17 September, 2008

Photo of the Day


Loving this ceremony shot by Becker. Or is that [b]ecker?

15 September, 2008

I NAME, take you NAME...

The wedding is in forty-six days, but I feel like the planning has ground to a halt. I got so much of the big stuff out the way at the beginning of the year, that it feels like all that's left is the niggly, last-minute stuff that we can't do until the last minute, like seating plans and choosing the menu and printing the place cards....ok, we could totally do all of that sooner than last-minute. I'm beginning to regret my RSVP date of 30th September, because it means that we can't start doing any of that stuff till we know who's coming, where to put them, and who is or isn't vegetarian. At any rate, I can't do it now. What we can do now, though, is print the programs. Except we haven't chosen the readings, decided who is doing them, and we have noooo clue what order stuff happens in. This also led us to the fact that we hadn't actually written our vows yet.

Mr Slippers and I wanted something with a traditional-ish feel to it, without being the usual "To be my lawful wedded wife/husband, to have, to hold, to love, to cherish from this day forward, etc etc." I do like the traditional in weddings, but I think maybe I've watched way too many soaps to feel like repeating those lines. (I used to be majorly addicted to Days of our Lives, Bold & The Beautiful, and before that, Loving and Santa Barbara. So lame.) Anyway, so Mr RS and I decided on something with a similar flow, without being too out-there and unintentionally cheesy (think Wedding Crashers and the sailing-themed vows at the main family's wedding that Owen & Vince crash).

Now I have a confession: Mr RS and I both like writing and I think we're good (ish) at it. But neither of us felt that we would be able to write something like vows. I know, I know, it's supposed to be more meaningful if it's from your heart, and stuff. But we just couldn't see how to do it! Enter: The Interweb. Or, more specifically, enter: Indiebride.com, and their giant vow repository.

I still feel like it's a bit lame that we found our vows on the internet (so don't tell anyone) but there is some awesome stuff on that forum! I was crying by the time I was halfway down the first page, because some of the vows were so beautiful and moving. So I copied and pasted everything I liked, sent it to Mr RS, and he deleted everything he didn't like. Then on Sunday morning we got his laptop, snuggled down in bed, and proceeded to create our vows from shards of other people's. It was one of the most fun mornings I can remember in ages. We laughed, I cried (as I do), we wrote fake funny bits and deleted them, and it just made me so happy that I'm marrying this wonderful man who can make me laugh and cry (from joy) and tells me he loves me and that I'm beautiful, and that he's scared but he still wants to marry me.

So without further ado, these are the vows we, um, created:

I, Mr/Miss Ruby Slippers, take you,Mr/Miss Ruby Slippers,

To be no other than yourself;

Loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not yet know.

I promise to love you, to honour you, and to see you as the extraordinary person that you are, not only when you are acting with love, but also when you are not; not only when you remember clearly who you are, but also when you forget.

I acknowledge that I am whole and complete as I am; that all the love, the wisdom, and the strength that I need reside within me, and that I am marrying you not in the hope of getting these things, but with the promise of giving these gifts to you.

I love you for who you are, for who you might become, and for who I am when I am with you. I promise to celebrate with you in happiness and comfort you in sorrow, through all our years.

As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my heart to keep. My heart is, and always will be, yours.

The last line (My heart is, and always will be, yours) is from my favourite getting-together scene EVER, in the movie Sense & Sensibility. Mr RS knows this, so he used it in his proposal too. It's a nice way to book-end the engagement. :-) And the only line we came up with on our own! You know, after Jane Austen and Emma Thompson...

*sniff* I am going to BAWL.

14 September, 2008

Photo of the Day

Ah, I love a great veil shot. Have I said this before? This one's by Josh Lynn.

13 September, 2008

Photo of the Day


Today's image courtesy of the fabulously talented Ed Pingol. Wow.

12 September, 2008

Photographer Friday

Today's Photographer of the day is the awesomely talented Mi Belle Inc. Just look at this sumptuous wedding eyecandy! They can take any kind of picture and make it gorgeous.







The Food of Love

Apparently, music is the food of love. And if weddings are all about love, which, well, they kind of should be (except in that bit from Spaceballs, where the priest goes, "I'm trying to perform a wedding here, which has nothing to do with love, so could you all be quiet!" Mwaha, I love that movie) then music should play a big part, right? And I'm okay with that! I love music. Except...I only love the music I love.



Which, basically, is showtunes, oldies (Judy Garland anyone?), big band, classical and maaaaybe some generic pop and fun eighties hits. Which basically means that all the music at our wedding is going to be generic pop and fun eighties hits. :-)

I'm getting around it in a few ways, like having the oldies played during mingling and dinner, and using film scores for the ceremony entrance and exit. However, the showtunes are out. They just don't GO with a wedding, according to Mr Slippers. Sorry Judy, Barbra and Linda. And the cast of Wicked.

At this point we have yet to decide on all the important music. I know, it's cutting it a bit close. This is what we have so far:

General Background Music while guests mingle and seat themselves for the ceremony: I haven't picked these out entirely, but they will mostly be film scores with a bit of Mozart (for sure) and other classical pieces thrown in. No Wagner, please!

Bridal Party Entrance (ceremony): Theme from The Cider House Rules by Rachel Portman, or Benedick the Married Man from Much Ado About Nothing by Patrick Doyle.

Bride's Entrance (ceremony): Theme from Father of the Bride by Alan Silvestri.

Bride & Groom Exit (ceremony): PM's Love Theme from Love Actually by Craig Armstrong.

This is where stuff goes a bit wonky. We have NO Clue what to use for our reception introduction. So onto the next thing, where our inate geekniness is now revealed:

First Dance: Under Your Spell by Amber Benson, from the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer musical episode, Once More With Feeling.

Father/Mother/Daughter Dance: (I'm dancing with both my parents for this one) The Way You Look Tonight by Steve Tyrell. It's the version from Father of the Bride, to keep a running theme going, and it makes my mom cry. Ok, and it makes me cry too.

First Song for Everyone to join in: I'm a Believer by Smashmouth. This song is just fun, kickass, and everyone knows it. I love it!

There then follows a long list of party-fun hits, to be played as the DJ thinks is appropriate. I hope I can trust him.

Sisters are doing it for themselves Aretha Franklin & Annie Lennox
Love in the First Degree Bananarama
Manic Monday Bangles, The
Leave a Light On Belinda Carlisle
Uptown Girl Billy Joel
Video Killed the Radio Star Buggles
Mickey B*Witched
Tub Thumping Chumbawamba
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Cyndi Lauper
Call Me Blondie
Come on Eileen Dexy's Midnight Runners
I Love to Hate You Erasure
She Drives me Crazy Fine Young Cannibals
King of Wishful Thinking Go West
500 Miles Proclaimers, The
Power of Love Huey Lewis
Walking on Sunshine Katrina & the Waves
Footloose Kenny Loggins
Beds are Burning Midnight Oil
Spirit in the Sky Norman Greenbaum
I Touch Myself Divinyls
Jump for my Love Pointer Sisters
It's Raining Men Weather Girls
Wake me up before you go go Wham
My First the last my Everything Barry White
Stayin Alive Bee Gees
I Will Survive Gloria Gaynor
YMCA Village People
Brown Eyed Girl Van Morrison
Dancing Queen ABBA
Yes Merry Clayton
Bitch Meredith Brooks
Teenage Dirtbag Wheatus
Crazy Gnarls Barkley
In Your Eyes Kylie Minogue
Amazed Lone Star
Don't Call me Baby Madison Avenue
Nellie the Elephant Toy Dolls
Like a Prayer Madonna
Wake up Call Maroon 5
I'll be there for you (Friends) Rembrandts
I Don't Feel Like Dancing Scissor Sisters
Kiss Me Sixpence None the Richer
Simply the Best Tina Turner
One Day in your Life Anastacia
You and Your Hand Pink (any other Pink)
Come out & Play Offspring
Pretty Fly Offspring
Somebody to Love Queen
Poison Alice Cooper
All the Small Things Blink 182
Breakfast at Tiffany's Deep Blue Something
It's The End of the World as we Know it REM
I Held her in my Arms Violent Femmes
Wherever You Will Go The Calling
Iris Googoo Dolls
Kryptonite 3 Doors Down
New Age Girl DeadEye Dick
Johnny B Good Chuck Berry
All Star Smashmouth
Rock around the Clock Bill Haley

It's kind of a weird mix, but I like it! And I told the DJ that he doesn't HAVE to play all of these, especially if they're not working, but if they are, then let loose with the list! And that he could mix in some other current stuff but not to play any rap or R & B. Or doof doof crap.

Last Dance: Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland. I had to bring this in somewhere, since it's my favourite song and artist of all Time.
Does anyone else still cry in The Wizard of Oz when she sings?

So that's our music....sort of. I'm really worried about it, actually, because I love music and singing so much that it's always a big part of why I enjoy parties or not. And my DJ, thinking that people like line-dancing favourites and pumping choons, is not helping. I doubt that 98% of my guests would want that crap. *Sigh* I just hope it works out in the end. I hear so many bad DJ stories.

11 September, 2008

Photo of the Day


I totally forgot to post yesterday because I was too busy singing ABBA and marvelling at how frikkin awesome Meryl Streep is. So here is today's photo of the day! By the fabulous Jessica Johnston.