Christine & Mel: The Colour of Love

"In our life there is a single colour, as on an artist's palette, which
provides the meaning of life and art. It is the colour of love."

~Marc Chagall

I was SO EXCITED to check my inbox today and find photos from the fabulous Jackie MacRae at Behold Photographics; and I had to post them right away!! (THANK YOU, JACKIE!!)

These beautiful ladies were married last July but it still feels like yesterday. They were such a blast to work with from start to finish and even since! Cindy and I totally fell in love with them and their wedding vision.

Christine and Mel chose black and rainbow accents as their wedding theme and colours. Rainbow roses were used throughout the decor and we even created a rainbow aisle with coloured rose petals. Each of the bridesmaids wore a black dress with a different colour sash around their waist and carried a simple arrangement made up of berries and a single rainbow rose.

Everything came together beautifully and it was an honour for both Cindy and I to have been a part of it all.

Here are a few of Jackie's wonderful shots from the day!

Enjoy :)

xo

Wedding Invitations For Under $10? Yes You Can!!!

Hi Everyone,

I haven't written in a very long time... I've been busy with projects galore! Some of these include weddings (of course), my new decorating business Sage Designs as well as a few other things that aren't in the "reveal" stages just yet.

One of the weddings I'm working on is my sister, Natalie's, wedding. This wedding is a special project for me for one because it's my sister's big day but also because it's an experiment in SUPER FRUGAL wedding planning. I'll share some things that we're doing as time goes on but today I wanted to share Nat's very cool (and inexpensive) invitations with you.

<<>> For anyone who may be receiving one of these you may want to wait for the surprise of receiving them in the mail... but it's up to you ;)

I made these samples up today just to get a sense of how much paper I'll need and so on. After finishing the first invite I can tell you that it's going to cost less than $10 to create 20 of these beauties! And we could probably get 30 out of the materials we've got... but we only need 20.

The biggest "investment" on this project was the card stock my mother bought at Dollarama for $2.00 for 50 sheets in 5 different colours. We bought 3 packs for $6.00. The rest of the materials (ink from the printer and labels) cost under $4.00.

The only other thing I needed for these was a free graphic which I found online... and ta da!!! I think the only change we're going to make to the sample below is that we're going to use brown ribbon instead of pink.

Enjoy :)

MAKE MONEY WITH YOUR WEDDING?

Did you know you could make money with your wedding? Well some people are... what do you think?

Sarah & Chris: Putting the "Yellow" in Yellowknife

Okay, so the title's lame but this wedding was anything but! (Okay, that was lame too... moving along...)

Sarah and Chris are a wonderfully kind and warm couple who currently live in Yellowknife and who, with several trips between Yellowknife and Ottawa (thank goodness Chris is a pilot!) managed to flawlessly plan this beautiful day. Sarah, throughout the entire process, had every detail under control and never once seemed even a tiny bit tense. (I was super impressed to say the least). This, of course, made my job a breeze and I had a blast working with these guys.

It didn't hurt either that the wedding was held at Brookstreet Hotel which is by far one of my favourite venues in Ottawa! The staff are phenomenal!

The images below are just a little sneak peak (snatched from the blog of the FABULOUS Annemarie Gruden... you'll want to check out her blog for more great photos from the day).

Enjoy!

Congrats Sarah & Chris!!!!

xo

Sophie

HAPPY WEDNESDAY... HAPPY THOUGHTS... JUST BECAUSE

Hey Everybody,

I'm just kinda overflowing with positivity today and thought I would share the love.

Happy Wednesday!!!

xo

Sophie

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY IDEAS

During our interview, Julie Butler shares tips on choosing the right photographer for your wedding day.

Thanks again, Julie! You're FAB-U-LOUS!!!

PHOTO SHOOT WITH JULIE C BUTLER PHOTOGRAPHY

Happy Monday everyone!

I thought I'd kick off the week with a fun little peak at the photo shoot Cindy and I did with Julie Butler this past Friday. Tomorrow we'll be putting up Part Two of the shoot where Julie answers some questions about hiring a photographer for your wedding. Be sure to tune in!

Yours,

Sophie

WEDDING NEWS & UPDATES: FREE WEDDING DRESSES

SETTING YOUR WEDDING BUDGET

WEDDING PLANNING: STEP 1

WEDDING TRENDS: GOING... GOING...

Trends come and go... this one is on it's way out... or at the very least, it's due for a major make-over! Check it out...



Yours,

Sophie

WEDDING PLANNING: THIS IS NOT AN OPEN BAR

Let The Vlogging Begin!

Yup... it's true... I'm vlogging now!

Check out my first vlog and check back for regular updates from Tuesday to Friday each week.

Leave your comments and questions below.

Sophie

Julie's done it again! Check out her photos from Sayeka & Baj's reception.

Here's a little sneak peak:

Check out more at Julie's Blog and ENJOY!!!

Yours,

Sophie

Fall in Love: Catherine & Greg

I've been holding off on posting this wedding for a VERY long time... I wanted to make sure that it was just right. Catherine's been very patient and I know she's been waiting because she's one of the few people who ALWAYS leaves a comment for me (just to let me know she's watching, I'm sure... lol).

HI CATHERINE!!!! FINALLY, Here it is!

I never get nearly as much time as I'd like in getting to know my Month-of clients. Still, Catherine's the kind of person that you feel like you've known forever within 10-minutes of meeting her! This meant an instant connection and tons of fun every time we got together to chat about the wedding.

Catherine's also super-organized which meant we always got through the "wedding stuff" early on in our meetings and had time left over to chat about anything and everything else. We always parted ways laughing about something or other.

The wedding day itself was stunningly elegant and Catherine had carefully coordinated every detail so that it all came together beautifully. Here's a little peak of the day courtesy of Eric & Isabelle at Foto-Genik (this husband and wife team is a blast to work with).

Since the wedding, Catherine and I have stayed in touch and with the wedding long gone this couple's focus has shifted from wedding preparations to baby preparations! It won't be long now before the little bundle is here and personally I can't wait to see THOSE photos!!!

Wishing you and your growing family all the very best!

Much love,

xoxoxo

Sophie

Sayeka & Baj's Holud Photos!!!

Okay... I'm totally swiping Julie's photos again but I can't help it! They're so pretty!!!


Again... this is just a little peak at the full shoot and you'll have to check out Julie's blog for more (I know you will!). Stay tuned for more since I'll definitely be stealing more photos the second Julie posts them... THANKS JULIE!!!




Yours,

Sophie

Coverall Featured in Eco-Beautiful Weddings!

Hi Everyone,

I'm very excited to announce that one of our fabulous weddings has been featured in the Summer 2010 Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings. Darlene and Tobin's wedding was an eco-filled day with beautiful, socially-responsible touches at every turn.

I'll be giving more details on this spectacular event when I post the wedding in our Real Weddings Section but for now you can get a sneak peak by checking out the latest issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings HERE!

You'll find Darlene & Tobin's wedding starting on page 43.

Yours,

Sophie

Coverall Event Coordination

Kristin & Shane

Every once in a while I have the opportunity to work with a client who really makes an impact on me... sometimes personally, sometimes professionally, and in some rare instances - both.

Kristin contacted me a few months before her wedding to help her organize the details the big day. Through numerous phone calls and emails I got to know Kristin pretty well and I have to say that she gave me a run for my money as far as organization goes. Kristin had all of her ducks in a row the entire time which meant that I really had to be on my game in order to keep a step ahead. I definitely grew from a professional standpoint as a result.

But don't let this give you the wrong impression. Kristin is by far the sweetest person I've ever had the pleasure to meet. Some of our phone calls lasted three hours as we obsessed over every detail. And at some point during every single conversation, Kristin would ask that I hold for just a moment so that she could greet Shane as he came into the house from work. I always found this to be the sweetest thing! (Probably because my husband typically gets a quick wave and maybe a finger to my lips if he happens to walk through the door while I'm on the phone. I know - I'm so mean, ha ha).

Kristin and Shane are the real deal and I am so grateful to have been a part of their day. If you know me you'll know that I cry at all of my weddings but I was choked up for a good chunk of the day this time around. I welled up as Shane's voice cracked as he recited his vows to Kristin, I cried during the Maid of Honor's speech (which she also cried through - so I blame her), and I also cried during Kristin's father's speech which was full of emotion.

I did manage to work through all the tears... promise!

Everything about the day was absolutely beautiful. We had a little bit of rain for good luck but the sun shined brilliantly for the duration of the photo session. It was the perfect combination. Mix in a team of extremely talented vendors and it really was the perfect day.

The oh-so-talented Annemarie Gruden was kind enough to send some of her stunning shots my way. The images really do speak for themselves. You can check out Annemarie's site here. Thanks again Annemarie!

I also want to thank the staff of the Lord Elgin hotel who were absolutely phenomenal! The timeline was tight and the logistics were intricate; without their help the day would not have been the huge success that it was.

Congratulations Kristin and Shane! I know you'll have a wonderful life together.

Sophie

Coverall Event Coordination

Wedding Flower Bouquet Alternatives

Floral bouquets are still the obvious choice when it comes to having something in your hands for your walk down the aisle. But it's not the ONLY choice. Here are some other items you might conisder clutching as you make your way to your waiting groom:

1. A candle



2. A fan



3. A parasol



4. Nothing at all



5. A feather bouquet



6. A religious text



Happy Planning!

Sophie

The Best Email Follow-up System

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!!!

Okay... failed attempt at trying to make the blahdie-blah, gloomy-looking day a little brighter. It's still yucky out. And I feel yucky on top of it all so it doesn't help.

Nevertheless, I have cheerful news. Okay... cheerful wasn't the right word there either. Man I wish I was still in bed... (looking off into distance).

*Snap*

Okay, I'm back. Seriously though, I have something very fun to share with you today. I've already posted this handy little tidbit on the Something Blue Blog but since I know that none of you are reading it (that's right... I'm keeping track) I thought I'd share it here too.

The concept -- very simple: basically, this email follow-up system is completely free and it's designed to give you a quick and easy way to stay on top of your tasks. When you're planning a wedding this is especially important. You're constantly emailing caterers, photographers, planners, and vendors of all kinds. And then there's the emails you're sending out all those volunteers; and um, you're not paying them so they may or may not get back to you. These people include your wedding party, MC, the flower girl's mom... you get the picture.

FollowUpThen.com has created a simple way to follow-up on emails you send out. If you know how to send an email you can use this system... it's as simple as that! Even my grandmother knows how to send email; heck, I think my grandmother had a Facebook account before I did (Hi Gramma!)... but I digress.

Anywho... where was I?

Darn this gloomy day... it's got me in a fog.

Right... FollowUpThen.com. As I was saying, it's really simple to use. Here's the CliffNotes version:

1. To have a follow-up email sent to you only enter the time{at}followupthen.com in the BCC field (note the bold for emphasis) and you'll receive an email at that time (example: 2days@followupthen.com).

2. To have the follow-up sent to you and everyone else listed in the "To" field just enter the time{at}followupthen.com in the CC field.

Easy enough right? For full details you can check out the FollowUpThen site here.

And no, this is not a sponsored post -- this is something that I stumbled upon (not literally... but you know what I mean) and I've been using it myself for a few weeks. It's really great and I definitely recommend it... no strings attached.

Alrighty then... that's my little tip-of-the-day. Back to dreaming about my bed...



Ha! Okay... back to work.

You too!!

Happy Planning!

Sophie