Net-a-Porter.com gets a wedding boutique and it’s chockablock with gorgeous finds.
‘Maids to mothers: the online ready to wear designer boutique, Net-a-Porter.com, has just unveiled an entire collection of clothes, shoes and accessories for those on the hunt for something fab to wear down the aisle. Whether it’s your wedding or not, we think you’ll find a generous handful of drool-worthy items on their wedding boutique pages and in their wedding magazine. For brides, the collection is broken down into classic, minimalist, bohemian, and fashion forward to get you started.
Speaking of launches, Lanvin Blanche has also officially launched and oh boy, it’s not for the faint of heart: think t-shirts and translucent tiered skirts. The Lanvin bridal collection is: “for a bride who does not think of herself as a Cinderella” designer Alber Elbaz was quoted as saying on the boutique’s site.
What does it take to hire a professional in the wedding industry? We figured it takes one to know one, so we asked Shirley Lo-Cadotte, Event Planner & Coordinator at Double Happiness Events who has hired her fair share (and more) of wedding pros for some incredible events.
The Wedding Co.:What are the three most important things to look for when hiring a wedding professional?
Shirley Lo-Cadotte: I would want a competent, reputable individual who is totally “me-oriented”. For competency, look at their experience, training and recent work. Ask how many weddings have they been a part of, and where and how have they learned their profession. Ask yourself if you are impressed by their work. To determine reputation, ask for references from recent wedding clients and research them on-line to see what others have to say. To determine if they are “me-oriented” I would look for good communication, professionalism, enthusiasm about my wedding and an overall sense that our personalities click.
TWC: Who is likely going to be the first professional a couple hires?
SL: The wedding planner of course – to save hours of scouring websites and attending shows to find the perfect venue and the best vendors. They will also help the couple stay on track and not miss any details. However, a full service wedding planner is sometimes not in the budget and if that’s the case I would select the venue first as most are staffed by knowledgeable event coordinators who know their venues well and would likely be able to recommend vendors that they have had positive experiences with.
TWC: What kind of items should you look for in a contract with a wedding professional?
SL: Make sure all the who’s, what’s, when’s and how’s are covered in any contract you sign. Specifically, look at hours of coverage that will be provided, product details if they are providing supplies, the name of the particular individual that will be providing the service if you have requested someone specifically; any cancellation policy (if you or the vendor cancels); any no-show policy (if the vendor does not show up); any back-up policy (if vendor is unable to be present due to unforeseen circumstances); and payment details including due dates and extra fees such as over-time and travel.
Shirley Lo-Cadotte
Shirley began her wedding planning career in sunny California three years ago and has since returned to her native Canadian soil and launched Double Happiness Events in Toronto. With both event and catering management experience, she’s met the gamut of the wedding industry and knows what’s what.
More questions and answers available if you click to continue reading the full post.
When we saw this engagement photo shoot by Winnipeg photographers Jake + Jess (KampPhotography), we knew it was perfect timing to shed a little light on the e-session, or the engagement session with a professional photographer.
Five Questions: KampPhotography
The Wedding Co.: What is an engagement session all about? What have your couples done with the pictures, what would you love to see them doing with the pictures? KampPhotography: An engagement session is basically a great way for us to get to know our couples, but it’s also a good opportunity to “train” them before the wedding. With so much pressure on photographers and couples to have unique wedding photos, it’s super beneficial for the couple to know how everything works beforehand with a photos session. Our couples have done a variety of things with their photos, from large format prints, to guest books and wedding favours. We’d love to see a couple get every photo from the session printed in small 3″x3″ squares, and strung along simple twine.
TWC: How should a couple prepare for an engagement session? KP:We just suggest to our couples that they relax. Getting to worked up for the session can make a normally stressful situation (for most people anyways) even tougher. Couples quite often ask if they should wear matching outfits to which we always ask, “do you normally wear matching outfits?” 99% of couples say “no” and we say “exactly =)”!
TWC: How do you choose where to locate it? KP: We ask our couples to tell us what best describes them in terms of a location. For some couples this is a modern spot, for some it’s a warm country setting. Creating the session around the a couple’s personalities definitely makes the session much easier because they are relaxed.
TWC: How long does an engagement session last, and how much does it cost? KP: Engagement sessions usually last between an hour and two hours depending on locations, and how into the session the couple gets. With our company, every wedding client receives a session with their booking, but otherwise we charge $250/hr for the session time.
TWC: Ideally, when would you suggest a couple have an engagement session done? KP: We basically leave timing up to the couple. Every couple loves a different time of the year, and we definitely try to accommodate that. Generally speaking though, we suggest that the session take place within a year of the wedding (partly so they don’t forget what they’ve been taught).
Love Byrdie and Matt’s photos? Their wedding was a few days ago and Jake and Jess have promised to send us those pics too, so stay tuned for the second part of the story!
The Wedding Co.’s eight pointers to successfully travel through a wedding show finding ideas, inspiration and leave feeling overwhelmed to when you catch a glimpse of your beaming fiancé on your wedding day.
1. Before the show, book appointments to meet with exhibitors you’re already curious about to multi-task and ensure one on one attention.
2. Make a plan; write a list of what you need in order of importance, this way you will stay focused and not be overwhelmed.
3. Walk the show once entirely and then return to the booths that really made an impression.
4. Bring valuable second-opinion people.
5. Take advantage of samples and demonstrations, eat the food and get your makeup done to obtain the most authentic experience and information available.
6. Make notes of what inspires you, what you don’t like and the companies that stand out; you are going to end up with a stack of business cards, making notes will help you remember who’s who.
7. Re-visit; find out if you can access the show again without purchasing a second ticket. The second time might be the perfect opportunity to bring your fiancé or mother.
8. Make it an event – treat the person who went with you to lunch out after.
There’s a new cookie shop in town where the goods are twice baked (like someone’s list is checked) to your requested density and then shipped in super pretty eco-friendly boxes to your doorstep. The Biscotti Shoppe launched its online retail venture a week or so ago and we were thrilled to hear about the company’s mouthwatering flavours (Oh La La Lavender to Canadian, Eh?), their green initiative and commitment to finding alternative ingredients to the original such as organic spelt flour, organic cane sugar and free-range eggs.
For a wedding, consider serving biscotti with coffee after dinner and perhaps leave a box at each table once dinner has finished for a little added decor.
The Biscotti Shoppe sells 12* biscotti for $35.00.
*earlier today we noted there were 24 cookies to a box, the total amount of each box hasn’t changed, they’ve just returned to making each cookie a little larger
We recently had the sublime pleasure of visiting Masterstroke and meeting ribbon collector Steven Fraser in his packed-to-the-rafters room of gorgeousness. Arranged by colour with the vintage spools tucked into a cupboard for safe keeping, the room at Fraser’s family’s industrial warehouse has a Santa’s workshop feel and it was hard to focus on Fraser when we were surrounded by so many different, amazing types of ribbon and embellishment. From silk to grosgrain, organza’s to novelty ribbons, one of the four of us was constantly pointing out something new. It’s no wonder that Fraser has been so successful with his business, which he started in order to supply his own wedding with ribbon, he definitely knows how to let his product speak for itself!
We were there to see the space but we had also arranged for Fraser to demonstrate his essential bow, something we thought would come in very handy over the holidays. Especially if you’re a person who loves to wrap as much as you like to shop, this is a great DIY for the holidays but also for gift giving in general.
a) Hold the ribbon on the top centre of the gift box with a fish tail remaining long enough for one loop of the bow. Wrap the ribbon around the box, at the cross point turn the ribbon at a 90° angle. b) Wrap around the box bringing the ribbon back to the top of the box. c) Wrap the end of the ribbon over and under the result of (a+b) to form a cross. d) Tie the fish tails in either a loop bow or in a shoelace bow and garnish with trim. For added security, knot the ribbon prior to tying the bow.
We don’t do many weekend posts but this couldn’t wait for the new year! It’s not Deco nor homemade but it is glamourous eye candy and perfect for the holidays (a white cake and a white chocolate-inspired dress) …. we love, love, love this fashion-worthy photo shoot at Cabaret. Caketress, Lori Hutchinson designed this cake to complement Cabaret’s Truffle dress, one of the shop’s handful of re-created vintage-inspired dresses. Enjoy!
You can’t have a week of Deco-inspired items without including some of the most impressive glitz available. Enter Myles Mindham’s rings for that jealous right hand.
The design might not be explicitly Deco-inspired but the striking black sure calls attention to the luxury of this ring, and that could have easily been influenced by the opulent glamour of the roaring twenties. Made of 6.32 carats of black diamonds this ring will surely comfort your right hand when the left receives number two.
Interestingly, black diamonds were hardly used for jewellery or any other purpose, so if you’re looking for something a little more Deco-authentic, black onyx, enamel and jet were three materials used regularly to achieve those clean geometric cuts. These earrings from The Carole Tanenbaum Vintage Collection are a little more authentic, dating from 1940.
So many personal tastes can be sated by Deco’s distinctive yet broad aesthetic and even broader inspiration of modern jewellery and clothes and this is likely part of its universal appeal, as Steven Wong, sales manager at Mindham Fine Jewellery put it, “Deco is a guaranteed bet” for achieving an elegant look that includes a nod to modern style.
This is the very first Wedding Co. film! We’re so thrilled to have been able to put this together and hope to be bringing you more little flicks of studio tours, artist visits and product demonstrations. A huge thank you to Images Weddings (an Images Film+Video company) who co-produced the film with us.
Today we’re thrilled to announce that we’re incorporating video into our site. Companies on The List will now have the option to add a film clip to their profile in order to provide you with further details; we can’t wait to see what comes of this new endeavour. The first video to be integrated into our directory is from Images Weddings, it’s fitting that it’s a videography firm, no?
Later today, we’ll post our first Wedding Co.-produced video for another member of our talented community but without further ado, this is Images Weddings’ video:
Net-a-Porter.com gets a wedding boutique and it’s chockablock with gorgeous finds.
There’s a new cookie shop in town where the goods are twice baked (like someone’s list is checked) to your requested density and then shipped in super pretty eco-friendly boxes to your doorstep. 
We recently had the sublime pleasure of visiting 
The design might not be explicitly Deco-inspired but the striking black sure calls attention to the luxury of this ring, and that could have easily been influenced by the opulent glamour of the roaring twenties. Made of 6.32 carats of black diamonds this ring will surely comfort your right hand when the left receives number two.
Interestingly, black diamonds were hardly used for jewellery or any other purpose, so if you’re looking for something a little more Deco-authentic, black onyx, enamel and jet were three materials used regularly to achieve those clean geometric cuts. These earrings from 