can figure out Facebook photo albums can figure out how to create an invite on Vistaprint.

So far the only downside I’ve seen is that the company is a horrible over-emailer. I mean, it’s great that they want to tell me how much money I can save but I don’t need to hear from them multiple times a week. I’ve also read that your checkout process is slowed down by the endless upgrade and special offers they present though I’m not too worried about that, they’re not getting me to buy anything other than my postcards.

If you’re curious to know more about Vistaprint, check out this article where it’s compared to 123Print.com, a company that doesn’t ship to Canada.

Once I get my cards back, I’ll make sure to post and let you know how they look.

There are also lots of other options out there if you want to do a photo thank-you card. I recommend actually starting at home and seeing if your computer or printer came with any software that could let you put something together. Craft store stores like Michaels, as well as those photo printing booths at Walmart and Black’s, also offer their own approach to photo cards.

If you’re a Mac user, you’ll definitely want to check out what you can make with iPhoto. But I’ll talk a bit more about that in my next blog entry.

What Else To Write About...

Our second reception, held two Saturdays ago out in Alberta, went off fairly smoothly even if we did run a little behind schedule. And thankfully the snow waited until the next day to fall!

With that done, I’m planning on wrapping this blog up by the end of October though there is a chance I might occasionally make a post here or there.

I know a few topics that I still want to cover including my stagette, thank-you notes and a quick review of all of my vendors. Is there anything you’d like to see me write about?

Wedding Hair Inspiration

Looking for wedding hair inspiration? Well, you could flip through a bridal magazine (or maybe even one of the special hair-only bridal magazines), scan through the appropriate wedding board posts or spend hours trying to put together your own creation in front of the mirror.

Alternatively, you could just head over to Google’s image search, type in “wedding hair” and get hundreds and hundreds of hair ideas in one quick, easy move.

Add in a modifier like “long” or “curly” to help narrow down the results (though note that this won’t strictly return long hair pictures, for example) or get even more specific by using a phrase like “curly bridal hair flowers”. You can even sort by colour, if for some reason that would be helpful.

I typed in “wedding hair long wavy”, “wedding hair long” and “best wedding hair” to get some ideas on how to wear my hair on Saturday (my second reception). While a lot of the results weren’t quite what I was looking for, I was able to get a few ideas that I think might work.

Off to Alberta

So today’s the day Shawn and I fly out to Alberta for about a week for our “out-West” reception. It’s taking place this Saturday at the lovely Overlander Mountain Lodge. I hope it’s not too cold!

This reception is much smaller and more low-key than our actual wedding. It’ll have just under 60 guests, mostly my parents friends and my dad’s family (while some of them did attend our Toronto wedding, many of them were unable to). There will be a dinner, complete with wine, but sadly no open bar. And even more sadly, there won’t be dancing.

But my mom did order a cake as well as bouquets, corsages and boutonnières and a couple floral arrangements for décor. and I’m also going to bring some décor from here.

I have a second cousin who’s a professional photographer and we will be going out with him prior to the dinner to do some photos at a nearby lake, as well as take some at the actual lodge. I’m actually quite looking forward to that since I did find our wedding day photography session a little rushed since we were crushed for time.

I will be getting my hair professionally done but I’ll do my own make-up. And yes, I will be wearing my wedding dress (likely both versions) while my sister will be wearing her maid-of-honour outfit. Shawn though will be skipping the rental and bringing a suit he already owns.

Pretty Paper

I am not a DIY-bride but if you are, or, if you want to feel guilty about not spending dozens of hours slaving over beautiful projects that will likely only be appreciated by those of us with critical eyes, read this article from last week’s Star about the growing trend of DIY paper decorations.

Make sure to check out the slideshow. It showcases some really beautiful pieces, including a paper dress.

While a paper dress probably isn’t for most brides, the idea of using paper décor to replace flowers is definitely an ideal that might appeal to some. Like the article points out, the cost can be comparable and paper does open up a whole new world of possibilities.

Need An Idea for Your Bachelorette?

I haven’t written at all about my bachelorette yet have I? I’ll have to do that because it was a lot of fun. Anyways, in the meantime, check out this post over on Slice.ca about bachelorette ideas that don’t involve stripped (and no, mine didn’t).

What We Bought For Alcohol

One of the trickiest things we had to do in regards with our wedding was figure out how much alcohol we needed to buy. While there are plenty of alcohol calculators out there, we still were left wondering if the numbers they gave us made sense for our group (around 100 people, mostly adults, with 30-25% being heavy drinkers).

Thankfully we had a pair of friends get married in June who also had to buy their booze. While their numbers and crowd make-up was a bit different than ours, we used their quantities to figure out what we needed.

Still, we didn’t quite get it right. Here’s how things broke down for us:

Wine

Bought

• Three cases of red (all Shyrah)
• Three cases of white (two Chardonnay, one pinot grigio)

Returned

• One case of red
• One case of white (the pinot was never opened)

Leftover (includes opened, combined bottles):

• At least a dozen bottles of red (this included opened, combined bottles)
• Fewer than 10 bottles of white

Beer

Bought

• 14 cases

Returned

• 7 cases

Hard Alcohol

Bought

• 5 bottles of vodka (40 oz)
• 5 bottles of rye (fifth)
• 3 bottles of gin (fifth)
• 2 bottles of dark rum (40 oz)
• 1 bottle of light rum (40 oz)
• 2 bottles of Raspberry Sourpuss (40 oz)
• 1 bottle of Raspberry Sourpuss (fifth)
• 2 bottles of tequila (40 oz)
• 2 bottles of blue cucacao (fifth)
• 2 bottles of Jagermeister (40 oz)
• 1 bottle of scotch (40 oz)
• 1 bottles of Kahlua (40 oz)

Also, one 24-mix pack of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, all of which was consumed

Returned

• 1 bottle of vodka
• The fifth of Sourpuss

Leftover

• Most of the scotch
• Half-bottle of tequila
• Half-bottle of light rum
• A third of gin
• Just a few ounces each of vodka, rye, blue cucacao and Sourpuss
• Oh, and the entire bottle of Kahlua that we couldn’t return because the seal had been broken

The leftover wine number didn’t shock me but the beer number did. I think the reason for that was that all of our beer came from Mill Street and I guess our crowd wasn’t big on Mill Street (though Shawn and a few of his friends do regularly drink it).

We were though pretty dead-on when it came to the hard alcohol. Except for the Kahlua; I wonder why no one drank any of that…

Check Out My New Blog

I have a new blog. It’s called Stuff I Bought and it’s basically me reviewing various products, everything from mascara to fast food to small appliances.

You can follow it via Facebook, Google Connect or scroll down to the bottom to see the different ways that you can subscribe to it.

I hope you like it and yes, I’ll be continuing with my wedding blog for a few more weeks, since I still need to post about a few different things.

Preserving Your Wedding Bouquet

So my attempts at preserving my wedding bouquet failed. I was able to preserve a little bit of it but sadly, most of it had to get tossed because it became moldy.

If you really want to make sure your bouquet gets fully preserved, you should get it professionally done. Your florist can generally recommend someone or maybe even do it for you. But be warned, this process isn’t cheap. You’re looking at least $100, probably more, and depending on what process is used, it can take as long as 10 weeks. And for best results, your flowers should be dropped off at the florist as soon as possible, so this becomes yet another task for your post-wedding to-do list.

However, on the plus side, you will have a beautifully preserved bouquet and if you want, you can even have it turned into something you can hang on your wall (some people will have a sort of “wedding college” made that includes a copy of the invite and some pictures).

If you’d rather take the DIY route, there are two methods that are generally used and you can read more about them over here. The first is the basic way that I sort of did. It involves hanging your bouquet upside down to dry and then, once everything is dried, spraying the flowers with a dried flower spray or hairspray.

With this method you’re supposed to take the bouquet apart and hang the individual flowers to dry and I didn’t totally do this and as a result I don’t think my flowers were totally dry (hence the mold).

Also, my bouquet contained a lot of orchids and apparently it’s hard to preserve those yourself (though oddly enough they looked better than the lilies did). Roses though are quite easy to preserve so if your bouquet is quite rose-heavy, you might want to consider the hang-drying method.

The second method, which involves placing the flowers in silica gel, is more complicated though generally has better results.

See Jane Dayus-Hinch at The National Bridal Show

Look who you can meet next weekend...

It's a bit of a pain that this show is way out in Mississauga. At least the January edition is in Toronto! I did check that one out earlier this year and you can read my review of it here.

How To Have A Fun Wedding: The Bride

As promised, a post on how you, the bride, can have a fun wedding…

1. Give People Jobs: It’s an obvious one but it’s also a hard one because it means giving up control. It’s also one of the best decisions you can make. Assign people tasks and let them worry about those jobs, not you. As long as you’ve pick responsible people and given clear, written-out instructions, it’ll be fine.
   
2. Breath: People always say that their wedding day flew by and they don’t remember much. This always makes me a bit sad because this a big day, don’t you want to remember as much of it as possible? My trick to slowing things down and taking them in was to mentally and physically pause, take a few deep breaths and just observe what was going on around me. At other times I mentally told myself to pay attention and remember this moment.
   
3. Eat: I’m not just taking just about dinner but the whole day. You’re not going to lose that last little bit of weight on your actual day so eat a proper breakfast as well as something for lunch. And yes, do eat your dinner, even if that means having to sit down and “ignore” your guests for a bit.
   
4. Drink Smart: I avoided any alcohol before the ceremony because I wanted to minimize bathroom trips but I do think that depending on your metabolism/history with alcohol, you can get away with a drink or two. But since alcohol tends to make people more emotional, don’t over do it, wait until later in the evening to really start partying.
   
5. Set a “Partying” Start Time: Speaking of which, have an approximate time when you stop being the polite bride who nicely socializes with everyone and becomes the “fun” bride who grabs a drink and heads out onto the dance floor.
   
   The truth is, if you want to have fun at your wedding you’re likely going to have to proactively create time for yourself to let loose. This advice might come across as a bit selfish here but trust me, you’re going to want to do this.