Written by Brenda (our 2011 Wedding Threesome winning bride!)
{ phase I }
Its hard to believe it was only one year ago that I was asking (begging), reminding (nagging), and hoping (praying!) that I could find 100 friends to actually like/join/add all these facebook pages! After all our hard work, we were able to get past the 100 minimum and make it through to round two of this exciting contest.
{ phase II }
So fast forward to round two announcement day. This round involved us writing a submission about who we are, whats different about our wedding, and why we should win the contest. Now personally I thought this was going to be a piece of cake because who in the world is there that we would know more about than ourselves?! The WHO was easy. We wrote about ourselves, our separate pasts, and how we finally started dating after 10 years of friendship. The WHAT, also pretty easy – this was explaining what was different about our wedding. We were planning a winter wedding and we had great ideas and hoped they would be interested. Lastly, the why. WHY?! There were lots of people trying to win this. We were all happy, all in love, all excited for our weddings. What makes us more worthy than any of the other couples? We had a hard time with this one, so finally we decided, why should we have to write this? So we didn’t. We emailed our wedding party and had them write it for us. They liked us! They really liked us! (the wedding party I mean). We got some seriously sweet, and some funny, reasons why we should win this. We submitted our entry with an introduction to our wedding party followed by their reasons of why they thought we should win this.
A few days later there was an update – the weddinggirl.ca blog had a new post with the results of phase two. It started off with an introduction about everyones submissions and how there were powerpoint presentations, fancy PDFs, and slideshows, and I thought to myself, how would my measly email compare to an online slideshow? I quickly scrolled down to find out that SURPRISE! They liked our submission! It seems their attempt to narrow down to three couples didn’t go as they had planned, and I’m pretty sure six brides breathed an excited sigh of relief that day.
{ phase III }
Finally, round three was announced. This turned out to be my very favorite round of this contest. It was like a photo scavenger hunt for wedding stuff. This was so much fun. Also, this is where all our friends actually got super interested and wanted to help out. The goal of this round included taking pictures of three items in each category, and the categories included people, places and things. Read up on the details here:
1 – Wedding night spent with the wedding party. This actually nearly happened, except the party wasn’t in our hotel room, and we managed to sneak out for some sleep around 4 AM.
2 – Wedding day family photo at a famous landmark. We went to Niagara falls and gathered up some random family on the street. Most people didn’t ask any questions at all, just hopped into the picture!
3 – Our wedding threesome. We knew we wanted Mary, Rick and Jason, so we recreated what we thought our threesome would look like, with masks. If you ask me, the black and white really class them up.
4 – Another wedding. While in Niagara falls, we found a couple waiting to tie the knot outside one of the local wedding chapels.
5 – Recreate proposal in costume. Kris proposed to me at Niagara Falls in Sept 2009. So we did it again, wearing my sister and brother-in-laws halloween costumes from a few years ago. This was a real crowd pleaser!
6 – Reverse Wedding. This picture was taken at a wedding chapel site in Niagara falls. Kris’s dress, we bought cheaply on kijiji, and the flowers are my mom’s flowers from her wedding to my dad in 1980.
7 – Something sassy made from the wedding dress. The girl on kijiji gave us her dress very cheaply when we told her we were planning to cut it up. That wedding ended in divorce so she really liked the idea.
8 – Make a wedding cake. The hardest part of this contest may have actually been convincing kris to help making this cake. Turns out he’s pretty good at it, but don’t tell him i told you that! ;)
9 – Recreate your engagement ring for a giant. Single men, blow your girlfriend’s mind with the gift of a giant diamond shaped paperweight from michaels! It also helps if you have a regular sized one to match it.
The deadline for phase three was April 4th, and they told us the day they would announce the winner. They said the winner would be surprised at work or home, or somewhere and just go about our daily lives as per usual. This was the longest day ever. First off, I wanted to make sure we wore something nice in case we were the lucky ones they surprised. Then I wanted to make sure we didn’t do anything out of the ordinary in case they showed up and we weren’t there. I even tried to convince Kris to stay home when they guys invited him out that night… Alas, nobody won. As you can guess, this caused a riot in the facebook contest community. When we got updated (announcement delayed by family emergency), everyone once again, breathed a sigh of relief. The winner would find out the next day. At the time, Kris and I worked for the same company (different teams, different floors). When the teaser photos were posted on facebook….
{ the Teaser photo }
….. I actually walked around the building looking out each side to see if we had grass or sidewalk anywhere that looked like the posted picture. Of course we didn’t.
I was waiting patiently for the winner to comment on facebook… Finally, after wrapping up a work item, Kris and I went down to the building’s cafeteria to get some lunch. Apparently we ordered, received our food, and were on route to pay before we noticed some balloons peaking out around the corner. It was done! Mary, Rick and Jay were hiding in our office cafeteria to tell us we had won!!! It was a great day!
{ this is how the Big Reveal unfolded! }
{ the Threesome in action }
Over the next few months we started really getting into the planning. We exchanged TONS of emails. We met with Rick for engagement pictures and talked about the wedding day.
We met with Jay from Captivate to talk about what we wanted from our video.
And then there was Mary. We met with Mary numerous times. She introduced us to our florist and our hair and makeup team. She chased our vendors for answers and information. She gave us tips on our invitations and design ideas. She made sure every detail was taken care of. On our wedding day, amongst all the other work she was doing, she made sure every piece of ‘snowflake shaped gel confetti thingys’ on our guest tables were placed the right way up <3.
If you dont know me, I am a bit of a “super-planner” (control freak) and I found it hard at times to let Mary do her job. On our wedding day, Mary replied to every single one of my texts, even during dinner when I texted her from the head table. Every time I asked about a detail, she assured me it was done. When she told me how gorgeous our hall looked before the wedding, I asked if I could run over to take a look. Although she firmly said no, she did return a few minutes later with pictures to reassure me it was even better than we had imagined. I never would have thought we would have benefitted from a wedding planner or day-of co-ordinator, but now I would recommend it to anybody getting married.
Mary, Rick and Jason really helped make our wedding. We have fabulous photos, and we are still hearing compliments from our guests about how they loved our video.
We couldn’t have pulled this off without you all and your teams. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! <3
{ To this year’s contestants }
To all the brides who are now doing the asking (begging), reminding (nagging), and hoping (praying!) to get through Phase I of the contest – DON’T GIVE UP! Once you get to the last few, it’s so much easier than you think! (and all your family and friends will totally understand if you explain why it matters so much).
Whatever these guys make you do, DO IT – it’s totally worth it, and it’s so much more fun than I could have expected! I’d do it all over again if I could.
Okay… so we may have a mild obsession with all things creative…. and with these little details – we just HAD to share!
Cocktail Hour Crudites
Ceremony Stiletto Savers
For The Groom
Guest Book Alternatives
People in your Program
Cocktail Hour Escort Cards
Glass Embellishment
Father-of-the-Bride Gift
Mother-Of-The-Groom Gift
FlowerGirl Signs
Happily Ever After
Disclaimer: These images have been shared with us and collected over time. Original sources are cited when available. Should one of these images infringe on your copyright rules, or you’d like to be credited, please let us know and we’ll be happy to send out honourable mentions!
Wowee! It’s only been a couple of days since we launched the 2012 Wedding Threesome contest details and we already have some super eager brides going head-to-head to get through Phase I of our contest! Couples are required to have a minimum of 100 of their Facebook friends Like + Join + Add all three of the Threesome Vendors on Facebook (it’s not as easy as it sounds!)
Last year, we saw some serious creativity in Phase I: Notes, Groups, Tagging, Emails, and even some begging + pleading and (playful) threatening! One bride emailed us that she was hosting an Open House + Wine and Cheese night at her place, and friends weren’t allowed inside until they sat down at her computer and Liked+Joined+Added all of us, while another one donated a dollar for each “vote” to a local charity!
This year, our competing brides are already stepping it up! We’ve seen websites with linking instructions, highly efficient tracking systems, and very (VERY!) well-instructed friends! Good job, Ladies!!
We’re curious to see how everyone steps up their game this year. There are lots of creative ways to get people involved!
{ helpful hints }
Rick + Jay + Mary decided to share some hints for Phase I…. so here are a few to get you started!
1) You ARE allowed to have other people {PIMP} their friends to join on your behalf (so long as those friends are posting that they’re supporting YOU) – (hint: give them a set of instructions that they can re-post!)
2) You ARE allowed to use our contest details, photos, and instructions across various social media without requesting special permission
3) Make sure to show some LIKE to all those peeps who worked hard to help you out (hint hint)
4) People are more likely to oblige when they know why they’re helping – so be sure to direct them to THIS POST to have it all make sense!
In the midst of all this excitement, Rick, Jay, and Mary have been receiving all kinds of questions about the details of what we’re doing… so we compiled them all, answered them as best we could, and wanted to share the details with all of you!
{ Q + A about our Wedding Threesome }
1. How are we keeping track?
Rick: “Well kids that part is up to you. What we suggest is you have your friends put something along the lines of “vote #57 for steve and kelly”.
Mary: Or you can track back and see our respective walls, “Like” the comments you’ve taken a note of, and keep track yourself. One bride is actually keeping track that each friend like + add + join ALL THREE pages (which they need to do) and she’s tagging the friends who haven’t in specific notes to (kindly) remind them to do so. Brilliant!!
Again, we’re not counting the LIKES + ADDS + JOINS…. you are! (though we will cross-reference to verify!)
2. OMG! This is so hard! How do I keep track of who Likes + Joins + Adds?
Rick: ”Get them to tag their post, not just mention you. This way every time your name is mentioned you will receive a notice from fb. Simply count daily and make a post at the end of each day on our wall, or hire someone to make a computer program that tracks it for you. I bet someone on the Captivate team would be your monkey!”
Jay: *scowls at Rick*
Mary: *rolls her eyes*
3. Who can enter?
Rick: Anyone can. We’ll travel anywhere you want us to go…. just keep in mind that travel expenses are not part of this contest. With that being said, to spend about $2000 on travel to get a $10,000 wedding package is a pretty sweet deal in our opinion!
Rick follows up….. “Though, there are some certain “sketchy” destinations we probably won’t travel to, so if you’re questioning, it’s probably good that you contact one of us to check.”
Jay: You don’t have to be engaged. You just have to be planning a wedding in 2012 or 2013. (This is just a $10,000 incentive to pop the question!)
4. What if we’ve already booked one of you?
Mary: If you already have a standing contract with one of us, you can still enter the contest. Just be aware that your contract details still stand – you just receive 3 for the price of 1!
5. Is this for rizzle, ma nizzle?
Jay: “What the hell does that even mean?”
Rick: “I have no idea. I think they are asking if this contest is for real or if it’s fake?”
Mary: “Just ask Brenda + Kris – last year’s winners!” (click HERE to meet them!)
6. What is Phase II of the contest, and when is it happening?
Jay: “The first part of the contest is completed at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday March 13th.”
Rick: “As for what the next stage is…. well, get your pencils sharpened boys and girls, you’re heading back to high school! (not literally!).
Mary: “Oh, and by the way, there will be a third stage as well”.
Rick: “Rick. This ain’t gonna be a cake walk.”
7. Are you guys crazy? Why would you give all this stuff away?
Rick: “Well that all depends on who you talk to. If you talk to our doctors, the answer would probably be yes”
Jay: “Umm, speak for your own doctor, Rick! If you talk to our past clients, then the answer would be more along the lines of “No, they’re just super awesome people that love to have a great time”
Mary: “And clearly, we’re having a great time!”
“Clearly” – Rick adds.
Jay: ”We know there are lots of deserving couples out there that would love to have us be a part of their wedding. So we figured we would go out and find them and make one of them really happy.”
Mary: “Yeah, hopefully the non-winners don’t hate us.”
Rick: “So long as we announce the winner on time this time.”
Mary + Jay: *nod in agreement*
8. Will you be doing this again?
*Rick looks at Mary…. Mary looks at Jay….. Jay looks at Rick (smiles and waves), and all three of them simultaneously take a deep breath and do some serious thinking…..”
All Three (in unison) : “Yeah, why not!”
9. Did Mary really dye her hair red?
Rick: “Yes, but only parts, not all, it looks super uber cool….such a fashionista!”
Jay: “Not yet. He was spotted walking through the forest by bigfoot stalkers and now has to explain himself to the authorities.”
Mary: *rolls her eyes*
11. Is Jay’s arm sore from putting on and taking off his glasses the whole time you guys were filming?
Rick: “Yes, it’s currently in a sling and he is laid up in bed being fanned with palm leaves and fed grapes by little monkeys.”
Mary: “It’s true.”
12. Who the heck are Adam and Adrian? What role do they play?
Rick: “Watch this - http://youtu.be/JcSUWP0QNeY - the dude on the left with the beer stein is me, the old dude on the right is Jay, the monkeys represent Adam and Adrian”.
{ a quick Contest Rules review }
Just to remind all of you…..
Contest Rules:
1) Contest entrants can be located anywhere in the world
2) Participating couples must be getting married in 2012 or 2013.
3) A minimum of 100 Likes | Joins | and Adds are required to enter Phase II of the w3 v. 2.0 contest
4) Contest entrants must keep track of their own PIMP-ing totals (although, we will be cross-referencing to make sure we’re not being duped!).
5) Contestants can use any means necessary to get their friends to Like + Join + Add our pages (short of threats and other illegal stuff that can get us in trouble). Last year, contestants got super-creative with events, pages, groups, websites, emails, and tagging. Feel free to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pin, Call, Text…. whatever you have to do to help your $10,000 cause! (bonus points and honourable mentions WILL be awarded for creativity!)
6) The Threesome Vendors reserve the right to use any and all images of contestants for promotional purposes (unless specifically stated otherwise by the contestants themselves)
Valentine’s Day is about showing someone you love how much they mean to you!
Do you think a $10,000 wedding gift will help them understand?
For the past week, we’ve been airing the nail-biter episodes of Up 4 Grabs – our Wedding Threesome Miniseries brought to you by the fellas that created Skitzo, Deep River and other things you’ve probably never heard of.
{ the Trailer }
{ episode 1 : The Note }
{ episode 2 : The SOS }
{ episode 3 : Tuesday }
{ episode 4 : The Anagram }
{ episode 5 : Goin’ Vigilante }
{ episode 6 : The Right Setup }
And now… the moment you’ve all been counting down to and waiting for……
{ episode 7 : The Big Reveal! }
Yup! You heard it….. we’re doing it all over again… only this time, it’s bigger + better + bolder – and looming upon us! …. are you ready for this?
{ w3 v. 2.0 }
One lucky bride and groom will win a $10,000 Wedding Threesome package that includes full day wedding photography courtesy of Rick Denham Photography, a wedding day cinema package courtesy of Captivate Bridal Cinema, and full event design + planning + Day Of coordination courtesy of WeddingGirl.ca.
Regardless of whether you’re the one getting married, you know someone who is planning a wedding, or a $10,000 wedding prize is reason enough to pop the question – feel free to come on board!
Much like our retro Threesome contest, version 2.0 will be divided into three categories…. only instead of Sharing + Submitting + Selecting like we did last year, this year it’s all about PIMP-ing + PRESS-ing + PRODUCING!
{ phase I : PIMP }
Whether you, yourself are getting married, or you want to help give a bride you know the most amazing Valentine’s Day gift ever — the first step in winning a Wedding Day Threesome is to PIMP!
All you have to do is get your Facebook friends to Like | Join | Add all three of these!
IMPORTANT: Make sure your friends tell us who sent them (via post on each wall) AND tell you that they’ve Liked + Added + Joined all three of our pages (if it’s not all three, it doesn’t count!). Once you get to 100, 200, 300, etc. – please let us know via post on each of our Walls! (this keeps us informed and puts the pressure on your competitors!)
You have four weeks to get everyone you know to Like + Join + Add!
Ad the end of the four weeks, on Wednesday March 14th, the top 6 couples who did some serious Pimp-ing will be announced and will move on to Phase II: PRESS (details to be announced right here on Wednesday, March 14th!)
Contest Rules:
1) Contest entrants can be located anywhere in the world
2) Participating couples must be getting married in 2012 or 2013.
3) A minimum of 100 Likes | Joins | and Adds are required to enter Phase II of the w3 v. 2.0 contest
4) Contest entrants must keep track of their own PIMP-ing totals (although, we will be cross-referencing to make sure we’re not being duped!).
5) Contestants can use any means necessary to get their friends to Like + Join + Add our pages (short of threats and other illegal stuff that can get us in trouble). Last year, contestants got super-creative with events, pages, groups, websites, emails, and tagging. Feel free to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pin, Call, Text…. whatever you have to do to help your $10,000 cause! (bonus points and honourable mentions WILL be awarded for creativity!)
Good luck! and Happy PIMP-ing!
(You can find all the details about last year’s contest and winners here!)
Today’s a special day. I don’t care if you’re single, taken, married, divorced, in love, or happily out-of-love. Today’s a day where everyone’s attention gets shifted to overpriced roses + chocolates + tacky stuffed animals… but they’re just meant to be a symbol. Lindt or Hallmark doesn’t make your love special, but they’re a reminder that someone matters – and regardless of what the date is, those little reminders are always appreciated!
As promised, tonight brings to our WG readers a pretty huge announcement (so be sure to check back) – but until then, I’m taking the time to share a personal note about all the things that I personally {heart} this Valentine’s Day….
{ i Heart…. }
cupcakes.
promises.
candid moments {courtesy of mINK creative + Rick Denham Photography}
true love (that we could only be lucky enough to experience in a lifetime)
Regardless of how you’re choosing to spend your time, love, and money on this Valentine’s Day…. make it special, make it from the heart, and make it count. There are lots of things in the world to {heart} – make sure to notice yours.
(and be sure to check back tonight for our big Valentine’s Day announcement!! Yay!!)
A few months ago, an absolutely stunning WG bride was married in a beautiful eco-couture design by the incredible Adele Wechsler.
{ the Details }
Designer: Adele Wechsler
Style: Misty
Description: Strapless, wrapped and draped, vegetable dyed silk and scrap washed silk organza gown. The overlay of organza suggests the mystery of a misty day. The silhouette indicative of a bud blossoming with the aid of morning dew. The strapless, sweetheart asymmetry is a combination of texture creating figure flattering directional lines, culminating in an embroidered silk flower with hanging stems and leaves. Touches of fresh water pearls and crystals.
Size: 10 – (the bride wears a size 8 in street clothes, is 5’11 and approximately 150 lbs)
Alterations: None
Condition: Like new
Colour: Limestone
For additional photos or details, please contact us!
The Wedding Threesome $10,000 Photo + Cinema + Planning giveaway is happening again…. and all the details are coming at you tomorrow – February 14th – Valentine’s Day!
Bigger.Better.Bolder….. way more intense…….. and coming your way!
Rick, Mary, + Adrian have been kidnapped!! Jay + Adam get a frantic SOS call and realize their friends are in trouble! The kidnapper has let them them know they have one week to find their friends…. will that be enough time to rescue them??
Find out as the final episodes of Up 4 Grabs – the Wedding Threesome Contest 2012 are aired, and the finale is showcased on February 14th! (if you missed the Trailer + Episode 1, or the Behind The Scenes photos, visit yesterday’s blog).
It’s getting closer! If you’re starting to follow this year’s Wedding Threesome contest hype, here’s the first episode for you to sink your teeth into!
And if you know of someone who is recently engaged (or about to get engaged – make sure to tip them off as well – you could be giving them a $10,000 surprise!)
Enjoy… (and scroll down to the bottom for some fabulous Behind-The-Scenes sneak peek photos into what’s to come!)
