6.23.2009

Where's Marty Mcfly... I want to go back in time

I screwed up... seriously and if I could find Marty McFly, I'd hop on the DeLorean DMC-12 and go back in time. Not far away... back to June 20th. The day before my first year anniversary. Sigh

Photo Credit : IPI-Events

I had great plans... really! I wanted to rent our honeymoon suite and re-live the magic of our wedding night... and enjoy the time together. Unfortunately, that plan got bumped with Sunday breakfast for fathers day. I should of turned the invitation down, but worried my dad would be disappointed... now its too late. Fathers day was blah and I wish I had gone with my plan.

You might find me shallow... but my dads has had a fathers day celebration for the past 34 years and many more will come, but my 1 year anniversary is gone.... and never coming back. I'm seriously bummed and to top things off, I didn't get an anniversary gift. Double Sigh. I didn't need anything big, or over the top... just love, recognition that its an important date. (To me at least) and... a flower wouldn't of hurt, but it wasn't necessary.

I haven't given Mr.Flamingo's anniversary present, because it has not yet arrived... but because I told him that, now he wants to make up for the no-gift. Nice try... but its not gonna make up for how I feel at the moment. I want to go back to my anniversary date SO BAD and do it just how I had mapped it out in my head... :(

Have you been bummed about something and wish you could turn back time?
If so, please share...

6.15.2009

Glamnuptials: Toast time with alot of tears

After we finished our first dance and made our way to our seats and heard a little "ching ching." I looked around and saw my father standing up, sweating bullets and trying to keep his cool. I knew from that nervous smile of his, it was time... he was ready to say his speech.

"I want my speech to be perfect" he had told me early that week. "Perfect because you deserve no less" I started tearing up, who wouldn't after those heartfelt words.

I looked at my daddy and instantly all the memories of my childhood, of him and me, flashed before my eyes... and I smiled. I took a deep breath, just as he did and tried to keep the lump in my throat under control.

And he started (originally written in French; translated by me):

"Dear parents, family and friends,
I would like to thank each and everyone of you for being part of this special day, Kelly and Marc-Andres' wedding day.

Dear Kelly,
I look at you today and with my father heart, I will summarize the movie of your life:

From the day you were born I have been touched...
Touched by the memory of the first time I held you in my arms.
Touched by looking at your grow along the years and I am so proud of the woman you've become.
Touched when you took my arm this afternoon and we walked down the aisle together.

And today my dear Kelly, the next scene of your movie arrive, the one about your union, your couple life. You stand beside an exceptional man that I cherish, appreciate and love very much. I wish you both lots of love, happiness and in hopes that I will be moved by becoming a grand-father one day."

Tears steaming down my face, he looked up at me and invited me to join him and dance by his side for our father / daughter dance to the song: In my Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride. He had chosen this song carefully because he wanted words which represented "US"

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes
- Lyrics of In my Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride

I had not shed a single tear until this moment. I had found a way to keep my cool all through the ceremony and even the first dance... but this was too much. So my father and I cried together while we danced our dance. A very important part of my wedding day...

We looked around and our guests circled us while shedding a tear or two. A mid-way through the song, we invited all fathers to finish the dance with their daughters... simply priceless. Just writing about it makes me emotional.

What was the most emotional part of your wedding day?

Up next: Boogie on down...

Images taken by Ipi-events and guests
——————–
Previously:
Glamnuptials: Beauty Time
Glamnuptials: Prep Time
Glamnuptials: Our details

Glamnuptials: Ceremony Part 1
Glamnuptials: Ceremony Part 2
Glamnuptials: Bride Posing
Glamnuptials: Groom Posing
Glamnuptials: Strike the pose Part 1
Glamnuptials: Strike the pose Part 2
Glamnuptials: The Newlyweds
Glamnuptials: We are Family
Glamnuptials: The first dance
Glamnuptials: Le Gâteau
Glamnuptials: The Guestbook
Glamnuptials: Decor Elements
Glamnuptials: Giving our gifts
Glamnuptials: DAS aka Day after Shoot
Glamnuptials: Wedding Movie Trailer
Glamnuptials: Real Wedding Inspiration Board

6.10.2009

Glamnuptials : The REAL Budget

When I started planning my wedding, there is one thing that I kept looking for and had a hard time finding, the budget breakdown of a real wedding. Oh course the budget depends on a lot of factors. Location, Date, and Amount of Guests but still I wanted to have some sort of idea. Who wouldn't?

What was particularly difficult with our situation was the Mr.Flamingo was in school the whole time we were engaged and even after the wedding. So planning a wedding on one salary wasn't the easiest thing to do... but do-able nonetheless. We simply needed to have an extra long engagement in return (2 and a half years) but it was worth it.

Here is the breakdown to our glamnuptials:

Date: June 21st 2008
City: In the Suburbs (approx 30 minutes from Montreal)
Budget: $22,000
# of Guests: 145
(including children, vendors & excluding guests (30-40) who came in the evening )

Wedding Day Costs

Ceremony Site: $475
This included the officiant and helpers for no extra cost. We basically had a mini church coordinator so everything ran quite smoothly.

Reception Site: N/A
There were no fee associated with the Hotel we used for our wedding reception. Basically the cost was broken down with the food and drinks. We had a beautiful hall with the capacity of 300 guests. (Therefore enough room to move and dance) We had a beautiful terrace where guests could enjoy with a waterfall and fireplace at night.

Food & Drink: $13 010

The reception started off with a cocktail and some hors d'oeuvre. Then was followed by a 5 course meal with wine included during the meal and open bar after 10:30 for a time slot of 4 hours and a sweet table at the stroke of midnight. This included 4 vendor meals ($35.00 / per vendor ) Here is the breakdown of the food and drinks:
  • Hors d'oeuvre: $850 ($21.25 per dozen)
  • 5 course Meal: $77.00 / per adult - $17.00 / per child
  • Open Bar: $18.50 per adult (18 years and older)
  • Sweet table: $500.00 (including pizzas, sandwiches, fruits, cake)
    =================
    total : $13007.50 (excluding service charges/gratuities
Service Charge/Gratuities: $1950.00
A 15% gratuity and all service charges for 1 event manager, 6 servers, 1 kitchen staff, and 3 bartenders was added to the total amount.

Cake: 375$
A 3-tier, chocolate, marble and vanilla cake. A small cake (75 large portions) to serve at the sweet table since we already had a dessert included in the main meal.

Bridal Gown & Alterations: $0 (dress) $125 (alterations)
My wedding dress was a gift from my mother. But it cost
$690 this included dress, veil, shale, sash, and extra straps. Even thought I barely had any alterations to get done, I needed to make my dress shorter. The alterations cost 125$

Bridal Accessories: $320
I had lots of accessories some purchased some DIY projects. Here's the breakdown:

  • Jewelry Set: $130
  • Shoes: $95
  • Shoe embellishments: $10
  • Hair Comb: $10
  • Handmade Brooch: $15
  • Garter : $10
  • Undergarments: $50

Groom’s Attire: N/A
Where we got the suits for the guys a little guy, there was a great promotion which allowed the groom to rent his attire for free!

Manicure/Pedicure : $0
Offered as a gift by my sister (aka bridesmaid)

Hair/Makeup: 0$
My hair was done by my awesome hairdresser. My step-mother was the sweetest and paid for all the girls and myself. As for my makeup, it was done by my awesome friend, also a gift.

Stationery/Postage: $435

  • Invitations & envelopes: $75.00
  • RSVP Postcards: $25.00
  • Accomodation Cards: $25.00
  • Thank-Yous & envelopes: $40.00
  • Postage: $120.00
  • Printing and/or Ink: $150.00

Other stationery items: $60

  • Place Cards: $40.00
  • Guest book: $0 Gift from a friend
  • Programs : $10.00
  • Menus: $10.00
  • Printing and/or Ink: $25.00

Flowers: $480
All wedding flowers included:

  • Bride Bouquet : $100
  • 3 Bridesmaid + 1 MOH bouquet + Toss Bouquet : $240
  • 6 bouts: $60
  • 5 corsages : $50
  • DIY Bouquet Bling: $30

Centerpieces/Decor: $1000
Various decor elements included:

  • Table runners: $125
  • Vases + Mirroirs: $350
  • Garlands and chandelier pieces: $40
  • Candles: $85
  • Vintage Park Lighting: $400

Photography: 1000$
Being a graphic designer and familiar with Photoshop, I wanted my pictures to be RAW (un-edited) on a DVD. That way, it was good for both parties, less work for them, and cheaper price for me. Plus I got to do all the editing I wanted and feel free to use any picture I wanted

Videography: 3500$
Having our videographer come from NYC to our wedding obviously raised the cost and we definitely busted our budget on this one. That's why we opted for less coverage (6 hours only) But to be honest, I'm extremely happy we decided to splurge on the Super 8 ... without it, my wedding wouldn't of been the same.

Ceremony/Reception Music: 700$
Our DJ was awesome. Not only was the find a great deal, but the guests did not stop dancing for one bit. The price included 10 hours and all the props; glow sticks, hats, hawaiian necklaces..etc

Coordinator: N/A

Favors: 300$
Bottles of water combined with a donation to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation in memory of my grandmother and in honor mommy flamingo, survivor.

Wedding Party Gifts: $300
The bridesmaids (x3) got a 50$ gift which included a Flash Drive, a journal, and an embroidered silk jewelry roll. I gave the same to my MOH but added a 50$ gift certificate at a local spa. The best man got superman cuff links and a 50$ gift certificate.

Transportation: $425
Rental of our beautiful Vintage 1957 Bentley. This amount was for 6 hours and included the champagne, red carpet and all. Tip was also included.

Night Accommodations: $0
Honeymoon suite was offered as a gift by the hotel for having our wedding reception take place there. It was a very very nice honeymoon suite.

Miscellaneous: $385
Flower girl attire: $60
Ring Bearer attire: $125
Parent Gifts: $200

===========================
Wedding Day Total: $ 24 840
Total Cost per person: $ 171.31
===========================

All inclusive costs:

Wedding rings: $ 1800 (both)
Having my ring made by a jeweler boosted the price of my ring over than what I originally wanted to pay for it. Regardless, its a good investement, anyway my fingers would say so. ;)

Rehearsal Dinner/Day After Brunch: N/A

Mini-moon: 1250$
Because of budget restraints we decided on doing a minimoon to New York City. A 4 day 3 night trip filled with shopping, museums, dining out and of course a broadway show.

===========================
All inclusive total: $3050
===========================

For a Grand total of .... drum roll please: $27 890

I was afraid adding up all the totals, but honestly... its not as bad as I thought. A little over 5500$ of my initial budget. I must say though that being prepared and having every little details in a budget excel sheet made it so much easier to see how much I spent when planning my wedding. For those interested, you can download my budget form here.

Hope this has helped in some way...


Images taken by Ipi-events, Anne-Emilie Photo and guests
——————–
Previously:
Glamnuptials: Beauty Time
Glamnuptials: Prep Time
Glamnuptials: Ceremony Part 1
Glamnuptials: Ceremony Part 2
Glamnuptials: Bride Posing
Glamnuptials: Groom Posing
Glamnuptials: Strike the pose Part 1
Glamnuptials: Strike the pose Part 2
Glamnuptials: The Newlyweds
Glamnuptials: We are Family
Glamnuptials: First Dance

Glamnuptials: Le Gâteau
Glamnuptials: The Guestbook
Glamnuptials: Decor Elements
Glamnuptials: Giving our gifts
Glamnuptials: DAS aka Day after Shoot
Glamnuptials: Wedding Movie Trailer
Glamnuptials: Real Wedding Inspiration Board

6.09.2009

Glamnuptials: First Dance

It was perfect, even when tripping in chairs... because we were making our way to the dance floor... for our first dance, something I've been anticipating for as long as I can remember... (Cue Lifehouses' acoustic version of Take me Away)


We decided we were going to do it differently and dance as soon as we were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Flamingo. We wanted to make sure that both Wes of Film Jones and the our Photographer captured this special moment and officially opened up the dance floor with our first dance.


How to describe the way I felt... speechless doesn't even come close, doesn't do it justice. I didn't cry, I didn't really speak which made it even more magical... I simply smiled looked into Mr.Flamingos eyes and sang along with him to "our song" the one that was part of the "Us" being together, today, getting married. It meant the world to us, to finally associate the words with our union.


"this time, all I want is you, there is no one else, who can take your place" (lyrics from Take Me Away by Lifehouse)
this time... I love you and it's forever...

Up next: Toast time and a little tear …

Images taken by Ipi-events
——————–
Previously:
Glamnuptials : Beauty Time
Glamnuptials : Prep Time
Glamnuptials : Ceremony Part 1
Glamnuptials : Ceremony Part 2
Glamnuptials: Bride Posing
Glamnuptials: Groom Posing
Glamnuptials: Strike the pose Part 1
Glamnuptials: Strike the pose Part 2
Glamnuptials: The Newlyweds
Glamnuptials: We are Family
Glamnuptials : Le Gâteau
Glamnuptials : The Guestbook
Glamnuptials : Decor Elements
Glamnuptials: Giving our gifts
Glamnuptials : DAS aka Day after Shoot
Glamnuptials: Wedding Movie Trailer
Glamnuptials: Real Wedding Inspiration Board