A+J. The Results

Oh boy! I couldn't be more proud of this wedding! Not only was the bride my best friend but as you may recall this was a budget wedding. Yes, that's right - the words budget and beautiful wedding CAN go in a sentence together. Amanda and I worked for months planning every detail and calculating totals to make sure this wedding was under $10,000. Was it hard? Yes. Was it worth every late night and countless phone calls to find the perfect vendor to match our price point? Absolutely! We came in just under budget and planned this wonderful day in just under 8 months. 

I can't thank everyone who played such a huge part in making this day a success. You are all amazing. 

I hope you enjoy looking at these pictures as much as I do. Happy 4 month anniversary, Amanda & Jamie! xo 

Photographer: Moments Like This Photography
Make Up: Kasia Wiszomirski 
Venues: Mount Hamilton Baptist Church and Polish Union Hall Burlington
Event Planning: Eat, Drink & Be Married Events
Day Of Lead Planner: I Do's by Dawn
Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero - Adorae 

Being the Hostess with the Mostess

With the holidays quickly approaching, I'm sure some of you are planning parties to share in the holiday spirit with your family and friends. Here is my guide to help you become the Hostess with the Mostess with little stress! Happy Planning, dolls! 

                                                        ____________________


1.) Send out your invites early! At least a month in advance to allow for your guests to properly plan (to find a babysitter, make sure that they are definitely free for your wonderful party!)

2.) After you have your guest list, I suggest making a rough draft of the menu. Remember to keep in mind allergies and dietary restrictions. Adding some healthy options is always a good idea! 

3.) Two weeks before your event, finalize guest attendance and your menu. Get some of the shopping out of the way so you don't stress a few days before the party. 

4.) Create a manageable plan for prepping/serving food and drinks. 

5.) One week before begin cleaning your house. On the morning of the party it is easy to quickly tidy if all the clutter is gone and is less stressful!

6.) Make sure to have some music playing and light some candles. They are great for ambiance. 

7.) Remember to relax and enjoy! You have prepped ahead of time so no need to stress. The holidays are meant for spending time with the people you love. 

Happy Holidays!
P.S I'd love to hear/see how your parties went! 

Thanksgiving Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful day. I can definitely say that I'm one blessed girl! Today (and every other day!) I'm thankful for my supportive and incredible friends & family, my business, the lovely people who have faith in this little company and I'm especially thankful for love - the passionate, silly and everything in between. Xo

Pink, Grey and White Wedding Inspiration

Today's wedding inspiration is a pink, grey and white wedding full of loveliness. I pictures peonies, satin ribbon against different shades of grey with pops of crisp white. Perfection. 

*all pictures from Pinterest. Photo of bride by Vitalic Photography. 

Cake Topper Inspiration

How fabulous are these cake toppers from Etsy? Cake Toppers are an easy way to incorporate a theme, some colour or personality into your reception. 

All from Etsy! 
#1 - shop Emily Steffen 
#2 - shop Creative Butterfly XOX 
#3 - Guagenyc
#4 - Mclaserpro

A+J Sneak Peek

For those of you who don't follow me on Instagram here are the the sneak peek photos Moments Like This  Photography sent my way! Super excited to see the rest! 

LOVE these two xo

Head Shots

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of working with Kasia from Moments Like This Photography who also did Amanda & Jamie's wedding and engagement photos. I was a little bit nervous for my first ever personal shoot but Kasia was wonderful and made the whole process super easy! If only she could edit me to look like this all the time! I'm sure you will be seeing a lot of this super talented lady on here! 


Another big thanks to the other Kasia in my life for doing my make up! 

A Kasia squared day = a fabulous day! 

Table Numbers

Table numbers a great way to add that little something extra to your tables that will definitely 'wow' your guests! 

Table numbers can be DIY (do it yourself) or you ask crafty friends/family/wedding coordinator for help and/or ideas. On Instagram I posted a picture of the table numbers Amanda and I have been working on for A + J's wedding! (If you have Instagram you can check me out at http://instagram.com/edandbmevents.) These glitter table numbers turned out fabulously and I can't wait to show you guys how they look on the tables on August 17th! 

If you aren't into DIY or have the time, make sure to check out Etsy to see what they have that might work with your theme. 


Here are some DIY ideas that I found on Pinterest:

And here are some great Etsy links to check out:

Calligraphy Flourish Luminary Centerpiece by dearemma

Acrylic Table Numbers by MilanCreations

Wooden Table Numbers by ZCreateDesign

I'd love to see some examples if you did something different for your wedding's table numbers!

Mikayla xo 

History of the Garter Belt

Ever wonder how the tradition of brides wearing a garter belt came into play? 

From Etsy: The Little White Dress, Yande Bridal, Lucy Bridal Boutique, Make This Day Special and Lovely Garters

There are a few different answers and some may surprise you!

1. The wedding garter began when the belief that taking an article of the bride's  wedding dress would bring good luck. As you can imagine this would often result in the wedding dress being destroyed (and I can only imagine that causing a cranky bride)! Brides began to toss unattached articles of clothing to the wedding guests including the garter from her stockings.
2. Traditionally garters were worn in pairs but one garter on the wedding day is thought to date back to England and France at the beginning of the 14th century. To ensure the bride and groom had consummated their marriage the groomsmen would sneak into the bridal suite and steal something that belonged to the bride (gross!) Garters some how became the popular choice.Over time, the tradition changed into the single male wedding guests trying to remove the bride's garter at the reception (super gross!) because it was considered lucky as it would indicate that the single man would be the next to get married. I can only assume that it quickly changed to the bride throwing her garter at the bachelors to avoid any unpleasant mishaps!

I even found articles about people throwing the garter and/or stockings at the groom while him and his bride were in their marriage bed to see who could get it on his nose and that would indicate good luck! Can you imagine?

While I'm sure that both the main stories about how the tradition of the garter began have some truth to it, the garter today represents all different things: tradition, completing the bridal look, using the garter as a 'something blue', to feel sexy, and just because. I think a garter can be another perfect addition to making you feel extra special on your wedding day! What did or does your garter represent to you? 

xo Mikayla 

A New Start

Oh hello..

It's been a little while, friends. I took an unexpected month off from the social media and business world and it has been wonderful. Life got a little overwhelming and it was great to step back to spend with the ones that I love and to just be. I got my priorities back in order which means great things for Eat, Drink & Be Married Events! Keep an eye out for a new website and blog, details wrapping up A+J's fabulous 10K wedding as well as lots more. I'm pretty excited to see what the end of summer has to bring as we celebrate our one year of being in business!

And just to keep you in the loop, here is what my month of rest looked like according to my iphone:

 In order of pictures - I celebrated a birthday surrounded by my loved ones, I packed up for Canada Day weekend in Ottawa with some of my closest friends, we celebrated Amanda at her bachelorette, Parliament Hill on Canada Day, working on Amanda's fabulous brooch bouquet (stay tuned for more pictures on that!), fireworks in Ottawa, McCaffrey's Bridal in Ottawa, cat cuddles with Max and Kingston with Aravind. 

I had a wonderful month of no stress but I am very happy and grateful to be back and in full swing! 

Happy Planning,
Mikayla 

Instagram!

That's right, I have finally joined the iphone world which means I now have Instagram! I'd really love and appreciate it if you would follow me :) 

K+B

A sneak peak from Brett and Keeley's fabulous wedding at the Scottish Rite! Keeley was an absolutely beautiful bride and Brett looked incredible handsome. All day you could just see how in love the two of them were and it made every moment of my day so much better.

I can't wait to see all the pictures that photographer, Kristie Fesuk took!

A+J Engagement Pictures

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has a great weekend planned! :)

To start off on a good note, I wanted to share these lovely engagement photos from our August bride, Amanda! 

Amanda and Jamie had their engagement pictures taken at Battlefield Park, Hamilton ON in March with photographer, Kasia from Moments Like This Photography.

What do you guys think? I love that they are simple and focus on showing Amanda and Jamie's love for each other. Great job, Kasia!

A+J - A Budget Wedding Series: The Dress!

I figured I would kick off this series with the one item that I have a feeling most people are curious about - Amanda's wedding dress. Like most girls once Amanda found her prince charming she began dreaming of her perfect white dress and fell in love with an incredible Sottero & Midgley desgin that was everything she had imagined. (Unfortunately I can't show a picture until August just in case Jamie stumbles upon this blog post!)
Once Amanda got engaged the fun part of dress shopping began! First up was a trip to David's Bridal which had ended with mixed results - nothing could top the Sottero & Midgley dress that Amanda had found online. The only thing standing in the way was the price tag that was attached to the dress...a $1300 price tag. Amanda got online and started searching for a used dress;with a bit of work and a bit of luck, Amanda found her dress on Kijiji.com for $550 in her size!

Amanda and I went on a road trip up the Hamilton Mountain to try on the dress. We crammed into the sellers bathroom and as I laced up the dress I could see the smile getting bigger and bigger on Amanda's face. With out even looking in the mirror she had found her dress! Unfortunately we left empty handed that night because Amanda didn't want to see too eager and was hoping to drop the price the next day when she called to make an offer.  What Amanda didn't know is that her mom had already told me that she wanted to buy Amanda's dress for her as a surprise wedding present. A few phone calls and emails later the dress was in my hands and being delivered to Amanda. What a surprise that was! 

In the end Amanda's mom paid $475 for the dress but since it was a gift, Amanda spent $0 on her dress. At the end of this series I will show you the budget we started out with and our final amounts. Stay tuned for a post on accessories! 

- A side note: Even with out the amazing gift from Amanda's mom, buying a used gown is a wonderful way to get the dress of your dreams in your prince range. Amanda will have to pay to get the dress dry cleaned since the bottom is a tiny bit dirty but that has been added into an additional cost on the budget sheet. If Amanda ended up having to purchase the dress herself she would have saved a total of $825 off the original price of the dress and $75 from her original budget. I love seeing numbers like that! 

A picture just because blog posts can be boring with out one! And who doesn't love Kate's wedding dress?

Don't Forget!

Don't forget that we offer complimentary consultations! Book now so we can figure out how to help with the wedding of your dreams xo

Lukas & Kat

Take a look at these beautiful photos from Lukas & Kat's March 15th wedding. Kathy DeMerchant was the photographer and she is absolutely fabulous! Make sure to check out her blog and website! http://kathydemerchant.com

What do you think?!

Pink & Cobalt

Let's start the weekend off with this gorgeous cobalt and pink wedding from Dooby Design Group (Event Design) and Nicole Haley Photography.

I love this unexpected colour combo. It's perfect to add a bit of colour to these blah March days. Happy Weekend! 

Lukas & Kat

Happy Wedding Day Lukas & Kat! I hope today is everything you have ever dreamed of. xo

Isn't this an adorable picture?! So sweet!

Photography by Kathy DeMerchant

A+J - A Budget Wedding Series Part 1

Back in January, I announced the engagement of my best friend Amanda and her now fiance Jamie. Together we are planning an elegant budget wedding. Yes, you read that correctly - we are planning an elegant budget wedding! Think it can't be done? Make sure to keep reading until their big day in August to find out how we are pulling this off. 

A little bit about the wedding: 

• 160 guests including the wedding party.
• There will be a total of 12 people in the wedding party! 
• The ceremony will be taking place at Amanda and Jamie's church on the Hamilton Mountain.
• The reception will be taking place at a hall in Burlington. 
• The wedding colours are black, white with small touches of spring green with damask patterns. 
• And last but not least the budget for Amanda & Jamie's wedding is.....$10,000.00.

A + J fall 2012.
© Eat, Drink & Be Married Events

Spring Flowers!

With spring around the corner I wanted to start your morning with some gorgeous bouquets that I found on Pinterest. I adore the bright colours! 

African Wedding Inspiration

Take a look at this incredible African wedding inspiration shoot from Zoom Photography + Mary Kinney that I found on Pinterest today. 'A Brit marrying a Zulu, and the fashion of the two cultures combined. . To. Die. For. ' (Mallory from Style Me Pretty) 

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2011/06/10/african-wedding-inspiration-from-zoom-photography-mary-kinney/

What do you think? Happy Monday! 

Not Just A Ponytail

Looking for a casual yet feminine hairstyle to wear to a wedding? This take on on a classic ponytail from Kate at The Small Things Blog is perfect for summer weddings. What do you think? I love this hair style for the laid back bride, bridesmaids and definitely for wedding guests. 

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday and Happy March!
I can't believe that it is March 1st already..and that spring is almost here. With March comes St. Patrick's Day which is perfect for Pantone's colour of 2013 - EMERALD GREEN! 

Some Emerald accessories I featured on my Facebook page in December:

I love this regal colour. It is perfect for day time or night time. What will you be paring emerald green with this year? 

Something Blue

LOVE this idea for your 'something blue' via Style Me Pretty, Photo by Jenn & Dave Stark, Toronto. You also can't go wrong with the ruby red wedding heels either! 

Updated website..and other ramblings

Hi Loves,
I have spent the morning updating my website and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. For someone who isn't great with computers, I have to say I am very proud of myself for being able to do work on a website. I will continuously be updating it but for the time being this is the new(ish) face of Eat, Drink & Be Married Events:

http://www.eatdrinkandbemarriedevents.com/

If you or anyone you know that lives in the Hamilton ON area is wanting some extra help for their wedding, please let me know! I'd love to help.

I'm working hard to try and grow my business over the next year so with 4 assisted weddings and 2 events in 2012 and 2 upcoming weddings in 2013, I am gaining experience and loving every minute of it! 

lace + cake = one happy wedding planner!

I'm smitten! Take a look at this cake from Loverly's Facebook page. This is such a great inspiration cake! The gray lace could be changed to match any colour you want and still create the same visual impact. Simple but perfect! What do you think?