Guest blogging from Dan: 

Having now done the engagement photo session with our photographer of choice, I have come to the conclusion that some couples must get married just to have their pictures taken. It's surprisingly fun! Someone follows you around all day oohing and ahhing over how good you look together, what a great couple you are (etc. etc.), and basically makes it their mission of the day to make you look like the perfect pair of people. What's not to love?

Done right, the whole experience becomes an affirmation of your decision to get married. By the end of it all, with a photographer as great as ours, you and your intended should both be feeling chipper, refreshed and more on track toward wedded bliss than ever. Or you might just find yourself exhausted with straw in your pants, but either way it's worthwhile.

Notes from Kate:

I loved doing our engagement shoot! I had so much fun with this whole day, and am grateful to Christine for making it such a great day. We started out in Fort Langley with the requisite train station, tracks & coffee shop shots. We then spent some time at the Fort Wine Co. (one of my favourite places for a rainy afternoon), and headed over to my family's farm. Dan's quip about straw in your pants is not much of an exaggeration.

We don't have any official photos to show you yet, but Dan & I played around with my camera phone (I know, I know) before the photographer arrived, so here are a couple of shots of us being our usual goofy selves.

Searching for China

I have a secret. I adore dishes. It really does border on obsession. I love pretty homey things in general, and beautiful dishes are just about one of the most wonderful things I can think of. Ranks as high as having pretty stationary.

I've started my gift registry (fairly early, at the good advice of one of my bridesmaids), 

and so far finding my kitchenware as been the most pleasing task. I already have started to collect a set of casual dinnerware, because my grandmother thought it was important to start this collection off years ago. So yes, I picked dinnerware at 18, and yes, I still love it. It is Royal Doulton Cinnabar (see right), and here it is in all it's glory. Doesn't it just call up images of home-cooked casseroles straight out of the oven? I still think it was a wonderful choice.

So, I really only needed to find formal china to complete my collection. I've looked through almost every Mikasa, Noritake & Royal Doulton pattern we could find. The first one we chose 

was this lovely set by Noritake. It's called "White Palace" (see right) and I still adore it. In addition to the beautiful gold rim, this set has a cream textured border. Texture really is important to me, and it was definitely the selling point on this set. That all said, I thought it was a little too formal and a lot too expensive for what we needed. 

Next, I fell in love with Challinor by Royal Douton (see left). If for whatever reason I ever needed to choose a second set, this would be it. A rich blue and gold, it's beautiful and luxurious. I especially loved how every piece in the setting was a little bit different. Even with the blue it was still a very warm set, as the border was a lovely cream colour. It was a very close choice, but it wasn't quite right. 

We finally settled on Noritake's Glenrose Platinum. I love it. It reminds me just slightly of my mom's pattern (she chose Noritake when it was still new and unknown), but is different enough too. Silvery blue with a textured rim, I think it will be perfect for all occasions and can be set with many different colour schemes. It is truly perfect for us in every way, and I am excited about our choice. And here it is, in all it's beautiful glory:

Did you have a hard time selecting your dinnerware, or was it an easy choice for you? Do you think you picked the right one?