{GROUP BLOG } VANCOUVER ISLAND... WE (Definitely) DO! BLOGGED BY: Laura, Heather & the team at The Wedding Ring Vancouver Island GET LOCAL. PLAN FABULOUS! We were so excited to wake up on the morning of January 15, 2012, knowing that it was the official launch day of the Vancouver Island Wedding Ring’s website, community and magazine. It was all to happen at the Bridal Exhibition in Victoria! The Shaw TV Wedding Belles, Aubrey and Sarah, had graciously come to Victoria to officially kick things off for us. But, first, the snow and sleet had to be overcome! Just in the nick of time, the Belles’ limo arrived and they ran in to rip the paper off the cover of our first magazine issue! After the big reveal, boxes of magazines were cracked open for vendors and brides to receive free of charge at The Ring’s booth. Anne, co-founder of The Wedding Ring, had made the trip from Ontario for the launch and to join in the festivities. At our booth, brides were encouraged to view the website and the vendor reviews. We loved our first official show booth, thanks to Sears, who had provided two huge screens (one for our website and one for the Exhibition’s hashtag), and Tina of Platinum Floral Designs (www.platinumfloraldesigns.com), who had taken care of our floral arrangements. And then there was the ‘Wedding Ring’ cake provided by Ohh-La-La Cupcakes (www.oohlalacupcakes.ca) that was pink with a huge ring on top! LOVE. As well, Best Western Premier Prestige Oceanfront Resort (www.prestigeinn.com) had sponsored our launch, offering a FREE WEDDING (wow!) for one lucky bride attending the show that day! A month before the launch, we invited everyone who had contributed to the magazine to a ‘Sneak Peak’ event at Villa Marco Polo in Victoria, where we spread out the proofs to be viewed. We want to thank all the island wedding experts who were brave and jumped on board with us (visit our founding members online)! The launch was a huge success and received coverage through tv and radio. And we love that the day ended at a professional mixer hosted by Home for the Honeymoon (www.homeforthehoneymoon.com) where most of us thankfully collapsed after such a busy day! Thanks for the wonderful welcome, Vancouver Island! ~ Laura, Heather & the team @ The Ring BLOGGED BY: Shaw TV’s Wedding Belles, Sarah &Aubrey Sarah :: When The Wedding Ring asked Aubrey and I to come over and celebrate the launch of their new magazine, at the Vancouver Island Bridal Exhibition, we jumped at the chance! We could go to one of my favorite places for a weekend of kicking back, enjoying the scenery and meeting new people. Well, I got one of those right! We met so many incredible people, had so much fun and were on the run the whole time. And all because the gals at Wedding Ring and their incredible wedding vendors of Vancouver Island had other plans for us! 38 • The Wedding Ring Magazine VANCOUVER ISLAND | www.vancouverisland.theweddingring.ca
From the moment we drove off the ferry, we were literally whisked from place to place, trying on dress after dress at Victoria Bridal Boutique, and merrily sipping wine with a group of intelligent, ambitious and creative women. *sigh* Such a hard life... When we finally did get back to our hotel, the Best Western Premier Prestige Oceanfront Resort in Sooke, I was beyond delighted to find a pink box on my gorgeous bed, full of Ooh La La Cupcakes, awaiting my arrival. If you were to watch an episode of Wedding Belles, you are more than likely to find me eating a cupcake. I love cupcakes. And these cupcakes were truly awesome - decorated in pinks, greens and whites, complete with a wedding ring... I was ecstatic. Just as I bit into a chocolate morsel of heaven, there was a knock on my door. The stylist had arrived. Marion Groot, of Ma-Luxe Studio Inc., along with the gorgeous gals from Home for the Honeymoon descended upon me with clouds of tulle, chiffon, lace and pearls, all from The Bride’s Closet in Nanaimo. Wiping the cupcake crumbs from my face, I proceeded to try on dress after dress (did I mention I have a hard life?). When I put one particular cloud of a dress on, all four of us knew it was ‘the one’. It turned out to be from Vancouver designer, Anaiss. I felt like Carrie in that episode of Sex and the City when she is in Paris, sleeping on the bed in that massive dress. Naturally, the others felt the same way, so I posed on the bed, asleep, to channel my inner-Carrie Bradshaw. Not difficult considering Marion had a suitcase full of glittery shoes.
After we had played dress-up, we proceeded to have one of the most delicious dinners. To say I was impressed by the quality of the Prestige Oceanfront Resort is an understatement. Dinner was amazing – partly due to the copious amounts of delectable food and partly due to the incredible company we were keeping. And my room! Oh, my room. The highest ceilings I have ever seen, a huge kingsized bed, and a patio with a view of the Sooke harbour. Too bad I had to be up at 5:30 the next morning... Dragging myself from slumber the next morning, I met Aubrey and Patrick, our limo driver for the day from L.A. Limo, in the lobby. Shivering and sleepy, we crawled into the back of the limo before Patrick carefully delivered us down the snowy road to Sharon Rai’s Hair and Makeup Artistry studio. Sharon proceeded to turn me from a grumpy morning hag to a doll with bright pink lips! Colleen from Foxgloves Flowers finished our look off with bouquets that coordinated with the Wedding Ring colors while Kelsey of KGOODPhoto began filming our adventure. It was finally time for the big event: The Ring’s launch at Vancouver Island Bridal Exhibition! Once again, we were delivered by Patrick and then the real work started. The day flew by as we met hundreds of excited brides. I once again helped myself to some Ooh La La Cupcakes – which were harder to eat while stuffed into a wedding dress. We met with Island vendors who blew us away with their devotion and passion to their work. More than anything, however, was the wonderful feeling we got at the show. It sounds so simple, but everyone was so nice. Everyone was friendly, enthusiastic and readily helping one another out. Of course, the highlight of it all was the launch of The Wedding Ring and spending a weekend with the owner, Laura Kalcsa. Continued page 41...