Places to be Wed

I am still in the scouting phase of ideas and good finds. Without having a venue decided on, it leaves a bit of a blank slate on what this wedding with look like. Without a budget, we can't decide on venue. Without a venue, I can't guarantee that they will have the 12 ft tall ceilings required my crafted/ upcycled exhaust-pipe memory wall (Kidding, but you get the idea).

Here's what we know: we want an alternative cool space. Fras and I aren't religious, so what other spaces act as pillars of a community? Immediately, I would love to get married in an art gallery. I just have a personal belief that all huge life events should take have spectacular art works bear witness. Lucky for me, Fras might have been listening if I have said it before, and proposed in the European gallery of the AGO. My engagement was witnessed by Rodin and Matisse - you know, no big deal.

The AGO is a very expensive possibility, so we need to find alternatives. There is an old de-sancified church in Waterloo that we love (and mum might be satisfied that technically is is a church). An old train station perhaps? I think the common theme here is old. Old and pillars in the community.

However, this weekend I think I found our contingency plan. I saw the movie The Vow and immediately recognized my gallery in the wedding scene. This might be how Fraser and I end up doing it, but minus all of mushy parts because I'm sure our vows will go like this:

Me: "So you still want to do this?"
Fras: "Sure, why not?"
Me: "Good 'nuff, me too"

With that said, if you plan on attending our wedding, I suggest running shoes and practicing evasive maneuvers. Parkour to you, sir!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_nBlLQAVd8

I'm getting married!

Once upon a time, my love proposed. We had a wonderfully luxurious weekend downtown celebrating. Slowly the fog of being newly engaged dissipated and from that point on I settled into a thrifty mindset with this wedding.

This blog serves a two pronged attack:
1. Plan a wedding where I try to craft as much of it as possible
2. To make me plan a wedding so I stop having nightmares about not having flowers/dress/etc

So far my planning has consisted of taking peripheral glances at sparkles + lace and pinning an incredible amount of ideas on Pinterest. The conclusion to my research is that real wedding things are overpriced and that I can probably make it for a fraction of the cost and double the fun.*

*feel free to mock me as we get closer to the big day.

The biggest problem is that the classic idea of wedding just doesn't represent Fraser and I. I like to think of us as anti-taffeta and bullshit. We are by no means polished but we are quirky individuals. 15 foot centrepieces with working waterfalls and swarovski crystals just isn't us. The wedding is supposed to represent us hitching our wagons to each other - so why start off our lives together by pretending to be other people?

The second biggest problem: I am cheap. I will (mostly) talk myself out of purchases because I am sure I can make it. More importantly I will (often) talk OTHER people out of purchases because I am sure I can make it. If you can talk the talk, you better be able to wield a glue gun and thread.


My biggest advantage: TIME. Nothing is locked down, but we're thinking September 2013. I sort of picked that arbitrarily in the few hours after the proposal while my brain was still pickled in shock. 2013 should give us enough time to save up some money*. We also want to get married in the fall so everyone isn't a hot mess.

*read: go to the gym

My second biggest advantage: My friends. I know some really freaking crafty people. Never ever ever have they said 'I don't think we can do this'. They have also been the people to say that they are willing to spend time helping me achieve my thrifty/crafty wedding.

The goal is to document my crafting exploits in all their glory/failure. I do not see my family enough, so it's also a great way to connect them to the upcoming nuptials.

That said, enjoy!