Ring shopping

HI you!

So today, the topic is ring shopping. As you may know, traditionally, the bride shops for the groom's ring, and vice versa. Not to discredit traditions, but I'm not sold on the idea.

Choosing my own and having my husband choose his makes more sense to me. When it comes down to it, I'm going to be wearing mine everyday forever (that's the hope!), so I wanted to find a ring that really struck me. Same goes for the hubby, I wouldn't have picked the same thing for him as he picked out for himself, and he should also have a ring he loves and is happy to wear everyday. Another advantage is that you are sure the ring size will be perfect, as you will be there to have your finger measured when buying the ring.

A compromise can be to go ring-shopping together. Jewellery stores usually carry men's and women's rings, so you can go to the same place for both of you, and perhaps even get a discount.

As for the ring itself, all I have to say comes down to these three points:

1) Go for a timeless look, not something you'll be tired of in three months or with colours that won't always match with what you wear.

2) Don't ruin yourself over a ring. Weddings are costly, and you should focus on good food and a knock-out dress, in my humble opinion. You can always spring for a bigger, extravagant, fancy ring on your five or ten-year anniversary.

3) Shop online first ! Not necessarily to buy a ring over the internet, but at least to see what styles are out there, what you like, what you think would suit you.

Here is the only photo I have of mine and my husband's rings. Mine is a very simple white gold band with little round encrusted cubic zirconium on top. My husband chose a brushed titanium ring.

Photo by JP Lessard: http://www.jpl-photography.com


Next week, we talk about bridal accessories!


Have a good week


xoxox

Making your guestlist

Hello and happy monday to all!

When it comes to making your guestlist, I suggest you just sit down with your fiancé and each make a list of which family members and friends you would like to invite. You may want to agree on an approximate number of people before you start, just so you know where to set your limits (invite only close family and friends, invite every 3rd cousin and all co-workers from your entire company).

At this point, you may have to argue. Personnally, when starting our guestlist, my husband and I did not see eye-to-eye on the number of guests we wanted. He wanted the über-intimate type of wedding, with just our parents and one or two friends present. That made absolutely no sense at all to me, so we talked about it for a while, and I won. Sorry babe, hate to put it that way, but it is what it is. And on a nicer note, I don't think my demands were out of line. I didn't want 300 people there, but I wanted our close family and good friends there. In the end, our guestlist was about 55 to 60 people. However, keep in mind that not everyone can make it. We ended up with 45 people coming.

After you both make your initial list, share them with your significant other, and see if you agree on all the guests. I cannot stress the importance of being tactful at this point. You don't want to start off with "Oh god, we can't invite your grandma, her face makes me want to puke." or "Steve? REAAAaaaaaaally? Oh noooooo."
Try to be understanding of your fiancé's family and friends and remember, you don't have to sit with or talk a lot with most of them. Avoid having people who don't like each other and who might cause tension or even a scene. That may be impossible if your families don't get along, in which case you will have to sit them down (SEPARATELY) and talk with them, make clear that you want NO drama and you expect everyone to be on their best behaviour, even if they only discuss the weather for the entire meal.

Another hard thing you may want to prepare for is having to tell people that they are not invited. That happens randomly, like when you write a Facebook status about going dress-shopping and an old friend you haven't seen in 4 years writes "You better invite me!" and you have to send them a private message to explain that you are not having a big wedding with all friends from college and so-on... Just a little heads-up!

Alright girls, get to the list-making! Next week, we talk about ring shopping!!

Have a good week :)

Choosing a caterer or menu

Good morning all!

Now this is one of the GREATEST parts of planning a wedding. Don't you think? You get to shop around for food, and try things for freeeeee! No, seriously, if you ask caterers or restaurants for sample menus, they will do it. What's one free meal for two when you bring them business for 60, 100, 150 people?

Of course, the first step is to check with the person in charge of your reception hall. If it's a hotel, sometimes they have their own chef who had exclusivity, or who offers interesting options. If it's a restaurant, you will have to discuss menu options there. But if it is a place with no assigned chef, you can first ask the manager if they have someone to recommend (often they do) or shop around yourself.

If you shop around yourself, I suggest asking friends and family members for suggestions, if they know anyone. We all have a friend or cousin who has triple our friends on Facebook and who always seem to know someone in every possible context. It's a great way to find people who have less fancy websites or advertising but are reliable (since someone you know and trust recommended them) and perhaps cheaper.

Otherwise, the internet is a great source of information. Don't hesitate to make calls to ask for more information, but before that, prepare yourself. Think about what you need to know so that you are prepared to ask the right questions. For instance, does your reception hall have chairs and tables and cutlery or should you ask the caterer if they have their own they can bring? How much would that cost? Also, do they provide alcohol? Do they include service with waiters? Do they charge for bottle-opening or cake-cutting? Can they prepare special options for vegetarians, or halal options for muslims, or pureed food for your grandma? (ok, that one's just a joke)

So think about all of these things, and please, PLEASE, include the groom-to-be in this part of preparations! My husband was a nervous wreck for an entire year while we planned our wedding, and it made him even more nervous to come along for shopping or location-scouting, but when food was involved, he suddenly found himself much more interested! This is a part of planning men can enjoy, and their opinion should matter. After all, there will be other men attending your wedding, so there should be "manly food" available to them.

Try having at least two choices for main courses. The more your budget increases, the more options your caterer/chef can offer you. Have at least one fish/vegetarian option. No need to go overboard and offer gluten-free or low-fat options for your picky friends. It's not their day, it's yours.
At my wedding, the reception hall came with a very renowned chef, and we had no trouble choosing the menu. As for the cake, we had the option of dealing with their pastry chef or bringing our own cake, but with a cake-cutting fee. We chose to bring our own, as my sister had a friend to recommend.
Obviously, we asked to try the food before, and they scheduled us for a sample dinner. It was so good, and we had a great free date a few months before the wedding. The only awkward thing is that since you don't pay, you don't know how to act when you leave. Let me explain: after coffee, my fiancé and I looked at each other, and we sort of said "Well, soooo... we don't ask for a bill, since it's free... should we tip them? Yes, I guess, because we did get service... And then what? We just walk out?". That was strange. But I greatly recommend the food sampling experience, since chances are you'll be so nervous on your wedding day, you won't be able to eat much.

We started out with little canapés (such as salmon mousse and other little crackers with fancy things, I can't remember, I was too nervous to eat anyways) with champaign for toasting. Then we sat down for a nice little mixed salad with a blackberry and porto vinaigrette, and for the main course we had a choice of Oven-roasted chicken supreme with applesauce, honey, rosemary and almonds or Roasted salmon with bubbly wine butter, lemon and basil. For desert we had our fantastic cake, which was chocolate and coffee, with espresso-nutella icing. YUM!

Here are pictures of the salmon, and of the cake with cake toppers. It's great, because our cake artist really made them look like us. Her name is Tram, and her company is Tramie's Kitchen. You can see her work on www.flickr.com/photos/tramieskitchen/ or bakingatmidnight.blogspot.com and you can contact her via email ar tramie_s_kitchen@hotmail.com. We highly recommend her if you live in the Montreal area!

 Photo by JP Lessard: http://www.jpl-photography.com

Photo by JP Lessard: http://www.jpl-photography.com


Well, this is all the wisdom I have to impart today, see you next week when we discuss the Guestlist!!!


Have a good week xxxxx