Mr. and Mrs. Hopp

~"May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door."~

Kelly has always been like another big sister to me. I have two older sisters, but I think over the past ten years we've spent more time in different cities than living in the same city, and although my own sister's are my best friends, it was always nice to have someone around supervising our weekend activities back in high school.

Kel is the older sister of two of my very closest friends, Fiona and Sinead and the daughter of someone I consider my second mom, Yvonne. They are a wonderful family and all seem to share the same heart - when one hurts they all hurt and when one is happy, they all have huge smiles on their faces. This was one of those occasions, the girls were gaining an older brother and Yvonne, a son. Kelly was marrying her Prince Charming, as she referred to him in her speech. Brad is just an awesome guy and I can tell that him and our Kelly will have a long, exciting and very happy life with one another.

Brad and Kelly both love adventure and the outdoors and when they were going to choose venues they ventured out to beautiful British Columbia. Initially they were thinking a winery, maybe near Kelowna, but after staying at the Panorama Mountain Village, they knew they had found the spot, and what an amazing location they chose. It is this magical, sunny little village in the middle of the mountains and is totally self contained. They have shops, restaurants, pools, beautiful accommodations and lots to do for those who like outdoor activities. The staff there were so friendly and helpful, many of them from overseas, Australia, New Zealand and England seemed to be common and they were always offering to assist in anything they saw me doing.

The day of the wedding was gorgeous and sunny with blue skies. The ceremony site was stunning, right beside Toby Creek, a rushing crystal blue mountain stream that runs alongside the road leading up to the village. Being Irish, U2 seems to be a favorite in this clan so Kelly and Yvonne walked down the aisle to All I Want is You. Brad was overwhelmed and teary eyed as he saw his beautiful bride to be walk down the aisle. The entire time I was snapping photo's the two were grinning from ear to ear, and looked as though they only saw each other.

The reception was held in the Ski Lodge and was a perfect match for their theme and colours, rustic, natural, greens and blues. Kelly saved various glass jars and bottles for months and decorated them in ribbon and lace and had the florist fill them with a variety of natural looking greens and flowers. Darby, their adorable Cairn Terrier, was represented in frames for the table numbers. The candy buffet was enormous and again, Kelly made sure to have it colour coordinated with blues and greens and included her very favorite treat, Galaxy bars.


The guest mix was wonderful, and included 14 family members all the way from Ireland and one friend of Yvonne's from England, and does that gang ever know how to party. They shut the place down singing and dancing. The speeches were touching and Kelly's words to Yvonne brought everyone to tears, as it is widely known what a spectacular mother she has been to her three beautiful daughters. Slideshow's are always a great way to tie in the earlier lives of the bride and groom and show how they merged their lives together, this one also show cased some rather, um, unique photo's of both of them. Gotta love the 80's and 90's!

My absolute favorite moment of the day came when some of the Irwin School of Dance students performed traditional Irish dancing and dragged Kelly up. Acting coi and surprised I was wondering what she would do, until I spotted her dance shoes on her feet. Kelly surprised everyone, especially her new husband by Irish dancing in her wedding dress. To see Brad's reaction to this was amazing, and me, as the planner, I never get surprised by anything and this was such a treat.

Kelly and I share a lot of personality traits and planning this was so enjoyable as we agreed on everything and I saw her vision perfectly. The venue fit the theme, the party fit the family, and Kelly and Brad fit one another absolutely perfectly. Love you guys!

Mr. and Mrs. Yarwood

Well, the day had finally arrived. After months of planning, numerous coffee, wine, lunch and tea dates, countless emails and phone calls Ali and Graham's big day was here and for the first time in weeks, the Calgary sun was shining.

Image courtesy of Shutterbird Photography

Alison is a an organizational guru and a planner at heart. She had Excel spreadsheets for everything, vendor contact sheets for me and labelled everything. It was nice to have a bride like this, as it made the day run flawlessly. Even when you think there is no room for error, things happen, and the DJ that was guaranteed to the couple did not show, but Ali took a deep breath when I called her and said "meh, what can I do, it's the day of". Perfect attitude. The worst thing for me on a wedding day is seeing a bride fuss over little details that may not be perfect, but the big picture is that it is the wedding day, and nothing should break the smile on your face and ruin your day.

Image courtesy of Shutterbird Photography

It was nice for me as the wedding planner to be able to listen to the vows, as they chose a venue which held both the beautiful outdoor ceremony and twenty feet away, the reception. I must say, Ali and Graham's vows are the best and most heart warming I have ever heard. I know I am not the only one that was bawling their eyes out. I think personal vows can be so beautiful and really let your guests know why you are there, committing your lives to one another.

Graham's words to Ali:

Image courtesy of Shutterbird Photography

"My Baby Girl,

You have been an inspiration to me since we met, you never shy away from something you believe in and you start and end each day with all that you are. You have shown me that there are things worth fighting for and the goals that you set can be achieved. You wear your heart on your sleeve and love me unconditionally. I cannot see my life without you in it helping me find my way.

I love you with everything that I am. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life exploring the world with you, and growing our family. I look forward to spending every day showing you just how much I love you. "

Image courtesy of Shutterbird Photography

And Ali's words to Graham:

Image courtesy of Shutterbird Photography

My cousin said to me once…”When you find the right person, it’s easy.” I couldn’t agree more. Who knew that making fun of your peanut-shelling skills would have led us to today?

I want to thank you for convincing me that we would be awesome together.

So how do you put all the love and passion I have for you into words?

· I love you for making me laugh when I‘m sad, when I’m mad, when I’m happy.
· I love you for showing me a baby green pepper you found growing inside the big pepper.
· I love you because you’ll make me breakfast in the morning on the weekends and will put extra cheese in my eggs
· I love you for encouraging me to be brave when we went paragliding off a mountain in Turkey.
· I love you for buying me candy and taking me to the Aquarium in Portugal when we’d been awake for 52 hours and couldn’t quite check into our hotel yet.
· I love you for buying me funny cards for my birthday…or finding them in the kid section
· I love you for all the nicknames you give me and Koda.
· I love you for bringing out all the best things in me, and for cherishing who I am

I love you with a deep, resounding passion, with my heart so full it feels like it might burst.

I wake up excited to spend the next day with you, the next memory we get to create, the next adventure we get to experience together.

You’re my Peanut, my best friend and my favourite human. I promise with all that I have that I will treasure you for the rest of my life and I can’t wait to see what’s next…

See? So sweet!

Image courtesy of Shutterbird Photography

Koda, their beautiful Chocolate Lab also played a role in their wedding as the seating chart and table numbers displayed their only child (for now) proudly.

The Calgary Zoo was a stunning venue. The Enmax Conservatory was absolutely perfect. Being brand new, it was modern and airy and had a great separate cocktail area. The actual conservatory with the plants and flowers set up for some really nice guest pictures and the dining room was spacious and very neutral, so any colour scheme could fit nicely in this space. The Zoo staff were very accommodating and friendly and the food was AMAZING, they served guests Santa Fe chicken in phyllo with portabella risotto, delicious! Actually, it is the best wedding food I have ever had, so a huge kudos to the chef there.

Image courtesy of Shutterbird Photography

The guests and family all seemed to have a wonderful time -the wedding party looked smashing and the DJ (the one that did show up!) got the party started. Alison and Graham looked SO happy and SO in love, which, in my profession is the most important thing. I literally drove away from the zoo with a smile on my face knowing that they enjoyed every minute of the most important day of their lives.

Image courtesy of Shutterbird Photography

Chelsea of Shutterbird Photography (http://shutterbird.showitsite.com/) captured some of the images I have used here. She is an amazing Calgary Photographer, who is fairly new to the scene, but I would trust her with my own wedding, she takes time to get to know the couple, and never does the same shoot twice. They are personal, edgy, original and so beautiful they could be hung in your home as art and not the old-fashioned, posey wedding photo's of years ago.

Image courtesy of Shutterbird Photography

Stationary Smarts

After deciding your guest list (one of the most tedious tasks in the wedding planning process!) invitations must be purchased. This is always a shock to the budget, as this minor detail often slips people's minds. Full wedding invitation suites - including a Save the Date, RSVP card, RSVP envelope with return postage, possible maps, gift registry inserts, and menu option cards can cost upwards of $10.00 a piece, this can work out to be an extraordinary cost to the couple, but there are a few loopholes in the invitation world.

Unless you have your heart on a lavish wedding invitation suite, look at all the other options. Not only are the full sets extremely costly, but they are not so earth friendly as well. Some people are setting up websites where all the wedding information as well as an RSVP section can be found. This website is sent out via email - completely eliminating the paper trail. Websites such as http://www.mywedding.com/ are popular, or, if you or your fiance are technically savvy, you can create your own personalized web page.


A spin off of this is ordering single-sided post card style invitations. The examples below are a few of my couples that have done this. Kelly and Brad used very minimal information in the text and chose to hold signs stating the date and location. For Deborah and Barrett's invitations, we went out to the venue, took some casual engagement shots and set them up in Wedding Paper Diva's and actually used a simple "Save the Date" template. With stamps and envelopes, these cost less that $2.00 a piece, save on a lot of paper and the website can be so much more informative. Items such as bridal party introductions, gift preference, and even the formal dress style for the wedding can be mentioned on the site. Saves money, phone calls and some trees!
Do remember, that the invitation is the first impression of your wedding. If you are having a major black-tie affair where tuxes and ball gowns are expected, then the casual invitation route may not be the way to go, but for many couples, as well as guests - this seems like a very smart and chic solution!

For The Love of Etsy!

There is a website, and it deserves a whole blog post of it's own. Her name is Etsy and she is a gift to all those D.I.Y. brides that can't actually D.I.Y.

Let's face it, eco-friendly, economically smart, homemade weddings are in, but not everyone has crafty bones in their bodies. For those of us that do - Etsy is painful to spend money on, knowing you could likely make a lot of the stuff yourself *if* you ever found the time. And then for those of us that are not so crafty, it is a godsend.

http://www.etsy.com/ is what I like to describe as an online craft fair. Thousands of artists selling their wares, and the great part is you can find pretty much everything!

You could literally buy everything, from invitations:

(http://www.etsy.com/listing/49078570/wedding-invitation-sample-packet?ref=sr_list_2&ga_search_query=wedding+invitations&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=6&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title)

To hair fascinators:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/31518585/free-domestic-shippinggreen-with-envy?ref=sr_list_4&ga_search_query=peacock+wedding+fascinator&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=22&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

To the flower girl dress:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/43680110/princess-peacock-tutu-dress-setsizes?ref=sr_list_21&ga_search_query=peacock+flower+girl&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

Custom monograms for floors, windows or mirrors:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/48982354/large-36-inch-dance-floor-wedding-couple?ref=sr_list_8&ga_search_query=wedding+vinyl+monogram&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=2&includes[]=tags&includes[]=titleafenav

Ring bearer pillows:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/48498879/peacock-collection-bridal-pillow-green?ref=sr_list_8&ga_search_query=peacock+ring+bearer+pillow&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

Gifts of jewellry for the bridesmaidshttp://www.etsy.com/listing/27668403/vintage-50s-swarovski-aquamarine?ref=sr_list_25&ga_search_query=bridesmaid+earring+turquoise&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=2&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

...and the cake topper:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/48875059/vine-monogram-cake-topper-black?ref=sr_list_32&ga_search_query=monogram+cake+topper&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

Etsy has it all! It's great for brides that really have a clear vision or theme, colours, etc. because of the search tool on the website allows you to find precisely what you need. Not only that - by purchasing these handcrafted items you are helping stay at home moms, struggling artists and even young kids trying to earn their way to college, and are supporting something bigger than those mass produced wedding products.

Always a Bridesmaid...

I love this look of mixed grey shades, and all very wearable dresses after the big day!

Last summer with all the wedding madness I really got a good insiders look at the role of a bridesmaid. It is a lot more than wearing a colour coordinating dress and helping the bride make a paper plate hat out of ribbons at her shower. You are her right hand man, er...woman and the role should not be taken lightly. A must-read for all bridesmaids, as it has a humorous spin on the situation is Bad Bridesmaid by Siri Agrell (http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Bad-Bridesmaid-Bachelorette-Brawls-Taffeta-Siri-Agrell/9780002008471-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527bad+bridesmaid%2527).

Stacey and the girls in a silvery purple cocktail number.

Depending on the length of engagement, being a bridesmaid can be a year long (or more) commitment to dress fitting, wine pairings, engagement parties, and constant errand running. For someone like me, who thinks little details are what makes an event, errand running, dress fittings and wine pairings (especially those!) are why I am in this industry. But I do understand those that don't take all the little things oh so seriously. When requested with the honor of being a bridesmaid, before jumping up and down, shedding a tear and exploding with a resounding "YES!" as if you are the one that was just proposed to, give it some thought, preferably BEFORE the bride asks you, so you have an answer. If you think you can with hold being at the beck and call of a potential bridezilla, then please repeat the above steps to show your enthusiasm, but if you think this will be a duty you cannot commit to, with a smile on your face, please have a gracious rejection in your back pocket.

Danielle let the girls choose different styles in the same raspberry satin fabric.

Weddings have gone to the extreme, and with that, so have bridal parties. One good thing about this is the dresses. Bridesmaid dresses have been the punchline to many jokes about awful party attire, but there have been leaps and bounds made in the world of dresses. They no longer have to be the exact same dress. Some people are choosing to use the same fabric, but let the bridesmaids choose the length and neckline. Other brides are going into any old RW & Co. or Le Chateau and picking a style. This way, the dress may be deemed as more appropriate to wear to another event in the future. No longer are groans heard when the bridal party attire is revealed.

Yikes! Out with the old and in with the new chic bridesmaid look please!

Other tasks, such as showers and stagettes have also been altered and geared towards the super bride and her super bridesmaids (and friends and family of course). No longer are rolls of ham on buns with pickles and black forest cake the thing to do for showers. Very commonly there is a theme to the party, and this coincides with the gift giving. I have heard such things as a stock the bar shower, where bottles of wine and spirits are brought, or stock the pantry, where everyone brings something for the kitchen, and then there is the common theme of lingerie. Stagettes have also taken on themes. I have been to a few, Moulin Rouge and Sex and the City being really fun ones that the girls could be very creative with.

My dad and his wife Sue had all of us daughters dress in different shades, fabrics and styles of blue, perfect for the background of an ocean.

As much as being a bridesmaid seems like a part time (or even sometimes a full time!) volunteer position without pay, remember that there was a reason that you have been chosen to be right there with the bride on the biggest day of her life. She loves you and trusts you and wants you to be in her wedding memories and photo's for all eternity, so please do a favor to your friend, sister, cousin or likewise and take this as an honor and not something to complain about, for one day, you might just be the bride!

These bridesmaids look like they are happy the big day has finally arrived and they can celebrate! Photo courtesy of http://1stclasswedding.wordpress.com

Blooming Hibiscus Champagne Flowers

Oh wow, poor poor blog. How neglectful I have been! We've had a busy couple of months in the Kolba/Dalby household, one big one was moving into our first house! Very exciting stuff. We've been busy over the past few months painting, unpacking and entertaining, so please forgive my abcense!

I am hoping to start blogging a bit more regularily, as I myself am a devoted blog reader and find it frustrating when a blogger goes on hiatus. Between a full-time job and then Urban Vows clients, a family, a very patient boyfriend and attempting to have some what of a social life, it can get a bit nutty! I have been working on a venues post for the past few months, just gathering information, pictures and details. You'll have to be patient on this one, but it's in the works.

My newest wedding excitement was shown this week on an episode of "Rich Bride, Poor Bride" and I instantly thought "cheeeeeeseballlll", but no way. After seeing them work their magic on the champagne, these natural little gems blossom into beautiful, edible hibiscus flowers and the accompanying syrup adds a pink glow to your bubbly! How exciting! I love little things like this, little details that add to the event. At less than a dollar a flower, the price tag for the wow effect produced here is easy to swallow. I notice the website says delivery to the US only, but I am an avid online shopper and I know I would be able to find a loophole for getting these to a wedding here. I am annoying that way, I believe some call it "like a dog with a bone".



http://www.wildhibiscus.com/about-us/index.html

I hope someone I know out there gives these a whirl, I would love to get some un-edited feedback!

Jay and Shawn's Halloween Hitching

Photo courtesy of http://www.lindsayallan.ca/

Oh good day! I can blog about my lovely October 31st, Saskatchewan couple today, as I received their professional pictures! This makes me so happy as I really enjoyed getting to know these two. I must say, Jaclyn and Shawn are really special people. Being my first "real" couple, and by that I mean, complete strangers before they searched out my services, I was a tad bit nervous when they first came over for our initial meeting! What a pleasant surprise! They were wonderful! They are both around my age, so we chatted as though we had known each other for quite some time. They had drove in from Saskatchewan so I wanted to make sure they were happy and felt comfortable with me. They had already worked out a lot of the details, the dress, the flowers, the venue, so my job was to tie up some loose ends, be there the day of the wedding, and also deal with the vendors. A few things that were left were photography details, the where, when and what of those, the menu and decor.

Photo courtesy of http://www.lindsayallan.ca/

For their pictures, they wanted to make sure they had somewhere nice and classy for the traditional family portraits. A few venue's in Calgary that offer this service are Rouge, Lougheed House and Teatro, all very beautiful places, so I knew there would be a cost involved. Teatro won that war and the place was booked for the afternoon. Also, they wanted some ideas for their bridal party photo's, and since they were getting married on Halloween, at Canada Olympic Park, where Screamfest is held every year, why not take advantage of all those creepy props!? One thing I really loved about Jay and Shawn is that they KNEW this was THEIR day and this made me really happy. A lot of times couples get swayed by family members, friends and members of their bridal party (which can be a bit of both), and then it turns into a big fiasco trying to make everyone happy. I loved that these two went a bit non-traditional in a few ways, and did not really care as to what others thought. A few things, well, they got married on Halloween, they met in the afternoon for pictures, as they had an evening ceremony. They knew they wanted a action station type food set up instead of a plated or buffet style dinner, and best of all, Jay's shoes, SO amazing, leopard with red patent, such a shock under that gorgeous, custom-made gown! I could really tell these two were in love, and the very best of friends, wanting only what mattered to them most. Their photographer, Lindsay Allan (http://www.lindsayallan.ca/) did an amazing job capturing the moment Shawn first saw Jay - good thing I was busy getting the reception ready or I would have burst into tears at this sight, so sweet!

Photo courtesy of http://www.lindsayallan.ca/

For decor, they had lots of beautiful candles, roses, really nice custom made vinyl applications for some glass posts with their names intertwined and the date, and the famous Martha Stewart tissue paper flowers in their predominant colours of black, white and red. I also crafted a spooky little tree that sat on their signing table, with handmade votive lanterns in a damask pattern hanging by red ribbon. They both had said they didn't want it Halloween themed - but to add very subtle elements of Halloween into the decor. The favors were assorted candy apples with custom made damask thank you tags.




The ceremony was beautiful, it was up at the Naturbahn Teahouse at the top of the hill at nighttime, so all the twinkling lights of Calgary could be seen. It was dimly lit and had a numerous clusterings of pillar candles, the ambiance was perfect. Jay and Shawn exchanged personalized vows (my favorite!), and family members sang and played the processional song on the guitar to add a very personal touch. Jay walked herself down the aisle, being the amazing independent little lady that she is - to a beaming Shawn, it was so magical, the parts that I snuck out to see, as I also played deejay for the ceremony (a very scary moment in my life, ha ha!). Their exit song was by The Doors "Touch Me", again - so non traditional, so Jay and Shawn!

Photo courtesy of http://www.lindsayallan.ca/

Their reception was held at the bottom of the hill down a winding road and the food and wine started coming out and everyone had a great time. The families and friends all seemed really close, and there was lots of awesome dancing done by I am pretty sure everyone!

Photo courtesy of http://www.lindsayallan.ca/

I must say, I was lucky to get a Halloween wedding as they are rare, and I was so priveleged to capture some really special moments with Jay and Shawn on their big day, and even had a very ghostly experience when I went back up by myself to the Teahouse to pack up the candles, mirrors and decor. Eek! Apparently it's known to be very haunted, someone could have told me that! Yikes!

Photo courtesy of http://www.lindsayallan.ca/

Jay and Shawn, thank you for going out on a limb and being my first ever "real" clients, you two are absolute soul mates, I have never seen anything but huge grins on your faces when you are around each other! You deserve all the best life has to offer, congratulations!