Random Shoppin'

The Office Groom and I live near a Shopper's Drug Mart, one of my all-time favourite stores which I'm convinced is either a gift from God or a temptuous treat from Satan. We were about to watch a movie last Thursday night and made the mistake of popping over to pick up some snacks beforehand.

This is what we came home with:



Um yup... 2 magazines (the Archie one was for me LOL), shaving cream, milk, soap, toothpaste (3 because they were on sale!), crayons (to add the the Ring Bearer's gift), a gluestick, 2 for $10 movies (notice our differences in taste?), oh, yeah, and some chips for the movie.

Sigh... Damn you Shoppers.

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

"Discontinued" = Frustration

Here's my wedding rant for the week. I have to go back to the department store where we are registered to replaced a whole bunch of items that have been discontinued...AGAIN. Seriously, how many times do I need to scan a new toaster?!

End of rant.

Ferre Sposa - My Kinda Shop

So I've been doing all this posting about dresses and realized that I haven't said anything about where the dresses are coming from! As of this past weekend, all of my ladies have put a deposit on their dresses (Yay!) and it all happened at a wonderful boutique shop called Ferre Sposa.


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I discovered this lovely shop on my way home, after a disappointing visit to another bridal store down the street on Bloor Street West. When I walked passed Ferre Sposa I immediately stopped in my tracks. Two beautiful gowns were displayed in the storefront and a quick peak through the window led me to believe that this was one chic (and organized) shop. My instincts were dead on once I stepped inside and had a look at the collection.


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I was greeted by a friendly woman named Alice who was more than happy to show me around. The best part - there was no one else in the shop, so I had her undivided attention without any distractions. After a couple of dresses I found THE DRESS, and she promised that she would speak to the owner about getting me a dicount (high five!) - which I did end up getting (with some additional haggling from my awesome-bargain shopping mom!)

Ferre Sposa also carries the entire Dessy line for Bridesmaid dresses - Dessy, After Six, Alfred Sung, and Lela Rose. I had a look through the catalogue and had no doubt my girls would each find something amazing to wear. As long as they picked the same colour and fabric, they could pretty much choose from over 50 different styles!

If you happen to be in the Toronto area, and more specifically around Bloor and Ossington, I would definitely recommend dropping by Ferre Sposa. A great selection along with great service made for a great shopping experience! And in my opinion, the experience plays a big part in finding the perfect dress :)

Great Deals Across The Border

On Sunday it was cold and rainy in Toronto - a perfect excuse to get away and do some shopping south of the border! With an early start to the day, I carpooled with my brothers' ladies (one is married, the other is dating). While we've heard about the great shopping in Buffalo, we decided to keep it close and check out Fashion Outlets in Niagara Falls, USA.

It was pure awesomeness!

The mall offers over 150 of the best designers including Anne Klein, Burberry, Coach, and Banana Republic, and the prices are up to 75% off the suggested retail prices. When you arrive, the first place to visit is the Customer Service Center. There you can purchase a Green Savings Card for $5, which can be used at most stores for different discounts. Luckily (and unbeknownst to us), we got a free card because my SIL is a CAA member (also works if you're with AAA).

Some stores had better deals than others, but it really depends on what you're looking for. I found the best clothing deals were at Banana Republic. I bought a navy silk top for $12 and pair of sandals for $10. Not too shabby.

The ladies also found some great finds at Calvin Klein - great fit jeans for only $29 and a full pant suit for just over $100.

The big surprise for me was the little gem of a dress I found at Bebe. I've only stepped into a Bebe store a handful of times, and without fail have always walked out empty handed and feeling like a heffer. However, whether it's been my recent efforts at the gym or a different sizing sytem in the USA (I'd like to believe it's the former), I actually fit into the clothes! And in a size medium on top of that.

Round of applause, please.

I ended up picking up this gorgeous silk-satin combo dress for only $39!!!



I'm not entirely sure where and when I'll find a reason to wear it, but when I showed it off to the Office Groom he suggested I wear it on our Jamaican Honeymoon. This is one of the many reasons I love this man - he gives me an excuse for my shopping habits :)

We spent over 6 hours in the mall and by the end of it we were pretty shopped-out and hungry. It was a great day for shopping and to spend some extra bonding time with my ladies :)

Flower Girl Dresses: Too cute for words

But I'll try anyway :)

My brother and sister-in-law went to Vaughn Mills Mall last weekend and picked up a few dresses for potential Flower Girl outfits. If you're in the area you should definitely check out the deals at VM. Everything from clothing, electronics, and hunting gear - you'll find it there, and usually at really affordable prices.

This is also the best time of year to get Flower Girl dresses because little girl dresses go on sale after Easter. If you want to save money but not forfeit quality, you don't need to go to a bridal specific store to find the perfect dress. As we all know well by now, as soon as the word wedding or bridal is attached to something, prices skyrocket. I would also suggest avoiding those upscale Children stores that sell dresses meant for special occassions like Communion or Confirmation. Again, these are stores that cater to those kind of events, so their prices tend to be higher.

My bro and SIL ended up finding these pretty little gems at Winner's! Fortunately, they had the time and patience to look through the racks to find not only pretty dresses, but matching ones in the right sizes. And the prices can not be beat!

OPTION 1



OPTION 2



OPTION 3


The only requests we had was that the dresses have either pink, green, blue, white or all of the colours and that it was something the girls could wear again. They ended up picking up Option 1 and 3 just in case, and tonight, the Office Groom and I are going over to their place so that my nieces can do a fashion show for us :) Too cute!

If you're interested to find out the name brands of any of these dresses, I can find out for ya!

Quality time with MOH

If your weather was anything like Toronto's this passed weekend, chances are you were out taking in the sun and enjoying the early Spring weather. We Canadians covet a nice warm day anytime we can get it :)

With Office Groom busy with a convention all of Sunday, I thought it'd be a great chance to get together with my MOH and spend the day out. Since she's got wheels, I suggested that we head out of the city for a mini break-away, and she was all for that idea.

We ended up in Unionville, Ontario. If you've never been and you're in the area, you should definitely pay a visit. It has a small town appeal with loads of charm. There are some great little shops and restaurants along the main street - just perfect for the kind of quick get away we were looking for!

In the first boutique we dropped in, I found a great pair of black cowboy boots for $20! Hellz yeah! After a swipe of a my debit card, and a new pair of shoes in my possesssion, we continued along the main street. When we caught site of a couple of bridal boutiques, we knew we had to go in! MOH hadn't picked out her dress yet although she had a few ideas after looking through the Dessy website. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I've decided that girls would be S.B.D. - Same But Different. I picked out the line (Dessy), the colour (Midnight Blue) and the fabric (Matte Satin) and the rest is up to them!

The first shop was a total flop. I won't mention the name because despite the constant "Fails" I saw on the clothing rack, the women were really friendly. However, I can't understand how so many hideous dresses could all be in one location.

The second shop was different though. At first it didn't appear to be a bridal store, but in the back of the room the walls were taken over by formal gowns. AND - Dessy gowns on top of that! By chance, a few of the dresses that MOH was interested in were there, so I hurried her over to a dressing room to try them on! I was surprised at how much fun it was to sit back and have someone else model dresses :) She tried them all on, some were better than others, and when she came out of the dressing room in this one, we both knew she found the winner:


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Absolutely stunning, isn't it? And to think that we just happened to walk into the store, not knowing that we would find her MOH dress! Although she didn't buy it then and there (it wasn't the right size or colour) she at least knows that this is the one for her, and I couldn't be more happy about that! It's gotten me really excited about the other girls now!

And this morning, an e-mail from her at work confirmed it even further for me:

"PS: I can’t stop thinking about the dress. It makes me feel like a movie star! I don’t know that anyone on earth has ever said that about a bridesmaid dress before…LOL"

One dress done. Four more to go!

Cheers Boys!!

Another set of gifts taken care of yesterday! Some plans fell through for me yesterday after work and I had some time to kill before meeting up with some friends later in the evening, so Office Groom met up with me for some early dinner. After our yummy Movenpick sandwiches, I still had an hour left, so we thought a visit to the brewery, which is only a hop & skip away from our offices, would be a nice time killer.

Renovations inside the brewery are looking really good and a lot has been done since we last visited only a month ago. They are building an entire floor above the retail store, which will be used as a lounge (and lucky for me, it will also be used as the bridal party powder room for our wedding!). But we were there for one (ok two) things. Beer steins for the groomsmen and a free sample glass to down while we waited :)



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Mmmmm...you can almost taste and smell the yummy beer, can't you?

We thought the steins would be a nice memory keepsake for our big day, and it's definitely something that all of our beer guzzlin' groomsmen can use long after the wedding. The glass will also serve as the "gift box" as we will be stuffing some other fun and fab items inside.

More to come as we keep on shoppin'!

A Stress-Free Registry - Yes, it's possible...

When it came time for me and the Office Groom to start our registry, we were both really looking forward to it. The idea of walking around a department store, scanning whatever our little hearts desired tickeled our fancy.

That is, until we actually started the process. Stress levels gradually heightened as we perused the store. There were too many coffee maker options, disagreements between this pot and that pot, and the sudden worry that we were asking for too many things...and too many expensive things. After only an hour of scanning we were done for and ready to go home and deflate.

Sound familiar?

How happy was I when soon after that experience I learned that this is common for most engaged couples? What is suppose to be a fun experience somehow turns into a chore - but it doesn't have to be this way! After that first hour of registering, the Office Groom and I learned some valuable lessons which made the second visit (and third, and an upcoming fourth) a breeze.

So grab some paper and a pen from your top drawer, and take some notes on how to have a stress-free Gift Registry:

A good excuse to buy another magazine
If you have some room after purchasing a dozen so bridal magazines, pick up a few new ones with a home decor theme. Look through it with your partner and the both of you should point out details and items that catch your eye. This will hopefully narrow down styles and avoid any surprises on each others' style preferences once you hit the store. The internet is also a wonderful source for ideas! Check out Kitchen & Bath Ideas for some inspiration. Nothing beats a classic like Better Homes and Gardens. My personal fave is Fresh Home Magazine which has great DIY projects and more contemporary styles.


Lists are your BFF
One big way to avoid the stress is to come prepared. Now that you and your partner have a sense of the style you want for each room, you should write up a list of items you would like / need on the registry. Walk around your place(s) and make note of which essential items are either missing or need to be replaced. When I first moved out of my parents place, I bought an inexpensive "kitchen in a box" at a grocery store that had every needed kitchen item. However, most of the stuff was either plastic or just down right poorly made, so a lot of it has to be replaced for the future home. Divide your lists by room: Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom, Living Room, Dining Room.


Rome wasn't built in a day. Duh.
So don't expect to get your registry done in one session either. Pick a room and focus on that for the day. Trust me - on average couples work on the registry over 3 to 4 visits. It'll give you a chance to organize better and revise anything along the way.


Photo from Fortune Cookies By Gyda

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

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!

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!