Sherry

I think the tombstone is a great idea! Now, how do I drop hints for my FI that I would like a wedding merger tombstone to add to my collection at work?? LOL I'm thinking that most of the guys I work with wouldn't feel too comfortable with a poem on the tombstone, but then again, I work for an oil and gas company, and those guys tend to be a little more old school. If your guy would be comfortable with it, I say go for it! Either way, the tombstone is an awesome idea!

What a great idea! I think I might be stealing this one for sure!

I've noticed that our Hawaii forum is a little lacking in terms of accomodation info compared to the other forums (Mexico in particular!). Thought I'd get the ball rolling by posting where we're staying while we're on Maui for our DW. We'll be on Maui for 6 days prior to the wedding, and for the first 5, we're staying at the Banyan Condos, in the "Maui Banyan Studio Condo" in Kihei, which we're renting from the people at the website below: Maui Vacation Rentals Kihei Maui Hawaii They have quite a few other units available. The "Oceanview Hideaway Studio" in Wailea sounds really amazing, but it wasn't available for the days we need. We figured it's probably just as well that we're staying in Kihei for those 5 days though, as we'll be meeting with vendors, and they're all in Kihei (and Lahaina). Still, if the Oceanview one were available, I think I would have talked the FI into it! The one we booked looks lovely though, and it's pretty inexpensive compared to hotels we saw of similar quality. We initially found the condo listing on ..VRBO® is Vacation Rentals by Owner® Vacation Homes Rentals by Owner, which is a great site for vacation rentals, particularly in Hawaii. We're staying at the Wailea Marriott the night before our wedding and on the wedding night (this is where we're having our ceremony). I've started another thread on the Wailea Marriott for those who are interested.

I thought I'd start a thread on the Wailea Marriott, where we're having our ceremony. Is anyone else having any part of their DW here? A friend of mine had both her ceremony and reception at the Wailea Marriott, and speaks very highly of it. Our WC also says that it's gorgeous, and they're finished all their renovations now. Thought I'd post some pics, in case anyone is doing research on possible locations: I will of course fulfill my BDW duty and write a full review after our wedding, but that's not until October, so would love to hear from anyone who has had or is having their wedding there!

A coworker of mine has a condo in Wailea, and we were talking about my wedding yesterday. He spoke VERY highly of the Seawatch and said it was an excellent choice for our reception. That meant a lot, because this guy is the President of our company and gets wined and dined as some pretty amazing places. Just thought I'd pass along the good feedback! Oh, and he also said that Mulligan's on the Blue is a great choice for after 10pm. He said that it's pretty much all locals at Mulligan's by that point in the evening, so you can do a pretty cool drinks/socializing thing there after, if you're looking for something low key.

Quote: Originally Posted by Pisces Hi ladies! I am so happy to have found this site! I am a BC girl myself- from Victoria. My fiance and I are getting married in Maui on Dec 30 and we are also having our reception at the Seawatch! I am so happy to have found such good reviews here:) We have been to Maui before, but never to this restaurant so I was going entirely by online pics and referrals as well. Our coordinator is Makena Weddings, which was recommended to me by a friend here who used them. So far I have been really pleased with everything Laurie (the coordinator) has done for us. As for the dance floor, we are getting it, even though we are also only having 19-20 guests. It is kind of expensive, but I also have a crowd of people who love dancing and it will really make the party for us. I really wanted us to have a "first dance" and to have one with my dad. We also have a strange mix of guests who are not necessarily going to want to sit around and chat (almost everyone is divorced from someone else there!) This is one night I will never get to relive, so I want it to be as perfect as possible. Everyone I've talked to is really excited to have an outdoor dance floor. But whatever you chose will be lovely. I've been to weddings without dancing and they are still wonderful. It just depends on what YOU want. I look forward to hearing your stories more and sharing more info as we get closer! We are also having our ceremony on the golf course grounds instead of a beach. It's only $400 I think, and the privacy is pretty important to me. That, and I went a little fancy on my dress Where is everyone staying in Maui? We are booked at the Maui Banyan condos. I just noticed that you're booked at the Maui Banyan condos - that's where we're staying too! We booked the studio condo for the 5 days we're on Maui before the wedding. The night before the wedding and the wedding night, we're staying at the Wailea Marriott, where we're having the ceremony.

What a pretty dress. It looks great on you! I kind of like how the corset looks now.

My Mom has been the same way, implying that we're committing some huge etiquette taboo because we're only inviting immediate family and close friends. She's so mad that we're not inviting aunts and uncles, because she's very close to one of her sisters. I barely know my aunt, but apparently that's irrelevant! My Mom tried to get around the "you're not paying" argument, by she and my Dad giving us $2,000 toward the wedding. My Dad then turned around and told us it was an engagement gift LOL! My Mom was a huge PITA with my sister's wedding, and what we learned from watching my sister and my BIL is that every time they gave in on something with her, then she just found a new thing that she didn't like and was mad about! We decided to just nip it in the bud and put our feet down about the first thing that she tried to control. We have resolved not to give in on the guest list and if she doesn't like it, she doesn't have to come (knowing full well, there's no way she wouldn't come!). I'm picking my battles with her by sticking up for us on the first thing, and then she'll just focus on that and not get around to getting mad about the next thing she would have tried to control if she had gotten her way! I think people will always try to control your wedding if you let them.

I bought it when we first set our date, and I found it really helpful in the beginning, when I had no idea what I was doing with a DW!

We chose our date for a number of reasons. When we first started talking about our wedding, we were assuming it would be local, and we both loved the idea of a fall wedding. Once we decided on a DW, it didn't matter as much about the season (not exactly changing leaves in the fall in Hawaii LOL!), but we both still like the idea of fall, because we often take our big holiday in the fall. We chose Oct 4 because it's the weekend before Canadian Thanksgiving. I had a real thing about not wanting to dictate for other people what they were doing on the holiday weekend, because my FI's parents' anniversary is on July 1 (Canada Day), and I find it incredibly annoying that they think that means we should always go visit them for the long weekend just because it's their anniversary. I know that sounds silly, but they're so annoying about it and I complain to my FI about it so much, that I thought I'd be a huge hypocrite if we turned around and had our wedding on a long weekend! We figured that people could potentially still benefit from the long weekend though, because most of them are planning on coming to Hawaii for a week and then they'll have the extra day for the holiday Monday. We chose a Saturday because my sister is a teacher and it's hard for her to take much holiday time during the school year, so this way, I figured that if need be, she could just take the Friday off. Last but not least, or wedding is one week before my 30th birthday, and I thought it would be pretty cool to be in Hawaii on our honeymoon for my 30th! That, and I liked the idea of still being 29 on my wedding day. Totally silly, but oh well, just a nice little added bonus!

We aren't doing engagement pics. We have so many pics of us together already, and our wedding is in less than 6 months, so I'm sure we'll get a bunch more good ones of us then anyway, plus the wedding pics. I think it's totally a personal decision. You shouldn't feel as though you are committing some etiquette taboo if you don't get them.

I forgot to mention - J. Crew actually has some very pretty wedding dresses, and they ship to Canada.

Awesome review Rachel! I especially liked the part about the wrong music during the cermony - I was laughing out loud! Everything looked so beautiful. Can't wait to see pics of you in your dress!

It's so pretty. Can't wait to see pics of you in it once it comes in!

BB5, I've booked Dan Sanchez, and now I'm just waiting to hear back from Jessica Waite. I'm hoping that since Dan was available, Jessica might be too. I get the impression that she has other makeup artists who work with her though? Hopefully even if she's not available herself, at least one of them might be. Thank you so much BB5! I really appreciate your posting their names for me. You are one of my favourite people in the world right now!

Are you meaning wedding dresses or bridesmaids' dresses? If BM dresses, I'm getting mine online from J.Crew and they ship to Canada. I got my wedding dress in a bridal salon, so I'm no help there.

That dress is soooo pretty!! Wow. My BM dresses are about $250, which is about what I've paid for BM's dresses in the past. It all depends on the budget though.

So my shoes came in today, and I LOVE them!!! The store was out of my size when I found them, so they had to order them in for me. It took about a week for them to come, and I was dying to try them on again. I was also starting to get worried because a few of my friends had said they thought the shoes looked a little high all day. After a week, I couldn't quite remember, so I was starting to panic. Then they called to say they were in! As soon as I put them on, I knew they would be fine. They're not nearly as high as I was thinking, and the heel is placed so that they're SUPER comfortable. I can't wait to wear them!!!

I'm a corporate lawyer. Until about a year ago, I worked for a big law firm and the hours were ridiculous. I had no life! I left to take a job as Corporate Counsel for a large Canadian energy company, and have since been appointed Corporate Secretary as well. I love my job!

I found my veil on the weekend. I thought I wanted a really simple one, but then I tried on this mantilla... It was so beautiful, and it just seemed to change my dress completely (in a good way!). http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/h...IMG_0142-1.jpg http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/h...IMG_0146-2.jpg

By the way, for my BM's, I picked out 6 different dresses that I liked on the J. Crew website, and just told them to pick whichever one they each like best in my colour. I figure, as long as they're the same colour, it really doesn't make that much difference if they're exactly the same dress or not. It's probably too late to be ordering from any website at this point, but maybe you could just have them each pick a dress they like in your colour and of a similar length?

I'm sorry to hear that you're having this stress, especially so late in the game! I have to agree though, that you should probably try to find dresses that they're more comfortable in. If they feel uncomfortable, it's going to show in the pictures, not to mention the fact that it could impact your friendship! I agree that BCBG would be a great place to look, especially with their sale on right now. I was in one of the Calgary stores the other day, and they had tonnes of really cute dresses at pretty decent prices. It's worth at least checking out! I was actually thinking about ducking in there again and picking up a couple of dresses for when I'm in Maui for my DW (always looking for another reason to go shopping, ha ha).

Quote: Originally Posted by BeachBride5 Hi girls The make up artist that I have is Jessica Waite....everyone who has had her speaks very highly of her work, and the hairdresser that I have is Dan Sanchez....too be honest with you, I don't know anyone who hasn't used them! They are sooo good that you have to book way in advance! Just thought you would like too know, as I have researched this topic for almost 1 year!!!! Best Wishes BB5 Thank you so much BB5! I think I'll see if I can get them. Again, thanks so much! I'd prefer not to have to do my own makeup, if I can find someone really good. Cross your fingers that I'll be able to get them...

Thank you so much BB5! I think I'll see if I can get them. Again, thanks so much! I'd prefer not to have to do my own makeup, if I can find someone really good. Cross your fingers that I'll be able to get them...

Welcome Melissa! I see you're from Calgary too. I can't believe how many of us there are on this forum!