Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is breast cancer awareness month. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Canadian women. Canadian Cancer Society estimates 23,200 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,300 women will die from the disease in 2011.

I would encourage all the women to not only join in the fight against this disease, but to learn more about it. Canadian Cancer Society's website has everything you need to know about early detection, prevention and the ways you can help support the cause. 

Calgary Wedding Decorator transforms Bragg Creek Community Hall

This past weekend we had the pleasure to work with an amazing bride Jessica. She wanted peacock feathers as part of her wedding theme. Our florist created some amazing floral arrangements for the weddings including the bridal bouquet, boutonniers and corsages.

The bridal bouquet had green Cymbidium blooms, purple Veronica, Eucalyptus, Aspidistria leaves and peacock feathers. This hand tied bouquet was tied with silver ribbon and Jessica's grandmother's brooch.

The reception venue was the Bragg Creek Community Hall which is about half an hour drive from Calgary. AED was able to transform the gym into an elegant reception venue. The walls were draped in soft white fabric with uplights. Here are some of the photos from the reception.

What is the average cost of a wedding?

Weddingbells recently released the results of its Annual Reader Survey, which surveyed nearly 2,000 Canadian brides married in 2010.

Highlights from this year’s survey include:

• There will be an estimated 156,920 weddings in Canada during 2011
• Average age of engaged woman in 29.5
• 74% of engaged couples are currently living together
• 39% of proposals happen in the months of December to February
• When it comes to rings, 59% of brides confessed size matters, and 65% were involved in the selection of the engagement ring and 25% of brides made the final decision
• 25% admitted to putting pressure to pop the question on their future grooms.
• Average length of engagement is 18.5 months
• Additional data highlights are available at weddingbells.ca.
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Weddings are also costing more. The average expected cost of a wedding in 2011 was $23,330 (up from $20,129 in 2010). The average cost of a wedding gown is also up, at $1,798 in 2011 compared to $1,093 in 2010. Once married, 72% of brides will completely share finances (another 10% are unsure).

2010 Average Wedding Budget Breakdown:

• Reception Venue = $9,572
• Bridal Gown = $1,798
• Bridesmaid Dress = $426
• Bridal/Bridesmaid Shoes = $180
• Wedding Bands = $2,718
• Photographer = $2,414
• Videographer = $1,461
• Stationery = $390
• Wedding Cake = $524
• Florist/Decor = $1,334
• Transportation/Limo = $792
• DJ/Musicians = $1,264
• Guest Favours/Gifts = $457
• Honeymoon = $5,287

Wedding Decor Hotel Arts - Garden Inspired Wedding

I just love weddings with a luxurious theme. The bride Christine fit right in, her beauty is timeless and elegant and it was really a pleasure working with her and her fiance David. We designed the ceremony decor using a color palette of black, red and gold.

The ceremony was held outside by the pool and we were all lucky that the weather was in our favour. We used red pomanders with black ribbon as aisle decor.

The ceremony altar designed by Alberta EventDeco had a fabric backdrop with an elegant chandelier.

The reception decor included tabletops which were covered with crisp gold linens and gold napkins. The centerpiece included lanterns with an abundance of red roses, orchids and greenery. The garden lantern tablescape was just beautiful. Sarah Mayerson Designs did a wonderful job on these beautiful centerpieces.

The gold chiavari chairs added that extra touch of style to this elegant venue, and the paper lanterns really transformed the place into an outdoor garden.

AED was able to help Christine and David recreate their 'Romantic Dinners in Old Montreal' theme decor by using lamp posts and paper lanterns. Here is a better view of the entire venue. Lanterns can really transform a place.

Yum! Cupcakes and the cake were made by Cakery Bakery.

Christine and David, we wish you a wonderful journey as you build your new life together...Thank you for letting us be part of it.

{Thank you from Christine}

Hi Tina,

Dave and I just wanted to thank you for the amazing work you did for our wedding! All our guests were in awe of how beautiful the ceremony and reception areas looked! Thank you for helping to bring our wedding dreams to life! We will definitely be recommending you to all our friends going forward, you're incredibly talented!

Christine & Dave

Lynx Ridge Golf Club - Warm and Elegant Affair

This wedding day was bright and beautiful.We have done many weddings at the Lynx Ridge Golf Course and the staff has always been just wonderful to work with. The ceremony was followed by the reception and therefore the decor had to stay consistent for both the events. The bride and the groom chose chocolate brown as their main color and wanted to use a range of colors for flowers.

We used large urns with hydrangeas, large orange gerber daisies, and pink mini roses with greens and ivy. We topped the urns with cherry blossom branches and twisted twigs.

The bride loved the concept of adding lemons to the centerpiece and therefore we added them to the urns as well.