Hours: (updated TODAY!)
Wed 3-8pm
Thurs 5-8pm
Sat 12-5pm*** PLEASE CHECK HERE BEFORE DROPPING IN.
Sun 12-5pm (again, please check on the Contact Page first)
***Thank you Amy! I have a volunteer who has offered to come in when she can, who has knowledge of dress design, alterations, and even made wedding dresses herself! Amy is a life-saver, and while I zip off to do weddings/baptisms, she is going to try to fill in when her time is available. BE GOOD TO AMY!!! She is volunteering her time, and she is just what I needed here... happy, cheery, friendly, laid-back and knows her stuff. She'll make your visit phenomenal... and I expect you to also make her volunteer time a great experience. On her first day, May 3rd, she jumped right in and embodies everything about The Brides' Project that folks love... warm, friendly, and relaxed. Thanks so much Amy. You are truly a gem, and I don't know how I would have managed without you . I look forward to working with you more in the weeks to come.
Please let me know if you're coming to try on dresses to set up a time. For accessories only, an appointment is not required. Veil consults are typically at the 3pm timeslot on weekends, but weeknights any time is fine. You can see the new appointment schedule here, and it's getting close to being up-to-date, refreshed every Monday for the next week! Yahoo!
Reminders for brides coming to try on dresses:
- bring indoor shoes with NON-SLIP SOLES!, and inform your guests to do the same! This is VERY important for safety and comfort!
- no food or beverages
- no makeup
- smiles are mandatory
May 11th, 2008: Just a few notes of congratulations to various newleyweds and newly baptized! Congrats to Chuck 'n' Jo from Phoenix, AZ on their marriage, Tammy and David Aspinall with the baptisms of their gorgeous twins Mackenzie and Michael, and most recently, the marriages of Carolyn & Simon and Alison & Blaine! Thank you all for involving me in these incredible milestones, and I have to say, all involved were so warm, welcoming, and incredible people I have been fortunate to meet. It was such a delight to be there :)
April's News:
I now have a Justina McCaffrey Alexia II thanks to Justina McCaffrey. They said the retail on the dress is $3700 since they added a sparkly trim around the top of the bodice. It is BRAND NEW, and was worn only for a Breakfast TV appearance... so now that it's famous, of course it's worth more ;) I will only be open to serious offers of not less than half the retail value for the dress (being wholesale pricing), and ONLY SERIOUS BUYERS can try on this size 12 beauty. It is her most popular dress, and is a very very subtle blush colour. Soft luxurious silk, of course!
March 18, 2008. Whoopee! Now here's something fun we can all take part in and raise some money for cancer charities! The Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life is an overnight non-competitive relay that celebrates cancer survivors and pays tribute to the lives of loved ones. It involves teams of 10 people who take turns walking, running or strolling around a track to raise money to support the work of the Canadian Cancer Society. It's a night of fun, friendship and fundraising to beat cancer. The Central Toronto event (the one I'm volunteering for) takes place 7pm June 20th through 7am June 21st.
Let's get a Brides' Project team (or 2!)... all dressed in wedding gowns and tiaras, and kick some bridal butt! To sign up (and yes, we can have more than 1 team), visit www.cancer.ca/relay and get on the bridal bandwagon with me to cure cancer. There is a team set up for The Brides' Project and a donation of $1000 already made for our team. Once we have 10 folks for Team 1, I will donate another $1000 and set up Team #2.
March 10, 2008. OMG. I'm in utter shock. My undergraduate university (Trent) just sent a letter to inform me that I have been granted a "Spirit of Trent" award as an alumna!
Here's the gist of it... "The "Spirit of Trent" award is presented to an alum who has made a difference, through contribution to the university, the alumni association or the community. We intend with this award to recognize those who continue to demonstrate the values and lessons learned at Trent. In addition, we want to recognize those whose contribution might not otherwise be acknowledged, and who are serving in some capacity, in addition to their regular work or hobbies, to make the world a better place. We want to reward those who continue to shine the spirit of Trent in their corner of the world to let them know we are proud of them."
March 3, 2008: WRONG NUMBER?! Hello to Larry and Frank! This is so funny... I was sitting here and noticed my phone flashing (yes, ringers are off during non-biz hours) and picked up. It was a man's voice inquiring, "I'm trying to call work, who's this?" Well dear, you've reached a bridal salon, want a dress? Larry responded that not only is he 64 and totally gay, but his partner is half his age. Way to go Larry! I still offered a gown... no takers there... so I suggested that when they decide to make this legal, to call the same wrong number again. Hmmm... guys... maybe it wasn't a wrong number... I'd be more than happy to marry you! My best to Larry and Frank! Larry, you're a hoot and thanks for bringing a laugh and smile to my day as I hopefully did to yours! I'll expect a call back when you persuade this cute young fella to make it legal.
February 22, 2008: FINALLY, it's here. One of hopefully many pics of the infamous 'dress-up dress' fondly named Penelope. Melanie, lovely Melanie was such a great sport to have her pic taken in Penelope. Penelope is used exclusively for the purpose of fun, with a side role to frighten brides who are scared of wedding dresses and ensure them that the rest are pretty tame. Thanks Melanie for being such a sport and fun person to have here at The Brides' Project!
February 15, 2008:
LIMITED
Exeter, Ontario (519) 235-0858
www.bridaleleganceexeter.com
Whoa Nelly! 30 more dresses today from Bridal Elegance in Exeter, ON! GORGEOUS ones, perfectly clean, in perfect shape. Yowza! Thanks Tara, they're gorgeous and will fly off the racks!!
Feburuary 10th, 2008: Hey! What a brilliant idea! The Brides' Ball. Organized by theweddingring.ca, the Brides' Ball gives you a chance to wear your gown again! Or, for some... the chance to wear a wedding gown just for the heck of it! Taking place in Kitchener/Waterloo and London (hopefully soon to come to Toronto!), this sounds like so much fun! The event is in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation... what a fabulous cause. Visit www.thebridesball.com for more details, to volunteer, or offer other support.
CONGRATULATIONS to Laura (of GLOW makeup) and her hubby Rob! They became parents to a gorgeous new baby girl on Feb 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008: Thanks so much to all the fabulous WPIC grads who volunteered to help with Friday's gown drop-off! I hope they'll agree that it was fun to get together... although probably much more work than anticipated and well... they were exposed to the infamous basement and did a cleanup job I really wasn't expecting or anticipating!! They put in HOURS and HOURS of work here... starting as early as 4pm and leaving as late as 11:30pm to help me out. I didn't have time for a lot of photos, but here are 2 I can share, with the credits to those involved. The first is of the basement crew... I still can't believe how much they did, but ummm... a little 'dress-up' play was involved:
From left to right we have:
Claudia Kent: Bridal Path Weddings, www.bridalpathweddings.ca
Antonella Cerminara: Your Day Made Simple
Kathy Lee: Uniquelee Yours
Sacha Heron: Contact at 905-239-2286 or s_heron@rogers.com
Nicole King: A Moment in Time, www.momentz.ca
Jennifer Maxwell: Bride on a Budget, www.brideonabudget.ca
And then... on the upper floors... one of the central tasks was sorting tagging, and arranging all the new dresses. Bye-bye bathroom. Here are Justin and Sherry doing the finishing touches.
Justin Ruttan: Cherish Event Management
and Sherry... info to come
At the end of the day, the shop is hugely improved, and one of the new gowns snagged to a new home already!!! Thank you so much WPIC volunteers for the whopping 50+ hours of volunteer time that was so invaluable to me, and The Brides' Project!
January 31, 2008: WOOT! Sarah Taylor called me from It's Your Day - a salon in Windsor, and with astonishing news. She has 70-100 gowns to donate! Yahoooooooooo! I'll keep you posted on when those will be arriving. Thank you, thank you Sarah for such amazing generosity! I'm absolutely thrilled... as I'm sure my clients will be too! She carries GREAT brands and it sounds like these dresses are going to be a fabulous addition.
January 27, 2008: A very special thanks to Roben and Danielle... fellow officiants with All Seasons. Danielle is gettin' hitched, and Roben is performing her ceremony... and OMG, 3 officiants in the house at once!!! We survived. Oh, and the brides did too... including Danielle who found a gorgeous dress... STUNNING on her. Congrats hon! Glad you found that one... delivered straight from The Bridal House in Alberta. (Francine Duhaime ... thank you!). Roben pitched in today to be another 'Helen'... thanks Roben!!!
On the biz side, to reiterate some points on other pages; NO REFUNDS, NO EXCHANGES! Exceptions are for people who take gowns to my associates for cleaning/alterations, and sufficient work cannot be done. They are FINAL sales otherwise. I encourage putting things on hold to think about it, there's no pressure at all. The "hold" closet is turfed once a month, at the beginning of the month. Exceptions apply if you just give me a heads-up!!! Thanks everyone. And thanks for a really fun and busy few weeks!
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January 22, 2008: Kitty news! Romeo and Juliette went off to a new home. Douglas and Charlie are also available as a pair, and Pattie on her own. GOOD HOMES ONLY. These babes are sociable, loving, and SO sweet. They've been given all the best for their short times here (they're all less than 3 years old), and I'll be crying my eyes out when they leave... but, if you can offer them some good lovin', or know someone who can, please drop me a line.
January 20, 2008: Thanks to everyone for the birthday greetings! Sunday was fun... here are a couple of pics. It was fun having Ada, Anita, Olivia, Marianne, Lisa, Sara and others by to enjoy the day.
Here's Anita enjoying here pink champagne as her glass apparently started glowing red!!! Thanks Anita for being such a sport... sorry about my complete lack of ability in photography!
Here are the glasses we used...
Just for fun... what happens when you relax after a long day at The Brides' Project?
SPLAT! Romeo (underneath) was pooped, and Douglas (a 20 pounder) was SOOO exhausted after his hard work that he couldn't be bothered to make his own warm spot... heck... Romeo did that already so why reinvent the wheel?
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! To all our friends, volunteers, customers, and brides 'n' grooms, I wish you all a wonderful new year ahead. I had the best New Year's Eve possible... performing a marriage for an amazing pair from Australia. J&C... you two are amazing and made my day!
WEBSITE REDESIGN: Yes, it might take some time, but the website is now back under TBP control so no more Pepto Bismol in the background! I'm going to try to clean it up to get it back to the nice crisp blue 'n' white we had a year ago. There may be some hiccups... but your pics will get posted faster, updates will happen faster, and you'll know what's goin' on here! Frankly, there's no consistency in fonts, colours, page designs, so I have my work cut out... but gradually it will get back to crisp 'n' clean!
December 12, 2007: Huge arrival of gowns from The Bridal House in Alberta. Mostly Maggie Sottero in sizes 8-12.
I AM LEGALLY LICENSED TO PERFORM AND SOLEMNIZE MARRIAGES WITHIN THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HIRING MYSELF OR ANOTHER OFFICIANT WITH ALL SEASONS WEDDINGS, PLEASE CONTACT ME. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. You can also visit their website to view or book an officant at www.allseasonsweddings.com.
November 9, 2007: The Brides' Project just received a slew of gowns from one of their biggest supporters in Alberta (The Bridal House); with the latest shipment including designers like Pronovias, Alfred Sung etc., in sizes from 2-20. Most are in the 8-12 range. Several other salons have indicated the desire to donate in the upcoming weeks (thank you SO much!). We anticipate other new additions in the next couple of weeks from Bridal Image and Valencienne; both Toronto salons who have also contributed hugely to our efforts here. The support I've received from these companies has been phenomenal, and to them I extend my deepest gratitude.
October 23, 2007: NEW! mapping and driving directions link on the Contact Page. Simply enter your address or postal code and you'll immediately recieve a map and driving directions from where you are to TBP castle. I hope you find this new tool useful.
October 10, 2007: Back in May, Hayley Sales dropped into to visit The Brides' Project castle! This was part of her cross country tour to launch her new CD and bring attention to the Start a Wave campaign sponsored by Sun Chips. "The campaign celebrates Canada's 'wave-makers', people whose individual actions, however small or large, have created a positive 'wave' and inspired those around them."
Click here to access The Wave-Makers web site which has the video from Hayley's visit to TBP. Sadly, Helen did not appear on the national broadcast Saturday October 6th. When the site opens, click on "Meet the Wave-Makers" and then on Helen's photo. You'll find a link to the video there.
August 20, 2007: Marla McAlpine from Belles on a Budget just generously transferred her entire remaining inventory to The Brides' Project!!! WOW! Marla, I can't thank you enough. There are about 30 dresses, with labels that include Vera Wang, Bellissima, Valesca, Paloma Blanca, Pronuptia, Justina McCaffrey, Christos, Rena Koh, Alvina Valenta, Jim Hjelm and so many more! This incredible new collection is all EXTREMELY high end with most gowns worth easily over $2K and some much more. Please make an appointment to see these gowns (and indicate which ones you are interested in). They require special care, so are for serious inquiries only. Thank you so much Marla! This is an incredible addition to our selection here. You can see the selection at here. Please don't bother Marla, the dresses are all at The Brides' Project.
July 30, 2007: Here are some updates: There are two new vendors listed on the Services page. Alice & Yolanda are a violinist and pianist that offer beautiful music. And not to be out done, David at KC's Hats offers beautiful hats. Please visit them and support friends of The Brides' Project.
The "Something Blue" line is now in effect. It can be a blue, or any colour, Swarovski heart crystal on a blue ribbon that is attached to your garter ($10). If the garter idea doesn't strike your fancy, you could have the same heart with a chain to make it a necklace (varying from $20 to $35). What a great momento of your wedding! The blue heart can also be worn as part of your wedding jewelry providing that something blue and something new as well!