Something White for Something Right 2012: Exciting Updates

 

In case you haven’t heard, Marry Me Productions is proudly presenting the fourth annual Something White for Something Right on Saturday, November 3, 2012, at 6pm at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.
We are so excited about this year’s event and we are hard at work trying to make it even better than last year!

A little bit about the event: Stacey Price came up with the idea for Something White for Something Right after a close friend was diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 32. Stacey decided to combine a great cause with her love of weddings and the constant refrain she heard from her brides: “I won’t be able to wear my wedding dress again!”.  For the past three years, brides of all ages have dug out their wedding dresses and come out for a lovely evening of world class dining, captivating live entertainment and a fabulous silent auction in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

 

 

 

This year’s event is even closer to our hearts as Stacey’s dear friend Jamie lost her battle with breast cancer earlier this year. This year’s fundraiser is dedicated to her memory.

So dig your wedding gowns out of the deep corners of your closet, dust them off, and get ready for a great night! Bring your girlfriends, husbands, colleagues, even your parents! Everyone is welcome!

 

Don’t have a wedding dress? Come anyways!! Don’t let that stop you from coming out to support a great cause. If you can wear white to support the event we encourage it, but we won’t turn anyone away!

image from 'in love with the small things' blog

Here’s what the night will look like:

6pm-7pm: Cocktail Hour in the Drawing Room Foyer

Featuring:

·         Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres

·         Mini manicures by The Spa Angels

·         Make-up application by Ottawa Makeup Artists.com and Nolita

·         Silent auction

·         50/50 ticket sales

7pm onwards: Dinner & Dancing in the Drawing Room

Featuring:

·         4-course meal by the Chateau Laurier

·         Dessert and candy buffet

·         Speeches and video tribute

·         Silent auction

·         50/50 draw

·         Live entertainment by Sway Orchestra

Not to mention we will have Miv Photography there to take fabulous photos of all the guests looking stunning in their gowns and dashing in their tuxedos!

Curious about the silent auction? Here is a sampling of some of the great prizes we will have:

image from 'in love with the small things' blog

·        A gift certificate for a one-night stay, with breakfast, at a Quintessence  Hotel suite in Mont Tremblant, valued at $500.00

·         A gift basket of Arbonne beauty goodies

·         A family/couple photo shoot with print credit from UnionEleven

·         A 2-hour styled photo shoot from Joel Bedford Photography

·         A personal financial planning session with Astrolabe Financial valued at $1,500.00

·         And many more…!!

Of course, we won’t let anyone go home empty handed so we will also have some great swag for all of our guests including a complete makeover by a professional hair and make-up artist, a personalized boudoir/glamour photography session and a $100 credit towards high end products from Voulez-Vous Boudoir Photography.

Stay tuned in to our blog as we slowly reveal all the other great things that will be part of this year’s event. We have lots up our sleeves and can’t wait to share it with you! It will be a night to be remembered. Buy your tickets today at www.somethingwhite.ca. They are selling out fast!!

Have a question? Contact Brianna on the Marry Me Productions team at Brianna@marrymeproductions.ca. See you in November!

Fab Find

 

"Momma always says there’s an awful lot you can tell about a person by their shoes. Where they’re going. Where they’ve been." - Forrest Gump

 

We all love shoes, we love to shop for them, we love to wear them, we love how they make us girls feel, heck, we even love to organize them (I have mine in individual clear boxes with a photo of the shoe on the outside of the box).
One of the most important shoes we are ever going to wear are our wedding shoes. The shoes that carry us down the aisle to our future.

We found a unique website that allows you to get your wedding shoes hand painted and personalized by Deborah, the artist and mind behind Figgie Shoes.

image from figgieshoes.com

There are three main options for personalization- basic black and white (including 12 personalized items or text), colour and/or ink, jewels, metallics, sequins, feathers, rhinestones etc. Popular personalization items include: wedding date, portrait of the bride and groom, school emblems, meaningful geographical locations, your wedding vows, words from a love letter you received from our sweetheart...basically anything you want to express about your relationship's personal history for your wedding day.



image from figgieshoes.com 

The company recommends you buy your own shoes to ensure they fit perfectly before the personalization process begins, and that process is a minimum of 6 weeks. So this should be something you plan for well in advance.
By the way, this process isn't just for bridal shoes, this art can be produced on any shoe for any reason. So not only can it be a cute gift for your bridesmaids (flats for all of them for the wedding reception and for casual wear after the wedding), it can also be just for any shoe you want to express yourself on.

image from figgieshoes.com

Fab Find

I am obsessed with scented candles. I always have one lit in my living room when I am relaxing at home in the evenings. Not only does the soft glow from the candle make my room feel inviting and warm but the scent at the time can make me happy, nostalgic even hungry depending on which candle is burning. My preferences are Slatkin & Co., which are available at Bath and Body Works and Yankee Candle which are available at Hallmark, Home Outfitters and many other retailers.

So, I was so excited to see that Yankee candle offers a personalization service for their candles. It makes for a great wedding favour for your guests if you love candles as much as I do.

You can pick the photo to affix to the front, the text and even the scent. The website doesn't do the idea justice- but imagine using a photo of you and your sweetie, perhaps a (black & white) romantic pose from your engagement photo shoot, a tag line that is totally you both, the date of your wedding or just a simple "thank you" to your guests. And the most fun- choosing your scent. A sweet scented candle because you love to bake? Maybe an oak scented one because you are honeymooning in Napa Valley wine tasting in the sunshine with your new hubby. What about a Fall harvest scented candle because you are getting married in the Fall and your guests can enjoy the scents from your wedding's season for weeks to come. The possibilities are endless.

I prefer the small tumbler sized candles instead of the jars (they look more modern) and if you think your guests will just throw out the glass jar once the candle is done, think again- here is a fabulous idea to reuse your empty candle jars.

Real Wedding - Jude and Nate's Gorgeous Grey Reception

We already miss Judith and Nathan who were one of our first couples of the 2012 summer wedding season. They were married in an elegant ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral on May 5 and guests crossed the street to their reception in the Great Hall at the National Gallery.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the National Gallery's grey and glass canvas, Jude and Nate embraced the elements of the Gallery that makes it unique. For their centrepieces, they mixed short tight, boxy arrangements on some tables with tall, romantic flowly centrepieces on other tables. The soft grey that makes up the walls of the National Gallery is found on their pintuck linen and stationary. Their ghost chairs perfectly complimented the Gallery's commanding windows.

Jude and Nate also incorporated pops of fire engine red into their reception. A perfect choice as red accurately represents their fun-loving and outgoing personalities and nicely breaks up the glass and grey that is found throughout the Gallery.

How can you not fall in love with this couple (as we did) after seeing their wedding video .... another masterpiece produced by Bridget First Kiss Films.

Thank you to MIV Photography for sharing these shots of Jude and Nate with us.

Your civic duty- as a fellow wedding lover...VOTE !

Wedding Industry Experts is a unique website that brings together wedding experts or "panelists" from all over the world with brides and wedding-experts-in-training. Their goal is "to present a glimpse into their lives (the wedding industry experts) with the aim of recognizing and inspiring excellence".

The panelists are not only award winning industry experts but role models and innovators in their area of expertise (wedding planner, photographers, caterers etc.). The website not only plays 'cupid' to industry experts and experts-to-be but compiles detailed and thoughtful reports (weekly) that are available to anyone free of charge. A priceless opportunity to those wanting to start out in the wedding industry or even just curious brides-to-be.

Marry Me Productions is honoured to be nominated for 'Best Wedding Planner, Ottawa' in their Wedding Industry Experts 2012 Awards.

These awards are not handed out by a panel of judges or the Wedding Industry Experts 'panelists', they are chosen by people like you- you get to choose the vendors you love.

Click here to cast your vote. Voting closes at 4pm on August 31 and you can only vote once every day with each 'device' (computer, ipad, mobile phone etc.). The best part, you don't have to set up an account or provide your email address. Just follow the link and click to vote....one click a day.

Thanks for all your support- we love you guys !

~Stacey, Brianna, Emma, Meagan and Karen

Real Wedding: Vintage Spring Love as featured on Style Me Pretty

Another Marry Me Productions wedding has been picked up by Style Me Pretty's blog. This blog post that you are reading is especially exciting to me. One of my oldest girlfriends (we met in junior high school) got married in May at Mont Tremblant. The weekend was everything Jennifer dreamed of and the whimsical details were breathtaking to her guests- half of which flew in from England where the groom is from.

Jennifer and Simon were married at a quaint little church in the village of Mont Tremblant. From there guests walked to the reception at Hotel Quintessence a luxurious boutique hotel boasting views of Lake Tremblant and old world charm. Guests were greeted with cold drink dispensers filled with fresh fruit and refreshing drinks such as Pimms and lemonade and sangria. Nestled at the end of the drink table amongst white potted tulips was the seating chart made of two vintage window panes with guests' names handwritten in white on the squares of glass.

Guests were then ushered into the dining room where the dark wood of the room was warmed by the warm setting sun over the lake. Jennifer's colour choices of pastel pinks, yellows and blues looked spectacular against the old world charm of the dining room. Jennifer wanted to pay homage to Simon's British roots and part of the centrepieces were comprised of table numbers handmade by Candice Stanley who had excerpts of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet pressed to each woodblock.

After the dinner, guests were moved upstairs by a grand spiral staircase to enjoy a slide show of the couple and feast on their dessert table that quite simply- stole my heart (yes, those flowers on the cake are edible!). How did we burn off those dessert calories? By dancing well into the night with the stars above us (thanks to the floor to ceiling windows) to 'top 40' hits with some British artists peppered in- I never tire of dancing to Spice Girls.

Anne-Marie Bouchard from AMBPhoto captured Jennifer and Simon's impeccable wedding perfectly. So click here to be carried away to a world of soft pastels, warm sunshine and vintage romance.

Much love to Jennifer and Simon xo

Guest Blog Post - From Tulips and Maple

As our regular blog followers know, we like to feature guest posts from wedding/event industry experts.

Today's is a real treat because one of the most important elements at your wedding is your food. Today's blog post is from Karinne Di Sanza-Baker, a senior catering consultant with one of our favourite caterers in the city: Tulips and Maple. Tulips and Maple are always on the cutting edge of catering foods and catering trends. They often send their staff off on catering conferences all over North America to learn all they can to make your wedding/event's catering unfortgettable.

In today's blog post, Karinne speaks about "Catertaining" for your wedding and using your catering to involve your guests, add decor and mix food and drink in one. Really inspiring. Thanks again Karinne !

Guest Post by Tulips and Maple:

Not only are we in the middle of a very busy wedding season, but this is also the time that future brides start planning their 2013 weddings. Having returned from an international catering conference in the spring which inspired the release our new “Catertaining” menu, we would like to share some fun ways to upgrade your catering at your wedding reception. We have had the pleasure of catering many Marry Me weddings so we know you are always out looking for the newest and greatest ideas for your special day!

Welcome Drink

Give your guests a chance to create their own signature drink at cocktail hour.  These photos capture the “drink wall” concept. Guests help themselves to a variety of creative garnishes to customize their drinks, such as fresh berries, flavoured jelly cubes, or candied citrus fruits; the possibilities are endless!

Shake up your Reception

Don’t just serve food at your cocktail hour, serve Fooze! We have combined hors d’oeuvres with a complimentary drink to add a twist to traditional cocktail fare. Our two favourites are the Caesar paired with bacon swizzle sticks and the whisky-based Algonquin served with a jerk-marinated beef skewer. Creative brides and grooms can even come up with their own combinations for this crowd-pleasing presentation!

Scrap the Plate, Use a Bubble

Why not find new ways to present the food your guests will be enjoying on your wedding night? Instead of servers passing hors d'oeuvres, why not display them on a food wall ! You can even pick your own background to match your wedding colours.

Or what about serving your salad in a bubble? Our signature "Bubble Bar" is a perfect alternative to the typical salad bar. Watch your guests giggle while they shake up their salad! A whole new meaning for "tossed salad".

There are endless ways to add "catertainment" to your wedding reception. We are excited to share our ideas with our Tulips and Maple couples.

Here's to a great wedding season....and more to follow !

An Ombre Colour Palette



Jessica Biel

 

Whitney Port



Ombre hair was a trend that emerged in 2010 that had some people wondering if it would stick around or not. Especially because girls pay a lot of money to ensure their hair doesn't look two-toned. Well, it's spring 2012 and it is fair to say the ombre trend is getting hotter by the minute. 

   





 

Ombre comes from the French term "shadow" simply meaning a graduation in hue from light to dark or dark to light.

In fact, the Ombre look has spilled over into fashion and now wedding design- so much so that it's one of the hottest weddings trends for 2012 and we LOVE it!





New York Fashion Week 2012


The ombre look is perfect for brides who love one particular colour and don't necessarily want to bring in another colour but think one colour would make their wedding too one-sided or overwhelming (imagine hot pink flowers, linens, napkins, chargers, bridesmaids- goodness!). So if you really love purple, instead of bringing in complimentary colours to accent it, you can bring in different shades of purple: eggplant, violet, plum, lavender, lilac etc...

Take a look at some of our favourite ombre wedding ideas.....



Save Room for Ideas for Save the Date Announcements

Once upon a time, save the dates used to be nothing more than word of mouth “reminders” from family members during weekly phone calls. It morphed from there into simple invitations which got more creative over time and included the theme of the wedding in the invitation. Then it morphed from invitations back to reminders but the evolution this time was ‘useful reminders’ so we saw magnets, bookmarks, coasters, pens… anything that would stay visible so you won’t forget the big day and to make the necessary travel plans.


Originally when Save the Dates first started, it was reserved for couples who were planning destination weddings and needed to inform their guests with enough advance notice for them to organize vacation time at their office and save up for any associated travel costs. Generally the rule was send your Save the Dates 4-6 months in advance and your formal invitations should be sent 8 weeks before your wedding day.

Now, with the explosion of engagement photoshoots, Save the Dates have turned into another adorable photo opportunity for the bride and groom to showcase their love for each other, their hobbies even their pets while giving their guests a ‘heads up’ about their upcoming wedding date.

When planning your Save the Dates, if you are doing a photoshoot, make it carefree and easy- the best thing about the new Save the Dates are that they are not formal like your invitations, and it’s a great way to give your guests a glimpse into your private quirky relationship. Secondly, make sure you include all the necessary information on the card. I recommend putting your wedding website address on the card since websites will have everything your guests need in regards to planning your wedding: date, times, recommended hotels etc. Thought wedding websites were for people getting married out of town? Think again- read my original blog post here.

Finally, you don’t have to make your Save the Dates expensive. If you make them into postcards and mail them sure, it can get pricey- but I would first recommend having a friend photograph you and email out your Save the Dates as an email message to your guests. Or update your wedding website with the new picture and information. If you do want to turn them into cards and send them snail mail (it’s always exciting to get real mail other than bills in your mailbox), I would take the photo yourself/with a friend and upload it online to get your prints made. If you go through a photographer, it’s going to be very expensive- not to mention you are looking for one shot not a variety of shots like if you were taking engagement photos. However, if you already have a photographer booked for your engagement session, make sure you take one photo with him/her that can be turned into a Save the Date announcement.

We love this particular website to turn photos into cards:


Just remember to have fun with it! Here are some Save the Date announcements we love to inspire you…