Crate & Barrel Wedding Party

Crate & Barrel is holding a trio of upcoming “wedding parties” at their Yorkdale Mall location. These events are really how-to-register-at-our-store parties but they do feature free food, drinks, music and all participants who do set up a registry receive “a brilliant handblown heart bowl”. The store is also only open to those who have RSVPed (call 1-888-657-4108), a nice touch since that place can get pretty crowded.

I know many couples just want cash but I think it’s nice to register at at least one spot so that guests have options. Plus who doesn’t love to open presents?

Another reason for a registry? To get the bonuses that some of them come with. For example, if you register at Crate & Barrel, you’ll get 10 percent off anything that’s not purchased on your
registry.

Anyway, here are the dates for the wedding parties:

Sunday, September 13, 9 am – 11 am
Sunday, October 4, 9 am – 11 am
Sunday, October 18, 9 am – 11 am

I’ve shopped at Crate & Barrel a few times and I think they have a nicely priced range of “smaller stuff” (dishes, kitchen gadgets, etc.) that are pretty good quality. I am however less then impressed with the quality of its big furniture. I own a few pieces and while they certainly look nice, they don’t wear too well. And while I wouldn’t call Crate & Barrel furniture expensive, it’s more than what you’d pay at Ikea and honestly, my stuff from Ikea wears better.

So if you decide to register at Crate & Barrel, avoid the wood furniture but do register for one of these nice pitchers. They make for a perfect bridal shower gift.

A Must-Use Website

Have you checked out www.projectwedding.com yet? If not you should because this is one useful site.

It’s home to hundreds of reviews on all those aspects that make up a wedding: food, photographers, entertainment, attire, etc.

Not of all of the reviews in the “Toronto” category are actually Toronto-specific, but then when it comes to certain items, such as cakes or flowers, sometimes it’s useful to see what the GTA has to offer.

You need to register in order to review things and while vendors are supposed to register for their own special, vendor accounts, there is always the chance that a vendor might get a regular account and then pump up their own rating.

If you come across a review that seems too good to be true (or is completely contradictory to every other review), check to see if the reviewer has bothered to fill out her profile and has written other reviews on her other vendors. If she has then she’s probably a legit bride who just happens to of had a great experience with that vendor.

The site lets you sort vendors by highest rated as well as by price. But best of all, it has a search function that actually works and is a quick way to check out the vendor you’re thinking of using.

Friends Don't Make Friends Wear Ugly Dresses

I’ve taken to snooping through Facebook to look for wedding photos. The other day, I came across a wedding that was completely lovely in almost all respects. The venue was stunning, the bride beautiful, the groom and his attendants handsome and happy but the bridesmaids… well, their hair and make-up was lovely.

But the dresses, yeah, not so much. I don’t want to reveal too many identifying details so let’s just say the dresses were not flattering. I have no clue if the dresses were off-the-rack or custom made (I feel like they might have been the latter; I can’t imagine these things being mass produced) but I do know that they should not have been worn down the aisle.

The thing is, if I verbally described these dresses using neutral language, you’d probably think that they were quite elegant. And maybe on the rack they would have looked not bad. But once a person, well, somehow even the thinnest of the bridemaids (maybe a size four) looked like a sausage. So while I can picture someone sketching one of these dresses, I just cannot understand why they were purchased.

Why didn’t someone say something? I guess I can understand why the bridesmaids themselves didn’t say anything; they probably didn’t want to upset or worry the bride. But why couldn’t the bride see that she was shoving her friends in unflattering dresses?

All of this leads me to say, brides-to-be, please take a critical look at your maids’ dresses and make sure they look great. Yeah, yeah, you’re the bride and you should look the best but your bridesmaids are your friends who (hopefully) are helping you pull off the biggest event you’ll likely ever plan. Make sure they look almost as good as you do.

And if this means being flexible with your bridesmaids dress plans, then so be it. Your pictures will look better for it and you wouldn’t have someone like me wondering what your maids did to dress those ugly dresses.

Maggie Sottero Factory Outlet Sale

What is it about a Maggie that's just so appealing? While I didn't end up buying a Maggie, I certainly understand why some girls have their hearts sent on wearing one of those dresses down the aisle; they certainly are beautiful.

They're also fairly reasonably priced and this Wednesday, August 19, they're even cheaper because Bridal and Beyond is hosting its second annual Maggie Sottero outlet sale. It runs from 5 pm until midnight at their 100 Vanderhoof Avenue location. The ad says that appointments aren't necessary but if you plan on checking this out, I recommend booking one. They're selling $1200 dresses for $600. It's going to be a little crazy I think.

For more details, head over here.

B-Lists

So are you having an invite b-list?

I first heard of this concept a couple years ago, when an acquaintance freely declared that since person X was unable to make it to her wedding, she could now invite his b-list replacement, person Y. At the time, I was shocked by this idea. It just seemed so rude.

But now that I’m planning my own wedding, having a b-list just seems practical. The truth is, guests are a major cost of your wedding. If you’re going to have a common sense wedding, you’re going to have a reasonable guest number that you stick to. But while this number might make your budget happy, it might make you a bit sad because you don’t have space to invite certain people.

Odds are though that not everyone you initially invite can make it. So now what do you do: Leave those spots empty or fill them up with guests who you wanted to invite but just couldn’t squeeze in? If you go with the second option, you’ve got yourself a b-list and in my opinion, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.

In some situations, not having a b-list means wasted money. My venue, the Berkeley Church, has a 100-person minimum. This means that will be charged for at least 100 guests, even if only 90 show. Currently, my guest list is just over 100. While I like to think that most of my RSVPs will be set back with a “yes”, I do have a small b-list just in case I find myself with fewer than 100 RSVPs.

I do think that when it comes to your b-list, you need to be discreet. No one wants to know that they were the second pick, even if your venue does only hold 50 people.

If anyone asks about the “guest status” of a b-lister, dance around the topic. If the invites haven’t gone out yet, say that you’re still finalizing the list. If they have, say something about how you’re trying to find a spot for the person in question.

And what b-listers themselves? Well, ideally they’ll have good manners and not ask if they are invited or not. But if a b-lister does ask about whether or not s/he’s invited, be honest and hopefully. Something like, “Well, I would love to have you there but we have a really strict guest number. If though someone can’t make it, I will certainly send an invite to you.” Don’t lie about the invite being lost in the mail or something like that, it’ll only backfire and cause you stress that you don’t need.

Sorry!

Apologies for not updating this blog more; I’ve been busy this past week looking after a puppy who’s having a tough time with being neutered. I promise that next week will bring at least two solid entries.

In the meantime, find out if, this was the 1970s, you’d be ready to get married.

Also, Canada’s biggest two bridal magazines have new issues out. Check the fall/winter of Wedding Bells here and the fall/winter issue of Canadian Bride.

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