Need a place to stay? Staybridge Suites is booked!

Moving right along on our wedding checklist, Roger and I have officially booked a bunch of rooms at the nearby Staybridge Suites.  We also got a wicked deal, which is $119 for a Studio and $129 for a 1-bedroom suite (not including taxes).  Not only is the hotel pretty near to the action, but it's also stacked with things like full breakfasts, free self-serve laundry facilities and even barbeques available for use!  You can check it out here.

(Also fun - Roger and I will be staying here after the party on Sunday night.  There -might- be an after-party cameo.  Depending on how much of a headstart on the honeymoon we want to take!)

I have a code and swanky pdf to forward on to all my guests, so if you need it let me know!  Also, the last day to book a room with our discount is September 16, 2010 - my birthday ironically, if you need a way to remember it.  So get a bookin'!

Deposit-A-Gift, Thank You!

I was considering at one point to do a whole Roger & Heather website (which now seems like an insane idea), and was trying to figure out how to do that as well as give our guests a way to 'register' for parts of our honeymoon.
Now, thanks to Deposit-A-Gift, there's a super easy way to do it online.  When it's completely set up, the site will be here.

Advantages:

We can share with you all the plans we've made about our exciting honeymoon!  It also gives you a choice in what you're giving money towards - whether it be sushi in Vancouver, or a night at a B&B in Montreal.

It's also awesome because of convenience - everything can be 'bought' online with a credit card.  It's that simple.

Drawbacks:

The website is American.  This means that all totals shown are in US Dollars.  However, with things being pretty near par, we're hoping this doesn't mess anyone up with conversion rates and fees.

There's also an admin fee of 7.5% on top of every registered item.  Granted, in the long scheme of things, PST costs more (!), but it's a pain.  (Of course, if you are interested in giving us money and don't want to do it online, we're all for that!  We'll have a box at the wedding for you to drop cards and certificates in.)


Other Things To Keep In Mind:

As I mentioned above, there is nothing stopping you from simply giving a gift directly to us!  Just so you know, 700 Air Miles will buy a $100 gift certificate to VIA Rail, and 125 Miles will buy a $25 one.  Very handy for us!

Ultimately, we're just happy people are coming to the wedding.  Whether they give us a gift or not is not important - their presence means more than anything else.

Food, glorious food!

Sample menu from Twisted Fork:
(picture me drooling)

Chanquetes....deep fried white bait / smelts

Championes  Rellenos....stuffed mushrooms with chorizo

Gambas Pil Pil...spicy garlic shrimp

Potatas Bravas....Roast potato wedges with a spicy herbed mayo

Boquerones en Vinagre....pickled anchovies

Gambas a la Parilla...shell on salt grilled shrimp

Pinchitos Morunos....moorish kebabs a mix of Lamb and pork

Tortilla de Esparragos Strigueros....Asparagus Omelets

Tortilla de patatas....potato omelet

Pa amb Tomaquet con Jamon y Queso...tomato bread with ham and manchego cheese

Pollo al Ajillo al estilo de Parellada...boneless garlic chicken morsels skewered

Pelotas en salsa roja....tiny meatballs of pork and smoked bacon in a red sherry sauce

Bunuelos de queso...hot fried cheese puffs

Marinated vegetables....eggplant / mushrooms / roast red peppers

Grilled vegetables....asparagus / fennel / red onion/ zucchini

Salt Cod Fritters

Crudités with salsa for dipping

Seriously, am I the only one with a watering mouth?

My Dream Dress - Thanks, Martha!

I picked up my seasonal vice (aka Martha Stewart's Wedding magazine) without even flipping through it, and wouldn't you know - it has exactly what I've been looking for.

I've been trying to describe for ages what exactly I want under my pretty lace chemise (see below), and now I've found it! Feast your eyes on this beauty:

Isn't it GORGEOUS???? The train is exactly what I've been looking for... only not as long mind you. But it's that stunning victorian silhouette with not too much frou-frou. So picture that under this:

...and I'm set! I've been worrying for so long as to how to describe what I want to someone, and wouldn't you know I get a perfect example??

*happy sigh*

Oh hell, let's have an other look at it:

*added - Photoshopped image of my dream dress:

Honeymoon Planning

One of the more frustrating and fun parts of the wedding planning is the Honeymoon.  A while back, Roger and I went through a bunch of ideas for a honeymoon.  Our top choice, Japan, was unfortunately NOT in the numbers.  Cost alone deterred us.  So we decided to take on a more ambitious and affordable project:  a train ride from coast to coast of Canada.

Here's the map:

It pretty much looks like we're crazy, right??  But after a bit of research, it doesn't look too bad.  A VIA CanRail pass will cost us about $530 each in low season (which starts the week after the wedding: Oct. 16) and will give us thirteen days of unlimited travel.  According to my calculations, we're looking at 6 days of travel.  The fun comes when we stop.

Right now, I've planned out an itinerary that has us arriving in Halifax on Friday or Saturday after the wedding.  We'd head out to Montreal on Sunday, stay a few nights there, then leave for Toronto on the Thursday.  As the Westbound train leaves at 10pm, I figure we can pop off in Toronto for a nice dinner then back on before anyone can say "transnational".  We'll arrive in Vancouver on a Sunday.  Now how long we stay there is up in the air - I'm considering hopping over to Vancouver Island... but we'll see.  Budgetwise, the numbers are probably against us.

And so may I take this chance to remind folks that VIA Gift Certificates can be bought with Air Miles??  That's right!  If we buy our passes and our upgrades (because the passes don't cover sleeping arrangements) with gift certificates, we might have the bulk of our accommodations AND meals (sleeping accommodations for the Tor-Van train ride includes food) paid for!  Then we can worry about spending too much on things like Montreal B&Bs owned by a delightful gay couple, Japanese Garden tours in Vancouver, and a stay at the possibly-haunted-by-Oscar-Wilde victorian Waverley Inn in Halifax!

If anyone has some suggestions on awesome (affordable!) things to do, oh, pretty much anywhere in the country, let us know!

Pretty Registry Things!

One of the MAJOR cons to The Bay's registry program is LACK OF PICTURES.  Now, I don't know about you, but I love salivating over pretty things.  And since people really don't like buying stuff they can't see, it is up to me to enlighten you about what we've got on our list.

For starters, here's what we finally decided on for tableware - a mix between two Vera Wang for Wedgewood patterns, Gilded Leaf and Gilded Weave

Gilded Leaf:

 Gilded Weave:

Together, they make perfect awesome and Roger and my compromise between 'white' and 'pattern'.  Trust me, this was one of the harder compromises in our relationship - kinda sad, I know.


Other fun things:

Rowenta Focus (It's a really nice iron.  Good to have if I get serious into sewing like I always say I will.)

Earth Chef Cookware:

I like the fact it's ceramic/green.  Roger likes the fact it works on induction cooktops (another Earth Chef product he was drooling about, but at this point in time - not needed.  Trust the chemist to drool over a glorified hot plate.)


Mikasa Kya flatware:

Cheeky, isn't it?  I especially like how the knife is dancing, and how big those spoons are.  Mmm, spoons.


Cuisinart 7-Speed Hand Mixer:

It's sexy.  It mixes.  And it isn't one of those outrageous upright ones that are ridiculously heavy and you can't stir while you're mixing.


That's it for now - the other things we have on there are non-googleable items, like a bathroom scale that ISN'T digital, and shows both kilograms and pounds AT THE SAME TIME.  We have to think of these things, being from two different measure worlds.  Also, some swanky dark caramel/chocolate sheets, a chubby white soup tureen (that they call a vegetable dish or something weird), and an ironing board.  Woot.

Hope I satisfied some visual needs!

Registry - More Than 3 Items!

Finally, Roger and I grabbed a chance this afternoon to pop into The Bay and register for some more things.  But let me tell you - whoo... it's tough.  It is not a relaxing task, but both Roger and I realize it's pretty much a necessity so that our guests will have some idea of things we both agree on.

But I want to make something very, very clear.  WE DO NOT EXPECT PRESENTS.  From anyone.  Best phrase I heard was "We request your presence, not presents".  Seriously, you being part of our wedding by being there is more than we expect from anyone - especially with the amount of out-of-town guests.  We couldn't ask for more.  The registry is for those incredibly generous friends and family members who like to respectfully dismiss this and get us something anyway - and since Roger and I are picky in two completely different ways, you can imagine how much 'fun' we're having finding things to put on the registry.  Oy.  Hardest so far was the china.  Nearly caused a ruckus - him liking plain white plates, me hating them with a fiery passion.

We'll probably have to go in again, but hopefully we'll have recovered by then.  So check out the registry, and be happy that we've expanded the list of 3 items to 'more than 3'.  If we can, we'll try to get pictures up for the items - so those interested are not totally blind or dependent on having to go into a Bay store to see them.