Wedding #2 of the Week at the InterContinental Montreal

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Wedding at the InterContinental Montreal

Here's our first wedding this week at the InterContinental! This was a black and white damask themed wedding with fuchsia accents. Stay tuned for our second wedding at the InterContinental this coming Tuesday!









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Last Saturday's Weddings

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Today's Wedding Setup

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More of Recent Weddings

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Recent Weddings

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Going Cupcakes!

Cupcakes is the new craze at weddings! They are given as favours at the end of the evening or even in place of the wedding cake. There are a few advantages as you opt for cupcakes for your wedding:

- a lot more affordable than a tiered wedding cake
- you can bake and decorate your own to add that personal touch
- great for a ladies get-together activity before you hit the aisle
- more environmentally friendly when using a corrugated cardboard cupcake stand instead of wires and tubes for the structure of your tiered cake

Cupcakes are also fun to display and decorate!





These cupcake stands are from a company located in Michigan. Cupcaketree is a company that locally manufactures completely recyclable, convenient and affordable cupcake stands – all important eco-friendly features for the green wedding movement. Eventhough these stands are made out of cardboard, you can easily pass them to your friends who are getting married. Cupcaketree suggests to wrap the stand in foil or plastic or use a non-toxic household spray paint or a good quality acrylic paint to moisture-proof and extend the life of the Cupcaketree. The stands are also lightweight so it keeps shipping costs low for budget conscious brides.

Images courtesy of Cupcaketree.com.
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Budget Decorating Tips

If you're on a tight budget for decorating, why not try one of the following suggestions to cut down on the cost of decorating the headtable?

- Buy a couple of vases from the dollar store, Walmart or Zellers, decorate them with ribbons that matches your theme colours. Place them side by side with a votive in between. When you and your wedding party arrive at the reception hall, simply place your bouquets in the vases and that will be your decoration.

- When decorating your church or reception hall, use common colour faux flowers. Depending on where you buy them from, they might be less or more expensive than real flowers. But the advantage of using faux flowers is that you can sell them to another bride after the wedding. If you use more common or natual colours like white or ivory, you have a higher chance of selling them. Weddingbells and Canadian Bride forums are great online places where you can sell your decorations. You might even be able to find used decorating items from another bride!

from Pre Owned Wedding Dresses

from Where Brides Go

from http://www.mspmag.com

from http://www.mspmag.com

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This Week's Weddings

Here are some before and after pictures of a hall in LaSalle from yesterday's wedding... what a difference linens make!





And our beautiful feather centerpieces from today's wedding!




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Portable Toilets

When renting portable toilets, keep in mind that each one is good for a maximum of 125 uses. As a general rule, an average person uses the toilet once in three hours. If you have 500 guests for three hours, you need four toilets (500 divided by 125 = 4). If they are staying for six hours, you need eight toilets.

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No Place Like Home

Having your wedding reception at home will save you some bucks? Think again! Unless you limit your guest list to a handful of close friends and families, at least part of your wedding must take place outdoors. Most homes do not have a big enough space to have rows of tables and chairs. Renting tents, tables/chairs, cutlery, lighting for the tents, portable toilets, and other miscellaneous but items can really add up.

Here are some questions taken from "Wedding Planning for Dummies" to help you get starting if you are considering having your wedding at home:
- Should a weather disaster strike and you're having the wedding outside, is the house big enough to use as a backup?
- What is the capacity of the bathroom(s) and, if applicable, septic system?
- Where will guests park?
- Are there any major home or landscape improvements needed to make the property suitable for a wedding? This can be a significant hidden cost.
- Assuming that you're lucky enough to have a beautiful day and you will be outdoors, what is the fly and/or mosquito population? Do you need to fog the property with pesticide?
- How up-to-date and powerful is the electricity? Plugging in a single 100-cup coffee urn can cause an entire house to go dark. Do you have a generator?
- Does your kitchen have sufficient space for a caterer?
- Who is available to receive deliveries of rentals, flowers, food, and so on?
- How much time for setup and take-down is required, and can you live in your house during it? Who is responsible for putting your house back in order? If you're, do you have time to work miracles before you leave for the honeymoon?

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Table Setting Inspirations

Here are some modern table setting inspirations I got from Canada Blooms. Great color combinations!





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Decor & Floral Course in Toronto

I finally had time to look through the many photos I took in Toronto. Here's the first batch of the photos from the Decor and Floral Class I took last month. I had so much fun and learned so much. I highly recommend this course to anyone who has the slightest interests in decorations or floral design. This is a great introduction class.
























Don't you just love all the vibrant colors??!


Stay tuned for Part Deux of my Toronto trip: Canada Blooms.
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Who says bridesmaid dresses have to cost $250? Guess where these dresses are from?





These dresses are from Le Chateau. Why not?! Your bridesmaids' first spot for shopping shouldn't be the bridal boutique, but the mall!

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In the GTA!

I know I missed this past week's Thursday's Tips and I promise to make it up to you! I am in Toronto with limited access to the internet. I found many great vendors, took a Floral and Decor class and went to the flower show Canada Blooms. I gained so much this weekend and can't wait to be back home to share everything with you!

Meanwhile, here's a sneak preview of Canada Blooms: http://www.canadablooms.com. They only photos of their beautiful gardens on their website, but I will have some photos of their floral arrangements for you for some wedding inspirations. Stay tuned!

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