Vanja and Kenji's Doshida by Ian Woo

I met Vanja (bride) and Ian (photographer/designer) while we all worked for Critical Mass in Calgary Alberta. They both worked as graphic designers, while I worked as an analyst. Vanja and Kenji were dating at that time. Shortly after we all started working there, Vanja and Kenji decided to move to Montreal. The lifestyle, architecture, art and fashion appealed more to them. Soon after Ian followed.

Ian attended Vanja and Kenji's wedding and took some photographs while in attendance. I think the photos speak for themselves. What a beautiful day to celebrate the marriage of Vanja and Kenji! What a beautiful venue! What beautiful photographs Ian!

You can check out some of Ian's photography @ http://www.iwoo.ca/ 

Groom and his groomsmen waiting for the bridal party.

The most charming setting. Love the brick walls. 

Guests waiting for the bridal party to enter.

The bridesmaids

Vanja and her father. Love.

I adora Vanja's gown. It has a certain heirloom feel, while still being young and modern. 

I love this one!

And Kenji's expression in this one. 

Parents of the Bride

Yummy!

Bridal Showers

Alexis' Bridal Shower

A few weekends ago we celebrated my bff's bridal shower in Penticton, British Columbia. As the MOH I felt a great sense of responsibility regarding the bridal shower, and a great deal of stress since I live out of town. I am so so so thankful for Maria's (mother of the bride) help. She was fantastic! From increasing her emailing/Facebooking to keep in touch with myself and the groom's sister (Suzanne = bridesmaid), to everything she did, organized, arranged, ordered etc.

Surprisingly, the day went without a hitch...well unless you count that my evite was for an hour later then we agreed on. Ooooops. Otherwise, the day was perfect. The bridal shower had a theme of a "Tea Party". The bride's sister (Jackie = bridesmaid) made perfect&delicious tea sandwiches. Maria's aunt from Vancouver sent traditional Italian pastries/cookies, while Maria found enough pretty tea cups and ordered a variety of tea flavours for the event.

Needless to say, I think Alexis really enjoyed herself as did her guests. The gifts she received were very thoughtful. They followed the theme of "for each hour of the day", which turned out really well. I had an awesome time; any time I get to spend with my best friend is a great time.

Here are some photos from the shower. Enjoy!

Sites for Reference

Two sites I frequent to get ideas for wedding fashions and for everything and anything wedding related are www.marthastewartweddings.com and www.instyleweddings.com.

Martha is the quintessential queen of all things wedding. Signing up for her daily email with wedding ideas is a great way to get your creative juices going and apply some of those ideas to your own wedding. Not only that, you can find how to videos (for example: how to make your own bouquet) online.

While, on the other hand i frequent InStyle's website more for wedding dress and brides maid dress ideas and pictures from celebrity weddings. If they feature a dress by a particular designer I haven't heard of it leads me to find their official site and go through their entire dress collection. The more exposure, the more I am aware of what's out there and what i love.

Martha Stewart's Video - Spring Flower Bouquet

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/spring-flower-bouquet?video_id=0

MOH

Selecting your Maid of Honour (MOH) can be difficult. Should you choose a sister, cousin, best friend from childhood you rarely speak with or your current best friend? Will this person continue to be part of your life for years, decades to come? Is she trustworthy, organized, willing to help? Will she dress you up in a corset and make you perform a ridiculous list of items on your bachelorette party, or will she keep it clean and classy.


In the end you should select someone who knows you best and you know you can always count on. Someone who you love and loves you beck, unconditionally... someone I like to call your BFF.

Being selected as the Maid of Honour (MOH) is a privilege, however it comes with many obligations and numerous hours spent searching the corners of the interweb for that perfect: dress, bouquet, guestbook, favor, band, reception hall, hair accessory etc. This honour is what in fact made me aware and somewhat obsessed with all the wonderful, creative, inspiring ideas and products that are out there. Pieces of the puzzle that will make THE day perfectly and uniquely yours.