So I don’t think the green goes very well with my dress colour. So here’s the newest inspiration:
Okay I had to remove the style board because I had put a piece of my dress on there and I’m trying to keep it a secret from Dennis.
But here’s the new inspiration colours:
literally.
So, the moons have aligned or something. A spot has opened up for me at http://www.bootycampfitness.com/ .
So I’m ready to fit in my dress and look awesome. I’ve decided.
Actually, I haven’t had my first fitting yet, but when I do, I want them to have to alter it to fit me perfectly. Alterations are included, so I’m not too worried about it costing a lot. I just want to know that I’m going to be sooo much smaller than what I was/currently am.
Wish me luck. I’m ready to shed the rest of my university weight.
Okay so when a fellow bride and I went to the bridal show a few months ago, we had also purchased two spa treatments from Holtz Spa (http://ottawa.holtzspa.com/) and Mahogany Salon and Spa (http://www.mahoganysalonandspa.com/).
I had previously gone to Holtz Spa, downtown Ottawa, to get my hair and nails done in January. It was a great experience. And tonight, we went to check out Mahogany Salon and Spa in Stittsville. It was actually my first facial. Honestly, one of the best things ever. I think I’m going to attempt to make it a once every three months or so. I’d love every month, actually even every week, but that’d be just way too much. Anyway, today I had a facial (much needed), make-up trial and wash and style for my hair.
So this is the first makeup test for the wedding. Under a flash I look very shiny, so hopefully my wedding day makeup artist (Rhia Amio) can do something about that.
The one thing Dennis didn’t want, was for me to wear a lot of makeup. But since I never usually wear it, I get really excited and ask for darker makeup. Actually now that I look at this picture (left) and the picture from my sister’s wedding (right), I’m wearing considerably less.
So the makeup artist from Mahogany had used… wait a sec, I have no idea really. Just a lot of browns. She mixed in some pinks and charcoaled my eyes slightly.
So the one thing I found out was that I NEED to grow out my bangs. Ugh… extensions won’t save me or my bangs. What was I thinking? Okay, I cut them a few weeks ago because I was bored and wanted to see what I’d look like. Sigh.
I have one more visit to Holtz Spa left. I’ll probably go with the pedicure and facial again, but I’ll wait a little while till I do that.
Ugh, so my skin tends to be pretty sensitive to many things, and as I’m writing this, my face feels like burning. Urgh, I have to wash this stuff off, but I totally wanted to show Dennis when I pick him up from school (yes, it’s 1 am already). Oh well, the pictures will have to suffice.
So overall, it was a really great atmosphere and they did a really great job. I will probably go again to schedule myself a massage.
Thanks for reading.
Okay, so photography is a HUGE DEAL for me. This is the only way we’ll be documenting our wedding day, so I want the pictures to tell a story. A story about us (lol).
Anyway, for months I have been looking at numerous websites, putting together a list that so that Dennis could just take a look at, rank and then we’d make a decision. Today, that day has come. Well, he took my “short” list of 7 and then made an even shorter list of 3. So we’re getting there…
Here’s who has made the top 3, in no particular order (well maybe just alphabetical):
http://www.geehaejeong.com
I’m sooo excited. Well, I think the next step is to meet with each of them, or with whomever is left on our list and then decide. I think Dennis already knows who I’ve been rooting for, but I’m going to give each of them a chance. I’m sure someone will surprise me. I guess the entire point of this meeting would be to check out their work in person, the products they offer, and whether we feel comfortable or have any chemistry with them. I know this may sound crazy, but honestly I’ve heard many horror stories of people being disappointed and regret not spending enough money on photography. I don’t want to be in that position.
Okay, so I found a Bead Wholesaler here in Ottawa, but the problem is I currently can’t get the wholesale prices.
Here is attempt number 2 in creating our centerpieces.
In all cases I have taken out the moss. I’m currently not a fan. Maybe painting the moss white to represent snow? Hmm.. I still need to pick up some spray paint.
Silver Crystals
Black Crystals
Left – This is just the white/silverish beads. I believe there are about 12 beads on this tree. They are a lot smaller than the ones I had tested out the other day.
Right – So a few days ago we decided that we were going to go all black, but Dennis says it’s too depressing for him. I did choose beads that don’t have any shine to them though, so maybe that’ll make a difference. This also only has 12 strands.
Black and Silver Crystals
Black and Silver Full
Left - So I decided to mix it up a little bit and put both silver and black crystals. Still 12-13 strands.
Right – Same black and silver strands, but I put everything that I had on there giving it a more fuller look. That’s about 24 strands. Mind you this is going to be more costly. I’m even thinking it’s now over budget, so I’m not sure why I would show myself this if we can’t do this… sigh.
So I’m trying to figure out which of these looks we like best and will stay within our budget. Dennis still thinks there is something missing. I guess this will still be a work in progress… The tree only took 2 or even 3 weeks to deliver. We should pick up the rest of the vases, but I’m trying to not purchase everything until we’re 100% sure that this is it… The centerpiece, not the marriage 
Dennis and I had been discussing efficient ways to collaborate with our bridal party the planning of our wedding. Some of the tools that came up were Google Wave, Google Docs, Our Website, E-mails, etc. All of this great, but it wasn’t what we were looking for.
A friend of ours, Nathan, had interestingly enough had come across the following link: http:// www.google.com/google-d-s/wedding/
The above link are free templates that can be used to organize the wedding planning using Google Docs. So for a while now I’ve been using Google Docs to collaborate with classmates on group projects. But it appears, Google and Style Me Pretty have taken this to a whole other level.
Currently we have only made use of the Address Book. This is where you can send emails out to your potential guest, and get them to fill out a form full of their pertinent information. That way, when the time comes, we’ll have all the addresses in on file.
No one has filled in their information yet, but hopefully this will prove to be helpful. I’ll give an update once I am fully able to comment on it.
Okay, so I’m still in the process of just testing out a few things. I sort of took our chandelier apart so I can use the crystals to visualize what it would look like.
Hmmm.. so I’m not sure I like the moss. The black stones I do like though. I may want to keep the moss if I can find the right proportions.
In terms of the tree, I’m still wondering if I should paint it white and keep the black crystals. Or just keep the tree red and do clear crystals.
One thing Dennis does not like is the hanging crystals straight down. So I tried to swag them. Not sure if I like that either. Dennis also thinks that the crystals are too large for the tree. So, I think I’ll have to purchase some smaller beads or crystals and see what works better.
It’s a little less than a year till our wedding day, so there’s still plenty of time to figure it all out. 
So here it is…
It’s exactly what I wanted and so much more.
And yes, I got my nails done. Which for those who know me, that is very unusual.
Thanks to my co-worker, Ramani, for the picture. I swear we were working that day.
Now it’s time to shop for our wedding bands!