These are a Few of My Favorite Things!

When I like something, I really like it and the term "dog with a bone" comes to mind. I don't let things go easily and I don't forget about something when it's peaked my interest. I have been like that my whole life. I see a coat in a window display that I fancy, I dream about it, draw about it and when someone's talking to me I imagine "they'd look so much better talking to me right now if they were wearing that magnificent jacket". So with that said, here are a few of my favorite things!

1) My favorite wedding video and videographer:

Rainbows from Confetti on Vimeo.

Not a joke, I have watched Confetti Film's "Rainbow's" video a few too many times, I could probably rehearse the vows. I adore the couple, perfect style, perfect venue and the talent behind the camera is undeniably the best I have seen. It is stunning, I kind of can't handle it.

2) My favorite wedding dress designer:

Claire Pettibone - her dresses are so unique, so intricate and beautiful. The first time I saw her "Kristene" dress I felt the need to do a thousand squats to ensure my behind will look good in that hot little number. Did you notice the train? It's in the shape of a heart, lovely!

"Sky Between the Branches"

"Kristene"

"Cloisonne"

"Chantilly"

3)My favorite stationary: This one was hard - as couples get more and more creative, I am seeing lots of superb, out-of-the-box wedding stationary suites handcrafted by themselves. If you're not one to craft, I adore the Little Bit of Heart website for vintage and whimsical stationary.

4) My favorite hair? Oh this is a TOUGH one. First of all, I am a hair girl, my hair looks different almost every day so I don't really have a signature look. I do naturally gravitate towards pictures of blonde, messier styles, as that's what I would see myself in. Now, this one was featured on a fellow wedding site the other day and I fell in love with it. I do often sport a braid in my hair somewhere, but had never thought of just doing this one big magical braid across the back. So pretty! And this would work with all sorts of hair colours, types as well as accessories and veils.

5) Favorite bridesmaid dresses: Okay, I am cheating, just a little bit. I cannot pick just one from this site, so I am going to pick a line of bridesmaid dresses that I would shriek from happiness to be able to wear. BHLDN is Anthropologie's new bridal line and it is gorgeous! Unique, vintage, and definitely wearable again, your girls won't mind being in one of these!

"Savoy" $220

"Coral and Sand Tube" $300

"Starburst Pleated Shift" $200

For Japan With Love

Tomorrow I will be joining my fellow bloggers in a day of silence to remember those victims in Japan who have lost everything in this past weeks unimaginable tragedies. Our hearts are with you. Please donate what you can and spend time with those you love for those who cannot.

xo

Luck of The Irish

Picking a lucky wedding day is pretty much the ONLY reason I would personally ever have a St. Patrick's Day wedding, and even that would never be enough to convince me. I like different, but I am not a fan of using your wedding day to stock up on four leaf clover garland at the dollar store and make a mockery of such an important life event. This being said - I know there are people who do choose holidays for their wedding, and this is okay too, but having the holiday as an accent and not front and centre is the key to pulling this one off.

I have taken this opportunity to show you some beautiful pieces to accent a green wedding, but maybe why you wouldn't want to have an all green wedding day. I don't know, I am not a fan of the palette below, but rather pieces within it. The Vera Wang wedding gown in the top left corner? Wow. I love Vera Wang and as soon as I saw this hot little number, I knew she must be the mastermind behind it. I love her whimsical, fluffy tulle dresses, and that she makes hers in a few different shades, light green, light peach. I will never give up my white or ivory dress, but absolutely adore seeing them on brides. So fun!

Whatever you choose, just make sure your wedding day is true to yourself, timeless and something you know you'll look back on in fifty years and still think it was the most beautiful day of your life.

Say yes to the...Shoe?

Hello all my lovely lovers - I asked a good friend of mine, Danielle of Death by Shoe to guest blog on my site. As one of my favorite bloggers and also one of my every-so-often subjects (you may recognize her from a few of my posts!) there's no one I would rather have here as a guest.

Enjoy, and make sure to follow her quirky and cute antics on her
blog Death By Shoe.

When it came to picking out my wedding day ensemble I must admit, I spent more time choosing my shoes than I did my dress. The way I see it, a wedding shoe is something you can wear over and over again to re-live that special day and it’s a great way for a bride to showcase her personality.

In my case I decided to go with a blue satin Louboutin as my something blue. To this day I still get butterflies when I look at them and only wear them on very special occasions.

(Photo by Shutterbird Photography)

For all you brides out there my wedding day shoe advice would be to go with something that truly mirrors your personality. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the most expensive shoe on the block but it should be something you love, feel comfortable in, and want to wear in your sleep!

Here are a few of my wedding day picks!

1. Giuseppe Zanotti, $750.00
2. BCBG, $198.00
3. BCBG, $195.00
4. Nine West, $120.00
5. Alexander McQueen, $995.00


1. Steve Madden, $129.95
2. Kate Spade, $298.00
3. Miu Miu, $595.00
4. H Williams, $357.50
5. Miu Miu, $485.00

xoxo

Danielle

Pig Trees

Pig trees. By definition of my sisters and I, they are the common cherry blossom tree. They captivated us on a trip out west to Vancouver when we were younger, we had never seen such a beautiful sapling. Growing up in Calgary we have coniferous trees and the dreaded Poplar which sheds it's despicable sticky seedlings all over the ground each year. The fluffy pick and white blossoms blowing in the wind were so breathtaking. They instantly were one of my very favorite highlights of the city I was blessed to call home for a few short years. I even have permanently and painfully added them to my tattoo collection.


Along with great vehicles, TV's and sushi, we have the beautiful country of Japan to thank for our trees here in Canada (you can read about the history of the trees gifted to us here). Japan this week has suffered one of their worst disasters in history with the 8.9 earthquake and the tsunami that followed. The images are heart wrenching and unbelievable. The Japanese are proud and beautiful people and we have watched as they deal with this horrific occurrence with grace and calmness. It's really hard to think of anything but them at this time.


The Japanese national treasure, the Sakura, makes for a gorgeous starting point for colours and florals for a wedding. They are soft and pretty and can be combined with several accent colours to create a very vivid look, or a softer, feminine feel. However you use them, make sure you whisper a little "thank you" to beautiful Japan for giving us something so stunning.

Something Blue

Some weddings are based around a favorite throw cushion, a scarf, a postcard or a photo. And then some weddings have no choice but to be based around the dress. If you buy a dress that is not your typical bridal gown, you may want to go this route, I know that's what I will be doing, hoping that I find the perfect vintage antique lace Claire Pettibone gown.

When I spotted this stunning Christian Dior couture gown I needed to set up some kind of scene for what type of wedding this could become. I despise royal blue - it reminds me of prom dresses - but mixed with lots of whites and hints of rustic brown elements it can really look crisp and fresh.

Here's what I came up with based off this piece of art - now can someone PLEASE buy this dress and hire me to coordinate?! Thank you.

An Ode to Love.

Happy Valentine's Day readers! I actually seriously LOVE this holiday. What can I say, I love love, which may be partially why I chose the wedding industry to get into. I'm a hopeless romantic and someone who puts a lot into the little four letter word. I am lucky to have so much love in my life, like, brimming over with it and my heart bursting at the seams.

Valentine's Day used to be a dad and daughter thing around our house. With four daughters, my dad was Purdy's favorite customer. He would always get us the assorted box and then a small toy as a token of affection. We'd wait patiently all day waiting for dad to get home from work, staring out the window for his little orange Toyota, then tried to pawn off the chocolate covered ginger pieces, who in the world created such an awful thing?! I told Josh this several years ago, how much it meant to my sister's and I that my dad would do this, so he has followed suit quite nicely.

So today, on a day where people who are newly single, divorced or fighting with a loved one pretend to be bitter and throw hatred towards the holiday, I try and remind them that it's not just a love between a couple that should be celebrated, friends, family, even the bond between pets is something to cheer about. Love is nice that way, everyone has someone or something to love.

Our little gremlin Maeby - she stole our hearts years ago with her big ears and bulgey eyes.

Our handsome foster boy Crosby, the perfect dog, even when he does destroy 4 books in a few hours.

My dad - my very first Valentine.

They say you don't know love until you have a child - and I can fully get on board with that. Never have I loved anything so quickly in my life. She is hilarious, beautiful and brilliant. She has a heart of gold and melts mine every day.

My momma and me - the person who taught me how to be a mom and love unconditionally.

Two of our best friends, Ashley and Mark - the only thing I don't like about them is how long they took to enter our lives. I cannot wait for the third Dyer to arrive in July, another one to love.

My girlfriends since high school, no matter how often or not we see each other it's like no time has passed at all. We are all so different we each bring a fun little piece to the puzzle that makes a beautiful group of girlfriends.

My sisters and I, they are my heart and are always with me even though we spend more time apart than together.

The epitome of love - my grandparents. They are high school sweethearts and have raised my huge, weird and lovely family.

The love of my life. You never really know your type until they storm into your day with a pile of mail and get you so riled up that you knock everything off your desk. The only person in the world that tolerates me every day and still kisses me goodnight. I can't imagine my life without him in it, and know that we'll grow old together, laughing at eachother's stupid jokes and ugly faces.