echo2_62

Quote: Originally Posted by *Nadine* What I would do: -Get married at Dreams Resort in Huatulco Mexico -Get married over the holidays so we got to celebrate Christmas and New Years with all our friends and family -Put together OOT bags and welcome letters for everyone-they really appreciated them, plus it made it easy to find people! -Give everyone travel mugs -again, huge rave from the guests -Have a low key rehearsal and rehearsal dinner -Have my sister spend the night with me, was nice to just hang out with her the night before -Write our own ceremony script and vows. It made it really personal and our guests really enjoyed it -Bring an IPOD for the reception instead of having a DJ -Have a big wedding party. We got to include all the people we wanted even though it was large but it was perfect -Do a day after session with our photographer -Switched resorts for our honeymoon What I wouldn't do -Give guests a year and a half notice. It really didnt make a different -Get bouquets from the resort. we should have just went into town and bought and made them ourselves for a fraction of the price. Plus then they wouldn't have been late! -Book a travel agent who didn't live in our city. NEVER again will I book a travel agent outside of Calgary I think thats it! Thanks Nadine! I was thinking about going in to town the day before my wedding to buy flowers locally by myself - good to hear that someone else thought that is the way to go!

Dinner favours?!?!?! What dinner favours!??! Hahaha! Yup, check one more off the list of things I'm NOT doing or even thinking about! Hehe, that makes the decision so easy! Next!

Quote: Originally Posted by *Nadine* Yah we didnt tell anyone who came to the wedding. We grabbed two of our close friends in town here who couldn't make the wedding and made a night of it. I found a lady who does it out of her home and we just went there one thursday at 530pm. She was super sweet and nice. I can PM you her details if you want? Then after its done she sends in the stuff to the registry to have the marriage registered so by the time you get back (i think it takes three weeks) it will be all ready and you can go order a marriage certificate etc. ALso, we asked for no vows or anything, just simple and to the point b/c we didnt want it to overshadow what we would call our 'real wedding' in mexico. The whole thing probably took 20-30min. I thought we could just go to the courthouse and do it but I guess alberta changed that a couple yaers back so now you have to find a commisioner. I would love if you could send me her contact info! We also wanted to do the courthouse thing and actually considered going to another province (since we have family in MB and ON anyways) but it would just be more hassle in the end. We were thinking of having our legal ceremony afterwards to avoid ruining the "real wedding" feeling. Figured that if mexico was the very first wedding process we did that it would feel more like the real one. Did you end up feeling that it ruined anything, or was it just like filling out any other paperwork beforehand?

Quote: Originally Posted by *Nadine* I did a tequila shot with my dad right before we walked down. We did our rehearsal in our bathing suits/cover ups cause we jsut went over to the site from the pool in the middle of the dya, then went back to the pool, so easy. Are you having a legal ceremoney? We had a symbolic one and wrote our own ceremonY (well we found one online that we liked, another bdw'er used it too) so it was fast, simple, personal and we just inserted our own vows. The whole ceremony was maybe 5-7 min. We didnt do readings, sand ceremony, or anything, we just wanted it simple. I have the script if you want me to email it to you, unless of cours eyour doing a legal ceremony Nadine - first off you have SUCH a nice tan and I can't wait for that part You look beautiful! What you described from your wedding sounds exactly like what I want for ours! nothing fancy, straight and to the point. I'm not having my dad walk me down the aisle even but I would LOVE to do a shot with him right before everything starts! That's awesome! We're doing a symbolic wedding as well but the only single person who knows is my sister who is my MOH. I have to ask, what did you do for the legal ceremony? Was it any big thing or just getting the paperwork done more or less? Also, who did you use and did you like them? We haven't even booked someone yet and I was realizing that I should do that soon!

Way to go Michele!!

vistaprint tip - if you save the email that has the free offer, you can usually come back to it later on (even if a newer email doesn't have the same offer and you have to pay) and still get the free item! It took me a while to catch on to this but it seems to hold up pretty true. And I had decided a while back (sadly when I was organizing and cleaning under my stairs during christmas!) that once I get all my RSVP's in and have my OOT bags ready to go, then they're getting packed early so that I can get my brain to forget about them already. I am the kind of person that even with lists and everything to keep me organized, if I know that I have lots of things to do then I freak out. But if I can know that a task is COMPLETELY finished and taken care of then I'm able to forget about it altogether until it comes time to leave for my trip! As for FI packing, well, he sucks at it! Either that or I'm just OCD about it! If I am not 100% sure that he has everything then I start double checking everything. So now his responsibility is to get all his clothes out on the bed ready to go - and I take care of everything else! All his packing gets done for him. Should be interesting when it comes time to pack for the wedding!!

Tracy I think you'd be surprised how responsive most people are to getting told what to do in training. From my experience anyways. One of the things that my trainer picked up on quickly is that I've got obvious weakness in my hips (especially the left side) and lower back on the left, which is still from my car accident from a year ago. It was kind of surprising to feel the difference between my right and left side just through a couple little exercises that he tested me on. And I think for you since you'd been laid up for so long when you were sick, your body would probably be a little in shock but also really welcoming to the workout. Maybe something to consider for the future anyways, even if it's not right now. But yes, I'm definitely excited to get going on it but I think I'll avoid the before and after photos. I'd be more worried about not noticing the difference for myself even if other people said they could tell.

Quote: Originally Posted by kris Hello Ladies! Hows everyones planning coming? I am officially leaving for Jamaica in 14 days!!!! Eeeek..and yay So I never really worried about anything until now when I realized I have NO IDEA what to do at a wedding ceremony...does someone guide you, like who do you give the rings to for example...Im freaking out a little bit haha...HELP!!! Nadine, your wedding looked beautiful by the way, I hope you had an amazing time. Atleast you came back to decent weather here so it's not as depressing Okay so normally if you had a rehearsal they would walk you through everything so you know what to expect, and I would guess that your WC will fill in some of the blanks for you but here's the quick and dirty the way I know it from local weddings.... Guests seated. Groom & guys at the front with judge/minister. Girls prepare behind the scenes. Music/WC cue for BM's to start down the aisle/path/beach. Bride follows and is given away. (I've heard that most WC's will have a couple staff helping them out so I'd guess one of them will be telling you all when to go). Judge starts ceremony with intros/welcomes etc. Any readings go in around this time and the judge would ask each person to come up. Typically arranged with the WC ahead of time and they pass it on (so I've been told!) When it comes time for you to face FI to say your vows, pass your bouquet to the MOH. Typically unless you have a ring bearer then best man will be the one with the rings. Give them to him in the morning of course! Judge should ask the rings to be presented. (And don't panic if you're like my family and the rings get forgotten in the bedroom haha!!). I'm sure a sand pouring would go in around here and all the signing of the documents to follow. Bride and groom back up the aisle followed by wedding party. Hahaha okay so I'm not quite sure if it was those kind of details you were looking for or not but that's what I thought of from the top of my head. I'm sure the girls who have actually had their ceremony can reply better. I've done a few local weddings pretty recently so some of it is fresh in my mind. If there are certain parts you aren't sure about then I know we can get those details filled in for you too! And I'm so jealous for you leaving in just a couple short weeks!!!

Okay so it's official - I'm signed up for personal training and have my first full session on Monday, then Wednesday next week! We're going to do 2x a week for a few weeks to get me started and then go to 1x/wk after that with the addition of my own workouts at home and a class in the gym! Yikes!! But I'd told the trainer right off the bat that my short term goal was for the wedding in April and he sounded positive that if I'm into the workouts 3x/wk until then, I should be seeing results at least as far as toning goes. And I'm happy with that idea! Michele - how are you doing with training lately? Do you find that you're still sore in the day or two after your workouts or is your body adapting?

Oh well there you go then! Admittedly I don't think anyone would argue for having the sunset all around them during the ceremony

Quote: Originally Posted by ebredhawk i agree with kim on everything... i'm not doing any of that stuff either. it's a DW so all bets are off. it's hard to predict how things are going to be set up at most places and i'd have to make up the list of what everyone's room number is once we get down there since we won't know before (which does not sound appealing to me!). i'm attempting to go as low-stress as possible, but we'll see how that turns out! I like your comment that all bets are off! So good to know that I'm not the only one who didn't want to do any sort of seating arrangement. I think the only concept I had of how tables etc would be set up is in my head! I want to request that tables only seat 8 people because I find anymore than that is typically too crowded. And even that way we'll only have five tables max based on the numbers right now so it's no big deal. Quote: Originally Posted by Melidell I don't think it's in bad taste to leave this out at all! People will figure it out and just sit where they want if you don't bother with it- and that's not a bad thing. I also wanted to seat the BM's girlfriend with him at the head table because she won't really know anyone else and I figured seating a couple apart from each other is kind of crappy anyway. I'm stopping at this and favours for decorations, though, I'm not bringing any centerpieces, chair sashes or anything like that down with me. The placecards/ place card holders are small and light so they're easily portable and wont be a big deal to pack. Plus they're pretty It's nice of you to consider the BMn's girlfriend who won't know many people. That always seems to be a tricky part when it comes to seating for sure. And you can laugh at my concept of decorations to bring. I have chair sashes (that I got used for a wicked price and more than double the number I need so we're using them for ANYthing and EVERYthing - including my stagette!), strings of purple lights (like christmas lights but were on sale at halloween), and waterproof LED lights with floral gelly to put in some type of glass or vase TBD when I get to the resort. Aaaaaand that's it! Aside from those couple things, I don't have anything else and I'm totally okay with it. Quote: Originally Posted by caribbeanLover I thought it was a good idea the brochure too until I realized how much hassle it's becoming since it'll have to be a last minute thing. Yes I got more people confirmed!! (before I only had my parents booked and a friend booked.. no one else has booked.. just confirmed) I think that if you've got people confirmed to go, then just make up your brochure with Vistaprint about a month before the wedding and since they only take a week or two for delivery then at least all your design and everything will be ready to go and you just have to click on the Order button. That might help take some of the stress out of it being more last minute?! Quote: Originally Posted by Melidell So, I've been having some thoughts about this, too. If I were to order favours now, and my numbers go up more than I'm anticipating, could I do one favour per couple? I'm leaning towards mini photo albums right now and technically couples who live together wouldn't need two.... is this tacky or practical/ reasonable? This seems like common sense to me but for all I know I'd be breaking some major etiquette law or something...sigh. Any opinions? Letting the last minute people go without is pretty tempting, too! I think that one photo album per couple is totally fine, especially since you're going to have your pretty placecards to put out still! I'd done the same thing with buying some of my OOT bag items. I bought about 34 (weird # I know) of some things because if we ended up with our max. no. of guests at around 50 then I could do one per couple and one per single, OR if we ended up with 34 or less guests then everyone could have their own! It's seemed to work pretty well so go for it! As for etiquette - I think that people who RSVP late (or not at all) and then still book and except all the same treatment are the ones breaking etiquette rules, not you! I mean, you could still make a small OOT bag for them but for items like mugs or towels that need to be ordered ahead of time then too bad! You have RSVP deadlines for a reason!

SassyCass - good to hear that you're all booked for DPA! I'm not sure how much later in the day you wanted to have your wedding, but you may want to ask around and find out what time the sun starts setting at that time of year. That might play a role in why the standard time they book is at 3pm?? I'm not really sure but it's a thought. We're having our ceremony at 3pm, doing pictures for a couple of hours while our guests have cocktails and then reception at 5:30 or 6pm. We figured this way everything will flow into the evening well and we won't be rushed or have to keep to a time schedule at all.

I found them in the main Wedding aisle just where they've got the Bride & Groom baggage tags, makeup bags that have 'Bride' and 'Bridesmaid' on them (black and ivory satin type bags) and a couple of those sorts of items. Honestly I missed them the first time around and when I found them on the second pass I realized I'd pretty much looked two inches beside them in the first place so they are easy to miss!

Okay since you mentioned it Mel - would it be in bad taste if I DIDN'T plan on making up a seating arrangement for dinner? I've been going back and forth about it because of our group of friends that are coming down with us, most of them are a fairly cohesive bunch that hang out together all the time and those who aren't part of that first group are all part of a second group anyways. So if we sat everyone according to who they know and would be comfortable with, those are the two groups they'd mostly end up sitting in anyways! Agh! I don't know! Tracy - that's a really good idea to use the brochures for adding in everyone's room numbers. Since about a third of our guests are heading down a day earlier than the rest of us, I may have to ask one of my bridesmaids to take something like these down for me to fill out for that part of the group and anyone else whose flight arrives before mine. And seriously, have you had 21 confirmed guests on your counter for a while now?!! Maybe I saw it but wasn't thinking about the number you know? The last I remember was maybe around 10 or so?? Yikes I'm out of it!

Tracy I'm sorry to hear that you're so bummed out about the whole planning part of your wedding right now! I realized the other day that I too am starting to feel a bit of the pressure about everything and that's no fun at all. I think it's because for all my efforts to get things done ahead of time, I still don't feel terribly organized or like I've got a real focus on what needs to be done and when. It just seems like I'm expecting ot get everything done as it comes along which means I'm guaranteed to forget something. I hope that once you're done collecting all your RSVP's it will make things easier for you and you can get back to enjoying the process a little more. Oh and Suzy saw your comment of folding me up pocket-sized and she laughed and agreed that I would be rather convenient if I could travel in that form I got your msg with your postal code so I'll try to get that done soon here. It's a new Grey's Anatomy tonight so admittedly I will likely be watching that and leaving the post office until tomorrow!! I'm sure that you could take one of the bags in to a place that does embroidering and see if they can match the writing on there in order to change one bag to a MOH. I know my mom has done things like that before so I could see if she can give us an idea of where to ask around.

Yes, he did go to the Harry Hays building since we're both at work downtown and he could pop over during the day and miss peak times at lunch easily enough. The online forms you don't actually submit online, you just fill in the spaces and then print it out so I find it's not as bad. Ooh and if you're heading down Macleod on Monday then it might be easy to meet you in or near downtown for an exchange anyways! I'll email you again with some other details

Yay Burlington!

None left at the Calgary Coventry Hills store... I bought the last few

Dee, we did Geoff's passport stuff before the holidays and he went into the office that is in downtown here. I think it ended up being two or three weeks before he got his new passport? I've heard that it's a bit faster if you get your paperwork done online so that it's ready to go. If you need the link I can send it to you!!

Quote: Originally Posted by caribbeanLover ohhh they are perfect! do you have one that says Maid Of Honour by chance?! LOL!!!!!! it sure would mean another vacation (2 weeks) heck I'll even fold up your hubby so you can have company. Sorry I don't have a Maid of Honour one They didn't have them at all when I bought those bags and of course that was a few months ago. But if you're still interested I will find out how much it would be to send them to you. PM your postal code and that should be enough to get an accurate price! And if I could have hubby folded up too then I am TOTALLY in on this magic! Haha!

Oh yah thanks for reminding me Tracy! Here are the pictures I took last weekend for you. And I laughed at your comment about folding me to put in your pocket. If that means an extra vacation for me, I'll start stretching!!!

Holy Michele!! Your numbers jumped AGAIN! Yay for you!! We're still waiting on about six couples and while I'm 99% sure that two of those are not coming, I still felt the need to harass them a little more Tracy - if your spanish pages are smaller you could buy the little 20pg photo albums from the dollar store and insert your stuff in there? Plus, those soft plastic albums usually have front/back covers that you can replace so they would be super easy for you to personalize. And with so few to put together it should take no time at all

dbl post sorry!

Well coming from someone who is doing the OOT bags, I have to say (and hope!) that they're not a waste of time and money! So far I've really only made mention of them to coworkers for their opinion and they all think it's a really neat idea. To others, I referred to them as small welcome bags - kind of like loot bags at a birthday party - and seemed to get a good reception to the idea as well. Maybe your MOH is just thinking that since you have a small number of people going that little items that you might include aren't that big a deal. I say that if it's something you want to be doing to show your appreciate then just go ahead with it! If she continues to be negative, then thank her for her opinion and just let it go from your mind. Don't let her ruin your fun! As for the RSVP reminders, I also had just a few so I hand wrote my post cards to everyone (hahaha and then forgot to add my stickers with our website and email address!). The wording on each was very slightly different but in general said "Just a quick note to remind you that the RSVP date - January 31, 2010 - for our wedding is quickly approaching. While you don't need to be booked by this date, we ask that you please let us know if you'll be able to join us or not. Hope to see you there!" The postcards should all have reached their destinations by now although I haven't heard any confirmation of that yet. Of the handful of people that we're still waiting on, pretty much everyone has *some* way to reach us even if not through the wedding website or our email so it's just a waiting game. After Jan.31 I'm just assuming that anyone I haven't heard from is not coming.

Yah if you don't mind the extra stuff to take down with you then that's totally great that you have an option! And then you know for sure it would look exactly the way that you want it to!