As requested, a blog focused solely around “coral”.  You know who you are – this one’s for you!

Even a year ago, if asked to don a coral bridesmaid dress, we would have feigned disapproval and most likely would have mocked the bride for her outdated choice of colour.  And yes, this fake display of horror might have gotten us fired from the bridal party.  But for the sake of maintaining our up-to-date fashionista persona, it was a necessity.  God forbid we admit that secretly, we covet coral.  Always have, always will.  There is no better colour that elicits the spirit of just having whisked away to a tropical local than coral.  Or turquoise.  And put the two together?  Don’t even get us started.  The “marriage” of these two colors is just another reason why summer is our favourite season of the year.

To celebrate our coming out, we have put together a little coral coloured montage for your perusal. 

And a little note to our bride-friends of past:  We apologize that we compared your choice of coral bridesmaid dress to a bad ‘80’s prom dress.  And that we acted out a scene that had us pretending to gag, while making a run for the nearest washroom. 

No wonder we were demoted to the end of the bridal party line-up.

Now, don’t get us wrong, we are perfectly fine that there will be no chance of us having to don an ‘80’s inspired frock, a trend that took over the runways this year.  But..oh wait…isn’t that a dress that actually IS from the ‘80’s in the rack? Great.  Shoulder pads, here we come.

Thankfully there are some new options we came across in our desperate quest to find something that had a modern yet classy twist:

• Cynthia Rowley recently launched her first bridesmaid styles that are inspired by her runway collection.  These dresses are truly gorgeous and would ensure enthusiastic claps from the bridal party.
  

http://www.dessy.com/bridesmaid-dresses/

Notte by Marchesa – we have never been able to resist the intricate folds and romantic flair that always grace a Marchesa gown so you can only imagine our glee when we came across their bridesmaid collection.

http://www.marchesa.com/

• No list of bridesmaid dresses would be complete without a shout out to Miss Wedding herself – Vera Wang.  Her bridal collection is, as always, classic and refined.
  

http://www.verawangonweddings.com/shop/Dress_Gallery.aspx?Catalog=Bridesmaid%20Gallery

Now, if only Lady Gaga would get on board the bridal train.  “Timeless” may not be a word used to describe her potential collection but “unique” would probably cover it.  Though we’re not sure how Grandma’s would react to a birdcage mask rather than a hat.

Vancouver is home to a number of gorgeous patios so it can be a tough decision, where to set up shop.  Here are a few outdoor spaces where you may find us and our laptops this summer:

• The Gallery Café – 750 Hornby Street, Downtown.
  • Not only for the art lover, this patio is considered an “oasis amid the hubbub of downtown” – perfect for people watching while sipping a glass of well-priced wine.

www.thegallerycafe.ca

• Chill Winston – 3 Alexander Street, Gastown
  • It’s pretty hard to beat an afternoon spent on the cobbled sidewalk patio of Chill Winston while indulging in a big bowl of their signature hand popped popcorn. 

www.chillwinston.ca

• The Galley Patio & Grill – 1300 Discovery Street
  • Casual and beachy, this low-key patio is perfect for relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous water views.  Even better?  The bike ride home to burn off the mountain of to-die-for nacho’s we usually inhale!

www.thegalley.ca

• Dockside – 1253 Johnston Street, False Creek
  • Our personal favourite “office” location – one would be hard pressed to find a better patio then this one.  But don’t dare try and take over the big white couch by the sidewalk – we plan on having a standing summer reso for this one (classic “Friends” style!).

www.docksidebrewing.com

• Bridges – 1696 Duranleau Street, False Creek
  • Perfect for entertaining guests, a trip to this waterfront patio is not complete without a pitcher of their amazing sangria!

www.bridgesrestaurant.com

• Cardero’s – 1583 Coal Harbour Quay
  • Sit on this slightly upper-scale patio while playing the game: “What yacht would you rather sail around the world in?” 

www.vancouverdine.com

• The Mill – 199 West Cordova Street
  • Slightly hidden along the seawall is this large sunny patio with enough seating space to allow for a large social gathering.  Another reason to visit?  Bradley Cooper and Renee Zellweger checked it out last year, while in town to film for the A-Team.  Enough said.

www.millbistro.ca

• Lift Bar & Grill – 333 Menchions Mews, Vancouver
  • Uber classy, this gorgeous patio is THE place for après work cocktails.

www.liftbarandgrill.com

• The Local – 2210 Cornwall, Kitsilano
  • Those of us who live in Kits have a soft spot for this venue and are relieved to have the much-coveted patio, overlooking Cornwall, up and running again.  Another bonus?  The towering “Kits Beach Burger” (although it might be best to avoid ordering this on a first date – juice and meat dropping on your lap don’t usually make a good first impression!)

http://www.localpubliceatery.com/

If you are looking for the perfect location for an outdoor soiree such as a fundraising party, birthday bash, or wedding celebration, let us know.  Although some of these venues are available for rent, we have some other Vancouver “hidden gems” up our sleeve that will guarantee to knock the socks off of your guests!

This time, however, we jetted straight over to Oahu where we thought we might mix our days by watching the surfers on the North Shore and catching the Canucks games in a busy Waikiki bar at night.  Although we were a tad apprehensive that staying in Waikiki would decrease our chances of experiencing the “true” Hawaii that we were so used to, we couldn’t have been more wrong!  The air was scented with hibiscus, the beaches were gorgeous and more importantly, there was an ABC store on every street corner. 

For anyone interested in visiting Oahu, here is your “must do” list, no Frommers required:

• Lanikai Beach, situated along Oahu’s Westward coast, is touted as the #1 beach to visit in America.  We were a bit suspicious of this high rating and therefore entered a bet – if we didn’t agree with this ranking, we would have to find our own way back to your hotel.  Readers will be pleased to know that we did NOT, in fact, have to take a crash-course on Hawaiian public transit.  It truly is a gorgeous beach and lives up to its translated name of “heavenly sea”.  Added plus – Don Ho’s house is literally situated along the water.  Feel free to hum a little “Tiny Bubbles” in memory.

• Duke’s on Waikiki Beach – our Hawaiian home away from home.  Well, one of them!  See below!  We will forever have fond memories of the Mahi Mahi fish taco’s and fun atmosphere. 

• The Yard House was a frequently visited restaurant during our stay.  Any venue that apparently has the “world’s largest selection of draft beers” is a friend of ours!  After a long, “tiring” day at the beach, a casual dinner is always welcome, especially one that will have you surrounded by an energetic crowd – we compare it to Hawaii’s version of Bentall’s Cactus Club! 

• And finally, if you are looking for accommodation that is perhaps a bit off the beaten path of Waikiki, a venture out to the North Shore will bring you out to the Turtle Bay Resort.  Fellow fans of the Jason Segel movie “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” will especially appreciate the fact that it was filmed at this resort!  Sadly, a room at the hotel does NOT include dinner with Jason.  Trust us.  We asked.

One question that we are still trying to get to the bottom of though:  Does Spam originate from Hawaii?  Because this must be the only explanation (and excuse) for “spam sushi” and “spam macadamia nuts”!  No joke.

While touring the land of kilts, haggis, and swoon-worthy Gerard Butler lookalikes, our Event Consultant, Amanda, found time during her travels in Scotland to make us all jealous by filling us in on her take on Edinburgh and the surrounding areas:

“Edinburgh, a historical city with a story. I never would have expected such a concentration of life and culture. I can honestly say that Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful, magical places I have ever been. And I haven’t even begun to highlight how alive this city becomes at night! I must admit – I’m not in much of a rush to get home.
 
After some time in the capital, we began to make our journey upwards to explore all that we have heard about the North. A couple of days in a rental car, travelling around the Scottish Highlands has reinforced what so many people have been telling me about the beauty of the North. The scenery is unlike anything else and the Highland cows are the cuttest things in the world! 
 
One of the most amazing places we visited was a castle on the water that one can rent out for private weddings!  Scotland destination wedding, anyone?   This castle is outside a little town called Inverness in the North of Scotland and has 16 unique bedrooms, all with a view of the loch. 

For those of you who want to do something truly different on your special day, information on this gorgeous castle can be found at:http://www.bunchrew-inverness.co.uk/ 

All in all, an amazing experience that I didn’t want to end.  Although it seems my wish may come true with the volcano in Iceland erupting – all flights are cancelled until further notice.  Oh well!   Guess it looks like I am off to the coast for the day!”

Stay tuned for next weeks blog, straight from the beaches of Hawaii! 

Phew, we must say, doing research on destination weddings is REALLY hard work.   Mai Tai, anyone?

While most people seem to look forward to advent calendars and sleigh rides, our favourite holiday is actually Easter – what’s not to love about neon marshmallow peeps and the annual Cadbury Cream Egg commercials?  Our heart genuinely skips a happy beat when we glance into a store window and catch a glimpse of the first spring clothing stock – all in sunny shades reminiscent of the Easter eggs we used to dye. 

But this year, since we refuse to jump the gun and fill our closet with outfits that we can only admire but not wear (it’s not exactly skirt weather quite yet!), we’ll settle for recreating the feeling of nostalgia with an afternoon of decorating eggs.  Old school-style, using dye that we’ve actually made ourselves.  Wish us luck, this COULD get interesting!

If you have children or are similar to us and can’t shake the fond memories of spilling yellow dye on your favourite shirt while dealing with an egg gone astray, here is a “recipe” list of dye’s you can mix up from ingredients found in the supermarket:

Once you have successfully cooked up dye colours that will transform any boring white egg to a work of art, pour each mixture into a measuring cup and add 2 to 3 teaspoons of white vinegar.  Pour the dye into a bowl or jar that is deep enough to all the egg to be fully submerged.

If you have any spills or problems along the way, or simply get a little (ahem), thirsty, just make extra “Purple” dye and forget the vinegar.  Wait, we drank all the “purple” dye?  Oh well.  Guess our eggs will just have to go “sans pinot noir” this year.

Happy Easter!

Okay, so your REAL birthday only falls once a year and in the past, you’ve waited diligently until then to indulge in ice cream cake and tear open presents.  But good news!  Your “Unbirthday” actually falls 364 days a year!  Now you can justify making an almost daily pit stop to the nearest cupcake store and registering for “unbirthday” presents at the Pottery Barn!  Okay fine, so unless you have REALLY nice friends, you may not get away with that last suggestion but you might as well try, right?!

Looking to the newly remade Alice in Wonderland for inspiration, we envision a lot of bright colours, various yummy treats, and of course, tea!  Make like the Mad Hatter and send the lucky guests playing card invitations, serve them inside-out food (little tea sandwiches with the bread on the inside works!), and make tea martinis!  To set the scene, scour the local flea markets or estate sales for mismatched teapots, cups, plates, and silverware and place them on a long table covered in garden flowers in various sized vases. 

Once you have blown out the candles on your unbirthday cake, meander over to the garden for an animated game of croquet! 

We can hardly wait until we get to plan our NEXT unbirthday party!  Which incidentally, comes around again…tomorrow!  Lucky us!  Now, what flavour of cake shall we order this time…hmmm…

No doubt the local bars are already shopping for bulk food colouring to add to the rather ghoulish looking green beer that is traditionally served on Saint Patricks day.  Personally, we’ll be passing up the opportunity to create a reason to invest in Crest Whitestrips and be ordering a frothy pint of Irish Guinness instead.  Problem is, we’re really not huge beer fans.  Having surpased the years of keg parties in university, we’ve lost our taste for beer. 

If you tend to favour a glass of pinot noir over a Molson, we’ve got a recipe for you that MIGHT help you meet the somewhat mandatory March 17^th beer quota, even if it does mean an extra hour on the treadmill the next day!

Courtesy of a highly celeb populated bar in Hollywood, the “Guinness Milkshake” combines 1 cup of vanilla ice cream, 4 oz of Guinness Stout, and 2 oz of chocolate syrup.  Blend it together and serve in a chilled glass. 

Now sit back and enjoy it while watching a movie starring Colin Farrell.  Milkshakes and Colin Farrell?  Beats a set of green teeth any day!

For the past 17 days, we’ve forgotten that the colours in the rainbow go beyond white and red, the space beside Ceili’s is simply a parking lot, and the line-ups for Japadog don’t usually run for blocks on end.  While the rest of our closet might be happy to come out of hibernation, we have to admit, we will be sad to see the departure lounge at YVR full of our international guests finding their way home. 

While visiting the various houses and pavilions, we were inspired by the different cultures and customs that we learnt about and thought we might do some research on some quirky wedding customs that one could incorporate into their own big day.  Although we always appreciate a good Greek plate smashing, we’re not sure a few others would make the Kodak-moment cut in our own wedding album!

In Scotland, the pre-wedding tradition of “Blackening the Bride” goes way beyond our own traditions of dressing the bride in tacky t-shirts and necklaces bought in a dollar store.  The bride is covered in foul substances (such as eggs, various sauces, feathers etc.) and paraded around the pubs in town.  Note to our friends: they will automatically be deleted from our Facebook Friends list should they EVER do this to us!

At Swedish wedding receptions, if the bride goes to the restroom, all of the other women guests must line up to kiss the groom.  And vice versa for the groom.  If you choose to include this particular tradition into your wedding, you may wish to avoid any guests of the “ex” variety.  Just saying…!

And finally, our particular favourite:  In South India, it is customary for the groom’s side of the family to complain about the food that is traditionally provided by the bride’s family, even if it IS prepared by Mr. Rob Feenie himself! 

However, should you decide to purchase frozen Pigs in a Blanket as an hors’ doeuvre, you may get complaints irrespective of the traditions of your two families.  Sorry!  We’re sure Martha Stewart would agree.

When younger, we were lucky to have tagged along with our parents on numerous trips to Greece.  The donkeys, hanging squid, and baklava are obvious images that spring to mind when we think back to those carefree days.  However, it is the mere whiff of leather that instantly transports us back to the dusty paths and white-washed buildings of the Greek Islands. 

Scents and the memories they evoke are powerful.  There’s a reason why aromatherapy products are so popular these days.  So what does this have to do with events?  When planning a party, we tend to focus on the visual and gastronomical elements.  The food, the décor, all these things are important.  But what if the guests were also treated to the faint whiff of coconut while attending a summer pool party?  Or a scent that was customized to match the personalities of the bride and groom at the wedding you were invited to?  You would walk away with not only the sugar almond wedding favours and tired feet from dancing, but also an association to a scent that you will never forget.

Introducing a specific scent into your event will bring together the whole mood and effect that you want your guests to enjoy.  And it can be as simple as lighting a few vanilla candles and placing them sporadically throughout the room.  Or, if you are looking for something a little more imaginative, create your own customized scent!   Companies such as Scent Events can help you out – www.scentevents.com

They even have a “smelly cheese” option.  No joke.  We think we might steer clear of that one.