The planning begins.....

So we didn't win the Carlsberg contest but we're well on our way planning our wedding for Spring 2012!

We've got a lot of the details already confirmed, please visit our wedding website for up to date information!

The planning has begun for the Stag & Doe that will take place this October, and although it's currently only June, I am sure time will fly!

We've started buying prizes for the Stag & Doe and our wedding party is working away helping us gather terrific items. We want this to be a BIG event! The bigger the better! Our friends have been giving us tips and suggestions on how to make this the ultimate Stag & Doe.

Our engagement photos should be showing up any day now and we are excited to share those with our family and friends.

Thanks everyone, we love you!

Jessica & Mike

Special shout out to our competitors and new friends Team TREBECA!

TEAM TREBECA

Mike and I entered this contest in hopes of winning the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash, but something we didn't expect to have happen in a competition was to make new friends! We started off just sending encouraging messages on each others guestbooks and over the time frame of a few short days we had exchanged information and we're chatting outside of the competition. We found out that we both live in the same city and even frequent the same places yet have never met! Funny because we are so much alike, well Rebecca and I anyways. From what we've discussed, Tim and Mike have similarities also. We are so excited to meet Team TREBECA and have made plans to get together soon and share a Carlsberg or two. Thanks guys for being supportive, positive and our cheer leaders even while we are still "competitors." It shows a lot of class and maturity. We wish you the best of luck and are keeping our fingers crossed for you!

Check out their Big Wedding Bash profile by clicking on "TEAM TREBECA" under their picture shown above and vote for our friends Rebecca & Tim!

Cheers to great friends and great beer!

Our Video Submission for BT Free for all Friday!

Our final attempt to get BT's attention for this round! We've been harassing Toronto's Best Morning Show Breakfast Television since this contest began. We've emailed the show, tweeted the living daylights out of everyone who works there for the length of this contest. We noticed an interesting post on Carlsberg's FB fan page yesterday urging contestants to contact BT and share their story for the last time before the first round of this contest ended. Well we wanted to go above and beyond that, and show BT just how creative we can be while still promoting our team, Carlsberg'ss brand and BT's morning show. We got our inspiration from the personality we created for this contest named Constable Carlsberg as we thought his "In your face" attitude and comical hood role might grab the attention of BT producers!

This isn't the new video we promised everyone, this was a last minute opportunity we jumped at. That's what we do, see a good opportunity (like this contest) and jump in with both feet. Unfortunately it derailed the shooting of our new video. We will be trying to get that done for you guys today and posted before this competition closes.. if not I will post it afterwards anyways even if we arn't selected as the top 3,  because we are convinced it will that hilarious.

A special THANK YOU to our new Sponsors and terrific Suppliers of Team Wildobsoning

So I got a call from the good people who own these terrific establishments in the heart of downtown Burlington after we submitted a request for a sponsorship to them last week. I can't explain how thrilled we were to get that call and when the details were finalized this afternoon I had to whip together a banner and bill inserts for SB Prime Steakhouse and The Rude Native both located on Brant St., in perfect view of daytime shoppers, business people and nighttime clientele looking for a delicious meal or a few drinks on the patio.

http://www.sbprime.com

SB Prime is an elegant modern establishment furnished with a traditional steakhouse style menu and a come as you are attitude. They offer a superb selection of fine wines from a reasonably priced glass of merlot to the most lavish bottle selections, such as the 2003 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. 

SB Prime is located in the heart of downtown Burlington at 380 Brant Street, although when you are inside, the decor, music and waitstaff creates the illusion that you are in most exclusive restaurant in  Downtown Toronto or NYC.

http://www.sbprime.com/

After speaking to Theresa, the Manager of SB Prime, we came up with a couple ideas to market the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash and our team, Wildobsoning. The first idea was to put up a banner on the outside of the restaurant where we (Carlsberg and Team Wildobsoning) would get the most exposure. She suggested the patio that runs along Brant St., so that not just customers of SB Prime but also passers by would be see it.

So we did that! Nice job putting up the sign baby! 

P.S. You're hot!

I helped by fastening the zip ties :) This is my "OOoooo shouldn't you help us win a dream wedding sponsored by Carlsberg?!" face.

So then we stood back and admired our job well done, but then Mike noticed something coincidental...

A bridal boutique literally just steps away! Close enough that we could get both our super awesome weather proof banner and a wedding dress in this shot. 

Another fantastic idea was creating bill inserts so I quickly (like 15 minutes quickly) threw a simple design together in illustrator incorporating our photo and a bright Carlsberg green to catch peoples attention.  

Special thanks to The Printing House on Harvester Road in Burlington for actually taking on my order for hundreds of bill inserts 45 minutes before they closed for the day. You guys are troopers and Mike and I thank you for your support and your votes! 

At this point we made our way over to The Rude Native.

http://www.rudenative.com/

http://www.rudenative.com/

Theresa introduced us to a lovely co-worker named Dawn who was kind enough to give us suggestions as to where to hang our second banner and provided us with tape (that we failed to bring). Thanks Dawn!

Who's that handsome guy casually hanging outside of The Rude Native?

Our banner! Complete with the photo of Mr. and Mrs. Carlsberg!

Mr. & Mrs. Carlsberg- Probably the most refreshing couple in the world

The Rude Native is a delightful bistro & lounge "Where the locals go to experience tastes from around the world." It's the perfect time to visit The Rude Native as they have added new exciting items to the menu while staying true to their classic favourites that keep their customers loyal. 

The waitstaff at The Rude Native

The decor is chic in rich reds and browns. The atmosphere is classy yet laid back. The perfect spot to meet up after work for drinks either in their comfortable lounge or up on their rooftop veranda overlooking downtown. 

We divvied up the bill inserts and have half to The Rude Native. Call us when you get low!

Our bill inserts!

Just before we left I realized I had to use the ladies room, and that got me thinking... 

Yeah I sure did! I fashioned each of the ladies stalls with our amazing WANTED posters! 

Don't worry I asked first!

Our first passerby after we put up the banner at SB Prime, hey random guy vote for Team Wildobsoning!

Some people who we're going in then turned around when they saw our banner! That's right random family you vote for team Wildobsoning!

So we had a successful day of promoting but ohhh that's not all! We had some left over flyers from our Toronto campaign! 

So we put them on people's cars! Don't ya hate when people do that to your car? Well so do we but I think if it was for a wedding contest I would keep it and vote. 

When we ran out of flyers we headed over to another local pub for a couple drinks and found some Wildobsoning supporters who were kind enough to take a picture with Mike! Thanks guys!

We also had 500 mini flyers made that easily fit in peoples wallets and we always keep them in the car so they are convenient to hand out while we are out and about, but I had another plan for them tonight...

So I put them on peoples windshields ...

and in mailboxes of businesses along the main strip

We also want to say a special thank-you to Lindsey at "It's a Good Sign" for printing and assembling our banners! She went above and beyond the call of duty, sacrificing her own personal time to make sure we had these banners in time for our campaigning efforts. We can't say enough good things about her and the service provided at It's a Good Sign located at:

3245 Harvester Road, Burlington. (905) 681-8775

An Important Message

A dear friend of mine Cindy is the founder of  Education Driving for the Masses and The Drunk Driving Masses was kind enough to post our video "Constable Carlsberg - Beer Police" on her blog because of a message in our video - "Buckle up! Safety First!" in hopes to spread the word and help us get some votes. Something more important came out of this post, an idea! A crucial idea that is far more important then promoting ourselves to win a contest.... spreading the word against drinking and driving. 

http://www.thedrunkdrivingmasses.com

With 1000 guests and free flowing beer at the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash, we want to stress how important it is to drink responsibly and if you drink, please, please, please do not get behind the wheel. 

So we have an idea to propose to Carlsberg, we'd like incorporate the message against drinking and driving with the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash. Maybe theres a taxi company, a hotel chain, or even public transit who'd like to become a sponsor and get involved and provide discounted fares for the guests of this event.  Team Wildobsoning has sent out some feelers to see which companies would be interested in this idea, helping provide an wonderful and essential public service.  We will keep you informed and post any participating sponsors on our blog, facebook and forward that information to you Carlsberg!

We know Carlsberg is on board to promote the message to drink responsibly, The Carlsberg group is "committed to inform and raise awareness among consumers about responsible beer consumption.  During the UEFA EURO 2008™ on most advertising materials and on the plastic cups in fan parks and stadia we will write 'Carlsberg supports fair play on and off the pitch. Please drink responsibly'." Now we just have to come up with ways to do it at the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash!


Some ideas off the top of our heads:

• Carlsberg coasters at the bar or keychains handed out to guests reminding them to drink responsibly?  
• Giving guests disposable breathalyzers?  
• Making an announcement during the wedding?  
• Having poster fact sheets about Blood Alcohol Concentration as well as Fines and Charges associated with drunk driving up in the washrooms?  

We don't want to turn the whole wedding into a anti-drunk driving convention but we think that there are things that can be tastefully incorporated to make sure this is a fun and safe event. 
Maybe Carlsberg's got these things in place already, but hey it doesn't hurt to throw the idea out there! 

Cheers to drinking responsibly!

Oh yeah Carlsberg, this video just happened

UPDATE: Monday August 16th

We've had such a wonderful response to our Constable Carlsberg- The Beer Police and requests to do another video featuring this character that we might just have to give the people what they want!
You'll be happy to know that we will be using a way better camcorder for the next instalment thanks to a friend of mine that's letting us borrow their camera. Constable Carlsberg in HD baby!

Our Newspaper Article!

So Friday the 13th isn't so bad sometimes! We got a special treat in our mailbox today, our newspaper article on Team Wildobsoning! Thanks Burlington Post for supporting us in our efforts to win the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash!
To vote for us please visit www.bigweddingbash.ca/wildobsoning Voting runs until August 31st 2010.


So there ya go Carlsberg, the first couple to get the story of the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash published! And there's so much more to come from team Wildobsoning! 

WANTED...for spreading the word about Carlsberg & The Big Wedding Bash!

Our campaigning continues in the city of Toronto! We spent Tuesday afternoon putting up posters, talking to people, taking some pictures, and just having a great time in the city! We are on a mission to spread the word and campaign the heck out of this contest!

Just hanging out in Toronto, leaning on a light post like we always do...

And the best part? We're having a blast! For those who don't know us personally, we are a little competitive. When you combine our competitive nature, magic happens! lol

Mikes got his "thinkin cap" on

Our friends Emily and Greg let us put up some pictures in their windows on street level in the heart of Downtown Toronto! Thanks guys!!

We had a great time and even did a few comical pictures just to be sassy! We'd thought Carlsberg and our supporters would have a few giggles and share in the fun we're having participating in this contest.

WANTED...US?!
All we did was spread the word of the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash! 

When we saw our poster at 52 Division we thought it was best to take off to a local pub to hide!
And have a couple Carlsberg beers

This contest has really been a great opportunity to learn more about ourselves, each other and how well we work as a team. We were great before but we're like an unstoppable freight train now! Woo..Woo...Wildobsoning!

We're happy to share our adventures with you along this incredible journey that regardless if we win or not will result in a wonderful wedding day and an amazing story to share.

CHEERS TO YOU CARLSBERG!

Adventures in Toronto

We love Toronto, heck what's not to love?! Great people, great food, a diverse city with unlimited places to explore and most importantly share our love of Carlsberg beer!

Our trip started out as an evening out with our dear friend Emily who is embarking on an incredible journey this September when she takes off with her boyfriend Greg to South America for a year of backpacking! We're going to miss her so much, she's the most incredible friend anyone could ever ask for.

Emily is so supportive and has been voting for us everyday, spreading the word and thought that our trip to Toronto could be a great opportunity for us to market ourselves and the best beer in the world!
We went to so many place and met so many people that we have a ridiculous amount of pictures that we wanted to share, but there are just too many for one blog post so we will have to break them up over a couple days.

You should probably know that we've been busy bees over the last few days. We designed and had a poster made that has been a wonderful prop in spreading the word of the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash! You can see it in our pictures throughout this post. I also took it upon myself to make flyers but the tricky thing about flyers is that people just throw them out. They are often large and where does one put them? My solution was to make business card flyers that conveniently fit in peoples wallets and pockets. It's easy for us too when handing them out because we can carry tons in our pockets wherever we go!

This came in handy when we visited Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto yesterday. Emily suggested this location that was not only a beautiful spot for picture taking and close to her downtown home, but also a great spot to meet people from not only Toronto but all over the world! She was our photographer for this trip (thanks Em! xoxo) and helped us create a scene that attracted a crowd of on lookers that we're excited to stop, hear our story and take a photo with us!

We had an opportunity to meet some great people, spread the word about Carlsberg, share our story with them and gain some votes! More adventures from Toronto to come :)

Help another successful eHarmony match tie the knot!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR MIKE & JESS (EVERYDAY) IN THE CARLSBERG BIG WEDDING BASH!

I was closed minded of the idea at first when my mother suggested it to me. She had seen the commercials for eHarmony and liked the idea that it wasn't just about looks, it wasn't advertised as a meat market like other dating sites. It was about personality, commonality and matching you with the person you are looking for, filtering out all the ones that you'd give a fake number to at a bar (been there done that!)

I wanted someone who had the same values and goals as me. Now it did take a little while, maybe a month or so, which really is nothing, but it can seem like a long time when you are eagerly waiting for your match. I did have some dates with guys who were nice enough but they weren't "the one".

Now here's the thing, sometimes it can be frustrating when you sign up and there doesn't seem to be a perfect match for you right off the bat, but be patient. He's probably thinking the same way you do, he got this roadblock up in his mind, maybe he's worried about what people would think of him meeting the love of his life off the internet. Give him time, maybe his friends or family members will come across something that will inspire him (feel free to use my blog post) to taking that next step, that leap of faith that could change his life forever. So invest the money, try it out even for 3 months and see what happens!

Now maybe you think "it's too expensive." Well no more expensive than hitting the clubs, bars week after week. It cost Mike and I $60 collectively. My friends and family know that I love and am known for getting deals but that's a ridiculous deal of a lifetime! Try it out for free by signing up for one of their free communication weekends, I've seen ads recently where they stretch it out over a long weekend and you get to use their service for 4-5 days for free. 

So what makes eHarmony the smarter choice than other dating sites? Well, I think the key is their Compatibility Matching System which after you fill out their survey (do this at home, it takes some time and is very thorough, don't try to squeeze it in on your lunch break) effectively filters out what you don't want. Their system will match you with the best choices for you of Mr. or Mrs. Right from their current members, which I'm thinking is a lot. If on average 236 eHarmony couples marry everyday day, there must be a few people signed up right now. 

They don't just match you based on say, your favourite tv shows (although Mike and I did happen to like the same stuff so there's no fighting over the remote) they match you based on core traits and vital attributes. What does that all mean? Under core traits they list: emotional temperament, social style, cognitive mode and physicality. Vital attributes are things like relationship skills, values and beliefs and key experiences. 

So say for example you are a really social person and you love going out almost every night, you're probably not going to be happy with a homebody. The matching system takes into account the type of person you are and what you want and matches it in their database so you don't wind up being matched with a total couch potato.  

We be together two years this October, and it's been the best two years of our lives. I know that I can't imagine my life without Mike in it. Even the day to day boring stuff like grocery shopping turns into a comical adventure. We're always having fun, and when it does come to the serious stuff.. we support each other unconditionally.  We're a team, and that's the way it should be. 

This is not a paid testimonial, I always planned to find a forum to share how we met. I will get into more comical specifics in later posts. I always said I would write about our eHarmony experience some day because I want to help convince that woman who was me, that she should give this a shot. There really is nothing to lose. Listen to your mother :)

Wildobsoning's Biggest Fan! Watch out, she's coming for YOU!

If you see a blue Kia with this bumper sticker and a crazy lady yelling out the window for you to vote... that's Jessica's mom. Don't be alarmed, she's actually very nice! But she's passionate about this contest. She's vying to help us win the wedding of our dreams.

Did I mention she's coming for you, for all of you! I would not put it past her to just randomly start ringing peoples door bells and sitting them down at their computer and making them vote! I love it though, she's our biggest fan!

I had some decals made up and sent her one the other day and she sent us this photo. She's driving up north this weekend too so she'll be getting some milage on that bumper sticker.  She'd drive from one side of  Canada to the other if she didn't have to ya know like.. go to work, just to show off our bumper sticker, she's hilarious.

Thanks Momma! You're the best :) We love you!!!

*!*!*AUGUST 11th Update!*!*!*

We've finally got our bumper decal up on the Toyota! Wahooo!!!
We LOVE being stuck in traffic now because people honk, wave and even have rolled down their windows to ask us questions! lol

Come on BT! You've gotta cover the $100,000 Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash!

The words spreading around the Breakfast Television news desk about the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash and our marketing campagain for Team Wildobsoning! We contacted Dina and she's been sharing our blog with her television segment producer April Kalloo!

You wanted some media exposure Carlsberg, You've got it!
Courtesy of Team Wildobsoning!

Hopefully BT will pick up the story of the biggest event to hit Toronto this fall.
Maybe they will showcase the final 3 couples! Lets keep our fingers crossed!

Carlsberg's in the know too! Apparently they were on top of the fact we've been working our buns off!

Spreading the word of Carlsberg & Team Wildobsoning

Yesterday was interesting. All you have to do is take a look at our photos and you will know that we had a driving force, our love. Determined to put in every last ounce of effort to showing the world we are the best choice for the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash couple.

Okay so that was our big power speech! After all, we can't be silly all the time....just most of the time :)

Mike and I got into a passionate discussion over our next moves in the Carlsberg Big Wedding Bash over a couple of Carlsbergs at a local pub.

Mike noticed that our waitress had a slogan on the back of her shirt that resonated with our answer to the question, why should Carlsberg throw us a Big Wedding Bash? 

Our answer is because we’re ready to celebrate the best moment of our lives and any way Carlsberg serves it it, we'll love it! 

There's Only One Way to Celebrate...

Lovin Green

After lunch we went to go pick up some Wildobsoning marketing material we ordered (photos coming soon) and we thought it would be a good idea to go down to the parks/ lake downtown to spread the word about Carlsberg and the Big Wedding Bash (and take some entertaining photos for the blog). Matty was the fantastic man behind the camera and he gave us some terrific ideas for pictures that would help promote the Carlsberg brand and us! We really wanted to show that we look fabulous in green and we are Probably the Most Refreshing Couple in the World! ENJOY!

We've seen our competition and we'll fight to the end... Game On!

"YES! This just happened" - Mike

It was getting late so we called it a night but not before celebrating a job well done!