Michelle Ritchot and Jason Sigurdson
Married May 3, 2008

BOY MEETS GIRL – Michelle was running a shop, when her future husband Jason, an interior designer, came into it.

ON BENDED KNEE – Jason asked Michelle to marry him one evening a few years ago. “We had a nice long engagement,” says Michelle. “We were engaged for about two years and then decided it was time to get married.”

KISS THE BRIDE – The ceremony was held at St. Augustine Church, and a reception followed at the Riverview Curling Club. Approximately 180 guests celebrated the day with Michelle and Jason. Dinner included turkey and mashed potatoes, and the wedding cake was two-tiered with vanilla frosting and chocolate filling.

THEIR TIME AWAY – Shortly after their wedding, the couple left on a work-related trip to London, England. After their work was done, they stayed in London a little longer to enjoy some time together.

Photography by Blue Lion Photography
Text By Kimberly Mickelson

WORDS OF WISDOM – “Marriage takes work for everyone,” says Michelle. “You just need to keep in mind that you married this person for a reason. After reminding yourselves of the reasons you got married, you can work through all the hurdles.” As for wedding planning, Michelle encourages planning in a shorter amount of time. “We planned our wedding in only three months. We avoided dragging the planning out for a year like many of my friends had done, and we still had the most perfect day,” she said.

Wedding Gallery – Click on an Image to Enlarge.

Heather Billing and Adrian Fraijo
Married June 7, 2008
Carmen, Manitoba

BOY MEETS GIRL – Heather, an optometrist’s assistant, met Adrian, a Spanish youth worker, while he was studying in Canada.

ON BENDED KNEE – Adrian asked Heather to marry him while they were on a romantic skating path in the winter.

KISS THE BRIDE – Approximately 150 guests joined Heather and Adrian to celebrate their wedding day. The ceremony was held at Carmen Pentecostal Church, and a reception followed at Carmen Active Living Center.

FABULOUS FEATURES – The wedding dinner featured apricot chicken, a 7-layer salad, roasted potatoes, and cheesecake for dessert. The happy couples’ wedding cake was a three-tiered lemon cheesecake. Their wedding colours were bright and colourful, including grass green dresses, with bright orange and yellow flowers.

THEIR TIME AWAY – Shortly after their wedding, the new husband and wife shared a relaxing 6-day honeymoon at the Pinewood Lodge in the Whiteshell.

Photography by Blue Lion Photography
Text by Kimberly Mickelson

WORDS OF WISDOM – “Don’t get all caught up in the minor details of planning your wedding because in the end, everything will work out,” advised Heather.

Wedding  Gallery – Click On An Image To Enlarge

We are struggling with the wording for our invitations. The wedding expenses are being shared between ourselves, my parents, my fiance’s dad and my fiance’s mother and step-dad. His mother is insisting that her husband be included. Is this the proper thing to do and if so how do we word the invitation to include both my fiance’s father and step-father?

C. Wiebe
Saskatoon, SK

With today’s blended families, this is a common question. Proper etiquette is that the individuals how are paying for the wedding are the hosts and are honored as such in the invitations. In situations where there is both a father and a step-father helping pay for the wedding, both should be included. The father and his spouse if applicable are listed first followed by the mother and her spouse.

The wording for this particular situation should look something like this:

Together with their parents
JANE SMITH
daughter of John & Jen Smith
and
BOB JONES
son of Jim Jones and Ben and Anne Samson
request the honor of your presence as they unite in marriage.

Be Fabulous,

The Wedding Diva

There are many reasons why brides choose to have a Trash the Dress session done. Many fearless brides realize that they will never wear this dress again and look at this as an opportunity to take the dress out and have fun taking photos they could not take on the day of the wedding because they didn’t want to chance getting the dress dirty. Some brides see their Trash the Dress session as a declaration that they are 100% committed to their marriage and will never need the dress again. For others the motivation is the fantastic vogue style photography that they will cherish for many years even when the gown no longer fits.

Of course, there are many brides who love the Trash the Dress photos but are not sure they want to ruin their gowns. The good news is that there are many great options for Trash the Dress sessions that will not actually destroy your wedding dress. Trash the Dress sessions can range anywhere from getting a bit of sand on the dress at the beach to shredding the dress with scissors. If you love the idea of a Trash the Dress session but are a little leary about actually destroying your dress, talk to your photographer. They will be able to suggest plenty of options that will give you amazing photographs and will result in your dress simply needing a quick trip to the dry cleaners.

While Trash the Dress sessions often feature brides, more and more couples are choosing to do Trash the Dress sessions together. A couple’s Trash the Dress session results in beautiful post-wedding photographs to complete your wedding album. There have also been some amazing Trash the Dress sessions done with couples celebrating a 1st, 5th or 10th anniversary who want to celebrate their years together with a special photo session.

Contact your photographer today to discuss your ideas for a special Trash the Dress session that will showcase your gown and your personality like no other photo session can.

Photography by Moments By Marian
Videography by Epic Videography

Image Gallery: Click on an image to enlarge.

Kelly also won a fantastic selection of prizes from our sponsors:

Congratulations Kelly and thank you to all the sponsors and brides who participated in this contest. New contests are in the works right now.

Brides, please join our newsletter list today to receive updates and information when new contests are launched.

We are planning a destination wedding for Jamaica in 2010. We have 30 guests coming including family, wedding party members and friends. For the rehearsal dinner the night before do we invite only family and wedding party members or should we included everyone?

C. Dubois
Edmonton, Alberta

Normally a rehearsal dinner included family and wedding party members but often out-of-town guests are included. It’s a nice gesture towards the guests who have had to travel and are staying in hotels because of your wedding. The same would apply for destination weddings were all the guests are away from home.

Be Fabulous,

The Wedding Diva

Invitations for the Hindu nuptials were 20 pages thick, encased in silver, and contained jade necklaces or diamond watches for close family friends. The industrialist chartered 12 Boeing jets to fly 1,500 guests from India to the festivities in France that ranged from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris to the Palace of Versailles. Fireworks filled the skies and ‘Bollywood’ stars mixed with the guests who consumed five thousand bottles of Mouton-Rothschild 1986.

Vanisha Mittal Bhatia has a masters degree in South Asian studies and sits on the board of Mittal Steel, owned by her father Lakshmi Mittal, who is estimated by Forbes to be worth $51 billion.

Text by Norma-Jean Alt

Travis & Kara (Wiebe) Cooke
Married August 12, 2006
Carmen, Manitoba

Boy Meets Girl – Kara, an art teacher, and Travis, a budding architect, met in the fall of 2001 while both were attending university and started dating early in 2002. “We studied in the same building,” Kara says. “We found we shared an interest in design and had similar values. We had also both traveled in southeast Asia.”

On Bended Knee – Travis proposed at the Palm Room in the Fort Garry Hotel with the live ensemble playing romantic music in the background.

Kiss The Bride – The couple were married in Kara’s parents’ yard near Carman. A pastor from a local Mennonite Church performed the service. About 160 guests were on hand.

Fabulous Details – Kara’s and Travis’ wedding dinner consisted of stuffed chicken, roast potatoes, vegetables and a trifle for dessert. Guests were also served rollkuchen – a traditional Mennonite deep fried dough – and Icelandic prune cake, reflecting the bride’s and groom’s different ethnic backgrounds

Their Time Away – For their honeymoon, Kara and Travis spent two weeks in Brazil. “We had never been to Brazil before,” Kara says. “We followed the coast from Sao Paulo to Rio to Salvador and then went inland to Brasilia where we spent time looking at buildings. Brasilia is a mecca for modern architects.”

Text by Myron Love
Photography by LVB Photography
DJ by MoSound

Wedding Gallery – Click On An Image To Enlarge

Here are some seasonal flower suggestions for you to consider:

For a Winter Wedding, select from

• Daffodils
• Poinsettias
• Evergreens
• Amaryllis

Since winter is their flowering season, daffodils are reasonably priced and also look fabulous in large table vases, either at the wedding rehearsal or wedding breakfast. Also consider using the holiday season as a guide to your selection.

For a Spring Wedding, select from

• Tulips
• Lilies
• Hyacinths
• Ranunculus

Bright blues, pinks and yellows are very common in these spring flowers. They are also available in soft white and pale pastels. And although they combine well, there’s nothing quite as elegant and as lovely as a selection of spring flowers in a singular colour.

For a Summer Wedding, select from

• Daisies
• Gladiolas
• Zinnias
• Dahlias

Since the weather will most likely be quite warm, select flowers that tolerate heat well. This season offers you a large choice of flowers, including beautiful blue Delphiniums and Columbine. And, although roses are available from florists all year round, roses truly give a ‘summer feel’ to a bouquet.

For an Autumn Wedding, select from

• Sunflowers
• Chrysanthemums
• Hydrangeas
• Roses

With this season, take advantage of the full range of vibrant colours. With roses, look for Leonidas (a bi-colour chocolate brown) and Black Magic (the darkest, velvet burgundy). Also consider using a variety of fall-toned foliages, such as copper beech, croton leaves, or vine maple to add interest to your floral bouquet.

Once upon a time, the marriage season hit its height in June and wound down quickly after. But this is no longer the case, due to renewed design sensibilities and availability from around the world.

Text by Norma-Jean Alt
Photography by Dale Schappert