Here's to not getting wheeled down the aisle...

A few months ago, I started to feel a familiar twinge in my right knee. Every time it would twinge, I would freak out a little bit, and then forget about it. I didn't tell anyone. Then, one rainy day at uni, I was hurrying to class when my kneecap sublocated and immediately began to swell up. Crap.

You see, I've been through this before. Three times, in fact, with my left knee. I spent a few birthdays in surgery, went to Disneyland in a wheelchair, and abseiled in a full leg brace. I spent so long on crutches, that, to this day, one of my nicknames is Hoppy. If you read my blog, you will know that this actually ended up being quite a good thing, as I agreed to go out with Wade for the first time while in hospital. I won't say whether liberal use of my morphine button had anything to do with that decision.

Spending my 16th birthday in hospital. The nurses made me a cake.

So now, over four years after my last surgery, my fears (and my Dad's and my surgeon's) are confirmed. My right knee might just as messed up as my left. We're making jokes about me hopping down the aisle on crutches. Or my dad wheeling me. And most of the time, it's hilarious because my knee is behaving itself, and I'm working extra hard at the gym so that my leg muscles will hold the kneecap in place. But then, on days when it's twinging really painfully every time I put weight on it, I can't help but think, hold out until I get back from the honeymoon! Maybe nothing will happen, ever and my knee will just occasionally sublocate and that will be fine with me.

Or maybe not.

Here's to not getting wheeled down the aisle!

- H

Engagement Session Wears

Wade and I have an engagement session booked in September with our very talented photographer, Scott. We had a little mini session right after we got engaged with Vivid Photography that was incredibly fun, but unfortunately because of the package we didn't get a disc of the images - only prints of our favorites. I'm happy we did it, though because it's really nice to have some pictures from when we first got engaged, whereas the shoot with Scott will be only a couple of months before the wedding.

The mini session was great, too, because I learned what I liked and didn't like about what I wore. I wore a really cute vintage-inspired tea dress that I bought from Dotti for only $10! Here's me wearing it at Elora's high tea. Super cute, right?

Unfortunately the lining of the underskirt showed in a couple of the really gorgeous photos, plus I think it was a little bit shorter than I thought it was. Not as timelessly classy as I wanted!

My hairdresser Kylie - who, by the way I would highly recommend! - styled my hair right before the shoot, and I, for some reason, requested it to be styled down. Even though my hair was / is at that awkward "growing-out" length where it's too long to be a cute bob, and too short to look like an elegant long bob. Plus, I almost always wear my hair up, because I hate using straighters and curling irons on my hair in the morning. So it wasn't very me.

Anyway, I was browsing Pinterest looking for engagement session inspiration when I found this image from the most gorgeous engagement session I've ever seen:

So now I'm on the lookout for a cream dress! Let me know if you see any.

- H

Searching for our Photographer

When Wade and I sat down to work out our wedding budget, we decided that more than anything, we wanted to have an amazing photographer shoot our wedding. We also wanted to have our reception in a gorgeous location with amazing food. Those were our top three priorities: photographer, location, food. I don't claim to be much of an expert at all when it comes to photography, but after being surrounded by photographers since I started working at Photo Continental I knew a little bit about what I wanted in our wedding photography. 

And so we started our quest. Verbalizing what I wanted was by far the trickiest part of the search. Basically what it came down to was that I wanted the photos to look like a perfect, real moment. That's a very vague concept I know. I figured out that I wanted pictures that looked like the photographer had snapped them and not edited them at all - but were still breathtaking. Therefore, I ruled out any photography that looked like the photographer went to town on Photoshop. Wade simply wanted a photographer that made him feel comfortable in front of the camera - if that was possible.

We started trawling blogs and asking for recommendations from friends and other photographers. And that's when we stumbled across Scott from Dawes Photography. Browsing through his images, I felt like I was looking at a series of captured moments - every one of them perfect and breathtaking. And after an initial Skype chat (until recently he was based in California) we were sold. For a while there I wasn't sure if we would find the perfect photographer who made us feel completely comfortable and took amazing pictures. But we did! Check him out if you're getting married soon. You won't be disappointed, I promise!

- H

The Last Wedding Before Ours!

Today Wade and I attended the wedding of some of our friends, Tara and Johnathan. It was a slightly more stressful day than we had anticipated, to say the least. The pianist at the wedding was having jitters and so Wade was roped in, twenty minutes before the bride walked down the aisle, to play guitar for the ceremony. You know what's difficult? Playing old hymns on guitar. I was totally freaking out, and crossing my fingers and toes that he wouldn't mess up. I was so proud to see him up there playing like he had been practicing for weeks instead of twenty minutes. Then, in between the ceremony and the reception, Wade and I popped up to my Grandmother's house, only to find that she had very low blood sugar (she is Type One diabetic) and was fading slowly out of consciousness. Without breaking a sweat, Wade went into paramedic mode, testing her blood sugar, giving her juice and preparing glucagon for her while I stood around and freaked out - again. And we didn't have to take her to hospital, which was awesome. For the rest of the day, and all through the night, I continued to be totally amazed by this guy who takes on any challenge that comes his way without panicking about it at all? Sitting through weddings always makes me think about my wedding, and now finally the next wedding will be ours. And I'm almost certain that at the next wedding, Wade won't be as calm!

- H

Winter Wedding

Does anyone have as much trouble deciding what to wear to a Winter wedding as I do? This is my third wedding that I've been invited to in the past few years that has taken place in the middle of Winter, so I feel like I'm becoming a bit of an expert. I found this gorgeous dress at Forever New a few weeks ago. It's wonderful for Winter because it's made of a thick cotton / nylon / elastine blend and fully lined so it's actually quite warm. And how cute are those beaded straps? I'm undecided as to whether I'm going to cover up with a little fur bolero (like the one pictured) or a black blazer with longer sleeves. I'm leaning towards the blazer because the reception takes place near the water - but how cute is that bolero? I know this wedding is going to be pretty dance-heavy so I'm leaning towards wearing these trusty and incredibly comfy Wittner heels and some simple, yet sparkly accessories. Wade's wearing this charcoal Saba suit so I'm looking forward to snapping some quick pictures before we head off to the ceremony!

- H

Gifting

Yesterday, I was browsing xoJane, when I was (slightly shocked) to find this very controversial article, originally titled "A Third Of The People Who Attended My Wedding Didn't Give Me A Gift - What's Up With That?" You can have a read of the article - it's very interesting! - or you can trust me to give you the highlights. Basically, the author got married a little over a year ago and is very perplexed as to why a third of her guests didn't give her a gift. Although she admits that she felt guilty for getting upset about it, she still goes on to describe particular wedding guests who she feels "owe" her a gift and yet did not deliver.

I then read the comments section and was surprised to find that a lot of people agreed with the author - that when you throw a wedding, you are owed a gift. A lot of people agreed actually. Part of my job at work is to help others create wedding invitations. More often than I'd like to admit, I get asked by customers how to ask for particular gifts (especially cash) on the invitation. Why? Because they expect a gift and they want to direct people towards the right kind of gifts.

Here's the thing. A wedding gift is just that - a gift. Not a payment, or a "token of appreciation" for the honor of being invited to the wedding. I guess I'm bringing this up as a bride as well as someone who works (partially) in the wedding industry. I want to give couples a gift because I love them, and want to show them that I love them by giving them a gift that reflects my relationship with them and their personalities. My parents still have pieces that they received for wedding presents that my mom will tell me, "Oh, so-and-so gave me that. I never would have thought I wanted it, but I use it all the time." I want to be so-and-so who gave them that awesome mini food processor that has lasted a zillion years. I want to be so-and-so who gave them that beautiful painting that still hangs in their living room. Have a read of the article and let me know what you think about our gift-giving culture. I'd love to know your thoughts!

- H

Engagement Fiesta Planning

When we got engaged, we didn't know if we wanted to have an engagement party. Don't get me wrong, I love a good party. Ask anyone in my family - if there is an occasion to throw a party, I will take it. I just didn't know if we could find the time to plan one! But then we discovered that quite a few family members and friends wouldn't be able to make our November wedding date. But they could come halfway through the year. And so we decided to have a party to celebrate!

Now we're two months out and in the throes of party planning. I figure there are only going to be very few occasions when we'll be lucky enough to be surrounded by all of our closest friends and family - so we're going to do this party right. And by right, I mean, kick off your heels, drink a Margarita, and whack a pinata. That's right! We're having a fiesta! Here's a roundup of my favorite Mexican-themed engagement party ideas.

via Hostess with the Mostess

via First Time Fancy

via Kasey Loftin Photography

via Sweet Chic Events

via Utterly Engaged

via Juneberry Lane

via Modern Hostess

Just looking at all of the possibilities makes my head spin with possibilities!

- H

Why I am not DIY-ing my wedding: A crafter's confession

For those of you who don't know, I work in craft. I work in a craft store, and am continuously creating every day. I create wedding invitations, wedding decorations, table settings and more. I can use a staple gun, a hammer, a hot glue gun, and a drill with ease. I can also cover anything - I repeat, anything in glitter.

So why am I not DIY-ing my wedding? I've got five - five! - reasons for you.

1. The cost. I can hear you right now. But DIY-ing saves money! All the bridal magazines tell me so! This is certainly true for the savviest of savvy brides. But my brides who come into my store? They end up spending hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars on DIY projects that they intend to only cost them pennies. Let me level with you. It takes money, and skill to create an invitation that looks professionally printed. And that glitter-paper garland that you are going to string alllllll over the church? That's going to drain your budget fast. When you are budgeting for craft projects, you need to take into account

2. The time. Craft takes time. Anytime I do a craft project, I always underestimate how long it's going to take. Right when we first got engaged, I got a sweet idea for tiny little chalkboard save-the-dates to send out to everybody. Oh my goodness, they took a long time to make. I only made fifty of them, but by the time we finished (we being myself, Wade, my sisters and my mom) I never wanted to look at a stamp pad again. Until I went to work the next day and was faced with a wall of them. This is probably the biggest issue for me, so let me state it again: most DIY projects will take double the time that you estimate. 

3. Sometimes, it just doesn't look as good. I guess the biggest example I can think of is the trend of "glittering your wedding shoes" that seems to be peppering Pinterest with success stories. At my store, we have a huge selection of glitter in every color and consistency available to man. We also have bucketloads of Mod Podge - and that's basically all you need to make your gorgeous glittery shoes. Now, let me just say, that if I hadn't worked in a craft store, I would be totally tempted to glitter my own shoes, or even my bridesmaids' shoes. I mean, you can buy a pair of totally comfy plain shoes and make them fabulous!* Unfortunately, more times than I can count, the same brides who eagerly scoured our glitter racks for the perfect shade of silver returned a few days later with a monstrosity of claggy glittered clumps that are now permanently adhered to their shoes. I did a quick internet search to see if any other brides were having the same problems. Here's what I found:

Source: weddingbee

Source: Budget Fairytale

That's not to say that this craft doesn't ever work, only that you rarely hear about the times when it goes horribly wrong. So consider this a warning from me! Don't use expensive shoes! Also (from experience) make sure that your glitter to Mod Podge ratio is heavy on the glitter, and do more than one coat!

4. It might intrude on your Big Day. I was chatting to an acquaintance who DIY-ed her wedding, from the hand-embossed invitations down to the floral arrangements. On the morning of the wedding, she was at the location, ordering the groom and groomsmen up into the trees to string lanterns and ribbon garlands and whatever else she ended up having, then she had to rush to the farmer's market to pick up her flowers and then spend the rest of the morning not sipping mimosas and getting her makeup done, but making numerous bouquets and boutonnieres. During her photography session, she was getting phone calls from a friend who was having trouble setting up the centerpieces at the reception. DIY-ing can put a lot of the pressure on the wedding party and their families on the day - and who wants that stress?

5. Things never go to plan. One thing that I've learned from my mom's stories about her wedding is that things never go to plan. And they have a habit of falling apart on you right before the wedding. If you aren't as emotionally invested in your plans, it won't be as much of a tragedy when it doesn't work out. Also, if you have hired someone else to organize something for you, when it doesn't work out it is then their responsibility to fix it for you, or offer you compensation for not providing the service you paid for.

If you are DIY-ing your wedding, then I have nothing but the utmost respect for you! This post is simply to give an alternative perspective to the DIY Wedding culture that is all over Pinterest right now. Happy planning!

- H


*This is not to say that I won't end up DIY-ing some aspect of my shoes if that's what it comes down to. I've had no luck finding the perfect pair of shoes that match my blinging dress. While I almost certainly won't glitter, I may bedazzle a pair of shoes with rhinestones and E6000 glue, or glue a pretty brooch on them.