Rocky Mountain Bride

Well they’re all winners really, but some of them really turned out well. We did our engagement photoshoot on Sunday and did in fact choose to hit Cascade Gardens at Canada Place. The colors of the flowers came out great and it’s rather perfect for our theme of a Midsummer Night’s Dream. We even took along a book of Shakespeare so we could get some shots of us reading it (and some macro shots of the title) so I can do some photo manipulations and collages.

So without further ado here are a few of my other favorites that came out of our little photoshoot. We did try to take some shots of the two of us walking towards and away from the camera but to me they look like we’re celebrities being caught by the paparazzi. You can click on all the photos to view them at a better quality. (All photos copyright Forever in Video)

I did do my own make-up for the photoshoot since that is what I plan to do for my wedding and I wanted to make sure I was capable. I will blog later today about what I would and wouldn’t do in so far as make-up etc. I haven’t decided yet if I still plan on doing my own yet or not.

I had blogged previously about my photographer find on craigslist. After contacting Colin had said that he would contact me back in a week when he got back from holiday. A week came and past - I even gave him a little over a week before I e-mailed him to see where we were at about engagement photos. Nada. No response. Another e-mail. Nada. I’m not going to bother trying again as the leaves have already started changing and I really wanted our engagement photos to be done in the fall.

So we’ve asked my FBIL to come visit us this weekend, with yes, the ulterior motive of twisting his arm into doing our engagement photos for us. This has started me on a mad search for locations to take photos at. He was the one to take our first attempt at engagement photos in Disneyland back in March - unfortunately we just didn’t have the time nor the proper equipment to take the kind of photos that I wanted. Without the proper flash a lot of our photos turned out really white/hot - like this one which I love as a normal photo of the two of us but not as an engagement photo. I think I might also tell my fiance not to wear white.

Haha we also ran out of hair gel so fiance was a bit frizzy that day.

So here are some locations that I am thinking about hitting for our new engagement photos:

The Cascade Gardens: This is the most obvious and most popular place in Banff for photos but for a very good reason! We will definitely be taking some here because, well, you just can’t go wrong. (phoeo from Banff World Guides)

Policeman’s Creek: In Canmore, a popular place to run actually. Nothing too special but could definitely get some interesting shots. Heck, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these locations.

Bow Falls: This is another popular place for photos and gorgeous as well! Doesn’t quite have the color from all the trees that I’d like to see.

Photos shall be done this weekend and I should be able to post them as soon as they are uploaded to my computer.

Anyone have suggestions on what to wear for engagement sessions? This is the next thing I’m going to try and tackle. Any colors that should definitely aim for and or avoid?

Well I don’t quite consider it a full check.. because all I did was order my pocketfold cards from Kate’s Papiere. They are having a sale right now (80% off and thanks to Miss Cherry Blossom for sharing!) so I jumped on it and ordered. Now to decide how or what to put inside them.

I could not decide on a color so I decided to play it safe and ordered the Diamond one. Can’t go wrong with adding color to that. Here’s the clip that she has on the website:

Anyone else out there have tips on great deals for invitation making supplies?

I’m pretty sure the above are the colors I’ve settled on. I say pretty sure because I am notoriously indecisive. I tried to change my mind about our first dance selection and my fiance stomped his foot down. Haha. He’s the best for making me decide and stick to said decision.

So today I have finally organized my (very first of many) inspiration board. Please excuse the quality (as in the lack thereof) as I did this at work on my basic MS Paint. When I have a chance to get home to my beloved Photoshop then I shall share several more better-made reincarnations.

Tada!! (you can click the image to view it larger).

Starting in top left corner:

1) From Junebug Weddings Fashion Report - if anyone knows what type of flower is in this bouquet I would love to know as I -love love love- this bouquet.

2) From Brides.Com - a runner up to the first bouquet. I am finding that a slightly Victorian feel keeps creeping into my plans. I don’t know whether to banish or embrace it.

3) Again from Junebug Weddings Fashion Report - I love the pinwheels but I love the dress more. I’m hoping my bridesmaids will as well.

Middle Row:

1) From The Knot - For a centerpiece I love it. It still manages to capture that wildflower look I want without being too all over the place.

2) I believe from Brides.Com - not my dress but pretty darn close. Though mine is diamond white and strapless.

3) From The Knot - I do love the idea of having a cookie bar. Especially since I could most likely bake all these cookies far in advance and then freeze them. My grandmother’s ginger snaps and chocolate chip cookies would fly fast. The little bottles of milk are cute too!

4) From The Knot - A coffee cocktail with a swizzle stick that says Thank you on one side and the address of the after party on the other. We are rather indecisive about whether we have a dinner reception or a lunch reception +  after party, this I think is a fantastic idea that makes me lean even further towards lunch reception.

Bottom Row all from The Knot:

1)  I love the color of this cake but I’m not big on fondant. I think those are sugared white anemones.

2) Think I could DIY these programs? I love the look and the way they fold.

3) I have been informed that I must have a seating plan. These escort cards have crystals attached and hang from pretty ribbons.

It has been several days since I posted last and I do apologize many times over - but it was for good reason. Saturday was my darling’s 30th birthday - a big mark for him and I of course had to make it extra special. We ended up driving to the city to stay with his parents so he could have a proper birthday with all his family and friends.

I shall resume posting later today!

…. in a tree. Really I do. The two images combined are lovely to me. It is whimsical while still being natural - glamorous without seeming pretentious or stuffy. See Exhibit A from Style Me Pretty:

Truth is though that I’m not going to get a chandelier - tree or no tree. The biggest challenge thus far with wedding planning is trying to fuse together my Mr.’s minimalism with my eccentric flare. This isn’t just a wedding challenge, it’s a life challenge (and has already shown it’s head when it comes to redecorating our new condo). See Exhibit B - I love the look of mismatched glassware turned candle holder and centerpiece as I found earlier on Perfect Bound:

However my darling fiance looks at that and says “Why do we need anything on the tables in the first place?”. In fact wedding planning is peppered with a lot of “Why’s” of late. It’s like having a 3 year old sit next to you and ask a million questions that you just can’t quite explain: “Why is the sky blue? Why do dogs sniff each other? Why does Mommy put her hair in curlers? Why does Becky have freckles and I don’t?” Not that I am trying to compare my darling fiance to a 3 year old but it’s the best way I can think of to describe the situation… he asks these questions “Why do we need favors? Why do we need save-the-date cards? Why can’t we charge a cover charge? (yes he really did ask that… I’m pretty sure he was joking)”  and the only way I can answer any of these is with “Ah.. err.. um.. ah.. well.. no…because…” and the idea of telling him “because I want it” seems just a little too bridezilla and a little too material and without being able to come up with an answer I find it difficult to defend any purchase made that he questions.

Anyone out there have an insanely frugal fiance? How do you get by with wedding planning and answering such questions?

This is a post about purple flowers. I posted earlier about my inspiration painting and the purple flowers it had. I then went out in search of purple flowers that were similar. Here is what I came up with. All photos are from FiftyFlowers.Com

The first I found is Larkspur:
It’s a pretty flower no? I love how vibrant the purple color is. However I also did a quick search on the meaning behind flowers (no, not that anyone is going to care except for myself) and Purple Larkspur has a connotation of Haughtiness. Hmm. Not quite what I want at my wedding. Although…. it’s still pretty…. Fresh is listed as $119.99 USD on FiftyFlowers for 8-10 bunches which makes me think… silk anyone?
The next I thought of was Hyacinth:

It’s not quite the right shade of purple for what I’m looking for, but still pretty! FiftyFlowers also has a version that they list as blue but it looks more purple to me, and also in white. I thought the white Hyacinth wouldn’t be too bad combined with some purple wildflowers. Hyacinth is however tied with jealousy, sadness and grief (except for white hyacinth which is beauty). I’m starting to think this is a conspiracy against purple flowers.

Next up we have the lovely Snapdragon:

Again not quite the right shade of purple and listed at about $1.19 per stem for a hundred. Snapdragons have a connotation of deception and effrontery.

And finally for the big flowers - Hydrangea:

Beautiful but in a word or two.. bloody expensive at $6.50 a stem. Not quite what I was looking for either. Hydrangea also have a connotation of heartlessness.

And on to some more delicate wildflower-esque fillers. I really wanted to capture that wildflower type feeling with my wedding and these are all flowers that I love.

Starting with the letter A - Aster:

Comes in Purple, Lavender or White. I love Aster. I’m not sure how I’d incorporate it into centerpieces but I think I’m fairly certain that I want Aster involved somewhere. It’s a relatively inexpensive filler flower as well.

Next up Anemones - another flower I love:

Also classified as a wildflower. I love the look of them. About $1.40 per stem. Anemones are also a symbol of love.

And the last one — Dianthus:

Pictured in light pink to the left it also comes in purple. About $1.10 per stem. I am contemplating a mix of white hyacinth with purple Dianthus or Purple Aster.

Think I’m missing on some pretty obvious purple flowers? I’ve also looked at carnations, daisies, irisis, lilies, and orchids.

Last night while sitting at home I decided to start pulling together all the photos I have gathered over the last couple of months as inspiration to thumb through and start organizing. Sadly I discovered that while I have a lot of ideas running around in my head, none of them are down concrete in my picture file. I attribute most of this to the fact that a majority of my wedding planning is done at work (shhhhh) where I can’t save the files as easily.

Running off my previous post about the Palette Generator, I started looking for art prints that I love and that I thought echoed what I wanted for my wedding. I found my inspiration in the Goddess Art of Jonathan Earl Bowser. Taking one of my favorite paintings - LotusWood - I then plugged it into the Palette Generator and here is what I got:

Now those colors seem a little dark to me so I also used a close up of our lovely lady to cross-match:

Cool huh? Using gold as an accent my mind absolutely buzzed with ideas for graphics for our invites, our wedsite, save-the-dates, for our favors even! Here are a few of my ideas:

• The double helix pictured here would be transformed into a main graphic element. I seriously pictured this image everywhere… climbing up the left side of our wedsite and invitations to the top where it would flower into green foliage and purple flowers… I even pictured a monogram - something I was not thinking of having - with our initials placed over a tree with a trunk formed of the double helix and flowering at the top over our initials.
• We were originally planning on co-writing a fairytale or story which we would then bind and give to our guests (one per family most likely). I have had difficulty coming up with a story that was suitable but this has certainly given me many ideas! One including a Prince, a witch, magic seeds and an unsuspecting love. I imagined we’d bind it like a manuscript (mostly to save on cost haha) with a small emblem of the double helix on the front.

Okay so that is the extent of my thoughts thus far. I am now trying to find flowers that resemble the ones in the picture. They remind me of lilacs, which are of course out of season in June. Maybe lavender and heather together? I shall have to go searching!

Anyone else out there have tips on how to get inspiration?

Continuing on my series of bridal beauty posts I come to the next major concern of mine — nail biting. I’m a chronic nail biter. I have tried (and failed) many a time to quit biting my nails. We are now approaching yet another point in my life where I am geared and motivated to try again.  I am one of those people that bite for a number of reasons, boredom and stress related mostly and I don’t like chewing gum. I started my research and thus far the best website I have found is wikiHow.

Some of the steps they offer that I haven’t tried before:

– Pick at least one nail to “protect” at a time.

• After a few days, an unbitten nail will flourish and reward you. Do not bite it. If you must, bite one of the ‘unprotected’ ones.

• Once you have grown your unbitten nail for a while, start protecting another one. And another.

– Distract your hands by taking up a hobby.

• I have tried this and it is one thing that has actually kind’ve worked. I took up knitting, especially if I was watching TV or something of the like. On the flip side I have a habit of biting my nails when I am writing - it’s become ingrained into my creative process. This one is going to be a hard one to kick.

– Cover your nails. For females, fit artificial nails. They can really help. For guys, polish them and apply some shine/growth promoter or petroleum jelly. It’s harder to bite nails that are looking great!

• This actually didn’t work for me. I actually chew through the artificial nails. They also recommend using tape or gloves, neither of which work for me but might work for you!

– Try keeping an “egg” of Silly Putty with you! It is fun to play with and it occupies your hands during biting-prone times like while watching movies or television or sitting in class.

• I just like this one as an excuse to keep silly putty around.

There are also the common recommendations of bitter tasting nail enamel. I have yet to find one that deters me and you have to reapply it all the time but I shall give it yet another try! I plan to start carrying in my purse some really nice hand cream and nail polish (oh and silly putty!) Here’s to hoping I manage to quit! Anyone else out there have tips on how to quit?

The benefit to living and working in a resort town is that every day is like you are on vacation - but this weekend I’m taking off from wedding planning and staying at a hotel (the benefits to working at a hotel haha!). Be back on Monday!