Glamnuptials : Groom Posing

The morning of, the photographer stopped by the best man’s house to take pictures of the boys getting ready and to snap a couple of shots here and there. Both Marc-André’s parents were there as well to help him get ready for the big day.

Not many shots were taken, and the photographer didn’t seem to catch the little moments/details that were so important to us. It felt like he was more in a hurry to be where the bride was (according to my hubby to be).

To top things off… the pictures that he did take were at the suggestion of the best man’s girlfriend (in pink, below) who happened to take our after wedding shoot photos since we were disappointed with our pro-pics. There were no pictures taken of the cuff links, of the bouts, or of any of those little details. We were really disappointed.

Can you believe that out of all the pictures there is NOT one of the groom and the best man? I was heartbroken when I got the pictures back, because it meant a lot to Marc-André to share this special moment with his best friend. Plus, the pictures with his parents are nothing spectacular, but at least he has pictures with them… whew!

But, what can you do? NOTHING!!! What is done is done. So, instead of getting worked up about it and thinking about the pictures that could of been, we’ll look at the ones we do have… and looking at Marc all pretty in his suit makes up for it for a good 5 seconds.

Up next: The family and bridal party shots…

Images taken by : Ipi-events

Glamnuptials : The Bride Posing

Looking through my Glamnuptials posts, I realized that I’ve been writing them all wrong. I’ve been going back and forth with no story line. Where has my head been? I’m gonna get my act together and continue the recaps properly. So lets start off by the bride photo session.

I looked through our pro pics and selected some shots I thought were pretty. Unfortunately, I don’t have many pictures of me. I don’t know if it was because we were tight on time or because everything seemed to be overwhelming, but at least the ones I do have are awesome.

The next picture is ultimately my favourite shot. I remember how I felt at that exact moment. I literally took 10 seconds to let the whole day sink in. I was getting married and felt like a million bucks!

What I love about the next couple of shots are the angles they were taken at. I’m a fan of unique pictures, and these showcase my fake lashes rather nicely.

I loved our limo. It was a 1959 Bentley. It was a bit of ’50s inspired vintage glamour. Apart from the fact that we didn’t have AC, it was rather roomy and comfy. I definitely felt like a movie star.

At the reception, we rented vintage outdoor lighting and a bench to re-create a park in NYC circa the 1950s. It was only fair that I take the first shot to test it out. It passed the test, and our guests loved the bench of love.

Up next: It’s the grooms turn to pose…

Glamnuptials : Ceremony Part 2

I started sharing with you my wedding, and I realized I never continued my posts. Last time we left off in the Glamnuptials was Ceremony Part 1. So here is part 2.

Saying the “I dos” was magical. A moment you dream of and it was a true fairytale come true and to add to the already amazing day, we were blessed to have my godmother and my sister-in-law do a reading. They were stressed like you wouldn’t believe, but they did a great job!

We didn’t really prepare anything for the candle ceremony so they provided us with these cute dove shaped candle holders. It was very … how could I say … capturing.

When it came time to sign the registries… I wanted to make sure everything is perfect. They say once you sign… it’s over. You can’t go back. I was having doubts… just kidding . But they did make a mistake in Marc-Andrés last name. I didn’t want to get married to a stranger… so they made the modifications on the spot.

When it came time to really sign the documents, the music was suppose to start. Ingrid Michaelson “The way I am”… Well it didn’t. No one really knew when music was suppose to start, but 2 of my good friends told me I was staring at the Organ and singer as if I had killer eyes. Basically saying “CUE the music” it finally started a little late but now I was ready to sign. lol

So that’s it… were married, I’m officially a Mrs. according to the church and the government. I love it. Its such a great feeling (even though I keep my own name) Ya you read right. Here in Quebec, Canada the Government is pro-independence so they want you to keep your name. Otherwise there a fee … something like 350$ I really don’t mind since in the end my children will have my husbands name… so its all good. (Plus, to be honest my last name is prettier. So I want to keep some part of me )

Now for the funny story of the day… and its a pretty funny one. When Marc-André and I were officially married and walking down the aisle as husband and wife, something unexpected happened. Honestly, I didn’t feel a thing (that’s because of my nylons) but my beautiful and secret superman garter I made for Marc slipped down my leg and found its way on the floor. Yup in the aisle of the church. Luckily the best man was there. He grabbed it like there was no tomorrow and gave it to my mom. She then stuffed it in her dress. I am not kidding you. I didn’t even know… I had no clue. Thanks for saving the day… and my new husband had no idea anything went down.

I loved the sound of the bells ringing. They were for us. It was very symbolic. I hope it was caught on video cause everything seemed blurry from that point on.

And were off to go take some pictures. All you heard was honking from a mile away. It was quite amusing and every single person outside looking at us, waved us hello. Maybe its their way of saying “Good Luck”.

I think the funny moments of your wedding day is what makes it more magical. Hey I lost my garter in the church aisle… how funny is that. Did you have any funny wedding stories???

Photography: IPI-Events

DIY: Swarovski Brooche

When I was planning my wedding I basically purchased all my accessories. I found that to be a shame since I design jewelry, so to compromise I decided to make my own brooch. I wanted to tie my sash with a bling bling brooch, so I opted for a Swarovski filled packed piece. I thought I would share my DIY… for you DIY brides out their.

The results:

So ladies (sorry guys but I don’t think this post is for you ) … here are the step by step instructions

List of materials:
Cooper Wire (color of your choice)
Swarovski beads (small, medium and one large piece)
Cutters
Pin (for backing of the brooch)
Round nose pliers (optional)

I purchased medium and small cone shaped swarvoski crystals in both greyish-taupe and clear colors. I also purchased a galatic stone (large swarovski crystal) which will be the center of the brooch.

Step 1: I prepared all my materials to be sure not to miss anything. It’s really annoying when you don’t calculate everything correctly and you need to go back to the store.

Step 2: Using the copper wire, start making a base to your brooch. It’s quite simple, pretend you are sewing. Make circular shapes and intertwine the wire in certain places as to ensure its steadiness.

You should stop when you have a shape you like. It needs to be quite steady otherwise the weight of your stones might cause the brooch to bend.

Step 3: Now it’s time to incorporate the swarovski beads. You do the same thing as when you were creating the nesting of the brooch. Simple loop and intertwine the wire, but add beads at the same time to create a pretty shape.

Keep going until you have gone completely around the whole brooch. Verify that certain areas don’t have huge gaps. No worries, this is error proof. If you are missing beads, simply go back and add more.

Step 4: Now it’s time to add the back pin to the brooch. Using wire, simply “sew” it to the brooch using the base of the brooch. Go around several times to ensure it stays in place.

Voila! The brooch is done. I know it looks a little weird in the picture, but if you look at the pic of my wedding, you’ll see it doesn’t simply look like a pile of wire.

Price breakdown:
Galactic Swarovski stone = $6.75
Medium sized Swarovski stones : $4.90 / dozen
Small sized Swarovski stones : $1.85 for 6
Copper wire: $5.75 huge roll (which I already had – for my other DIY projects)
Pin : $1.00
—————–
Total cost: $20.25 (in reality it’s about $18, but don’t forget these are genuine Swarovski crystals and it’s worth at least $60)

Enjoy

Glamnuptials: Day after shoot

Having the opportunity to do a Day After Shoot is amazing. Now only do you have the chance to get dolled up again, but you can really take the time to pose for pictures since on the wedding day, time isn’t your best friend. On our wedding day, we got some great pictures, but not the kind of pictures I was hoping for.

I wanted something different and unique, and luckily my friend (newbie photog) knew exactly what I wanted. So in a matter of an hour and a half we went from the gas station, to the corn field, to the railroad track and more. I am really really happy with the outcome of our pictures. (Plus, I got to wear my beautiful birdcage veil – that I had forgotten at home the day of the wedding).

The morning of the shoot, I actually went to the hairdresser to get my hair done. Unfortunately I did the after wedding chop, so my hair was much shorter than at the wedding and I couldn’t have the same vintage hairstyle (snif! snif!) I did my own makeup like it was done on my wedding day. It wasn’t very complicated to do – except maybe putting on the fake lashes. First stop – the gas station. Now this wasn’t a fake pose - we really needed to put gas in the car otherwise we wouldn’t go very far. I must admit though, they are pretty cool pictures.

A few minutes from the gas station, there was a huge corn field. Being corn season, it seemed perfect for wedding pictures. We asked the owners if we could borrow their field for a couple of minutes, and I guess seeing a bride and groom always results in an automatic yes!

Since it had rained a couple of days before the shoot, the ground was quite muddy… so ya, I had a fun time cleaning my shoes afterwards… (note to self : wear runners when taking pics in a field)

Once the shoe cleaning was complete, we hopped in the car and went to the nearest train track, which was literally 2 minutes away. We had fun on the tracks, and cars would pass by and honk… oh weddings!

I love this picture of Marc-André holding my shoes as I walk down the line (the track line that is). But might I add that it was extremely hot for my feet!

I love this picture – à la Clark Kent (Superman).

Next up, we took some pictures in a vast grass field. Marc was the one who found the place. It was very beautiful and just across the street of the field, there was a beautiful stone fence, where we took some more shots. (Can’t get enough)

Once we were done and returned to our friend’s place, she wanted to take some more pictures of me in my dress. We experimented with different light sources to create unique shots…

I had a blast taking pictures and if I could do it again I would! Hmmm… winter wedding shots… But my hubby would kill me – he is so not a picture person.

Did you have an Day After Shoot? Were you happy with the results?

Real Wedding Inspiration Board

When I was planning my own wedding, I loved seeing inspiration boards. I couldn’t get enough and I was making myself some as well. It really gave an overall feel of what type of wedding I was going for,  and it’s a great starting point to any party planning.

What I loved even more was seeing real wedding inspiration boards and comparing the original ideas with what the wedding actually turned out to look like. It’s fun to see if the theme/ideas stayed the same and also to see if the wedding turned out better than the inspiration board itself!

I made my own before and after boards. (click to enlarge):

Original Inspiration Board
(1940s, Vintage, Glamour Theme)

Real Wedding Inspiration Board

(1940s Vintage Glam Movie Theme)

Our wedding theme changed a little in the planning process. When I first created my inspiration board, I was going for my pinks, golds, champagne colors and more a vintage modern approach. Then, it shifted to a 1940s brown and ivory movie vintage theme. Honestly I really like how our wedding came out, and if I were to do it again, it would be exactly the same.

I have to confess that I was sort of competing with my own inspiration board. I wanted my wedding to be better than what I had envisioned. I know… isn’t it weird? What do you think, is our real wedding board better than the original?

Did you make a real wedding board as well? If so, I would love to feature them on Glamour This! so email me : deluca.kelly @ gmail dot com your original inspiration, the real wedding inspiration board and a little background on your wedding.

Glamnuptials: My wedding movie trailer

Alright I can’t wait any longer and must share this with you. I know I’m not finished doing all my recap posts, but I am way too excited to wait until I am done the recaps. One thing I loved about our wedding was our videographer. We were so lucky to have Wes Jones of Film Jones come to Montreal to film our wedding in 8 mm, not to mention that he was also great to work with. His footage truly captured the whole theme of our Vintage Glam wedding, and I would hire him all over again in a heart beat.

At first Marc-André didn’t want a wedding video because he didn’t want to force our friends and family to watch a 1 hour video… and I completely understood.  I wanted to have a wedding movie-esque trailer, a short film with all the important moments of the wedding… packed with lots of emotion sort of like a movie. So I went ahead and edited our wedding footage into a really short wedding trailer - a total of 9 minutes. Yup that’s it!

Our Wedding Trailer.

I used the Mac program Final Cut Express to do all the editing. Luckily my friend had the program and helped me a whole lot (Thanks Isabel!!!). The program isn’t very complicated, and with Google you can find many tutorials online. Because I compressed the movie quite a bit, the movie lost a lot of details and the 8mm effect isn’t as great as the original movie. But I think you will get the overall feel.

So do you like it? Will you be editing your wedding video?

Glamnuptials: Ceremony Part 1

Now for the next episode of the Glamnuptials… Bride realizes that there was no turning back.

On our way to the church, it finally hit me. I was getting married today and the nerves kicked in majorly. I don’t know why I felt like this, but my stomach was in knots. Thank goodness my daddy was in the limo with me, so we had some time to talk and bond before he finally gave me away.

When we approached the church, I was even more nervous but so excited at the same time. Just before I was ready to walk in, my MOH was fixing my dress and I just stood there in my little bubble. I had to take a mintute to take in everything that was going on.

Don’t I look so nervous?

When it was time to go… to finally do the march to our awesome song (feathers theme – from Forrest Gump), I took my father’s hand and tried to hold back the tears. Apart from the fact that I was getting married, to have my father walk me down the aisle meant the world to me.

One by one they walked in – my mother (in the salmon color) had to walk down with out flower girl and ring bearer because they didn’t want to do it alone. Luckily they didn’t cry or cause a scene, so that was good.

When we stepped in, everyone was looking at me and I couldn’t help but have the biggest smile on my face. It was a magical moment and I was so happy to have all our family and friends present. When I saw Marc-André, my eyes got all teary. I didn’t cry – which is a miracle because I cry at anything. But I couldn’t stop looking at my future husband, and it simply made it more true… I was marrying the man of my life.

I love this picture of my father (right hand corner) and my sisters.

When it was time to exchange vows, my hands were shaking. I even whispered to my husband to be “my left hand is the one with the bracelet” in case he forgot what left was. haha

Once, the pressure of the “I do’s” were done, it was now time to kiss the groom. And honestly it felt like we were the only two people in the room. Plus, Marc-André went for an encore… so I got to kiss the groom twice. Talk about lucky!

Now there’s more ceremony to come, and let me tell you I have a pretty funny story to share with all of you. So stay tuned, because this wedding is far from being over.

Photography: IPI-Events

Glamnuptials: Vintage at its best

Thank you everyone for the compliments on my wedding day look. Actually I felt like a million bucks and the thing I loved the most was my hair. If I could wear my hair like that everyday, I would. How I wish I was back in the 30s or 40s they had actual combs to create finger waves.

Since you haven’t really seen my hairstyle in the fullest, here are some other pics of my do.

The day before the wedding, I went to get my hair washed and get my curls started. It took a long time, because finger curls are a unique request nowadays. Plus, I was lucky, I got to sleep will all kinds of hair pins (like the huge black ones) to make sure everything stayed in place for the morning after.

Here I am the morning of…I look like I didn’t sleep a lot, which is true indeed.

Don’t even ask me what I’m doing here, seems like quite an awkward pose.
I guess my friends were trying to catch EVERY angle.

Everybody loved my hair, with the exception of my mom. Let’s just say my mom felt she needed to tell everyone in my family that she disliked my hair so when it came time for the receiving line, I was greeted with, “Congratulations, and I love your hair by the way, don’t listen to your Mom…you look gorgeous and your hair matches your vintage theme!”

I was a bit shocked about the whole thing, I mean, why would my mom do that? I have no clue, but I let it slide. I loved my hair and that’s what counts right?

Glamnuptials: Cake

Good morning everyone!!! Are you ready for the next episode of the Glamnuptials? Its cake time people it’s cake time

Our wedding cake was so beautiful! It was literally a show stopper, or should I say a conversation starter. All our guests commented on how unique and glamorous it was, and it made me extremely happy to know that people actually paid attention. We wanted something unique, and thanks to all the weddingbee  readers, we finally had the perfect balance of brown, ivory and design.

For our cake topper, we used a vintage crystal glass that my step-mother had, and used the remaining arylic crystals that we used for our escort cards. (more to come on that) I put a tealight candle in the glass so that way at night our cake would have its own mini chandelier.

We had a chocolate Ferrero Rocher crisp dessert included with our meal, so we served the cake later on with the sweets table. Since I figured not everyone would eat cake at night, I decided to make cake flags to go with our oh-so yummy dessert.

Sorry for the blurry picture, this is the only proof with our cake flags.

For the portions, we decided to make a cake for only 70 people (though we had over 150 guests), and I have to say it was still too much because we had tonnes left over. We had more than half the cake untouched… but we even forgot the leftover cake at the hotel. Oh well… just another excuse to get a cake made for our 1 year anniversary