6 months to go... DUN DUN DUN!!!

A huge thanks goes to our dear friend Raymond (who is the talented photographer behind the lens of these photos... and a huge apology goes to him as well for ruining his usual pristine and professional photography style with our weird poses and my token burger quote)... thanks for still being our friend after this. HAHA. As I continually promise, a few more of these photos will be coming soon but for now, why don't you head over to Raymond's site at Vivid Moments Photographers for some amazing shots of other couples =D. 

By the way, in my opinion the best part of this photoshoot was finding those two branches lying on the ground and putting them on my head as deer antlers... and my fiance being okay with that. Although he did veto the idea of me crouching over like a grandma and using the branch as a cane. Oh well, a relationship is all about compromise, and saving each other's dignity once in awhile. =P

In other wedding related news, I've been busy trying to design our invites lately... and it's been tough! I've realized I'm very indecisive about this sort of thing because when it comes to my own art, I'm very critical about all the minor details and it's never quite up to my ridiculously confused and ambiguous standards. haha. I don't even know what I want. Currently, I'm trying to hand-draw a sketch for our invites and I'm finding it hard to infuse all the different elements we like - "woodsy with a vintage flair with some cute cartoons but still professional and simple-looking" - without giving into the fact that realistically a perfectly harmonious blend of said elements does not exist.  In the midst of all this confusion, my tendencies for artistic perfectionism are kicking in. haha. HELP. 

There have been small victories though - mainly, the mint-green website banner that I designed (above) with those quirky little birds. I'm also quite happy with that random font that I came up with for our names which was my take on "woodsy + cute". Anyway, if you have any ideas for wedding invites using kraft paper (you know, the woodsy brown paper that looks like glorified cardboard), send me some links! I'd really appreciate some design inspiration right now =D.

I'm thankful for... my wedding dress!

As you can read from the title, I found my wedding dress this weekend!!!

I'm actually really thankful that I finally found a dress because to tell you the truth it was hard going wedding dress shopping and it was a relief to finally be done with it. Let me explain. First, I want to share with you that even though I obviously wanted to find something gorgeous to wear on my wedding day, I also felt strongly in my heart that I did not want to spend an extravagant amount of money on a dress. Now, $1000 may not be extravagant for some people (after all, the average wedding dress price at most Canadian boutiques I went to was $1200+) but for me that's too much. Don't get me wrong - I know many girls who have gotten dresses around that price range because everyone has a different budget and I'm not here to say what anyone should or shouldn't spend their money on. But it was my own personal choice that I wanted to find a wedding dress that was cheaper and I wanted to share with you the reasons why.

It all started in Hong Kong last year when I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine about money and how we spend it. At the time, his fiancee was wedding dress shopping and we talked about how dresses were so overpriced because stores knew that people were willing to pay, and how that money could be put towards necessities or other good causes. This mentality contrasted so differently with the way many bridal magazines and websites promote the message that one of the most important things for the wedding is to find that perfect dress, and how "as a bride, you deserve to spend a huge amount of money on the dress because you only get married once". But after that conversation with my friend, I remember thinking that I wanted to make it a personal goal to be mindful of how much my dress would cost, even if it meant wearing a dress that was not as "nice" as what I imagined my wedding dress to be. 

Well, a dress budget in Asia would have been easier to stick to since everything is cheaper over there. However, when I moved back to Canada and actually began my own wedding dress search in Vancouver it was much harder. I started struggling with my budget because all the dresses I liked were around $1500 CDN. To be honest, it was pretty hard to try on all these gorgeous gowns and walk away instead of whipping out my credit card and taking one of those dresses home. I started bargaining with myself - for awhile, I thought maybe I did "deserve" to spend a bit more on my dress because of course every girl wants to look beautiful on her wedding day. But then I started thinking, "exactly how important is it for me to "look good" on my wedding day? Will Mr. Potatohead love me any less if I don't meet his expectations of a beautiful bride?" And then of course I realized that those expectations were obviously self-imposed and looking pretty on the wedding day was nothing in comparison to the bigger picture of our MARRIAGE. Besides, most guys have no idea what the difference is between a "satin sweetheart A-line gown with diagonal ruching" versus a "white chiffon sheath dress with a corset back" (haha... yes... I just tried to throw in as much wedding dress lingo as I know). On the wedding day, all a groom will see is how wonderful his bride is, and no matter what kind of dress she is wearing, he will think she is beautiful. I started to think how silly I was, complaining about  not being able to find a dress when really, that was such a "first-world problem" - realistically, not a real problem at all.

I decided that maybe shopping at Canadian bridal boutiques was not the best choice since everything seemed so expensive. So this weekend, I drove down to the States (to David's Bridal) because I knew a few other thrifty brides who had bought their dresses from there. I was actually hopeful and I had a good feeling that I would come back with a dress. Well, I was right because I finally found a beautiful gown that I could actually see myself wearing down the aisle. My consultant told me that the gown was $800 but when I went to pay for it, it was actually $660! Even the consultant was surprised! Don't you just LOVE cash register surprises? 

I wanted to shared this dress-buying experience with you all, because it really made me rethink a lot about the way I spend my money - not only with this particular "big purchase" but with all other everyday purchases as well. Around half a year ago, I really started feeling strongly that I had way more "stuff" than I needed and that often, all those material things just blinded me from other more important issues like caring for those who are in need. Part of this feeling came from living by myself in Hong Kong as I discovered how little I could live on and how much I could live without. Deciding to spend less on a wedding dress may not seem like a big deal, but for me I'm realizing that it's in my little everyday choices (like choosing which necessities or luxuries to spend money on) that truly reveal where my priorities lie. After all, the things in this world will pass away and material possessions don't last forever. So anyway, I guess that's a little personal note on how I'm continually learning to manage my finances and decide where I want to "invest" the money I have.

As for my wedding dress, I won't reveal anything because Mr. Potatohead won't see the dress until I walk down the aisle and the poor guy has spent the whole weekend abruptly walking away from conversations I have with friends who have been asking me what my dress looks like. By the way, it looks nothing like the dress below in case you're wondering if there's a resemblance. That's just a little paper gown I made out of a doily lying around my room! :) And on that note, the thought did come across my mind to attempt making a wedding dress out of doilies... or TOILET PAPER. haha. Wouldn't that be awesome?

So what do you think about all this? You definitely don't have to agree with me but I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts on wedding-dress shopping, wedding budgeting, or just money in general. Don't be lazy - leave me a comment and let's keep this conversation going! :) 

wedding post #4: engagement pictures

We're having our engagement pictures taken soon, and I'm a little nervous - I'm not super fond of being in front of the camera unless I'm taking silly pictures. But I shall have to "pose" and try to look normal for once! I am NOT going to do the "leg pop" though - it's just not me (leg pop = when the girl kicks one leg up into the air for some psuedo-romantic flair). Actually, one of the images I found below has a perfect example of this particular phenomenon. If I do end up doing that in my engagement pictures, I give you full permission to laugh and shake your head at me.

Well anyway, as we're on the topic of engagement pictures, yesterday Mr. Potatohead and I looked through our closets to see what we could wear for our photos. It's not like we ever try to match each other and our styles are completely different so actually, it was hard coming up with outfits + colours that would complement each other. We gave up on trying to follow our wedding colour scheme (coral + mint green) because although I love coral dresses, I don't have one and I would point and laugh if Mr. Potatohead wore either coral or mint green. That just wouldn't be him either.

Anyway, we've at least decided on one set of clothes that will work - something along the lines of red plaid and white lace. But we still want one more set so there's some variation. Any suggestions? Maybe we could dress up as OLD PEOPLE again, just like we did for Halloween one year, and take our engagement pictures pretending to be elderly? HAHA. What do YOU think about that? I'm only half joking you know... 

tree picture from here // balloons engagement shoot from here

By the way... I picked that photo with the BALLOONS for a reason. We both do love the movie UP...

;)

DIY: bachelorette shirts

I am still in the process of cleaning my room so this is not a new DIY. I stand by my word of not posting any new projects until I'm done cleaning. So this is an old one.

I had the honor of being a Maid of Honor last month for my friend Grace! We went to Portland for a bachelorette weekend of eating, shopping, and more shopping (tax-free!). We all decided to get "custom shirts" for our trip so I painted these cotton T-shirts with DecoArt Fabric Paint. Grace wore hers on the first day of our trip along with a sparkly silver tiara, albeit reluctantly at first. But she was a good sport. ;)

sidenote: I cut out a super flimsy paper stencil for the neon shirts just because I had to duplicate five of them. But I was super rushed so as you can see, the lines aren't as clean as the bride's shirt. As a note of caution when working with fabric paints - I've often made mistakes while painting and I find the best way to clean the stain is to immediately saturate the spot with dish detergent and run the area under hot water. Don't try to blot it! 

Since these are pretty much "one-time-wear" shirts (my orange Team Grace shirt is now used as sleepwear), it was definitely cheaper to make our own instead of buying generic ones online. Plus, these colourful neon shirts made for great pictures (which shall not be disclosed due to their embarrassing nature). Kidding... or am I?!?!

wedding post #3: mason jar centrepieces!

I know designing our centrepieces is not exactly the most important thing to think about during the first stages of planning a wedding, but Mr. Potatohead and I were going over our budget the other day and we ended up thinking about decorating our reception tables. haha! To go along with our woodsy vintage theme, we decided to use mason jars as our centrepieces. We immediately went on Craigslist to look for them and lo and behold! The first link we clicked on was a listing for 35 small ones (250ml), 50 medium sized ones (500ml), and 12 big ones (1L) - all for $50!!! It just so happened that a couple who recently got married had also used them for their centrepieces and of course, post-wedding, now had boxes of unused mason jars stored at their home. So of course I made the hour-long drive to retrieve these babies!

Oh how I love Craigslist. The previous bride had meticulously glued lace trim on all the jars. At first, I wasn't a big fan of the lace but when I saw the jars in person, the lace fabric actually looked really cute and dainty. I must say, the bride did a great job putting the DIY lace on these jars.

So, Mr. Potatohead and I now have part of our centrepiece display! Mason jars are so versatile. I think they would look great with a bloom of peonies, a simple bundle of baby's breath wrapped with twine, or romantic tealights to make the jars glow in a darker venue. Here are some of the inspiration pictures that I absolutely love. By the way, I love the floral tablecloth in the first few pictures... perfect for a garden wedding!

 images via: e.claire creations // wedding chicks // please note // elizabeth anne designs // apartment therapy // she walks in beauty // a beach cottage

So many simple yet gorgeous DIYs!!! Now the hard part is choosing which look to go with! ;) What do you think of mason jars? Which centrepiece is your favourite look? 

Oh and by the way: I was truly ecstatic to get so many comments about CRAZY MONKEYS in my last post. haha. LOVE IT.

wedding post #2: colours!

From my last wedding post, I asked you all to guess what my wedding colours were going to be... (the hint was 2 "warm" shades, and one "cool" shade). The answer is: coral, peach, and mint green! Here are some random items from around my room that inspired me to create this colour palette.

And... here are some more inspiration pictures that I collaged together. All of these pictures below were found online. The whole look is so soft, romantic, and rustic. I especially love all the gorgeous peony bouquets, flowy chiffon dresses, and delicate lacy details. 

images from: weddings by lilly // wedding bells // the smith family // sarah yates // Belle 

However... I'm not totally sold on this colour combination just yet... for some reason, I feel like something is missing (oh how indecisive I am). Don't get me wrong - I think these colours are beautiful together - but for me, it seems a little too "typical". I do like shabby chic elements to some extent, but when it's too much I feel like I'll drown in the girliness and end up fainting, teacup in hand, with my pinky in the air. 

So I suppose the quest for wedding colours continues. haha. In my mind, I'm envisioning a wedding that's still got that rustic, vintage feel but I also want to choose colours that are more bright, vivid, and "fun". I've always loved bold colours and maybe that's why I'm so indecisive! I should just have a RAINBOW wedding... (or not).

So, what do you think? Do you like this colour combination, or do you agree with me that it's too girly?! If you are already married, what were YOUR wedding colours? And even if you're not married, do you have any colour suggestions? Let me know!! =)

wedding post #1!

We're getting married!

So my fiance, who shall forever be referred to as Mr. Potatohead, had the brilliant idea that I should include some blog posts about our upcoming wedding next year featuring some of our ideas, decisions, and possible DIY wedding projects. Since a lot of the stuff will be craft-related, I thought it would fit the rest of my blog anyway.

Just to let you know though, I'm not one of those girls who has dreamed out every single detail of their wedding since they were young, so all you wedding-savvy people out there need to help me out! We'll do this together, okay? (please... help...) haha. Fortunately, I have great friends who know way more than I do about wedding planning... so I'm not totally helpless. Also, I've got this AMAZING wedding planning binder that my friend Angel put together for us (you can obviously tell she is a talented scrapbooker). So in theory, I've got all the tools and resources to keep me organized... in theory... 

By the way, our wedding colours aren't yellow + mint green + teal anymore. I think those colours would be perfect for an outdoor wedding but since both our venues are indoors, we decided to go with different colours. But Angel's wedding binder still shows the same vintage vibe we're going for. (I like birds, lace, and wood!)

Can you guess our current wedding colours? (If I've already told you, don't guess - that's cheating!). I'll give you a clue though - there's one cool shade and two warmer colours.

 Don't be lazy now. Leave a comment below with your best guess and I'll reveal the answer in the next wedding post!