Cute As A Button

Oh. My. God. You will not (I repeat, will not) be able to find cuter, more original caketoppers than these! One of my blog readers tipped me off on this AMAZING company, Nicole W Clark, and I am so happy that she did! Having spent the last hour perusing the website and envisioning myself & hubby as polymer clay mini-people, its safe to say that there are a lot of you out there who are going to find Nicole W Clark's work as amazing as I do.

Each of these fabulous little items is custom-made to you & your fiance's image based off of photographs and discussions. Your hair, your outfits, skin tone, flowers, pets (yes, pets!), and any other sort of items can be added to truly make YOUR cake-topper "one of a kind". Nicole's creativity absolutely astounded me as I was looking through her gallery ... she does an incredible, detailed job (and you know how big I am on details!)

The best part? You don't have one of those cheesy old-school cake toppers that gets tossed in a box after the wedding, never to be seen again. These cutie-patooties (I can't believe I just used that word) will not deteriorate, and as such, can be left out on display for all your houseguests, children, and grandchildren to see.

Nicole W Clark's company is based out of Ontario, but makes these cake toppers for clients all over the world (so getting it to Calgary should be no problem!).

*introductory price of $120 US*

all photos courtesy of Nicole W Clark's website

A Few Pics From The Calgary Wedding Fair

Close friends stopped by our booth at the Wedding Fair this past Sunday and took a few "in action" photos. Simply because it was such a great day and I want to relive it (hey, I'm allowed to do that!), I'm posting a few pics here for all to see. Enjoy!

Stop & Smell The Roses

One of my new favorite vendors is Stems Floral, located in south-west Calgary. For those of you who didn't see it, their display of flowers at the WeddingFair was absolutely stunning! Very cutting-edge and amazingly exquisite, with a healthy dose of bold & classic palettes ... I'm not what you would call a huge flower-fan (my only request from my wedding flowers was that they "generally match"), but I actually doubled-back so I could have a second look at everything showcased. Gorgeous!

A couture floral design gallery, Stems shows a keen eye for detail & design, and is most-definetely a fabulous company to explore!

Hmm ... Valentine's Day is coming up ... perhaps I'll drop a few well-aimed hints towards the

husband ...

*photos courtesy of Stems Floral website*

Thank You

A very big "thank you" to all the brides who stopped by our booth today at the Calgary Wedding Fair ... what a fabulous group of ladies you are! You all helped make our debut in the event a smashing success, and we'll only keep coming back for more!

I also spent a fair bit of time speaking with other vendors at the tradeshow, and have some great fresh ideas for things to post on this blog. However, I definetely need some "diva-time" (re: a hot bubble bath, and maybe a glass or two of pinot noir ... ), so please give me a day or two to get more ideas up!

'Til then, here's a pic of myself & our booth, about 10 minutes before the doors opened this morning.

*sigh* wasn't it a fun day? I wish I could do it all over again!

No Longer Just For The Famous ...

Are you saddened by the fact that some important people won't be able to attend your wedding due to distance? Perhaps you're having a destination wedding, or perhaps you simply have family far out-of-town?

While trolling the web recently (yes, I said trolling), I came across a great new concept to help solve this dilema. At Webcast My Wedding, they offer you the opportunity to do exactly that -- broadcast your wedding live on the internet! For the cost of $395 US, you get live stream that is able to support up to 25 simultaneous viewers (with more available), and a 30-day archive of the event. All you need is a video camera, a computer, and an internet connection.

I have to admit, my first reaction upon veiwing this website was "who on earth would actually pay for this?". However. A girl's allowed to change her mind, isn't she?

The more I think about it, the better an idea this becomes. I know from first-hand experience (my own wedding) that a destination wedding means fewer of those "important" people in attendence. Often, these people would love to be there, but for various reasons are unable to attend. Having live-streaming video means that, in a small way, they can still feel as though they witnessed the wedding.

I also know there are a lot of you out there who have family in different regions of Canada, or even in different countries, who won't be making it to your big day. How great would it be for them to see it actually unfold before them? Live?

Again, just a small idea on my internet forays. Hope it helps at least one of you out!

Are You Ready For Wedding Fair Season?

For anyone who has never been to a bridal fair before, let me paint a picture for you --- imagine thousands of brides-to-be, most travelling with an entourage of at least two other women, packed into a room that normally woud be considered vast and yet, somehow, has shrunk enough to leave a miniscule 4-inch-wide gap between you & the next person for the entire time you are there.

Sounds horrible? It isn't. Though chaotic at times, wedding fairs, when it comes down to it, are fun. As a bride-to-be, you will be treated like the princess you are the moment you set foot inside. Vendors will cater to your every (wedding) need; discounts will abound; and free tastings ... mmmm. Free tastings. Nothing to complain about there. Especially when it mainly consists of cupcakes, wedding cake, and chocolate. Can you say "Yum"?

Calgary has two large shows to speak of that are upcoming in the next few weeks. First up is Bridal Fantasy on January 14th at the Telus Convention Centre (tickets $15). This show has only been around for three years, but is steadily growing in size & scope. Though the list of vendors is smaller then the Calgary Wedding Fair , it is still a good bunch of companies to investigate, and if you are only able to attend this one, it will serve you well.

The granddaddy of the wedding fair scene in Calgary is, of course, the Calgary Wedding Fair on January 21 at the Roundup Centre (tickets $15). This show is huge. If you want the most bang-for-your-buck option, THIS is the one to attend. Boasting the most vendors and a great fashion show, the Calgary Wedding Fair is a fab production all-around. I *ahem* will also be making my wedding trade show debut at this fair, so please be sure to stop by booth #130 and say hello!

As someone who has attended three wedding fairs to date (two as bridemaids, one as a bride-to-be), my biggest tip would be to have your pertinent information (ie. name, address, phone number, and email address) printed out onto labels. This will not only save your hand from cramping-due-to-overuse on ballots, but will allow you to work through the room significantly faster. I whipped up about 30 of these babies before my foray as a bride last year, and had numerous other girls comment enviously that they wish they had thought of that (all the while rubbing their poor, sore wrists).

My only other tip? Have fun! This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and, even if you think you "have" everything, it will definetely provide you with food for thought.

Good luck!

Not Your Average Bridesmaid Tote

As part of their "bridesmaid gifts", a current trend for brides right now is to purchase cute little totes in which to package the rest of the gifts (or as gifts on their own).

Now, I love totes as much as the next person, but there are only so many a gal can have before it starts getting ridiculous. Right? Right?? Be honest!

So what to do?

Whilst out stretching my legs at a local indoor walking location (ok, ok ... I was power shopping at Southcentre Mall), I stumbled across these little beauties (pictured above, to the left, and bottom right) at Storageworks. Ta-dah!

"But Andra," you say "whats the big deal? Sure, they're funky little purses, but they're still just purses. Nothing too crazy there".

Au contraire, mes amis. To the casual observer, these are merely purses, but to those-in-the-know, they are actually amazingly fabulous lunch bags. Thats right, I said lunch bags. These little beauties are thermal, 100% spill-proof & wipeable LUNCH BAGS!

Can you tell I'm excited about these? What a unique-yet-totally-useable gift to give your girls! Who isn't sick of digging through countless plastic grocery bags in the office fridge, desperately trying to find their lunch? Who isn't sick of their old plain-jane reusable lunch bag? You can still fill them with other gifts like you would a tote, but at the end of the day these will definetely get used.

The best part? They're only going to put you out $15 - $20/bag. Can you say "what a deal?".

Available at Storageworks, at both their Southcentre and Crowfoot Village locations.