Finally!

Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy have finally launched online Canadian stores! Yay - no more custom duties and so-called international shipping fees! Note that the pricing in the Canadian store is more expensive than pricing in the US store but on par with the pricing in Canadian retail stores*. Standard shipping costs are $8 per shipment - not bad at all. Happy online shopping!

*For those of you who wonder why items from US retail chains are always marked up in Canada, here's a quickie explanation - Canada has way less people per capita than the US which means less people buying, less a business can rely on volume sales. Also, since our country is so geographically large, it costs more to ship around our nation. Finally, with the Canadian dollar doing so well, it costs US businesses more to do business in Canada.

Vote for Carlsberg's Big Wedding Bash Couples

Remember when I wrote about Carlsberg's Big Wedding Bash contest? Well, two couples contacted me after that post and asked if I would vote for them. So now I'm encouraging you to vote for them!

Couple #1 - Jessica & Mike


Jessica & Mike get props for making this "Constable Carlsberg" video. To read their story and cast them your vote, click here.


Couple #2 - Tim & Rebecca


Tim & Rebecca are avid TFC fans (Go Reds!) who started out long-distance. To read their story and cast them your vote, click here.

Good luck to both couples in winning the $100,000 wedding!

Congratulations Bi-Coastal Bride!

Today is Tamar's, aka Bi-Coastal Bride, wedding day. (Remember her awesome Scratch n' Save-the-Dates?) Hope you have a wonderful day with your friends and family. A big thanks to A Hot Pink Petticoat for introducing us to you!

7 Dresses (Not Quite 27)

What do you think? This is my 7th bridesmaid dress. (For those of you counting, yes, this is my 8th bridesmaid stint but I did not attend one of the weddings as I had my sister's wedding on the same day, so no corresponding dress.) The dress is a Sophia Tolli dress #11030 in aqua with a pale gold sash (looks like a darker cream with a slight gold tint in person). As you can see, I need to shorten it for my 5"1 body. It's a tad loose on me but since it has a corset back, I'm going to do without getting it taken in on the sides. The dress also comes with a matching shawl, and straps. I'll likely use the straps since I can't stand strapless dresses - I'm always constantly pulling dresses up!

For those in the GTA, we purchased our dresses at Izabella Bridal Boutique. I had a pleasant experience there. The staff are young, friendly and helpful. They measured me twice and let me look at the size chart to determine what size I should order (I've been to some places that didn't let me see the size chart and then insisted that I order the way too large size). Also, since C., the bride, had 6 bridesmaids, Izabella's gave us a discount so the dresses ended up being CDN $200 each. Not bad for a designer bridesmaid dress. I hoping to shorten the dress myself so $200 might be the final cost for me. (Professional bridesmaids - I highly recommend you learn how to sew - comes in handy!)

And for those of you wondering - no, I will not be wearing this one again. ;) It's very pretty but obviously very bridesmaid-y.

Carlsberg's Big Wedding Bash Contest

Just got engaged? Don't want to plan a wedding? Don't have funds for a wedding? Well, if you live in Ontario, you will want to enter this contest. Carlsberg is giving away a $100,000 wedding to one lucky couple. The deadline is August 20, 2010. Before you enter, make sure you read the rules & regs as there are some stipulations. For example, if you win, you must get married on October 1, 2010 at Toronto's Capitol Theater.

Good luck! And if you enter, let me know so I can vote for your story!