Jon Elrick and Megan Coates, Feb.26th 2011 (PICTURES COMING SOON!)

First wedding of the year this year was my friend Jon Elrick! He is originally from Guelph but moved out to Vancouver about two years ago, which proved to be a very good life decision for him, because wouldn't you know it, he came back with a wife! 

I had a chance to see Jon again just days before the wedding and meet his wife Megan. They had already gotten married in Vancouver but decided to come home to Guelph and have a wedding here for family and friends. I instantly connected with Megan. She was really easy going and seems really in love with Jon, they were great together. 

Their wedding took place on Saturday, February 26th, in the afternoon. Their ceremony and reception was held at Gambrel Barn which was just outside of Milton, Ont. 

The atmosphere when we pulled up was instantly so romantic. It was snowing softly and it was so peaceful. There was a slight downside, the walk from the parking lot to the reception hall was tough in heels in the winter, aside from that I was instantly in love. As we walked into the hall I just let out a huge sigh. The barn is simply stunning. Exposed beams, and a huge amount of space to transform into the wedding of your dreams. 

Megan and Jon's decor was simple, but that's what I loved most. Peacock colours were found on the Cupcake stand, and peacock flowers were found on the backs of chairs. White lights scattered the walls along with some twig balls I had seen hanging which I thought were gorgeous. 

The ceremony had me in tears almost instantly. I have said before that I love when couples have something in their wedding that is different or individual. My favourite part was the Hand Ceremony they did. (Hand Ceremony Examples) I thought this was so meaningful and romantic and I really loved the idea of it! 

After the ceremony, there was a two hour break before supper where guests could visit, snack, and of course drink! The bar was really well priced at 6 drink tickets for 20$ and the snacks were veggie and fruit plates which were nice and light. Dinner was excellent, both a meat pie and a vegetarian lasagna was served with buns, salad and potatoes. I had the lasagna and I must say it was the best lasagna I have ever had. I always say the most important part of a wedding is the food, and I always find it's a hit or miss, I was extremely happy! Then came the cupcakes for dessert! The cupcakes were hand made by Jon and Megan, and although I was too full to eat one, my whole table LOVED them.

I really loved Megan and Jon's wedding because they did a lot of DIY decorations and such. Their wedding fit in to the blog perfectly and I was so excited to do the feature! 

Here are some questions I had for the bride and groom to get more insight into wedding planning and wedding budgets! 

My questions:

Favourite part of the venue? Least favourite?
Are you happy with your choice of venue?
Price range that your wedding costed? (you don't need to give an exact as I know this is a pretty private thing for a lot of people but my blog has a lot about saving money on weddings so a price range could help!)
What was included in the venue rental?
Did you spend more or less then you had hoped?

ANSWERS.

1.Jon - Favourite was the atmosphere and convenience of everything being in one building/Least Fav was no elevator access to the balcony.
Megan - Fav-so old and unique/Least-same as Jon

2. Jon/Meg - Absolutely. Couldn't have asked for a better place.

3. The wedding itself cost around $8000. The venue was $1800 (a small amount extra if you wanted it the night before for rehearsal). Caterer ended up being around $2500 for his budget buffet with 110 people. We made all our decorations, centrepieces and the cupcakes and cupcake tree, so that saved on quite a bit of money. Our flowers were donated by a friend of Megan's mom. Bartender was a $500 deposit, but since it was a cash bar, we may make some of that back. DJ was around $300 I believe. I can't think of anything else.

4. Venue rental included all the chairs for the ceremony, tables and chairs for the reception, head table (all table cloths were extra), setup of all tables and chairs, heating and lighting costs, help with floor plan arrangements, and they allowed us the use of several other buildings for the bride's getting ready and the photo shoot.

5. I think overall we spent more than we would have liked to, but at the same time, we ended up with an amazing day and couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding day. Everybody involved was amazing and so helpful, and you really see how much everyone cares about you with all the free labour and services that people offer. It was truly a blessing for us with everything that went on.

Check out some of the people involved in the wedding that were absolutely PHENOMENAL! 

Officiants - Anne & Garry Blinch (White Orchid Weddings)
www.whiteorchidweddingceremonies.com

Photographer - Marcin Moka Photography
www. marcinmoka.com
www.facebook.com/marcinmokaphotography

DJ - Ray Scott (This Note's 4 U)http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12917636540

Caterer - Midknight Catering
www.midknightcatering.ca

Apple You've Done It Again!

I am honestly so excited right now! So I was researching some new ideas online. Dresses, venues, neat wedding ideas and DIY's when I came across this gem. 

Was I the only one that didn't know Apple created an Iphone App called My WeddingDj?! 

This is the coolest app ever and any bride with an Iphone, NEEDS this app. 

Here's how it works: You can add and edit your music and place it into a playlist. There are a ton of templates to fit your ceremony, it gives you all the different parts of your ceremony and you are able to place songs from your playlist into those categories. 

The other nice thing about this app is that there is a smooth fade between each song rather than just a pause and then a song to follow, just like what would happen if you had a Dj. This app also allows requests, where during the party, a guest can press the "request" button and choose a song from your whole playlist to play. It can hold multiple requests at one time. 

Here is what the wedding plan looks like:

Ceremony

• Pre-Ceremony (Playlist)
• Groom’s Procession (Song)
• Group Procession (Song)
• Bride’s Procession (Song)
• Registry Signing (Playlist)
• Recessional (Song)

Reception

• Cocktail Hour (Playlist)
• Wedding Party Entrance (Song)
• Dinner (Playlist)
• Cake Cutting (Song)
• First Dance (Song)
• Father-Daughter Dance (Song)
• Mother- Son Dance (Song)
• Slow Dancing (Playlist)

Party

• Bouquet Toss (Song)
• Garter Toss (Song)
• Party Dancing (Playlist)
• Final Song (Song)

The other nice thing about this app is that each part of the ceremony requires a "slide" on the screen to move to the next section to avoid any songs being played too soon or having the wrong part of the ceremony played. You would need someone to operate the phone during the ceremony but for a mere 4.99$ I think it's worth it! What a cool way to save money! 

If you have ever used this app for your wedding, please leave a comment below, negative or positive! We would love to hear about it! 

CONTEST!

Want a chance to win your bridal gown or 5 brides maids dresses of your choice? 
David's Bridal is having a contest! 
Their stock is also on sale till Feb.28th 50-300$ off including NEW ARRIVALS! 


Click here for the David's Bridal home page! 

Tumblr!

That's right friends! Everything For The Ring is now on tumblr! Check it out! www.everythingforthering.tumblr.com

Living the Dream.

So I think it's no secret that since the age of 3 most girls want to be princesses. We spent hours upon hours watching Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Princess Jasmine hoping someday OUR prince would come... and what we would wear when he did. I personally was surprised that it took Disney this long to collaborate with someone to make a wedding line, but it has finally happened. Disney has teamed up with Alfred Angelo to bring us a line of 7 dresses inspired by our favourite princesses! The princesses who have been featured are Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) ,  Jasmine and Snow White. 

While working my first shift at Ladybug Bridal, a bridal salon in Guelph, I was lucky enough to see some of these dresses up close and personal. Let me be the first to say, these dresses were made for a princess. These dresses were made for women who love the sparkle, the bling and the big ballroom "poof" you get with any princess dress from the movies. Princess Jasmine's dress is the most simple, taking an almost destination feel with light fabric and some "bling" around the halter neck line. Ariel also had a simple (obviously mermaid) styled dress with lots of detailing, since she is my favourite princess I guess it's only fitting that her dress is also one of my favourites! Cinderella is your classic princess dress and is my absolute favourite of the bunch. It's big, it's sparkly and it's oh so romantic. It features a sweetheart neckline embellished in crystals and rhinestones and a full skirt which is covered in glitter (as was I after my shift, watch out they shed!) 

Overall I think this dress collection was quite well done. They have taken inspiration from the women that all of us as girls learned love from and I think for a lot of people that is really special! 

To see the product and learn more about the line, check it out here!

Enjoy! 

A Little Bit Out Of the Box

So my dear friend Shannon brought to my attention the fact that a well known retail store Urban Outfitters (popular to Toronto) has just released a line of wedding dresses! She posted the link and I immediately started googling looking at the dresses and reading about the intentions of the line! The line is called BHLDN which is Beholden minus the vowels. I chose to hold out and post today because the line is launching online today! Prices range from 1000-4000$. Kristen Norris is the manager of the line and this is what she had to say: “We’re confident that we’re filling in space that no one’s filling in. We’re offering a take that’s not out there. We have a lot of shorter dresses, lots of color and prints and no optic white dresses. Traditionally, people got married in churches. Now, they’re getting married on beaches and mountain tops. We’re building our assortment for the ultimate end use.”

Check out the site!


I found some dresses online! What do you think? Would you buy a wedding dress from Urban Outfitters? 

Men & Marriage!

We all know most women are in love with the idea of marriage. But what about men? We always have been told that if you bring up the "m" word, they'll run. So I thought I would ask two men questions about marriage that I thought all women would be interested in knowing! Both of these men are currently planning weddings and I have asked them questions about planning, budget and the idea of marriage. Enjoy! 

James! James is from Kitchener, Ont. He is 23 and he is currently planning a wedding with his Fiance Keira! 

1. What have been your thoughts on marriage growing up?

A: Growing up I didn't really think about getting married a whole lot. The only model of what marriage was like was through my parents. Which was I suppose positive in some respects but looking at it as a whole it made me work harder and think longer about the girls and relationships I had. (Mind you I'm a 100% guilty of being blinded by what I thought was "love"). Growing up I made a conscious decision that my parents marriage won't be my marriage, ill leave it at that. 

2.Have you always wanted to get married?

A: It was on and off. My thoughts on the topic was directly affected by the people who broke my heart mainly and how married I was to my career path. An amazing woman will eventually come and save you from a potentially lonely Swarley existence. I hope you watch how I met your mother. 

3.What did you look for in a partner?

A: independent, not much for drinking or partying, creative, has a car (very important), not a vegetarian (I know it's appalling that your diet is a deal breaker, cry about it...). Non smoker.

4.When did you know you wanted to marry your partner?

A: When she met all the above requirements... Just kidding - but not really! Coming back to the land of Serious now. I knew I wanted to marry Kiera when I realized that she was 100% behind my crazy dreams of being an artist. She probably will tell you that it takes a lot of patience to love an artist, because they're a little on the crazy side. 

5.How did you purpose?

A: I bought the ring one afternoon took it home and I sat at the kitchen table looking at it with my mother. She asked me when I was going to propose... The original plan was to do it on the long weekend we met for the first time which was in two weeks. Seeing as this ring was burning a hole in my pocket and my mothers apparently she put the idea in my head to do it immediately! I looked at the clock and it was 3pm and did the math because kiera gets off work at 5. Gave me two whole hours to come up with a plan. minus showering, changing and getting yourself stoked to propose. Give or take I would say an 1hr and 20min tops. I ended up buying a beautiful oil paint brush (because she loves painting with oil paints) carefully wrapped it in ribbon, made a bow and put the ring on the handle. I caught her at chapters right at the end of her shift got down on one knee and handed her the paint brush with the ring on it and proposed. Really I probably couldn't have planned it any better.

6.Are you helping with a lot of wedding planning? Who does most of the planning?

A: it's a joint effort. I actually am having a lot of fun coming up with and creating pieces with kiera. It's brought us together and caused a lot of stress at the same time. 

7.Why do you think men are turned off of the idea of marriage?

A: It's scary. Look at all the statistics and stuff we see where peoples lives are in shambles because of marriage. It's hard to ignore numbers.

8.Are you doing anything unique for your wedding/did you do anything unique that you have never seen done before at a wedding?

A: That's a though question. I love wedding blogs and people show casing weddings and what other people are doing. Though really I find it counter productive to the creative process. I sit around for hours looking at other people work without starting my own. I end up just becoming intimidated and not even starting. I kinda just ignore it now and just go with how I feel. It's important to feel creative and original even if it's not possible you can make it feel like it is. Something I'm doing is hand silk screening our invitations and other stationary items. I'm really doing it for me and my own selfish elitist reasons. It's not quicker and I'm not really saving any money. I would like to tell you more about the wedding decor but that would be like giving away your recipe for secret sauce. 

9.Suggested vendors or venues?

A: Cambridge Mill and Ancastor Mill (both related) the lady who is taking care of the details is awesome. The place is also gorgeous. Make an appointment to see the place in person. 

10. What was your wedding budget and did you find it hard to stick to that budget?

A: Our budget was $15 000 at first and then that got ousted because things are expensive. So at the end of the day we're probably spending $5000 more than we originally wanted. Nothing is in stone except the $15K for the venue and food etc.