Archive | March, 2011

Real Wedding: Wunmi and Olu at the Art Gallery of Calgary

Calgary wedding photographer Tara Whittaker sent us the beautiful Real Wedding of Wunmi and Olu – we thought it was so adorable, we had to share it with all of you. Thanks Tara!

Wunmi met Olu 12 years ago, on a vacation to visit her extended family in Nigeria. In need of a tour guide, Wunmi’s cousin suggested his good friend Olu show her around. An instant connection formed, and the two spent her entire trip visiting and sighting seeing together. When the time came for Wunmi to leave, it was just the beginning of their romance. Taking it slow because of the distance between them, Wunmi recalls talking to Olu on the phone for hours, from early evening until dawn. 12 years later, Wunmi and Olu lived every bride’s dream and had two wedding ceremonies – a Nigerian wedding and a Calgary wedding .

Our ceremony was two-fold – we had a traditional engagement ceremony in Nigeria which was held the traditional way and was very colorful with over 500 guests. We decided on a different theme for the (Calgary) wedding, opting for a simple and intimate ceremony. The wedding was held at the Art Gallery of Calgary which was so beautiful from the walls of the gallery to the floor. It was just a perfect setting for our ceremony, cocktails and party afterwards. Our guests had so much fun – no one wanted the music to stop!

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Wunmi’s  chandelier earrings are gorgeous with her haired done in a classic up-do.

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Olu’s black dapper pin-stripe suit fits perfectly with their urban venue.

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Get creative with your photographs and poses – before your wedding day, head down to your venue for an impromptu tour and pick out a few spaces that catch your eye. Maybe it’s the big leather chairs in the corner, maybe it’s the sun shine that streams in from a sky light or a giant piece of art on an otherwise blank wall. Jot those spaces down and ask your photographer to try and work some of those visuals into your photos.

 

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Dancing on Stephen Avenue makes a perfect photo to describe Wunmi and Olu’s Calgary wedding – great to send home to Nigeria!

 

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Calgary Wedding Photography: Tara Whittaker Photographs

Calgary Wedding Venue: The Art Gallery of Calgary

Bride’s gown: The Bridal Centre

Bride’s shoes: Nine West

Men’s attire: The Bridal Centre

Calgary Wedding Florals: Kensington Florist

Calgary Marriage Officiant: Laurie Rupert

Make-up: Kristi Thomas of Smoovegrl

Wedding Trend: Beautiful Broach Bouquets

A broach bouquet has a lot of appeal for a girl like. I love to be different, doesn’t matter if that means making a chandelier out of tissue paper, wearing leg warmers over jeans or a side pony tail falling from the top of my head, being different is almost an addiction for me. The broach bouquet trend speaks to me in a lot of different ways – it’s eye catching, it’s sparkly, it’s new and old at the same time, it’s got DIY written all over it and it’s completely customizable. And as of yet – not everyone is doing it.

But at the same time – I’m wary. Could this be the bird cage veil of 2009? The yellow filtered photographs of 2010? I’m not a fortune teller so it doesn’t matter – what matters is that today, right now, it’s totally adorable and totally doable. Let’s go over a few of our options, shall we?

DIY It: From all accounts, a full fledged DIY broach bouquet is very doable. All you need is about 85 broaches, some floral wire and ribbon. But what makes the DIY broach bouquet unappealing as a craft is the amount of time it takes (looks like between 2 – 3 hours per bouquet) and the amount of money it can potentially cost. 85 broaches at even 50 cents a piece is still $42 per bouquet and that’s just the jewellery cost. Last time I checked, nice fresh flowers were going for somewhere near that. This is not a money/time saver project – this is a good-golly-I-love-it-SO-MUCH-give-it-to-me-now project. What would I do? Check with a craft or jewellery supply clearing house and look for some dirt cheap prices, in bulk if you can. That way, you can order maybe 7 – 10 styles of broaches and ensure your bouquet has a uniform flow to it. So if you really want to – here is a great DIY link from Fancy Pants Weddings.

Photo Source: Broach Bouquet by Fancy Pants Weddings

Go Big, Buy It New: Fortunately for 21st century citizens, the interweb gives us the luxury of having access to goods from all over the world, provided you have a valid credit card number. And what better place to start our hunt for broach bouquets than everybody’s favourite handmade store – Etsy. Easily the best place to find one, there are a few shops online that are more than happy to cater to your needs – for a price. Amanda1 on Etsy claims to be the original broach bouquet designer and she certainly has a collection to back that up. It is a great shop to get an idea of sizes, prices and design styles. For a different feel, check Croska on Etsy. If neither of those shops are making your mouth water, try snooping through some of the wedding classified ads. A new-to-you bouquet can be your “Something Old”.

Photo Source: Cloth and Broach Bouquet by CroskaPhoto Source: Broach Bouquet by Amanda1

Go Halfers: Okay – you just love the vibe of the broach bouquet, but you don’t have the time, energy or fiscal resources make it happen. Please – all I do on Tuesdays is scheme how to make it work for you for as low a price as possible. I fashioned the modest bouquet below from a small gathering of faux fleur a la Pier 1 Imports ($13 and originally as a prop in my engagement photo shoot), and then took this large pendant from a necklace I bought at Ardene for 2/$10 (I wanted the 24’’ chain it came on). Then I stuck the broach on a floral stick (instructions here) and snuggled it right into the bouquet. Voila! To fill out a floral bouquet, you would probably only need 4 – 7 broaches or pendants, of course that varies on the size of your arrangement. If I had used four broaches, this probably would have cost me (grand total) $25 – $30. A wedding feather in your cap, shall we say.

Photo Source: Faux flowers and pendant from The Coffee Filter Bride

As with all wedding projects, if you can find a creative and inexpensive way to do it, the final outcome really becomes your own and is something you can really look back on and  to be proud of. Tell me what you think – honestly – are you thinking about using a broach bouquet at your wedding? Or does the idea make you question the taste of girls who decide to do it?

Outside the box: bridesmaid dresses part 2

We’re back with Round 2 of gorgeous and fun Canadian made bridesmaid dresses. I hate to pick favourites – but I did anyways. However, I won’t tell you which one my favourite is *coughIlovetheblackonecough*. What I will say is through my endless hours of (Friday night, wine filled) research, I sourced from Flare Magazine’s directory of Top Canadian Designers. That’s right ladies – I went through every single website and collection on this list. You owe me one.

Green – Green is such a fresh colour, it always reminds me of spring. This little green number is great – covers the shoulders, has a little bit of shimmer to it and it is an appropriate length – this is a dress bound to make a bridesmaid’s day better.

Light Blue – It’s hard to find a pastel blue dress that isn’t a flashback to Jr. Prom. The dress below can be dazzled up with bows, broaches, sparkly shoes with matching clutches or a more complicated up do for hair. A dress like this can easily be worn after the wedding to a casual day at the beach or a brunch. Also – ignore the socks.

Navy – Long sleeves, sleek and sophisticated, this a great dress for a wedding held in an upscale restaurant or boutique hotel. The beading on the shoulders means that there’s no need to accessorize with jewellery. You wouldn’t want to overdo a dress like this.

Clemente, $440 by Jay Godfrey

 Inspiration Board – The Perfect Palette

Purple – A rich purple or lavender is a great colour for dresses – that’s what my lucky girls are wearing :) A darker colour is slimming and a dress that is fitted on top with more movement in the skirt is universally flattering.

Black – Black is a big colour for bridesmaids – matches every palette and often, brides don’t ask their bridesmaids to buy a new dress (if you don’t mind the mismatched look). But if you are going to ask them all the buy a dress, make sure it’s a little black number that they would all feel comfortable wearing again – not every girl loves a black, jersey tube dress.

Silver – Like gold, silver has so many options and goes with everything. This dress has an adorable sparkly bottom with a simple white top, making it easy to transform into an entirely different outfit with a cardigan or a shrug. In other words, perfect for a bridesmaid to go to her company Christmas party in or opening night at the theatre.