Hair: A Love Hate Relationship.

As a bride to be, I want to look my best on my big day and  my hair plays an incredibly huge role in my self confidence. 

This past year I had been toying with the idea of dying my hair back to its natural colour (a dirty blonde) because years of highlighting my hair and using bad blow dryers had left my hair really damaged. Just before Christmas I decided I would take the plunge and go for it. It was the best decision I've made in a really long time. Not only do I already take myself more seriously (ha!) it's made such a difference in the health of my hair. With this hair make-over I decided it was time I started using better tools on my hair to keep my hair at its best; the department store dryers just weren't cutting it anymore, no matter how expensive they what 'salon' brand they tied to the name. 

At my most recent trip to the salon, and much discussion with my stylist I decided to purchase the travel size version of the dryer she uses on my hair when I'm there. It's the BioIonic TravelPro Dryer and it is by far the best purchase I have ever made for my hair. It uses negative ions which allow hydrating molecules to penetrate deep into the hair in order to condition, straighten, smooth or style hair without damage. My stylist had recommended that I take the TravelPro over any of their higher models because it would still give me everything I needed in an extremely light, compact form and it was only $104.00 - definitely reasonable considering my last two Toni and Guy dryers were $89.99 and both dried out my hair terribly and one day just died mid dry. 

With the amount of hair that I have (thick, heavy and long) my arms get exhausted from all of the pulling, turning of the brush and holding the dryer. Today, using the BioIonic TravelPro Dryer, it took me 20 minutes to dry my hair and I didn't even need to take a rest in the middle!

I highly recommend this dryer to anyone. It will change your life! We often get caught up thinking that hair products and tools are so expensive, but really your hair is the ONE THING you wear EVERYDAY. Investing in the right products and tools will go a long way.

I am already saving up for their flatirons!

Wedding Dresses Under $1000.

Sometimes topics have a way of presenting themselves to me, but end up sitting for a while before they are really ready to be written about. Though this can be incredibly frustrating to someone like me because I am so impatient when I get excited about something, it often works out in my favour. Often the topic grows or in some cases is even more defined by chance.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to chat with Lori from the Toronto Wedding Society who also creates famously beautiful cakes (The Caketress - get ready to see jaw dropping, breathtaking creations if you haven't seen them before). We happened to get on the topic of wedding dresses under $1000, a topic I had already done some research on and had been meaning to write about for some time, yet it had slipped in priority.

While tweetcheeks is mainly about the diy bride, I am a huge believer in cutting costs in other places in order to afford the things that mean the most to a bride. Luckily for those budget conscious brides who want a fabulously beautiful dress on a limited budget so they can afford that incredible cake, like one of Lori's, she helped me bring this to live again!

My picks for some of the best places to check out:

SASH AND BUSTLE BOUTIQUE. Even with prices starting at just $500, lines like Saja will have any bride weak at the knees.

CABARET. The sweetest vintage dresses you'll ever find from a variety of eras. Prices are roughly $300 - $600.

THE DRESS ROOM. With the average dress price at just $750, this is the place to look. I've personally been in to try dresses on and can attest to the fact that they have styles for any bride. Just down the street is their higher end store, Becker's Bridal, and both are a must to check out.

Other great suggestions:

VINTAGE STORES. If you don't mind something used, stores like Value Village and the Goodwill stores often have a great selection of dresses. Even if you're just looking for fabric, there is so much good lace, silk, tulle and beading on the dresses for a fraction of the cost!

SAMPLE SALES. Check with your favourite retailers to see if they have sample sales coming up soon. Gorgeous dresses at great prices? Worth a shot!

SHOP ONLINE. Websites like craigslist and oncewed.com are great resources for finding deals on anything wedding related. Keep your eyes open for great finds, but be careful if purchasing cross border because customs can be expensive!

PATTERN SALES. Fabric stores are known for having ridiculously amazing sales on fabrics and patterns. I generally make a rule not buy expensive fabrics at full price because they are always going on sale. Order simple patterns when you see them on sale (Vogue, McCaul's) and ask a local seamstress or friend to help you out!

A Sneak Peek!

A little while ago I reviewed different types of wedding websites that are available either for free or paid. I really weighed all of the options of each of the offered sites, but never did really like the templates for any of them so I decided to go with making my own from scratch using a free website builder. I've finally gotten our wedding website nearly complete and wanted to share a preview!

I used wix.com, and found a basic template which I began playing with and modifying to suit my preferences. It was a tad difficult to work with and I did have to walk away a few times and come back later, but now that it's almost finished, I can say it was well worth it! Of course, not all of the final information is available and I need to purchase a quality background image, but I'm certainly glad the major part is over!

While it still shows the wix.com advertising on the site, it is subtle and the whole thing was free. You can opt to purchase a monthly plan that allows you to remove the ads and get our own domain name, but I decided the ads didn't really bother me and that I could purchase a domain name and have it mask the redirect to the site for a total of $25 as opposed to $14/month.

I'll wrap it up just before the invites go out and post the final URL for you to see! For now, here's a sneak peek!

Wedding Websites

The trend to create your own wedding website is becoming increasingly popular. Not only are they a great way  to share information about your wedding, but they are also totally resourceful for inviting and receiving rsvp's. I have been on the hunt for a while to find a site that combines great templates with loads of services, so it's the first thing with wedding planning of which I can confidently say I've got a bit of experience under my belt! Of course working in the web industry helps me to be pickier when assessing these sites, so that's a plus when doing my research. My thoughts and notes from each site I checked out are below!

*image sourced from ruffledblog.com and is by Made You Look Photography.

Bridal Lingerie Sweetness

I have been on the hunt for a new bra for what feels like months on end (after convincing myself that I needed to try something new), but on Wednesday I ended up right back at my favourite spot, Jacob Lingerie. Not only did I find out that my trusted fave still existed (The T-Shirt Bra) and was girlie'd up with new lace trim, but all bras were buy one get one 50% off! I LOVE their stuff. It's classy, great quality and the prices are reasonable. They've totally upgraded their panty selection too with gorgeous laces, ruffles and trims while still being super comfy and the quality far outweighs what you'll get at La Senza.

*image sourced from jacob.ca

Jacob has always maintained its boutique feel in its lingerie section and right now that style of store is totally in! It is so nice to feel special; like you're buying something really for you (and also for your partner) with jazz music playing and surrounded by calming blacks, greys and pastels.

While shopping I noticed a small but gorgeous section called The Bridal Collection full of sweet but sexy bras, panties, robes, nighties and garter skirts. Prices are very affordable considering things are normally tripled in price as soon as the word 'bridal' is included. The nicest thing about it is the bility for anyone to get something special for your wedding night.

Now I'm just waiting for Jacob to turn to bridal gowns :). Wouldn't that be divine?

The Venue Search Continues...

Since the venue hunt is back on and I never really did write about my experience during the venue search, I figured now is the perfect opportunity to share some of it. I've already written about the Berkeley Church through our excitement of booking and frustration with canceling, so let's move on to The Carlu and Capitol Theatre.

The most fantastic thing about these venues is how little they need in terms of decorations because the rooms speak for themselves. Many venues are so standard it's hard to tell one from the next. The amount of decorations it takes to glam the space up is so great,  couples could likely have gone with a more expensive venue and then cut on decorations to offset the costs. Classic, clean lines and the gorgeous mixture of wood, glass, silver, blacks and creams in these Art Deco/Art Nouveau buildings make them a cinch to decorate.

I first experienced The Carlu in my last year of college. I immediately fell in love with its gorgeous architecture, the incredible use of space and the fact that it's been brought back into its 1930s charm. The Round Room literally took my breath away with the glorious round fountain anchoring and creating a focal point in the centre of the room. Banquet seating creates four 'corners' in the space and provides intimate conversation areas within an otherwise widely open room. However, after being quoted 125.00 - 175.00 pp for a cocktail reception, we decided this just wasn't the venue for us from a budget perspective, no matter how much we loved the venue. 

Next, we checked out the Capitol Theatre. Initially, I was hesitant about this venue, but after visiting it I learned a very important lesson: don't judge a venue by its website (even if you work in the web industry like I do ;) ). Had it not been for this incredible wedding, photographed by Jeremy Clay Photography, I actually don't think I would have given this venue a second look.

It's an old movie theatre originally built in 1918 that has been gorgeously restored and converted into an event venue. It's charm  is comparable to that of The Carlu, but it's almost got a bit more of a down to earth feel.  Carmelinda, one of the sales reps was fantastic. She was on the ball, asked the right questions and let me ask whatever I wanted without making me feel like she'd heard the question a thousand times. She was so accommodating to our budget and excited about making our cocktail reception work in their venue without allowing it to feel empty. The use of the space is really unique as they'll switch the ceremony area so it turns into your main reception area. You can see more about how the space is used in the above photo gallery.

As much as it broke my heart, we turned this one down in favour of the Berkeley Church Field House because we liked the indoor/outdoor space and the fact that we could supply our own alcohol. Although, now that we're out of that contract, I'm thinking The Capitol Theatre is the way to go. I'll  keep you posted on what we decide!

Two Steps Forward One Step Back

I really think I should start listening to my own advice. Remember when I made this list about the things I have learned so far? One of the things I had listed that I had learned so far is that you should always listen to your gut.

We have had a whirlwind of a week that resulted in us walking away from our venue, The Berkeley Church Field House. When we had originally signed our contract we were asked to sign a credit card authorization form stating that any payments would be processed on this card, which was perfect in our eyes because we wanted a paper trail and the bonus points that came along with making purchases on this specific card. It wasn't until after we submitted the contract that they said, 'I don't know if we mentioned that our credit card terminal isn't set up,' but that they were in the process of setting up a pay pal account and would get back to us once ready or that we could pay our deposit in cash. I am pretty sure I would have remembered a huge detail like that! How can you leave that detail out?

New Daily Essentials!

I have been a devoted MAC girl since high school, but have recently made a very unexpected move after trying the Bare Minerals products. I was introduced to it last summer when visiting my best friend, Kate. After a trip to the gym, I realized that I didn't have any makeup with me, so I borrowed some from her. I must admit that I was very doubtful that this solely powder based product would be nearly as good as my favourite MAC Studio Tech foundation and pressed powder, but  I was pleasantly surprised and later on found myself constantly thinking about how fresh and good I felt that day.

When I recently ran out of foundation, powder and bronzer, I decided to take a peek at the Bare Essentials product at Sephora. Turns out they have a starter kit that comes with oodles of stuff for only $70. Definitely worth the try!

While I didn't use the instructional DVD that came with the package, the book was helpful and the application is incredibly easy to master.

Oh, the Wedding Show season is upon us!

Over the past couple of weeks I've made it out to two bridal shows, each at complete opposites of the spectrum.

I was so ridiculously excited for The Carlu Wedding Show on the 8th of January and it turned out to be everything I had expected it to be. Let's start with the Venue. For obvious reasons I thought it was fantastic - I LOVE The Carlu. The variety of rooms made it easy to remember which vendors you had seen where and gave visitors a great overview of the entire space. Vendors were actually spaced well enough apart so that you weren't tripping over the next and there were enough vendors to accommodate the number of visitors, so they weren't stuffing your pockets with garbage. Being a reputable business is important to me and only the best of the best were participating. Prices were accommodating to every budget - from moderate to over the top and most of the vendors had something very unique about them.

Last Sunday, the 24th, my future mother-in-law and I went to The Burlington Oakville Wedding Show. The venue itself was your usual conference centre and they did use as much space as possible, but here's where we get to the messy bit. There were too many vendors for the size of the venue, many of which had huge booths or were so blended with the next, I couldn't tell who was who!  A huge runway took up such valuable retail space and the fashions were all things we'd seen before in 100 other retailers. The vendors were extremely aggressive, but there were a few diamonds in the rough that I am extremely interested in follow up on. Oh, and the odd vendors - weight loss clinics and financial planners. I understand that every bride wants too look her best, but having someone shove a pamphlet in your face telling you about weight loss can certainly leave a girl damaged!!

And really, if I wanted a financial planner/investment banker, I'd find one. I'm planning my wedding right now, I don't really want to negotiate the perfect wedding dress for a retirement plan....

Here's a quick list of the vendors I wanted to find out more about at both shows: