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.

20 Beautiful Centrepieces

Toronto’s own Wedding Bells magazine has put together this great slideshow that shows off a wide variety of centrepiece options. Most of these could easily be DIY projects and many of them aren’t the usual flowers-in-a-vase thing.

Here are my three favourite centrepieces from the slideshow (sorry I’m not linking directly to each item, something is either up with Blogger or Wedding Bells and I'm not able to add in the proper links):

A Couple Weekend Sales

There’s a couple big sales going on that you might want to know about...

The first is over at Ikea and runs until this Sunday. They are having a two-for-one promo on all styles of their Fenoman candles. These classic-looking candles come in range of sizes, some of which are packaged together in a convenient five-pack.

We’re using one of those five-packs as part of our centrepieces so we’re definitely going to be at Ikea this weekend, stocking up.

If you’re in the market for a dress you might want to check out the Maggie Sottero truck show at Superior Bridal. Yeah, that store is way out in Markham (7703 Kennedy Road) but trekking out there could save you 15 percent off the cost of a gorgeous gown.

The trunk show runs until November 22 and features plenty of 2010 designs. It’s recommended that you book an appointment first since this sale is sure to be a popular one.

5 Ways To Up The "Wow" Factor

TheKnot.com just posted “10 Ways to Wow your Wedding Guests”. Some of their ideas are certainly “wowing” though not very “common sense” (such as ending the night with fireworks) while others are a bit dated (“Plan Out the First Dance”) or obvious (“Pick a ceremony spot with a gorgeous view...”).

Here are my five wow-your-guest-ideas that are actually wowing and realistic.

1. Live music during the ceremony – A harpist or string quartet always classes things up. Check out local music schools, or the Royal Conservatory of Music, to locate talented but affordable young musicians.

2. A variety of good liquor –And by that I mean have on hand such brands as Kahlua, Sour Puss and Jagermeister. Worried about the extra cost? Then cheap out a bit on your bar stock (so say, Polar Ice instead of SKYY vodka)and use the savings to help pay for this new stock of booze.

3. Tall centrepieces – Height always impresses people so up the wow factor in your decor, by going with centrepieces that tower three feet tall or more. And no, taller doesn’t necessary mean pricier. Tall vases can be picked up for a few bucks at the dollar store and can be filled with decorative branches, long grasses and even feathers (if you want to go that route). See more ideas here.

4. No speeches – Speeches are almost always the least favourite part of any wedding so ditch (at least limit their numbers and lengths) them and leave your guests smiling.

5. On-Site Photo Printing – Okay, maybe not the cheapest idea but if you already have a laptop and photo printer, it’s a doable one. Simply set up your laptop and printer off to the side and include clear instructions on how people can upload and print their photos right there. If you want, you can also use this set up to collect plenty of candid photos for yourself.

This Is Wrong… Right?

I love the ocean. I could (and have) spent hours snorkelling amongst coral reefs and one of my favourite activities is scuba diving. A big reason why I love being in the ocean is that it lets me watch and interactive with marine life such as colour fish.

So not surprisingly, the idea of using fish popped into my mind while trying to come up with interesting centrepieces ideas. But that’s wrong…right? I mean, using living animals for decorations? Who could justify that?

Well, it turns out that there are more than a few brides who can justify this practice. They explain that you totally can use fish as centrepieces as long as certain steps are taken (don’t surround the fish with candles for example). And what to do with the fish at the end of the night? Give them away as favours!

Personally, I don’t feel comfortable telling my guests, “Here, take this fish home” and I don’t have enough space at home to keep them once the wedding is over. Can you rent fish? If you could, I guess that would solve that issue.

But there are still plenty of other issues, like noise vibrations and worrying about drunken guests swallowing the fish (something I never thought of until I read this thread). Maybe if your wedding was a small, quiet garden party, you could get away with using fish as centrepieces.

Because they certainly make for stunning centrepieces, much more interesting than flowers. But I don’t think fish centrepieces are right for my wedding.