Jennybell1

Its a DW - so nothing is set in stone. You can do or not do whatever you want. Thats the beauty of it. I dont think anything is expected other then the fact there will be a wedding sometime durind their trip. Do whatever you want to do...and have fun!

Thats a tough one. I guess if I were in your shoes, I too would possibly be resentful of paying for a cab ride from the airport to the hotel when she is able to afford a high end hotel and a vacation afterwards. However in saying that, I think part of this lies in you trying to "throw money" at everyone. I think if you were kind enough to offer it to her, well....it shouldnt affect what you were planning on getting her as a BM. I would still give her what you had planned on. If you feel the financial burden, then you need to stop "throwing money at people" to make them go away, bc your gonna go broke! lol You need to unfortunately either deal with it or get someone else to do it for you - delegate it to someone that doesnt mind dealing with these sort of issues. Takes some of the stress off you... If you dont have someone to do that for you...well your just going to have to "deal" with all these issues bc in the end - it is your wedding and everyone is going to come to you. Unfortunately it comes with the territory. In the end you have to d what makes you feel better. If by not giving her the same things as the other bridesmaids makes it better then do that. But just remember how it is going to look to all the other girls and your BM that she isnt getting everything that they are. That is going to draw attention to her and they are going to wonder why she wasnt included and maybe draw attention towards her "financial" standing. Im not saying that I think she wasnt wrong for telling you about an issue with cab money, bc to me its not going to be a break the bank sort of issue, she should have just sucked it up and planned on paying for it and not make it your issue or make you feel like you had to offer, but I think by taking things away, it just makes it more evident to others what is going on. Everyone puts their priorities on different levels. Maybe a cab ride seems over whelming to her bc its just one more thing she has to save for when she doesnt have a job....maybe she is taking a little extra vacay bc she is already there and the opportunity to do so in the future wont be knocking on her door anytime soon...I dont know, but if it were me I would drop it. You asked her to be your BM for a reason, bc she is your friend and you wnat her there....are you willing to put this issue at the fore front for everyone to see? Bc by taking things away from her, thats exactly what is going to happen. She will be singled out. I hope this isnt too harsh bc I dont want you feeling like Im not agreeing with you, Im just trying to help you see what the outcome might be like if you do make this an issue. Is it worth it? Dont sweat the small stuff....its not worth it or your sanity. This is supposed to be the best time of your life and you are going to want everyone that you love and loves you with you that day. You dont want this to a lingering issue. In saying all of that...you need to do whatever it is that puts this in the past for you so it no longer is an issue and makes you angry. Either plan to give her less in the amount of what the cab will cost you as you stated above, or honestly put it behind you. Make her aware that things are also tight for you and that although you understand her financial situation, you are also struggling as every bride and groom do. And anyone else for that matter that comes to you with money woes...otherwise Im coming knocking on your door for my money issues bc it sounds like you have a money tree growing in your house!!! lol I really wish you all the best and I hope you your stress levels come down so that you can enjoy this happy time! All the best and congrats!!! Jenn

Finzup suggested something like that and I also said maybe it could be something like ebay...we posted it on Tammy (host) thread about buying and sellling on the forum. We hope that it is something that can be incorporated into the forum. Another thought is not allowing noobs to sell until they too have reached a certain level? Just a thought..... Quote: Originally Posted by cece9922 Is it possible to have some sort of feedback set up on this site like Ebay? Just showing that those people are trusted.

I would tell her that by being at your wedding - she is supporting your decision to marry this man. If she doesnt support this in any way - then she should not be at your wedding. My mother was somewhat liek your mother at my first wedding.....she ruined that day (even though I ended it 9 yrs later). Looking back I WOULD NOT have her there. She has learned from that experience bc our relationship only got worse after that day. But now we are on the mend and things are SOO much better now. Do what you have to do.....you need people there that want to celebrate with you...not bring you down!

That would be a great idea if it was possible. Something like how Ebay shows the feedback. Is this something the forum can do or has looked into in the past? Quote: Originally Posted by finzup Would love if if BDW could implement some sort of feedback mechanism for sellers/buyers.. Even if it's something like a subforum for feedback instead of an integrated system that tracks feedback.... It would be very beneficial for sellers (to establish themselves as trustworthy) and buyers (to trust the sellers).. just an idea.

I think times are changing. Gone are the days where you can meet someone through just friends, through family, etc. We are living in a very fast paced world with technology all around us. I too met Riley on a dating site - lavalife.com and I thank my lucky stars everyday that we did. We too spoke for over a month via MSN and slowly progressed to the phone. We didnt actually meet until we were both ready to. We had our first date at a pub in Calgary, which he swears was not our first date, but more of a meet and greet. Ugh! Men! lol To me that was our first date. Anyways, I also get the looks every now and again from people that think online dating is crazy, but those are the people that havent been in our situation. Those people are probably already married themselves. Or they are scared to use it themselves. I think so long as you are safe about it you cant go wrong. Yes you are going to find some people that are "very" questionable to say the least...lol....but there are some really great people on there if you take the time to get to know them. I tell everyone about online dating and am no longer saying that "we met through a freind" to avoid those weird looks and judgement. I am happy that we met that way and wouldnt change a thing. Congrats to all my fellow online bride and grooms to be......way to go!

Thanks Tammy, sure wish I would have read that before dealing with Lulucarmen on my purchases. Will take that advice should I purchase again on the site!!!

Way to go! Now if only you said that to them...I wish I could have been there to say that for you. I am too curvy and also a size 12 and it drives me nuts when all the cute outfits are only in sizes 8 and less. That they consider 12 now a plus size. Seriously? Iwas a size 18....yes I would conside a 16 or 18 plus size, but 12 or 14? Nope! Most women actually range in the 10-14 size range as per stats canada. Thats why you can never find a large or extra large anything....there are always small and meds left over on the rack that they cant sell. It infuriates me when people judge people by there size bc I have been on both sides of that coin. We are all made differently on the inside and out and that is waht makes us who we are. In the end those girls are just ignorant!!! I would rather be someone they make fun of then be ignorant. Ignorance is not always bliss.... Way to go on all your hard work and you rock that dress when you wear it!!! Bc you look beautiful and you worked hard for that dress!!

Quote: Originally Posted by punkie569 Those look great. I can't wait to shop in the States for all my OOT bag stuff. I have some things but we definitely can't get a lot of good stuff here it seems. Where did you end up buying your mugs? Here or there? I got the mugs there - at the "dollartree" of all places. It was $1.00 per mug and no sales tax! So cheap! Good luck!

Welcome to the forum! You will love this forum, its filled with so much information and tips. Good luck and happy planning!

DO NOT BUY FROM LULUCARMEN - myself and finzup, never rec'd our purchases and lulucarmen will not respond to our NUMEROUS emails! Buyer beware!!!!! Your gonna get scammed! For more info on this situation please see the thread " DO NOT BUY FROM LULUCARMEN - WARNING!!!"

I am sorry it has come down to this, but unfortunately I have been left with no other choice. I am posting this thread to warn all of you to avoid what myself and another BDW bride to be have gone through. We both purchased items from Lulucarmen back on Oct 3, 2009. I purchased the first aid kits, and the other bride purchased the bridesmaid kits. Both of us made arrangements for payment. We bot paid Lulucarmen promptly. After a couple of weeks, we both emailed Lulucarmen separtely to find out the ETA on the packages, along with tracking numbers, etc as we never rec'd any sort of response from her about receiving payment, nor about the packages being mailed. We never rec'd a response from those emails. The other BDW bride opened a claim with paypal and I spoke with my bank and the cheque had been cashed. Once the claim was made with paypal, Lulucarmen contacted the other BDW bride and said she mailed the package, and would get back to her as she didnt have a tracking number, but that was only after the claim was made. Since then, we both have again emailed her numerous times, and not response whatsoever. The other bride has upgraded her claim to see what paypal can do to help her. I have spoken via PM with Tammy (host) and unfortunately there is nothing they can really do as they try not to get involved in these sort of issues. So my only recourse at this time is to warn ALL of you to stay away from Lulucarmen. Please do not let this happen to you. I gave her the benefit of the doubt early on in this whole purchase debacle, thinking maybe she was sick or something had happened to someone in her family (bc this is flu season), but once I had heard that she has also been avoiding another bride on here and she is having the same problems as me, well I now no longer am giving her that sympathy. I want my items that I paid for. Its so hard in this world to trust people now adays, never would have thought in a forum such as this, where we are all in the same boat...planning and meeting some great people, that we have to deal with that on here too. That someone would take adavantage of a fellow BDW bride / groom. So please take note, I cant say this enough, please do not put yourself in the same situation as we are in right now. And always pay through paypal, bc atleast that way you have sort of recourse and gettingyour money back. Me on the other hand, am out of luck I think. I will be checking into this further by my bank to see what if anything I can do. I by no means wanted to do this, but she has left me no other choice and I did check with Tammy (host) ahead of time to make sure I wasnt crossing any lines by doing this. Im sure the other bride this involves will post on this thread to make you also aware of her situation so that no one thinks this is a bogus thread or that we didnt give her the time or benefit of the doubt to make this right. DO NOT PURCHASE FROM LULUCARMEN UNLESS YOU LIKE GIVING YOUR MONEY AWAY!!!!

Hi Krama, There are a few other threads on here for us Canadians looking for online stores, OOT bag items, and just where the best deals are in canada. You should take a look at the thread " Canadian OOT bag info....where to shop?" This thread has a lot of information, not just on OOT bag stuff but just general info on purchases in Canada. The only thing I can add to this thread, is that if you are looking for your dress and are planning on going to Ethos on 17th Ave SW, make sure Betty is there to help you. She is by far the best one there and I have used her twice. Once 10 yrs ago for my first wedding and now again for my next wedding. She found my dress, "THE" dress both times, and it wasnt one I would have picked out myself from the rack. She was phenominal and I never felt rushed or bombarded. She by far is the best bridal consultant in that store. I would not hesitate sending any of my friends or family to her as she was such a pleasure to be around. oh and avoid "Jessica Bridal" they sell shotting bridesmaids dresses. I used them for my first wedding and my gf unbenounst to her at the time, bought her bridesmaid dresses there 6 months ago and all the dresses are tearing due to "old material" as per the seamstresses that are trying to fix them. The semastresses know all to well about Jessica Bridal, as they fix their products all the time. Other then that, I have nothing else to add as I am not using any other services or stores in town for my DW. I will be interested to see what other Calgary DW brides have to post on here. Congrats to all my fellow Calgarians and enjoy!

Holy cow, you two have already booked your wedding? How can you do that? I was told by my WC that once I resevere the date, I have to provide her with my confirmation from the travel agent within two months of my reservation that I am booked at the hotel otherwise I loose my booking. Did they not require that of you? Or did you actually book that far in advance? I didnt think you could?

Wednesday Oct 28, 2009 Mountain standard time Surfing the BDW forum trying to numb my brain and mutli-tasking at the same time - dealing with my condo association and my tenants on an oil spill on my deeded parking stall that I pay taxes on. How can they charge me $120 to clean it up, when I havent rec'd notification about it and I own it! Love BDW - takes my mind to new levels.....lol

Im really sorry you feel this way and things have been getting worse for you. I think if you read over what you posted on here, you will find your answer. I cant tell you what I think you should do bc Im not in your situation. What I can tell you is this..... in the end you need to be happy. You need to follow your gut feeling bc as women we have this great thing called "intuition" and if you really just sit back a listen to what it says, your going to know what to do. Whatever you decide.....no matter what anyone says, you need to "own" that decision and move forward. If you choose to walk down that isle, then make sure all your ducks are in a row before hand.....if you choose to walk and take another path, remember that there are a ton of fish in the sea and there IS someone out there for you if you want that. Be strong and listen to yourself, bc in the end of it all, you really cant lie to yourself forever. Good luck and I wish you all the best in whichever path you choose!

I think it would be a great TTD and if it were me, I too would also remove the straps. I think it will make it look less dated without them. But maybe thats why you like it.... just my opinion.....great find by your mom btw!

So sorry to hear that. I hope your sister is doing okay - she must have been devestated. Well atleast she knows now and not after the fact....I guess that the only plus to this.

Quote: Originally Posted by bryonandkiuana Hey ladies...I leave for Sandos is one week...can't wait. Here's the plan: thursday evening nov 5th welcome reception 7:30-9:30pm bachelorette festivities 9:30-until Friday/nov. 6th--The big Day! hair 9am- Sandos salon makeup noon- MAC on 5th ave ceremony 5:00pm (guests seated @ 4:30pm) 5:30pm-toasts and instant photo guestbook signing in wedding hut immediately following ceremony 5:30pm pictures dinner @ italian buffet 6:30pm dancing @ disco 7:30-until Paola has been great to work with...a bit slow to get back to you but she has picked it up her response as we've gotten closer to the wedding date! www.bryonandkiuana.com Have a great trip and a fabulous wedding! Let us know how it all went when you get back. Congrats!!! Only 7 more sleeps!

Quote: Originally Posted by kiwibride I am just starting to plan my wedding for November next year but am trying to get all my cost organised!! The oot bags look great! Approx how much do people spend on these bags? Is there a website that ells the bags in bulk? Hi Kiwi, I actually got them at Walmart at the end of the summer, so you have a lot time since your wedding isnt until next winter. Other people have gone to cheaptotes.com or vistaprint.com to get their OOT bags, or Dollartree / Dollarama. I think I figured out that the bags cost me somewhere btwn $20-$23 dollars per bag including the contents. I am giving one bag per couple and have a few single guests that will geth their own bag. I am not getting married until Jan 2011, so like you I have a lot of time. I just watch for deals and buy when the prices are right. It took me about 2 months to get all of my OOT bag contents purchased. I figure the more I do now the better, and I have the money right now, so why not. AS we all know we get strapped for cash as the days draw nearer. LOL Good luck and thanks for looking!

Dollarama has travel mugs as well for 1.25 per mug, the only issue is if they have enough on the shelf that day. However I was told they are a regular item, so you should be able to get more in a few weeks if they ran out.

Convince her for Dress #1 for sure!!! If you can get around it without upseting her, but I would not be happy if my mother was that formally dressed for a beach wedding either. I am pulling rank when I see my mother's dress, I dont like it I will ask her to get another one, having said that, I dont anticipate any issues with my mom. Good Luck!

Yes have your receipts! I am planning on taking 2 suticases for myself and 2 for my fiance. Plus my parents will probably take another suitcase for me as that way I dont have to worry about wieght restrictions. Then it doesnt look weird that we are coming in with so many suticases. I have all of my receipts as I read this in a post by another BDW member and thought it was a great idea. Helps avoid with a hassle should I get the red light or searched.

Hi RR, We are not doing a site visit either. Its already going to cost us about $6000 just for our wedding and two weeks vacation, I dont want to add another cost for a site visit. We are also going to Playa Del Carmen, and based on the reviews, Im not worried. I think so long as you are organized on your end, things should go smoothly.

Love the idea and poem! Everything looks fantastic...way to go. Im sure they LOVED it!