Why Am I Sweating The Small Stuff?

I spent almost 30 minutes at Essence du Papier today during my lunch, staring at a wall of guest book options. I kid you not. STARING. I picked up one book and looked it over on all sides. And then I put it down and picked up another book.

I debated everything from size, colour, traditional write-in, or photo. The sales people probably thought I was some crazy homeless lady dressed up decent just looking for a place to stay cool from the outdoor heat. Sigh.

And then... when I FINALLY made my choice (a photo guest book with white paper), and headed back to the office... it was only about an hour afterwards when I started to doubt my choice.

WTF? In my head I could hear my sensible side telling me to "Take it easy - it's just a guest book!" However it was having to compete with my more emotional side who wanted me to "Put real thought into this, because after all, this is your WEDDING GUEST BOOK!!"

So, like a madwoman with a split personality, I picked up the shopping bag and made my way back to the store. And it was only after I had exited the elevator that I realized I forgot one of the items on my desk.

ARRRGH.

I took that as a sign from the world that I should go back to my desk, live with my choice, and actually get some work done.

A friggin' guest book. Who woulda guessed? lol

Bridal Shower - Games

It's the age old tradition of getting your favourite ladies together and then watching them embarrass themselves while they try to wrap toilet paper around themselves in an effort to design a wedding gown.

Bridal Shower Games... Some love it...some hate it. The latter is mostly because you are forcing women who don't know each other to play games together like it's a big girl birthday party. But done right, everyone can have a good time!

I haven't been to too many showers in my lifetime so far, but I learned a few things about bridal shower games after my special day. My ladies did a really good job of comming up with games that (a) were not wasteful (b) were not too difficult or embarrassing (c) did not have to involve everyone at once (d) had a nice reward at the end of each one.

The first game was "Dress The Bridesmaid." Only four (un)willing participants were needed and each were given a Barbie doll, some tissue paper, tape, and glitter. It was a lot of fun to see what the ladies came up with. Some were, um, "creative" while others came up with dresses I would actually wear!



The second game was called "Dress The Bride" and the same rules applied. I was in charge of choosing the winner for both games, and for this one I made my decision based on the fact that the doll itself looked like me lol.

The last game was my favourite. It was a custom made BINGO game designed by one of my bridesmaids, and each block contained a wedding related word or something from our registry. While I opened presents, the women played a round. I thought this was a great way to pass the time while lucky ol' me opened up the gifts, instead of everyone just sitting there and watching me.



I think my ladies did a fantastic job of keeping everyone entertained and ease the tension of not knowing one another!

What kind of bridal shower games did you have?

Bridal Shower - Yummy Eats!

Last Sunday my lovely ladies organized my Bridal Shower! Although it wasn't a surprise that they were putting this together, what they had in store for me was kept a secret. The festivities took place at my brother and sister-in-law's house, which was the perfect size and look for a party like this. There was so much to take in, and I'll definitely have to write more than one post about the day, but the first thing I wanted to write about was the yummy FOOD!!!



It was the first thing that caught my eye when I entered the house. The dining room table was covered with amazing sweet and savoury treats, all prepared by my bridesmaids, my mom, and aunts. Tea sandwiches, strawberry cheesecake, Rice & Mango "sushi", fruit bouquets, shortbread cookies - there were SO many choices! I also loved that there were several cultural influences present at the food table, which was a good representation of what I grew up with. And um, yeah, of course I tried at least one of everything :)



My friends spent the entire previous evening preparing the sandwiches and treats, and my mom was up until about 4 IN THE MORNING putting things together! I was so overwhelemed by the labour of love that was put into the food. And by the end of the day I was stuffed and happy :)

Sweet Berry Wine!

Tonight the Office Groom and I are having some friends over to do a wedding wine test! Woooooo!

Luckily for us, our venue will permit us to bring our own alcohol (with the purchase of a liquor license) which means that not only are we not paying bar prices, we can also return any unopened bottles after the wedding. Although the latter is kind of unlikely if I consider all the "Oh man, I'm getting LOADED at your wedding" comments we've been getting lately lol.

Hard liquor is a no brainer, but the wine is a bit of a challenge since it's being served during dinner, and we've got a few wine snob friends (love you guys!). So tonight, we're picking up a few different brands, all recommended to us by friends, and we're going to have ourselves a little par-tay!



Sweet berry wine here we come!

Cough....Sneeze...Ugh!

A combination of the summer heat and running around like a chicken with its head cut off has now resulted in a cold. Ugh! Being sick in this heat is NO fun, especially when I have dinner plans tomorrow and bridal events this weekend!


Source


Ah well, hopefully this will mean I'll get it all out of my system before September!

Excuse me while I go grab a tissue.

The Dreaded RSVP Check-In

Ugh. I know it has to be done. How else are we to know how many to expect and what each guest wants for his/her meal?

But I still hate having to call people to get an answer from them! Why oh why could the RSVP date on our invite not be enough?! I know that delayed responses can be for a number of reasons - figuring out work schedules, pending events, etc - but let's be honest. For the most part, it's usually because people forget or think to themselves "I'll get to that later." And of course, "later" turns out to be 2 months later.

Sigh...so far, the RSVP check-in has been going well. People don't seem at all phased that I'm calling them up to confirm their attendance - sigh of relief.

But I still hate doing it, LOL.

Made With Love

This past weekend my mom and I went to Montreal, my birthplace and childhood home, to visit my grandmother. I really wanted to see my grandmother before the wedding, since she will not be able to attend due to her physical condition. It was so nice to spend time with her, and at 90 years old, she is as quick as she ever was :)

Another reason for the visit was so that she could help make our ring pillow. My grandmother was an amazing seamstress in her younger years, and I have her to thank for all the many beautiful dresses and awesome Halloween costumes I had when I was a kid. Thankfully her hands and eyes are still very strong, so she was able to be a part of the wedding in a small but meaningful way.





There were moments of nostalgia, sitting with my mom and grandmother while they sewed and spoke in filipino, their native language. It reminded me when I was a kid sitting by them, anxiously waiting for my new custom made outfit to be ready to wear :)

I'm admittedly sad that she can't be there on the big day. She has been a HUGE part of my life, practically a second mother who raised me. But I can also understand that travelling such a far distance would not be easy for her, and I wouldn't want to put her through that. I'm just so happy that I could spend that time with her, and on the big day when our little ring bearer walks down the aisle, he will be holding a token of my grandma's love in his hands :)