Jennybell1

Quote: Originally Posted by Janelley100 Great OOT bags. I love the Beach Kit and Hang Over Kit. The listerine strips are great!!! I did read a review somewhere that mentioned the OOT bags contents and then what was used and not used.....the one thing the reviewer said she wished she included was a travel size Aleo Vera because so many people had sun burn by the 2nd or 3rd day. Just a thought. Otherwise your bags ROCK!!!! Great job!! Oh for sure! I have been looking for travel size bottles of aloe and cant seem to find them here in Canada and I forgot to look for them in the states. Im hoping that by the time next summer approaches, I might be able to track some down. I am also playing with the idea of buying aloe in bulk and then buying some travel bottles and filling them myself. Then maybe make up some sort of cute label for them. Thanks for you input!

Love the idea of using your wedding pics on the thank you cards fro Vista! I think I might have to go along those lines if I remember - what with my wedding being so far out! lol Great job and thanks for sharing!

Quote: Originally Posted by jajb2010 Yeah anybody that has relatives or live within 6hr drive from Fort McMurray is considered part of this blog.. ha ha ha..if not then there will be no one but me on here!! Is any of you ladies on Wedding By color as well? I've met a couple people from Alberta on there as well and I got this website from there. Just curious how you Ladies got to find this website? LOl - okay well then I am in....Yay! jk I found this website just by googling destination weddings. The only other wedding forum I go to is Weddingbells.ca but Im not on it very much as I like this forum a whole lot more. How are your plans coming along?

Thanks for posting that. I was wondering if there was a DIY way of putting something on my plain mugs and it not coming off on the wet hands of my guests. Still not sure if I am going to do it, but if so I am going to steal your idea - if thats okay Thanks so much for posting that. I will have to look into it for sure! Great job btw!

Quote: Originally Posted by yencie WOW!!! You are sooo way ahead of me with your planning!lol I'm only in the beginning stages...Did you decide on your color scheme? What did you include in your OOT bags? What favours did you choose? Yeah my FI likes the whole horse and carriage thing at Moon Palace...lol but I'm in love with the gazebo at Dreams. Honestly I haven't thought of a budget yet and I feel that I'll end up going over it anyway if I set it....lol(i'm soooo bad with money! ) I think i saw some of the brides say they were able to pull of the whole wedding between 4200-6000....so we'll see. I'm excited about the site visit though! Where is Sandos Playacar? What photographer did you decide to go with? BTW Congrats on losing all that weight!!!! I soooo need to start on my diet! lol Hi Yencie, Well other then the fact we are going backwards in our plans, its going well. I feel better knwoing Im not the only one who doesnt have the ring yet, but that were planning a wedding. LOL As for my colours, well I have only narrowed it down to Turquoise. I havent really thought or worried about another colour really. AS my wedding is going to be informal, Im not worrying about table settings, centrepeices, etc. My thought behind a DW was so that I didnt have to worry about those things. I did that at my first wedding, dont want to do it this time. Plus I dont want to have to lug all that crap down and then back. Its bad enough Im doing it with my OOT bags. As for the OOT bags, I posted a thread last night called " Finished OOT bags *pic heavy*" you should check that out as it shows all of my DIY's, contents, bags and more. It shows my starfish bottle topper favours along with a few extras that I will be putting in the bags. It would be easier then me listing it again on here, plus the other thread has pictures ; and we all love pictures! Oh how I miss the Moon Palace....cant wait to hear what you decided. I hope you have a great site visit. When are you going? And did they give you a deal on the cost of the site visits bc you will be booking for 2011? I figure our wedding/honeymoon will cost us about $6000. That includes the basic legal wedding pkg from Sandos and 2 weeks in mexico and our day trips. We get a pretty good deal if we switch from one hotel to another half way through. Thats the plan anyways. We will see. I own a timeshare in Montana, and am looking into using a week in Playa Del Carmen instead of Montana in Jan 2011 for our honeymoon as it might save us even more money. Not sure yet, but its in the works. Sandos Playacar Beach is in Playa Del Carmen, about an hour from the moon palace I think. I have been to Cancun and the Mayan Riviera before, so I wanted something different this time. Plus I heard that Sandos Playacar Beach Resort has the best beach in the area. There is a secluded beach area to the one side of the resort that goes on for miles with nothing around. Soto me thats perfect for my pictures and wedding. I want it more intimate. Plus Sandos seems to be much more willing to move when it comes to the wedding pkg and they dont seem to nickel and dime you as the other resorts do. But thats only what I have been told by other Brides who choose sandos over other resorts after their site visits. So I dont know for sure. Am only going off what they have said. As for photographer, we are really lucky bc Riley's mom is a professional photographer. She is an amazing lady with an amazing talent. Her pcitures are phenominal and she sells out at all of her art shows. So luckily for us we wont have to worry about that at all. Once she gives us the CD's from the wedding we can get everything we want printed in the 5x7 or 8x10's and get the rest in 4x6 for our albums. Phew! One less thing to worry about as I know picking a photgrapher is tricky sometimes. Plus we dont have to pay the resort to have her bc she is a guest. So that also saves us too. I have heard some resorts charge anywhere from $80-$300 to have an off site photographer...its crazy! Thank for the support on the wieght. I have about 40 or so more to go to feel happy where Im at. Im tall as it is so I dont show my wieght very well which is great, but I do want that svelt body for my strapless dress....lol...thank god we have a year or more to work on it! I hate having to wait so long for my wedding, but atleast it allows me time to get my body where I want it to be....lol.... Don't stress, you have lots of time to loss any wieght you want. Riley is alos loosing weight so we will be all buff by Jan 2011...lol...well maybe but not buff..lol....but happier in bathing suits! Have you started on anything yet? Vistaprint.com has great deals and I have already bought so much from them and paid only the shipping costs as everything else was free. You should get set up on their email list if you can. They have great deals! What are your colours? How many in the bridal party? Do you know where you are honeymooning? Cant wait to hear back on your site visit...keep me posted!

Quote: Originally Posted by diamondpooch They look great! Any templates for the getting ready for mexico brochure If you PM me with your email address I can send you better pics of the pamphlet. I actually did them through vistaprint.ca and inputted the info in the spaces provided by Vista print. I had to do some modifications on the pamphlet but its really easy. Yor can copy the info I have or just use it as an example. Whatever helps you!

Quote: Originally Posted by diamondpooch Ya, we are going around and around about this as well. I suggested that my FI stay with his brother in law and his sister can come into my room, but I'm sure his sister and BIL have ONE bed, and I'm sure my FI doesn't want to sleep in that bed with another dude! So, I'm not sure. I think I will just think about it once we get there. Many of the resorts will give you a room the night prior to your wedding for your Fiance, if they have availability. So if that is something you want, I would check with the resort to see if its available free of charge. My resort provides it with my wedding pkg, not sure if all resorts do this though. Riley and I just spoke about this last night actually, and we decided that we were going to stay in the room together the night before the wedding. I think the main reason for that is bc we arent having a "traditional" wedding. Our wedding is going to be somewhat informal with a few traditions involved. I have been married once before and did the whole " spend your last night single alone" and it sucked. I couldnt sleep bc he wasnt there, let alone bc the wedding was the next day. I want to be with RIley the night before our wedding bc I feel that I want to be that close to him. We will separate in the morning and Im sure he will go to his BM's room to get ready while I get ready in our room. If your worried about where the BM's date is going to be, tell them to send her to your room to get ready or to a friends room. It will work itself out. I wouldnt worry about it. Your room will be jam packed with women trying to get ready themselves as well as helping you too. In the end, just do what you want to do. If you want the tradition of not seeing eachother until the wedding ceremony, then see how that can be accomodated by the hotel. If you dont want to be apart until the morning, then dont. In the end its your day and whatever the two of you want, then that is what you should do. I really dont think in this day in age, there is really any ettiquette on what you can and cant do anymore. Unless of course, your religion (if any) dictates so, or family values or morals, of course. DW's allow us to be flexible, if we wanted the fully traditional wedding then we wouldnt be getting married abroad. DW's are all about making your wedding day exactly what you want and how you want them with minimal planning, atleast in comparison to at home weddings. Have fun and go with your heart tells you. I find that always leads me down the right road. Good luck!

They are fantfreakintastic! If I wasnt DIY'd out I would steal your idea! What a great job - I would love to have received those as a guest! Congrats!

Is there anything still available?

We have a guests coming from all over Canada and some leaving from the States, so I have decided on a couple of options. One is to have everyone meet for breaky the day after they arrive for a meet and greet and I can give the bags then. Depending on everyone's arrival dates and times this may or may not work. So if its all over the map I, plan on meeting everyone when they arrive and handing them out then or may try to get everyone together on the first night for drinks by the beach or pool and hand them out then. Im hoping this will work. Im afraid if I send them out prior to the trip, they may forget the bags at home and then they are of no use to them or all my hard work. So I plan on either lugging them down there or shipping them to the resort. I just hope everyone likes them and can use them..... Love the idea of OOT bags!!

Getting Ready for Mexico Brochure - which will be mailed to everyone about 1 month prior to the wedding. Bridesmaid Cosmetic bag and contents Pashmina's for the mom's and bridesmaids Still Waiting on the first aid kits to come in from another DWB - so they are not pictured. The OOT bags will have the following as seen in the picture below: Welcome book Travel mugs (2) Beach kit Hangover Kit The neck teahter and ID badge holders for room key Deck of cards Tissue Pen to use in the games section of the Welcome books First aid kits (not pictured) Im pretty happy with the bags and their contents. However I feel a little lingering feeling like Im missing something or should have something else in there. I may break down and buy something else to put in them as I still have a year to go, but for now they are done and are going into storgae until I decide as to whether I ship them to Playa Del Carmen or whether I lug everything down there. On the plus side, I will have an empty suitcase to fill with souveniers and statues when I come home.....hmm...thats an idea...lol Thanks for looking ladies, and if you have any further ideas as to what I might be missing, I would love to hear them. I have decided against getting beach towels due to cost and weight of my luggage so thats out. Thanks again for all of your post and helping me with ideas on my OOT bags! So glad I found this forum! Thanks for looking and Congrats to all the brides to be and newly weds! Jennifer

I just got back from my vacation in Montana this week and was able to finish my OOT bags. I could not beleive all of the deals my neighbours down south had. The Canadian stores suck in comparison to the deals and selection that your stores have. I wish I had more time and allowed more across the border bc I could have cleaned them out...lol As we all know, the vast majority of us are picture whores...so here are my pics of the completed OOT bags and contents. I have another thread on here about my "Beach / Hangover kits" so if you need to know the DIY instructions for those kits, its posted on that thread. A shout out goes out to all the DIY brides on here that helped me along the way with either inspiring me with ideas or graciaously sharing their templates. I couldnt have done this without you. So thank you!!! First are the bags. I got them at the end of the season from Walmart. They were regularly $20 per bag and I got them for $5 each. I bought half in red and half in blue as they didnt have enough of one colour. They have brown leather straps and the inside is lined with a black and white polka dot material. It aslo has an inside zippered pocket and a few spots for sunglasses or cell phone, etc. It also has velcro tabs on the end of the bag to change the shape of the bag if needed. The closure on the bag is just a simple magnetic tab. Beach kit and Hangover kit Beach kit includes: Suncreen, sanitizer, body butter, bandaids, SPF chapstick. Hangover Kit includes: 2 Pkgs of Individual Advil and Listerine Breath Strips My wedding Favours A starfish Bottle Stopper from Theweddingshoppe.com

Quote: Originally Posted by CHAKLIT Ladies...any idea what causes a cleft lip?? I have been working in the dental feild for over 12 yrs now and have to say that they really arent too sure. They say that it isnt hereditary by any means, but moreso coincidence if someone else in your family has one. They lean more towards just having a little snag while developing in utuero(sp?). Its not something you could have known as it is really hard to see on an ultrasound, unless of course if its a very large cleft that involves the roof of the mouth (maxilla). There is nothing you can do to stop your baby from getting one and is usually very easy to fix if it is a conventional cleft lip and not cleft palate. The scar never really goes away, but it does fade and a lot of people dont even notice it after a few years. It really depends on the surgeon you have and how well they can reform that area. Your daughter may have some isues down the road dentally, like with the frenum (which is that little peice of skin that attaches from your upper gums to your upper lip). Sometimes when they reform that area, the little peice of skin becomes tight as she grows. If this happens they just make a small cut in it (doesnt hurt when frozen) and everything is fixed. Some kids tend to be more cavity prone bc of the cleft lip, only bc they sometimes turn into mouth breathers at night. That is not an easy fix, but rather some retraining. This is very hard to do bc unless you sleep with them everynight your not going to be able to stop this habit. My guy is a mouth breather and there really is not much I can do about it, except for continually waking him up and I think that would be the death of me if I did. lol Other then that, she really should have no issues. Even what I stated above, may be a non issue for her. I depends on the child and circumstances of the cleft. So this is nothing you did or could have prevented. Just how things go sometimes. My son has a birth mark in the centre of his forehead right in between his eyes. And whenever he cries or gets upset, you see that birthmark. It will be the same for your daughter while she is young. The area might get more pink or red if she is upset or overly active, etc. but will fade over time. She is a beautiful baby and she will grow into a beautiful little girl and woman. I wouldnt worry about this at all. Congrats on your baby and the upcoming wedding!!!

Nice earrings! I would be interested if they were white gold.... Im sure someone will take them off your hands. Good Luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by natashakc IMPPEARL: You absolutely must tell us where you found that dress! I saw that dress in forever 21 and Venus..just to let you know!

Sorry no - a fellow albertan yes...live close to Red Deer....I havent seen any people from FM on here yet...sorry...wish you luck though!

Great thread. I was wondering the same thing......luckily my resort is close to 5th so I think I just might go there instead of paying the off-site fee to bring them to me. Thanks ladies!

Oh my gosh that sucks! I really hope you can get this figured out in time. Kepp up posted and good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by jetsbride I think your mugs look excellent! I also ordered my mugs from discount mugs and when they sent me a proof and my design could only be 1" x 1" I was a little annoyed but now that I have the mugs I love them! If you are not happy though I would keep telling them until something is done about it. 27 days!! Your wedding is fast approaching!!! Are you all set? You must be getting so excited!!! Cant wait to hear how it went....good luck and have fun!

Im sorry to hear about your mugs, but I think they look great. I think more of your guests will probably use them after the wedding in day to day use BECAUSE the logo is smaller. I know I dont use the mug I got from my girlfriends wedding bc it was such a huge logo and picture...it was kinda weird for me to walk around with my girlfriends wedding date on my travel mug. Everyone always asked me if that was from my wedding. So I prefer the small logo. Dont fret! They look great still.

Quote: Originally Posted by yencie LMAO!!! OMG you sound like me!!! All my friends and future FI think I'm crazy because I have started planning location, what photographer I want, color scheme...etc before we are engaged!....lol I mean I know I'm going to be engaged by this year and I just feel like when you are planning destination wedings it takes sooo much longer to plan! I know we want to be married on a Saturday in early 2011 but are not sure of the exact month. We are looking at Dreams Cancun (fell in love with the pictures of the gazebo). We are going to Cancun from 11/25-30 this year and have already booked site visits at Dreams Cancun, Dreams Riviera Cancun and Moon Palace...jeez I sound crazy!lol LOL - you dont sound crazy! Im in the same boat as you. We have his wedding band already, but no engagement ring for me yet. I think I will have it by the end of this year...early next year at the latest. I have all of my OOT bags abd contents, pamphlets, and favours done already! Im a big planner as it is so I have started really early...lol. Next Im onto my welcome books which will take me a really long time as I have to make up about 15 of them all by hand. We are planning on the first week in Jan 2011 as it will be cheaper for our guests at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. I so wanted Dreams but it was out of our budget and I couldnt ask my guests to pay that. I wish! Im going to live vicariously through you now if you go there. Oh and btw, I stayed at the Moon Palace in 2006 and saw a ton of weddings. It is a beautiful resort and the staff are AMAZING! If you do end up picking there, you wont be disappointed. Its fabulous and huge. Plus you can play at all of their resorts while you stay there. Good luck, cant wait to hear which resort you picked!

They never really do tell you how much of an adjustment you go through when you have a baby. Once you get past that - its a lot of fun. I had a difficult first 6 months with Logan as he was such a busy baby but I look back and miss that time with him. They grow up soooo fast. I cant beleive his is in SK and is 5 already! Where does the time go? Shout out to my fellow albertans! There arent too many of us on here!! Congrats!

Quote: Originally Posted by SuzyQ76 OMG!!! Jennybell!!! I have so much to say! Logan is a very special LOVED little boy 4 times over , and it brought a tears to my eyes about the whole "will you be my Daddy" to Riley. FI and I have had many conversations about "What if's" ugh, so much to say - but my little guy just woke up so I will be back after supper!! lol BTW love the name Logan, not to mention I'm a HUGE geek and love Wolverine...and for those of you who do not know what I'm talking about you'll have to google it! Gotta go make supper and grab my baby!! Chat to you in a bit!! ) Too funny about Wolverine.....thats how I got my ex to agree to the name....Thanks for saying the above, made me feel better about it for sure. Its def been interesting couple of years. How have things been for you? Did you always know you two would get married?

Congrats Shelby! You will find an amazing amount of information on here. This forum has been fabulous for me...Im sure you will find it just as helpful. Good luck and Welcome!

Good idea starting the post! My story is a little different, but here goes..... I have a 5yr old son from my previous marriage of 8 yrs and we share custody of him. I have him for a week and then he goes to his dad's house for a week. It works really well for all of us right now. Not sure how it will work in the future, but Im taking it day to day. When Riley and I were dating he wasnt sure where our future would be bc of my son. He never saw himself dating someone with a child and wasnt sure if that was the life he wanted. I couldnt fault him for that, bc I really didnt want to get involved with anyone that had children of their own either. Double standard, I know. But I just didnt want to add more possible drama then I already had. So I understood what he was feeling. His mom chatted with him early in our relationship - bless her heart - and told him that Logan and I were a package deal and that if he really wanted to be with me, then he had to take everything that came with me. Riley was very uneasy initially due to the fact he hadnt been around a lot of kids and wasnt sure what he could and couldnt say to my son. It was hard for him...of that I am sure. I made sure that Logan understood that he needed to listen to Riley and slowly Riley become more comfortable stepping in when required. Dont get me wrong, most of the discipline comes from me, however Riley does step in when he needs to or when Im not around. Riley has slowly come out of his shell of being guarded due to the tricky nature of our situation, and Logan loves to spend time with him. Riley is a "mans-man" not like my ex, and my son loves that. We have been living together for almost a year and although it has been tricky at times, we are a family unit. The only thing I have to work on is getting Riley to bring down his guard enough to let logan get closer to him. Riley finds it hard to get cuddly with Logan, probably bc logan is a boy and also bc its not his child. Doesnt want to step over any boundries?? I dont know. But Logan can be a cuddly kid sometimes and I have seen Logan try to get cuddly with Ri, and Ri tells him to get down. Not sure how to get this going, maybe he needs his own time.....I have spoken to him about it...so we will see how things progress. On a side note; Logan has been asking Riley for a really long time if he can call him "Dad". (Ok and some of you are going into shock right now saying" I would never let my child do that when he already has a dad" - Ive heard it all - but the circumstances are different. - Logan calls his step-mom - "mom" when he is at their house and refers to her as "aimee" at my house. So it would go both ways at either house. We figure if this is something he wants, then who are we to say no. He is 5....if this helps him through our divorce - then so be it). And Riley has been saying "not yet buddy" which really bothered logan - actually to tears sometimes...but they had a convo on the way home from daycare the other day and to my astonishment, Logan asked Riley again and Riley said that if that is what he wants - then he is free to Riley, Riley or Dad. What ever he wants and feels comfortable with! Yay!!!! Thank god, bc I didnt know what else to tell my son every night at bedtime when he would ask me that same question...."when will Riley be my dad....I have a mommy and daddy at my dad's house, I want a mommy and a daddy at your house". Its definietely not an easy situation to be in bc now you dont have 2 parents but 4 and not that the newly added parents dont have a say in child rearing, but it makes things sometimes 4x more difficult bc everyone has a say and opinion. Becomes especially hard when your ex and his fiance take one side and we are on the other.....good god! Luckily for all of us, we usually agree on most things and rarely have disagreements. I just hope that in all of this Logan turns out okj, bc now he has doubled his parents, grandparents, cousins, and family and now he has double the love. What a lucky little boy. As for kids....we are NOT having anymore. Riley is selfish as am I. After getting used to having logan (which I never really get used to, but I adapted) a week on and a week off, we now enjoy our alone time and dont want to loose that. We enjoy what we have and we love to have the one on one time with logan. I dont want to add another child to the mix and make things more confusing for him. But thats only my situation. We are really happy and love the time with Logan. We make the most of our time together each week and miss him when he goes, but I keep reminding myself of all the people that now love him too. He never asked for this, but in the end I think he may have come out on top. Thas my LONG story....sorry ladies.... Thanks again for posting this thread.....ahhhh...feel so much better now.....