echo2_62

Thanks Shan & Erin! The funny thing is, I totally wasn't looking for centre piece ideas when I saw that picture. It was from a website for real-touch flowers and I honestly don't think I'd find it again if I tried LOL! The great thing is that my sister is VERY handy at stuff like that so she's already picked up my thought waves and can run with it better than I ever could!

Suzy - I haven't figured out my bags yet, but after this RIDICULOUS couple of orders that have added on extra money that I didn't know I was spending, I am going to try and stick to a CDN company (like Elmhirst) if possible. I know I'd asked if you had looked here already but I wasn't sure if there were any you liked that we could do a big order on together as well. But if you happen to find a good deal while you're in the States and want to hook me up then I'd love you forever!! HAhaha! I should seriously start taking advantage of of US friends at this point. I'm definitely considering that for my mugs now. And you know what the funny thing about the centre pieces is... I'd been going a totally different route for them (ordered some white paper lanterns already!!) and then saw that picture and totally fell in love with that idea instead!! So yay!

Quote: Originally Posted by SuzyQ76 Oh Yeah, let me know what I'm going to owe you!...or I'm I supposed to do that? prob safer and more accurate if you do!! lol...Oh yeah I've never gotten dinged at the door for anything, and I'm an online-order whore!! Prob just jinxed myself ( Don't worry Suzy, I haven't quite gotten the order in yet (still waiting on one person for their numbers) but I'll let you know the prices once I get them. And this is the first time that I've had to pay for anything at the door or at pickup On a separate note, here is a photo of what I want to make for my centrepieces. Except in this picture they have a pink light and mine will be purple. Also, this one uses the 'ice cube' lights that I also liked, but didn't have as long of a battery life, can't be turned on/off etc. (yep, still trying to convince myself that the lights I bought will be worth it, haha!)

Hey Chrissy! Welcome to the DW world! You are guaranteed to find a TON of information on this site and lots of people to help you during your planning. I'm not having my wedding at the same resort, but if you scroll up to the top of this page where it says "welcome chrissik82" you can click on all the threads that have unread posts since you signed up. It will seem overwhelming but you only have to look at the ones you're interested in You'll probably find a thread for you resort there, or you can do a search for it as well. Good luck with all your planning and have fun!!

I LOVE your idea for the photo albums for your welcome info! Could you post more pictures, or details of what you included to fill them up Otherwise, if you would be willing to put together a sample one for me (since I know where to buy the albums themselves) and any info on templates used or how you put it all together then I'd happily buy that from you. And it won't be much for postage on sending one of these to Canada as well. I'm just not sure what time you might have for posting or creating another one Ohhh! I'm all excited for another project now

Quote: Originally Posted by caribbeanLover I went through the same darn thing for my invites, I had ordered them from a USA site. Let me warn you about something, The price that you paid is allot, but when you go pick it up, or the people bring it do your door, they will ask you for more money. You still haven't paid the duty fee!!! which will probably cost you about $25-40 The company I bought the invites from never said anything to do with more money, I called them and said it wasn't up to them to let me know, they wouldn't even know how much it cost!! sooo frustrating, this is why I'm only looking for canada websites to order, tote bags, travel mugs. sorry you had to go through that!!! I really hope the lights are worth it, and you really like them! Ugh what a pain in the ass! I've ordered things from the US before and NEVER had issues like these! And I'm talking snowboarding equipment and clothing running above $500 an order EASILY! What a joke! But I do appreciate the warning at least because I had another package just arriving today and got the UPS notice for the COD amount that I owe At least this one is being split between a few of us that got an order in together!! We've got another big order going in soon as well for advil/immodium etc from a US company so no doubt that will be one that is good to split the costs on too. Stupid US duty taxes.

Hey just a heads up for anyone in the calgary area - i wound up buying a few too many of those mini first aid kits from Dollarama and was wondering if anyone is still in need of some? I have ten extras, and they were $1.25 each. Let me know!!

Thanks everyone - and Suzy you made me laugh which I needed! I have a picture of what I want my centre pieces to look like but of course it's on my home computer so I'll have to attach it later tonight. I showed it to my BM's the other evening and they really liked it so that makes me happy too. We actually had our first official 'meeting' together - bottles of wine included - and got dresses picked out yay! We're getting the flirty convertible dress from Victoria Secret (VS Flirty Convertible Dress) in the blackberry colour and all the girls are excited to see which style they like best. AND, we're totally going to play pranks on our guests too We decided that they could each wear whichever style they liked best for the ceremony and then afterwards, and throughout the afternoon/evening, they're going to randomly change which style they have on - except when they do that all three girls will change into the same style. So we're going to do some test runs to make sure that the material under an armpit for one style doesn't end up across the boobs in another style. Deodorant stains wouldn't be so flattering!! Plus we got them on sale for an extra 20% off.

Well my additional two cents is - try having FI's parents say things like that to you even AFTER his brother and SIL had a destination wedding nearly three years ago and their whole family LOVED it and thought it was such a WONDERFUL idea!!!! We thought we would have all the support in the world from his parents but when we first announced the dates we were looking at, the first thing his mom started commenting on was that so-and-so was an important family member and couldn't make it, plus the weather would be too hot for grandparents and well, maybe if it wasn't going to work then we should have it locally where it would be MORE ACCOMMODATING FOR EVERYONE ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me?! Now I was never the little girl who dreamed of her fantasy wedding while growing up (far, far from that!!) but I don't think part of that fantasy would have involved planning my dream day around a time that is more accommodating for everybody else! Plus, of course she was only taking into consideration her OWN family, not even knowing that at the time my own parents didn't even think they could afford to come but were willing to sacrifice their attendance if I was doing what would make me happy. Anyways, that setback has come and gone and we still ended up booking the dates that WE wanted and worked best OVERALL for all our guests, not just his family. Oh and my own parents surprised me and were some of the first to book their trip! After our whole ordeal FI's mom still asked if we'd be willing to do a family dinner so that everyone not invited could feel included, and we still haven't agreed to it because neither myself or FI wanted any sort of event here at home (and dinner with his family means a 12hr drive each direction so it's not like we can just do it over a weekend). Basically if having your parents attend the actual ceremony may be critical to you then changing your location so that they can come is completely reasonable as long as you are okay with it. However it sounds like it's also other family members that are feeling put out despite the fact that you're having an AHR with all of them. If that's the case then you just have to weigh out how important their attendance is to you against how badly you want to do a DW. I count myself lucky to have friends that are up for any reason to go on vacation so I hope that your friends and other family members realize that you're doing this because it's what makes you and FI happy, and they shouldn't feel guilty or make you feel guilty because they can't go! And perhaps if you're having the AHR already, you could promise to have a dvd of your wedding to show everyone there - or even make enough copies for everyone to take home as a gift?! I have even heard of some couples doing a more playful mock-up of their ceremony so that their guests can feel a part of the event. Just try to remember that you still have options. In the end, you are the ones who will remember this for the rest of your lives and if making other people feel better now isn't going to matter so much in ten years anyways then maybe that's not the right decision for you. Talk to the people whose attendance really matters and go from there.

Well my additional two cents is - try having FI's parents say things like that to you even AFTER his brother and SIL had a destination wedding nearly three years ago and their whole family LOVED it and thought it was such a WONDERFUL idea!!!! We thought we would have all the support in the world from his parents but when we first announced the dates we were looking at, the first thing his mom started commenting on was that so-and-so was an important family member and couldn't make it, plus the weather would be too hot for grandparents and well, maybe if it wasn't going to work then we should have it locally where it would be MORE ACCOMMODATING FOR EVERYONE ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me?! Now I was never the little girl who dreamed of her fantasy wedding while growing up (far, far from that!!) but I don't think part of that fantasy would have involved planning my dream day around a time that is more accommodating for everybody else! Plus, of course she was only taking into consideration her OWN family, not even knowing that at the time my own parents didn't even think they could afford to come but were willing to sacrifice their attendance if I was doing what would make me happy. Anyways, that setback has come and gone and we still ended up booking the dates that WE wanted and worked best OVERALL for all our guests, not just his family. Oh and my own parents surprised me and were some of the first to book their trip! After our whole ordeal FI's mom still asked if we'd be willing to do a family dinner so that everyone not invited could feel included, and we still haven't agreed to it because neither myself or FI wanted any sort of event here at home (and dinner with his family means a 12hr drive each direction so it's not like we can just do it over a weekend). Basically if having your parents attend the actual ceremony may be critical to you then changing your location so that they can come is completely reasonable as long as you are okay with it. However it sounds like it's also other family members that are feeling put out despite the fact that you're having an AHR with all of them. If that's the case then you just have to weigh out how important their attendance is to you against how badly you want to do a DW. I count myself lucky to have friends that are up for any reason to go on vacation so I hope that your friends and other family members realize that you're doing this because it's what makes you and FI happy, and they shouldn't feel guilty or make you feel guilty because they can't go! And perhaps if you're having the AHR already, you could promise to have a dvd of your wedding to show everyone there - or even make enough copies for everyone to take home as a gift?! I have even heard of some couples doing a more playful mock-up of their ceremony so that their guests can feel a part of the event. Just try to remember that you still have options. In the end, you are the ones who will remember this for the rest of your lives and if making other people feel better now isn't going to matter so much in ten years anyways then maybe that's not the right decision for you. Talk to the people whose attendance really matters and go from there.

We don't even have the option of going to city hall or the court house to get married here! It has to be either a religious clergy or a certified marriage commisioner here in Alberta. And we're not having an AHR so that's not an option for us as well! However we're still not planning to tell our guests because we don't want them to feel ripped off. Plus we are probably doing it after the wedding anyways. Haha, although I did already let slip to my sister that it wasn't our legal ceremony we're doing in mexico, but thankfully she's probably the first person I'd call as a witness anyways so no big deal!

Just writing to vent for a few moments so please bear with me... I was really excited last week to have made some headway with what I wanted to do for my centre pieces. So I went ahead and purchased some submersible lights from Floral Supply and had chosen these over the light ice cubes because they are longer lasting and have replaceable batteries which made up for the additional cost (over the ice cubes). Of course like a day after I put in my order I found the same lights a bit cheaper on another website but figured the difference wasn't too bad - less than $10 I think. So today I was checking my credit card statement to see if these lights had even been shipped because I was having troubles tracking them online and I found out that rather than the $74 purchase that I thought would have been charged, it was actually $88!!!!!! So I emailed the company to find out why there was such a large difference, especially considering that their website states they would give notice of any difference in price prior to shipping. The only reply that I got was "if I'd read the shipping notes on the website" I would have seen that the shipping to Canada has to be manually calculated when the item is sent and the company is not in control of duty charges. No comment was made as to why I didn't receive any notice of what cost I was actually being charged for. I even wrote back to the company and said that to avoid confusion and frustration for their customers, they might want to be more clear about the calculation of their prices - ie. don't allow a total cost to be calculated on the first invoice or only allow CDN purchases over the phone. Haha, and I also told them that this was one case where my purchased items were definitely NOT worth the shipping and taxes, or the headache that this is now giving me. And now because my purchase is already in transit, I'm basically stuck with the duty and tax costs, even if I wanted to cancel or return my order. And sadly, that order was for just twenty lights So I'm just hoping that these lights end up being AWESOME and are worth every penny that I'm paying for them. They had better look INCREDIBLE and make every single guest comment on them. LOL, okay that's asking a little much I know... but it would make me feel better. Ugh, sorry for the rant ladies... i needed to get it out of my system.

Quote: Originally Posted by hollym My fiance works at a law firm and knows someone who can legally marry us so we're doing it over a fancy dinner with two witnesses before our DW. I didn't like the idea of doing it at the ugly courthouse so this is perfect for us. That's great that your FI knows someone who can do the legal part for you! I wish we had that option here I've barely even thought about this part to be honest! I know it's something that needs to be done but I like all the fun part of planning the rest of our wedding!

Erica, where did you get your bags?? They are super cute!!! While I haven't figured out how yet, I'm trying to think o fsomething i could do so that I can hand my bags out ahead of time, but they'd be wrapped and have to be kept closed until our trip... Not sure if it's going to work yet though

Erica, where did you get your bags?? They are super cute!!! While I haven't figured out how yet, I'm trying to think o fsomething i could do so that I can hand my bags out ahead of time, but they'd be wrapped and have to be kept closed until our trip... Not sure if it's going to work yet though

Quote: Originally Posted by caribbeanLover LOL that is exactly what my FI says, if I mention anything to do with wedding and having to buy things, or add on's 'How much will it cost' that's how he gets involved! LOL! My FI is the same way! It's totally about the money to him. Oh man, if only he knew the things I was doing BUT (and that's a big but!) I do have some leeway with him because I've made a point of telling him about the good deals I've gotten so far, and how much we saved by me making the invites etc. so when he knows I've been out shopping he doesn't get as nervous as some other guys might. When we get to mexico, he's going to wonder where the heck all our decorations came from!!! Quote: Originally Posted by Melidell I think we're going to spend the night together the night before the wedding. I like the tradition of sleeping separately but we've been living together for so long now that neither of us sleep that well without the other and I want us to get lots of rest for the big day. I really don't want him to see me in my dress or anything until I get down the aisle, though! He hasn't seen my dress, either, not even a pic so it'll be a nice surprise. I have to agree with you that for the most part FI and I don't sleep that well if the other isn't there. Now this is going to sound a little weird, but I think it'll be a little easier for us to be in different rooms for the night because we're probably just going to do a trade with another couple who are part of our wedding party. It makes me giggle because the guys will get to share a king size bed for the night, but for me it should be enough just having another body in the bed, even if it is my girlfriend and not FI! HAHA! Our wedding is at 3pm so I won't have to wait until later in the evening at least, but I'm going to need to keep myself busy so that I don't go crazy!! Quote: Originally Posted by SuzyQ76 Yay Congrats!! I really didn't do my research because I didn't do a preliminary rsvp and I put Feb 2010! I have received a few though...and a lot of people have booked already so I know some will be coming! lol I am sooooooo kicking his butt out of our room the night before nuptials! and mostly not because of tradition... My FI's a crowder, roller, sleep talking hugger and I'm a need space and need to be able to breath sleeper - So the night before my wedding may just be the best nights sleep I'll ever get for the rest of my life, lol!! OH I can't wait for a little slice of HEAVEN!!! Hahaha, FI is definitely the same way! We have constant struggles over the blankets which he rolls himself up into. Usually he gets 2/3 of the bed and I have to share the other 1/3 with our dog and/or cat all night! I sleep pretty well still - like I could make the bed at night and it would look almost the same in the morning except for hte exact spot I was still in Don't worry Suzy, I put Jan.31 2010 for our final RSVP date. I had hoped it would be into the new year enough for everyone to know their vacation schedules well enough but also give me time to finish up any ordering that I need to do. I think you'll be okay having two months before your wedding, but maybe just make sure to send out reminders in early January to give people a few weeks reminder before the real deadline. Quote: Originally Posted by jerseykitten We have a King bed - we go to sleep next to each other and when we wake up sometimes it's like we are 2 miles away from each other! as for RSVPs - I haven't gotten one in over a week - I sent out 29 and got back 4!!!! But, the good news is that my TA is going to contact all of my guests to see if they are coming and to see if she can get them to book on the phone with her! YAY!!!!! I totally want a king size bed! And specifically the one FI and I had in our room during our last vacation to mexico!!! It was THE greatest bed EVER. I'm on board with suzy about being excited for that!! I think it's a really good idea to have your wedding coordinator contact your guests and try to get them to commit one way or another, even if they don't end up booking right away. It takes some of the stress off you and then your guests won't feel like it's you that is pressuring them either! We honestly haven't gotten any more RSVP's since we first booked and had some of our close friends jump on board. AND we even got a wedding invite for New Years that we have to RSVP for by Nov.1 and those friends haven't RSVP'd for us yet! Too much overlap right now I guess?!?!

Quote: Originally Posted by mwcfarms I think I am still good. Oh you are going to love Punta Cana, its on the white beach side of the island. I mean Puerto Plata was nice but the beaches were nicer in pUnta cana I thought. Good luck with your wedding. Hey Dee, I just came back to this thread and although I'm still not 100% sure if i can make it up there, I'll totally try to work it out if our fans and stuff have come in. Maybe we can kind of make it our goal to get through some of the ideas we've been throwing back and forth! Let me know what you think!

Hey Megs - I'm a Meghan too! I'd asked a similar question in another thread a while back and from that decided that for the most part I'm going to hand out our OOT bags ahead of time. Most of my guests are flying out of Calgary with us, and FI's birthday is about a week before we go - so I think I'm going to have a birthday party/pre-trip party and give them out then. As for our guests flying out of Winnipeg and Toronto, I'm just going to wait and see what my numbers are to decide if I will send them the bags ahead of time, or just pack them in with my things and hand them out at the resort. We actually have a couple friends heading down a day or so before us, so I might send those extra bags with them and have guests services leave them in the rooms. We're including things like advil and immodium too but I think those items can always be used haha! But we're also putting in little puzzle books etc for the plane ride now that we know we'll be handing them out earlier. Hope that helps!

Well I can't confirm or deny this at all, but I certainly can understand it. I've heard basically the same thing from local marriage commissioners to the extent that you can't be noticeably drunk LOL! Even our local government site says that you cannot be inhibited by drugs or alcohol (not exact wording but something similar). It may have something to do with the Mexican laws around a civil (legal) ceremony. Having said that, I don't think anyone would begrudge you a glass of champagne beforehand, but beware of how much you drink since you're already likely to have enough of a body rush and even a smaller amount of alcohol can have a greater effect, plus taking into consideration the sun and heat.

It's your wedding day and you're playing on the internet?!?! Silly woman!! Haha! We're all very excited for you here and I hope that you have an absolutely wonderful day! Enjoy the time you have left at the resort this week!!

I think it all just depends on how important the different photos are for you! Personally, I didn't care for the pictures of me getting ready and all the lead up, so we didn't book our photographer then. AND I don't even know if we'll have a photog. for the ceremony since I know all our guests will be taking a ton of pictures there anyways! The shots that are important to me are the ones of just FI and I, more like ones that you'd see during a TTD session. To me, those are ones that just can't always be caught offhanded. And again, enough of our guests will be snapping shots during the reception etc so we'll be covered! I don't think that it would look stupid if you're all by yourself in those pictures, if they're something you really want especially! But if you won't be heartbroken about not having them, then perhaps save the time you have with your photog. for something more important to you both.

Quote: Originally Posted by meldal101010 Yeah, I lucked out with them. They also have them in the colors i wanted...chocolate brown/pink so that was an added bonus. This is the dress they picked: Victoria's Secret - Double-layer Bra Top dress I don't know if this link will work or not as i've been trying all morning to hit 150 posts, but hopefully you can see them. They are great for Mexico and the girls will definitley wear them again...Now to find a pair of shoes that match... Mel - I really liked these dresses too!! I'm sitting down with my BM's tonight (one lives out of town but is here for a visit) so that we can go through these. We'd been looking at the loose fit convertible dress otherwise. I'll see what they think though because I'd really rather have them buy something they can wear again - that's why I'm now in love with VS dresses!!! I'm buying all the shoes for both my bm's, FI and the gm from Dessy Accessories and you can have the girls flip-flops custom coloured to match your dresses, or at least accent them in whichever colour you want. There are three calgary bridal stores listed that they work with so you could probably check with one of them to see if they have the colour swatches in store to compare? I don't know that for sure yet though but will have to check myself once we know our dress colours...

Quote: Originally Posted by SuzyQ76 Hey!! I'm checking out the site as well, so maybe we could group order!! lol ...again my only problem is getting everything there unless I mail everything or send it to other people to bring it with them... We really like the tungsten too, but I'm still a little nervous about the whole "vice grip/damaged fingers not able to be cut off" deal. And like I know someone had already mentioned, possibly you Meghan, my FI too is very laid back, lackadaisical really, and doesn't see the rush to pick out his ring, wants it very plain has even gone as far as saying "Do I really need a ring to prove my love to you..." just to see the look on y face of course - he loves to "razz" me! I'm in for a group order! Always! And with all my decorations, I've told my friends here that they'll need to either leave room or be prepared to bring an extra bag. Thankfully a number of my friends have been to mexico before, so they've got packing down to a bag each (max three bags per two people - and really, how much space do bikinis and tank tops use up?!?!) so that will help me a TON! I said that for any bag I packed and made them carry, I'd provide a detailed list of what was included just in case they have issues at customs. But I'll be travelling with most of them too so it shouldn't be a big problem I think. Quote: Originally Posted by Melidell My FI has been pretty relaxed about the whole wedding planning thing too- except for the ring thing, oddly. He was all over picking out a ring, researching the options, and picking out what type he wanted and then where he wanted it from. I didn't even have to nag him about going out ring shopping, and I always have to nag him about shopping. It was strange for him- he was treating it the way he would treat buying a TV or something. I think he was afraid if he left it up to me I'd pick out matching bands or something and they wouldn't be "manly" enough lol! You are SO lucky!!! I just *mentioned* that I had a few rings online that i wanted to show FI tonight and you could visibly see the "oohh, enough already. I don't want to look" expression along with the eyes rolling! He just doesn't get the point of looking now, when it likely only takes a couple weeks to have a ring ordered and we still have six months to do it! I can't seem to make him understand that the more we can get out of the way earlier then the more sane I'll be close to our date!! Quote: Originally Posted by SuzyQ76 But good news for Calgary - Saturday is supposed to be a high of 12 degrees Celsius!!! I think we may hit the corn maze and pick a pumpkin!! Oh and big announcement!!!! THIS IS MY #151 POST!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!! hahahhaha ) Corn maze? What corn maze? Do they allow pets? Details!! And YAY for 151!!! now go open all those documents you've been waiting to get your hands on!

Mel - thanks for mentioning where you ordered FI's ring from! We'd been looking at a few at the mall the other week and seriously I have THE most passive guy EVER when it comes to picking one. And sounds like they're good with service to Canada which is a plus! Maybe some of you can confirm something for me... I thought I had read that unlike titanium, the tungsten rings are more "medically safe" because in case of an accident they can be cut off. Then when I was at a jewellers, the woman working said that they could NOT be cut off, but later as part of a different topic admitted that she was quite new... so I really wasn't sure if she'd just made a mistake and mixed it up with the titanium afterall. Comments?!?! Erin - I am totally going to check out the site for the flowers! I do have a bouquet for myself included in my wedding package but like you said, it can be used for anything I want, and I'd rather my girls and I all have great looking flowers as a group!!

Erin - I love your bouquet!! It's so pretty! Okay and since I can't remember I have to ask - are they real touch flowers that you're using, or did you find a florist in mexico or anything? Tracy - I'd looked at some of the stores around me and either I can't really find flowers I like in my colour AT ALL (the purple flowers they have aren't that fantastic at all) or the others I like make me worry that they'll look too fake. Arg. I'll have to try and find out what options I might have for flowers at the resort before I start stressing.