I had a hard time finding exactly what I wanted as a hair accessory for my own wedding.  An extremely hard time.  I searched Etsy, I searched markets, antique stores, garage sales, and searched Etsy again.  It’s not that I was picky – the only “musts” were that it had to somehow fit my theme (even just by colour would have been fine), and it had to be Canadian made or from a Canadian independent store.  As for style – I was flexible.  I knew it would be like finding my dress – as soon as I saw it, I’d know.

I didn’t find a lot.  I found quite a few things that would have worked, but didn’t evoke any feelings.  I decided to put a request out on Etsy, to see if someone could custom make something that would fit what I was looking for.  I received a lot of responses – some were interesting, some would have done, and few were Canadian.

And then I received an email from Anne Marie of Sweet Briar Bridal.  She sent a picture of a piece she had listed in her shop, and I swooned over it.  It was fantastic!  It was a vintage brooch, with a few feathers, on a hair clip.  It even had some blue in it!  I was in love, but alas – not Canadian.  We exchanged a few messages, and I told her I’d keep her in mind in case I couldn’t find anything local.

I couldn’t.  Well, that’s not true.  I did find a few others that came close.  But I couldn’t get the sweet little clip out of my mind.  As important as buying local is to me, I knew gut instinct was more important – this was the perfect accessory.

Anne Marie was amazing, and so easy to deal with.  I like to leave things to the last minute, so we had to rush shipping – she even refunded me the few dollars difference in the shipping quote.  As soon as I received the package and held the clip in my hands, I knew I had made the right decision.  It was exactly what I wanted, but couldn’t envision.

Sweet Briar has so many great items, ranging from classically inspired to slightly edgy, and most with a vintage twist.  I received so many compliments on my hair clip, and love having such a unique piece of jewelry to cherish for years.

“And if it helps ease things, ” wrote Anne Marie during one email exchange, “I married into a family that is French Canadian “

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