Cupcakes, Candy Bar, Wedding Cake, Sundae Bar, there are sooooo many options! Probably my current favourite is the Sundae Bar we posted earlier this week on the blog:). However, I can’t have it all and my unhealthy obsession with Crave Cupcakes has taken over. The majority of my guests are travelling from Ontario and though they have their own cupcake shoppes there, I know many are looking forward to tasting these little mouth-fulls of joy that I won’t stop talking about . We’ve decided to go with a sweet table of mini cupcakes, macaroons and a 6” cake. This week I came across so many cute options for cake toppers and I’m really excited for the topper we’ve selected. I didn’t want a traditional Husband and Wife cake topper and I wasn’t sure what I did want. Luckily, Etsy.com never fails and I found an abundance of great ideas! I really liked the “Love” topper and custom colours were an option which is wonderful. However, I really fell in love with this sugar rose. I can’t believe the talent some people have. Can you believe this is made from sugar!? I’m curious to see how it’s shipped? Hopefully it’s not in little pieces when it arrives. They do say though that they won’t ship to Canada….minor detail haha that’s not stopping me.
Now that we’re within our six month mark to the wedding we can finally arrange a meeting for our cupcakes and cake… one of the only aspects my fiance has any interest in.

At one of our weddings we arranged for Italian opera singers to dress up as waiters. Nobody except the bride and groom had any idea. When these waiters started to sing, the guests were pleasantly surprised. They sang a very special song that was sung to the bride by the grandfather when she was a little girl. This was a very special memory at this beautiful Italian wedding!

QUESTION

CiaraDaykin: Would you have a crazy hairdo for your wedding or keep it conservative? Answers w/hashtag #fireflywed to be posted on blog

TWITTER RESPONSES

shannacremers @CiaraDaykin: Conservative for sure. When I look back in 40 years the last thing I want to say is “What was I thinking!” #fireflywed

JerricaG #fireflywed: I would definitely go conservative, I don’t want to look back in 20 years and say, “What the heck was I thinking?”

Robynbeazley @CiaraDaykin If I did it over again – wild! #fireflywed

FACEBOOK RESPONSES

Sheila Barbagianis-Comer: Originally I wanted my hair to be a lot more rocker faux-hawk-ish, but it just didn’t work with my traditional dress. We had to take it down a notch to the more tamed version, but it still looked pretty awesome!

Robyn Beazley: If I did it over again – wild.

She and He heart Bedazzle my Bonbons.
Don’t be fooled by these bedazzled little bon-bons, they look too good to eat… yet they are completely edible. –And delicious! The glittery chocolate comes in six different flavors and 24 different colors. Flavors include mint, raspberry and even peanut butter. They are perfect for dessert displays, or just for indulging at a bridal shower. The glittery little treats have been featured in magazines and have generated their fair share of buzz over the past few years. The bon-bons consist of Belgium and Swiss chocolate. So how can this glitter they’re covered in be edible you ask? The glitter is a combo of sanding sugars and cake colorings which have no taste or even texture. If you’re interested in finding out more about these little gems visit: www.bedazzlemybonbons.com.

Click the Image Below to see the responses:

“California girls, we’re unforgettable, daisy dukes, bikinis on top. Sun-kissed skin, so hot we’ll melt your popsicle…” – Nobody said it better than Katy Perry. She sent out her save the dates which are more like “save the weeks”. Russell Brand and his lovely fiancé got engaged in India. A week long wedding ceremony in India would be truly unique and amazing. It’s a tradition in India to extend the wedding celebrations for an entire week. The cards that the couple sent out were in the shape of a henna tattooed hand with an engagement ring on it. I can imagine the celebs have a very exciting week planned for their lucky guests attending the ceremony. If you want your wedding to be spectacular and far from cookie cutter, similar to the celebrity couple, planning a Royal Indian theme wedding is a fabulous idea. Imagine rich colors, elaborate jewelry, delicious Indian food, vibrant colored flowers and intricate patterns on detailed wedding attire. Perhaps Katy will wear a traditional Sari for her rehearsal dinner or even the wedding?

Indian weddings are very sacred and traditional and include many special rituals which last a week long. My favorite ritual is one that takes place in many communities of the Hindu Religion. The sisters-in-law hide the shoes of their jija (brother-in-law) and returns them only in exchange for money. Indian wedding or not, I would sure love to part-take in this fun filled ritual! If you’re interested in more information on how to have a traditional Indian wedding visit http://weddings.iloveindia.com.

Brides have a lot on their minds leading up to their wedding day and it can be completely overwhelming. But wedding planning should be fun, not stressful. We don’t want you to get to your wedding day and just want it to be over.

That’s why you need a Firefly Occasions wedding planner. We can help you with everything from choosing the venue, down to choosing the napkin fold, or we can customize a program for you to help you just where you feel it’s most needed.

Our bride from this past Saturday posted this message on facebook that I wanted to share with you:

“Thank you Ciara and Simon & the team at Firefly Occasions for a wonderful wedding! We couldn’t have done it without you and everything was amazing!!! (Even though it had to be inside…)ha ha.” -Amanda

We’ll send you a free gift just for asking how we can help you (we’re fun like that!). So email us at info@fireflyoccasions.com or call us at 1-800-791-5636 ext 701.

It was supposed to be a beautiful springtime outdoor wedding but when snow started falling in Calgary in May we knew the wedding would need to be moved inside. Luckily our backup plan worked out perfectly and the couple were married with a backdrop of a beautiful oak wall with lime green and brown lampshade chandeliers. The aisle was lined with green amaranthus and guests sat in gold chiavari chairs.

The bride and groom had a ton of fun taking photos with Perry Thompson Photography and returned to their room at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce which had been completely transformed into their reception. Tables had corkscrew place card holders, green napkins, chocolate brown dupioni silk table cloths and of course the gold chiavaris. You can see that chairs really do make a difference in the atmosphere of the room. The centerpieces were a combination of low boxes filled with green button mums, freesia and roses and tall lampshades on a vase with green orchids floating inside.

Click on the thumbnails below for a better view of these awesome pictures from Perry Thompson Photography!

The summer I got married there was so much rain! There were massive floods in the streets and I was panicking that my pretty mountain wedding would turn into a sopping mess. I lucked out that the sun shone on my wedding day but some brides are not so lucky. So what do you do when Mother Nature decides to get wacky with the weather on your wedding day?

Rain, Rain, Go Away…

They say it’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day but I say it makes most brides gloomy. Did you catch The Bachelor Wedding: Jason and Molly? Well it poured on those two but it didn’t stop them from having fun!

I could see in the TV coverage that the wedding planner was very frustrated they wouldn’t let her move the wedding ceremony inside as she kept referring to a back up. I always have a rain backup and it can quite simply be your reception venue. That way you’re not paying for a space that you hopefully won’t have to use. But potentially your venue can move your tables to one side of the room, pull the airwall so no one sees your reception décor and then they can set up chairs for your ceremony.

Or if you’re like Jason and Molly you don’t let it rain on your parade and you get married outside anyways with the help of clear umbrellas which you can get here. The clear umbrellas don’t just look cool but everyone can still see the bride and groom.

Backup Hair and Makeup Plans

If it’s even just a bit misty and humid on your wedding day you need to make sure you’re willing to pay your hair and makeup person for overtime. Have her there so that post pictures you don’t go into your reception looking like a drowned rat!

And if you decide that yes, nothing is stopping you from getting your pictures outside I’d make sure you had a pair of fun galoshes and some big fun umbrellas to enhance your pictures. If it’s raining, work it girl!

Second Dress- Stylish or Necessity?

If you’ve been out in the rain all day in your wedding dress it doesn’t matter how good your umbrella is, chances are you’ll be a bit soggy by the time you hit up the reception. Have a back up dress for the reception. The majority of the pictures are taken and there are some fabulously fun short wedding dresses that are uber cute for the bride who wants to dance the night away. Some of my favorite are featured at Dolly Couture.

Ciara’s Bridal Advice

Even if it does rain on your wedding day you need to keep a positive attitude. If your entire wedding was supposed to be outside then make sure that if the weather is iffy you’ve got an indoor back up or a tent on hold. The money is worth the peace of mind. It’s also a good idea to have a little room in your budget to send someone out for umbrellas and galoshes last minute if you need them… you don’t want to be caught unstylish in the rain!

Want to share this with the world? Please feel free to post this to your own blog or use the material in your own e-zine. We only ask that you please include this text with your post!

Ciara Daykin is the CEO of Firefly Occasions, Inc. a wedding and event planning company with offices in Calgary, Alberta Canada and Beverly Hills, California, USA. Ciara’s popular bi-weekly ezine newsletter is read by over 10,000 brides. Ciara is a frequent speaker at wedding industry functions and coaches other wedding planners across North America.

Ciara provides each bride she works with the haute couture wedding experience. Her planning website can be found at http://www.fireflyoccasions.com/ where you can sign up for her free report, “10 Tips to Take Your Wedding from Cookie Cutter to Couture.” She and her husband, Simon Daykin, are a husband and wife planning team and document their adventures on their popular blog http://sheandheplanweddings.com/.