Officially a Mrs.

I'm officially married and its wonderful! We had the most gorgeous day! Everything was perfect (apart from the fact that I forgot my second veil at home - what a bummer) I still have lots to blog about and will take advantage of it, since I don't have any of my pro pics yet.

Everything was so magical and we had an amazing time. Its true that it passes so fast but once in a while I took a breather and enjoyed the moment. I can't wait to give you more details... and share more pics. Married life is wonderful... I'm loving every minute of it! :)

Its finally come to this...

Today is the day.... today is my wedding day. All that hard work and planning for today. Its crazy when you think about it. I am writing to you before I go to the hairdresser... because I realized I never said bye (as a non-married gal) Bad flamingo!!!

First off, I would like to say a huge thank you to all you awesome readers and bees. Weddingbee has become a family to me and your support, suggestions and ideas have help me shape my wedding to what it will be today. I cannot say thank you enough!

I promise I will be back will lots of details. There will be loads to talk about so don't think that just because I'm going to have the married status you're gonna get rid of me that easy. Your stuck with me :) Ok here is a quick preview: I'm not nervous and shockingly surprised, I slept well though I wish I would of gone to be earlier and there doesn't seem to be a cloud in sight. Lets hope it stays like that all day ;) More to come... shortly

You have been so great to me and it has been awesome to share my wedding planning with you. I heart you all so much :)

Best,
Miss Flamingo (soon to be Mrs)

Bashing Bachlorette

At my bridal shower my highschool friends (which I've known for 13 years) asked me if they can plan my bachlorette party. I found that really sweet and my MOH and Bridesmaids didn't mind. They wanted the night to be a surprise - so I had no idea what was planned. My surprised bachlorette was last friday. Yup one week before my wedding.

My highschool friends.

My bridal party

The night started off with supper at a restaurant in Montreal called Cafeteria, a type of cafe-resto bar. We were 12 and when we got there they gave every one a gift bag. Inside were some goodies ; condoms, jewelry, glow sticks, candy shaped penis - you get the point. Plus we all got a matching t-shirt...so awesome!!!

I got something more, obviously because I'm the bride-to-be, so an appropriate crown a magic wand was added to my goodies bag. They even included some 'task' coupons of things that needed to be done throughout the night.

Supper was good, and so was my sangria - especially that I had to drink it with a penis shaped straw... too funny.

Once everyone was done eating it was time for dessert and that my friends was the highlight of the night. Can you look at this cake!!! It was strawberry shortcake and it was yummy! The waitress didn't want to cut it because it was so beautiful.

After we've finished our cake we were off to a club. No no, not a strip club but rather a dance club. The music was good and we all had a blast! We have tonnes and tonnes of pictures to remember the night, because by the end... a little too much alcohol in my system ;)

Thank you everyone for a fun night!
Did you have a bachlorette party?

Super Garter

**** Mr. Flamingo you cannot read this post****** Stop reading NOW!*****

Ever since I started planning my wedding there was one thing for sure I was going to do for my new-husband-to-be. I wanted to make him a custom garter... you know one to his liking. I've mentioned before that Mr.Flamingo is a superman freak. He's got everything from vintage comic books to statuettes, but one thing he doesn't have is a superman garter. Obviously its not something very common, and I wanted to make one for him. Its more meaningful ... I think.

I wanted to incorporate a superman logo in the garter somewhere but could not find any logos small enough. I thought of using a patch or even a bracelet charm, but everything was too expensive and not to my liking. Then it hit me, CROCS charms. I went to shoe stores in my area in search of the superman logo but there were none in sight. So I decided to check on ebay. Luckily ebayer namesrus was selling one. I made an offer and won it for 1.00$ plus 1.95$ shipping. Pretty good I think.

via Ebay

Now this is a surprise and he won't know it until its time to go under my dress. I even asked the DJ to cue the superman theme song when hes going to get it. Its going to be so funny.

Basically the superman logo/colors consist of blue, red and yellow. Since the emblem is red and yellow and I wanted something blue, I used red and blue satin ribbon. It was very easy to make and the CROCS charm was perfect.

Here is my super garter:

Have you made a custom garter for your husband-to-be?

Flower bouquet decorations

I thank everyone for suggestions regarding my bridal bouquet, I will indeed remove the bear grass loops. I agree, it takes away from the beauty of the bouquet. Even though I agree that the greenery adds fullness to the bouquet, I rather not have any. Hopefully my flowers will be in full bloom and greenery won't be necessary to fill the bouquet.

To continue the my glam theme... I made bouquet jewels, which will be inserted in my bouquet. It was very easy to make and cost pennies compared to buying them already made. You can make endless amounts of shapes when it comes to making them yourself. I decided to make a teardrop kind of shape to recall the chandelier piece which will be wrapped around my bouquet. (see image below)

List of materials:
Jewelry cooper wire
6mm cubic clear Swarvoski crystals
5mm cubic satin silver crystals
miniature taupe multi-facetted fire polished beads

How to:
1- Cut your cooper wire about 12 inches.
2- Insert beads to desired look. Make sure to have a symmetrical design.
3- Fold the wire at the center.
4 - Hold the beads with one hand and with the other start turning the wire to twist it. Continue until you have reached the bottom. This will not only secure the beads but at stength to the stands.
5 - Place the beads and shape wire to desired look and Voila... you have your first bouquet jewel

I also made some bouquet jewels for my bridesmaid, but nothing as complex as mine. I just made them 1 single clear fire polished bead. Since their bouquets won't be very big, it will add just enough shine. Their flowers will be pale pink so the clear stones will pop out and shine in the sun.

For my flower girl, since she is not allowed to throw flower petals, I decided to make her a basket,, but instead she will have a full bodied ivory peony in the basket. I think it will look really cute. Here is my DIY basket.

Before


After

Cost breakdown:
Bridal bouquet jewels : 8 strands = 3.75$ each (5 swarvoski crystals)
Bridesmaids bouquet jewels: 38 strands = 0.33$ each
Chandelier piece for handle: 0.75$
Flower girl basket: 2.oo$ basket + 2.50 ribbon = 4.50 $

I think its pretty good for everything that I got. What do you think?
What flower related DIY projects have you made?

Zap 'em away

All my life I've been the type of person people like to hate because they labelled me with "perfect skin." I rarely have any pimples and I will be honest I just started to wash my face regularly one month ago. I know... Bad Flamingo, and not to mention that I love makeup and wear it on a regular basis, so not washing my face before doing to be wasn't a good idea.

I've won a free skin analysis a month ago and even though I am only 25, I can say I was scared of what I saw. An image of me at 50 and it wasn't pretty. Because of that and the great help of the specialist, I am proud to say that I wash, tonic and cream my face every day, plus I exfoliate once a week. I have seen a remarkable difference, and the myth is true. Once you get the hang on it, you don't want to stop.

Now, being a person that never gets pimples even in stressful situations well I ain't got that "perfect skin" anymore. In the last 3 days I've had 3 pimples. I know your saying to yourselves "WOW 3 pimples, big deal" but when you've never had, its not very fun. I blame the wedding for that... but now I don't know what to do.

Do you know of any homemade miracle pimple zapper? Have you gotten some pimple appearances because of the wedding stress?

The search is over

I am the happiest bride-to-bee.... I finally found my videographer... yup a 8mm videographer that I wanted oh-so much. My endless search to find a local 8mm videographer did not work out. I've checked every single company and no one offered this service. I finally signed the contact yesterday, and the AWESOME Wes Jones of FilmJones is coming to Montreal, just for me... yup, that's right... I feel so special.

You've seen Wes' work before both Mrs.Snowpea and Mrs.Onion worked with him for their beautiful wedding...so it only makes me more excited because I've seen the quality of his work. If you are not familiar with his work visit his website to check out his talent, you won't regret it.

Now, remember that TV show I got chosen for, well they will be doing an interview with Wes (in English of course) explaining what Super8 is and why its so popular in the states (since it hasn't made its way to Quebec yet). I'm happy that because of my wedding, I will be the one introducing Super8 to my fellow Quebec-ers... I should seriously get a cut for all the companies that decide to offer this service ;)

I am so psyched to finally have found 8mm - it was something truly important for me ... Hurray!!!!!

(Thanks Mrs.Onion for all the help in my search)
Image source

Minimooning - it

There is only 12 days until the wedding and we haven't booked our honeymoon yet. We've had endless amount of discussions on where we should go... it started with Paris, Italy and there was mention of Disney, we talked about going down south but we abandoned all those ideas.

As the wedding gets closer and closer I see the bills piling up and its stressing me a little. Mr.Flamingo is in school full time and because we are paying majority of the wedding (with some help from my parents) a honeymoon done to our liking would be too expensive at the moment.

I love travelling and even though I put my dream of visiting Europe on the back burner... my honeymoon will be the last chance to travel before we go ahead and start our flamingo family. We will have a honeymoon, just at a later date. It will simply allow us to get back on our feet. So, I though a minimoon could be a great idea. Maybe a couple of nights somewhere local where we can relax and enjoy our new married status.

Have you decided to go the minimoon route because of budget reasons?

(Image source)

Me too I want two

When I found my wedding dress I got a matching classic elbow length veil with a champagne satin edge. (Sorry no pics) I wanted a veil because I wanted my dad to do the - lifting the veil and giving me kissing before I go ahead and get married. This veil was prefect for that but Since I ordered my dress over 1 year before my wedding date I knew I was bound to fall in love with a vintage looking birdcage veil.

I can't not wear my original veil (since my mother is the one who bought me my dress and veil) But I really liked the idea of being a Two Veil Bride like Miss Cookie. I contacted Sandra from Breeziway.com to see if she'd be able to make me a custom veil. I wanted something that would fit my taupe sash but didn't know if it was possible. I got an email back from her and YES she was able to make me something that matched. I sent her pictures of my dress, hairstyle and accessories and I got an email with the finished piece. I was so excited. She used taupe-y colored feathers and the outcome is G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S.

Now because I wasn't sure what would be better with my hair style, she made the veil so that I could wear it either on the left or on the right. Isn't that the smartest thing ever !!! Here is my absolutely stunning Birdcage veil :

If worn on the right side:

Close up of the feathers :

If worn on the left side:

Now I have another dilemma, do I wear my birdcage veil for the getting ready pictures or should I go with the original one. Maybe the birdcage one could be my "I'm a Wife now" veil and switch it when Mr.Flamingo and I take pictures as a married couple. What do you think?

Photo sharing

At both my father and sisters wedding, disposable cameras were placed on each table for candid shots throughout the wedding day. At first I thought I would continue the 'tradition' but realized that because majority of people have digital cameras, the use of disposables cams was not necessary.

I had found on another wedding forum the idea of having a website where people can upload pics freely... like Mrs.Lemon and Mrs.Cherryblossom. But there are so many photo programs out there that I don't know which one is better. I want something that is visually appealing with very little ads. I like the option that maybe my guests can order pictures if they would like, but its not a must.

Here are Free Photo Programs I found so far.... click on the icon to go to the website.

Any suggestions on which program I should go with? Will you be asking your guests to upload pictures? Which program will you be using?

Walking down the aisle... to feathers

When it was time to choose our music choices, the task wasn't easy. I was looking at the usual bride entrance songs and there wasn't anything that I truly loved. I find the song available really pretty... but they just weren't me. Plus, I wanted to choose a song that I loved and Mr.Flamingo loved too. Its a really special moment and I find having a song we love makes it even more special

After endless amount of searching I finally found it. I will be walking down the aisle to Forest Gumps (Feather Theme) by Alan Silvestri. Mr.Flamingo is the one that had introduced me this song. He would listen to it all the time so I thought it would be perfect. I love this song so much and just listening to it makes me all teary eyed.

Here is the song:

If any of yous would like to have this song, I have the music sheets. Just give me a shout out at flamingo@weddingbee.com and I will send them to you.

Are you opting of a unique entrance song?

Tossing fortune

Even though the bouquet toss is a big wedding cliché, its a must for me and my wedding wouldn't be the same without it. I'm a fresh flower lover and my toss bouquet will get the same amount of attention as my own bridal bouquet.

(Via: Martha Stewart)

I find it sad that only one lucky lady gets to 'win' the bouquet. There are so many important ladies (family, siblings and friends) that I want to more than one bouquet. The wonderful Martha Stewart introduced the fortune bouquet. A cute and smart way to shower your single ladies with more love. This is the first thing I decided on when it was time to choose my flowers. Mini clusters of flowers in pink and ivory with a special message.

But now I need your help. I have no idea what fortunes I should write. Would you mind sharing one of your favorite fortunes?

Monumental pictures

I received an email from my photographer a month and a half ago for a detailed list of my wedding day events. From the time he needs to be at my place for my bridal pics to the locations where we want to have our first married couple pictures taken.

Because my photography is situated in the downtown core of montreal, and I live more in the suburbs (about 35 mintues away) I don't expect them to know 'the spots' perfect for these shots. I originally wanted to find an abandoned house, you know with broken windows and ripped curtains, but I wasnt able to find that. So I kept on looking. Well even living around the area, the task was not easy. Actually is was quite hard.... and what after over a month I finally found a great spot.

via: Flickr

In the town where I will be having my reception, there are many beautiful parks and not to mention great spots near the water... but going vintage, I thought the Manoir Globensky would be the perfect place to go.

via: Flickr

A 1890 house, this now label monument is not only authentic but all the detailing is absolutely stunning and I can only imagine what type of photos my photog will take. There are beautiful trees and flowers all around this building, so hopefully we won't need to go somewhere else.

via: Flickr

Did you choose your 'photo spots' ? Did you opt for something original?

Le deroulement....

I have a confession to make. I'm not having any decoration at the church. Yes yes, I'm serious. I thought that since were going to be there a whole 45 minutes, I rather spend the money on other decoration items for my reception site. That being said, I still thought that my guests should have a little something - theme-ish at the ceremony.

Programs have always been a stationery item I loved... Not only are they really pretty, but they can be personalized and they serve as information/memento for your guests. Seriously I've spend hours looking for neat ideas for our program.

Here are some of the few I've collected:

Left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

It wasn't until I read one of Mrs.Lovebugs post that it hit me. Telegram baby!!! So I am happy to present my (french) wedding program.

I've used real elements of Telegrams that I found on Retro-Gram and re-created something that was just right. I used Photoshop to modify the original telegram and I was lucky to have found one of the fonts used in the original piece. I'm really happy of the outcome of my programs. Straight to the point... well that's what a telegram is right?

Did you opt for a unique program?

Cake help needed...

A couple of weeks ago, I asked your help to choose my cake design. The response was really great, but the votes were really split and now I'm torn between the two models. I really liked having the chandelier in the design... like many of you have mentioned its different and most definitely has that WOW factor.

So with all your great suggestions, I've decided to make some modifications. Here is round 2. (click to enlarge)

Just to clarify things, here are the specifications of the cake.
- Round
- 3 tier or 4 tier
- layer of each (vanilla, chocolate and marble cake)
- fondant all over
- airbrush design for all the patterns (chandelier and invitation motif)

So once again I need your input, which one do you prefer?