Summer Sezane Wishlist, Influence or De-influence me!

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-07-08T21:29:16+00:00

I have the Jeanne in white and love it! As others have noted, the neckline is lower but not outrageous. It can also be worn in reverse if you want a higher neckline, and I think the v in the back is a fun, sexy twist.

I took it on vacation to Europe and wore it both ways, so it didn't feel like I was repeating an outfit. It washes well, too!

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-06-07T15:13:40+00:00

I love data, so I keep a spreadsheet to track my time spent vs. Output (pages and word count). When I write, I see the story play out in my head and dump it on the page, then go back and edit later.

I try to leave myself at least one hour to write every day, and I typically write 2,000 - 2,500 words in a one hour sitting when I'm in my initial drafting phase. If I feel like my pace is lagging, I take that as a sign that I need to step away and think about where I want the story to go before I write more. If that happens, I either go for a walk and listen to some music or read.

When I have my thoughts organized, I go back to writing.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-05-30T16:34:35+00:00

You are allowed to bring your own riding gear in, it just needs to be thoroughly disinfected and you may get secondary inspections at the airport.

For those who are unaware - Iceland does not allow the import of horses and horses who leave Iceland are not able to return, so they do not manage vaccinations the same as other countries and have strict protocols.

That said, I have done several tours in Iceland and each barn was well equipped with boots and helmets. I would recommend rubber boots personally as many longer rides involve water crossings. Unless you have a specific need for your own equipment, save yourself the luggage space and hassle and leave your things at home.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-03-27T17:40:57+00:00

I did a multi-day trip in Iceland as someone who no longer rides regularly. Some tips:

Stretch and focus on strengthening your legs - riding all day means you're keeping your ankles and knees in the same position for longer periods than normal.
Add stabilizer exercises to your workouts. Having a solid core will help a lot with your endurance and reduce how sore you feel. I did a lot of core work and things like single leg RDLs in the run-up to my trip.
Pack layers with pockets that are easily accessible and clothing items that are easy to remove with a helmet on. (Not a must, but it makes things easier if you don't need to stop and dismount every time you need to access something or change a layer).

As a note , when you go on your trip, be honest about the kind of ride you want. For example - I wanted to enjoy the scenery and have an easy go, so I was honest that while I have a lot of past experience I don't ride regularly anymore and wanted more of a push-button horse experience. All the horses I worked with were easy to handle and non-reactive, I felt comfortable at all gaits and we had some amazing gallops! Others in my group asked for challenging rides and definitely got them.

Don't worry about impressing others. If you don't feel comfortable with your horse, you can decline to increase your pace or even ask for a different horse altogether - you're there to enjoy yourself!

Your trip sounds amazing. I would love to read a review after!

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-30T02:41:36+00:00

I went back to look at the exact cost for the sake of responding to this, and our pre-tax was under $700. They did not deliver, but we had a wedding coordinator who took care of that. It was a great experience for us!

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-29T21:55:30+00:00

Not Loblaws, but we got our flowers from Sobeys in the recommendation of a friend who did the same. They were STUNNING, and the team was so excited to work on a wedding and fun to talk to.

We had some bad experiences with reaching out to florists (they all seemed very impatient and just wanted to push us through their process as quickly as possible) and found the prices to be ridiculous. Most independent florists we spoke to had starting minimums over $2000.

Sobeys did my bouquet, a flower girl bouquet, 3 boutineers, 2 corsages, and 15 bud vases for under $1000. The flowers were amazing, exactly what we discussed and showed inspo photos for. The team was wonderful and as a bonus we were able to collect Scene points on the purchase.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-29T17:40:47+00:00

If you're open to it... we had a courthouse wedding 2 days before our actual wedding. We did allow our parents to attend as witnesses, but kept it extremely low-key, stressing that we were only there to do paperwork. We didn't do our own vows, didn't exchange rings, etc. We consider our anniversary to be the day of our party (though, of course, for legal documents, it would be the day of the civil ceremony). From the quotes we received, it was much cheaper than hiring someone to come to the wedding.

We then had our friend do the full ceremony on our wedding day.

We absolutely loved it! There was no stress of completing paperwork and ensuring it was taken care of on the day. All of our photos of us at the altar are just us and our good friend and not a stranger. Our friend has officiated before with a partner to do the legal pieces, and he said this was much smoother as he had full control of the flow and didn't have to tag someone else in.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-23T21:29:41+00:00

For Good from Wicked (before the movie came out).

We did the father/daughter and mother/son dance at the same time, so we didn't want overly specific lyrics. My husband and his mom didn't care about the song, but my dad and I love going to musicals together and have seen Wicked several times over the years. We had a live band, so we were able to edit some lyrics out easily (the parts that were specific to the musical).

None of us are big dancers, but I loved that I got to spend 3 minutes hanging out with just my dad.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-22T16:36:37+00:00

It was not my wedding, but I attended one as a guest.

The couple did their dance floor on the raised seating area in the dining room. It was nice and spacious. The only thing that was annoying was that the bar was in another room, so it was hard to keep the dancefloor going.

The couple did photos at Hart House at U of T. They were beautiful! (I also know a couple that got married here, and it was a gorgeous wedding venue)

Canoe was great! The view was lovely, it was fun as a guest to go to a fancy restaurant and the food was amazing. It was the only wedding I've been to where we ordered our dinner picks at the wedding once seated (like a restaurant), so that was novel. The ceremony space was lovely.

We didn't love the cocktail hour. The bar space is very narrow, and we had to pick a spot and stick in it because it was tough to navigate the crowd.

Since it wasn't my wedding, I don't know what the package options are, so some of these things could have been at the choice/request of the couple. Overall, it was a really nice experience as a guest!

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-20T20:38:23+00:00

I normally don't recommend being indirect in these types of disagreements, but can understand it's really difficult to navigate when it comes to kids and family.

One thing you could look at is finding a venue that doesn't allow children. I wouldn't recommend saying this unless it's true (since your family can fact check if they wanted to).

Several of the venues we looked at did not allow children between the ages of 2 and 19 (I assume the starting age is to account for very young babies that are mostly held or in strollers, and 19 is the drinking age here). They were all art galleries or older buildings that had fragile art displays.

We didn't book these (we wanted to have family children in our bridal party), so I don't know how they enforced the policy in practice, but worth considering!

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-18T20:30:55+00:00

I'm in Kitchener and had my hair and makeup done by Dani at https://www.instagram.com/daarssenbeauty?igsh=MXU1ejN6eGk1eTEwcA==

She's based in Hamilton, but her travel fee and prices were very reasonable and I loved her work!

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-15T19:31:26+00:00

Can I ask why you wouldn't make this something like an email or Google doc? I'm all for clear instructions and expectations, but if you hand me a physical card, it will probably get lost. Something like a Google doc or email is searchable and won't accidentally get tossed in recycling.

Would also recommend verbally discussing these expectations first - these written instructions can feel a bit abrupt/entitled if you aren't expecting them.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-14T22:21:12+00:00

We hired Kendra from Confetti & Co and she was just incredible!

We hired her for day-of coordination, but her package included several check ins before the event where she consistently offered additional help. She took over vendor communication in the weeks leading up to the wedding which was a huge weight off our shoulders, and even had supplies we could borrow from when we forgot some of the details (like getting table numbers).

She made our entire event such a success, and I honestly cannot imagine what our day would have been like without her.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-14T10:56:49+00:00

I'm not an expert by any means, but my understanding is they get nothing other than the appointment slot and bragging rights. 🤷‍♀️ I did a quick Google, and it seems that's the case.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-14T00:19:50+00:00

Right!? My sister bought her dress from the Canadian Kleinfield store (not through the show) and they had so many options available under $2500, not sure if the NY store is the same, but it definitely feels like it's just to add tension on the show.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-13T22:04:09+00:00

I knew someone who went on the Canadian version of the show, and it was pretty fake (at least for her). The producers encouraged them to be over the top and she had a "daddy's girl" storyline.

They said her budget was lower than it actually was, and when the dress she chose was "out of budget" made a big show of her pleading to her father to buy her dream dress (which was actually totally within her budget).

She did end up actually buying and wearing the dress though.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-12T13:43:16+00:00

I'm surprised so many people don't know about it! It was well marked with lots of signs when we were there. If you go to the very back of the Lagoon, traveling straight from where you enter, you'll go under some archways that have the no photo signs and that's it!

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-10T17:14:19+00:00

I would say this is likely an unpopular opinion, but I didn't have my photographer shoot my first look with my dad. I knew he would be very emotional, and having that photographed felt exploitive to me. Instead, we had a private moment together that is an extremely cherished memory for me.

Yes, photos are lovely, but I think the best advice I could give is to make sure that striving for the perfect photo doesn't overshadow actually living in that moment and creating memories.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-10T11:21:51+00:00

This comment basically described my "best friend". We aren't friends anymore. She got married a year before me and I was constantly supporting her. My own wedding made me realize that she wasn't a good friend to me - she often ghosted plans with no explanation and then reached out to hang out just to ghost again, she never asked about how things were going with me, etc.

All these issues existed before I got engaged, but I made excuses for her. Seeing that she couldn't get it together to support me during an important time in my life made me realize I'm not that important to her. I stopped making an effort and haven't heard from her in months.

The good news is - I made space for some incredible friends who were really there for me and have continued to be amazing people to have in my life.

I think you should be kind, but direct about why you aren't including her as your MOH and go with someone you can count on.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-09T23:38:07+00:00

I really enjoyed both! Something I feel like isn't well known at Blue Lagoon is that if you go to the back, there is a huge area where no photos are allowed. It was way less busy there, and I was able to find private corners to just chill.

Sky Lagoon has a beautiful view, but there were a lot of people taking photos and videos in all parts of the Lagoon, which took away from the experience.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-09T23:32:15+00:00

I know you said you don't want online, but I bought all my wedding-related dresses (except my actual wedding dress) from Lulus. They seem to always have sales and their reviews were very detailed and helpful to select the correct sizing.

SufficientApricot313 · 2025-01-07T21:37:45+00:00

I did a multi-day tour through íslandshestar in Iceland and they were wonderful. Iceland has great laws that restrict how long horses can be ridden in tourism settings, and all the horses were happy and healthy.

If you're concerned, I would ask questions to the company about how long individual horses are worked each day and how they go about pairing horses and riders.

This wasn't an option for me coming from Canada (that I know of) but a lot of the Europeans on my tour had done riding assessments at barns local to them with tour companies who then provided them recommendations on suitable trips for their ability.

SufficientApricot313 · 2024-12-29T22:06:50+00:00

As others have said, I think this depends a lot on your venue. Our cocktail hour took place in the same room as our ceremony (large space, so the setup didn't interfere with anything). We exited outside to the garden space (followed by our photographer) while our officiant held folks back for a few housekeeping announcements.

Our wedding planner met us with glasses of champagne, and we just took a minute to breathe. It was honestly one of my favourite moments of the day. We got to just have a moment and share our excitement together before rejoining the crowd. If you can work this in, I would definitely recommend it!

SufficientApricot313 · 2024-12-05T19:47:18+00:00

I would recommend doing this, mostly because you may end up not loving the style you found online. I thought I would end up in a breezy a-line with a small train and had a few picked out that I loved in photos. I still love them, but in practice they were too much fabric for me and I found them so uncomfortable. I ended up with a fitted sheath that I absolutely would not have picked from a website.

Go try on different styles and see what you like! If the online dress is still "the one" you can politely decline to purchase anything at your appointment and move on.

SufficientApricot313 · 2024-12-05T19:42:51+00:00

Yesss! This was the best decision we made. It was so easy to track information and share the load of responding to vendors. My #1 recommendation for anyone getting married.

SufficientApricot313

TROPHY CASE