Ten years ago, our friends Heather & Graeme were married in a ceremony that I think can only be described as One of a Kind. Yeah, I know… everyone thinks their wedding is the most unique event ever to have taken place. But they’re wrong. And I’ll tell you why.
 
You see, young Graeme is a giant Star Wars fan. He loves Star Wars. I mean LOVES. He also loves Heather. Luckily, for Graeme, she LOVES him. In fact, I’d go so far as to say she loves him even more than he loves Star Wars.  In fact, she loves him so much that she agreed to his casual suggestion that he’d like to have a Star Wars-themed wedding.  Seriously.
 
She donned a dress and hairstyle that made her more than just a Princess for her wedding day – she became one specific celluloid Princess: Leia, to be exact. And her husband-to-be made himself over to be the perfect Han Solo doppelganger. The bride’s sister was Amidala (yeah, so it messes with the time line of the movie – but you actually DO wield that kind of power when it’s your wedding.) My handsome husband (appearing in my Playbill as a mere co-worker at the time) was their best man – in the role of Boba Fett (he was asked to remove the helmet, however, during the ceremony – something to do provincial legalities or some such nonsense.) I was a guest. They held the ceremony in a park and posed for wedding portraits in a multi-coloured jungle gym.
 
Beat that for unique.
 
Fast forward ten years (plus a few months, but who’s counting, right? Ok – Heather & Graeme probably are) and the time has rolled around for LX & I to think about who we’re going to have officiate our ceremony. We both knew we didn’t want to be married in a church or with any sort of religious service. Then we remembered Heather & Graeme’s fabulous day. And we figured that anyone who would be cool with officiating a ceremony where the entire wedding party dressed as major movie characters would be a pretty awesome choice.
 
Unfortunately, for us, the lady who performed their ceremony had relocated to another city several hours away. However, the organization with which she was affiliated has a pretty big web presence. So a quick Google search led us to the woman would ultimately pronounce us husband & wife.
 

 
The Humanist Association of Toronto has a mission statement we felt held true to our own mindset: To promote the separation of religion from public policy and foster the development of reason, compassion and critical thinking for all Canadians through secular education and community support.
 
And a quick couple of email queries led us to Suzanne Peters – who was friendly, professional and had all kinds of information at the ready. And we wound up liking her as much in person as we did via email.
 
She gave us the option to choose our ceremony from a myriad of options she had prepared in advance or to come up with the words we wanted spoken on our own. We chose an amalgam of the two: some of the prefab structure along with our own words & BAM – you’ve got yourself a wedding ceremony!
 
A few sections of the ceremony are required by law and, after they were pointed out to us, we were able to write and piece together the ceremony that we wanted to have. Our officiant, Suzanne, added the perfect balance of behind-the-scenes guidance and Wedding Day participation. Her warmth & humour added just the right amount of realism to a ceremony that can, if not kept in check, quickly go off the rails and into the land of saccharine.
 
And if you should ever run into one of our wedding guests (Heather or Graeme, for example – he was our Groomsman, after all, and she ran around video-ing our ceremony and all the fun, need-to-be remembered bits), ask about the fabulous pause for effect that Suzanne added to my husband’s vows (that have since allowed me to bark “you have to listen to me… you swore to in front of EVERYONE”. But only in jest. Honestly.)
 

Bring on the Glitz is, officially, my favourite online merchant for inexpensive, yet fabulous costume jewelry. Period. And, since I don’t often make declarations in absolutes, I think you should go there now and buy things. Shiny things. Pretty things. Things you probably don’t need. But you won’t feel bad for indulging in a wee bit of retail therapy when you see the prices involved.
 

Click for a closer look!

In my travels through eBay for accessories to go with my unbelievably fabulous (yes,  I AM allowed to boast: My Blog, My Rules) dress (which, for obvious reasons I can’t really say too much about until after I’ve actually worn it), I happened upon a vendor who had some dazzling bits of flair for sale. I’d previously purchased a necklace & earrings set from another vendor that, while quite pretty, just didn’t have the pizzazz I had expected. It looked exactly like the photo posted online, but it just didn’t quite have the shine I was hoping for once it arrived and I saw it in person. It was cheap (US $11.95) and, sadly, it looked it. But you live and learn. Not every find is a gem. Yes, I punned. I’m not proud. But I’m sure LX is somewhere giggling with delight.
 
One of the nice things about Bring on the Glitz is the fact that it’s located right here in Canada (Orangeville, Ontario to be precise) so no pesky cross-border fees to worry about (always something to keep in mind when eBay or online shopping.)  And, I’m not sure if it’s because I live in downtown Toronto and mail just gets here quickly, or if it’s the case with all parcels that leave her domain, but her merch arrives fast! Everything is packaged oh-so-cutely with each item in its own individual organza bag. (What can I say? I’m a real sucker for details in presentation.)
 
All of Janice’s (I feel we’re on a first-name basis now since we’ve emailed back and forth and I’ve now made several purchases; she may feel differently – but no restraining order or accusations of cyber-stalking have been issued, so I’m sticking with my assumption) products are lead and nickel-free (a big deal if you have even a slight allergy to either) and have a protective surface coating to keep wear & tear to a minimum.

Click for a closer look!

Bring on the Glitz stocks tiaras, bridal jewelry sets, bridesmaid sets, and even items for the wee ones you might have asked to be in your wedding party. But this isn’t exclusively a Bridal Shop. There’s an incredible variety of fashionable & fun costume jewelry to be found. Everything from the quirky (why I haven’t purchased this, yet, I’m not entirely sure) to the elegant is on offer here. Lately I’ve even noticed a few really cute body jewelry items have crept their way into the store inventory. Almost makes a girl want to do extra crunches and pierce something. Almost.
 
And if you happen to know anyone who holds fast to not wanting to pierce even their ears, you’ll know how challenging it is for them to find earrings. It never occurred to me that it might be tough finding clip-on earrings for a special occasion (or, at all, really) since I’ve never known anyone with pristine lobes. Until now, that is. My future mother-in-law is one of those ladies who just never got around to getting her ears pierced. So I’m tickled pink to have found this treasure trove of goodies.
 
Whether you’re looking for something spectacular to wear for your trip down the aisle (and, like me, you know that – even though real diamonds and pearls are fabulous – you aren’t likely to wear something quite so ornate more than the one time), a gift for someone or simply some stylish day-to-day sparklies – you’re likely to find something at this site. I have. Several times.
 
Oh, and there’s always a section of Final Sale (50% off – yay!) items that’s worth perusing on a regular basis. I found some very cute clip-on earrings that will be used as decoration for our Unity Candles (because, no, I will NOT pay 50-plus dollars to Michaels for a stand when I can make the set myself for a fraction of the price.)
 
By the way: Mothers’ Day is right around the corner. Why not pick up something nice for yours?
 

~ Both a jaunty guitar ballad from the early ’90s (thank you, Tracy Chapman) and an effective blog header ~
 
We’re fortunate in that we’re no longer (boy are we no longer!) in our 20s and just starting out in life. We do already have our careers established. And we’re lucky enough to both have parents who are happily willing to contribute to our wedding coffers. Having said that, we also just bought our beautiful Rockstar House – a cute little townhouse in downtown Toronto. Yes, we are mortgaged and our asses officially belong to the bank. 

Our/The Bank's Rooftop Patio.

We are not financially strapped. And we’d like to keep it that way. Now, don’t get me wrong – we are by no means livin’ large. We can’t drop coin on new furniture, a new car or a whirlwind vacation without serious number crunching, planning, discussion & saving. We’ve simply gotten over that hurdle of living paycheque to paycheque. Isn’t that what your 30s are for?
 
This is why I’m an eBay Bride. Living in downtown Toronto is not cheap. We are not wealthy. We’re like most folks I know who choose to live in an urban centre – we get by. Oh yeah… and, as I’ve already mentioned, I’m a Cheap Bitch (perhaps I should trademark that). I like to spend less than ‘the next guy’. I enjoy the thrill of a bargain. I totally get off on paying less than you do for something we both want and/or need.
 
So, again I reiterate my confession: I’m Lisa… and I’m an eBay Bride.