Wedding update

I have been requested for an update on the Destination Wedding prize we won. So here are the prize details:

GRAND PRIZE

(a) The grand prize includes a seven-night stay for bride and groom in a Casita Suite at El Dorado Casitas Royale, A Spa Resort by Karisma, in Riviera Maya, Mexico.  The prize also includes $1,000 air credit to go towards the couple’s flights and upgraded private round-trip airport transfers.  The winning couple will be awarded the Gold Wedding Package, which includes the Honeymoon & Anniversary Package, at El Dorado Royale, and includes the following:

Professional services of a wedding coordinator

Complimentary online bridal registry and wedding website

Wedding guest’s concierge

Bride’s personal in room wedding attendant for three hours on wedding day

Groom’s room on wedding day from 10am-4pm stocked with a selection of beverages and gourmet bites

In-room mannequin with cover to display wedding dress for three days

Spa hairstyle for bride and haircut for groom and spa gift

Justice of the Peace

Filing of all documents for legal ceremony, translation of ceremony and Mexican wedding certificate translated to English and delivered after ceremony via Fed Ex

Witnesses

Blood test performed onsite

Choice of a romantic ceremony location – including an intimate seaside chapel, charming garden wedding gazebos or on the beautiful beach – at El Dorado Spa Resorts & Hotels and Azul Hotels by Karisma, pending availability

Special aisle runner, table with white linen and uncovered ceremony chairs

Spiritual sand ceremony with keepsake souvenir

Heart shaped petite wedding cake for two

Welcome with a bottle of domestic Champagne on ice in your suite

Guaranteed King-size bed

Deluxe bathrobes for use during stay

Daily suite decorations

Bride’s fresh floral bouquet and groom’s boutonniere

Dinner reservations for the wedding group – up to 40 guests included; additional charges may apply if group size exceeds 40 people

Personalized menu card

Romantically decorated suite on wedding night with rose petals, aromatherapy and candles

Professional wedding photographer, 36 color picture package plus negatives and handmade wedding album

Breakfast in bed on first day of honeymoon 

Post wedding day brunch reservations for wedding group – up to 40 guests included; additional charges may apply if group size exceeds 40 people

Logo beach bag

Late check out for bride & groom

Romantic candlelight dinner for bride & groom on the beach served by beach waiters

Couples half-hour massage lesson

Consultation from Canadian Living editor

Opportunity to have your destination wedding prize package featured in a TBC issue of Canadian Living magazine and on canadianliving.com

Note: Prize acceptance agreement is required.  DestinationWeddings.com will handle all travel arrangements for the entire wedding group. Wedding must be redeemed within 12 months of May 1, 2012. Blackout dates may apply.  Package substitutions are not permitted.  This prize is nontransferable.  Additional restrictions apply. Approximate value of the prize is $12,000 CDN.

Not too shabby!I have been doing a little searching for dresses, and so far this is what I have come up with:

Wedding Dress Ideas

Source: etsy.com via Jamie on Pinterest

Source: littlemisslovelyvintage.com via Jamie on Pinterest

Source: craftingagreenworld.com via Jamie on Pinterest

Source: littlemisslovelyvintage.com via Jamie on Pinterest

Apparently I'm really into ruffles. What's difficult about picking a dress is that my style changes with my mood. Who knows how I will be feeling next April, because next April is our plan for the wedding. Plus I am not really a traditional kind of gal, so white lace ruffles is coming as a bit of surprise to me. I wasn't one of those little girls that dreamed of getting married, and planned out the big day. Marriage has never been on my list of life goals, so I am a little bit intimidated by all the planning that goes along with it, though very excited at the same time! We are planning a non-traditional ceremony. What that looks like, we have no idea. Hopefully we can come up with some ideas over the next eleven months. If you have any that you would like to share, we would be very grateful.

We are still in shock over this win! It's just so incredible! Who knew you could win a wedding?! I will try and share more details as we learn them, but have only just been in touch with the representatives this past week.

I hope you all have a great Monday!

Looks like I will need a new dress...and maybe a new bathing suit!

I have some pretty exciting news to share!

First here are some pics of the birthday gifts from my loving boys:

This is from Jude. It is full of trains, bionicle parts, socks from the laundry bin, and marbles. 

and he has wrapped them in a Christmas bag. 

Here are the contents of the bag:

When I woke up, this was on the counter for me from Rob. 

Inside the bag were four silkscreens that Rob and Jasper made. 

and then Rob put out bowls and cereal for the kids to get their breakfast:)

Jai made me a card with coupons inside. The coupons are for a free massage, read an extra chapter, do the dishes, movie night, make the snacks all day etc.. I bawled my eyes out!

So here is the BIG news! It's pretty colossal, at least for us it is. So I will tell you the story from the beginning. Last year, at exactly this time last year, Rob announced to our family that we were getting married! He had a date, sometime in August this year. We looked at one venue, which we loved, but is just not in our budget. A wedding can be pricey, and for a family of five living off of one income, saving for a wedding is a bit overwhelming. We put our plans on the back burner, on the lowest of low temps, and thought nothing of it.

Then one day we were at my parents house, and I was flipping thorough a Canadian Living magazine, when I noticed there was a contest for a destination wedding. On a whim I decided we should enter. I filled out the online form, then Rob decided the picture I chose wasn't great and he wanted to take a new one. He ended up filling out the application form and using the exact same picture. A couple of months later we get a phone call letting us know we are in the top five finalists!!! We were blown away, and then I read Rob's application and realized why we were in the top five. Here is what he wrote: 

When I tossed my girlfriend a box with an engagement ring in it I realized instantly I should have put more thought into the proposal. She looked at me with such confusion it made me forget entirely what I intended to do. She was weeks away from our first son being born and I wanted to make things legit I wanted our family to be as strong and solid as possible. This mediocre engagement took place six years and three sons ago. I want my wife to feel like a princess not just a mom and have a dream wedding.

 I cried, of course. We had to make a video submission and send it in within a week. It took us a few days to get over the excitement so we could even focus on making a video. What the heck were we going to make a video about anyways? Well we finally pulled it together, and thank goodness Rob is tech savvy and figured out how to put the video together and he did all the editing...actually he pretty much did it all. He's pretty fantastic! The video does not want to be shared at the moment, I have made several attempts to share it, and it's not working. But hopefully I will be able to share it with you all soon!

Well today, on my birthday (April 12th), I received a call from the judges of the contest to inform me that we WON!!! Is that not the best?! We are over the moon, and in total shock! This is just the best thing ever, and I can't even function right now, because I'm just so darn excited!

So it looks like I can begin my search for the perfect dress and maybe a new bathing suit!!

What's in your fridge?

We have the usual, meat defrosting for tonights dinner, lots of veggies and fruit, almond flour, leftovers...... and a stuffy puppy in plastic container with marbles. 

This is one of my favourite things about having little ones in the house, and I try not to think about how much I will miss these discoveries when they are older, but I will. They warm my heart.

As I'm writing this I have tears in my eyes. Tears of love and happiness. My ten year old just came down the stairs to give me the birthday card he made for me with coupons inside for things like, a free massage, a free movie night, a free I make snack all day, one free I make you a comic, one free read an extra chapter etc...I love my children so much, sometimes I cry.

Funny Sign...At Least Funny to Me

For the longest time, whenever we passed this sign, I would stare at it in confusion, until one day I asked Rob "Why do you think there is a need for gay dog daycare? Can dogs be gay, and if so why do they need their own daycare?" He laughed. Hard! And informed me that it says doggy daycare. Oh! Maybe I need to start wearing my glasses more often!