writer without a ring

fuckyeahweddingideas:

This is the kind of thing that makes me even more in love with all the details of a wedding. What a fantastic idea!

A couple of months ago, I received an email saying that “The Caketress” was now following me on Twitter. I wasn’t sure I knew how this…Caketress…had found out about my Twitter, but I didn’t care. It always makes you feel kind of excited with every additional “follower” and I wasn’t in any position to pass a new one up! I logged on to Twitter, and checked out my newest follower. Little did I know, I was in for the best treat ever.

The Caketress has a real name (bit of a downer, hey?) and it’s Lori. I don’t exactly know Lori personally, but I like to pretend that I do since she seems so fab. She started off teaching herself to bake, then went on to learn from Bonnie Gordon of Bonnie Gordon Cakes (says her site…again, I only wish I knew her). She now makes her beautiful cakes and treats for clients throughout the GTA, Muskoka, and the Blue Mountain area. You know I love a good local find, so The Caketress and her blog have become my newest obsession.

Lori’s cakes are what my dreams are made of. From beautifully sophisticated cakes, to some with adorable touches like buttons and bird cages (as seen on one of her latest blog posts). There have been posts with mini cakes, to custom couture inspired cakes, and the most stunning cakes you can think of. I’m so in love with her aesthetic and the fact that she seems to take risks with her designs.

This excerpt from a blog post about herself just makes me want to love her even more…

“I believe:

The cake’s flavor should always exceed it’s presentation.
Dancing while making buttercream icing  is the most important ingredient.
The wedding cake should represent the couple’s taste and personal style .
I’m only as good as my last cake and should always try to one up myself every time.”

I think I might have prematurely found the woman who I need to bake my wedding cake. Thanks, Lori! Even if you don’t know it yet…

Check out her site at http://www.thecaketress.ca/

Here are some photos all courtesy of her blog (http://thecaketressblog.com/)

Up until now, my blogs have all been based on things I love or things I find which I think might be of interest to others. Also, let’s face it, this is my outlet for planning my own wedding without looking like a complete psycho to those around me (or seeing the eye roll I get from my mother).

I guess now is as good a time as any to let you know that in “real” life (as opposed to my fantasy wedding blog land), my career is as a makeup artist. I work freelance, spending most of my time in the fashion and bridal parts of the “industry”.

Bridal is one of my most and least favourite industries to work in. Most, because I absolutely love being part of people’s special day and making someone look their very best for a day they will look back at (hopefully) for the rest of their lives. I love the look on a bride’s face when you show them their final look, or when you spruce up their mother who doesn’t usually wear much makeup. There are honestly some days so rewarding, that you are reminded of why you decided to get into such a tough business.

You don’t usually have the good without the bad, however. Some of the reasons I love bridal are the same reasons I sometimes curse it. For example: this is the day someone looks back at for the rest of their lives. Pressure much? This means bridezillas. My worst makeup nightmare. I’m a future bridezilla, I’m aware, but that doesn’t mean I necessarily enjoy them. They’re a bit high stress and crazy, but at the end of the day if anyone understand why…it’s me. Every bride wants their perfect day and I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen.

Anyways, my point through all of this rambling is that I figured instead of just racking up posts about things I adore, maybe I would share some wedding day makeup tips (or even just everyday makeup) in future posts! So here’s your heads up! Stay tuned for beauty tips my loves.

Love,

writerwithoutaring

I probably think about this more than necessary, and figured I might as well approach it. The only problem is that I by no means believe that there is a right answer to this subject. Great start, right? What kind of person sits down and thinks “Know what would be great? To write a blog post about something I have absolutely no answer to, nor the authority to decide what’s right!” Well, you know, evidently I do.

Anyways whether there’s a “right answer” or not, I think it’s something that more and more brides are having to deal with when it comes to planning their actual ceremony these days. While weddings are based on the concept of traditions, what happens when that tradition just can’t be fulfilled? I’m talking about that ever important, somewhat daunting walk down the aisle.

Tradition generally tells us that the Father of the Bride is the one who gets the honour of walking their daughter down the aisle to “give her away” so to speak. But what if there is no father? It’s anything but unusual these days for many brides to have divorced parents, a father who has passed away, or even just to have never met their father. Now what?

The answer to that is where I run into problems. Personally, I would say that the next in line would be someone (anyone) who holds the same importance to the bride. For me, I would love to have my brother walk me down the aisle. He has been the one in my life who took over the role of an older masculine figure. He’s always been there for me, and I love him more than anything. I’ve also considered a cousin, or a close family friend who has been like a “father figure” to me. And who says it has to be a man? I would just as happily ask my mother to be the one who walked me down the aisle. I mean, she raised me, made me the person I am today, and has never ever let me down. She means more to me than anyone else in the world. These days the lines of tradition are so blurred I think the answer is whoever you want it to be.

If you have an opinion, message me! I’d love to know what people think about this question. Let me know!

Hey all!

As you can tell from my insane upload of posts, I’ve just made a blog switch! I’m hoping my recent switch to tumblr will inspire me to revamp my blog and write a LOT more frequently. I’m already brewing up ideas and saving some posts to be published soon!

I feel as though this would be a good time to make my own personal vow (yes…I WAS trying to be clever) : I PROMISE TO WRITE! I love to write, and more than anything I love weddings…so here’s to a fresh start and many more hours of wedding obsessing.

All my (slightly obsessed) love,

writerwithoutaring

Wedding spaces are something that have always stumped me when it comes to honing my wedding planner skills. In terms of “wedding style”, I have to say that I see location as a huge insight into a couple’s personal style and their inner wedding thoughts…yes, I might’ve made that last part up.

Speaking with some potential brides lately, that is one thing that keeps coming up. Although I’ve met my fair share of what I would call “fairytale princess” brides, (i.e. the ones looking to get married in New York, riding in on their horse drawn carriage with snow white horses) there are always those select few who, while they obviously wish to get married, would be just as happy going to vegas or city hall and calling it a day. It may not be my dream wedding, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that your own wedding has pretty much no merit or place when dealing with another bride. Fair enough. I will say however, that if low key is your middle name there is more than one alternative…city hall doesn’t have the answer to everything.

One thing that strikes me the most about wedding planners that I admire, is their innate ability to transform a space no matter the budget. I think that’s something I would consider to be so internal and which relies heavily on a person’s naturalistic tendencies. It’s a matter of innovation and perception. A community centre is not just a community centre, it’s a blank canvas as well as an opportunity (at least one hopes). I realise how “wedding planner for dummies” that sounds, but I legitimately believe it.

Anyways, my point is that while location is something which I hold near and dear to my heart, a smaller budget is no excuse fo tacky decorations and a lack of imagination.

A little while ago, a friend of mine (and fellow blogger) Adam posted photos from around his hometown of Ottawa. Having previously lived there as well I took interest, and was excited to revisit memories from my old stomping grounds. One of his photos sparked particular interest and inspired me to write this post. The photo was of the National Art Gallery with a bride and groom walking hand in hand happily alongside it. All I could think was how perfect the location was, but in an “understated beauty” kind of way. It showed more imagination than a basic backyard wedding, or a traditional cathedral wedding. What’s more perfect than a place thriving with unique and beautiful art pieces, views, and interesting architecture? Even as a self proclaimed “fairytale princess” type of girl, I have to admit that it made me stop and think. Why spend so much more time creating a beautiful space, when these places already exist throughout the city? And that, my friends, is why I am now planning a day dream wedding in my mind. Setting? The Art Gallery of Ontario (aka my new dream location)

All I can leave you with, is hopefully a newfound interest in the search for your perfect location and maybe the will to be more imaginative. Make the most of whatever space you can afford, be creative when choosing your location, and always remember to think outside the box…you never know what you might find.

Thanks for the inspiration, Adam! Looks like I have to invite you now!

Lately I’ve been encouraging myself to be “craftier”, which has led to my obsession with DIY wedding activities. My cousin is soon to be married, and I was asked to be a brides maid (first brides maid experience…so into it). It’s been great being a part of her preparation and seeing first hand the way brides view their big day/all that needs to be done.

Her sister is the maid of honour, and so far I’m more than a little impressed with her hard work and planning skills. On top of that, there was one thing which captured my heart even more…DIY wedding shower invites! At first when I heard the maid of honour would be making them herself, I had my doubts. I mean, I know Microsoft Word can help anyone whip up a carefully templated greeting card or invite, but what’s attractive about that? I’ll tell you…nothing. I was pleasantly surprised, however, when all of the brides maids were sent photos of the invitations she made. They were adorable! I couldn’t believe she had made them herself, but it served as a small source of inspiration.

Since then, I’ve been browsing off and on through DIY wedding sites all over the net. Need a head start? Follow www.brides.com on twitter (@brides), or just visit their blog on the website. They’re constantly posting tips about not only gowns, wedding vendors, cake shops, etc. but from time to time they post great DIY sites to check out. Most recently, they posted a site with DIY home decor and lots of amazing spring centrepieces:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/entertaining/5-cute-centerpiece-ideas-for-your-easter-table-113029

The centrepieces are bright and fresh, and could definitely be used in a wedding setting rather than your home. Forget spending money on overpriced centrepieces from the store, making them yourself saves money and can be a great activity for you and your brides maids.

I made my own centrepieces a couple summers ago for a family member’s wedding and they turned out to be incredible. Buy some inexpensive candles, hurricane globes, things like sand, glass beads, or you can even make your own candles with store bought candle gel wax like I did. With a little bit of imagination and time, you can save some money you would’ve spent on store bought centerpieces and put it towards something else! You’re never too good for DIY, and it will almost always turn out better than you thought it could. Next time you’re stuck on budget, surf the internet for ideas to DIY…and when in doubt, just turn to Martha Stewart. It’s a good thing.

Wedding cakes are such an interesting topic these days wedding - wise. Every couple is open to something different, and with all of the options out there it’s getting harder and harder to choose. Cupcakes? Traditional? Homemade? Bakery made? Fancy? Simple? It seems as though every detail comes with the baggage of a million other little details. Can’t a person eat cake without making so many decisions? Maybe…but where’s the fun in that?

When I indulge in a wedding browse sesh, I like to try and find something I’ve never looked at before. I’m drawn to interesting, unique, and beautiful things, but more than that I’m a little bit obsessed with local finds. It’s one thing to admire gorgeous New York locations and Parisian lace gowns (mmmm.), but a local find is kind of amazing. It makes any unhealthy fantasizing a little more realistic and perhaps more normal. If that’s possible.

Anyways, today I checked out the site for a place called “The Wedding Cake Shoppe”. Pretty self - explanatory. It’s this great Toronto shop on College St. run by two women, Cindy and Sarah Coelho. Their cake gallery alone sold me. Some of their cakes simple, some more extravagant, but all beautiful and personal looking. It seems like the kind of place you’d go for that extra something special, another detail in your coming out to the world. The artistry is outstanding and I’m seriously considering a stop into the shop just to ogle the work of these two brilliant ladies. (They’ve even participated on the Food Network Challenge! So about it.) Sarah and Cindy provide consultations lasting even up to an hour, in order to figure out the cake best suited to your needs. Swatches, photos, displays, portfolios. These women mean business!

Check out their amazing cakes at http://www.theweddingcakeshoppe.com/index.html

I’m kind of in love with the “Vintage Baby Birds” cake and their gorgeous “Hydrangea Cake”. Definitely worth looking into if you’re stumped on the wedding cake front! Happy taste - testing!

Weddings are such an interesting thing…I mean, if you actually look at them closely. I don’t mean the commercialized version that everyone seems to be afraid of and look down upon, but the actual details of a wedding. The things which, to the Average Joe, might seem frivolous and unimportant. There’s such an incredible sense of tradition surrounding weddings, not to mention a fast paced process of evolution that is ignored or brushed aside.

These days, weddings aren’t what they used to be. I don’t know about you, but my own wedding (should it ever happen) will be nothing like my mother’s. (Sorry, Mom!) While the same traditions and values will always be there, I think the evolution of what I would call “wedding style” is something that interests me the most. Weddings have become much more extravagant, more detailed, planned, perfected, styled, personalized.

So, today I was surfing the web, checking out something I’ve never thought a lot about: invitations. That part of weddings has never really interested me all that much. They’ve always seemed so generic, boring, and the fonts alone seem to drive me nuts. I guess it’s the crazy person in me, because I know weddings are generally supposed to be classy and above average fancy, but I can’t help but be drawn to something with a bit more personality.

I came across this site today, www.invitationsbynature.com Obsession ensues once again. Not only do they place priority on being environmentally friendly (hence the name), but their invites don’t make me fall asleep! They’re beautifully designed and the range of colours splashed across their samples make me check into fantasy wedding land all over again.

This one’s called “Purple Elvis” (okay, weird…I know) and I’m kind of in love with it!

Um…HELLO?! The description reads, “Elegant sparkling accents with top-of-the-line Swarovski® flat back crystals wedding invitation with vibrant colors of fuschia, turquoise, citron, mandarin and purple.”

Purple, Swarovski®, black crystals?! All words which fit very neatly into my vocabulary of all things amazing. The site offers a lot of classier invites too, ones which are probably more…modest shall we say? There are some great invites designed by Angela Cole, and different invites for different themes. The “Golden Butterfly” invitations are the new love of my life, and I’ll probably spend the rest of this week scoping out my favourites. This site needs to be spread to the wedding world if it hasn’t been already. This is one for the bookmarks. Happy fantasizing!

Photographers are probably one of the most difficult details of a wedding to nail down. A location is one thing, the food another…but choosing the one person who will either make or break your wedding day memories for the rest of your life is kind of a big deal…no pressure. Not to mention the fact that there are so many photographers out there, it can seem like an endless circle of looking at books, checking out sites, and listening to recommendations from so and so’s best friend’s cousin. Let’s face it: everyone has an opinion when it comes to your wedding. Everyone.

That being said, I’m about to give my own opinion on weddings. Hypocritical? Maybe. Do I care? Only a little bit.

I came across this photographer when I was in university, and I only recently realized the extent of his amazing work. In school, Spencer Fu was known around campus as one of the photographers for our annual “Vogue Charity Fashion Show”. Having friends involved in the show, I always got a good glimpse at the publicity shots and everything surrounding the event. Spencer always seemed to be able to capture this genuine happiness in his subjects and I was always impressed by the quality of his work.

A few weeks ago, in an attempt to scope out photographers of my own, a friend of mine reminded me of Spencer’s work. I looked up his website only to find pages of gorgeous wedding photos, engagements, along with some more casual things like head shots and modeling. I still can’t get over his ability to capture such beautiful moments without a “posed” or forced look. His photos reflect such a natural and genuine glow and really showcase every couple’s special day. The location, the guests, he even seems to capture tiny (but wonderful) details in each different wedding. As a bride, I would say you could be more than a little bit confident leaving those “lifelong memories” in the hands of someone like Spencer…I know I would be. Spencer’s photos are inspiring, beautiful, and certainly worth looking into for your special day.

Check out his site at www.spencerfu.com/blog/

Some photos of his work, courtesy of his site:

I won’t say “every girl” because I know from experience that it’s not true, but many girls have wedding fantasies and dream scenarios from an early age. I remember when I was younger, I used to draw a lot of pictures in my spare time. Me and my future husband, my two adorable twin girls, and a picture perfect fairytale wedding (I’d expect no less), but from there it became a bit more of a habit. Google was my best friend, and www.brides.com became my addiction. Obsession ensued.

My own mother cringes when I even glance at a bridal magazine in a store, but I can’t help it. The gorgeous gowns, the sparkling rings, the destination weddings…obsession has always been my weakness! I love it, I can’t get enough of it, I need to see it.

All that being said, I have to confess my latest fantasy location in the Toronto area. After seeing a small blurb about it in a Canadian bridal magazine, I HAD to look into it further only to find true love. Toronto’s “Graydon Hall Manor” is an absolutely gorgeous location near Don Mills and the 401. The Manor is this gorgeous old style stone building with beautiful fountains and a large space out back for receptions during summer months. The inside is just as stunning, providing the perfect back drop for any wedding. At night, the back courtyard comes to life with lights including within the fountains and throughout the trees. This is one of the most gorgeous settings I’ve seen lately. Any bride would be lucky to spend their special day at Graydon Hall, and it continues to be my own personal wedding fantasy.

visit www.graydonhall.com to check out more about the location, catering, etc.

(Both images from www.graydonhall.com)