trobin01

Friday sounds like a great idea. then you have time to relax with your guests after the wedding itself, but time to do a welcome event too.

I, too, adore reading. I cannot wait to go to Mexico to plop myself on a beach and get caught up on my reading. Here are my favourites the Glass Castle- incredible- it has a few mentions on here, but is just so good it deserves another Maeve Binchy- just about anything by her- her new one Heart and Soul was wonderful but honestly they are all great Jennifer Weiner Harry Potter series Rebecca wells (Divine Secrets of the Ya ya sisterhood and others) Peter Mayle (for travel lovers) A trip to the beach Malcolm Gladwell (non-fiction) Freakonomics (non-fiction) Lorna Landvik and so many more....

I agree, don't have anything printed yet. Perhaps you can do a mass email (include your monogram and pics to make it festive) with what you hope to book and put your tentative plans on a website, so people start thinking about it, saving for it and you can send your 'official' STD's once you get your booking confirmed. Plus, people need lots of reminders to encourage booking. This might help that too.

Great thread. I know very little about all things decor related so it is very much needed, for me anyway. PS- i love the umbrella place cards- especially in the sand

I'm amazed that you made them yourself. Fantastic job. I want to ask for instructions but I'm pretty sure that I couldn't pull it off. I'm sure your guests will appreciate all the effort you put into them

Beautiful dress- it will never look dated in photos! Do mind me asking what store you bought it at? I'm in Toronto and a couple of my bridesmaids are in the KW area. I think it would be worth visiting the store. Thanks!

Wow. That is an amazing story. I think the real one is even better than the Lion King version. Now I totally want to go to Africa. Congrats!

I'm trying to keep the cost down so I am not paying for an excursion. What I am planning to do is welcome cocktails and dinner at the buffet. I am going to suggest some excursions and an excursion company on the website- but let everyone plan (and pay for) their own. Most people coming will know a ton of people already so I think/hope they will form groups and go off and do their own thing too!

I love the idea of parasols too. But apparently the flowers at my resort are beautiful. So now I am thinking of splurging on the flowers for the girls and then using them for decor later- but getting parasols for pictures. The photos with them are so much fun.

Be comfortable! Get the Bolero and once you start partying it up you may decide to take it off. If not, no problem.

I had exactly the same question. A BBQ would be fun, inexpensive and easy- but I'm getting married in November! I am going to try to wait until spring/summer but I may have a drink and appetizer party in November, before the holidays get in the way.

I love these photos- they are just perfect- and romantic, flirty and fun!

Hey- I think something to keep in mind is that the American tour operators work very differently than the Canadian ones. If you decide to do an all-inclusive resort the Canadian companies usually book as a package deal with the resort, transfers and airfare as one. Usually, but not always, it is cheaper than booking rooms directly through the resorts and then trying to find airfare. Plus, the tour operators offer a group discount as well as concessions for the bride and groom i.e. free packages per every 20 guests or something. So contacting the resorts directly (with the exception of contacting the wedding planners for dates) may not be all that effective. However I booked my November 2010 wedding in October 2009. I was able to get quotes for all the resorts I was interested in. So, I think your TA should be able to do the same. While my TA is based in Ontario she specializes in group travel and DW. You can PM me for her contact info if you want to try contacting someone with DW experience. Good luck!

Welcome! You'll find everything you need on this website. The sheer quantity of info and help here is amazing.

Looks like they have amazing stuff. But I think it will require some cross-border shopping on my account- as it doesn't seem like they ship to Canada.

Jdrewett- I love your choices. I think the first two have a mexican/spanish flair. Perfect for PV!

Beautiful choice! But because dresses look so much different on than off the rack or catalog photos I think a road trip is in order. Its better than stressing about it until the first fitting.

Great find. Too bad they don't ship to Canada

Thats great! I know the Canadian tour companies can be difficult to deal with because there is so few of them. I'm going to a Riu property which means that there is only Sunquest to deal with. But on the plus side when I booked they offered a price adjustment clause if the price of the trip goes down prior to 60 days before departure. I can only make the adjustment once and there has to be seats available, but still it makes me feel much better about the whole thing I'm really glad it all worked out for you. Planning the travel side of it can be really stresseful!

Wow! The flowers are beautiful. So many ideas. I think I'm going to go spend some quality time on etsy!

Such great ideas everyone. I was pretty sure I wanted to do places we've visited as we have traveled a ton since we've been together. But the drink parasol idea is also very tempting. The photos look amazing.

Thanks for the thread. I really love your dress and jewelery. You're going to look amazing.

Beautiful dresses! I was thinking something similar myself. We'll see how it looks on me though...

Wow. That is really tough. You say you don't trust easily so you probably haven't been blind to any similar incidences in the past. If it is the first one, I suggest you work through it as best you can. I'm a big believer in trying to work things out so you can look back and say you've tried as hard as you can. If it works out- wonderful and if not- you won't have any what if's. Good luck- my heart goes out to you.

Wow- looks beautiful! I love how positive you are about everything. That positivity has to be good for the heart!