And These Are The Moments

She's back!

Autumn_Bride is home from her fabulous honeymoon and we've gone over some pictures from the day ... now I would love to share them with you!



Considering she was married in mid-October, the weather completely blessed her that day. Not too hot, not too cold and blue skies. Here are some of my favourite shots ...

This was the stunning church after all the guests had left.

Here is Paul from Shooter 4 Hire giving some directions to the bridal party on how he wanted the shot set up ....

The reception was held at Boaden Catering in Mississauga. Here's a great room overview.

A close-up of the head table. All décor by Natasha of Occasions.

A guest table shot ...

And another table shot ...

Delectable cake!

The card box and photo guest book table.

Always thinking of her guests, Autumn_Bride put together fantastic bathroom baskets for both the mens' and ladies' rooms. I heard from her last night that the mens' room basket was completely used up ... who knew?!

The favours of choice were packages of four tealights ... all adorned with different leaf embellishments.

A serene first dance to "I Could Not Ask For More".

She's fantastic, strong, determined but man ... she can cry at the drop of a hat! ;)

At Boaden Catering, when a new course is ready for the head table, loud music comes on and the staff come out dancing and clapping as they serve them the food. It was a huge hit!

A DJ or a simple band wasn't enough for this pair. They *had* to hire their favourite local band, .: Orangeman :. to come out and entertain. Best decision they could have made, too. The dance floor was packed all night long!

The Bridal Party dance and introduction of Orangeman.

This couple had a LOT of fun with the garter retrieval and toss. They did a cute little number to "You Can Leave Your Hat On" that had the crowd loving it.

Orangeman was kind enough to learn a special song for the groom ... here is a (fuzzy) picture of his reaction to the surprise.

Didn't I say she was meant to model?

A Bride, an Orangeman and a Wedding Planner. Interesting combo.

One of my favourite bridal pictures ... Crystal, Autumn_Bride and Susan.

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I'm going to let her shine!

I just want to congratulate Autumn Bride. Hurray! You're a Mrs!
May your forever together be happy and healthy!So it's done? no more planning? no more stressing or dreaming about it, the big day happened! Woot! Congratulations to you and your new hubby.

As for my own stuff, well... it seems appropriate to just leave this post as a celebration of this honeymoon week for Autumn Bride. This is her time

My fiance and I are taking a bit of a break from wedding planning, after having made the tough decision to move the wedding date back (again!) to accomodate friends who are deploying overseas after MM gets back.

So I'm now a May 2010 bride.

I'm still going to be here though, no worries. I still love all things wedding and I'll be back in full force quite soon.

Hip Hip Hooray for brides, new and old, newly married and those like me dreaming and scheming about The Big Day in a somewhat distant future

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When I Get Home I Float Around My Whole Livingroom

Autumn_Bride is getting married tomorrow!!!!! After a year of planning, Kelly & Chris are about to say their I-Do's ...



Everyone at Moments That Shine wishes you both the most beautiful of days filled with memories that will make you smile until your faces hurt ;) We can't wait to be there tomorrow!!!

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What happened to that sweet girl?

Wow…. I guess anything is possible during a stressful time ;)

Yesterday, I officially became a bridezilla. I had to pull her out to get results, as I was being challenged by a vendor (well, 3 vendors to be exact) against what our contract/agreement was. I was a little embarrassed at first because I have prided myself on being a fairly easy-going, relaxed bride, but when people start nickel and diming me, or not following through with their agreement, quiet little Autumn Bride morphs into a red-eyed, fist pumping, adrenaline-induced ‘zilla.

You know what? It worked.

Certain people were quite stunned when I temporarily flipped from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde, but hey, a bride has to do what a bride has to do.



My fiancé actually ‘high-fived’ me for handling one of the situations the way I did, and for getting our vendor to ‘suck it up’ and agree that they in fact were in the wrong, and provide the service as was originally agreed upon in our contract.

Only 3 more days, then I can once again return to being the sweet little Autumn Bride... er... correction.... Autumn Wife.



Then next week I'll be lying on a beach, where my most difficult decision will be 'What do I want to drink next?' ;)

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I Gotta Be Me!

I was thinking today about what I should post about next and realized that one of the sad things about me starting this blog so late into my planning (let’s be honest, I started posting about a month before my wedding day!) is that you haven’t been able to read about my planning, my decisions and my purchases for the wedding, so I thought I would take the time to tell you about my wedding shoes.

*sigh*

Oh how I love my shoes…

Like most brides, once I found “the dress”, I began to hunt for all the little bits that go along with it. This being the veil, the headpiece/tiara, jewellery and of course, the most important accessory of them all – the shoes.

Now people, these aren’t just shoes. They are THE shoes. The shoes that you will wear as you take the first step into your new life as a wife. The shoes that you will be dancing in (hopefully, if you haven’t changed into flip flops!) with your husband for the first time. The shoes that all your friends and family will ooooh and aaaaah over as the ‘gem’ that made your outfit “perfect”.



So yeah, this is pretty huge.

I think I hit every shoe store in every mall in Mississauga. I looked on websites, scouring over bridal shoes and white shoes. Open-toed or closed toed. High heel, kitten heel, or ballet flats. Simple and sleek, or covered in bling. The options are endless!

I’m 5’10 and my fiancé is 6’1, and his only request for the wedding day is that he be taller than me. So that meant high heels were out.

Eventually I threw my hands in the air, out of frustration (Ha! No bride ever does that!) and voiced my concerns to my bridal party. Throw the word “Wedding” or “Bridal” in front of any product or service and you can pretty much guarantee that the price will increase by 25 – 50%. I just could not rationalize paying $100 (or more!) for a pair of white shoes that I will never wear again. I was told to look at satin dyeable shoes, but being completely honest with myself, I knew I would never wear satin shoes in the future.

I had continually toyed with the idea of wearing coloured shoes because a) I'm just not a white shoe person, b) they’ll be under my dress and honestly, how many people will be looking at my feet? And c) I’m being practical (which is who I am as a Virgo!) because I can wear them again! Besides, blue is my favourite colour! After much debate about tradition and my personal comfort, I finally decided “I gotta be me!” and went on the hunt for blue shoes.

Then, one day, as I was walking through Square One with my girlfriends, I came across the most perfect pairs of shoes I have ever laid my eyes on. I was drawn into the store by a magnetic force and saw them. Closed-toe, kitten heeled, blue leather. Not only would these be the perfect wedding shoes for me, but they would look so hot with a pair of jeans at a later date. After asking for a pair in my size, I slipped them on my feet and I was instantly in heaven. These were the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn, and they were absolutely stunning. I knew I had to have them, and within minutes I walked out of the store with my coveted Steve Maddens in hand.



I got home and began to panic ever so slightly because I remembered how traditional my fiancé is about our wedding. My girlfriends have told him over the last year that my wedding gown is blue (again, my favourite colour) and he jokingly pumps his fist at me, with a smile on his face, saying “It better be white.” So you could say I was a little worried about what he would say about my beautiful bright blue shoes. When he came home, I pulled them out to show him and the look on his face was priceless.

Him: “Wow. Those are really bright. You’re kidding about wearing them for the wedding, right?”

Me: “No.”

*pause*

Him: “Well, they’re definitely you.”

And that's how it was finalized that I would wear my beautiful bright blue, kitten heel Steve Maddens as I walk down the aisle.

Oh, and as an aside, my one girlfriends (after finding out that I would definitely be wearing my blue shoes at the wedding) said that while everybody else took pictures of my face as I walked down the aisle, she will be taking pictures of the little peeps of blue that will poke out under the hem of my dress. I can't wait!

Only 11 more days to go!

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You Don't Want To See Me Angry.....

I think there’s a huge misconception out there about what is defined as a bridezilla.

Most brides are afraid of being called a bridezilla, and the majority of people involved in a wedding are afraid that the bride will become one! As defined by www.dictionary.com, a bridezilla is “a bride-to-be who focuses so much on the event that she becomes difficult and obnoxious.” Now let’s break this down even further :)



Every bride out there will lose it at some point. Trust me on this. (At this point in time, I could probably be the poster child for this phenomenon.) But does make me, or any other bride for that matter, a bridezilla? I’d like to think not. Stress does funny things to you, but it doesn’t necessarily turn you into a monster. But a lot of people out there immediately categorize a stressed out or crying bride as a bridezilla. In fact, I believe a lot of people relish the idea of this and sit back, rubbing their hands together in glee, so they can gossip about the latest “incident” with the bride.

I’d like to break down hypothetical situations as that what I think is a stressed out (ie., normal) bride versus a bridezilla.

A bride who is crying because she realizes her bridesmaid has yet to alter her dress and it’s just a couple weeks to the wedding. Normal bride.

A bride who is yelling because her bridesmaid refuses to go exactly where SHE wants her to go to get her dress altered, months before the wedding. Bridezilla.

A bride who gives ideas of how she’d prefer her bridesmaids to wear their hair. Normal bride.

A bride who demands that her bridesmaids have their hair done THIS way, with THIS stylist, and refuses to pay for her demands. Bridezilla.

A bride who becomes frustrated with the constant change of a seating plan (hard work!) and vents to a friend or bridesmaid. Normal bride.

A bride to becomes frustrated with her seating plan and then demands that people will just have to “deal with” where their sitting, because she just “doesn’t care anymore” because it’s “her day”, not theirs. Bridezilla.

Starting to see a pattern here? Every bride (myself included) is going to stress out at some point, but that doesn’t mean that she’s turning into some green monster, rearing its ugly head, taking out everything (and everyone!) in its path. Although… that would make for a fun movie, wouldn’t it? ;)



So, my dear readers, I ask that you take pity on the poor brides-to-be out there. If you’ve gone through a wedding, you know how difficult it is for us and how stressful it is to organize everything, everyone, trying to make as many people happy as possible. If you haven’t experienced your own wedding, well, hopefully this entry will help you understand what we go through and how difficult it is to deal with the stress of planning a wedding.

Only 16 more days for me, then I can go back to being the quiet, lovely girl that I used to be :) (I hope!)

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I am slowly going crazy... 1, 2 ,3, 4, 5, 6, switch!

Last night was my first official night of minimal sleep, due to thinking about my upcoming wedding. Today marks 22 days from the “Big Day”! I kept tossing and turning, waking up, and having a difficult time falling back to sleep. When I was sleeping, I was dreaming about the wedding, but don’t ask me what I dreamt about, because I honestly cannot remember.

Every bride out there dreams about her wedding. Hmmm, let me rephrase that. Every bride out there dreams about what can go wrong with her wedding. Yes, that’s more accurate. And every bride out there can confirm that we call these dreams “Weddingmares”! I thought today I would share some of mine with you :)




Weddingmare #1
I’m at the church, fully dressed, waiting for the day to start. I realize that I am not wearing my veil and begin to panic because I don’t know where it is and the ceremony is about to start. I’m scrambling, running around, looking for someone (anyone!!) to help me, and no one is to be found. Then, I turn, and there’s my fiancé. I immediately begin to cry because a) I’m not wearing my veil, which was part of my attire and b) he saw me before the ceremony.

Weddingmare #2
The ceremony begins and everything is going as planned. Beautiful! My fiancé and I are at the foot of the alter, and our priest is saying the more beautiful words I’ve ever heard. Then, he pauses, looks behind us and I turn to see what he’s looking at. I see my future mother-in-law trying to quietly sneak out of the church. The priest questions her, and her reply was “Oh…. Well, Square One is having a side-walk sale today, and I don’t want to miss it!”

Weddingmare #3
I’m in a room before the ceremony and my dress is falling off. Literally. I’m standing there physically holding it up. In my dream, the dress was a corset back, and whoever did me up that morning, didn’t tie it up properly. Holding my ta-ta’s, I begin to run down the hall, looking for my matron of honour, or a bridesmaid to help me fix the error, but no one is to be found. The only person I could find was my young niece who has no idea what to do to fix it. I immediately start to cry. Then, suddenly, I’m surrounded by all the women in my life, who begin mocking me, calling me a “bridezilla” for crying over something so trivial.

I’m not the only one who suffers from these weddingmares. Oh no. In fact, my fiancé has had several himself. I’ll share two of them with you.

Fiancé Weddingmare #1 (in fact, this is a recurring one)
Fiance wakes up, it’s the morning of the wedding and he has not written his speech yet. He begins to panic. (NOTE: I’ve told him that this is his subconscious warning him to start writing his speech!!)

Fiancé Weddingmare #2 (this one made me laugh!)
We’re all at the church, and fiancé is waiting at the front, like all grooms do. The ceremony begins, but it’s turned into a Broadway musical, where the groomsmen are dancing with jazz hands, and the bridesmaids are sashaying down the aisle. Fiancé is looking around confused, not knowing what’s going on, and not sure what to do himself.

*sigh*

I keep reminding myself that we’re just 3 weeks away, then all the weddingmares will be over and we can begin to enjoy our lives (and hopefully a good night’s sleep!) as husband and wife!

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The Brain of a Bride-To-Be

Yesterday was my 30th birthday, and I have to admit, it was probably my best yet! It was a smaller celebration than usual, but much more meaningful. If you’re keen on your astrology knowledge, you’d realize that I’m a Virgo, which brings me to the topic of today’s post.

I’m a Virgo, through and through. Just to give you an idea, let’s analyze the traits of a Virgo.



The Pro’s
Modest and shy
Meticulous and reliable
Practical and diligent
Intelligent and analytical

The Con’s
Fussy and a worrier
Overcritical and harsh
Perfectionist and conservative

I pride myself on my perfectionist ways, my organized planning and even though it’s not a very nice word, I openly admit that I’m quite anal when it comes to planning and details. I also have an unbelievable memory that all my girlfriends envy, and my fiancé fears. Heh ;) I can recite, word for word, conversations that I’ve had with people, I can tell you what you were wearing the first time I’ve met you, and I can give you teeny tiny minute details to events that have happened in the past. So yes, it’s something my fiancé fears.

As a bride-to-be however, some external force takes over your body and even the most anal Virgo (*ahem*, me) loses some of her abilities. This, my friends, is what brides-to-be affectionately refer to as “Wedding Brain”. And I, unfortunately, am suffering from it.

I’ve forgotten to hand in my invoices at work (which is huge because without it, I don’t get paid!), I have the same 2 envelopes sitting by my front door to be mailed (for about 2 weeks now!), I’ve borrowed a friends book and have finished it but continually forget to bring it back to her, I keep telling my friend the same story over and over because I cannot remember that I’ve already told her (how embarrassing!) and I cannot count the number of times I’ve turned to someone and said “Shoot… I was going to tell you something but I completely forget what I was going to say!”

Needless to say, given my normally infallible memory, my friends are all testing my forehead for fever while asking “What’s wrong with you?!”

I always said that I wouldn’t be one of those brides that continually talks about her wedding, or who vacates all other areas of her life to focus on her wedding, but I have to be 100% honest with you…. It’s truly difficult to prevent this from happening when something so huge consumes your life. I’m just one of those lucky girls who has lovingly patient friends who smile and pat me on the head while I stare blankly at them because I’ve forgotten something else.

Hmmm… maybe this is why us brides have bridesmaids? So they can be our brains during our planning process ;)

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Time in a Bottle

Does anyone have one for sale, or could someone perhaps point me in the direction of where I could purchase a bottle for myself?



Honestly, when did life get so busy? I remember summer vacation feeling like “forever” as a child. Those 2 months off from school were endless, but now it seems like a tease more than anything else. I’m sure that growing up we all thought that things would become easier as we got older, but we all have to face the harsh reality that life, in fact, becomes more complicated as we age. Throw wedding planning into the mix and you may as well wave ‘sayonara’ to your social life until you become a Mrs. I actually had a situation come up where my fiancé and I were trying to find time to get together with a girlfriend of mine and her husband and we were looking nearly 2 months ahead because of our commitments.

No, we’re not that popular. We’re just that busy.

Looking at my wedding guide, I have a very busy 5 weeks ahead of me (eek, I actually felt a tummy flip-flop at the “5 weeks” comment!) Confirming vendors, chasing down last minute AWOL RSVPs (that’s another rant all on it’s own!), dress fittings (more for my bridal party than for me), coordinating our bridal party and families, and well, finding time to take care of myself (if time allows!) Saddest part of it all? It’s my 30th birthday next weekend and I’m not sure I’ll have time to celebrate!

Hmmm.... I just had a thought. For my birthday, maybe I could ask for “Time in a Bottle” as my gift! I’m sure I could find a few people who love me enough to chip in together!

I need to learn to shut my mind off this late at night. Or perhaps just skip that extra cup of coffee after dinner ;)

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The Morning After....

Or well, in this case, 2 mornings after.



Like most brides, I’ve decided to join a local boot camp to whip my body in shape for the “big day”. Seeing that my wedding is just over a month away, I’ll admit, I’m pushing myself just a little bit further than I normally would. I’m lucky in the sense that my dress will hide a lot, however the bikini I’ll be wearing the week after is not as forgiving.

Have you ever heard your muscles scream? I rolled over this morning (well, truth be told, I tried to roll over this morning) and heard a yelp. I swear it was my glutes and quads screaming in protest, but quickly realized that the yelp came from my mouth. I quickly slapped my hand over my mouth and looked at my fiancé to make sure I didn’t wake him up, and made a mental note to curse my boot camp instructor after dealing with my “rolling over” issue.

For the first time in 2 years, I was thankful for having a platform bed. Normally I loathe the thing, because I have a habit of either stubbing my toe or banging my shin into the base, but this morning it was a blessing. I think I actually heard the angels sing! I managed to grab the headboard with my left hand, and the platform edging with my right, and slowly but surely rock myself onto my left side, with minimal discomfort, settling myself to lazily doze off once again.

And of course, once in my desired position, the alarm went off to start my day. Damn that Murphy and his laws!

So now, I'm sitting on my couch, laptop in reach, blogging about my aches and pains. But on October 18th, when I slip my dress onto my recently boot camped body, I wouldn't have it any other way.

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All These Beautiful Girls

Thanks for the hello, Tarriell!

More guest authors to introduce today ... can't wait to spice up the surroundings with these two lovely additions. I'm very happy to welcome Vivian and Autumn_Bride to the team :)


Vivian is the owner of .: Vivian's Decorations and Designs :. and as of late August, I can tell you she's an absolute pleasure to work with. I'm not sure that I've worked with another vendor as down-to-earth as she is ... and her smile is infectious! We'll be looking to her for advice, tips and stories on how best to decorate decorate decorate!


I would also like to introduce a new friend who feels like and old one ... Autumn_Bride. She's going to be exchanging vows in just a couple short months so I'm sure she'll have plenty to share with us :) I won't say much more than that as I'm pretty sure she wants to get right into stories. Bring it on, Autumn_Bride!

Looking forward to more musings ...

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