Yes a Bridal Boutique with a Twist . This shop – Windfall Brides at 29 Connell Court Unit 1 & 3 Toronto helps feed the less fortunate of Greater Toronto Area while offering high end gowns to frugal “fashionista” brides at a fraction of the cost.

On January 29 Windfall Brides will be holding a Warehouse Sale between 11:00 and 2:00. If you are looking for a bridal gown, bridesmaid or mother of the bride or groom, this is the place to go.

The day of the sale they will also have someone present for alterations.

Cocktail dresses start at $25.00! Wedding dresses at $100.00!

 It has been said that when we get on the subway look to the right and to the left and several people you see will be those who go to the Food Banks on a regular basis.

You can look fabulous on your Wedding Day  knowing that you helped a family eat today!

Check this sale out at Windfall Brides

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 Choosing your Officiant for your Upcoming Wedding!

How will you choose the person who will seal the deal, make it legal and make your Special Partner your mate for Life?  Choosing your wedding officiant is a very personal decision.

Planning your ceremony means choosing the right person to work with the two of you. Consider these things:

• How was your first contact? Did he/she answer your email or phone call quickly and professionally?
• Were you given the option to meet with the person who will be officiating the ceremony?
• Do you feel comfortable and can you talk with this officiant easily? Do you feel heard?
• Does the ceremony process feel easy?
• Was the officiant  willing to honour your desire for any additions you would like to include in the ceremony. And if a rehearsal is important to you will he/she be willing to oversee it? You need to feel confident that you will get the ceremony you want.
• Is he/she ordained and licensed to marry in your province?
• What will he/she wear? If your tradition is seeing your officiant/minister in a robe, ask if he/she has one?Similarly if you do not want robes, do you have that option?
• Will the officiant provide you with a contract or receipts? Thinking about the contract, remember to bring all of the important facts to your meeting: the venue, address of the venue and the time of the ceremony. Often the officiant has planned his/her schedule around the time and location of your ceremony before your first meeting. Also if changes are made contact your officiant and discuss the changes formally. Do not assume he/she is available if you move your venue or change the hour of your ceremony.

Whether you and your fiance are still looking for an officiant this bridal season or the next, may you find exactly the right person to lead you in your vows and care for your ceremony…and enjoy this next adventure of your lives as a married couple!

 Photo thanks to Patti Miller - Burlington Photographer.ca

Officiant: Garry Blinch- White Orchid Wedding Ceremonies

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1. Choosing your Wedding Officiant Choosing your Wedding Officiant: While some brides choose their wedding...

Terri writes:

Are you the type of person who likes to shout her good news from the mountaintops? Nowadays that mountaintop usually comes in the form of the status update, comment box, Tweet field or group page on your social networking site of choice. Although you might like to share good news when it comes to job offers or scoring that fab pair of shoes, it can cause trouble when your news is about your wedding. Here, the do’s and don’ts of social networking to help you avoid any pre-wedding blunders.

DO inform family members about your engagement before posting it on Facebook.

We call this rule number one in wedding netiquette! Once you’ve told your nearest and dearest in person or via phone, there’s no harm in posting pictures of the ring or even the actual proposal to share your excitement.

DON’T ask friends to be in the wedding party through Facebook.

An invitation to join your bridal party is a statement of how much you value a friend or family member. Rather than take away from what should be a memorable moment, give your gal pal a call. Or better yet, invite her to lunch or for drinks to pop the big question. “We are losing touch with face-to-face communication,” says etiquette expert Aimee Symington. “Being a bridesmaid is such a meaningful thing. Talk to your friends in person so that you share the moment and experience.”

DO make status updates requesting opinions about wedding colors, themes or other ideas.

There is nothing wrong with asking for inspiration, says Jes Gordon, a New York City wedding planner. It may even make wedding planning more fun. However, she advises brides to know when to draw the line. “It’s fine to send out a Tweet asking if Tiffany Blue is better than baby blue,” she says. “Don’t ask what you should include in your vows. That’s taking it too far.”

DON’T post pictures of bridesmaid dresses unless you truly don’t mind the opinions of nosy strangers.

Posting shots of bridal attire is tempting fate. According to Gordon, doing so means opening yourself to lots of unwanted “feedback.” Who needs that?

DO consider creating a wedding webpage as well as a page for the bridal party only.

On the wedding page you can include all sorts of useful information for your guests, such as directions, etc. On the bridal party page, include pictures, ideas, updates, schedules—whatever your attendants will need to discuss among themselves. The page should allow for the bridal party to communicate with each other.

DO look through friends’ wedding photo albums on Facebook for real-life inspiration.

And have your fiancé join you! It’s fun to do this together, and if he hasn’t been too interested in wedding planning until now, seeing photos of his friends’ weddings just might intrigue him enough to become more involved.

DON’T make a Facebook status directing friends to your wedding registry.

We know you’re craving that state-of-the-art kitchen gear listed on your registry, but posting a link to it on your profile may come off as tacky and childish. “Though it might sound efficient, I’m afraid it gives the appearance of soliciting gifts,” said Yifat Oren, a wedding planner in New York City. “Just remember that if someone wants to send you a gift, they’ll figure out where you’re registered.”

DON’T use Facebook to invite guests to the wedding.

Most people ignore invites sent via social networking sites—which is surely the last thing you want to have happen. And with so many amazing choices of invitations available at affordable price points, it makes sense to go the traditional route. However, for your save-the-dates or rehearsal dinner invitations, it’s certainly acceptable to send a convenient group message to select people on Facebook.

DON’T Tweet for honeymoon ideas before you and your fiancé have discussed your options together. 

Sure, it’s fun to get friends’ input, but again you should know when to draw the line. Sending a Tweet to 500 followers to ask for dinner and activity suggestions for your first night as a married couple is immature. Plus, you can start to feel somewhat overwhelmed with other people’s suggestions, which after all are based on their tastes. “There is nothing wrong with asking other people whether or not Jamaica is a good place for a vacation,” says Gordon. “Tweeting for things to do during your honeymoon is carrying it too far.” And don’t even think about announcing the dates that you’ll be gone. Why should everyone know when your house will be empty?

DO refrain from putting a wedding ticker on your profile.

Of course, you’re wildly excited and counting down the minutes till your wedding day, but not everybody else in the world is. Putting a ticker on Facebook or constantly updating your status may not only be annoying, but hurtful to those on your friend list whom you haven’t invited.

THE “DO” LIST

• Do utilize LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to locate reliable wedding vendors and deals in your area.

• Check out the profiles of wedding planners on LinkedIn for references, and scope out the group pages of wedding pros in your area.

• Consider following your favorite wedding pros or venues on Facebook or Twitter for company updates and deals exclusive to their social networking pals.

Bridalguide.com newsletter read by 12,000 brides weekly.  

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WeddingGirl.ca was created by a bride, for other brides,

to share stories, ideas, tips, tricks, and thoughts about being engaged,

planning a wedding, getting married,

and living happily ever after!

Mary Bratko has a great blog. Check out her Marketplace page

for items to rent and buy for your wedding.

WeddingGirl is one our Preferred wedding planners!

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Choosing your Wedding Officiant:

Planning your ceremony means choosing the right person to work with the two of you. Consider these things:

• How was your first contact? Did he/she answer your email or phone call quickly and professionally?
• Were you given the option to meet with the person who will be officiating the ceremony?
• Do you feel comfortable and can you talk with this officiant easily? Do you feel heard?
• Does the ceremony process feel easy?
• Was the officiant  willing to honour your desire for any additions you would like to include in the ceremony. And if a rehearsal is important to you will he/she be willing to oversee it? You need to feel confident that you will get the ceremony you want.
• Is he/she ordained and licensed to marry in your province?
• What will he/she wear? If your tradition is seeing your officiant/minister in a robe, ask if he/she has one?Similarly if you do not want robes, do you have that option?
• Will the officiant provide you with a contract or receipts? Thinking about the contract, remember to bring all of the important facts to your meeting: the venue, address of the venue and the time of the ceremony. Often the officiant has planned his/her schedule around the time and location of your ceremony before your first meeting. Also if changes are made contact your officiant and discuss the changes formally. Do not assume he/she is available if you move your venue or change the hour of your ceremony.

Whether you and your fiance are still looking for an officiant this bridal season or the next, may you find exactly the right person to lead you in your vows and care for your ceremony…and enjoy this next adventure of your lives as a married couple!

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Use ”Google” for your Wedding Needs! Tonight is the night you must find the next thing on your wedding list.   The net is great for finding all of the vendors who don’t have actual store fronts but have products and services that you need. Don’t just search aimlessly for them through your search engines though. Use them strategically to save yourself time and eventually money too!

There are communities of vendors who are on Twitter . Put in a search for weddings, marriage, specific vendors such as wedding officiants. Follow Vendors who will point to sales and goods through their tweets. These same vendors blog their ideas and their products on their own website. 

Also, look on websites/blogs such as WordPress  and Ezine Articles and put in your search there.  Ideas are so plentiful on these sites and these are just a few other sources where valuable vendors are discussing new ideas and showing their wares.

Another place to consider are all of the wedding websites/blogs like Offbeat Bride, Weddinggirl and Weddingwire. If you live in the Golden Horseshoe, Hamilton Wedding Helper and Niagara Wedding Helper are excellent for providing wedding vendors in your area.

Leave those wedding magazines in the stores.  Invest some time on- line and and  in a couple nights with your computer and you can have your needs met at your finger tips. You might even dazzle your friends with the new ideas you have found.

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I’m sure many couples feel they are so in love and know each other so well they don’t need any extra preparation. Then there’s the fear of getting trapped in a room where you might be put on the spot by the counsellor and feel totally awkward. Besides, why turn over your private life to some stranger- who says he/she knows anything?!?!

Enter Enrich Canada/Prepare and Enrich. Here is a scientific approach to finding out how a couple is doing in 12 key areas, as well as a personality assessment. This is accomplished by means of a 200+ question inventory that asks all about the individual and how they view various aspects of their relationship (done online). What comes back is a “map” of great detail and incredible accuracy (as many couples have attested) of their areas of strength and areas of growth.

Note it is not “weakness” but “growth”; neither the report nor the P&E coach presume to tell the couple whether or not they will succeed in their marriage- there is no “pass” or “fail” here. Rather, the map is a starting place to begin to teach specific tools to help the couple with their areas of growth, and celebrate the areas of strength. The process realistically assumes that all couples will have conflict and difficulties; it is not the so-called “perfectly matched” couples who will succeed but those who make their relationship a priority and work at it.

Don’t just plan a wedding, plan for a marriage!! (another cliché?) You’ve found the right person, now do the right thing for the two of you. Why just fall in a pot hole you could have known about ahead of time and fixed? Get real preparation for the conflicts that will inevitably come.

We are proud to be Enrich Canada coaches.

Choose the one that is right for the two of you. Try the couples test here.

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Shannon mentioned that this show was a record year for couples who visited. Everyone had a great time!

We want to keep the party going by offering every bride and groom who attended an extra percent off when they sign with us! If you received a White Orchid Wedding Ceremonies card given to you by one of our owners, we will give you 10 -20 percent more off any ceremony package.

Call us for your appointment and start saving money on your ceremony!

Watch for the Food and Drink Fest hosted by Beau Monde Productions April 8-10, 2011.  Another great event in our community!

**This must be an  authentic White Orchid Wedding Ceremonies  card. We understand there is another company started  after our company began and is even using email addresses similar to ours.

We are unrelated. If you are unsure give us a call at 289.208.7747.

________________________________________________________________________________

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Anne discussed guidelines for a great date, and why they’re important. If you need some new ideas (and who doesn’t after a while!), here are some you might not have tried yet…….

 Go karting (seriously! It’s a lot of fun!)

Photo stories. This idea really works if you’re double dating, or have had a couple glasses of wine…Using a camera or iPhone camera, tell an entire story through photos- one the two of you have made up. This can also be fun to show younger kids later. The best locations can be when you’re camping, or in a park later at night (fewer observers). It requires some imagination, and a willingness to be totally silly together.

Flea Markets or Farmers markets While not all men enjoy shopping the way my hubby does, few can resist hunting around for a bargain on their favorite hobby, or buying obscene amounts of beef.  If you guys have a hobby together, even better, but it’s not a requirement.  Some treasure hunts can involve: classic books, auto parts, original sports memorabilia, furniture, scrap parts for projects, etc.

Another great use for markets can be shopping for dinner ingredients. Picking out fresh veggies and meat, and cooking a meal together can be lots of fun too.

Beach fires I feel like I should add some sort of disclaimer here, but we’re all grown-ups, right? This is totally a stolen idea, and in the city I live in, it’s technically illegal. That said, there’s nothing more romantic than a fire. Plus, the guys get to be manly and play with matches. If you can find a safe, quiet place to try it, remember a couple warm blankets, and banana boat ingredients (chocolate, marshmallows, bananas, tin foil).

The $10 date off This is a great idea if you are broke, or are up for a challenge. Each of you gets $10 (or whatever small amount you can afford) and have to plan fun with it for the night. You could take different nights, or split the time up during the day. Use your money wisely, and remember the idea is to connect with each other in the most creative way possible. If you two are competitive, make it a competition with a small prize -or favor – for the winner.

Do I know you? This is not a game that would work for everyone, but it is a great way to mix things up. Show up separately at a club or bar (or other busy location) acting under a different persona. The person in charge of planning this date must try and woo the other, both pretending to meet each other for the first time. This is a great game if there’s a dance floor, or something of an audience.

We’d love to hear unique date nights you have tried too, so feel free to add them in the comment box below!

Amber Knapton is on our lead team at White Orchid Wedding Ceremonies. She is one of the creative minds in our company. Amber performs wedding ceremonies and does relationship coaching year round. Amber also has her own website: http://bestfriends4ever.ca/

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