Thursday 28 June 2012

yay honeymoon!

Since Valentine's Day 2009 I've been dreaming about spending the night at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Niagara on the Lake.  David took me to NOTL for our first Valentine's Day and I thought the Hotel looked so pretty from the outside.
David proposed in the park across from the Hotel one year ago today♥ and we both agreed how awesome (and romantic!) it would be to come back to NOTL for our honeymoon.  We were in NOTL in March and booked a tour of the Hotel so we could decide which room we wanted.  Of course, we picked the biggest, most beautiful and the most expensive!  

Here is a picture of the outside:



(credit: httpwww.governorswalk.caneighbourhood.htm)

The room we want actually faces the park so we can sit on the balcony outside our room and see the spot where David proposed:)

It's such a gorgeous place to visit and I reeeeeally want to live there some day, but we need to be millionaires first!  We have decided to spend the first few days of our honeymoon at our house (which we have yet to find), then go to NOTL, then to another location and then return home before having to go back to work.


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 After we come home from NOTL, we are going to rest for a few days before heading to the GORGEOUS Bayview Wild Wood Resort!  David's parents  got us a gift certificate for a stay there and it looks so nice!  We thought there might not be much to do in the fall (we are going near the start of November) but we were wrong!  There are hiking trails, fishing spots, areas for boating, and more.  
I've never been to a place like this, much less in the fall.

This is a shot from the Resort (click the link above for credit):



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While most couples would pick somewhere hot and tropical, we opted for things closer to home, but still far enough away that it's fun.
We had talked about going to places out of country, but we didn't want to go anywhere that we would have to do touristy stuff or it would be  waste of a trip...does that make sense?  We want the freedom to just be able to stay in if we want, without missing anything, or to eat whenever we want, or go anywhere we want.  
It would be nice to go to a tropical resort or something, but maybe we will save that for an anniversary trip :)


Oh, BTW-any of the coloured and underlined  text (besides what I just typed) are clickable links to the websites for where we are staying.

-christina




Monday 25 June 2012

a post that's NOT about our wedding

This post is about related to what happens after the wedding...we get to live together!

We currently live in separate houses and have just started the home buying process together.  We found a real estate agent a little while ago and she referred us to a mortgage broker.  Last week we met with the broker to start the pre-approval process.  David and I had an idea of our home buying budget and I admit I was a little discouraged by it because most of the listings we saw online for that price weren't very nice.  Once the broker collected all our information (where we work; how much we make; where we worked in the past; how much we have in savings; how much we have for a down payment; credit checks etc.) he gave us a dollar amount that surprised us both!  He said we could qualify for double what we had thought!!  
He advised us not to go that high so the three of us agreed on a lower price point.  

I got a call from the broker on Friday saying that we are pre-approved at the lower, but still healthy, budget with. He actually said "I got you guys approved for $***,*** with a $**,*** down payment".  We have been saving for a down payment for about a year and are quite proud of ourselves:)  
Initially, we thought maybe our parents would have to co-sign for us (they volunteered if needed) because we probably wouldn't even qualify.  But we did it all on our own!  Some of the down payment money we saved has been gifted to us over the past several months (birthday, Christmas, congrats on the engagement, etc.) but we chose to save it together instead of spending it elsewhere.

and now for wedding talk...
I really enjoy planning our wedding.  It's a lot of fun and hasn't been stressful at all...it helps that David is involved!  Now that we are almost done with wedding things, we can really focus on looking for our house.  
David and I have been engaged for nearly a full year and I still can't believe we are getting married.  Obviously, the giant rock on my finger is a reminder:) It really hit me last week that this is really happening...we are getting married and starting a life together.  

even though I'm supposed to be blogging about wedding stuff, I'll throw in the occasional "update about home buying" post.  :D

-christina

Friday 22 June 2012

an unconventional incident




about 3 weeks ago I came to the realization the wedding dress I planned to wear was not the dress for me (it’s a weird story so maybe I’ll save that for another post).  it wasn’t my dream dress and after consulting with my mom, I decided to look for another...it was a crazy idea considering there were about 4 months until our wedding.  I can’t buy off the rack because I’m a small size so any dress I wanted would have to be ordered and that can take several months.  I immediately went online to look up all the bridal stores in the Kawarthas and Peterborough to see what lines they carry.  After spending quite some time scrolling through web pages full of poufy, bedazzled dresses, I came across THE ONE.  It was just screaming ‘buy me buy me!’  I made a list of every single retailer that sold this line that was a reasonable driving distance from my house.  I called them all to ask if they had the dress in stock because I wanted to see it in person before ordering it.  not a single store had it!  I eventually called the local stores to see who could order it faster and found one that said it would be in by the end of July.  needless to say, I was very excited and relieved.  I made an appointment with the salon so I could be measured and pay my deposit.  just this week I received a call from the salon saying they were unable to order the dress for reasons I don’t fully understand.   basically, the dress I want is considered  a ‘destination or casual wedding dress’ and the store isn’t authorized to carry particular collection, but they can carry the typical dresses from that manufacturer.  It’s a little confusing and extremely frustrating.    Later in the day I went into the other local salon that carries this lone and told them my situation. they were very sympathetic and are able to order my dress for middle of September. 

I still  haven’t seen my dress in person so I don’t know how it will look on me.  the size that was ordered is supposed to be a perfect fit and I really hope it is!!  I’m disappointed I can’t have my dress any sooner  and am hoping it comes in by the promised date.  that would give 6 weeks for any work that needs to be done (I’m guessing the train will need to be made smaller because I hate trains on dresses).  this dress is so different from my original dress, but in a good way!
It feels more ‘me’.

-christina

Friday 8 June 2012

wedding beauty

This post is dedicated to make up and hair for my wedding day.  I've had quite the adventures with hair styles over the years and posted some lovely pictures for your enjoyment:)




make up
anyone that knows me well can verify that I don't wear much make up.  I love it and will often wear it to work (not as of late because I'm too lazy) or for special occasions.  my make up is never perfect and I only ever use eyeliner and mascara.  so i knew when it came to my wedding day, I'd need to hire a really good make up artist.  I've mentioned my friend Alycia before and how fab she is (click for her site!) but I never proved it by posting some pictures.
this is how I look on a good day (with no make up)
this is how I look after Alyica has worked her magic
(the picture is small, but I'm wearing winged eyeliner, false lashes and red lipstick-DUH)


hair dilemma
I think that, as women, we often find identity in our hair. I know I did, especially in high school.  Just for giggles. here is a picture of me from grade 11...strangely, I felt like this hair represented "me".
yeah...that's bright pink hair.  It was very high maintenance needing to be recoloured every week or so.  I really wanted pink hair and my mom actually bleached and dyed it for me.  Anyone who knows my mother will be shocked that she supported this adventure!  
I got sick of having pink hair so I dyed it all dark a few months later.  By grade 12 I was embracing my inner hippy and letting my hair go free.
It was long, red and curly...I had curly hair a little kid but it eventually grew straighter.  I loved my hair this way but made yet another dumb decision to cut my hair off...
Super short hair was alright in the summer but looked AWFUL when it grew in.  But David and I met a few months after this happened and I didn't scare him away.

I have spent nearly 4 years trying to get my hair to look the way it did in high school: long, curly and luscious.  I've come close to the length but it always gets in my way, is too heavy and doesn't curl. It just hangs there.  I decided to grow my hair long for our wedding so I could wear it a certain way.  Then I realized that was a dumb idea because it would still be in my way and I didn't want to be one of those brides that waits and waits for their hair to grow so it can be long for ONE DAY...and then cuts it off right away.

This is what I did:
March 2012-Before

After
My hair has almost grown to my shoulders now, which is a lot of length is not much time.  I'm cutting it again so it will be short like the 'after' picture.  I've decided I like short hair; it's easier to look after. 
Having short hair doesn't make me less of a bride that the woman with long, flowing locks.


moral of the story:
There is no moral. You read a long post for nothing.  I don't want to look at my self on my wedding day and not recognize my reflection.  The make up I've chosen to wear is very simple, but classicly beautiful.  It dresses up my face without hiding who I am.  Short hair is what I'm most comfortable with I know my hair will look amazing on my wedding day. 

Bottom line: at the end of them (wedding) day, I hope people aren't talking about my make up or hair style...I hope they are talking about the love they saw between David and I as we transitioned from David Fleming and Christina Yourkin to Mr. and Mrs. Fleming.