Behind The Scenes - Who Made us Look Great on our Wedding Day

Welcome to another installment of the "Behind The Scenes" series on my own wedding. Because I get asked for recommendations for wedding vendors all the time, I'm taking the time to outline the vendors we worked with, and what the experience was like. You can read about our wedding music here, food here, or how I was feeling before the wedding here.

Hair + Makeup

Edmonton has SO many awesome makeup artists, guys. I have a number of favourites, and it took me months to decide exactly what I was going to do. In the end, I settled on Blush Artistry, and as soon as I did, it was a big weight off my shoulders. I've known the owner, Heather, for a few years and I have seen enough of her team's work to know I was in good hands. One of the main things that made me choose Blush Artistry over my other favourites is their large team and the ability to travel to where we were getting ready.

I found Blush really easy to communicate with, and flexible with last-minute changes (adding people that wanted hair or makeup done on the day). They showed up early on the wedding day, and were super cheerful and easy to be around.

I also had a spray tan from Organic Tan Edmonton. I love how it gives me just a little glow, and an even skin tone, without looking fake. I recommend Alitta for the best spray tan in Edmonton - with all natural ingredients, too!

Ryan and his groomsmen, as well as one of my brothers, all went to Barber Ha on the morning of the wedding. Ryan goes there for his cuts regularly, and they always do a great job of styling his hair, and the wedding day was no exception.

The Dress

My wedding dress was one of the only challenges of wedding planning. I purchased a dress off the rack from a seamstress who had done alterations on the wedding dresses of my sister and a number of our friends. They all had great experiences with her, so I was confident that she'd be able to make the changes to the dress I chose without any problems.

To cut a long story short, it was an awful experience. For most of my fittings, I waited up to 30mins while she was sewing the dress in the other room. After way too many frustrating fittings, and not really ending up with what I asked for, I took the dress home. Between my mom and two of my friends, we got the dress to a place where it fit properly and I was happy to wear it on the wedding day. I have no desire to name her publicly (I spoke to her in person about my disappointment), but I certainly won't be recommending her to anyone else.

The Suit

Ryan's experience with The Helm was one of the best parts of our wedding planning. After deciding on a custom made-to-measure suit (after all, it is the only thing from the wedding that will be used again, so we thought it was well worth the investment), we visited a a few different places to compare prices and materials.

From the first visit to see Brad at The Helm, through the entire process, and to the finished product on the day of the wedding, the experience was incredible. Brad listened to Ryan's concerns and his idea of the perfect suit, and went to work creating something amazing. We were both so stoked with how great his suit looked, and even happier that he'll be able to wear it on many more occasions in the future. We'd highly recommend The Helm - every guy deserves a suit that fits perfectly, and makes him feel like a million bucks!

The Rings

When Ryan proposed, he gave me the ring that his father had used to propose to his mom. It means the world to me. After shopping for wedding bands, and much deliberating, Ryan decided that he would wear his dad's wedding ring as his own, and we'd have one made to match for me.

For all of our ring needs, including resizing the engagement ring and Ryan's wedding band, repairing the claws on the engagement ring, and creating a simple custom wedding band for me, we went to Vandenbergs Jewellers in Manulife Place. We'd heard great reviews from friends, and we were certainly not disappointed. The customer service at Vandenbergs was fantastic. They took great care in explaining options and the process, and treated the heirloom jewelry with great care. My custom band was simple, affordable, and matched my engagement ring well. I can't say enough good things about the team at Vandenbergs!

All images by Freemark Photography.