Des Fleurs SVP...

I've always had a passion for flowers. I've never taken a course or anything but I love making flower arrangements (unfortunately for me, I haven't had the chance to practice with real blooms only the fake plastic-y ones) I wanted to make my own fresh flowers bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres for the wedding. I even purchased The Martha Stewart Wedding Collection - Martha's Complete Weddings to prepare myself. (Well it was just an excuse to buy it. I wanted it, wedding or no wedding. I'm a Martha freak and I'm not ashamed to say it. :)

When I announce to my family that I wanted to do my own flowers, they all looked at me as if I were nuts. They honestly thought I had fallen on my head or something. Why is that? A girl can't do DIYs ??? I'm sure I won't be as stressed as much as everyone else is saying I will be... then again, you never know.

My step mom sat down with me to have "the talk". Basically she does not want me to do my own flowers (not in a mean way- she is simply concerned) So being a good girl, I've been visiting florists left and right to compare prices and see if it really is worth it to make my own bouquets. Of course its worth it, I mean its 110% certain... there are so many factors to consider; flowers delivery, quality of the flowers, etc. This experience can be a beautful one but on the other side of the spectrum could result in a horror story. I don't want my wedding to be a horror story... so I'm going to hiring someone. Poor florist. They have no idea how I can be when it comes to wedding details

Will you be doing your own flowers? Like me, did you have someone talk you out of it? If so, was it a blessing in disguise?

(FYI - April is here and I haven't hired my florist yet. I'm getting married in June. I'm not stressed, not stressed at all, I'm only getting married in 85 days! Oh my)

I want a Comb, over there....

The time has come to really but I mean really figure out what I want to do with my hair. My appointment for my hair trial is next weekend and I have no idea what I want because I like so many styles. I am still debating on which type of hairstyle I should go for the wedding, though to be honest the vintage part is slightly winning the race.

Though in the vintage type hairstyles, some are not comb friendly, and that is something I must take into consideration. Yup, I purchased a beautiful hair comb which I guess in the heats of planning and blogging, slipped through my fingers and was forgotten. Here is my beautiful hair comb... purchased on ebay and was a mere 6$ shipping included. What a bargain!

Another thing I must consider is that I will have a veil. Okay... its a classic, but because I want a bun-ish type of hair-do, it limits the veil placement options. I tried wearing it under the bun (which personally I love) but it really doesn't suit me. So I need to wear it not on the top of my head, but more in the middle. (Please see illustration)


So now, I have continued my search for hair styles... I feel like I'm all over the place. I only have one chance at this cuz I'm only having one hair trial. Ok, sure if the results are really horrible, I will go for trial #2 but I'm trying to avoid it.

So here are some more hairstyles. I'm going for the vintage-y, bun type, place comb over there & leave room for the veil kind of style.


Which style do you like? Because I can't seem to make a decision. I like option # 3, I think its good for the veil and the comb. Just the vintage-y part us missing. I wondering if waves like in picture 12 would work. It might be too much. What do you think?

Ah! this is so frustrating. How I hate being indecisive!!!

Image Sources:
1, 2, 4, 6, 8: Brides.com - 3, 5 : Instyleweddings.com - 7: Unfortunately I don't remember the source - 9, 10, 11, 12 : People.com

Favors: Ribbon Please

After the over heated discussion about giving donations as favors, we finally figured out what we were going to do. Mr.Flamingo and I want to give donations as favors because it is something we truly believe in and like many of yous mentioned - it is our wedding. I still felt a bit odd giving donations only so we agreed that the donations will be accompanied by a gift (part 2 of the favors - to come shortly.)

Every Wednesday night, I go to Daddy Flamingos for supper and we spend quality time as a family (my sisters included) Isn't it great, that my sisters are my bridesmaids.... its that much more easy to impose some DIY. And thats just what i did. Clever - Miss Flamingo Clever.

Presentation wise I thought it would be neat to make Breast Cancer ribbons. So that we can attach it to the favor. But no classic satin ribbon.... we went all out and we went ahead and beaded some fabulous charms. (About 2.5 inches in height)

Eldest sister flamingo:
Task - To cut the wire to the desired length.

Me - aka Miss Flamingo:
Task - To loop wire at one end to make sure the beads stay in place.

Other 2 sister flamingos:
Task - To bead the wires (make 100 of them)



Me again:
Task - To loop the other end of the wire. And create the ribbon shape.

After all this trouble, I was wondering if the guest would simply disregarding our beautiful charms and throw them in the trash. What do you think? If you received a charm like this, would you reuse it for something else, or simply say buh-bye to our fabulous craftmanship???

Sash Bling - cuz the sash deserves it!!!

I started planning my wedding almost 2 years in advance, so it's only normal that I started buying stuff in advance. I pretty much have all my accessories down. It's too bad because last year I started making jewelry but I had already purchase my bridal jewelry. Oh well.

Every one asks me "Did you make your own necklace" then I say "No", "How come" then I have to explain. This happens every time. I love my jewelry, but if I wouldn't of been so early in my planning process I would of made it myself. Whats done is done. So instead I will make my bridal party their necklaces.

One accessory that I haven't purchased yet is my brooch. I wanted to tie my sash with a bling bling brooch but haven't found anything I liked. Then it hit me. Why not make my brooch. That is exactly what I did. So ladies... here is my DIY brooch. (with step by step instructions)

List of materials:
Cooper Wire (color of your choice)
Swarvoski beads (Small, Medium and one large piece)
Cutters
Pin (for backing of the brooch)
Round nose pliers (optional)




I purchased medium and small cone shaped swarvoski crystals in both greyish-taupe and clear color. I also purchased a galatic form which will be the center of the brooch.


Step 1:I prepared all my materials to be sure not to miss anything. Its really annoying when you have to go back and get something, or if you don't calculate your stuff correctly and you need to go back to the store.


Step 2: Using the copper wire, start making a base to your brooch. Its quite simple, simply pretend you are sewing. Make circular shapes and intertwine the wire in certain places as to ensure it is steady.

You should stop when you have a shape you like. It needs to be quite steady otherwise the weight of your stones might cause the brooch to bend. You should get something similar to the picture above.

Step 3: Now its time to incorporate the swarvoski beads. You do the same thing as when you were creating the nesting of the brooch. Simple loop and intertwine the wire but at the same time add beads to create a pretty shape.


Keep going until you have gone completely around the whole brooch. Verify that certain areas don't have huge gaps. No worries, this is error proof. If you are missing beads, simply go back and add more. Its a s simple as that.

Step 4: Now its time to add the back pin to the brooch. Using wire, simply "sew" it to the brooch using the base of the brooch. Go around several time to ensure it stays in place.

Voila! The brooch is done. Here is the final product. I must say I'm quite happy with it. Whats great is that if ever after the wedding, I don't want to keep it (I don't know why I wouldn't - but you never know) I can undo it and use the stone for a matching necklace and earring set. Recycle-cyle :)

Price breakdown:
Galactic Swarvoski stone = 6.75$
Medium sized Swarvoski stones : 4.90$ / dozen
Small sized Swarvoski stones : 1.85$ for 6
Cooper wire: 5.75$ huge roll (which I already had - for my other DIY projects)
Pin : 1.00$
-----------------
Total cost: 20.25 (in reality its about 18$)
Don't forget these are genuine Swarvoski Crystals. Its worth at least 60$

What do you think??? Is my brooch sash worthy?

Giving Hope well trying at least

I like to consider myself being someone who gives. Giving, in the sense that I try to volunteer when I can for events that are important to me I and donate to charities in which I truly believe in. I think we can all make a difference.

Breast Cancer awareness is something I truly care about. It only makes sense because six years ago, my grandmother passed away from the disease. Luckily though, my mom was more fortunate. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37 and this year will mark her 10th year of remission. She is a proud survivor and I am happy to share it with the world.

In honor of my mom and in memory of my grandmother, I want to incorporate pink elements in my wedding which will highlight breast cancer. When I told my mom this, she started crying. She was so touched and I was happy because I love my mom so much.

The bridesmaids will have beautiful pink bouquets filled with roses and ranunculus. My flower girls basket will have pink and ivory ribbons on it. The favors will be part gift part donation to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. (more to come on that) I was even thinking of making pink ribbons for the guests. But I'm still not sure about this idea.

You Americans have Brides Against Breast Cancer. I think this is such a great cause, but unfortunately we dont have this in Canada (well I don't think so) So I am still searching for more ideas.

Any suggestions of what else I can do to highlight breast cancer? Will you be highlighting a charity for your wedding?

Honesty Time

I've mentioned before that Mr.Flamingo and I have a very honest relationship and I love that. Before we started officially going out (FYI - Mr.F had been asking my out on a date for over 8 months) he composed a song for me. He wrote the song because I wasn't certain if I liked Mr.Flamingo enough to date him. I guess he was trying to win me over... well it worked.

Every Thursday (don't ask me why we chose that day) but we would have a session of Honesty Time. Basically it was a time allotted to talk about everything throughout the week and the rule was we needed to be 110% honest. It wasn't pretty all the time, but because we did this we can be completely honest with each other and I find it is the recipe to a great relationship.

Mr.Flamingo composed the tune and the lyrics. He originally wrote it in French and a good friend translated it in English (because he knew I was English and I guess he wanted to impress me). He is the one singing and playing guitar. Please remember (Mr.F is french and doesn't speak English very well.)

Honesty Time
written and composed by Mr.Flamingo
Silent screams run through my head
Invisible tear drown in my face
I want to escape with you
Its such a mystery how things
May come together in this life
and we always wonder why

And then you came in my world
You give the best out of me
I couldn't ask for more you see
I don't need to search anymore

Chorus
Like a shadow in the rain
I disappear when the light fades away
Like a ghost you want to leave
I keep on coming back to you
I'll give away my soul for you
Until the day your love is true
Honesty Time

Your voice whispers to me and said
I get so lonely when you go away
Just stay a little while
The smell of your skin, is like a paradise breeze
The touch of your lips delight my day
I can't believe your here with me

And then you came in my world
You give the best out of me
I couldn't ask for more you see
I don't need to search anymore

Chorus (2x)
Like a shadow in the rain
I disappear when the light fades away
Like a ghost you want to leave
I keep on coming back to you
I'll give away my soul for you
Until the day your love is true
Honesty Time

Its a given that when I heard the song tears were falling down my face. No one has ever written me a song before and this one was so beautiful. I don't know if Mr.F is planning on composing another one for the wedding. I would love that as a wedding gift (wink wink)

Have you ever gotten a song written just for you? Was it good?

I'm NOT a real bride

The statement is pretty self explanatory. Okay, I AM getting married, but as I reading about everybody else's planning process I've realized that I'm not doing a lot of what you brides-to-be are doing. I know there is nothing wrong with being different... but I'm starting to wonder... am I missing out???

So here's a list of my multiple unbride-ish things

Asking the bridal party: Everyone did these cutesy cards or something extra special to ask their bridesmaids to be bridesmaids. I did none of that. It was practically a 'wanna be my bridesmaid? yes, well good' end of story. Already my bridal party think I'm nuts doing all these DIY things imagine if I gave them a pop up card or something like that. lol

Engagement photo session: Before I started reading weddingbee... I didn't even know people did this. I find it really neat especially if you are hiring the same photographer for your wedding - gives you an idea on how they work. But nope, we didn't do this. More money for something else...

Save-the-dates: I went ahead and made electronic versions of a STD but I really don't think it was worth it for me. I won't have guests coming from far (exception for my good friend from Toronto) so it wasn't really necessary. Also I didn't do it all the way (meaning I didn't have everyones email address) so come think of it... there was really no point.

Engagement party: This is something very popular with italian weddings... I mean its almost as big as the wedding itself, but I didn't feel there was a need. So we didn't have a party, a supper or get together. They're just gonna all meet at the wedding. Hope that goes well.

Registry: It's very simple. We won't have one. I know - I can see all your faces and your head nodding, but its something Mr.Flamingo and I have decided and its one thing we will stick to. We've been together for 4.5 years and have been living together since 4 so we have everything. (Exception a BBQ - which we will most probably get anyway) Why make a registry then? I rather have monetary gifts to pay for our future home.

So what un-brideish thing are you doing or should I say, not doing?

It fits... really!

Mr.Flamingo has always been honest. That is something I truley love about him, because when I go ahead and ask him a question, he doesn't need to sugar coat it. He is very respectful and I love him for that, though sometime he says things that need to be filtered. (but no one is perfect - right? )

Before we started "changing our eating habits" Mr.Flamingo said something to me. Something that made me sad. To put you in the context of the story... here's a background on the whole situtation.

I purchased my wedding dress early. Exactly, 1 year and 3 months before my wedding. I fell in love with it and needed to buy it. Of course when I purchased it I was at about 175 lbs, and I unfortunately gained some weight afterwards. Nothing alarming and I knew I would still fit in my dress... so the first thing I did when I received my dress (In July 2007) I went to try it on, just to confirm. (And it fit - hurray)

Months passed and a week before it was time to go pick up my dress Mr.F said "Are you sure you still fit in your dress???" I mean, I know his intentions weren't to hurt my feelings but still, this comment made me sad. I told him how I felt and he was extremely sorry. I forgive you... just don't do it again =)

Me in my dress with my sash --- Don't I look so happy - It fits! See

Have you ever gotten a comment by your fiancé or husband that hurt your feelings?

I'm late! I'm late

This weekend I was working on the final details of my invites before I send them out to print... Then it dawned on me. What time do I put on the invitation?

The oh-so late white rabbit from Alice in wonderland
Image courtesy of Allposters.com

I mean you think its a simple question but honestly - do you put the time the ceremony is scheduled to start or do you give a 15 minute time difference to ensure everyone will arrive on time?

I don't want people to arrive after the ceremony started (though I know some of my guests will be late no matter the time I put on the invitation.)

What time did you put? The right one or a time slightly earlier?

Everything is under control

After my panic attack about the whole bridesmaid dress issue, I would like to reassure everyone, that everything worked out fine. Phew!!! I really was stressing that whole weekend before our dress shopping day. I mean I had every single negative thought go through my head.

We started off by going to eat breakfast together as a family. This included my sisters (all three of them) and my step-mother. My MOH (cousin) wasn't able to make it, but that wasn't really an issue, since she a size 0 and everything seems to look good on her. We arrived at Bridalane (same place where I bought my wedding dress) to model away...

Here are some dresses my sisters tried on - (that we didn't choose)

Green tea
Simple and cute but not my favorite

The Flamingo dress
well the color is very flamingo-ish

The Gone with the wind styleI mean watch out if its windy - shes bound to fly away

The Gothic Cinderella We loved this dress but it was too much in competition
with my own dress so we abandoned the idea.

Then, after trying on practically every dress available, the salesperson (a guy) that was with us suggested a dress. I mean looking at it on the hanger I was like "No way! This looks horrible" but we had nothing to lose and my sister tried it on. She came out and I was impressed. It was so elegant and glamorous, we had to go with that one. Everyone agreed and so we purchased the dresses. Though they were a good 225$ each, its basically the price to pay when your last minute like that.

Alright heres the final choice:

Front (obviously)

Bottom (we will add a layer of the stone color found in my sash )

Back (it has a mini-train)

Hopefully the dresses will come in before the June 1st mark. Otherwise that will be another stress I really don't need to have. So what do you think? Is it a good choice ? (please note, even if you say no - its too late. lol)

Finally .... Emotionally unstable

I've always been a fan of Stacy Ann Ferguson. Even when she came out with her first album back in the 90s (she was part an all girl group called : Wild Orchid - FYI - shes the blond bomb shell) You're probably wondering who the heck I'm talking about - you all know her by the name of Fergie.

When I purchased her album - The Dutchess, apart from loving all the tunes I particularly fell in love with her last track entitled Finally (featuring John Legend). The words were simply beautiful and I envisioned having this tune play during my preparation the day of my wedding. Last week, the song played on the radio while I was on my way to work... and I started crying. Its the first time really that I start crying of joy for something wedding related. It was kinda weird. (If this is a preview of the actual wedding day ... someone crazy glue a kleenex box to my hand)

She preformed a preview of this song at the Grammys. It gives me shivers everytime I hear it. You can hear the album version here.

Here are the lyrics:

Ever since I was a baby girl I had a dream
Cinderella theme, crazy as it seems
Always knew that deep inside
That there would come that day. But I would have to wait
Make so many mistakes
I couldn't comprehend as I watched it unfold
This classic story told
I left it in the cold
Walking through unopened doors that led me back to you
Each on unlocking more of the truth
I finally stopped tripping on my youth
I finally got lost inside of you
I finally know I needed to grow And finally my mate has set my soul

Chorus
Finally now my destiny can begin
Though we will have our differences
Something strange and new is happening
Finally now my life doesn't seem so bad
It's the best that I've ever had
Give my love to him finally

I remember the beginning
You already knew
I acted like a fool
Just trying to be cool

Frontin like it didn't matter
I just ran away
Put on another face
Was lost in my own space
Found what it was like to hurt selfishly
Scared to give up me, afraid to just believe
I was in a jealous insecure pathetic place
Stumbled through the mess that I had made
Finally got out of my own way
I finally start living for today
I finally know I needed to grow
And finally my mate has met my soul
Finally now my destiny can begin Though we will have our differences
Something strange and new is happening
Finally now my life doesn't seem so bad
It's the best that I've ever had
Give my love to him finally
Finally,Finally
Finally now my destiny can begin
Though we will have our differences
Something beautiful is happening
Finally now my life doesn't seem so bad
It's the best that I've ever had
Give my love to him finally
Finally,finally

Anybody else love this song?
Do you have a song which makes you emotional unstable...lol?

The Biggest Loser...

It's a given, brides-to-be generally do a weight loss program or something of that sort to loose weight. We all want to look extra beautiful and a few pounds less is always a positive thing. Mr.Flamingo and I, are no exception to this rule. Yup, Mr.Flamingo too needs to shed some pounds.

I've always been someone you consider big boneded. I am not ashamed of my weight, especially since 95% of the people don't believe me when I give them my actual weight. I'm not very tall... 5 feet and 3/4 so that's also is a factor to consider. (The three quarters is very important when it comes to my height- remember that =) )

I tried looking for full bodied pictures of me to give you an idea that I'm no skinny minny...unfortunately I had no luck, so you will have to bear with the ones I will show you.

This picture was taken on our Cuba trip.
This was my max weight - I was 182 lbs.

This picture was taken last year at a Club (with my eldest sister).
Here I weighed about 179 lbs.

So now, we've started a Protein diet. Okay, let me rephrase that because its not a diet but more changing the way you eat. Don't think I'm starving, on the contrary I eat alot - 6 times a day with food that is high in protein. (Its a known fact that proteins make you full. Result : you eat less)

Our first visit at the clinic was last thursday. My official starting weight 176 lbs. Now a week later I took off my shoes and got on the balance. It read 171.4 lbs, so I lost 4.6 lbs in 1 week. How exciting!

Know you must think its alot, but after the first week if I don't cheat too much, I should loose an average of 2-3 pounds. Men, on the other hand lose 4-5 pounds a week. Wish I was a man just for that ;) So its obvious Mr.Flamingo will be the biggest loser, but still... already I am happy. Losing weight is so fun.

Any one else done a protein diet?

Wedding website - makeover

When Mr.Flamingo and I decided that we were officially gonna set the date... my designer in me could not help but to design our wedding website. Though, I wasn't very fond of the idea of doing it from scratch... I opted for a basic template design from Weddingannouncer.com

Everyone in my family had never heard about a wedding website before so they thought I was the most organized and smart bride ever. (hahaha - I found that very funny) So of course when they saw the design of the website they were amazed - I being a designer couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. (On a side note- our wedsite needs to be perfectly bilingual so with wedding announcer there were certain things that I couldn't translate)

First attempt - using wedding announcer (click to enlarge)

Then I read Miss Lovebugs post about her blogger wedding website. It was official, I had needed to redo our website. Especially with all the resources out their on the oh-so fabulous web. I just had to. When I told Mr.Flamingo about it... he thought I was nuts!

When I decided on my invitation design it was easier to design the website for it to fit the whole theme and style. I used the back of the invitation as the background image and I created vintage looking buttons. I"m having issues with the header. Since I have various elements in my invitations, I don't know what I should use.

Please tell me which one you would go with. (Click to enlarge image)

option a: Chandelier



option b: Street with clock



option c: Decorative elements



option d: - None of the above.

(If you choose this option, please specify what you would do- as to not leave me hanging)

I want to show you all the elements when they are completely done. So tell me which header you prefer, so that I can add it. I got to get crackin' on the rest of the content of the website...

Since I have not completely finished the design of our website, I will have a part 2 to the makeover story... so stay tuned...

On the same page - almost

Our ceremony will take place in a beautiful 1789 historical church approximately 10 minutes away from my house and from the reception site. To be completely honest, I chose this church because of its beauty. (Hey... you only get to do this once, so might as well be gorgeous at the same time... =)

The ceremony will only be in french. Even though my family is pretty much bilingual french seemed the easiest way to go (especially for Mr.Flamingos side of the family.) Either way, it will pass by so fast that I won't remember a thing (unless I find a videographer to capture it all).

Three weekends ago we had our 2nd meeting at the church. This was to explain to us our text choices and how the wedding day will go... but Mr.Flamingo and I forgot to go. I'm serious... it completely slipped our minds. Luckily the wedding coordinator- if I can call her that, was very understanding and said I could go sometime in during the week for approx 15 minutes. Wow what a difference. It went from what was suppose to be a 3 hour meeting to 15 minutes. I like it when its quick.

So over the weekend I asked Mr.Flamingo to read the text choices and choose what he would prefer for the ceremony. Wow, to my surprise he read every single passage. Not to mention his choices are what I had considered. Its nice to know we are on the same page.

Now one thing we aren't on the same page - would be the ceremony music. We have a beautiful organ... its stunning, but Mr.Flamingo doesn't like organs. I'm still trying to convince him otherwise --- especially since I don't want to spend another penny and we all know hiring musicians can be costly.

What will you be doing for your ceremony music? Any suggestions?

I'm nuts - its as simple as that

Part 1

Part 2

Here is installment # 3 of my Venue adventure. Last time I left off I mentioned that on my way to my friends house we stumbled upon a sign “New Hotel - Opening Summer 2007". As you know our criteria for our venue was that we wanted a hotel - simple as that. Mostly because it is extremely convenient, so its obvious that when we saw the sign we were both quite excited. Mr.Flamingo and I noted the website and as soon as we got home, guess what was the first thing we did... We checked out the site - this is what we saw. (click to enlarge)

I was pleasantly surprised - it looked beautiful... well the illustration that is. Things like this can be extremely tricky because the final product might not come out as we imagine it. Regardless, we called the number listed on the site and scheduled an appointment. FYI - we are in april and there is still no beams or any slight indication that some construction is on its way (and they are apparently opening - summer 2007)

Everything was so fast. We went to the appointement, we checked out their construction plans and their inspiration board. At least we could see their colors, patterns and furniture choices (but then again it could be all tricks to have people sign). We called Mommy Flamingo, we discussed and we signed. Could you believe it... we signed our venue and have never even seen it. At this point I think I was going nuts. Who in their right mind signs something without seeing the final product. I mean its ridculous right???? I could understand for something small... but for a 20K venue. Oh my! At this point I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

Have you ever done something like this? Something as crazy as what I did...

More of this story to come...

(please note: I did not give the website to the hotel
because I don't want to spoil my next post about my venue)

Not Paris or Disney... somewhere sunny

Going back to our honeymoon discussion, both Mr.Flamingo and I still don't agree on our location. I tried on several accounts to bring out all the pros of Europe or other places he hasn't gone in Europe but it doesn't interest him like Disneyland doesn't interest me.

Of course the second option, we would most definitely somewhat agree on, would be a sun destination. Though I feel that a honeymoon destination is somewhat special, like one you wouldn't necessarily visit on your yearly vacation spot, I tend to be picky on the location. Secondly, I wouldn't want to go somewhere we've been before - Cuba.


We would like to go for an all-inclusive package. That way we won't need to be worrying about anything and its almost hassle-free. I like that option and so does Mr.Flamingo. Another point is that I would like to relax (meaning some sort of spa option) go to the beach and visit some historical places of the destination. Of course there's the classic Mexico destination where all these option seem possible... but I don't want to go somewhere too touristy.

Due to the fact that Mr.Flamingo is still in school (and isn't really allowed to miss any days) Our honeymoon will basically fall, when he is allowed to. That being said, the choice is limited and maybe the amount of days too. (Still don't know if we will be able to leave for 2 weeks) Because of this, I thought a one week vacation with lets say 4 days on land and 3 on a cruise was an interesting idea - but nope... how could I forget Mr.Flamingo is afraid of the ocean.

Then we thought, if we have two weeks vacation we could do 2 destinations. That way the trip would be extra special and we will see twice as many things. I really really like that idea and so does Mr.Flamingo. Are we ever gonna find a destination... the wedding is almost 3 months away, and I'm not liking this lack of organization.

Am I the only one having any problems agreeing on a location? Are you opting for the sun destination, if so any suggestions on places we can go?

Image found here

Beauty... will eventually fade.

I really like the idea of having a polaroid guestbook. Its fun, and it captures those moments that will definetly be remembered when you look back to read all the words of wisdom left by your guests.

To be honest I haven't really given much thought about the whole guestbook aspect of the wedding. I might not even go the polaroid route, but because we all know the sad news about the polaroid, through the eyes of Polanoir... they are eternal. Thought I would share some awesome polaroid imagery.

Images courtesy of : Polanoir

Polanoir is the first gallery worldwide to exclusively dedicate itself to Polaroid photography. Everlasting moments captured by both established and unknown young artists from all over the world to pursue one major goal: to convey the indescribable fascination of Polaroids. Snif! Snif! Because the beauty will eventually fade away...

Back to the guest book aspect - if you would share some neat guestbook ideas, I'm all ears ;)

Adressing the Guest list

Since my wedding invitation design is pretty much set, it's time to finalize the guest list and get all the famous addresses. Finalizing the guest list itself is a hard thing to do. I mean it was to the point that Mr.Flamingo and I were flipping coins to make a decision. Overall we are happy with our choices but now collecting all the addresses seem to be even more a tedious task.

Now, if I am not mistaken etiquette says that the parents of the bride and groom get the job of collecting all the addresses, but what do you do when they simply don't? I've asked them politely, but not everyone is taking their job to heart. In that case, what do you do?

How did you asked the parents? Or are you avoiding that whole step and doing it yourself? Any tips that would help me and other brides-to-be?

{images courtesy of : gettyimages.com and weddingbells.ca}