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Blush in West Vancouver will present a Kenneth Pool Bridal Trunk Show, Sept 11 & 12, 2010. Thirty to forty gowns from the Spring and Fall 2010 collections as well as some Spring 2011 gowns will be at the salon for this weekend event. As a thank you, brides who buy that weekend will enjoy a 10% discount and free promotional veil. By appointment only. Call 604-925-3218 or email bridal@blushoccasions.com.
Blush is located at: 1403 Bellevue Ave., West Vancouver, V7T 1C3. www.blushoccasions.com
From now until July 10th, Jules & Eve in Kerrisdale has their 50% Off Summer Sale. Brides, take your bridesmaids for chic, wear-again bridesmaids dresses or make a shopping date with your mom (or mom-to-be) for a sophisticated wedding day outfit. (Sale excludes New Arrivals.)
Local company Travellers Deck has come out with a Vancouver guide in a card deck format of the best 100 places to eat, drink and shop around Vancouver. We think it would make a great gift and resource for out-of-town wedding guests!
The deck is colour-coded and categorized by area (South Main & Cambie Village, Commercial Drive, South Granville and Granville Island, Downtown and Kitsilano) and each card doubles as a coupon with a one-time- use discount or incentive. The pocket-sized box of cards is plasticized cardstock making it waterproof, important for our Vancouver weather, and includes maps with both walking and bus directions. According to the company, the shops and restaurants were selected and reviewed on their own merit and did not pay to be included. The current 2010 deck expires December 31, 2011 so you have plenty of time to try out all 100 recommendations. The shops and restaurants cover a variety of price points as well.
Shuffling through the deck, I spied cards for some of my favourite places to dine and shop. For dining and drinks: Chambar, Medina, Six Acres, Guu (Robson), Les Faux Bourgeois, Sweet Revenge Patisserie, East is East, and the Templeton. For shopping: Gravity Pope Shoes and Tailored Goods, Umeboshi Footwear, Eugene Choo, Spank Shoes and Clothing, One of a Few/Two of Few and The Block.
The deck comes in four languages: English, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese and is currently available for $11.95 at Chapters, The Bay, Marketplace IGA, London Drugs, and other participating retailers around the Lower Mainland.
Last night, I attended a Sex and the City 2 fashion event at the Opus Hotel hosted by Vitamin Daily Vancouver’s Editor-in-Chief Sarah Bancroft. As SATC2 obsessives know, the white dress Carrie sports in the movie is a Halston Heritage design so fittingly, guests were treated to a Halston walk-through fashion show while nibbling tasty appies and sipping Skyy Vodka martinis. Though not specifically wedding wear, a few of the 70s- and 80s-inspired spring 2010 line would work well as guest attire for a casually chic outdoor wedding when styled with bolder accessories, a sparkly clutch, and strappy stilletos or wedges.
{Above Image from thebay.com of Halston pieces available at their store.}
Halter necklines, drapey silk silouettes, jewel tones and exotic prints characterized the collection and made me want to hop on a plane to a tropic destination. My favourite was a turquoise blue and emerald green dress/blouse/cover up with an african-inspired print and embroidered detailing on the sleeves. I’m sorry to say I don’t have a photo of this piece!
Sex and the City 2 opened last night and the Halston Heritage collection can be found at select The Bay stores in BC: Mayfair, Oakridge, Park Royal, Richmond, Vancouver Downtown, and Victoria City Centre.
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Last week, we wrote a quick post about the Grand Opening of The Westin Wall Centre, Vancouver Airport. Here’s Part II and a few more photos. The main reception was in their largest ballroom, the Airport Ballroom. For a sit-down dinner wedding reception with a dance floor, this ballroom can easily accomodate 250 guests. For a party-like atmosphere, the hotel can set up fun coloured lights, spotlights, uplighting and elegant decor. {Top and below photo courtesy Kent Kallberg for The Westin Wall Centre, Vancouvef Aiport.}
The Grand Opening showcased plenty of fun, unique and novel offerings. One of our favourite things was this martini bar ice sculpture. At the event, guests had the choice between a sour apple martini or a peach martini, made-to-order of course! Once ready, the bartender would pour the martini into the top of the ice sculpure and through it into a guest’s waiting glass at the bottom of the sculpture. The wine and beer bar was itself an ice sculpture {below}.
The catering at The Westin Wall Centre, Airport Richmond was inventive and covered a variety of tastes. Buffet stations of dimsum, sushi, and lamb donair kebabs showcased the ethnic flavours of Vancouver while canapes such as koshu oysters with a yuzu cloud and wasabi pop rocks and dungeness crab with popcorn rice and trout cavier were unique, elegant and palate-pleasing.
Another of our favourite things was the made-to-order ice cream. When asked, the chef poured cream into a bowl then added liquid nitrogen while whipping it by hand. Voila, instant real vanilla ice cream. A definite crowd pleaser.
I can’t mention ice cream without mentioning the desserts. At the dessert station, chocolate bonbons by chocolatier Nadubes perched enticingly on a glowing plexiglass display. The hand-painted marble effect on these diminutive delights resembled the cosmos and they tasted out-of-this world. One of our other favourite desserts was the white chocolate bombs, fresh passion fruit compote inside a white chocolate shell. There were also aerated chunks of mocha chocolate on reusable bamboo spoons and single-glass servings of cheesecake and chocolate mousse.
In addition to the main Airport Ballroom, the hotel has four smaller ballrooms to accommodate more intimate receptions. Wedding decorators Art of the Party created two tablescapes in the Gulf of Georgia Room, a space which can seat up to 50 people for a sit-down reception.
We would sincerely like to thank The Westin Wall Centre, Vancouver Aiport staff for a such a welcoming and lavish Grand Opening Celebration. It’s not too late to check them out for your wedding reception this summer. Contact Larissa Nocon, Catering Manager at 604-238-2104 or email her at lnocon@wallcentre.com.
Chilliwack Photographer Kim Mallory, along with The Beautiful Woman Project and Sole Sisters Shoes presents The Domestic Diva Cocktail Party, Friday May 7th, 7-11pm at Mallory’s downtown Chilliwack studio. The party promises to be a fun girls’ night out for ladies of all ages, why not treat Mom to a night out pre-Mother’s Day? Gift bags, a fashion show, shoes, makeovers, martinis, food, prizes and more. Plus, every guest is entered to win a Diva for a Day Grand Prize Package. Tickets are $28, purchase tickets online, or call Kim Mallory at 604 824-9917.
Mother’s Day is undoubtedly a big day for flower-giving. Local floral shop Get Fresh Flowers in the heart of Vancouver’s West End has some wonderful Mother’s Day offerings for the day (and beyond) that will definitely make your Mom feel loved and appreciated.
For the day-of, order a bouquet or arrangement, or pick up a potted plant for your Mom to go with that spa gift set, jewellery or brunch outing you’ve planned.
You could also go all-out and lavish her with flowers every week! Get Fresh has a new service that delivers a custom-made floral arrangement of 100% locally grown BC flora in a vase to your Mom every week for an entire year. She also receives a potted phalaenopsis orchid (like the one above right) three times a year. This luxury service costs $50/week (or $2600 per year) and includes free delivery to most areas of the Lower Mainland.
Get Fresh Flowers recently renovated their shop into a thoroughly modern and welcoming space. Owner Robert Munro, a self-taught florist, opened his shop in 2003 and is now an exclusive florist to many of Vancouver’s most upscale events. For more information, visit the shop at 1688 Davie Street, call them at 604 685-3500 or send them an email.
Tags: Flowers
When your hardworking, busy mother has a moment to pause, does she pick up a good book? If so, here are a few of our picks for Mother’s Day gifts. Include a book in a basket with bath salts, aromatherapy candles and some fuzzy slippers! {All books available at Chapters.}
Good to A Fault by Marina Endicott
This book, published in 2008, was on this year’s CBC Canada Reads list. Though it didn’t win, it’s our pick for Mom.
Two cars collide in an intersection. In one car, the one at-fault, is 43-year-old Clara Purdy, an affluent yet empty Saskatoon insurance professional who has spent her years caring for ailing parents. In the other car, an impoverished family on their way to starting a new life – mom, dad, grandpa and kids – whose car is their home. Out of guilt, Clara decides to help the family and in doing so, chaos, tension and complications ensue.
Good to a Fault won the regional Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Canada and the Caribbean), made the shortlist of the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. It was also one of the Globe and Mail’s Top 100 Books for 2008.
Oprah by Kitty Kelley
Ah, how we love our celebrities. This 2010 biography of mogul Oprah Winfrey by biographer Kitty Kelley is a hefty 544-page read. Whether your mom is a proponent of all things Oprah or couldn’t care less, it’s an intriguing look into one of the most powerful women in America.
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Hay
Our Managing Editor read this novel, appropriately, during her first few weeks of living in Bali. And, appropriately, this novel has been turned into a movie due out in Summer starring Julia Roberts.
Eat Pray Love is Hay’s 2006 memoir of her “mid-life” decision to leave the confines of modern American comfort and success and pursue what she felt was missing in her life. She sets out for a year to explore three different aspects of her nature in three diverse countries and cultures. She lives in Bali, Indonesia and finds healing and love, she gains many a pound enjoying food and finds an appreciation for art and beauty in Italy, and attempts to experience devotion and peace in India. The memoir is as much about Hay’s inner lessons and struggles as it is about the fascinating people she meets.
Last Wednesday evening, the who’s who of the Vancouver wedding industry came together to celebrate the launch of Grace Ormonde’s coffee table book, Grace Ormonde Weddings – Being In Love Never Goes Out of Style at The stately Vancouver Club. The book is a beautiful and in-depth collection of aspirational style in the classic and opulent taste which is Grace Ormonde, who was present to sign copies and mingle with the Vancouver (and Seattle and Calgary) professionals.
The elegant atmosphere of The Vancouver Club was further accentuated by several lush tablescapes created by local (and one from Seattle) decorators and florists such as Upright Decor and hosts CountDown Events. Tablescapes will be featured in an upcoming issue of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style magazine.
With delectable canapes and the Champagne and wine a-flowing, it was a great evening celebrating Ormonde and her new book, as well as meeting up with new and old industry friends. {Top: Real Weddings Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Mike Alexander with Sandra Leung of Yaletown Wedding Gallery. Bottom: Alexander and Managing Editor Angie Ishak in centre, with Slavita and Emma of Elements Modern Weddings.}
Kudos to Soha Lavin {centre} and her team at CountDown Events for creating such a lovely event and to The Vancouver Club for their divine space and exceptional hospitality.
Photographer Jamie Delaine is in love with life: laughing until her stomach hurts, drinking green tea, rainy Vancouver days, cardigan sweaters, and learning to love selflessly. She is constantly dreaming and seeking out new ways to express her creativity and nothing excites her more than meeting couples that are uniquely and truly themselves. Collaborating with her clients, Jamie creates photographs that are authentic and real, overflowing with laughter and life.Tags: day-after, Fashion1, Photography
Twitter: realweddingsca