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Thursday, January 23, 2014

Details

Originally I thought navy blue would be a perfect color to pull off a classic wedding. However, since we're getting married in May, only navy itself is too dark for a Spring wedding, in my opinion. After discussion with Sven, of course, I think we've decided on gold and white with some black accents..mainly the suits and bridesmaid dresses. We want a color that's timeless and classic and I think white and gold are nice colors for the Spring.

The difficulty I'm facing at the moment is whether or not to use the same colors for both weddings. Overall gold and white work for both a castle and the beach but I think navy details at the wedding in Vancouver and black details for the wedding in Dresden would be nice. On the other hand I want both weddings to be somewhat similar so our guests here and there feel like they were a part of one big wedding. I also think it will help Sven and I feel like we have one wedding and 2 celebrations rather than 2 different weddings. Although it is such a small detail, navy vs. black, I feel like it could have a big impact on our lasting impression of 'our day'.

I really like the idea of only white flowers with baby's breath spray painted gold for bouquets and boutonnieres. I also really LOVE hydrangeas and luckily they look gorgeous white.

Some inspiration I've found



Gold baby's breath

Table inspiration, less black though

I love the idea of gold maple leaves. Suits the color theme and adds a Canadian charm.



I am having difficulties deciding on chair covers, whether I like them or whether it looks classier to have a nice cushion rather than chair covers. I worked at a gold course that had weddings 3 days a week so I have seen my fair share of crazy weddings and I saw some hideous chair covers that ruined them for me. If they are good quality they can look very classy but overall I think I'm leaning towards no. With the added color and hideous bow at the back, I just can't see the appeal, plus, by the end of the night they're half on half off and look EXTREMELY tacky, I don't want that vision to be my last thought of how our wedding finished.
Theses are the chairs that one of the venues has. I think they look good with a plain white cushion. It also matches our color scheme. Chair covers would just be too white, maybe?
Is just a cushion too simple for a wedding?



Overall, I feel like planning 2 weddings hasn't been too difficult. Everyone keeps telling me how crazy I am to be planning 2 but I feel like I have it under control, at this point. Perhaps when the day gets closer it will become more stressful and draining but I am having fun with it! When I research an aspect of the wedding I always look into both Vancouver options and Dresden options at the same time, that way I won't forget little details here or there. I know some people think 2 weddings is too much, but to those people I ask.. How many of your loved ones were at your wedding? Did you have to have certain people there, such as grandparents, parents, siblings and childhood friends whom you could not have imagined your special day without them there?

If we had only one wedding in Germany my guest list would consist of 5 family members and maybe one friend as most friends are pregnant or have little children who cannot fly yet. If we had only one wedding in Vancouver, Sven's grandparents, who mean the world to us, would not be able to fly as they are 80 years old. Therefore, two weddings is the only way that we can spend our day with everyone who matters to us.

Next on the list, photography!

Friday, January 17, 2014

First Things First

We had already thought of a few places where we knew we wanted to get married so the decision was already clear we just had to see which locations had the dates we wanted open.

We definitely want a May wedding as all other celebrations clump together and May is the only month which is free from any celebrations, other than Mother's Day. We also have decided to have both the Germany wedding and Canada wedding a week apart so it feels like one celebration rather than getting married twice. The official wedding will be in Canada although we will have a ceremony in Germany as well, it just won't be with the Standesamt. After debating and getting into contact with the locations, we have decided a beach wedding in Vancouver and a Castle wedding in Dresden. Both locations are beautiful and have enough space for our guests.

That was the next issue, the guest list! I have a very large family who of course I want all to be at the Vancouver wedding. Sven's family is relatively small and we have a relatively small group of close friends we would like to invite. Originally our list was just short of 200 guests, however, after considering all aspects and costs of budgets we have had to cut out list down to 90 guests for the wedding in Vancouver and 70 guests for the wedding in Dresden. We will be inviting a small group of family and friends to both weddings, although in no aspect do we expect people to travel here nor there. We just would like to extend the offer to those who mean the most to us.

I have also had a hard time deciding on plus ones and children. Since we've had to cut our guest list in half, I don't feel that I would be comfortable with cutting a family member off of our list so a plus one (who I may have never met) can come to our wedding. There is also a question with children, I love children and do believe they are wonderful to have around, however I think I will only allow close family to bring children seeing as we've had to cut our guest list.

I keep thinking of how people will feel after our day is over, if someone is upset that their son can't come or if their boyfriend of 2 weeks isn't invited. But at the end of the day it is OUR day and what matters most is we are confident in our decisions and happy. I do care a lot about our friends and family and I hope they can understand the difficulties with planning such a large event. I would love to have everyone there, however it isn't realistic.

Next step, colour theme!


These are from the location in Vancouver.


These are from the location in Dresden.

*Photos are not mine, they were taken from the locations websites.


Thursday, January 16, 2014

Our Story

Sven and I met online. He had just moved to Vancouver from Germany and started an online account to meet friends and I had just fallen down an escalator and had spent way too much time in a hospital alone so I too started an online account to pass the time in the hospital, not thinking I would ever meet someone off of the internet.

When we first started talking I was still in the hospital and we had planned to meet when I was able to walk again and wasn't stuck in a wheelchair. The day that my cast came off of my leg, we met at a Canucks game downtown Vancouver -yes, I was still limping and wasn't able to wear heals yet so I thought this was only going to end up being a friendship, not the love of my life.

We spent the whole hockey game chatting and getting to know each other and afterwards went for dinner. We both knew after that night that something was special between us. When I got home I realized I still had his jersey and gloves in my purse, I swear, I didn't do this intentionally!

After a few weeks of random texts and failed plans to get together to give him his stuff back, I set up a casual night with some friends to get together at my place. When he arrived he brought a bottle of wine from Germany that had the same label as my name. Keeping in mind this was the second date, I was thoroughly impressed. We continued dating and as Christmas approached we were struck with a dilemma. His family was coming to Vancouver for Christmas and shortly thereafter he had to go back to Germany.

After only knowing each other for a month when his family came, we decided to play it by ear. If I got along well with his family we would see what the next step was and if it was a disaster, well, we knew what was coming.

Having his family stay with us was a complete delight. I got to know Sven on a whole other level and it really amazed me how sweet and sincere his family was. We celebrated Christmas in Canada together with a German twist. After New Years Eve Sven and I decided that we couldn't spend the rest of our lives not knowing what could have been between us. That it would be unbearable for us to say goodbye after the short month we got to know each other. Our solution was for me to move back to Germany with him.

We broke the news to our families and it came with mixed emotions. Not everyone believed that we were doing the right thing but we truly felt inseparable. I quickly managed to sell and get rid of all of my belongings in one month and on February 5th I moved to Germany with the love of my life. We both thought our love was unstoppable.

After some weeks in Germany our 'honeymoon phase' was over and reality set in, bills, grocery shopping, annoying habits and just plain life got in the way. This difficult time really made us question our decision and worst of all, each other. We had many long discussions about whether or not we had really thought about what we were doing before we moved here. However, through it all we both felt something was keeping us together and knew that we shouldn't and couldn't give up on us. After about a year our relationship turned and we really remembered the reasons why we loved each other. We leaned on each other when we were stressed, we became each others biggest supporters and motivators and really devoted time and patience to our relationship rather than giving the best of us to others. Our rough patch really made us appreciate our love for one another and now, without a doubt, we know that we are in it for the long haul, there's no stopping us!

For the last 3 years we've been talking about getting married and starting a family, however, we were both students and could not afford our dream wedding, let alone a ring. At the end of last year, Sven got a dream job offer that would start a new chapter in our lives. Never once did I think this new chapter would include a wedding. We had so many things to do and other places to budget our money, I was not expecting him to pop the question anytime soon. Plus, I had always thought I would know when he was planning it as I thought he would be nervous before hand, and I would be able to tell what was happening.

Fast forward to last Wednesday, January 8th 2014, my 25th birthday. He had planned a surprise dinner at my favorite restaurant with our close German friends and German family, it was a great dinner with great company. After dinner I opened my gifts from everyone, I got gorgeous thoughtful gifts from friends and family and from Sven I got socks, an electrical cord and a pair of pants. All of which are very practical gifts that I had mentioned I needed, but for my 25th birthday?! After dinner he went to his jacket and said he had one more gift for me. It still never crossed my mind that this was what he was doing. He asked me to stand up and started a speech with my favorite song, our favorite song, playing in the back round. I STILL didn't think anything of it! He started to get really nervous and said I was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, THIS was when I knew and I couldn't stop the tears from pouring! It was such a surreal feeling that I never want to forget, the man of my dreams, my best friend, openly devoting the rest of his life to me. It could not have been a better night, he had every detail covered. Not one person other than him knew of the proposal, everyone thought it was a gathering for my birthday, he had asked a friend to videotape his speech which I am SO thankful for and he had the diamond in my ring sent from a mine in Canada to Germany where he had it set so it has a mix of Canada and Germany in it.

Truly an amazing man, I cannot imagine my life without him in it!

Wedding blogging

I wanted a way to remember this crazy time in our life. A way to document the preparation, stress, excitement and joy of planning a wedding, well, not just a wedding, but two, in COMPLETELY different locations in the world, one week apart from each other.

I figured that a blog would be the best way to document all of the chaos, leave my thoughts, get advice from other bride-to-be and keep family and friends included and up to date on the wedding details. I am so excited for the next months and what wedding planning has in store for us!


I can't wait to marry my best friend.xo