Wedding Bells

The Backup Plans’ Call to Action

Posted April 19th, 2010 | 8:00 am | By Emily Wood |

Through talking to many brides post-wedding, it really hit me how important it is, no matter how big or small the task, to have a backup plan.  I’ve heard countless times that something will undoubtedly go wrong, no matter how much attention to detail is paid—but I also know that whatever happens, we’ll still end up laughing about it (eventually!), and it’ll make for a great story. Hopefully!

I didn’t realize that the idea would be put to the test so soon: since the last time I wrote, the retailer of my unfinished dress went out of business; the veil I’d ordered (that looked so lovely on the internet) arrived—stiff, cheap-looking and larger than life; all my bridesmaids dropped out of the wedding party, along with our reception MC, and we realized our reception tables were smaller than anticipated—leaving us 12 centrepieces short! So, what did we do? Started working on Plan B!

The Dress

It’s not often I’ll consider myself lucky to public transit every day, but in this instance, it really worked in my favour. My route home from work includes a trip past the store where I’d bought my dress—which now has “For Lease” signs all over it. David and I had been watching an awful lot of Say Yes to the Dress recently (don’t tell anyone!), and I’d been questioning my dress more and more—it was cheap, it was off the rack, and it was grubby from handling and missing a significant amount of beading. He told me he wanted me to really love my dress, “like they do on the show!” and that I should take this opportunity to go look at some other ones. So I humoured him. And found my dream dress! It’s infinitely more beautiful, more flattering, and completely different from anything I would’ve imagined picking—but I am in LOVE with it. And I even got $100 off because the saleslady liked me!

The MC

The friend we’d asked to MC during our reception is in the professional acting industry—and could potentially be called for a part any time. I’d never want to make her miss out on a big opportunity, and she didn’t want to risk letting us down, either. Luckily, we had a number of other options—David decided on asking his best man—a really great friend, who knows both of us well, and who’ll do an awesome job on the night.

The Centrepieces

When I realized we needed to double our order, I must admit I panicked a little—I’d ordered our original centrepieces from eBay, and wasn’t sure the online store would even still exist! But after much searching, we found it, and were able to order enough to make every table shine. Along with about 200 votives and holders (and one sore back) that ended up being cheaper than the dollar store—the Internet is a wonderful place!

The Veil

Let me rephrase: The Internet is mostly a wonderful place. I guess with the amount I’ve ordered online for the wedding, one thing was bound to be less than perfect—and though the veil arrived comically hideous; stiff, bulky, and larger than Lady Gaga’s viewer count on YouTube, at least I was only out $20! Now I have the chance to spend some time looking for one in person, that I can touch and try on—one that’ll match my new dress perfectly. An added bonus: I can use the tulle in my nerdy cake topper project—which I promise will be shared next post!

The Bridesmaids

Unfortunately, there was recently a bit of a “situation.” Let’s just say that when times are tough, you really find out who your true friends are—and though surprising and disappointing, I think I was lucky to find out now, rather than a week before the wedding. This also made me realize the importance of the people who are going to be there for the long haul: I’m incredibly blessed to be marrying into the nicest family anyone could ever wish for, and David’s sisters are wonderful ladies—and are rapidly becoming wonderful friends.  I asked them if they would do us both the honour of being bridesmaids, and I’m thrilled they said yes!  I’ll have my new family standing up there with both David and myself, on the most amazing day of our lives. Although apparently they’re already planning an interesting sounding hen night… and there I was thinking we could all just go to the spa!

It’s definitely been quite the couple of weeks! I’m just glad we still had time to spare. Bridesmaid dropouts, disappearing dresses, and veils twice the size of a small planet—tell me some of your wedding planning horror stories!!

Tags: blogger search, bridesmaids, centrepieces, online, say yes to the dress, traditional, veil, wedding dress

Posted April 19th, 2010 | 8:00 am | By Emily Wood |

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