From the Desk of... Emily

Introducing the first real Office Bride, Emily, from MD, USA!


"Our wedding invitations were designed by fiance's sister, based on a crappy little Paintbrush drawing I emailed her. She did a wonderful job, as you can clearly see.

The invitations use our color scheme of burgundy, black and slate blue as main colors, as well as off-white and silver as accent colors. In addition it also showcases our "themes", which are astronomy and cats. Fiance and I are both astronomers, and we're getting married at the Arecibo Observatory -- and a photo of the radiotelescope can be seen faded in the clouds at the bottom of the invite. The moon and lots of random little stars are also a really nice touch. And we have two cats, and our cake topper will be two kitties), so it was really nice to have two kitties silhouetted there in the invite. The fonts used were Freebooter Script and Centabel Book.

We had five insert cards -- "Information", "Map", "Directions", "RSVP" and "Reception", in order from tallest to shortest. They were designed to be staggered, so that the titles are visible when the cards are arranged by size. In the "Information" card we included info about a reserved block of rooms at the hotel, transportation from the ceremony to the reception sites, and the URL to our wedding website, along with the password to enter it. For the "Map" card, I took a screenshot off Google Maps and then traced over it in Keynote and exported it to a PNG file to then send to FSIL to include in the card. For RSVP we decided to not do the usual mail-back RSVP card, but rather wrote in an email address we created exclusively for dealing with wedding stuff and our phone number and gave guests the option to email or call us to let us know if they're coming to the wedding.


After FSIL finished designing the invitations, she emailed us all the files and we took them to FedEx Office for printing. We had them printed on 80lb cardstock in an off-white color called "natural". We got them back the next day and the printing job was fantastic.

The invitations and insert cards were then mounted on pocketfolds that I ordered from Cards and Pockets.I used the Signature Pocketfold (5x7) in "Black Tie" color (matte finish black), and had "Chili" colored invitation mats mounted on them (to go under the invitation, for a layered look).

I also ordered some custom-cut cardstock in "Chili" color to make belly bands. I had them cut the cardstock in strips 2 inches wide by 11 inches long, then I used a bone folder to score and fold them to size. Then I printed up some name cards (in the same 80lb "natural" cardstock from FedEx Office; 2.5 inches tall by 3 inches wide, and rounded the corners with a corner-rounder punch thingie) to put on top of the belly bands.

The finished invitations were then stuffed into envelopes that I also got from Cards & Pockets, in color "Hydrangea". Before stuffing I ran the envelopes through our inkjet printer and printed the addresses in them, along with a wedding bells dingbat on the top-left corner of the destination address. I also printed our return address on the back flap of the envelope, in smaller font size. To finish it off, we used a wedding cake stamp.

It was quite a lot of work to assemble the invitations into the pocketfolds and envelopes, but totally worth it. We've already started to receive RSVPs and so far everyone has loved the invitations!"

From the Desk of Emily.

Thank goodness it's a half day...

It's dead quiet in the office today. And while I would normally take advantage of it and do more-than-regular- wedding searches, I've got something else on my mind. Christmas!!! I'm a child stuck in an adult's body, I can't help :)

Leaving in just a few short hours to do some last minute shopping and cleaning! I can't promise I'll be posting for the next few days, but you never know!

Happy holidays to you all!

Save The Dates - Done and done!

With nine months until the big day, Office Groom and I wanted to take advantage of the holiday season to send out our Save The Dates. Earlier in the engagement we had decided on a bit of a theme for the wedding. We're both big book nerds and I come from a family of printers, so it was an easy decision to go with a book/literature theme. Once that was decided all the details of the wedding seemed to fall into place, including the STDs.

Pulling inspiration and ideas from other weddings that have had book-themes, we thought that using a library card as our STDs would be fun. Inititally we were going to purchase real library cards from a supplier, but then I found several designers on Etsy that would also print custom messages on library cards.

That's when it occurred to me - "I can do that."

So, with a little bit of work on Microsoft Word, a date stamp from Staples for $7, and printing by the sheet at a printshop for only $1, this is what we had as our end result:



We sent them out with Christmas cards to all of our out-of-town guests. A few have arrived already and we've had nothing but compliments on them!

Inspiration Board: "Merry Wedding"

Christmas and Wedding Planning. Two of my favourite things.

The Christmas Party - Every Bride's Nemesis

You've given yourself one year to slim down and get that Jessica Alba body you've always dreamed of having. You picture yourself looking absolutely fabulous in your wedding dress, completely independent of Spanx. You've also been invited to seven Christmas parties this year, and the chances of big eats, drinks, and spending are 100%.

What's a girl to do?

Here are some quick tips to get you through the holiday season, so that you can enjoy yourself but not become a contender for next year's office party Santa Claus... or become as broke as Mr. Crachit.

- Gin and Tonic. Yes, its pseudo name is also "The Panty Remover" BUT that all depends on how much you consume. The big plus - low in calories.

- Never have an empty hand. If it means you've been nursing the same vodka martini for the last hour, so be it. But it will also discourage others from encouraging you to get another drink.

- Leave your credit card(s) at home. Period.

- Drink lots of water during meals. Fills you up quickly. And also helps with the sobering process.

- Do not wear baby doll dresses or shirts to a party. All that room will only give you an incentive to consume more because there's more room for your belly. Ha. Not entirely serious about this one, but it's still pretty funny.

Same But Different (S.B.D.)

My closest group of friends have been around since high school and university. We're practically sisters, which I feel so fortunate to have, since I grew up with brothers (great for toughening up, but a girl has got to be just a girl sometimes!)

Although we're a tight knit group with a lot in common (a sense of humor tops that list of similarities), we have always taken pride in our differences too. Fashion, music, men - we encourage each other to go after what we want, and sometimes live vicariously through one another along the way!

So when it came time for me to decide what my girls, a.k.a. my bridesmaids, would wear on the big day, there was no doubt that "the same but different" was the way to go.

However - like any typical self-doubting-bride-to-be, I wasn't sure if it would look ok. The internet was my saviour. I did a lot of Googling and found tons of pics of bridal parties wearing the S.B.D. and they all looked fabulous! It sealed the deal for me, and I quickly set out to find a line that offered the best selection of dresses in a variety of styles, but all in the same colour and fabric.

The reigning champion: Dessy

Although this is my line of choice, I thought I'd help out other brides looking for the S.B.D. with a few of the photos I found on-line during my earlier quest-for-the-dress. Dessy may not invoke inspiration for you, but maybe these will:

SBD BLACK



SBD BLUE



SBD NAVY



SBD GREEN



SBD RED



SBD YELLOW

Listed on another site? Check!

The Office Bride has been added to the list of links on "Forever"! It's official!

Check out their site here.

Paging all Office Brides

Did you plan most of your wedding from 9-5 in a cubicle? Then The Office Bride wants to hear from you! Contact officebride@gmail.com and tell us your story, and you might be featured in a "From the Desk of..." blog!

Gah! Crazy day!

I've had two meetings. An offsite project that took three hours. And so many e-mail to catch up on!!!

Purple + Vintage = Awesome

I've noticed a lot of brides are on the look out for purple shoes. When it comes to shoes, I'm always there to help, so I thought I'd some research of my own! Check out these great finds from Etsy (ok - so, you'll need to be ok with wearing vintage...think of it this way, there's less of a chance of someone else wearing the same pair today :) )

Vintage dark eggplant Charles Jourdan leather pumps - Size 6 (ingeniousrehab)



The Purple Heart Pumps- 1950's Suede Heels by Simco - Size 7.5 (Ginger Kisses)


Roxanne - Size 8.5 (The Glass Finch) And only $18!!

Planning this is almost a full-time job

I just came out of a bi-weekly meeting with my boss. It went really well. I got a good review, some pointers on how to become more involved (I'm just starting to get comfy in this position...even though I've been here for a year), and then we started talking wedding stuff.

At some point I mentioned the idea of organizing a department improv session (having some improv/comedy in my background) and my boss told me not to load myself with too much stuff, since I'm planning a wedding. At first I thought I had been caught! "She's knows about the on-line shopping! And the photoshopping!" Then I quickly realized that she was saying it in sympathy.

Maybe it's because she's a married woman herself and understands what it takes to put together a big shindig. Regardless, it made me feel better about all the planning I do during the day (ssshhhh) and that it's not completely outrageous how much time and energy I put into wedding planning. However, it did make me wonder how other bosses out there feel about office brides. I doubt there are many out there who share the same sympathy and understanding that mine has, but maybe I'm wrong?

How understanding has your boss been so far?

For all Canadian Travel Divas...

Oh man. This makes not going somewhere hot this winter that much worse. But why waste a good sale?

Welcome to the office :)

Some new blogs created by fellow brides. Check them out!



Miss Fancy Pants

How To Make A Wedding

Say Yes to the (Little White) Dress

(While waiting for my meeting to begin...Gotta love a good old Google search)

Whether you're wearing it all day, or just for the reception, how can one resist these fun alternatives to the long gown?

For the Modern Audrey (Caroline Hererra)


For the Off-Beat Rocker (BCBG Jewel-Embelisshed Cocktail Dress)


For the Sleek Greek Goddess (Gucci Long Sleeve Gathered Dress)


For the Sassy Party Girl (Etsy's YourFairyTaleWedding)

Trunk Sale - Demetrios 2010

I kinda regret knowing about this - because one of the first dresses I had my eye on was from Demetrios. Le sigh. Ah well, I'll share all the same :)

Demetrios 2010 Trunk Show
December 12-13, 2009

From fine lace to exquisite silk; from demure and conservative to bold and fashion forward, Demetrios brings over 100 new styles each season. The brand new collection for 2010 will be on sale during the show.

• 2 days only!
• Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Special pricing and FREE accessories during the trunk show! Plus, 10% off bridesmaids dresses!
Call (647) 350-5559 for an appointment.

Felichia Bridal
2587 Yonge St.
Toronto, Ontario, M4P 2J1
www.felichia.com

Inspiration Board: "Blue & Hot"

When things are a bit slow in the office, I like to play around on Photoshop. Helped a lot when I was deciding on color scheme and themes, and I had so much fun putting together an inspiration board, I thought I'd create some more for other office brides out there! I'll also be sure to list what each item is and where you can find them on-line!

Introducing my first Inspiration Board - "Blue & Hot"



DRESS: Vera Wang
EARRINGS: Pookie and Pierre on Etsy
SHOES: Steve Madden Women's Trickked Pump
BM DRESS: J.Crew Embossed shift dress
BOUQUET: Botanica Floral Designs Blog
CUPCAKES: Coco Cake Blog

Oh Bebe! There's a sale!

BEBE is currently having a sale in-store and on-line. From Thursday December 10 until Sunday December 13, you can get 30% off your purchase. If you would like to receive the in-store discount, you need to contact me directly. For the on-line discount, use the code: UNWRAP30.

The accessories and purses are gorgeous.



And for the off-beat bride, check out the veiled headpieces - to die for!






Happy shopping!

PashmiNOW

Thanks to MSN.com, I've discovered a new site that sells an amazing selection of Pashminas, and they are currently on sale for $9.99. Whether for yourself, a christmas gift, or for your bridesmaids, this is a great deal! Check out the selection at Peach Couture.

No one else to talk to? Talk to strangers!

Are your friends, family, even the Wedding Bees tired of hearing you talk about your big day? Then maybe it's time that you check out Omegle. It's a site where you can talk to a complete stranger with no knowledge of who the person is before starting up the chat. Each new session pairs you up with a random stranger. The site encourages users to come up with interesting conversation starters - a little something more than just "a/s/l?"

My fiance and I have had some fun with this site in the past, and I just thought about it again today. I thought it'd be interesting to go on and talk wedding stuff with strangers and see what kind of responses I get.

My first try wasn't very successful. I should warn you that more often than not you'll end up chatting with an idiot like this:



But it got a bit better with the second stranger:



The third one was interesting. Made me wonder if there are a lot of people out there who get married in churches just because they're beautiful...



The last conversation was the best one. Although I am definitely not having a "cheap" wedding, we did see eye-to-eye on on thing - party and get trashed :)

BM Gift #1 - Mirrors

Im working off a netbook today and cant seem to figure out how to make apostrophes (the conventional way just gives me this: è), so bare with me in this entry :)

I picked up some great BM gifts recently and wanted to share the great find! FI and I decided that we would give each bridal party member 3 gifts, and preferrably items that they could use on the day of the wedding, and afterwards.

I just bought my first round of gifts the other day on my lunch break at my favourite time-killer-spot: Winners. I was on a mission to buy a pair of flat shoes (yes, I know, another pair) and ended up with a bit more in my basket.



There were some other great BM gift ideas to find, especially on the racks leading up to the cash register (Oh, those Winners people are sneaky! They know those last minute purchases can be oh so tempting). Definitely worth checking out if you have a Winners near you, but obviously since they change up their stock daily (Winners getting new things every Monday is a myth - a friend used to work there), youll have to grab what you can get while its there!

The Knot upcoming sale!

Shoe shopping on-line

Once the dress was bought, there was no doubt in my mind that the shoes would be next.

I love shoes. Ok, I know that every woman says this, but I reallllly love shoes. I love them to the point where I'll walk over to Winner's during my lunch break just to try on a pair or two if I'm bored (and if it's not pay week). I also have so many pairs of shoes that I often forget that I own some of them or where I put them.

Example - A couple of weeks ago I was getting ready in the morning, and was set on wearing my tall black suede boots, which I usually leave outside the apartment. To my dismay, they were no where to be found and I convinced myself that someone had stolen them. This entire time of course my fiance is just standing back and shaking his head at me. Anyway, when I got into work, I opened up my bottom desk drawer, only to find my beloved boots.... along with three other pairs that I had forgotten I owned. That's when I remembered that I had stored them there because there wasn't any more room in our small apartment (and I don't think my FI is aware that I bought them...*cough*)

ANYWAY...needless to say that I was looking forward to shopping for my big-day shoes. I had considered waiting until the spring when lighter colors come out, but pffft...who am I kidding? I couldn't wait that long. But since I also hate shopping in the winter (all south of the border brides - I envy you), I decided on the next best thing: shopping on-line.

I had never bought a pair of shoes on-line, mostly because it takes away the fun of trying them on. Worrying about fit doesn't really concern me because I own at least one pair of every popular shoe brand, so I know my size.

Also - buying shoes on-line in Canada sucks. There, I said it.

Sites like Zappos, Endless, and 6pm are all American based, and unfortunately do NOT ship internationally. Le boo. (And before you point out that there is a Zappos Canada, I want to stop you. Have you SEEN the selection?! It's like we got all the reject shoes! And the prices are insane! Blech!)

But - I didn't give up. While at my desk, I perused through Endless (which I found had the best selection and prices) and found the perfect shoe in the perfect color. Nine West Lucero, ivory/pink, in a size 8 1/2! MY SIZE! And only one pair left for $37 US! (And with the current exchange rate, I got them for $39 CAD!)

So I did what any normal, shoe-obsessed Canadian woman would do - I called up a friend in the states who I had planned on visiting in the new year and asked her if I could have them shipped to her house!

WOOT WOOT!

The purchase was easy-peasy and very organized. The delivery time was excellent, the shoes are in her possession, and I look forward to meeting them in 2010 :)

PS - While the shoes are pretty on their own, I plan on pizzazzing them with a gorgeous pair of shoe clips! More on that in another entry!

It's Thursday!! Which means - "The Office"!!!

Earlier in my cubicle career I was in a dead end / no brainer position and doing everything in my power not to fall asleep at my desk. You might not believe me, but one of the things that saved me from complete boredom and self-hate was "The Office." It's the perfect show for any 9-to-5'er. Although the stories are sometimes far fetched and the characters too zany for real life (or, are they?!), the idea of being stuck in an office all day is something with which a lot of us can relate.

Lucky for me, I got out of that job after a year and was promoted into a position perfect for my personality and goals, and as it so happens, got engaged not too long after that.

So imagine how happy I was when Jim & Pam from "The Office" got engaged! It was like I was working and living alongside them, and the characters who had helped when I was in a slump was now the same ones who were planning a wedding the same time as me!

Although the Jim & Pam story seems to have finally wrapped up with a pretty bow, I am still a faithful viewer every Thursday. And hey - there's still Micheal and Helene. Do I sense another wedding in "The Office" future?...

The Pros and Cons of a long engagement

A bit of a backstory. My fiance and I got engaged last spring. Before that we had been together for over four years (and living together for 2 1/2 of those years). While the actual proposal was a huge surprise to me, we had been having the marriage talk waaaay before it happened, and early in our relationship there was no doubt in either of our minds that this was *it*.

Thus, we had figured out quite a bit before we were officially engaged. We had talked about who to invite and how many, where to get married (in a church), where to have the reception (another post on that) - that sorta stuff. And thank goodness for that because I have heard one too many stories of couples getting into arguments after the engagement about things that were "just coming up" or surprises.

After the proposal we quickly brainstormed the best time to get married, and decided that we would give ourselves a year and a half to plan - and more importantly - save up for the big day. It's been eight months since that wonderful night, and we have already done so much! The church? Done. The reception venue and caterer? Done & done (and gradually paying off every month). The photographer, the groomsmen attire rental, my dress & shoes, *take a breath* and the invitations? Doooooone.

Needless the say, one of the pros of having a relatively longer engagement is getting so much done in advance. It has also given us enough time to pay things off with actual money and not pulling out the plastic.

But - there's a flip side to it. Doing so much in advance does two things. One - It gives you too much time to think and rethink. I am very happy with all the choices we have made so far, but I'd be lying if I said that I still wasn't mildly interested with new bridal gown lines coming out, or not questioning whether we were to haste in our decisions. Two - You have to do everything in your will power NOT to talk about your wedding on a daily basis, thus making frenemies with everyone who has to hear about it!

So - what's a girl to do? Well, in terms of the first point, it's really helpful to schedule when you're going to do things. This is easier said than done, especially for an on-the-fly gal like me. Luckily, there's no way we could get everything done *now* because of one important thing - money. There's just so much we can pay for at a time, therefore I have no choice but to wait to get the next thing done, and for that, I'm thankful :)

As for the second point, I've discovered that the best way to get wedding talk out of my system is not with my fiance or my best friends, or even my mom... but with other women planning their weddings! Wedding Bee - I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

And when even those two remedies fail at times, I find that doing something completely unrelated to weddings (or work, where I am stuck in front of a computer) help. For this reason, I now own a cat, have a gym membership, and produce live variety shows with a group of friends :)

To all those ladies out there, painfully counting down the days until the big day - I salute you. I also feel your pain :)

Welcome to The Office Bride blog!

The name says it all. I work a typical 9-to-5 at a desk and I'm making my way up the corporate ladder. I'm also planning for one of the biggest events in my life! Having been quite career-minded for most of my adult life, I never imagined that I would fall prey to the obsession of planning a wedding, and yet now, here I find myself creating a blog about it!

I can't help it. I sit in front of a computer for eight hours. I'm also internet curious, and my browsing has led me to the wonderful (and addicting) world of weddings on-line.

Blogs. Boards. Classifieds. How-to's and DIY's. It's all there on the world wide web. And I'm about to add just one more blog about it.

Hopefully you too are an office bride, and together we can mush about our weddings as much as we please... until we need to get to our next meeting.

Office Brides unite!