sarafish81

April 2009 Fudgie - April 13, 2009 - Sol Palmeras, Varadero Sarafish (Sara and Jeff) - April 18, 2009, Playa Pesquero, Holguin May 2009 DWbride09 - May 21, 2009 - Sirenis La Salina, Varadero June 2009 Amelia & David - June 18 2009 - Iberostar, Varadero Nov 2009 itsfinallyhere - mid-November 2009 - Sirenis La Salina, Varadero Jan 2010 C & I - January 22, 2010(to be confirmed) - Playa Pesquero Feb 2010 Lori and Travis-February 14th, 2010-Barcelo Marina Palace May 2010 Krista & Josh (K'osh) - May 4, 2010 - Playa Pesquero June 2010 Stephanie&Luke - June 2, 2010 - Melia Las Dunas, Santa Clara Best wishes to all the Cuban brides!!

Good luck with everything Fudgie!! Can't wait to hear how everything went when you get back!

Congratulations!!! I am getting married there April 18 and would be happy to help you with any questions you have about the resort when we get back. Happy planning!!

Thanks! We were going to save the top tier for our first anniversary but I'm told it will get yucky and freezer-burnt if it's stuck in the freezer for a year! So we must eat it this week as we leave on the 13th for our wedding! Nothing like stuffing yourself with cake and then trying to get into a wedding dress LOL

Our wedding group is also on the smaller size. 15 people including us and my MOH's 9 month old (our flower girl!). I'm off searching for sand ceremony stuff this weekend. I think I saw colored sand at Michael's and I bet I could find glassware at the dollar store... Connie, I just saw you posted your after-wedding items for sale! You've got some great stuff; I'm sure it won't take long for you to sell all of it. Plus, paypal is super easy.

This was the cake that my mom's cousin made for my bridal shower. My request: something beachy. It was so beautiful!! EVERYTHING on this cake was edible (shells, rocks, sand) and each tier was a different flavor (top: kahlua and chocolate, middle: vanilla with raspberry filling, bottom: carrot cake). I was blown away! It was the best cake ever!

Hi Carol, I've attached a link to Connie (teacherbride)'s pro pics from Playa Pesquero this past January. Hope this gives you some ideas. The pictures have definitely inspired us and our photographer. Congratulations! Maybe we'll see each other at the resort...I'll be the one in the wedding dress on the 18th LOL http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t36204

Congratulations and welcome, fellow Calgarian! Best of luck with your planning.

Thanks Julie!! Connie actually mentioned that to me awhile back and I've been getting the word out to our guests. It is very strange, though! I usually like to know what time it is. p.s. I love the latest pic of Ella! Such a sweetheart!

Ok ladies!! We leave 2 weeks today and I hope we're ready! I just wanted to confirm that there is an iPod docking station (or whatever you call it) and speakers available for the ceremony/reception. We are downloading songs on to my iPod but may also back them up on to cds just to be safe.

You might want to check out Victoria's Secret. I found a white strapless summer dress from there that I am using for our TTD. It was a reasonable price and the material is quite light (not like my wedding dress) and I think it will work just fine.

Best of luck to all the brides leaving shortly! Hope everyone's day is wonderful and try to remember to enjoy every moment and not to stress (if you can help it)! *oops I thought it didn't post my last one so I re-did it*

Best of luck to all the brides leaving soon!!! I can only imagine how excited you all must be. I can't believe we leave in 19 days.

Congratulations! As everyone has said, this is a great place to gather information. I am getting married in Cuba this April and am happy to help you out with any questions you have.

Marie, I copied this one off of a thread on here awhile ago. Hope it helps! Dear Family and Friends, The waiting is finally over!! Welcome to sun, sand and relaxation…Welcome to (name of resort)! We are both so happy and feel very blessed to be able to have you here at our wedding in (destination). We are especially honoured that you have traveled this far to be a part of our marriage celebration. Many years from now, when we look back on our life and this day, we’ll remember that being surrounded by the family and friends we hold so dearly was the perfect beginning to our life as husband and wife. Each of you are providing us with special memories that we shall treasure forever. We hope you enjoy the “goodies†included in this welcome bag. They are just a small token of our appreciation. Please make the most of your vacation here in (name of destination). We hope the next few days will be as memorable for you as they will be for us. With Love, Bride & Groom

Saturday was my bridal shower hosted by my cousin at my mom's place. FI's mom and sisters live out of town but came in which was awesome since the families have not met yet. Everything was going fine until I started to open gifts. I should mention that we did not register anywhere, and were not looking for gifts at all. Our wedding is VERY small and most people at the shower were not invited to the wedding. I realize that that is not considered proper etiquette, however, my mom really wanted to do a shower for those not invited to the wedding to wish us well, and people wanted to do something for us. So we did end up getting gifts after all and money as well. Anyhow, as I thought was standard practice, I had someone (my cousin in this instance), write down what the gift was on the accompanying card. This makes it easier to write out your thank you cards, does it not? Anyhow, we had a good mix of money and actual gifts. My first "money" gift was from FI's mom. I looked at her and thanked her and passed the card with the money in it to my cousin. A few more cards with money came around and a few more cards with gifts came around and each time, I would hand the card to my cousin to sort out and ensure that I knew which gift came from which person. My cousin would usually hand the card back to me so that people could read the cards, however, it seems that she forgot to hand me my FMIL's card to hand out. My FMIL was very offended and told my FI about it later and how she felt slighted. In my defense, I think there were a few cards that didn't get sent around, and also, my cousin had written the amount of the monetary gift on the card. I thought it was bad taste to pass around a card with the amount of cash written on it....especially in this case where the card right after my FMIL's card contained more money and it could potentially be embarrassing. I talked to my cousin and she said that there were a few cards not passed around but she was kind enough to suggest I blame it on her and say that she wasn't thinking that it would have been better to write cash gifts on a separate piece of paper. So now I am sending out thank you cards and I'm wondering if I should mention it at all? My FI thinks the whole thing is ridiculous but I just feel awful that I offended her when I had no idea what was happening.... I did give her a big hug when she left and thanked her for coming and I'm wondering if a thank you card for her gift will suffice or if I should mention the card issue?

Ok, my ticker is down to days today! -DWandMJ, good call on the teeth whitening; I have to do that too -pick up FI's ring (this weekend) -pick up FI's pants at the alterationist (this weekend) -final dress fitting next weekend -finish playlists for reception -print off welcome notes for OOT bags -finalize vows -print off itineraries for wedding day -bikini wax (so scared, I've never done it before!!) -hair trial in 2 weeks -bridal shower this Saturday! I had my makeup trial at Sephora last night and it was fantastic! I've never gone there before for a makeup application and I loved the fact that it's FREE and there is no pressure to buy anything. Of course, I bought $250 of makeup though!

Yippie!!! Thanks Julie once again for your help...you girls are fantastic!!!!

Thanks Julie - I think she sent that to us already (an excel document?) that we filled out for us and our witnesses and sent back. I will be sure to bring copies to the resort too. I have a binder full of wedding stuff. My wedding bible!

Quote: Originally Posted by Steph158 Unprofessionally, I spend my days on BDW when I should be working. Professionally, I am a paralegal for the Special Litigation Division of the Attorney General's office. My FI was in the Army and then a blackjack dealer for Harrah's casino for 9 years, now that he moved to my state he is going back to school for IT I am a paralegal as well. I work for a large law firm and specialize in corporate filings.

Maybe Julie knows the answer Another question!! Connie, I know you said to expect no appliances to work, but, if you were to plug something in, would you need a transformer? Eek!! I'm a month away!!

Quick question: Do we need our birth certificates for the legal ceremony? Do our witnesses need theirs as well, or are our passports/tourist cards sufficient?

Yes it's all been sorted, finally!! My Winnipeggers are flying to TO on the 13th to overnight it and then will be on their way to Cuba on the 14th. Our Edmonton peeps are coming to Calgary and then flying out with us on the 13th. I was kind of looking forward to having a few days before EVERYONE arrives (initially on the 15th), but, I think it will all work out ok! At least everyone got a new flight and actually everyone got a refund of $300-700 by switching dates/airports....I feel like I'm always doing celebratory drinking LOL

Quote: Originally Posted by JulieG Actually, you think that is funny, but we had a guest be the person to deal with the beach gawkers. Just so that there was no speedo people in my pics, a family member asked all the people just standing around to sit down in one of our seats if they wanted to watch the wedding. It worked out perfectly, we have some people we don't know in the seats, but they didn't ruin any pictures So its not a bad idea at all. Seriously though, no one will even notice that there are more seats than people, that is the way it is at all weddings. I say go for it. You know what? I like this idea. I think I'd rather have butts in the seats than banana hammocks in the background LOL

I found this article this morning: CTV Calgary- Smoking-cessation drug under scrutiny - CTV News, Shows and Sports -- Canadian Television