SP-Weddings Wonderful_Sept 6

Weddings Wonderful

F r i d a y, S e p t e m b e r 6 , 2 0 1 9

t h e S ta r p h o e n i x . c o m / b r i d g e S

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WEDDINGS FALL 2019

Bridal Spectacular CONNECTS COUPLES TO CITY’S TOP VENDORS

BY JEANNIE ARMSTRONG

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lanning your Instagram-worthy wedding is easier than you think!

All it takes is a visit to Bridal Spectacular, Saskatoon’s premier wedding expo, taking place Sunday, September 15, from 12:30 to 5:00 p.m. at TCU Place.

While the gala affair has been presented by She Modelling for over 30 years, organizer Mary Obrodovich says that Bridal Spectacular is always fresh and exciting. “Each show attracts new brides. It’s always a new audience.

They come to Bridal Spectacular to find something new that they haven’t seen before at other weddings. Everyone wants their wedding to stand out and be memorable.”

Key to a successful wedding is being able to connect with the right vendors and suppliers. Bridal Spectacular brings all of the top wedding experts in the city together under one roof, so couples can meet with them in a single afternoon. It’s a great opportunity to

compare displays, collect contact information, make appointments for consultations and ask for estimates.

As Saskatchewan’s premier wedding expo, Bridal Spectacular features a diverse range of exhibitors including bridal fashion retailers like Brides ‘n’ Belles, Exquisite Bridal, Tux & Tails and Bodacious Bustlines. You’ll also find displays by leading home décor stores like Bed Bath and Beyond, creative photographers, caterers, wedding venues, special event companies, limousine services, hair and makeup artists, fitness centres and more. “You can pretty much book your entire wedding at the show,” says Obrodovich.

A number of exhibitors, including Handy Special Events, Brides ‘n’ Belles and Tux & Tails, have been a part of Bridal Spectacular throughout the show’s 31-year history, says Obrodovich. “Their expertise on weddings is invaluable and can really be of benefit to new brides and grooms.”

In addition to trusted, long-time wedding suppliers, you’ll also

make new and unique discoveries at Bridal Spectacular. “There are always exciting new exhibitors at our show, including numerous one-of-a-kind home-based businesses,” says Obrodovich.

Back by popular demand to the Sept. 15 show is the tasting room hosted by Boryski’s Butcher Block.

It’s an opportunity to sample tasty delights from Boryski’s catering menu and discover new ideas for your reception and late lunch.

The highlight of Bridal Spectacular is the runway fashion show that shines the spotlight on the latest looks in wedding fashion for the entire wedding party. Professional models from She Modelling will showcase approximately 50 breathtaking gowns from Brides ‘n’ Belles and men’s formalwear from Tux & Tails. Brides are sure to be inspired by the extraordinary wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses featured in the show, representing all sizes.

Attending Bridal Spectacular is also the chance for brides and grooms to win terrific prizes. Each exhibitor at the show will have

Save the date! Saskatchewan’s premier wedding expo – Bridal Spectacular – returns to TCU Place, Sunday, September 15 from 12:30 to 5:00 p.m. Photo: Metro

free draws for their wedding services and products.

All brides in attendance will also be entered to win one of three fabulous prize packages, says Obrodovich. The grand prize package features an all-inclusive dream honeymoon to Jamaica, valued at $6,000, courtesy of Ixtapa Travel, Sunwing and Royalton Luxury Resorts.

Two other deluxe prize packages will also be awarded, valued at over $3,500 and $2,000 each.

Get your besties together (moms too) and make Bridal Spectacular a group outing! “Having your whole bridal party there really adds to

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the fun, as you visit the different exhibits, take in the fashion show and do tastings,” says Obrodovich.

More grooms are also attending Bridal Spectacular, notes Obrodovich. “The guys used to be content to leave all the wedding planning to the brides. Now we’re seeing grooms getting just as involved.”

The doors to Bridal Spectacular open at 12:30 p.m., Sunday, September 15. Admission is just $15 per person; tickets are available at the door, at TCU Place.

For more information, visit www.bridalspectacular.ca, check out their Facebook Event page or call (306) 652-7484.

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Weddings Wonderful

t h e S ta r p h o e n i x . c o m / b r i d g e S

WEDDINGS

1001

QUESTIONS TO ASK

before you marry

Before you decide to marry, it’s important to ask questions of each other, to see if you share the same priorities in life. Photo: Getty Images

BY JESSE GREEN

I

f your aging mother needed care, would you invite her to move in with you? Really think about it before you answer. Okay, now… what about your future mother-in-law?

According to relationship expert Monica Mendez Leahy, the answer to these two questions is often amusingly different.

Her book, 1001 Questions To Ask Before You Get Married, invites its readers to do some soul searching before taking the plunge into marriage.

The goal of the book? To make marriages not only work and last, but to thrive. As her website says, you may be a match made in heaven, but you’ll have to live here on earth. Couples can work through the multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank and hypothetical questions that touch on all the topics.

The spark for the book came after years working in the wedding industry.

“It was wonderful field research,” she said with a laugh. “You see and hear it all.” As the deputy commissioner of civil marriages for the county of Los Angeles, she saw so many marriages

end, so many repeat customers coming back with a new bride or groom two years later. “I hated seeing people split up, and I had so much knowledge. I just wanted to help,” she said.

So, why all the break ups? According to Mendez Leahy, it is always one of three problems: family, finance or physical. The goal to keep people together, is because couples who stay together fight just as much as those who divorce. “I show people how to fight and then how to make up,” she says.

The devil is in the details; one of the things she talks about in her marriage workshops is, that liking kids isn’t enough. What’s your priority in raising kids? Do you want them to be career oriented, faith-filled, major athletes?

Would you mortgage your house in order to fund their private school tuition? If you have opposite views on any of these questions, you’re going to have conflict.

What about couples who shouldn’t work, but do? We all know couples like this, where on paper they shouldn’t last.

In those relationships, Mendez Leahy says that if both people have common views and both strive for the same plan, they have a transcending meaning.

Mendez Leahy has been mending fences for as long as she can remember.

“I’ve always been the one who people bring their relationship troubles to – it goes back to my days on the playground!” she said. She can remember helping friends reconcile back in grade school; the details of the argument gone, but the joyful feeling of helping never grows old. Today, Mendez Leahy runs a sought-after series of couples workshops in the Los Angeles area and offers private classes to engaged and newlywed couples. She has been featured in dozens of print, radio and television programs and has served on panels with the likes of John Gray, the man behind the Mars and Venus philosophy.

Amazon reviews average at four and a half stars. Her book has been translated into five additional languages and is accompanied by her second title, ‘1001 Questions To Ask Before Having A

Baby.’ Although her day job is working at the University of California’s student union, her natural gift for helping couples find common ground remains, and today the best-selling author and relationship expert is dubbed ‘The Marriage Prepper.’

Along with the hundreds of glowing testimonials, one book review sticks out for Mendez Leahy. “It said, ‘Got the book – we broke up.’ Well, it must have gotten them thinking!”

Another reviewer said that the section on physical abuse stirred her to talk about a childhood abuse that she had never spoken about before. Her heartfelt thanks is something that Mendez Leahy holds dear. The momentum and popularity of the book didn’t surprise Mendez Leahy, but only because she had no expectations for the book. “I didn’t even set out to write a book – I just wanted to get all this knowledge down on paper,” she said.

Watch for Mendez Leahy’s name, as she has thousands of more questions up here sleeve. You can find her online at www.1001questionstoask.com.

Monica Mendez Leahy is the author of 1001 Questions To Ask Before You Get Married. Supplied Photo

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Weddings Wonderful

WEDDINGS

For her own wedding, Edwards created cookies with gold geometric designs and flowers, to coordinate with the couple’s wedding invitations.

COOKIE ARTIST CREATES TASTY WEDDING KEEPSAKES

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BY WENDY LIVINGSTONE

rides and grooms often seek unique and memorable ways to show appreciation to guests that are sharing the joy of their wedding day.

Custom-made cookies are a sweet treat that can be enjoyed at the reception or saved by guests as a keepsake.

“You can have them personalized with your names, your date or your initials, and you can incorporate exact colours and your theme,” says Jessie Edwards, owner of Jessie Edwards Cake & Cookie Artist. “It’s a nice way to tie everything together on your dessert table. Or, some people like to give them out as favours so you have an individual cookie for each person.”

Edwards displayed her artistic flair at her own wedding. For the dessert table, she baked and decorated two cakes – one of which was three tiers high – and cookies that featured gold geometric designs and lots of flowers, reflecting the theme of the wedding invitations and the event itself.

She also makes very intricate, labour-intensive creations, such as cookies resembling popular characters, for other events, including birthdays, bridal showers and baby

showers. “Sometimes they take a half an hour each to decorate if they are super detailed, but those are only the crazy detailed ones,” she says.

The time is well-spent because it is a vocation that she enjoys and it draws upon an artistic talent that she has worked diligently to develop.

She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Print-Making at the University of Saskatchewan and a Master’s in Illustration at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

“I’m lucky to be able to do something that I love. I have an art degree, so I’m putting it to use a little bit, although cookies are not exactly the field that I thought I’d be in,” she says.

Edwards’ creations are in great demand. Although much of her work is distributed in her hometown of Saskatoon, she ships cookies to destinations across Western Canada, from B.C. to Ontario. Edwards is currently on maternity leave, following the birth of her new baby girl in June.

For updates on her future availability following maternity leave, visit her Facebook page :www.facebook.com/ jessieedwardscake.

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