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Snowflakes, Sparkles, and the Man Behind the Ring
Hello beautiful brides-to-be! First order of business: I want to extend an enormous thank you to everyone who voted for me in the semi-finals; knowing I had people across the country diligently voting for me every day is a truly humbling experience, and I’m delighted to be able to share my planning experiences (and adventures!) with every one of you. My best friend got married last year, and told me the most important thing was to relax and to enjoy the wedding planning process. It’s easy to get swept up in trying to ensure perfection, but what’s the reason you’re getting married in the first place is much more important. I hope to bring a sense of fun, love, and excitement to my writing, and look forward to sharing stories and (hopefully) inspiration for our upcoming winter wedding.
But without further ado, I must introduce you to my wonderful fiancé! His name is David, and we met almost seven years ago through mutual friends. We dated briefly for a few months, went our separate ways, spent years completely out of each other’s lives, and reconnected in 2008 through the magic of the Internet. Although the in-between years were full of some extremely difficult relationship experiences, I learned a lot, and I am so lucky to have had my true knight in shining armour return.
David’s proposal was magical—after work one day, I found myself arriving home to a house filled with rose petals, Indie love songs and hundreds of tea lights spelling the words “I LOVE YOU” across the floor. (Indie love songs! How could I say no?) We decided on a winter wedding because at the time, he was living the oh-so-glamourous life of a pro football coach, working 16-hour days and travelling every second weekend. Naturally, a summer wedding wasn’t going to fit the bill. Fortunately, he’s since moved to more of a normal job, and though summer is now ours to enjoy together for the first time, we’re sticking with our December wedding.
Come on! A British girl, in the middle of the Prairies, getting married in a month known for snowstorms, people falling over, and a balmy minus twenty degrees? It’ll make for hilarious stories, a totally different kind of experience, and—fingers crossed—future anniversary celebrations in the sun. Plus, if a girl can’t overload on sparkles in December, when can she?
Our wedding is going to be full of winter magic, integrations of different cultures and faiths, and will overflow with personality, love and happiness—a happiness we’re going to try and spread (think charity donations as favours, extras from dinner going to a food bank, and bouquets going to a local hospital). I feel like the happiest girl in the world to be marrying this man, sharing my story, and embarking on this adventure—it only feels right to extend the feeling, in whatever way we can.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on doing this too – there are a couple of charities we were considering for the donation favours – what do you think the best route for us to go would be? We were thinking of postcards at the dinner tables, thanking everyone for sharing in our day, and informing them we’d be donating to one of the following charities in lieu of traditional favours. But we’re having a bit of a hard time choosing! Should we go with…
a) World Vision
b) The Winnipeg Humane Society
c) PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
d) A combination: we split the donation between charities
I’d really appreciate your thoughts and ideas. Thank you all once again for keeping me around, and I can’t wait to share the next six months with you!
Tags: blogger search, proposal, winnipeg, winter
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Congratulations on being a finalist Emily and David! I really like the idea of postcard favors with a choice for charity that’s put in some sort of basket…but I appreciate how much headache that can be for you! They are all great charities…I look forward to following your blog journey!
And Lisa yes – it’s funny, we had our priest over for dinner (he’s a good friend of David and recently became ordained last year!) and he’s SO excited at the thought of a candle-lit ceremony. It’s at three in the afternoon, so it MIGHT be getting dark around then – fingers crossed :)
Aww thank you guys for stopping by this entry as well! :)
I really like the idea of cards where the guests can choose. I think we’re going to go with that!
Congrats on being a finalist! I am looking forward to reading these entries!
Oh, and by the way, I have always wanted to get married in the winter. I think it’s very romantic since you can use lots of white lights and it gets darker earlier so the chances of a candlelit ceremony are better. I have been to a couple of December weddings and they were both gorgeous!!
You know what might be cute and interactive? Printing out cards for the guests to choose the charity to donate their “favor” to, then letting them drop the cards into a collection basket or something. Adds something personal to the situation. (As long as you’re busy having a gorgeous honeymoon somewhere and someone else has the job of tallying votes and sending in the donation checks!)
Hey em sorry i’m commenting so late but better late than never eh!!! Just want to give my huge congrats again to you and dave, so excited for both of you and i hope ppl can see what a genuinely nice person you are through your upcoming posts and what a deserving bride you are. good luck chicka!!!
Hi Emily!
I think its so great how supportive you are of the other bloggers! Thanks! I really like the way you write. Sounds like you’re talking right to me. I think all of your charity ideas are great. I always like the idea of supporting a smaller scale charity when I get the chance because they have a way smaller budget and a sizable donation would make a big difference. Plus, they tend to have a much smaller administration cost, so more of the money you donate goes straight to the cause instead of paperwork/advertising.
Ahhhh……sweet Emily and David – so beautiful and so in love! Getting ready for one of the biggest steps in your life. Someone once said that marriage is not a noun; it’s a verb. It isn’t something you get. It’s something you do. It’s the way you love your partner every day.
The thought of donations is very noble, I would say that there is a reason why you have thought of these specific charities and because of that they should all receive a bit..:)
Nikolina
Hi Elizabeth – what a good idea! That way it’s more involving, too – instead of telling guests what we’re doing, they can have a say as well. I like it! :)
I’d vote for the Humane Society, but why not let your guests cast their own vote?
Set up a name card for each place setting with your three options and a pen or two on each table and give them the option to check where they want their portion to go? Just set up a big box for all of the entries and make sure you announce for everyone to deposit theirs. Whoever doesn’t select their choice and deposit it, you can then choose for them!
Thanks – I just thought of when I’d gone to weddings, and the favours were usually LOVELY – but gone before you know it (I’m a secret chocolate fiend :)), and people put so much money into them I thought it’d be nice to actually do something that people could not only enjoy and feel good about, but do some good for others, too!
Thanks for stopping by – and yes he is a bit of a sweetie :)
Hey Emily – congrats on being one of the chosen bloggers! Your wedding is very similar to how ours is going to be – traditional! Your donation idea is very cool – a few girls I’ve known have done the same and it goes over REALLY well with the guests, from what I hear.
I’m looking forward to following your journey to The Big Day on this blog – congrats to you and David (his comment is too cute!!!)!
Take care and happy blogging ;)
~ Jess
Janet and Bets – you’re too lovely! Thanks for stopping by and for your very sweet comments. Angeline and kwt – I think I’m sold on splitting between the Humane Society and World Vision, both so very close to my heart! Thank you for all your advice and helping me choose :)
I like your charity idea. Personally, I prefer the Humane Society because it’s something local and because I have a big soft spot for it. :) If you had to do a combination, I’d do World Vision and Humane Society together but if I were just picking one I’d go with the Humane Society.
I adore this post. I adore the proposal story and I cant wait to hear about your planning, as the celebration – and your relationship – sounds just heavenly. Good for you for choosing to donate some of the goodness coming from that day to other people who might not be so fortunate. So many brides can get obssessed with every little detail (I have seen another entry in this contest guilty of this) and lose track of the whole reason why they are getting married and end up being more selfish than anything. You seem to have kept in mind that weddings are about celebrating love and being thankful for what you have, and helping others in the process is an admirable thing. I wish you the very best of luck! And I think you should split it between World Vision and your local Humane Society. Kyla is right, Peta are big enough they can hold their own.
Good luck pretty girl!
How thoughtful and generous of you to think of others- I would go with anything with pets as a charity choice. It sounds like you are very much enjoying your wedding journey-as it should be! I admire your grace & style! You go, girl!
Congrats girl on making the final, GORGEOUS piccy of you two! What a beautiful proposal and you have such a good heart. Really looking forward to reading more of your posts. Good luck!
Hey Emily 2 (or 1, I guess you were at OFE first!) what a WONDERFUL idea!! Thank you! Bets – thanks for stopping by, you’re too sweet :) And Roxanne!! Thank you for all your amazing support and rallying of votes around the office a few months ago, you’ve been amazing! Thank you so much for everything as always :)
Emily so excited that you made it to the finals you really deserve it, I really wish people could meet you in person and see what a fantastic, beautiful woman you are! Yes, they read about it but what about the accent? It’s part of your beauty:)
Emily wishing you many blessings.
Roxanne
Hi Emily,
I really enjoy reading your articles- and can feel your genuineness for your relationship and for your wanting to give back. I hope you win & your wedding is EVERYTHING you want it to be- cuz it sounds like your relationship already is!
An idea on the favors: What about placing “tags” made and designed by you for the table settings that your guests can take with them and when they make donations of Items to the humain society they put on your custom name tag, so the donations can continue after your wedding.
hmmm, i’d vote for the local one :) community, love, home…all of that :)
I’m all for dating to local humane societies as it directly supports your community and the animals in your area.
I love the idea of a winter wedding!
You two such are an adorable, glamorous couple =)
Awwww sweetie as if you wrote on here!! lol :)
Thanks Judith – I’m a very lucky girl yes! He even guest posted on my own blog once ( http://emily-jane.net/2009/12/21/my-real-little-peanut/ ) which was way too sweet!!
Awww!! David you’re so sweet!! Good catch Emily!
Hi Sweetheart!
I’m so proud that I get to spend the rest of my life with you!
I’m so proud of how you’ve kept growing and the person you’ve become since we’ve been together. I can’t imagine things could ever be better than they are now but I can’t wait to keep growing together because I know they will get better still!
I love you! xoxo
Hey Em it’s Jess, way to go for making the top 7!!! glad all our hard work paid off lol. Love your post and love that pic of you guys and love YOU – you deserve to win this more than anyone after everything you’ve been through ever since I’ve known ya so don’t worry we’ll all be pluggin away again voting for yuo!!! I still think you should do a split b/w World Vision and the humane society ‘cus I know what a big softie you are and I’m pretty sure you’d be happiest w/ that decision. Congratz again to you and Dave & can’t wait to read the rest of your posts!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY Emily!! you’ve always been such an amazing writer I’ve been following you over on your blog for a few months now and i’m so glad you got through because you’re an INCREDIBLY gifted writer and this is a blogging contest not a popularity contest like it seemed last voting period. jeez i hope you guys don’t have to go through that again!
Kyla – you’re completely right; PETA is pretty in control of a minor empire lol as opposed to the WHS. But Casey I really love your idea of having them do a little poll (my only concerns would be pens – bics are hardly decorative, lol) and the possibility of one charity getting 90% of the ‘votes’ and having a teensy little donation left for the other! I may just go with a 50/50 between the WHS and World Vision… but we’ll see what people are most in favour of. I really appreciate all these ideas. :)
Shareen!! Did you have to put something about My Little Ponies – I’m trying to maintain some semblance of street cred, haha :) Casey – thanks SO much for your sweet comments. I’ll try and represent Winnipeg as best as a cold little English girl can!
Emily!
I’m so happy that you are one of the final bloggers! I love your writing and what a great thing to read about… a Winnipeg Winter Wonderland Wedding…:)
You have a wonderful heart and I think that is an amazing idea about the donation favors. Just an idea if your having trouble deciding, why not have the postcard that has all 3 charities listed with a check box beside them, and let your guests decide which charity they want their “favor” to go to. It will be interactive and make them feel a little more involved. Everyone has different opinions as you can see so that will make everyone happy… win/win for all sides :) You can also have a box somewhere that everyone puts their postcards in so you don’t even need to go pick them all up. Have your bridesmaids volunteer to sort through them after the wedding and tally up the amounts!
Just an idea!
I’m looking forward to all your posts to come!
PS Its so good to see the 2 winnipeg girls supporting each other! You both are a great representation of winnipegers!
Emily… my god!! I remember when we were kids ! how things change! I remember when we used to play with ‘My little pony’ ! i’m absolutley in awe of the gorgeous, loving, caring (and so much more) person that you have become! You and David are one of the most well fitting couples I think i’ve ever seen, your beaming smile, and his seemingly understated ‘i’ve got a gorgeous woman’ face are just perfect!! I don’t know what else to say. apart from how much I wish you long lives, happiness and love…
This is a tough one!
Honestly, I know you’re an animal nut so I would go with The Winnipeg Humane Society. PETA is a multinational not for profit which means that it’s ability to fundraise is a trillion times that of the WHS, but I’m a start in my backyard kind of person =)
Aww thank you guys for stopping by on my first proper blog here! :)
Ashley, you’re right – it does good, AND happens to be one less thing to worry about :) Jen, you’re right – and my thoughts exactly. All the favours I’ve ever got at weddings were promptly eaten lol. At least this way it can go to really helping people.
Heather – I’m SO torn between animals and people it’s not even funny. I get so upset thinking about how horribly some animals are treated, and at the same time about how people live in such poverty elsewhere in the world that I try and do everything I can to help. The specificity of choosing just one would be easier to convey, and understand, you’re right… lots of time to decide though :)
Thanks so much for commenting!!
I would go with World Vision. There are so many people around the world in such great need. With World Vision you can also let your guests know exactly what you are contributing to(ex. a well, school for girls, etc.)
That’s just my two cents though!
Good luck with the planning!
Heather (alternative category)
We did donations in lieu of traditional favors and received a lot of compliments on the idea (though, it wasn’t originally mine).
And for convenience sake – it’s a lot easier to take care of. It makes for one less thing to worry about while wedding planning – plus you’re doing a good thing.
We donated to the ASPCA.
Very cool ideas for favors! We were a a Bar Mitzvah in the fall and all the centerpieces were baskets of food items that they were planning to donate after the party. I was a little confused to see Ramen noodles and cans of beans in the middle of the table, but we figured it out. I like the idea of the postcards so everyone would understand what is going on. Seriously, what do people do with the favors anyway? I like a combination of the charities. The sounds nice because it would be local, but I think they are all great charities. I love weddings!!!!!
Haha and I just noticed we’re blog middle name twins! :)
Thanks Judith!! It was kind of intense being first up, haha – thanks for your sweet comments. I’m glad we still have a while where we can enjoy the engagement; I’ve seen some people have very short engagements and it seems to come with a lot of stress – and I don’t tend to do very well with deadlines! :)
Adopting a pet!! I never even *thought* about that – we already have one little cat (such a sweetheart), and getting a second is an idea we’d been throwing around, but the only thing that’s held us back so far is the fact that we’d want to be able to be home for a little while to make sure he/she settled in okay (especially with the other cat) and didn’t just feel abandoned and thrown in at the deep end in a strange house with a strange new cat while we were both at work… but it is something I would love to do one day. We’re both huge cat lovers :)
I’m really excited to read your journey too – and I’ll have to check out your personal blog too (I’m big into blogging – I love adding new reads!)!
Congrats to you too! :)
Emily
Congratulations Emily!! I had many newly married brides tell me the same, “Savour the moment, enjoy the planning and steal a moment with your hubby – it’s over way too quickly”.
Oh wow! Sounds like you’ll be marrying a sweet man.. how romantic! Candles spelling out “I Love You”?
I would support 2 of the charities you’d mentioned: I would adopt a pet (to help out with the Winnipeg Humane Society) as well as make a donation to World Vision. I’m a sucker for dogs so why not adopt right? Wedding present to each other perhaps?
I can’t wait to continue reading about your journey – as well as the 6 other brides.. exciting isn’t it??
Congratulations again my dear! Happy Blogging!!
CHEERS!
Judith (aka “Bride Again”)