our invitation

Creating all of our paper goods for the wedding might have been one of my favorite parts of planning. Lexi is co-owner at Paper & Poste and was so fantastic working out our design with us and was possibly the most patient vendor we worked with. We clicked from the moment we walked in at our consultation, and it honestly felt like chatting with a friend throughout the design process. I kid you not, my email chain with her was 70+ messages long. I asked a zillion questions and carefully considered every single detail (I must have looked at over 3,000 script fonts)... 

For many parts of planning, you have to wait until the actual wedding day to see things come to life, but the invitations are one box you get to check off earlier on and actually have the opportunity to enjoy. We got so many compliments from friends and family after they received their invite and I really appreciated that because they were a labor of love! I could not be more pleased and proud of how the final product turned out. 

[[ You can't see it very well in the photos but if you look closely you can see our logo at the top of the invitation. We actually reversed the typical letter press process and kept the border and logo raised, and the background 'pressed' with a very light grey fill. It's super subtle and according to our stationer 'had never been done'! ]]

Invitations: Paper & Poste

Photography: Hugh Whitaker

february 25th

We recently received our wedding photos (all 800 of them!) and have loved every second of getting to re-live the day and all of the emotions. Each and every photo is even more breathtaking then I could have imagined and we're so grateful to have had the day captured in such a beautiful way. 

I'd like to share some of our favorite shots and share some of the details that made the day what it was. So tune in for a week of wedding related posts...

xo

Photographer: Hugh Whitaker

rainbow flats

{ Kassandra Gladiators, $35 }

I don't know about you but I find I'm always hardest on my summer shoes. After several months of biking, patio hangs and outdoor adventures, come September my shoes always seem best suited for the trash. Being aware that that is usually the case, I tend to look for a couple pairs of cute and affordable sandal options. I bought a couple pairs of shoes online at Target earlier this month, and was so tempted by these adorable, colorful strappy sandals. They would be so sweet for sunny cottage weekends or outdoor concerts.

right now favorites

I'm frequently rotating my favorite of-the-moment beauty products, and these are what I've been reaching for lately...

After back-to-back-to-back (etc..) pre-wedding shellac manicures, my nails needed time to breathe and recover. I've been using this RescueRxx treatment twice daily to help heal and strengthen my nails again.

I'm a sucker for cute lip balms, especially since my lips are constantly dry. This coconut lip balm from Sephora smells divine and is totally IG worthy ;)

Anyone who's passed by the Queen West Aesop shop is likely familiar with their street-side lotions (you can take a pump as you walk by). D spoiled me with some Aesop products at Christmas and I love the richness of this hand balm. (full disclosure :: I am now an Aesop addict!)

fri-nally

{ the sweetest package from Hugh Whitaker (our wedding photographer) }

I am happily welcoming the weekend after a rainy week in Toronto (fun fact: it's supposed to be 20 degrees next week!!!). We are going for teppanyaki with friends tonight (you know, like this) and I'm expecting dinner to include sake bombs and a lot of laughter. We received the rest of our wedding photos this week, and are obsessed with each and every shot (all 800 of them!). Our photographers did such an over-the-top terrific job of capturing the day, it's been great to re-live it.

Whatever your weekend includes, I hope you enjoy yourself. xx

{ take-out from Grand Electric }

{ completely addicted to this podcast }

{ a fun new game friends introduced us to } 

{ we went out and bought three to give as gifts! }

{ one of the first recipes I tried from the internet years ago that's still a go-to favorite }

{ similar recipe here }

fishnets

{ red fishnets }

If you had asked me a year ago, I would have associated fishnet stockings solely with punk rock - these days, I'm loving them as an alternative to your run-of-the-mill tights and stockings. 

They're sassy and add personality when paired with a simple dress or pair of cropped jeans. I'm thinking my spring wardrobe might need some updating..

{ black fishnet stockings }

{ star fishnet socks }

northern candle co

D and I took a little walk along Roncesvalles on Sunday. We grabbed a coffee, enjoyed the sunshine and browsed in some of the local boutiques. It's always fun to poke your head in and see what's new, especially with spring around the corner. 

We are constantly burning candles in our apartment, and balsam fir is our go-to winter scent, but I'm wanting something fresh and light for spring. The Likely General had these Northern Candle Co. candles ($28) in three scents - Kingsway, Saturdays and Peppered Rose. Each and every scent was fragrant and airy but not overwhelmingly sweet or strong. 

We still have two giant (literally, 90 hour burn time) balsam fir candles left over from the wedding but I'm hoping to switch over to the Saturday scent for the warmer days ahead. 

island dreaming

{ shell clutch }

After two weeks off and returning from our honeymoon, I will admit I'm 100% in wanderlust mode. My mind gets lost daily in thoughts of travel and adventuring. We have two summer time trips to B.C planned but our next big trip is to Hawaii in November! 

I can't wait to eat my weight in tuna poke, and get back in the ocean to try my hand at surfing again - I'm also finding myself distracted by all island-inspired fashion. This shell clutch is arguably the sweetest vacation purse I've ever seen and would be so fun for dinners in Maui.

honeymoon in barbados

The Monday morning after the wedding, D and I took off on a 9:00a.m. flight to Barbados for our week long honeymoon! It was exactly the rest, relaxation and rejuvenation we needed after the ten months of planning our wedding. We rented a beautiful one bedroom suite at The Crane Resort off VRBO, which worked out perfectly. The resort is the oldest on the island and is located on the south east coast, which meant it was peaceful and quiet and there were big, huge waves to swim in (there was even a little cliff to jump off!)

We had never been to Barbados before and took full advantage, renting a car on two different days to adventure and explore around the entire island. The West Coast offers much calmer waters with beautiful soft sand beaches, which was a nice change from the east coast. 

One of the highlights we enjoyed most was the quality of the food and wine selection. We would make breakfast in the room each day and eat out at different restaurants for our lunch and dinners. 

We enjoyed some terrific meals at beautiful restaurants and I think I managed to eat seafood at every meal! 

Here are a few photos if you care to see... 

{ the VRBO hosts had this gorgeous floral arrangement waiting for us in the room }

Favorite Restaurants ::

Lonestar (go for a bottle of rose at lunch and ask to sit on the beach patio)

Primo (stunning decor, amazing food and friendly staff )

Champers (great food and terrific location, right on the water)

Favorite Things to Do ::

Happy hour at Mullin Beach Bar with live music

Walking the beaches on the West Coast

Snorkeling and sailing on Cool Runnings (catamaran day trip)