Will the real Nina please stand up?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Halt! Holt Renfrew Sale!

All fall and winter clothing left over after the Boxing Day madness is now up to 60 per cent off!! Whoa! Now I can finally afford to buy something from there, lol!

Sale runs until Jan. 30.

For more details, visit Holt Renfrew's Website

How low can you go?

I'm not very good with hair. There, I said it. I've got a lot of it, and to be honest the lack of effort on my part is mostly due to the fact that I don't have enough time in the morning to do anything fancier than a pony tail (and I still manage to stroll into work 10 minutes late, wtf). So, no time to do hair = no time to develop skills.

BUT - I love hairdos. I appreciate the fine art and skills behind a braid or a bun, and secretly wish I could look like Evita every day. OK, so maybe not every day. But certainly on formal occasions. I'm thinkin' low and in a bun for the big day, which to me looks romantic, slightly more laid back than an updo, and has a touch of spanish flair to it (paying homage to my ancestors).

Here's what I found on the good ol' www:



Although I don't trust myself to pull off any of these looks on my own, it would be fun to experiment at home, and wear it out for a night on the town. Youtube to the rescue!



(The music is a tad annoying in my opinion, but still a very helpful tutorial)



(Unenthusaistic, but nice outcome)



(Very clear instructions. I love how it sounds like a corporate video LOL)

Wedding Websites

In an effort to save trees (ok, and money) and to embrace technology, Office Groom and I decided to integrate a wedding website into our invitation process. While there are several great sites that allow you to have a unique site along with your own URL address at a fee, we opted for one of the many free sites that offer almost the exact same services.

Here are just a few:
mywedding.com
sharedweddings.com
weddingannouncer.com
theweddingvendor.com


Honestly you can't go wrong with any of them. What it will come down to is the look you're going for and the information you would like to make available to your guests.

Let me go off on a tangent for a sec. Some will argue that a wedding website is not formal enough, or will be a challenge for technically-unsavvy guests. Well, to these people, I say, for a lack of better words, "Pffft."

Wedding websites are becoming more and more popular, and with so many options to choose from you can definitely have one that looks shwanky and elegant (if that's what you're going for). You could also provide a phone number as an alternative for those who have never turned on a computer before.

Not sure how to word it in your physical invitation? This is what we decided to go with, and by all means take what you want from it:




We decided to go with mywedding.com. First off, we liked the website name - simple and straight to the point. The second thing that grabbed us was all the different themes available. With a bit of time and experimenting, we decided on one called Love Letters. We loved the neutral color palette, font, and most importantly, it worked perfectly with the book theme which we are carrying throughout the wedding (subtle but noticeable).

Once the design was selected, we sat down and figured out what information we wanted to make available to our guests. First and foremost - an RSVP page. Hands down the best feature that any of these sites offer is the ability for guests to RSVP and for couples to keep track of responses!

Here are some other items you might want to add:

- Map and location of ceremony and reception
- A short story about you and your groom
- Bios for you wedding party members
- Photos
- Blog
- Accomodations and recommended attractions for OOT guests

Some advice:

- Keep your url simple and easy to remember. It will also encourage guests to actually visit the site.
- Check and double check your seplling and yer gramma.
- Make sure bios, stories, and photos are accurate and appropriate for all readers
- Keep maps and directions simple and straight to the point
- Allow guests to choose what entree they prefer (it'll save you time and hassle later)

Once it's all done, you'll find yourself with a great looking website that is both nice to look at and easy to use! Good luck!

Fuss and Feathers

While the idiom "Fuss and Feathers" implies being overdone, I don't necessarily take it as a bad thing when weddings are involved. After all, it's a WEDDING. Even the most laid back of brides will overdo something during the planning. It's one of the laws of nature.

So - put your realistic-laid-back-it's-just-a-wedding attitude aside and let's fuss about feathers, shall we?

"Something Blue" by Nylora (Etsy)


Feathered Celebrities


Peacock clutch by Retrospettive (Etsy)

BM Outfit Guideline - What every Bridesmaid should know

Over the holidays I spoke to a few former BMs and there was one thing they all agreed on: whether they were all wearing the same outfit or doing the SBD, a guideline from the bride was always appreciated.

Every bride has an idea of how they want their bridal party to look and fit in with the rest of the wedding theme. Even the most outspoken, I-want-to-express-my-individuality BM can understand that at the end of the day, it's YOUR vision, so she won't want to disappoint you.

(And if she doesn't seem to be the least bit concerned with your two cents, you might want to sit down and give her a friendly wake-up call).

That said, if you are fortunate like me to have a bridal party full of great (and different personalities) who are willing to do whatever is easiest, then here are some useful guidelines you might want to consider passing onto them. Although all these may not apply, they do work for both uniform and SBD looks.

- Colour and fabric
- Preffered designer(s)
- Any "Friendly Requests" (eg. nothing over the knee)
- Provide a few images of suggested styles
- Store information (location, contact info, upcoming sales, discount info)
- Preffered shoes and accessories (In my case for shoes, I said anything black and pretty!)
- Any make up / hair details
- Keep it fun and light hearted! (I added funny pics of the groomsmen to show the girls with whom they'd be paired up )

I found it easiest to type it all out and send them a PDF file. That way, they have all the info in one document and they can also print it out if necessary.

Happy New Year!

It definitely wasn't the easiest getting up this morning after having a week off and rolling out of bed at around 11 am. However, I can honestly tell you that there was one thing keeping me motivated as I got myself ready today - internet access. Ours at home wasn't working properly during the holidays (Bad weather? Too many people using the lines? Old modem? Not sure.) There were short windows of opportunity to use it, but definitely not long enough to peruse the many websites that I normally visit at one given time.

But at the office - the internet works just fine. And FAST. Aaaahhhhhhhh (choir of angels).

So I'm back baby! And ready to dish out more details on the big day and share anything I find along the way!