Archive | February, 2012

Leap of Love: Proposals on a day that doesn’t count

You echo my sentiment, And that being so, I accept your proposal, For weal or for woe.

- Leap Day proposal reply

It’s a LEAP YEAR! Do you know what that means? That today doesn’t count. Break out the mimosas.  Maybe you saw the 30 Rock episode last week (and maybe you didn’t) but it doesn’t take Leap Year Willy to explain that this is a very special day. The term Leap Year comes from the idea that for many centuries, February 29th was acknowledged in the calender, but had no legal status and was somewhat ignored. A free day!  So because it had no legal status (and was leapt over), that meant that traditions had no place on a day that technically didn’t even exist.

 

Now just by reading that, you can tell that a whole lot of doors swing wide open. As we all know, it was not particularly “common” (as in technically illegal) for women to propose to men until later in the 20th century.  However, on a day that doesn’t legally exist and where customs and traditions have no place – naturally, that’s a loophole that many women took advantage of. It all started in Ireland in the 5th century when St. Bridget was complaining to St. Patrick about how long women had to sit around and wait for a man to propose, which is a fair complaint. I can just picture it – St. Patrick probably just shrugged his shoulders and got tired of hearing about it so he said that women could justly propose on February 29th and that was that. St. Bridget probably smirked to herself and started plotting.

And that has kick started centuries of women being able to propose once every four years. Queen Margaret of Scotland, at the ripe and acquired age of 5, imposed the law that if a man refused the proposal of a woman on Leap Day, then he would face a few penalties. Those penalties ranged from a kiss to a 1 pound payment to a new silk dress. Queen Margaret set the trend for imposing fines – in Denmark, women used to be compensated with 12 pairs of gloves and in Finland, new fabric for a new skirt. I have decided that those are now standard fines for when my husband doesn’t do something I ask him too, that’s fair right? To make up for centuries of unjust behavior towards women?

So here’s to crafty women, who may not have been making the rules for the last 10,000 years but we sure have been bending, breaking and mending them!

Calgary Wedding Photographer Tara Whittaker – Love You Back Project deadline is Wednesday!

As the deadline for the Love You Back project is fast approaching, we wanted to ensure that you creative brides have submitted your entry to Tara Whittaker from Tara Whittaker Photography. Here is the information once again and watch for the winner who we will post on calgarybride.ca. Good luck!

 

From Tara Whittaker…

From the moment I transitioned into wedding photography, I decided that every year I would gift one special couple with free wedding photography.  I always want to remember my humble beginnings and be grateful for each and every couple that I have the privilege of photographing. If I were engaged myself, wedding photography would be my first priority (right after finding the groom). I know that quality wedding photographers are a big investment and that not everyone can afford a photographer they adore. Last year I collaborated with a like-minded colleague on the Love You Back project, our way of giving back to an industry we love. It ended up being one of the highlights of the season for me.  The winners, Sarah & Bryce, stole our hearts. To quote the bride, “the entire wedding day was bliss”.

 

This year Tara is on the hunt for a couple with loads of personal style, who are willing to show her what’s in store for their wedding and what makes their love so special.

The Rules of Engagement

To be “The Ones” for the Love You Back project you must:

1. Provide Tara with an inspiration board that details your plans and dreams for your upcoming wedding.

2. Be willing to “style-up” your engagement shoot.

3. Be getting married in 2012. If Tara is  already booked on your date… sorry!
4. Be getting married in Alberta.
5. Be willing to have your story told on blogs, facebook, twitter etc.

 

If you’re “The Ones”, your wedding photography will include:

1. 8 hours of coverage on your wedding day by Tara and her assistant.
2. An engagement session.
2. CD of high resolution images with print permissions.
3. A beautiful album telling the story of your day.
4. All travel fees for the photographers.

How Tara is choosing “The Ones”:

“A panel of 3 wedding experts in Calgary will chose the winning inspiration board. We are looking for three things: originality, personality and effort. We would love to see some unique ideas that really tell us about your love story. It doesn’t have to be fancy but show us that you rolled up your sleeves for a chance to win this amazing prize. Submit your entry by email to photography@tarawhittaker.com, type LOVE YOU BACK in the subject line and attach your inspiration board.”

Entry Deadline is February 29th, 2012.

Full details on the blog tarawhittaker.com/blog

Contact Tara Whittaker Photography with any questions at 403-247-3746 or photography@tarawhittaker.com

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!!

 

 

DIY Special: Crystal encrusted table top by (it’s all in the) Details Events

Elbow grease is the best polish.

  • English Proverb

Sometimes, don’t you just see something and die? I mean – see something and want it so badly because it is so perfect. You stop moving, your eye brows either rise to the top of your forehead or furrow in disbelief. Your mouth hangs open while you brain turns it’s wheels over how great that one particular thing would look in your wedding. You kind of don’t know how to respond – except to exhale while saying “That’s perfect…” You don’t even really say the words – they just kind of form while your lungs empty out.

I know. I saw one of those at The Wedding Fair last month. Calgary wedding planners (it’s all in the) Details Events had this table top. THIS ONE table top that was to end all other glamorous, glittery, eye catching, spectacular table tops. And I’m not talking about an overlay or a a linen – I’m literally talking about the top of the table.

Using patience, creativity and plain old elbow grease, the girls were able to create something with such a major  wow factor that could also seamlessly fit into any colour palette. As long as a Calgary bride wants big time bling, this was something marvellous to see. So creative – so we had to find out – what was the inspiration and of course – how did they make it?! I got to pick the brain of Jenna Quinton and find out just how it all went down…

What inspired you to make this dream table top? I’m a huge believer in having a WOW decor element – you can do a lot with less if you have a main focus. When my incredible social media expert found a picture of a jeweled table (check it out on our FB page!), I immediately started wondering how I could work it into the glam rock inspiration we had going on in the booth.

What kind of supplies/materials did you use? This was created using a construction of MDF “boards” (a super strong piece of particle board), contact cement, imported crystals, and some basic acrylic paint (to give the glue something to adhere to). Other materials included “art” paintbrushes, which worked a million times better than your standard house paint brushes, ribbon for the table edges, and glue solvent for cleaning up any glue that touched the top of the crystals during their placement.

How much time did it take, and how much was the cost of supplies? From concept to putting on the final ribbon, I’d say the entire project was close to 30 hours, but the actual gluing of the crystals took closer to 15. There was a lot of trial, error, and calculations that went into figuring out the load bearing capacities, bend points and support requirements of different materials before making our final decision and starting the build. If I did it again, I’d say I could reasonably cut my time down to 10-12 hours start to finish. The main cost of the materials was the crystals (no surprises there!) and they ran us approximately $300 going through our wholesale import account. Purchasing at retail prices, the cost would be closer to $2500 for the crystals and $200 for everything else.

Hats off to these fine ladies – their ingenuity and creativity helped them create something rather unforgettable. What I love is that they did it themselves – they were inspired and they went for it, a great lesson for brides – and for life. Do I think they’re going to go drop all things weddings to go into the table top encrusting business? Doubt it.