I'm Sharing Secrets I've Never Let Go Before

I love paper. I love invitations. I love being creative.

I don't, however, love pocketfolds. It my be because they use a lot of materials or because so many people want them. But one of my biggest pet peeves about this particular style is they're incredibly time consuming. That doesn't mean I won't do them at all (so you can still request them ;)) but to divulge a bit of a secret, if you want to watch your budget, ditch the pocketfolds. As a business owner I have to charge more for them and it's not because I'm making a huge profit ... it's because of the materials and, more importantly, the labour involved.

Since a great number of people still love these little gems, I came up with a bit of a compromise ... a 'Faux Pocketfold'. It gives the illusion of a pocket and still holds the inserts in place ... but it isn't a glued down piece of paper. That means less materials are required and I'm not sitting around for extra hours putting these together!

Included in this post are a few Faux Pockets I've done in the past.



As you can see, monograms aren't affected at all ... you're still able to do whatever you want on the front! When open, you can see the inside is the same as a regular invite as well. We're still able to do funky graphics, customize your fonts and even show off ribbon.





The fun aspect of this invitation design is how the inserts lay. Everything is still together in a neat package for your guests and you have a happy Stationeer in me because we've come up with a fun and affordable solution!




In all, these invites can save you upwards of 10%-15% of your bill ... just by rearranging your thinking a bit. Give us a shout at products@momentsthatshine.com to find out more!

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So I Got Somethin' New To See

Continuing with my invitations kick, I'm happy to show off these gems made for Michelle and Jay. They wanted something fresh and full of colour. After deciding on the graphic, we were off to the races!


Michelle's first instinct was to go for a pocketfold but after hearing me complain, she eased up on that one. Yes, I'm tired of pocketfolds. I suggested we work with a belly-band to achieve the same function for her inserts. On the flip side of the invitation are all of those important details ...


Their inserts rock, too ...


All-in-all, a fun invitation! A framed monogram, green belly-band, green envelopes and a concept, according to one of their guests, that is so them :)

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Maybe This Is All A Part Of My Flawed Design

I swear the song quoted above was simply on when I decided to type my post up ;)

I want to start showcasing a few of my invitation designs as they've been taking a back burner in some recent topics. The truth is, I've been incredibly busy with some of these orders as of late! As I always am, I was super happy when I received an inquiry about .: BloggerBride's invites :. from last year. I love this design because it's more enviro-friendly than most, it's hip and it lends itself well to making it your own.

Josephine sent me a note saying she wanted something that was a bit unconventional ... and she thought these would fit the bill. I couldn't agree more!


Very similar to BloggerBride's yet a completely different feel when you look at it. The dark brown and ivory give the invitation a wonderfully classic feel.




Complete with detachable RSVP, this is one of my absolute faves. I can't wait to get started on all of her other stationery needs!

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What to tell your florist about your bridesmaids

Continuing from our last post about the brides dress style and colour affecting the flower choice, today we present “the bridesmaids”.

The main thing your florist will want to know about the bridesmaids is what they are wearing and how many.

What they are wearing:
Bridesmaid’s dresses really are such an important part of the wedding colour scheme and theme. This is often where the main colourway is set for the entire wedding, not just the bouquets but the ceremony and the centerpieces too. We’ve been seeing many brides lately that aren’t choosing a colour for their girls, they are going with black. Black is a very strong “colour” but the wonderful thing is that it is also the perfect background for flowers, better even than white. In fact many florists paint the inside of their coolers black to show up the beautiful tones of the flowers! If you do choose to go with a colour, this can guide the florist toward using a certain palette. The bride that chooses bright fuchsia dresses is probably going to be open to some hot Mediterranean colours such as pink, orange, red for the bridesmaids. Softer toned dresses will probably look better with softer pastel tones of colour to avoid them looking washed out.

How many:
Having just two or three girls standing with you generally means you are going to do the same bouquet for each of them, but if you are having a larger bridal party you do have the option of mixing it up. If perhaps several could be categorized as junior bridesmaids for instance you could have them carry something different.
For instance, this would be the brides bouquet:

This would be the bridesmaids bouquets:

And this would be the "junior" bridesmaids:

You can also have each girl carry a variation of a bouquet for a more relaxed look (doing this when you only have a couple of bridesmaids can make it look like someone got forgotten until the last minute and had to take what you could get). More bridesmaids also means more of the budget is going here, so we often suggest to brides on a tighter budget that they go with something simple but effective- the repetition will add to the drama as well. For example you could do a bouquet of just three gerbera daisies for each girl. Here is a great example of this concept-
The bridal bouquet:

The bridesmaids bouquets:

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I'll Be In The Parkinglot Lighting Fireworks

Who knew?!

A recent conversation with the lovely .: Roseanne Dela Rosa :. of Wedding Bells helped me discover .: Moments That Shine :. was given an unexpected shout-out in the latest edition of the magazine!

Turn the page to check it out!

For those of you planning a less traditional wedding, consider turning to Moments That Shine (905-493-0909, momentsthatshine.com) for some assistance. This unique event planning company specializes in trendy events. "Clients have praised us for being detail-oriented and accommodating as well as consistently thinking outside the box," explains owner Susan Legare.

Short, sweet and totally splendid! Thanks Roseanne!!!

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Just before *the* big humanities conference of the year started here in Ottawa a week and a bit ago, I got the chance to meet up with Susan and spend the day doing, what else? wedding planning.


It was a fabu day that went by way too fast!


Susan has blogged about it already so I won't bore you by going over the same details. I should point out that I could have crammed more into the day, but I know I can be a bit overpowering at times, so I tried to just relax and let it all flow; something Susan has been coaching me on, for weddings of course, but I'm trying to make it flow into other aspects too. Susan was fantastic... even when I got us hopelessly lost in Carleton Place trying to find one of Ottawa's main dress stores, Sinders Bridal. I'll have to make sure that I know which way is south and which is north on our next dress hunting excursion. Susan? I Promise!

I'm so happy to have finally gotten to meet Susan in the flesh and I'm stoked about the wedding again thanks to deciding on the Chateau Laurier. It is nice to have the reception venue picked. As Susan mentioned, it doesn't tick four out of the five boxes I've have originally put on a search form.


Yes it's a huge hotel, smack dab in the centre of a big Canadian city. It doesn't offer an outdoor space for us for the ceremony. But it is a castle of sorts, and MM has a thing for castles (do all guys share that? they seem to). And with both of us being proudly Canadian, it certainly offers up dollops of patriotism and history. Heck it's right next door our nation's Parliament Buildings... you can't get much more historic than that!

So with that chosen, other things fell into place. We've booked Irina Photography for the wedding. You may remember them from our engagement shoot earlier this year. I've got my eye on a baker and a florist. Big things to find next? The ceremony spot and The Dress. Again, prospects for both, but all will have to wait while I meet MM in Europe for a few weeks for his army leave.



I'll try to take a few pics of us while I'm there and see if I can spot anything interesting on the ship that relates to weddings, marriages and couple bliss. The first few might be hard.. the last one should be easy. I will only have to look in the mirror!

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While I Was Dangling From The Chandelier I Thought The Little Looked So Big From Up Here

As mentioned earlier, late last week (actually one week ago ... time flies!), I headed up to Ottawa to meet this year's blog winner, Tarriell ... or is she last year's winner?! Through a series of circumstances her date was postponed so the planning hadn't kicked into full gear until now. And boy, did we ever accomplish a lot!

Our first stop was the Chateau Laurier. While not *really* wanting to get married in a hotel, T decided to check it out. And I could honestly see the excitement starting to creep in to her as she started to imagine the day being held there. The room for the reception is a great size (not too big or too small like many others) and an interesting shape!



A bonus with the Chateau? Apparently they distinguish the bride and groom by giving them throne-like chairs. I think T kind of enjoyed it ;)


Another great thing about the Chateau is the abundance of places to take photos. While my picture taking skills didn't turn out well (I was trying to be discreet), these will give Irina an idea or two.



Irina? Who's Irina? I'm happy to announce .: Irina Photography :. is now officially the photographer for T&T ... yayyy!

We weren't finished after the Chateau though. From there we went dress shopping. We ended up at a great little shop out of the way of everything (didn't get lost too many times on our way ;)). T will likely tell more about the dress she's looking for. All I'll say is they didn't have it. She did try on some that would be good back-ups though ... but you can't see the whole thing ;)


And from there we decided to go to a florist that T has had her eye on for months. They were actually getting ready for a wedding for the next day so it was perfect timing to see them in action. T is drawn to purple big time so you can only imagine how she loved this arrangement hanging from the wall ...


From there I was taken to a spectacular Italian restaurant where I ate far too much but it was totally worth it. T is a joy to get to know and I was thrilled to spend an entire day with her!!!

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Anniversary Song

Late last week I had the fortune of going on a quick business trip to Ottawa to meet a very special client, catch up with some friends and see a bit of Ontario through VIA Rail. The only problem is I was traveling in the dark at times which means there isn't a lot to look at ... so my iPod was a very good companion.

Get ready for a mushy post.

A song came on that I hadn't heard in a while and I was able to really listen to the lyrics. As soon as I did I went into la-la land thinking about my wonderful husband ... and after it was over I went into a silent rant wondering why no one uses this song at weddings. Possibly it's because not many have heard it ... so I present to you the lyrics and a sample :)

Anniversary Song

Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful
as that of the rain-soaked purple
of the white birch in spring?

Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful
than on a warm fall night
under a Mackerel sky,
the smell of grapes on the wind?

Well I have known all these things
and the joys that they can bring
And I'll share them all for a cup of coffee
and to wear your ring

Have you ever had the pleasure of watching
a quiet winter's snow slowly gathering
like simple moments adding up?

Have you ever satisfied a gut feeling
to follow a dry dirt road that's beckoning you
to the heart of a shimmering summer's day?

Well I have known all these things
and the joys that they can bring
And I'll share them all for a cup of coffee
and to wear your ring

And I don't know how I survived those days
before I held your hand
Well I never thought that I would be the one
to admit that the moon and the sun
shine so much more brighter when
seen through two pairs of eyes than
when seen through just one

Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful
as a face in a crowd of people
that lights up just for you?

Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful
as when you wake
by the side of that boy or girl

And now every morning there's a cup of coffee
and I wear your ring
who has pledged their love to you?

Well I have known all these things
and the joys that they can bring
And now every morning there's a cup of coffee
and I wear your ring

- Cowboy Junkies

To listen to a sample of the album version, you can find it .: here :. or at iTunes. To hear a concert version (Junkies at their best) listen to .: THIS ONE :.

Photo by http://www.jbsmithphotography.com

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Bright & Early For Their Daily Races

With the birds chirping all around me today, I thought I would look for some bird-inspired finds on Etsy. Soon into my search I found I was drawn to the items with peacocks so here's a full post with some of my faves!

Description and shop are below each photo.


How about this amazing cake topper by .: krishnasadhu :.?!


If you're looking for a wedding gift for a dear one, this mug by .: retrogalusa :. is a great find.


Sweet and simple tile necklace by .: LaMiaCasa :.


More jewellery! .: VeraVinn :. is bringing us something eco-friendly AND inexpensive!


Another fantastic idea for a wedding gift! .: marywibis :. is the talent behind these beautiful pieces.


Beautiful without the accent but spectacular with it! This clutch by .: ClutchThat :. is a steal!


Need to dress up the men in the wedding party? How about these ties by .: toybreaker :.?


Still with the gentlemen, this boutonniere by .: ekaminsk :. is earthy, dapper, understated ... a treasure for any man!


.: ekaminsk :. also helps you complete a matching set with these fantastic fascinators!

And my favourite this week ...


I'm a sucker for lockets. And this one by .: KiwiTreeBoutique :. does not disappoint. Everything is custom designed and simply stunning. My proverbial hat is off to you for creating such a beautiful piece!

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And I Want All The World To Know

Yesterday I stopped to grab mail and was instantly blown away. I received possibly the sweetest and most heartfelt thank you card from a client. I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with all of you.

"Susan,

Where do I start? "Thank-you" is simply not enough to express my gratitude for everything you did to ensure that our wedding was everything I dreamed of. I hired you for 'day-of' coordination but feel like you helped me plan & execute the entire event. From your vendor suggestions to calming words, to your quick email responses and amazing organization - everything you did made you such an important & absolutely integral part of our wedding. Every time I had an anxious feeling or a "what if ..." thought, I was able to calm myself down with the knowledge that you would know what to do and how to handle it.

You went above and beyond your promised services and for that I am so appreciative. Your services were by far the best money we spent towards the wedding. My bridesmaid is expecting a proposal any day now and I already told her that as soon as she sets the date she absolutely must retain you!

Thank-you for the candles - such a perfect example of how you set the bar high & jump even higher!

Thank-you x a million!

Autumn & Mat"


Believe me, it was an absolute honour, Autumn. I'm truly humbled by your kind words ... especially since you were such a dream to work with!

Stay tuned for more pictures of Autumn & Mat's beautiful occasion as they are edited :)

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What A Lovely Place

I received some of the best eco-tips ever from some of the best readers ever!

Jessica was lucky enough to win the recent contest but she also gave back with this awesome piece of advice:

“My eco tip: pour a handful of brown sugar into your palm, add just enough honey to mix well and use as a face scrub- way less chemical involvement than store bought and no extra packaging!”


She wasn’t the only one dishing though. In no particular order, here were some of my faves …

“My best eco-tip is to use reusable menstrual products. I love, love, love my diva cup and pretty soft cloth pads. Not only am I helping the earth by not tossing several blood-soaked piles of bleached cotton and plastic in the trash, but I am so much more in touch with myself as a woman. I am not gross or disgusting and my menstrual cycle is not gross or disgusting. It is part of who I am as a woman!


Cloth diapers are also a great idea for those with babies. Disposables are absolutely awful for the environment, and cloth (which has really been updated - there are dipes that look and function like disposables these days, you just don't throw them away!) is a great and frugal alternative!!”

“I have banned harsh chemicals from my house. I only use biodegradable safe products. The harshest thing in my house is melaleuca oil, which I use with vinegar to clean my floors. I use either Melaleuca brand products or orange cleaner. My motto is if it has a warning label on it I don't buy it. I also go through a lot of baking soda and vinegar. It works great for cleaning as well as orange extract cleaner which I buy in bulk and refill my bottles.”


And the following reader went above and beyond with her amazing list. I’m only going to post snippets at the moment but another day will definitely share all FIFTY-ONE tips with you!

• Lower your thermostat. Buy a programmable thermostat.

• Reuse your water bottle. Avoid buying bottled water. In fact, reuse everything at least once, especially plastics.

• Check out your bathroom. Use low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets.

• Start a compost in your back yard or on your rooftop.

• Buy foods locally. Check out Eat Local Challenge and FoodRoutes to get started. Buy locally made products and locally produced services.

• Buy in season.

• Recycle your newspapers.

• Consider a car sharing service like Zipcar.

• Go to your local library instead of buying new books.

• Get off junk mail lists.

• Buy products that use recyclable materials whenever possible.

• Landscape with native plants.

• Take your batteries to a recycling center.

• Do full loads of laundry and set the rinse cycle to “cold.”

• Recycle. If you’re not at home, take the extra steps, (literally), to find that recycling can.


• Reuse. Plastic food containers make good crayon and marker holders. Use padded envelops more than once. Buy your toddler or preschooler’s clothes from a thrift shop and give away those that don’t fit to friends. Goodwill or the Salvation Army can help.

• Limit the length of your showers. Even better, take a “navy shower,” shutting off the water while soaping up and shampooing.

• Recycle your technology. Dell, Hewlett Packard, Apple, and IBM, among others, offer recycling programs.

• Good to the last drop. Switch to fair trade coffee.


Thank you so much for contributing to this everyone ... I really am quite humbled at how everyone came together!

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You Must Be The One

The contest for a copy of Ecoholic by Adria Vasil is officially over!

Congratulations to ...

*drum roll* ..................

JESSICA MCEWEN!!!

Make sure you send me an address and I'll have it sent off to you asap :)

I'll be posting the wonderful tips given by you as soon as possible. My readers really are incredible!

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