By Jennifer Cox

My parents were married in Montreal at Loyola Chapel, which now sits on the campus of Concordia University, in 1979. Decades later, when I started studying Journalism at Concordia, I loved walking by the chapel and looking at the front steps where all of my family, including grandparents who were no longer with us, had walked, stopping to pose for pictures in front of the big wooden doors. I was never the little girl who dreamed about her wedding, but when I saw the chapel in person, I knew that that was the one thing I wanted for my own special day: to get married at the same chapel as my parents.

And we did. Just two weeks after they celebrated their thirty-year anniversary, my husband and I got married in front of the same altar, with our guests lined in the same pews, surrounded by many of the people who had witnessed my own parents tie the knot.

To really remember the significance of getting married at the chapel, I met with our photographers (the incredible davina + daniel) months before and gave them some of the pictures from my parent’s wedding. They were clever enough to photograph them so, on our wedding day, they were able to refer to the pics and then “recreate” the same photos. It worked beautifully – we had about a dozen shots that looked like mirror images from my own parent’s wedding. I later put them in side-by-side frames for my mom and dad.

Jennifer Cox is a Montreal based freelance journalist who loves everything from weddings to foodie news, photography & candy!

Photos of Jennifer’s wedding: Davina + Daniel

By Jennifer Cox

My four bridesmaids carried traditional bouquets that matched my arrangement – I think most brides opt to have their girls carry bridesmaid bouquets. But I love when I see unique ideas for things that stray from the conventional.

Who said bridesmaids had to carry bouquets of flowers? There are other floral configurations that are just as striking (if not more so) – I personally love round hanging arrangements (sometimes referred to as pomanders). They’re elegant and still lend a beautiful flowery feel (I wish I’d discovered these sooner!). The girls can also hold a single flower or they can each have their own bouquet rather than be matchy-matchy.

There’s also a wide range of other accessories bridesmaids can tote, everything from similar clutches and coloured fans to pretty parasols and even whimsical pinwheels.

Some brides give their lovely ladies something to carry that serves a dual-purpose – candles or lanterns are not only charming but add to the ambient light as well.

Just because it’s the “norm” to give your bridal party identical bouquets doesn’t mean it’s what you have to do. The fun in creating your wedding is personalizing it and making it unique, and if you want your bridesmaids to carry a fanciful bunch of balloons or fiery awe-inspiring sparklers down the aisle, well so be it!

First & Second Photo: Bella Destinee; Third Photo: The Design Grove; Fourth Photo: Britt Productions; Fifth and Sixth Photo: Adore; Seventh Photo: Landlocked Bride; Eighth Photo: Project Bride; Ninth Photo: Stephanie Williams Photography

Jennifer Cox is a Montreal based freelance journalist who loves everything from weddings to foodie news, photography & candy!

I am a lavender freak. In fact, I am tossing around the idea of devoting a good portion of my backyard into a very LARGE lavender patch. I’ve got more than 20 plants growing as we speak, but that’s just the beginning.

The scent of lavender instantly calms me and takes me to  a  lovely place where I am centred and life is good.

I fell in love with lavender as a child when my mom used to buy English Lavender soap. In my early twenties I made lavender soap of my own using lavender essential oil and lavender buds; it was one of my hottest craft show sellers.

I recently discovered that lavender can be used for culinary purposes – although I’ve yet to experiment. One of the things I’d love to try is lavender lemonade. Wouldn’t that be a sweet treat for a summer wedding shower?

If you love lavender and  you’re having a summer wedding, why not incorporate this versatile herb into your wedding? How? Here are ten ways:

1. Lavender Boutonnieres. These don’t look difficult to make.

Photo: Snippet and Ink via A Sunshine Wedding.

2. Lavender Bouquets. Gorgeous!

Photo: Kristy Huston

3. Lavender lemonade. Get the recipe here.

Photo: All Things Lavender

4. Lavender Sachets. Smell amazing and easy to make. Read about one bride’s DIY lavender sachets.

Photo: Bells and Bouquets

Photo: Getting Stitched on the Farm

5. Lavender Send off: Your guests can shower you with lavender buds. Use a cone or sachet.

Photo: Something Old, Something New

Photo: iDIY

6. Lavender Cupcakes. Lovely.

Photo: The Cupcake Gallery Blog

Photo One: OnceWed

Have you ever seen a bespectacled bride in a bridal magazine? In fact, they’re pretty darn difficult to find in the blogosphere too. Grooms on the other hand? They’re all over the place. (My husband was one of them.)

Some brides wouldn’t think of wearing  glasses on their wedding day, instead opting for contacts.

But there are brides who wear glasses on their wedding day! For many of these brides, glasses are part of their identity. Some describe feeling ‘naked’ without them. Many of these brides purchase a special pair of glasses just for their wedding day.

I’ve rounded up some photos of brides wearing glasses.

Will you be one of them?

Photo One: WeddingBee; Photo Two: Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride; Photo Three, Four, Five: Brenda’s Wedding Blog: Photo Six: Offbeat Bride: Photo Seven: Anne Lord Photography: Photo Eight: Elizabeth Anne Designs; Photo Nine: Swoon; Photo Ten: Wedding Bee: Photo Eleven: Bridal Buds

If you’re having a summer wedding there is a chance you might have rain on your wedding day. As you probably know, rain on your wedding day is said to be lucky. It can also make for some fantastic photos. Want to know if it will rain on your wedding day? Check out the wedding weather predictor on The Weather Channel.

Here are a few rainy weddings that caught my fancy:

Photo One:Andrew Huth; Photo Two, Three: Metro Photography; Photo Four: Daria Bishop; Photo Five: Lucinda Photography; Photo Six: Laurie Peacock; Photo Seven: Ben Pancoast

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.  ~e.e. cummings

There’s a lot of pressure out there in blogland to live up to a certain aesthetic ideal when it comes to weddings. And sometimes all of these pretty images can cast a spell. Pretty soon you don’t know if the wedding you’re creating is something that you really want – or something you’ve been seduced into having.

I encourage you to think about your wedding. Find a quiet space and reflect on the things that matter to you. How can you incorporate the things that make you UNIQUE as a couple?

Darin and I will be celebrating nine years this year. We planned our Big Day before wedding blogs existed. Hence, we weren’t subjected to thousands of images of picture perfect weddings, which in a way, was a blessing. We had our own blank canvas. The elements in our wedding truly came from the heart.

We DIYed (there was no term DIY wedding back then!) just about everything but the food and music. My sister in law made the invitations. She also helped me, my mother and maid of honour make the bouquets and centerpieces. I made handmade soap and CD’s for wedding favors.

We chose a venue that had the most meaning to us (our backyard) and we had live Scottish and Irish bands because we love Celtic music. Our getaway car was a vintage rolls because we loved the idea of an old car. That was before vintage was the biggest buzzword going.

We did not feel pressure to live up to the latest, greatest real wedding. Our wedding was authentically us.

There are many great things about wedding blogs. They are a source of great information and inspiration. They can save brides time, money and headaches. But they can also hypnotize.

Stay awake on your wedding journey. Enjoy the sights along the way, but stay true to your own path.

Sometimes I get etiquette related questions from my readers. I reply to the questions, but I don’t consult Miss Manners for my answers. I’m not saying that I don’t believe entirely in etiquette (manners are a good thing), it’s just that well, rules are sometimes made to be broken.

I realize that when it comes to weddings, there are lots of potential etiquette landmines. And one of the biggest involves the guest list.

How, for instance, do you tell people-who-are-expecting-an-invitation that they are not invited?

A bride sent me this email. Instead of responding to her directly, I thought I’d put it out there and have my readers leave a comment here for the bride. Here is her question:

I’m currently planning an intimate wedding (or 10 people max) and I was wondering if instead of sending invitations to those I’m not inviting if I should send a letter saying we’re sorry to not be inviting them but we’ve decided a small wedding is what we want and they can feel free to keep up with wedding stuff at our wedding website. I just wanted to know what kind of thing I should put into the letter or if I should forget it.

What would you do?

The Wedding Outlet, one of our sponsors, turned nine yesterday. To celebrate, they are offering discounts, giveaways and gifts for brides all week long.

Here are all the goodies they have store:

Monday 5/17 - Monday 5/24 shop and receive 9% off your order!

Tuesday 5/18 – Visit The Wedding Outlet’s Facebook Page and wish them a Happy Birthday on their wall and automatically be entered to win a $50 gift certificate! (Winner will be selected at random and notified within 48 hours)

Wednesday 5/19 – Follow and Tweet The Wedding Outlet a Happy Birthday on Twitter and automatically be entered to win a $50 gift certificate! (Winner will be selected at random and notified within 48 hours)

Thursday 5/20 - Visit their blog Wedding Rumors and leave a comment on any blog post and automatically be entered to win a $50 gift certificate! (Winner will be selected at random and notified within 48 hours)

Friday 5/21 – Join their Newsletter to be the first to know about new arrivals and promotions and automatically be entered to win a $50 gift certificate (Winner will be selected at random and notified within 48 hours)

Saturday 5/22, Sunday 5/23 & Monday 5/24 – Shop and enjoy 9% all weekend long!

Kids. No kids.  When it comes to your guest list, it can be a tough decision.

For some couples, one of the easiest ways to trim the guest list is to have a ‘no children allowed’ rule. For others, not allowing children would be unthinkable.

It’s a topic that can stir up some strong opinions. I posted an article about this topic over at WeddingBee a while back and it generated some heated opinions on both sides of the debate.

Will kids be invited to your wedding?

Photo: Amelia Strauss Photography

We had our small wedding reception at home, so we did not have to deal with venue owners snubbing us for having a small wedding. But judging by what I’ve read from other brides, it’s not an uncommon occurence. Take Naoimi for instance.

Naoimi is a reporter over at TimesUnion.com, and she’s planning a wedding of 50-75 guests. Naomi is searching for a venue for her wedding and decided to check out an area country club. When she arrived for the tour she was cordially welcomed – that is, until she informed the tour guide that she was having a small wedding. She writes:

Fifty to 75 people, I told him. Not good. Their ballroom seats 300, he said; the space would dwarf our party. I believed him, but I was still curious. We didn’t get to see it, though. Instead, he showed us a section of the dining room that was partitioned off and empty. The dining room could be used for smaller events, he said, but it wasn’t a good space for wedding receptions.

“Fifty to 75 … ehhh,” he said several times, shrugging. The tour was clearly over. After he walked away, toward the club’s inner sanctum (no handshake this time), I realized my coat was still in his office. Luckily, the door was open, so I retrieved it and left as quickly as possible.

Judging by the flood of comments that Naoimi received, this topic clearly struck a nerve with her audience.

But there is hope for Naomi. Plenty of it. There are small wedding friendly venues out there. Beautiful venues that welcome intimate guest lists. I don’t mean to toot my own horn here (okay, maybe I do.. just a little), but that’s the beauty of the Intimate Weddings Venue Finder. The venues listed are ideal for small weddings. And there’s always the possiblity of an at-home wedding - whether it’s your own home, or a rented private residence.

Have any of you had similar difficulties finding a venue because of your small guest list? Have you been snubbed? I would love to hear your comments.