Take 10, Take 100, Take 1000

One experience that I truly enjoyed throughout the wedding planning was the wedding show Mr.Flamingo and I took part in. I must admit its hard work being in front of a camera. Not only do you have to talk as though there is no camera around, but there are many many takes.

Can't forget the touch ups.

The filming of the show is done in three parts. The first is an interview with the both of us and we had to explain our theme and the issues we encountered throughout planning. We had several issues but these were the ones they took care of.

- Figure out how to display our escort cards
- Hide the neighbouring building (visible when your on the terrase)
- Figure out how to display our lamps and make a photography corner
- Hide the wall behind the head table (wear the dividing panel of the hall usually are stored)

The second part of the taping consists of a DIY project with the host. I did this 2 days before the wedding and I had no idea what was going on. Once I got there I was so happy. We were working on my display for my escort cards.

The third part is the big reveal the day of the wedding. Thats when we actually get the chance to see what awesome work they've done. And awesome it was. Here is a sneak peek:

Behind head table


Escort card display (6 foot Manzanita tree in a mirrored box)
With REAL chandelier swags (and its mine! Hurray for gifts)


exterior photography corner


Camouflaging neighbouring company

You saw right, that is the exact chandelier from my invitations. I was blown away when I saw that... talk about carrying out the chandelier theme throughout. Don't ask me how they did that, they never asked me for the artwork. I guess I will find out when I see the show.

I learned that we will be the season premiere of their 4th season. I don't know yet when it will air, but once it does I promise I will try my best to upload it somehow.

A piece of chandelier for you

A while back I was debating what style of escort card I should have. Well, I realized that I never did a follow-up on my choice for escort cards. I went with the majority of yous and went with the glamour option. Since chandeliers seemed to be a very big part of my theme, I decided to go with something like the left picture.

{left} & {right}

I didn't take any pictures of my escort cards in progress since I had to finish them rather quickly, But this is one of the only pictures I have of the finished product. I think its rather good. :)

Here is my friend Julie showing off her escort card.

Making them was simple, I cut squares out of ivory card stock. I purchased a corner die-cut with lace embellishments and punched holes in all 4 corners. I went on ebay and found 100 acrylic chandelier prisms for only 19.95$ plus shipping. I purchased brown organza ribbon and tied both the chandelier prism and ribbon on the place card. Voila! and escort card.

When it comes to displaying them, there were many possibilities. Hung on trees like the famous picture below that Miss Pineapple blogged about, hung on ribbons like picture above, hung on a string making a glamorous clothes line... well this decision La Bosse des Noces took into her own hands.

{image}

Since I didn't have a clue what La Bosse des Noces would do to display my escort cards, I decided to make a poster with all the table numbers and names. That way, the guests could find their table number and then search for the card.

For the board, I used elements from my invitations. I found left over embellishments in my scrapbooking box and used sticker rhinestones to add some extra glamour to the board. It came out beautifully. Don't you think?

Here is a sneak peek of the escort display:

How did you display your escort cards?

Merci beaucoup

We had a wonderful wedding... and its true what they say "Its the best day of your life" Honestly it couldn't have been more perfect. (Well for one exception- but still) Our guests were extremely impressed with everything and we were so happy to share it with them. They obviously deserved lots of thank yous for the compliments and their generous wedding gifts.

I though a nice Thank you card design was what they deserved for the least. So I went ahead and designed these:

Front

Back

Since I had both french and English invitations, I didn't want to have the hassle of 2 languages so I simply wrote a "Merci" I think the English people get the point. Right?

I'm one of those that happens to receive VistaPrint offers and took advantage of the FREE postcard offer. I downloaded the template on my computer and designed the card. I put the back (Merci) on the part where generally you would write a message on a postcard and the chandelier on the front of the postcard. When I received the cards they were perfect... only a little technicality - the front is glossy so I have to write using a ball point or permanent pen. So if you happen to use Vista print postcards - make sure you place the part of there card where you want to write on the back of the postcard and not the front. :) Learn from my mistakes.

So here is the tally of my thank you card costs:

Thank you card design : FREE
Printing: FREE
Card shipping: 22.37$
Envelopes (4x6) : 19.80$
Shipping of env. (combined with invitation env.) approx 5,00$
-------------------
47.17$ for 100 thank you cards.
A big : 0.47$ per card.

Now I just got to by a pen or two and start thanking away. I just hope it won't take me all summer.
How long did it take you to send out your thank you cards?

After wedding blues...

Hey Everyone, I'm back... well to be honest I've been back for quite some time now (I've been married for a good 3 weeks) but the after-wedding blues kicked in and the desire to blog has basically been a huge flatline. Even though I will be blogging about my wedding and how wonderful, perfect and magical it was, the planning is over and it makes me extremely sad.

While I was shopping over the weekend, I happened to find the latest issue of Martha Stewart Weddings. I love MS weddings and I would buy them before I even got engaged. But with my wedding being officially over… it hit me. The after wedding nostalgia kicked in. I literally stayed at the magazine counter holder the magazine for a good 5 minutes, debating whether I should buy it or not. Well I didn’t and in a way, its like a way of turning the page. Sorta... (I think I just might go back and buy it - I'm a Martha addict)

Its a given that once you are married you want to start your own wedding related business in order to satisfy your thirst for weddings... this is a big debate for me now, I love weddings and would love to work in weddings somehow... so I feel that on top of the after wedding blues, I am questioning my whole new life and what I want to do with it (career wise)

Am I the only one feeling like this? Please say it isn't so.

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?