All the Boys in the House...

I just realized that I haven't formally introduced you to the gents who will be standing next to Aaron on our big day!

They are all wonderful guys, and I'm so happy that each of them have agreed to be part of our wedding party!!!

Now, without further adieu:

Mike - Best Man
Mike & Aaron met when they were teenagers and bonded over their dorky ways, including discussing who would win between Batman and Superman, their love of video games, and their mutually crazy families! :) Mike and his now wife (newlyweds!) just had the most beautiful baby girl named Anna who has her daddy wrapped around her little finger already! Mike is like a cartoon character - full of charm and witty retorts to all of Aaron's jokes!

Cliff - Groomsman

Cliff and Aaron met in a roundabout kinda way... Aaron was dating a girl who was roommates with Cliff's girlfriend. Aaron and this girl eventually broke up, but remained friends with Cliff afterwards. Cliff has since married said girlfriend and had 2 adorable little boys with her, once of which is lucky enough to have Aaron as a godfather! :) Stacey and Cliff are the couple that Aaron looks up to because they fully support each other and have been great friends to Aaron through thick and thin!

Matt - Groomsman

Matt is Aaron's younger brother! They are only 16 months apart, but couldn't be more different! Matt was the cool kid with the mohawk or dreadlocks who played drums and got all the girls. Aaron was "Matt's brother" in high school, and he was okay with that. Matt is a funny, charasmatic guy with a lot of character and a lot of love to give, and is always very happy for Aaron and I no matter what we're doing! I can't wait to have him as a brother-in-law!

Tory - Groomsman

And then there's Tory... MY brother! I could go on and on and on about how much I love this guy! When we were kids, I was very protective of him, and never grew out of that. He's a wonderful human being. He loves people with all of his being... his family, his friends, his girlfriend Cindy (pictured below). He has a passion for cooking and hockey and adventures! He's much more like my mom than I am as well - laid-back, go-with-the-flow, and spontaneous! He makes me proud every day, and I tear up thinking about him sometimes (like right now) because we almost lost him in 2006 due to a terrible motorcycle accident he had while traveling through Thailand. He has plenty of scars from it, but at least he pulled through. In 2008 he went to Alberta to find work as an electrician, and we all worried about him being away again. But the evening of my 29th birthday party, he showed up at my doorstep as a surprise. I've never been so excited to see someone before! I love him with every ounce of my heart... I only have one brother, and I'm glad it's him. As a bonus, though, he and Aaron have acted like brothers almost from day one, and they even go to the movies without me! :)

Anyways, that's them, the guys that make up Aaron's wedding party. They are all very different, unique, caring guys that love Aaron and we're so excited to not only have them for the day, but to have them all in our lives!

Tying It Together...

I knew that I wanted to get the dads ties as part of their gifts, so when I saw a deal from Wagjag.com come through my inbox for half off a purchase at ties.com, I bought it without hesitation! This morning I placed my order for 2 Kelly Green Ties (although it's not quite our color, it's the closest I'll probably be able to find) for the dads, a matching little one for our ring bearer Rylan, and the Silver and Green plaid one for our MC, Dimitri.

I haven't introduced you to Dimitri yet, but I will in a later post! I promise... cross my heart! He's one of the best guys I know, so single ladies, keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming post!

The Momma Dilemma

I was recently reading a blog on my favorite wedding blog, WeddingBee, and Miss. Mink spoke very honestly and openly about her disappointments regarding the involvement of her mother in the wedding-planning process, but how she had come to terms with it and was going to enjoy having her mother as a valued and important guest.

I've had a few small hiccups myself with my mom along the way, but all in all, I've been so happy with the participation she's had so far!

My mom and I have always been very close, and I've always had her be involved in a lot of my important life choices. However, we are very different people. I'm much more like my dad - strong-headed, opinionated, vocal, and determined. My mom is much more laid-back, a home-body, and reserved in a way. But at the same time, I was also lucky enough to get both of my parents work ethic and creative mind.

Spending time with my mom has been wonderful! She's come with me to my dress appointments, shopped for hours in Michael's with me, fought off eager brides at the wedding fair, and helped me with many projects. However, it hasn't been all roses and rainbows! Our different personalities have clashed, we've hurt each others feelings (although NEVER on purpose), and we've had differing opinions on some of the projects I've taken on. But as we go through this very special journey together, we've grown closer. And perhaps more importantly, she's grown closer to my fiance.

At the end of the day, I'm so lucky to have a mom that wants to be involved, makes every effort to be a support system for me, and always has my back in the end! Love you Mamma Deb!

Hey Mr. DJ...

Our DJ choices are limited because we had such a small budget. I didn't want to spend $1000 on music, but knew that music sets the tone of a wedding, and I wanted a kick-butt party! So we discussed our options, and had a few people in mind.

We hummed and hawed and hummed some more. We had 2 or 3 friends that could do it, but one of them was the husband of a friend I've worked with for 12 years, and we wanted him to be a part of the wedding, not working it. Another one works with Aaron, and his personality didn't seem to be one that would entice people to boogey. But when a good friend reminded me about his friend that I've seen dj a few times, I put Aaron in charge of interviewing him.

They chatted yesterday on the phone, and it turns out that Jarod's full time job is creating playlists for multiple restaurants and businesses, so he's really the perfect person to give us the best ambiance and party that we could ask for.

We'll be meeting with him in a few weeks to discuss our vision and sign a contract, but I have no doubts about whether or not he's the right choice for us! He's $150 more than we budgeted for, but still less than most professional djs charge in the wedding industry!

So Hey Mr. DJ, play that song! Whoop whoop!

Showered with Choices...

I'm a dress-hoarder! It's official! I love dresses, and I'm known for my wonderful selection of dresses. It's become a bit of an issue in the last 3 years, and I continue to add to the dress section of my closet. Aaron just shakes his head when I come home with a new one, but at the same time, the first piece of clothing he bought me (which was just this Christmas) was a dress!

Anyways, I found this dress on ModCloth and thought that it would be the perfect Bridal Shower dress because it will be the fall which matches the dark colors of the dress, and I love all clothing that is pretty and retro!


I thought of pairing it with some cute chunky silver jewellery and a flower in my hair, with maybe some wedge sandals.

What do you think?

The Cost to Cover...

As much as I love our venue, their chairs leave something to be desired. It was probably the first thing that I noticed when I walked in. Is it because I'm a bride to be, and notice everything when it doesn't suit my vision? Is it because I'm a detail-oriented gal who focuses in on the small minute touches in a space? Or is it because they are glaringly in-your-face chairs that can't be camouflaged in any way, other than with a cover. Their chairs are not only old (but in good condition), but they are black with a strange grey and purple fabric pattern. It doesn't match our "Whistler Chic" teal and apple color scheme... at all, even a little bit!

So as much as I didn't want to, I began researching chair cover companies last January. Yes, I realize that I was way ahead of the game, but when you're on a tight budget and have a 2 year engagement, a girl has to do her research!

Out of the three or four companies that were recommended to us by the DAC, I found one company that had the color selection that we were looking for at a great deal! However, after our 365 day mark passed, I found that when I was trying to make an appointment with them, they were impossible to deal with. So I moved on.

The next company I was dealing with was wonderful, and I had high hopes. However, their price was more than double what our original company quoted, so my fingers had some more work to do! I have some emails out to people to quote on our covers, but I'm just so amazed when a quote arrives in my inbox priced out at over $5.00 per chair PLUS set up fees! I should really just buy some and rent them myself to people - I'd make a killing!

Anyways, is this price normal for a cover and sash?

My mom questioned whether it was worth our money to rent them... well, if you take a look at the chairs at the DAC, you can see that there's no getting around it when they could look like this photo... classic, chic, uniform, and beautiful! I have given up many details of the wedding due to budget restraints, but this is one area where I just can't force myself to budge, even though Aaron can't quite wrap his head around my obsession with all things covers and sashes!

January is "Chilly" Chile Month...

So this is our modest opinions of the wines that we tasted:

Cono Sur - Gewurtzraminer

Tara: "It was fruity and crisp and easy to drink. I would buy it again, although it's not the best one I've tried. Weirdly, it tasted even better the second day."

Dona Dominga - Cabernet Sauvignon

Aaron: "Very smooth with little bite to it. It didn't go well with my steak, but it was a nice sipping wine. I doubt that I'd buy it again though."