My sister got married on Saturday and it was such a crazy, busy but extremely fun weekend.  This post is wedding heavy but there is just too much to not share.  You can find more photos on my Instagram.  

Cheers!
  
The bridesmaids, my mom and I, spent Friday morning preparing these 
tasty red velvet cupcakes-in-a-jar favours for the wedding.  
We ran out of cupcakes so my sister was baking more that morning!


Sweet champagne flutes the bride designed for her bridesmaids.  
We took these to our hair appointment the morning of the wedding to have mimosas.


Caroline, at Noir Salon, did my hair and killed it.  
I was so pleased with how it turned out, even better than my inspiration photo!


 The finished product.  Ah-mazing (I even slept on it and wore it to brunch the next day).


From the salon, we went back to my sister's place to get dressed.  
I did my own make up (the bride requested a smokey purple eye), 
the bride got dressed and we headed to the ceremony.
Outfit deets:  Alfred Sung dress, Paris Hilton heels (similar), Silk flower bouquets from Morgann Hill Designs.


 Married!


During photos, the Best Man and I came up with a plan to switch shoes to enter the reception.  
The photographer caught the moment (haha!).


We hit up a skate park after the formal photos and the newlyweds 
switched their shoes for some more fun shots.


We rode around in style, thanks to the bride & groom's excellent taste (and budget!).


 In the limo celebrating with champagne.


 First dance.


 The favours turned out so well (missing: the thin black ribbon & black spoon tied to the jar) and were a huge hit.


 Bride & Maid of Honour


 Having fun in the photobooth.


 Three words:  midnight. poutine. buffet.


Stealing a moment during the busy reception...


Congratulations Lisa & Adam!

 Yes, my hair is super short as this was two years ago when we first got engaged 
(and yes, I chopped off 5 inches of my hair after getting engaged)

While wedding dress shopping, I asked my mom to take pictures of the dresses I tried on so I could look back on the days we spent shopping.  It was really interesting to see how well some of the dresses resonated in photos considering how awful I felt in some of them.  Most places wouldn't allow us to take photos, but the mid-high end boutique I first went to was not only helpful, but they allowed photos and it was wonderful. In the end, I ended up designing my own dress, which you can see below (if you haven't already).

First Fitting

 After trying on over 60 wedding dresses, and not finding the perfect dress, I found the perfect opportunity to design my own dress with a head seamstress from a well-known design house in town.  Our communication began in March but she really only started my dress in July (and we got married August 20th - needless to say I was certainly a very worried bride).  However, she is an exceptional seamstress, listened to everything I was looking for in a dress and created the most perfect dress for me.  It was a brilliant collaboration and she kept telling me how it was all me, and all my own design, which made me very proud.  I had a total of four fittings , of which I went to with my mom, before bringing the dress home.  She was fantastic in snapping shots left, right and centre, which was so great because with each fitting, so much progress was made.

click photos to enlarge

The first fitting had me putting on a a super raw version of the dress, it was strapless (as the top was a seperate piece) and the bottom of the dress would be nothing like it would be in the end.  The bodice was formed, but the bustier was not in the dress yet.  She pinned and nipped me to give me an idea of what the top of the dress would look like once complete.

Second Fitting
For the second fitting, you can see the skirt is now somewhat attached, as is the top of the dress, and the zipper and half the buttons has been put in.
Unfortunately for my second fitting, my camera battery was dead so we used my iPhone.  
Memories captured, at the very least.


Third Fitting
 For the third fitting, my dress was super close to being done.  It was about two weeks before the wedding and I still didn't have my wedding shoes yet.  She had put the bustier in the dress, the crinoline under the skirt, my sash was made and I brought along my veil and various pieces of jewelery to try out as I wasn't sure what I'd wear on the big day.  I remember being in the dress for at least half an hour and noticed one of the shoulder straps was pulling down and making me uncomfortable.  I also needed the bustier tightened and promised I'd bring the shoes for the next and final fitting and she'd hem the dress.


Final Fitting
 My fourth and final fitting was the Tuesday of the week we got married (and we got married on a Friday).  Everything was perfect, I brought along my shoes (which I surprised my mom with that very fitting - she laughed at how neon orange they were) and was so anxious and excited to bring my dress home (well, to my parent's house, as that's where I kept it until the night before our wedding, when I picked it up).  I must have tried my dress on and off about five times while she made all the last-minute adjustments (the hem, the shoulder strap, again, the bustier) to make it perfect.  I left that evening with my wedding dress, ready to walk down the aisle.
{ bagged and ready to go! }

Joe Fresh dress, Suzy Shier belt, Lilliana shoes (last seen here), Urban Behaviour clutch & Aldo necklace

We went to a wedding reception on the weekend which was held at the golf course where Michael and I met (we both used to work there).  It was kind of neat being back there, bittersweet.  Anyways, the reception was beautiful and we had a fabulous time.  Since we weren't going until much later in the evening, I went out earlier and totally neglected planning my outfit.  When I got home at 10pm, I was going through all my dresses, somewhat frantically, and found this one, on the hanger, of course, but smushed in behind all the other dresses.  I had totally forgotten about it!  I bought it about two years ago and I ripped the tags off the night of the wedding (I love when the perfect occasion arises for something you've been holding onto). 

{ beautiful centrepieces - they were about 4 feet tall, this was the top part }

{ the toss bouquet }

{ a well enjoyed wedding cake }


I found this fabulous navy blue (sorry, I forgot to take a pic) tray at a local thrift store a couple months before the wedding. I thought it would be great for something, and potentially as something on our (orange) candy buffet. I immediately bought it (for $2) and brought it home. I picked up some neon orange (like my wedding shoes) spray paint and went to work. We ended up using the tray to host the little plastic bags we put out for people to put their candy in and it worked out perfectly!

 { dollar store stickers}

{ at the wedding - we used it to hold the candy bags for the buffet }

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