it's me, the PhD Candidate... I can't find the bride?!

Hey All...

Thanks for being patient while I finish my thesis...

6 days and counting!!

Things are coming together, I have decided I won't quit, and I will actually finish... MAN, it has been a TOUGH road!! I totally understand now why so many people never finish their dissertation... it's killer!!

So, to encourage me along, my '15 minutes for eating lunch' has turned into 'please oh please make me laugh... anyone... someone?!' (all comics from here)

2 the North Tuesdays... Edition #3

Thanks to the power of scheduled posts, I can showcase another awesome Wedding Elf from the great white north... but rest-assured, I am furiously typing away at something else while you read this... my thesis!! I am only 9 days away from submitting, which is why I haven't been able to drop in to let you all know how my bachelorette weekend was (but I am sure it will be fantastic, and by the time you read this, I can almost guarantee it WAS amazing!!). But for now, lets introduce our next Canuck:

2 the North Tuesdays - Edition #3

Haute Wedding Design

This is a VERY new company, but so far, I like what I am seeing!! The crew is based out of Calgary, but I can't say I am making a personal recommendation for their services since I don't have a budget for planning services, but for those of you looking for a modern wedding planner in Calgary, or those of you just swooning over the Canadian Rockies but don't live close enough to plan your dream mountain wedding alone, Haute Look just might be the answer for you!!

I was first attracted to Haute when I saw this: (all pictures borrowed from the Haute website)

It's a Calgary-Stampede inspired wedding, and for those of you not familiar with the CS (which is, by the way, the greatest outdoor show on earth!!), just soak it all up as a really fun country wedding inspiration board. I loved this board not only for the fun colors, but I adore the horseshoe escort cards, the carnival kisses, and come on, those hay bales are awesome!

Here's another great inspiration board from the website: an easy, breezy, and dare I say romantic bicycle inspired wedding board!! I just LOVE the bicycle graphic on the tie, and the bicycle sketch used to perfectly set the rings for a fun twist on the classic ring shot!!

So this edition was a quick intro to a new, and promising Canadian wedding elf!! I think Haute Wedding Design has a great eye for detail, which definitely comes through in their inspiration boards, and being such a new company, I figured they needed some love! Brides with a dream of having a wedding in the mountains, or a laid back but stylish wedding out on the farm set in the beautiful prairies or rolling foothills of Alberta should definitely check out Haute Wedding Design's website!

A deep, dark hole...

(my own picture... I have a serious fascination with clouds and wheat fields, so this pic, even though dark and looming, really makes me happy!)

... that's where I'll be, in case anyone is wondering!! It has been a very difficult time the last couple of weeks, as I try to figure out HOW HOW HOW I will get my thesis done by August 5th, but I am forging ahead, and WILL NOT QUIT!! I will be back with a vengeance when this is done, cause y'all know I have to kick my wedding butt into HIGH GEAR!! Time's a tickin!! I hope you will come back to visit in about 12 days when I will have officially delivered my little baby (although right now this sucker feels like a 20 pounder... if ya know what I'm saying!!).

I also just wanted to say welcome to the new faces around here... glad to have you! sorry to leave so soon after your arrival, but make yourself at home, get caught up on the happenings of this bride-on-purpose, and I will be back even before the end of cocktail hour!!

see ya on the flip side (not married, but one step closer to being a doctor!!)

2 the North Tuesdays... Edition #2b

Thanks for coming back for part 2 of this weeks 2 the North... don't you all just love Kasia Fink though?! She really does deserve the whole day for herself, and so does this next Canuck wedding elf... but heh, it's like a Canadian smorgasborg of amazing talent today!!

2 the North Tuesdays - Edition #2b

Still Motion Photo and Cinema

This team is another well known group of wedding elves, making themselves known over at weddingbeepro, but they DEFINITELY deserve a shout out here!! Yesterday, in the midst of dealing with a mild (read: severe) work-related panic attack, one of their a-ma-zing wedding videos landed in my google reader window... I literally could not stop the tears from rolling down my face. Still Motion makes love palpable on a computer screen, makes laughter and tears during a wedding ceremony reach out of my screen and shake me by the shoulders, makes music dance around me, makes marriage and weddings seem like a fairytale where the brides are angels, and the grooms are on white horses... these guys are wedding-videography taken to a WHOLE NUTHA LEVEL!! Definitely run over to their blog and peruse their videos (I have officially forBADE myself from going over there until my thesis is done cause I have a serious problem... you know, like the addiction-type... to their videos!!) . The Canadian Connection: the amazing Still Motion team is based out of the Tdot (that's Toronto!), but travels tonnes for their art. Perusing their site you can see that they have travelled as far as London, England, and even to Japan to shoot amazing weddings! All I can say is, if I had a big ol' budget for a wedding vid, these guys would be the dream team!! This one Canadian Team that rocks my world!!


Oh, and that's not all folks, they take some killer still-shots too... some of favs that I borrowed from their blog:

So today kinda turned into a Canadians-plucked-from-weddingbee edition, but Kasia Fink Veils and Still Motion Cinema and Photography are two Canadian wedding elves the WORLD needs to know about!!

2 the North Tuesdays... Edition #2a

Hi All! First off, I just wanted to thank all of you for leaving messages of support (read: excitement) for this new weekly feature! I have been getting more and more excited as I continue my search for Canadian wedding elves... and have some great interviews planned for creative canucks that I think you all will enjoy!! But for today, I need to share the Canuck spotlight with two a-ma-zing wedding elves to the north... these two are no strangers to the wedding blog world, and maybe I never read the fine print, but I didn't know that these elves were Canadian. I know, I know, this in no way changes/elevates/redefines their skill/talent, BUT, I think it is important information! Why?! you ask?? Well, a couple of reasons... the go-green trend in weddings is a great one, and buying locally is often very important for the eco-conscious brides. I'm not gonna lie, we have tried to make choices along the way that reflect our love of our planet, but we have definitely trucked/flown some stuff in! While I LOVE my veil/flower from Myra of Twigs n Honey, it's also nice to know that there is a vendor closer to home that could have been used! And let's not forget about SHIPPING rates from the US to Canada, and that little devil called 'exchange rate'!!

You may also be wondering why I am sharing two Canuck elves today... well, let's face it, most of you know of them already, and this isn't their premier event on the wedding blog circuit, so I thought they wouldn't mind having co-stars!! Here we go...

2 the North Tuesdays - Edition #2a

Kasia Fink Veils

All about Kasia... well, I don't know her personally, but when you're a bee... you feel like you know them right?!?! Yes, Kasia is the infamous Mrs. Seabreeze over at weddingbee, so most of you will likely know her, and her work. She creates all the flower and veil loveliness from Vancouver, Canada (shout out WEST COAST!!), and was recently married in the Dominican Republic. That means she gets it... us, brides, weddings! And I love this quote from her website: "On the day I wore a birdcage veil and fascinator, I’ve never felt more sassy and gorgeous"... and you can see why... check out these pictures from her wedding... definitely gorgeous and sassy!! (NOTE, all pictures shown are from kasiafink.com)

My favorite fascinator is the Marisa... in all its feathered glory:

And here's some trivia... where did the Marisa fascinator get its name?!?! Well that was from bride Marisa (or as most of you know her, Mrs. Cheese, also from weddingbee) who put in a special request for a feathered number... and here she is wearing her gorgeous piece:

One other of my fav brides wore Kasia too... yep, it's Jessica (aka Budget Savvy Bride):

So, we know her bride accessories are swoon-worthy, but she also does mini fascinators for bridesmaids: (so sweet, classic, stunning!!)

BUT WAIT... don't leave yet... you haven't seen it all!! This is possibly my favorite of them all... the black fashion-ator (I just made that up, don't hate on Kasia for dorky plays-on-words!!). I love how the creative and talented women out there can just whip up a custom accessory for a night out on the town!! Doesn't this just scream chic?! I love it!!

So, for those of you up here in the north looking to support the Canadian bride-conomy (oops... I did it again!), get your order in with Kasia!! Beautiful work, amazing talent, and, yup, she's a Vancouverite!! http://kasiafink.com/

2 the North Tuesday Edition #2b coming later today!! stop by again :)

There's a first time for everything!!

from here

YEP... I won my very first contest!! August15Bride has seriously hooked me up... with 250 custom stickers from UPrinting.com!! I can feel my fingers relax already... nope, I will NOT be handwriting my return addresses onto my thank-you cards after the wedding!! This is some gooooood news my friends!!

Trail Map?? Nope, it's a seating chart!!

Wahoo... another DIY item close to being checked!! OK, the only progress I have made is got the final image from one of my favorite wedding elves, SarahNWonderland (shout out to etsy!!)... but that is still progress. The DIY part will come next, but it should be simple!! OK, stop rambling, what is this all about you ask?!?! Well, remember a little while back I told you about my search for the fun, unique, mountain inspired seating chart?? And remember how I told you that Sarah agreed to do some more of her amazing work for us in the form of a seating chart?? Well, she has done it again!! Feast your eyes dear friends...

WHA-WHAT?!?! That's what I'm talking about!! I am seriously loving it!! I told Sarah I didn't want it to look like tables at all, but more like a hiking trail map through the mountains! The "tables" are represented by mountain-worthy 'items' like birds, rocks, trees, tents, and oh ya, a picnic table where we happen to be sitting!! The layout of these "tables" represents the actual layout of our reception room (yes, I have laid it out already!!), so the tables should be easy to find! Table 2 is where us, our wedding party, and our wedding party's significant others will be sitting (NOTE how we are NOT sitting at the front of the room where everyone can watch us eat!!), and the rest of the tables are appropriately marked!

(PS... wondering why that picture of the hiking groom and bride looks familiar?? She incorporated the same graphic from our Save The Date!!)

We will be using large rocks (well, not crazy huge or anything, but big enough to paint the table numbers on) which will act as our table markers. How will people know which table they are sitting at?? Relax grasshoppers... more details to come soon!! For now, just revel in the absolute personality of what could be (and normally IS), a rather boring component of wedding decor!! If anyone out there is interested in spicing things up, Sarah is definitely your girl (THIS IS NOT A PAID ADVERTISEMENT... I just really, really love her work, and she is great to work with!!). OH, and PS, I haven't seen the final bill yet... but rest assured, this girl is AFFORDABLE (think $40-ish for that custom graphic!!)!! Send some love her way, and definitely let your imagination run wild!! Even if you don't have the graphic design skills to make your wildest wedding-ideas come true, Sarah can bring them to life!! Again... her etsy store can be found here!!

What do you think?? How have you used non-wedding elves in wedding-elf type ways??