Weddingbee Blog

Music was a task that Mr. Canary took full ownership of, since he loves music and it’s his passion and hobby. He spends about three nights a week out checking out new or local bands. Initially we had considered a band, but after much thought, we decided to go with DJ Gaza after we had heard some of the mixes he sent us. It was like he raided our iPods and CDs because there wasn’t anything we didn’t like. And ultimately, we wanted to hear our favorite songs in their original arrangements and not as a cover by a band.

DJ Gaza was great to work with. We only met once and corresponded throughout the entire process by email. He made sure that the music would work with the flow of the entire event and had an uncanny knack for reading the crowd– which was important for a Sunday wedding.

When it came time to create our play list, as usual, we deferred to Google Docs and created a master spreadsheet with the following categories:

- When?
- Artist
- Song
- Notes

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While Mr. Canary and I are listlessly waiting for our honeymoon trip and professional photos, we have decided to get one final wedding task out of the way… writing thank you notes. Normally, I am a very prompt thank you note writer, but in the afterglow of the wedding, it just seems so daunting. Although by Emily Post standards, we have a year… I just hate having things looming.

To make it easier, I decided to pre-write a few “phrases” so if we should need the “inspiration,” it’ll be right there. Plus, no one is going to compare notes, so I’m not worried about two people getting the same thing! And now I can share the fruits of my labor with the hive so that thank you note writing won’t be such a chore.

CASH

Dear ___________,

Thank you so much for your generous gift. We are saving for [our dream honeymoon/additions to our/down payment for a new home] and thanks to you; we’ll be [traveling to_____/sprucing up our apartment/purchasing a house] very soon. Again, many thanks for thinking of us and for sharing our special day.

Love,
Mr. and Mrs. Canary
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While waiting to post my pro pics, I thought I’d share some photos of my hair and makeup application by Sachiko Yanase for my day-after photoshoot with Angelica Glass. I had called Sachiko eons ago to try and book her for the wedding, but it was during the holiday season of last year, our schedules were colliding, and I never got a chance to meet her for a trial. But from all the internet buzz, I knew Sachiko was great and decided to book her for the shoot.I showed Sachiko some photos of my hair and makeup from the wedding. I asked her to emulate a similar down do (since I wanted a more relaxed tone for these photos) and natural makeup that could withstand an outdoor shoot. Here is what she came up with:

Under the garish bathroom light. Though it looks questionable, I am not naked, but wearing my strapless wedding gown!

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At the wedding, we wanted a subtle but meaningful way to honor my uncle, who had passed away a few months ago. I asked our florist for some ideas and he suggested a photograph with rose petals or a small votive candle. I was against the photograph because I thought it may be too morbid and shrine-like and also get people very emotional upon seeing an image of my uncle. I also wanted the item to be placed in lieu of his place setting where he would have sat.

In the end, I decided to make it myself– which helped me positively cope with the fact that he would not be present at the wedding. Instead of a photo or flower arrangement, I decided to create a votive arrangement that would include his favorite color: light blue. I purchased all the supplies at Michael’s.

In the candle holder department, Michael’s has a great selection. Most designs were priced from $5-$15. I settled on a two part holder that would allow me to fill the base with some decorative detail and a separate holder for the candle, which would make it easier to transport and be less susceptible to breakage during transport. I also purchased milky white glass “stones” to fill the base and some dark blue satin ribbon to attach a card with text.
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I have been saving this post for the longest time considering that I finished a majority of the bridesmaids’ gifts in December! I wanted all the items to be a complete surprise for my lovely ladies (a few of whom are regular readers of Weddingbee) so I had to wait until after the wedding.

I wanted each gift to be practical yet personal, particularly because they each have such different style preferences. I also didn’t want any of the bridesmaids to feel obligated to “use” any part of the gift on the wedding day (hence, why I didn’t buy coordinated jewelry or clutches, although I was certainly tempted to every time I saw cute jewelry or purses!)

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I am a huge fan of birdie cake toppers a la Lauren Alane (my personal fave) and Ann Wood. While checking out Sarah Neuburger of The Small Object and her blog, I noticed the launch of some new wedding cake toppers to add to my list of faves!

Image from here

Are these adorable or what? Earlier in the month, I had purchased a vanity mirror that included a clothespin girl from The Small Object booth at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, so I can vouch for the quality and workmanship behind Sarah’s pieces. They’re so cute and super well-made.

On her blog, it says that if you’re interested in custom options, (since the one above has already sold) you can just email her. You can even add a flower girl or ring bearer!
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Me striking a pose for some pre-ceremony shots before heading down to see Mr. Canary for our “first meet.”

It did! At the end of our perfect and amazing day… all Mr. Canary and I could say was, “It’s over… already?” We were busy having so much fun and visiting with all our friends and family that the day really flew by.

I’m glad we don’t leave for our honeymoon until September, because I am still in a trance and trying to get my bearings. I feel like I’ve been drunk for the past week and getting over my hangover!

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Our dessert from our dinner (a wedding gift from one of our groomsmen) at Daniel last night.

Hello, hive!

Sorry for being delinquent in posting. I have been one very bad bee but a very productive bride. I promise to fill you in on all the details after the big day. We won’t be leaving for our honeymoon until September, so I will have plenty of wedding withdrawal that will require lots of catching up on Weddingbee! I have missed you all and am looking forward sharing all the details I haven’t had a chance to blog about.
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This little Canary is getting very excited (and pretty wiped!) at the same time. Yesterday, it finally dawned on me as we were driving to pick up our first wedding guest (and bridesmaid) from the airport, that the wedding is indeed around the corner.
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I am a huge fan of MAC products and swooned when I saw their new limited edition set in the Nordstrom catalog. It’s so unfair that they are only starting to ship a few days before our wedding. Otherwise, these babies would have definitely made their way into my bridesmaids’ gifts. But at least I can share my obsession with the hive!

Check out these beautiful and bright compacts, makeup cases, and brush sets from the Colour Forms Collection.

Lip Palette in Cool ($22.50)

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I had booked Stacy Pitt on the spot during my first trial after seeing how quickly and expertly she worked. We decided to have a second trial closer to the date of the wedding when my hair would be at the length it would on the day of, and we could select a few styles to go with my dress changes.

Since we have Stacy booked for the full day, we were brainstorming styles that would allow for changes throughout the day without additional setting. I showed Stacy some photos (which are a mix of vintage, classic, romantic, and clean looks) and we got to work.

Look #1: Tea Ceremony/Traditional Chinese Qipao

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…allowed to get married!

Last week, Mr. Canary and I got up really early and made our way to the City Clerk’s office to register to get married. We were hoping to fill out forms online, but that isn’t an option. You have to physically show up (both the bride and groom– I tried to get the forms while Mr. Canary was out looking for parking and I was denied!) to get the application and fill it out in person.

There is an office in every borough and Mr. Canary and I compromised and decided on the Brooklyn office since it was in between both our work locations. All the offices are open from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. We arrived at around 9:00AM and were out of there by 9:30. Easy peasy!
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Mr. Canary and I were so grateful for a three day weekend to finish up on some wedding projects. We were so engrossed, we didn’t even go out to see the fireworks (plus the weather was bad so that was more incentive for staying in!). This year, peace of mind trumped patriotism.

Instead, we completed one of our biggest projects- our programs. This really was a labor of love. Considering that we hadn’t done many DIY items for the wedding, this task seemed really arduous!

Mr. Canary assembling the pages of our program.

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Don’t you love weekends where you barrel through wedding projects and craft to your heart’s content? Seriously, I do. Crafting is a zen thing for me. It’s the only time when I’m not freaking out about logistics and can just focus on the task at hand whether that’s gluing stuff down or cutting perfect edges.

So this past weekend, with my sixteen year old cousin, C as a helper, I finished off the details for our guest sign-in table. Here is a general mockup (it’s missing another framed photo– same as the one on the left) and a digital photo frame that will include a slideshow of Mr. Canary and me through the years, as well as photos of other family members.

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Part of the reason I have been getting increasingly stressed about the wedding does not have anything to do with things that Mr. Canary and I have not prepared for or planned… but mostly things our guests have not done. Perhaps it is because we are the first among our friends to get married or perhaps people don’t realize that planning this wedding has taken up about 90% of our time in the past few weeks… but we are still met with so many questions that have been driving both Mr. Canary and me insane.

Among the many annoying things have been travel plans. We realize and greatly appreciate that so many of our guests are going great distances (literally and figuratively) to attend our wedding, so we posted a lot of travel information on our wedding Web site six months ago. We are merely three weeks away from the big day and I am still getting emails this week which included questions like this, "So where should we book our hotel? Do you have any suggestions? Can you book the hotel for us?" I really wanted to scream. We provided you all this information. We even printed a save-the-date six months ago so you could prepare for this.
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