Amarillis

FANTASTIC!!!!! :wave: I was looking for these, and couldn't find anything in a reasonable price range! Great work and Great Idea!!! I am SO stealing it from you!

I gave my MOH and BM a nice card and diamond earrings. It seems over the top, but my BM did something similar for her wedding - pearl necklaces. The card read "because you've added so much sparkle in my life, i'll need your help as I make the big change from ME to WE." They both cried! My MOH and BM are the Best!

Happy Birthday Girl!!! Hope you have a good one! Cheers!

We are doing one bag per couple, and one bag for singles, and a bag for each child. Now that I read this post, I am torn up on the single bags... should they be gender specific?

Great Review! Thanks for sharing! The flowers look amazing!

awesome job girl!!!! Your skills are amazing. I am so impressed!

Those are fantastic... I love the idea - as for the program, if you don't have a lot to write, maybe you could attach it on a ribbon off the handle in a nice green paper to match the orchids... just a thought. This way the guests could easily remove the program.

super cute! you guys are too adorable~!

hmm, good point... I guess I should post the same in the Cuba pages. I do hope that someone has an answer though... :S

I am wondering if anyone who has been legally married in Cuba has personalized their ceremony... is this allowed? I am in the process now of thinking a lot about the ceremony and have been looking at some choices for readings, a hand ceremony (which I love the idea of), and blessings to be had at the ceremony... when it dawned on me... IS THIS ALLOWED ?? what was your ceremony like, or has your resort told you what to expect? Thanks A. I ask this because we'd like to really personalize the ceremony

YAY for progress! That is fantastic news... good luck with the rest!

That is the best idea ever... I hope you find it a compliment that I am stealing your idea. Our pets are our kids, and this is a fantastic way to incorporate them in the wedding.

Holy Crows Girl... you look amazing!!! You are so brave!

those are fantastic!!!!

The Barcelo is amazing - I posted a review on the boards. It really is a great resort and in comparision to the ones we checked out was definately the best. we saw: 1. Melia Las Antillas - which was our first pick - but they are going to be an adults only resort in 2009 2. Barcelo Marina Palace - 2nd pick and the one that we are going to 3. Sirenas La Salinas - originally our first pick... until we visited - not a good choice at all 4. Breezes Bella Costa - really it is more like a 3 than a 4 star... not quite what we were looking for - but affordable We have stayed at: Playa D'Oro - again, classified as a 4 star... nice for vacay, not good enuf for a wedding Cuatro Palmas - not for a wedding. but an awesome time nonetheless - great for a cheap vacay where you can spend a ton of time down town Barcelo Solymar - not a bad choice for a wedding but this place didn't have that pizazz that we were looking for - but would be an awesome choice for an adult crowd looking for a great party.

Your pics are great... looks like you had an amazing time - you looked gorgeous!

I thanks for the congrats. I fixed the photos. /A.

Thanks for all the kind words - I really like all the advice I have found thus far!

I agree... one per couple - unless they are single or children... singles and children will get thier own.

Definately a steal of a deal!

Wow.. everything looks amazing I love those totes and your logo...Great work!

Every November we attend the a Corporate Event in Montreal with FI's parents. In retrospect, the ride to Montreal was a wee bit strange, FMIL was rather quiet and FFIL was incredibly overprotective of his suitcase. On Thursday November 8, 2007, FI and I went shopping and had planned to meet his parents in Old Montreal at Les 3 Brasseurs for drinks in the afternoon. After an afternoon of shopping we headed up to our room to drop off our purchases and pick up our gloves and scarves for our trek to the pub. Upon arrival to our room, FI announced that his beer was getting warm and said he was going to the ice machine. As I waited for him to return I was fumbling about, reading the instructions on how to use the coffee machine. When I next looked up I saw him struggling to open a bottle of special wine that we had been saving since the first time we went on a trip together. I was very confused, and began to lecture "you can't open that - we are saving that for a special occasion - it is 2:00 in the afternoon - you can't open that!" FI was absolutely silent, continuing to walk toward me, saying nothing. As he stood before me, I watched him open the wine and I could hear his breathing, almost hyperventilating. I asked if he was ok and did not receive a response. Then without saying a word he pulled my ring from his pocket. It was then my turn to hyperventilate, crying and hyperventilation, mascara running down my face. I must have been a vision of beauty. Obviously I said yes, and with a bottle of (1995 Faustino Grand Reserva - Rioja) wine we toasted the happiest moment of our lives

When my FI and I were in Cuba for our "research" trip (February 200 we were at the wine cave in Parc Josone, along with a table full of Canadian's (about 12). Chad struck up a conversation with them and learned that they weren't all canadian, 3 of them were Cuban. The Canadians had been life long friends with the Cubans. Chad iterated to them that we were interested in seeing Havana. At this point one of the Canadians (Rob) piped up and said that we should rent a car and have his Cuban friend Roly (a Cuban professional photographer and videographer) take us. We chatted and drank with this crowd for the balance of the evening. On Sunday of our vacay, we went to Havana with met with Roly and he offered us an "early wedding present", pictures of the two of us all over Havana! (I also think he was trying to sell his services for our wedding). Later the same day he shared with us a CD of photos and videos from weddings he had previously shot. They were really quite good. If you wanna see examples of Roly's work, check out our wed-site Chad & Amy - wedding website by mywedding.com - in the photo gallery of our travels - photos #8 and #9 were taken by Roly. I recently looked into Roly's prices for another girl on another board and below is the response I received from Roly's daughter Maureen. ...This is a message from my father: --------Hi my friend!!! I´m sorry I have not be able to check my email. Did you print the pictures of Havana tour? The price of the video is 200 CUC and it includes 2 DVD in the color system that you prefer. The photo 5 X 7 inches are 3 CUC each plus a free copy in CD if they buy 60 or more. I need to know the hotel because some of them have contract with diferent companies and use their own personal. All the best, Roly. ------------- cell phone of my father is 52950757, if they want to call him from Varadero. So essentially the price for a CD of your wedding photos - with 60 print outs is $180 and the video is $200 - by format he means he'll format it for the country you are from - where some countries use a different DVD format. I would strongly suggest calling him, he really does do nice work - and for a very good price, you'll be hard pressed to get that offer at the hotel. Plus I know that the quality is good. We are taking our own photographer for our wedding and Roly, his daughter Maureen, her husband Yasser and their new baby (due Sept.) will be joining us our wedding as our guests. If anyone requires further info or is interested in seeing MORE pictures from our day in Havana with Roly, PM me. I would love to see him receive more business from Canadians! He is a great guy and a wonderful friend.

Hey Ladies, In early February 2008 we went on a research trip in hopes of finding the perfect wedding location. While we were there we checked out 3 resorts - I couldn't decide whether or not to post this in the reviews section - it technically is research. This resort is HUGE! And by huge I mean this is a detriment to the resort. On most sites it is classified as a 4.5* This was initially our first choice for our wedding as it is brand new, circa November of 2007. We had made an appointment with the wedding coordinator at the resort. When we arrived, she was unable to leave her post and could not tour us around the resort. This was very disappointing. She also reviewed the wedding packages offered by the resort, and although she had sent us two options, upon arrival she presented only the cheaper package, as previous brides had complained about the second more expensive package. Beach: This resort is at the near the end of the peninsula, the beach is mediocre, not the expected pristine white sand beaches of Varadero that one would expect, there are a lot of little stones all over the beach. Although the beach is nice, it is at least a 2km walk from the lobby. Rooms: Since we didn’t have a tour guide we were unable to see the rooms. Food: Because of the timing of our visit the only food location that was open was the snack bar – typical hotdogs, hamburgers and fries. Pools: The pool areas are very nice, very clean and have HUGE waterslide, and an amazing cave bar swim up bar. Grounds: This was quite dismal, being a new resort much of the foliage has not had a chance to develop. There were many dead trees, indicative of transplanting gone wrong. The landscaping surrounding their wedding gazebo was dismal, and in the background there were cranes and machinery working on a new resort. This resort really was humungous, and although we had an appointment with the wedding coordinator she couldn’t accommodate us. We really did think that this would be the resort for our wedding, and in the end we were really disappointed. This would be a great place for a getaway – but definitely not the place for a wedding. In the end, this is not our choice for the wedding, but I do have the wedding packages and offerings in my filing cabinet. If you are interested in seeing them PM me and I’ll send them your way.

Hey Ladies, In early February 2008 we went on a research trip in hopes of finding the perfect wedding location. While we were there we checked out 3 resorts - I couldn't decide whether or not to post this in the reviews section - it technically is research. Melia Las Antillas, this resort is really nice, and thanks to Megan Crouse at Megan's Brides by Oceans Travel we gave it a chance, On most sites it is classified as a 4.5*. It was previously a ‘Beaches’ resort and under this banner they hosted many weddings, under the ‘Melia’ banner, the number of weddings has decreased due to the lack of name recognition. Upon arrival at the resort we did not have an appointment to meet with the wedding coordinator; it was our wonderful luck that upon arrival the wedding coordinator was able to meet with us right away. Her name is Kandy and she speaks perfect English. She was elated to show us the property. Beach: This resort is at the near middle of the peninsula, and the beach is exactly what you would expect for Varadero – they have the pristine white sand beaches that one would expect. Rooms: This is an all-suites hotel and the rooms were gorgeous, all have sitting areas, balconies, and very nice decorations. Food: We toured the buffet, and my FI decided that there was enough selection to accommodate even the pickiest of our friends. Pools: The pool area huge, very nice, very clean and there is a Jacuzzi near the pool. Grounds: The grounds were well kept and there are two wedding gazebos on site. They were well decorated and had nice rod iron white furniture in the surrounding area. There was also a gorgeous area that was very shaded and had many hammocks hanging from the trees. Near by the beach there is also a historic landmark where sugarcane farmers had a kitchen area. This area was incredible and would be great to have champagne and cake at this location. . This was our original choice for our DW - however, at the eleventh hour - they decided that they will not be accepting children at this resort. We have promised 7 neices and nephews that they are coming and thus, we have changed our choice to the Barcelo Marina Palace.