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You love the pictures of brides in magazines running with their groom being showered with petals. It signifies the celebratory feeling everone in attendance at your wedding has right after you’ve said “I Do.”
But many venues are saying a big NO to the petal toss. No one clean them up so they get ground into the carpet or cement leaving stains, they blow off into the wind in an un-ecofriendly whoosh, or they disappear under chairs and pews wreaking havoc for the clean up crew.
Soo… Sooo… Sad.
But wait! I have 5 petal tossing alternatives that could meet your ceremony send off needs.
1. Ecofetti- Confetti and rice was banned long before petals (no so good for the birds) so this great alternative was created in various colors and it dissolves with water. Great outdoors, probably not for inside- still a little messy.
2. Ribbon Wands- Bachelorette Trista and Ryan’s fairy tale wedding made these wands a fab alternative to the petal toss. Coordinated with your colors not only are they a great send off but also a décor accessory.
3. Ring the Bells- We don’t all have a great church bells to ring post nuptials so an idea from Darcy Miller of Martha Stewart Weddings was just right. She gave the guests of the Today Show Breakfast at Tiffany’s wedding mini Tiffany bells to ring as the bride and groom exited.
4. Bubbles- I did these at my wedding and I loved them. When I look at the wedding video and photos everyone was having so much fun acting like a little kid blowing bubbles. Especially our Gramma’s! It was also so dreamy and romantic on a hot summer’s day.
5. Organic Material- For winter weddings I think it’d be cool to have the green bits of cedar branches cut up into pieces and thrown (none of the hard bits), for the fall autumn leaves. For the summer, make an arch out of huge ostrich feathers that you fan as the bride and groom walk through, for the spring bird seed can act like rice.
Ciara’s Bridal Advice
Don’t be sad without petals. There are lots of fun and creative ways to craft your ceremony exit. Play with the theme of your wedding and use a ceremony send off that enhances everyone’s experience and makes your pictures look great!
By Ciara Daykin
Weddings are such a joyful time in our lives filled with the presence of all those we love around us. But unfortunately, some of your loved ones may have passed on and will not be at your wedding. As your wedding day approaches you may be wondering how you can acknowledge the difference that person made in your life at your wedding.
Joyful Memorials At Your Wedding
I want to share with you some of the subtle and not so subtle ways that you can include the memory of your loved ones in your wedding day. After all, your wedding is a joyful day meant to be a celebration and your deceased loved ones wouldn’t want the focus to shift from you to them. But I know that they would appreciate that you took the time to honor them.
Here Are 5 Wedding Memorial Ideas:
1) Something Old- When it comes to picking your something old, something new why don’t you ask your parents if there is a piece of jewelry that was special to your Grandmother that you can wear on your wedding day.
2) Include Them In Your Prayers- Weddings often do have a spiritual side to them and in religious ceremonies such as a Catholic Mass, Prayers of the Faithful are read. This is a good time to remember and pray for any of your loved ones that have passed away. They can also be acknowledged in the ceremony program.
3) Carry Them With You- One of my favorite things to do for anyone who has had a particular a parent pass away before their wedding is to create a charm that we weave into their bridal bouquet. I simply laminate a small coin sized picture of the loved one and then affix it to a piece of felt (usually blue) then I attach a ribbon so that it becomes a bouquet charm. Another nice for brides to do is to wrap the base of their bouquet with a vintage handkerchief that belonged to their Grandfather.
4) Give Them Their Own Table- You can also set up a memorial table with pictures of your loved ones and have some candles lit there for them. Then your guests can go by and remember them. I like when a bride makes a shadow box so that there is a picture of their Mother but then also a pressed flower from her bridal bouquet.
5) Make It Subtle- Perhaps your friend had a favorite song that she loved to play while you were driving in the car, you could play that as you walk down the aisle. Maybe you always said to your Dad you’d dance to a certain song together but instead you and your Mom could dance together (hey- why not?!).
6) Celebrate Their Traditions- Maybe there was a poem that your favorite Great Uncle always read at family functions, have one of his son’s read it at your wedding. Maybe you can wear your Grandmother’s dress just like Elizabeth in Lynn Johnston’s For Better For Worse comic I’ve posted here for you. Think of a way that you can honor the traditions that were important to those who have passed at your wedding.
Ciara’s Bridal Advice
Remembering those we’ve lost during our wedding isn’t meant to be a depressing affair. Life’s cycles continue, that’s what weddings are all about, another stepping stone in our great life path. Don’t ignore the feelings that you have around your deceased loved ones not being a part of your wedding. Instead honor your loved ones in a way that will have special meaning to you and keep their memory alive.
I’m home from Grand Cayman after an amazing experience at Engage’09, a luxury wedding business summit. I met so many amazing people like Darcy Miller of Martha Stewart Weddings, Randy Fenoli the Fashion Director of Kleinfelds, the cake artist to the stars Sylvia Weinstock, Abby Larson blogger extraordinaire of StyleMePretty.com and so many more. It was truly an honor to be with the crème de la crème of the wedding industry and to be the only Western Canadian company represented and one of only 2 Canadian companies in attendance.
But as you’ll see below… We’ve expanded! We’ve opened an office in Beverly Hills, California and we are taking on clients in the Los Angeles area. I’ve been getting requests for a long time to do weddings and events outside of Calgary and with our new LA office this is a reality. Having our LA Division Manager, Annette Hoegner on the ground in LA to scope out the wedding scene for me has been invaluable. She’s awesome! In her first week she even went to the Young Hollywood Awards. We’re having a launch party in LA in September and I’m super excited and of course I’ll share all the details with you first.
Simon and I have really enjoyed being away together (we worked in a little Seadooing and snorkeling in Cayman) and we came up with some great ideas together. The fact is, that we plan our client’s weddings together. The different energy we both bring to the table makes our clients unlike any other wedding. They are truly special and a work of art. That’s why we’re really stepping up to bring that energy to all brides and grooms planning their wedding through our newly redesigned SheAndHePlanWeddings.com blog. Our blog brings you the she said, he said perspective on weddings. And like you and your groom, we don’t always agree. So make sure you check it out with your groom because our motto is… “Plan it Together.”
We just completed an amazing Midsummer Night’s Dream wedding at the Calgary Fairmont Palliser this weekend and it was amazing. The bride was overwhelmed by the transformation of the room and she and her groom had a fantastic night. I’m so glad. On the other side of town, another bride and groom had a fantastic day as well. We helped grant a wish to a lucky couple through Vibe 98.5FM in Calgary. This couple had been living in a shelter with their 4 kids and they had recently gotten engaged. A letter had been sent into the radio station about them and I helped grant their wish for an amazing wedding day. I rallied the Calgary wedding industry and they totally came through with much generosity and love. I want to thank everyone who helped put together this wedding by acknowledging them here:
Linens & Rentals: Great Event Rentals- Whenever I need cool rental items, great linens or a fab tent, I call on Great Event Rentals. Monica and her team there rock and they have been so generous with their assistance with this wedding.
Bridal Flowers: Mandala Floral- Mallory is a true artist. She always wows my clients with ideas and did she ever wow this couple. When the bride saw her bouquet she was floored.
Photographer: Cory Tomlinson Photography- The power of Twitter was proven when I tweeted about this wedding and Cory tweeted back saying he would do it. He gave the couple a day in the limelight that they will never forget, even producing a print of the couple in time for the reception (and providing us with the picture aove!) His photos are great and his heart is big!
Dress: Beautiful Bride- Simone is the owner of Beautiful Bride and she’s an angel on earth. I looked high and low for a wedding dress for our bride with no luck and Simone came in during her vacation to donate a wedding dress to this cause. She really came through and is an asset to all brides looking for their wedding gown.
Tux: Bridal Centre- Peter and the team at the Bridal Centre are great friends. We refer all our grooms into their expert hands. Our groom for this wedding said that he felt like James Bond in his tux and that truly touched my heart.
Caterer: Savour Food- Carla and her husband at Savour Food didn’t have to be asked twice when I told her about this couple in need. They jumped at the chance to help. She is such a sweetheart and a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen! She made so many delicious items and they looked too good to eat (but of course, I ate, and ooooohhhh it was good!)
DJ: Prism Sound- Cam has been with us since the beginning and we adore him. Simon and I hired Cam to DJ our wedding and he has been a staple at our functions ever since. I can tell you how great Cam is by telling you what he’s not- a cheeseball, a DJ that likes to hear himself talk, a DJ that doesn’t read the crowd- Cam is always the utmost professional and I can always trust him to play what the crowd wants and have them chanting for more (seriously, that happened at one of our weddings with him “One More Song, One More Song”).
Hair/ Makeup: Pink Lime Salon- Bassem and his team at Pink Lime Salon are the type of people that you just want to put in your purse and take everywhere with you. They are so kind and generous and just make you feel like a queen, and I know that they did that for our bride on her wedding day. It was an experience that she’d never had before and they made both her and her young daughters feel like royalty when they did their hair and makeup.
And I have to give a shout out to Colleen at Central United Church who’s always a friend to brides and wedding planners and Marlene at the Albert Park Community Center who made us feel so welcome. To Jennifer at Inn from the Cold who wrote the letter to Vibe 98.5FM. To Dani and the whole morning crew at Vibe 98.5FM- thanks for thinking of us to be involved. And to our wonderful bride and groom, Edna and Kevin and their 4 kids… Thank you for having us be a part of this magical day with you. We’re so happy that you had the wedding of your dreams.
Award winning Calgary based wedding planning company, Firefly Occasions has made a big wish come true for one couple. Ciara Daykin, CEO of Firefly Occasions was approached by Vibe 98.5FM to grant a wish for one of their listeners. A representative from Inn from the Cold, a local Calgary shelter had written in about a couple who had gotten engaged in the shelter and who were planning their July 18th nuptials. She had asked in her letter that the couple be granted the wish of an amazing wedding day with any help that could be provided.
Daykin, not only granted the wish by providing her planning and design services, she rallied the Calgary wedding industry to give this couple the wedding of their dreams. Calgary based wedding businesses such as Great Event Rentals, Mandala Floral, Cory Tomlinson Photography, Prism Sound, Beautiful Bride, Pink Lime Salon, Bridal Centre, Savour Food, and Production Lighting have all donated goods and services towards this couple’s wedding day. “I’ve been really excited and touched that I’ve called upon my colleagues in the wedding industry and they’ve really come through to make this a truly dream wedding day for this special couple” states Daykin.
The wedding will take place this Saturday, July 18th at Central United Church with a reception to follow. Daykin says, “The bride and groom are going to be really surprised when they see what we have in store for them. I think my favorite part of this whole process was when I saw our bride try on the wedding dress we’d secured for her. The smile on her face was priceless.”
Ciara Daykin is the owner and CEO of Firefly Occasions Inc., a wedding and event planning company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Ciara is the publisher/ editor of “Beautiful Brides” a bi-weekly ezine for brides which offers industry insider tips and tricks to planning a fabulous wedding and is subscribed to by over 7500 individuals. Ciara is an expert in planning haute couture weddings that reflect the couple’s personality and style but still fit into their budget.
Ciara also coaches other wedding planners, is a sought after speaker in her industry, has had her articles published in books, magazines and online, and is a well-known social networking personality. Ciara is a personality on the blog SheandHePlanWeddings.com, with her husband Simon Daykin. They provide readers with a she said, he said perspective on weddings. Ciara also consulted designer Nancy Gale of Jamah.com on the creation of a bridal line of handbags and “The Ciara” handbag is named in her honor.
http://www.fireflyoccasions.com
It’s been busy today. We were on the VIBE 98.5FM Morning Show in Calgary talking about destination weddings and the Bon Voyage party that we’re hosting for Emil and Emily, the winners of the VIBE 98.5 Dream Destination Wedding to Jamaica. We’re having the party at V Ultra Lounge in Calgary (on Stephen Avenue beside Earls) on Saturday. It’d be great if you stopped by! Although we’re hosting the couple and their friends and family in a private area at first we will be opening up the area later on and partying with all of V. Special thanks to the great vendors who helped us pull off the Bon Voyage party – V Ultra Lounge, Great Events Rentals, Glimpz Invitations and Perry Thompson Photography.
photo by pasotraspaso
It’s been a busy few weeks, with the weather getting better the brides and grooms seem to be coming out of hibernation and we’re booking a ton of meetings. We’re meeting with the winners of the” Vibe 98.5, 98 Thousand Dollar dream wedding” this week as well and we just got back from a beautiful wedding in Banff this past weekend. A black tie affair at the Banff Springs. I love any reason to put on a tux. Firefly Occasions designed the event and coordinated the day, the event space looked almost as good as the bride.
For more on the Banff wedding, see below!
We had the pleasure of being involved in a spectacular wedding this past weekend at the Banff Springs Hotel. The bride is a good friend of mine so this wedding holds a dear place in my heart. (See below for the complete story!)
It’s also been a really busy time here at the Firefly Occasions office. As summer weddings quickly approach we’re in mega planning mode with our brides and grooms. If you’re getting married this summer I don’t want you to think that there isn’t still time to hire a wedding planner. As we grow we’ve added more staff to our team so we’re more than able to handle the coordination of your summertime wedding. There’s even still time to have a décor meeting with us so that we can help you add your personality to your wedding décor. If this is something that you’ve been thinking about for awhile now is the time to take action by emailing us by clicking here!
I recently completed a wedding at the legendary Banff Springs Hotel. The couple envisioned an elegant, classy affair that provided their guests with an amazing experience and a truly special memory.
But how do you get from the drawing board to the actual wedding?
I always start out my conversations with couples by asking them for the descriptive words that they would use to describe what they want their wedding to look and feel like…
And then I dig a little deeper.
You need to make sure that you are getting your vision across to the people that are involved in your wedding. As a bride when you say, “elegant,” “classy”…. What does that actually mean?
Remember that your version of elegant and classy may be completely different from what someone else envisions. That’s why it’s really important that your vision is clear and easy for your vendors to understand.
So how do you convey your concept?
When we sit down with couples we have a décor consultation. To me, décor is about so much more than just the linens on the tables. It’s about the overall atmosphere of a wedding and all the elements that make up that atmosphere. Yes the linens play a part but there are also the centerpieces, the wedding day stationary, the food, the beverage, the music, and the lighting to name a few.
Each of these elements lends to the overall experience that you and your guests will have.
In our décor meetings we pour over all the wedding books that I’ve collected and I also pull up websites to show the couple. If I hear them say elegant I want to make sure that I know what their version of elegant is. Elegant could be a room filled with candelabras dripping with crystals OR it could be clean, modern lines and the look could be quite minimal.
Here are 3 ways to get the wedding look and feel you want:
Illustrate Your Story- Has your wedding planning book become a dumping ground for all the pages you’ve ripped out of bridal magazines? It’s great to collect ideas but now you have to start editing this collection of random wedding things. I find that a bride can really narrow down her vision to a couple of pictures and then things are less confusing. Ciara’s Bridal Advice
When you’re figuring out how you want your wedding to look and feel I know that it helps immensely to do the above exercise as a couple. Remember that you’re both involved in the wedding so it’s important that the wedding is a reflection of both of your personalities. Once you’ve created a plan for your wedding and you know how you want it to look and feel then you must commit to that vision and make sure all your wedding decisions are aligned with that vision for it to become a reality.
Will Your Wedding Photos Come Back To Haunt You?
by Simon Daykin
We all have our love for facial hair and sideburns. I myself used to sport a long ass goatee that I had dyed bright red. Yup, seemed like a good idea at the time. We’ve all seen the photos of Dad’s wedding, groomsmen with huge mustaches, mutton chop sideburns and oh dear Lord, The Mullet! My Dad gave me some advice on my wedding day, he said “Son, shave that crap off your face, don’t date your photos.” Having thought about this I think that was some of the best advice I could have gotten. You want your wedding photos to be timeless.
Sure, Wolverine is cool and all…but…
Ah the mutton chop sideburn. They look great on Wolverine and Elvis, but do you want them in your wedding photos. When you pull out your photos in the coming years will your kids get a good laugh at Dad’s ridiculous facial hair? This goes for beards (Do you really want to put your bride through that on the wedding night?) goatees, soul patches, cool 80’s stubble and the “pornstache” that Brad Pitt is now sporting. Keep in mind he has his for a film role. Having facial hair that was cool in a certain era will date your photos, it will let people know exactly when you got married and how “cool” you thought you were at that time. You want your photos to be timeless!
Ha, Ha, Daddy had a mullet!
It doesn’t stop at facial hair fellas, oh no. Remember the Faux Hawk, the Vanilla Ice lines and the dreaded Hockey Hair or Mullet! Entire web pages have been dedicated to the Mullet, do you want your wedding photos on such a site!?! I thought not! It may have been all business in the front and a party in the back, the best of both worlds you say? HELL NO!!! I loved the re-make of Miami Vice, so I grew out my hair and grew a wee moustache, I found out I was NOT as cool as Colin Farrell and my wife and friends still make fun of me. I will be eternally thankful that this phase came after my wedding. Sure your personality should come through in all aspects for the wedding, but let’s keep is classy shall we.
We Can Help, We Have The Technology
So, how does one tackle one’s facial and head hair then? For the facial hair I suggest getting yourself a little pampered. On the morning of your wedding, after you’ve had a nice breakfast. Head out to a pre determined barber shop and get yourself a nice warm towel facial and straight razor shave. This will ensure the baby-ass smoothness of your face for your wedding and all the kissing associated there in. Even better, have the barber come up to your hotel room.
As for your glorious head hair. I suggest getting your hair cut in the style you want for the wedding a few weeks before hand. This ensures it will look good and you will like the style. Just before the wedding, pop back into the same guy and just get a trim. Sounds simple right? Well I got my hair cut right before the wedding, it was way too short and I look like I had a day pass from the Marines in my photos. Even worse, at the right angle of the sun, it looks like I’m pretty much bald.
Simon’s Gutsy Groom Advice
So just a few things to recap here. Shave that crap off your face, take some time to pamper yourself and don’t cut your hair before the wedding, just have it trimmed. Oh and one more thing, if you decide to color your hair, give it time to look natural. If your wedding is on Saturday DON’T dye your mop on Friday night. It will look fake and you may have some runaway dye on your scalp as well. No one wants that.
You can make the shave an outing for all your groomsmen if you like. The bridal party gets their hair and make up done, why can’t you and your guys get a hot towel facial and a shave? That way you know none of your groomsmen will show up with any crazy facial hair. Maybe speak to them when you ask them to be in the groom party as some people have a great bond with their facial hair and may not want to give it up.
You want your pictures to be timeless, yes I have said this before but I can’t say it enough. You don’t want your kids to pull out your wedding photo album to have a good laugh with their friends, you want them to pull that album out and tell their friends how hot their parents were and especially, how great their “Pops” looked.
With Valentine’s Day being on a Saturday this year we booked an incredible wedding for the date with a really great couple. Mike and Melanie wanted a really romantic wedding with the colors red, white and black but didn’t necessarily want it to be a “Valentine’s Day Wedding” covered with hearts and red roses, they wanted the look to be inspired by the 1920′s, 1930′s.
We had the Calgary Chamber of Commerce as a venue and we were really able to get in there and create an uber romantic environment for this wedding reception.
The placecards were done by our good friend Amanda at Glimpz and yes, the bride’s new last name was “Love.”
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce is a great venue as it has an art deco feel with really tall ceilings and we were able to play that up with the lighting we used.
Elaine from Grasmere Garden and Floral in Bridgeland really came through with the flowers for this wedding. She did a spectacular job on the arrangements- some tall, some small.
We alternated the linens on the tables to be black on white or white on black. We had the linens shipped in from Napa Valley, California from La Tavola. Aren’t they stunning? The pop of red in the napkins and the votives really bring together the look.
Amanda from Glimpz created the table name cards after the couple gave her the names of famous couples throughout history. On the back of the cards was a story about the couple that the guests could enjoy. The elegant vintage easels are from our private collection at Firefly Occasions
The lighting that we incorporate into every event really makes a big impact on the overall atmosphere. Here we took white ostrich feathers and filled the sconces with them and then lit them in clear versus the red which we lit the windows in.
Congratulations to the new couple! We hope you enjoyed your fabulous day!
This morning Calgary’s VIBE 98.5FM announced that their annual $98,000 Dream Wedding contest has been launched for 2009. And Firefly Occasions is one of the major sponsors!
As the wedding this year is a destination wedding and being taken care of by Westjet Vacations we will be planning, designing and coordinating a Bon Voyage party for the winning couple. The couple and 50 of their closest friends will be treated to a VIP night at V Lounge, Calgary’s newest lounge which specializes in premium vodkas. The package will include invitations for the couple to send out to their guests, appetizers, the first round of drinks and champagne. Firefly Occasions will also be designing the décor of the entire event, decorating the V Lounge to provide the couple and their guests with the ultimate atmosphere to enjoy this experience. From lighting to linens and the latest trends in wedding reception accessories Firefly Occasions will provide the best of the best in wedding décor for the lucky couple. Each detail of the evening will be coordinated by Firefly Occasions so that the evening is stress free and fabulous for the lucky couple. This prize is valued at $10,000.
We’ll be blogging about the contest a lot to keep you up to date with all that’s happening. We’ll also be introducing you to all the great vendors that help us with this Bon Voyage party. This party will be out of this world. The winning couple will be blown away! Stay tuned! And visit http://vibedreamwedding.com/ for contest details and how you can enter.
The type of music you choose will set the tone of your wedding reception and solidify your wedding-day theme. Actually… music can make or break your wedding reception! The decision of who to hire for this responsibility should be based on a number of things- your personal taste, budget, space and guests, to name a few. So who do you hire? A band? Or a DJ?
With a band, you not only get music- you get a performance. A good band leader will interact with people on the dance floor and select music according to the feel of the room. On the downside, a 12-person band will probably take up more space than a DJ, and they will probably cost more.
If you have a list of songs that you HAVE to have played at your reception, a DJ might be better for you, as they have hundreds of tracks at their fingertips. On the other hand, a DJ may not have the ability to improvise, if, say, during the father-daughter dance, someone needs a little help on the dance floor!
Whichever you choose, make sure they play a variety of music- slow and fast, old and new- and encourage EVERYONE to hit the dance floor!
Also, make sure you choose a professional who is open to your likes and dislikes. Give them your personal request list, as well as a do-not-play list. Consider your first dance song a test. If they don’t know it/have it, and are unwilling to learn it/get it, you may want to find someone else.
There are few things celebrities can do without the whole world watching. So, when they get married, we can usually expect their ceremonies and parties to be absolutely extravagant. Below is a look at some of the recent celebrity marriages and some of the creative things they did to make their occasion extra special.
Timbaland & Monique Idlett Four-hundred guests attended the ceremony held on a private island off of Aruba. To add to the “paradise island” effect, the tables at the reception were decorated with vases full of white sand, irises, dendrobium orchids, ranunculus, ginestra and roses in five different colors.
Christina Moore & John Ducey To make sure their wedding was picture perfect, these two decided to use… pictures! Simple yet bold, their deep red, black and white color scheme was accented with white phalenopsis orchids, red votive candles and candid photos of the couple, which also served as place cards for their 120 guests. Instead of the traditional cake, they opted for a dessert bar and placed a digital picture frame on top, which showcased wedding photos of family and friends. They even used picture frames to display their cocktail menu!
Andrew Firestone & Ivana Bozilovic Pure elegance emanated form this reception, which was held at Crossroads, the Firestone family home in Los Olivos, California. Planners and designers worked together to transform a pole barn into a breathtaking indoor/outdoor ballroom. The tables were all draped in ivory satin linen, and above the head table were five chandeliers, suspended by drop chains that were wrapped in Tiffany blue fabric. The vases on all of the guest tables were overflowing with hydrangeas, and the perimeter was covered in ivory chiffon fabric, with an opening in one side that led to the outdoor dance, which was overlooked by a 100-year-old tree. Can you say… romantic?
Source: http://www.instyleweddings.com
Photo Credit: f8photography.comShelley and Ryan were married in February 2008 and it was a fabulous winter wedding with custom made winter trees lining the aisle. We are so excited because this wedding has been featured in the Winter issue of WedLuxe Magazine. Special thanks to our friends Matt and Trish at f8photography for their coverage of the day. You can view the wedding coverage online here.
If you want to find out more about Shelley and Ryan’s Winter Wonderland Wedding you can view the full write up on our webpage.
