cookiemunchkin

Thats because the Wedding in Paradise package does not include a dinner reception. So if you want a dinner, you are paying $750 for them to set it up no matter where it is. We ended up switching to the Dreams in Love package after doing some number crunching, it might be worth it in your case too.

We're leaving on the same day as you... and getting married on the same date! Ahhh its so close, getting frantic about things I may have forgotten to do. Good luck Feb ladies!

Hi ladies! Janine's blue starfish is now in my hands

One company that was not in the review is Mixbook... I just used them for our guestbook, and am really happy with the quality!

South Common!

Count me in for the 2nd! For disposable cameras, I've seen a pack of 5 in the wedding section at Michaels. Cant remember the exact price, but I do remember thinking it was a pretty good deal if bought with one of those 50% coupons. We just had our religious ceremony this past weekend! I had always said that I wasn't going to consider it a real wedding at all, but I do have to admit that I feel a bit married lol. Totally cant wait for our "real" wedding in Mexico now!

Thanks! Looking at their site now, did the flowers look almost-real when you received them? And was shipping pretty quick? The prices I'm seeing on their site seem too good to be true haha, wondering if they flowers look good

I was at Dollarama (in Edmonton) yesterday and they had some really cute small beach bags! I think they were $2 each, but soooo much nicer and better quality than the ones they had over the summer. If I didnt already have bags, I would have bought these. No solid colors, mostly stripes and some patterns.

February 19 @ Dreams Tulum and TOTALLY feeling the stress! I cant wait to have the wedding done with and be able to finally relax under the sun We have our photographer all day. Ceremony is at 2 and reception starts at 6:30. How is everyone else doing? Ready to go?

Some good sites (I ordered from the first four and they are reliable): www.linentablecloth.com for chair sashes and table overlays. They even offer free shipping to Canada if your order is over a certain amount. www.discountmugs.com for mugs, bags and other goodies www.paperlanternstore.com for paper lanterns www.paper-garden.ca for specialty paper www.orientaltrading.com for a whole different bunch of things www.minimus.biz for mini sizes of medicine, stain remover, bug spray, sunscreen, etc

I'm good for the 2nd and O works for me too. I hope to be able to show up and say I am now done everything I need to do

Totally agree with this! I think I was happy with my dress because I hadn't tried on the original and couldn't compare all the tiny differences between the two. All I knew was that I had a dress that I loved the look of and that fit me perfectly

My bridesmaids are wearing long dresses, so I told them to wear whatever shoes make them happy - as long as they are dress appropriate! Their shoes wont be seen anyways so I didn't want to fuss over them too much. Our wedding is in a month! So frazzled, there is lots to do. Sent the wedding planning form back to Aurora, and she is actually very helpful! I was a bit worried after reading some of the other reviews, so maybe I'm just lucky... I dunno lol. She allowed me to change from the Wedding in Paradise package to the Dreams of Love one (it was such a minor difference by the time I saw my total, so we figured why not) and she sent me two separate invoices (one with the Wedding in Paradise package and one with the Dreams of Love package) to help me decide. That made things pretty clear for us... and I'm definitely taking printouts of those with me in case they try to overcharge us later! The prices have gone up quite a bit for 2011 weddings unfortunately. But there are also a lot of things being offered now that weren't offered before so I guess that explains the price hike. We made it clear in our wedding planning form that our cocktail hour is only for 20 people, and not all 50 guests, and that the cake should only be made to feed 20 people as well. In the invoice Aurora sent, there are no extra charges beyond the 20 people. If this is useful to anyone, these are the "extras" we are being charged for: $165 chair setup for ceremony $3/person for chair sashes, table overlays, etc (we are bringing our own sashes and overlays) $70/bouquet for bridesmaids $750 for private event at Seaside Grill (that cost has not gone up this year thankfully) $150 to set up paper lanterns (bringing our own lanterns and throwies)

There's a Mixbook deal that sometimes shows up on Groupon as well... I used them for our guestbook because they have amazing layouts already designed for guestbooks! I'd suggest maybe looking at their guestbook layouts and trying to mimic it when you design yours at Photobook Canada Also bought some Photobook Canada groupons the last time they came around, planning to use those for after the wedding. I love Groupon!

Congrats! Definitely check out the wedding fair as was already suggested. Also sign up for the mailing lists at some of the bridal stores around Calgary (and Edmonton if you dont mind driving there)... they usually send out notices when sample sales are coming up. Sandy - I feel your pain! My e-ring has also been taken away while my band is being made. I swear my ring has spent more time with our jeweller than actually on my hand lol. Hopefully we get them back soon First week of Feb is perfect for meeting up, count me in. I'm pretty much available any evening that works for everyone else.

I actually think its a good thing they told you that they cant do it... its better than them trying and you ending up disappointed again if it didn't turn out the way you were hoping. Your detail was great, but maybe its too complicated for them to do? Try babyonline... I sent them a lot of detail before I ordered my dress too (chatted with them for a couple weeks as well) so we were totally on the same page. They even showed me the beadings they were going to use before they used them! They charged me more than they normally charge (based on whats already available in their online store, I paid about 60% more) but I think thats because of the specific detail I wanted. Regardless of who you go with though, I dont think you're going to get an exact replica if thats what you are going for... styling will be similar, but the dress will still look quite different.

I'm so glad you managed to get 2 more people booked!! One less thing to stress about, yay Our wedding is now 36 days away and I am freaking out!! Not because we're getting married, but because I still have a pile of stuff do to -- like finish getting invitations out hahaha! Everyone knows the when and where already, and whoever is coming is already booked so its not a huge deal... but I feel like a gigantic ass for not having them all out yet. I used wedquarters for our wedding website (and I do not recommend it... its very useless, I accidentally signed up for the wrong site and had meant to sign up for a different one instead). Almost time to go! Super excited for you... cant wait to hear the details when you are back! As for getting together before the next set of weddings, I'd love to! I'm out of town from the 21 to the 30, but good anytime before/after

I'm doing my own make up too and have been experimenting with a bunch of stuff from Sephora! They're pretty good about giving you decent sized samples to take home and play around with to see how well it lasts on your skin and all. Some advice I was already given at Sephora that may be useful to you (and some notes from me hehe): Make Up For Ever HD foundation is better for oily skin (the formula dries very matte... looked a bit unnatural on me I found) Smashbox HD foundation photographs very well (I ended up buying this and used it during my stagette so I can vouch for this on my combination skin type) Skin primer will help your foundation apply more smoothly and help prevent shine as the day goes by. This only works if you find a primer suited to your skin type though! (I've been using Smashbox photofinish primer for years and can say it really does make a difference for me) Eye primer will (in theory) help your eyemakeup last longer and prevent creasing. (I'm still experimenting with this... so far I've tried Too Faced Shadow Insurance which has helped me a bit but I still dont feel like my eye makeup lasts as long as it could... going to try Urban Decay Primer Potion next as the two of them are the most popular) Use a cream blush rather than a powder blush (i haven't tested any yet so can't offer my opinion... I have tried NARS Illuminator on my cheekbones though and it gives a really great glow!) A setting spray will keep makeup looking fresh throughout the day (I tried out Urban Decay Dew Me a few times and have liked the result... of course, it is winter though and I dont know what this stuff will be like under a hot sun) if you need concealer, use a brightening one (I absolutely love Benefit Erase Paste) Any suggestions I got for eyeshadow were all over the place depending on who I talked to. I find Urban Decay to be much more pigmented than MAC though... which means I can wear less of it and still get a great look. More natural on me, but that could be different on someone else. Eyeliners - try Urban Decay 24/7 liners or Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes liners. I personally like the MUFE ones better (last longer on my skin type) Mascara - I got suggestions all over the place like eyeshadow. I think as long as you have a waterproof mascara you are happy with, keep using it. Lots of info, hopefully some of that helps you!

Hopefully Lisa's chair covers work out for you! If not, I have 120 chair covers as well, but they are ivory. They will be available as of March. I'm in Canada so shipping may be high as well -- they arrived to my house in a massive cardboard box.

I ran into similar problems with my first dress (also from Monica Bridal) and I think you made the same mistakes I did. I assumed that what they did really is a "copy" of the dress in the picture, but it is not. They use the picture as inspiration to make a dress that has similar structure. I later had a dress made (by someone else) and I drew all over the picture, indicating exactly which parts I wanted to look the same as the "inspiration" and had a much better result. Based on that alone, I would say maybe order a second dress with the pictures you have marked up below... I think you'll be happier, because I know I was! The skirt on your inspiration dress and my final dress are similar... very opaque. The skirt that was actually made on your dress and my final one are similar as well... one layer of tulle and it looks very sheer (you can find my dress a few pages back). I asked if they could put another layer of tulle to make it more opaque and they told me it wouldn't be necessary, so I trusted them. When my dress arrived and I tried it on, I saw they were right! The skirt of my dress still is not as opaque as the inspiration dress, but the way it falls is opaque enough that it looks good and better than the pictures that were sent. I think if more tulle was added, the skirt just would not look right. I'm happy to post a picture of what I mean if you like, just let me know. Hope that helps, I know that sometimes what we visualize in our heads is so different than what the dressmaker is thinking so its disappointing to see what they turn out with. But I do think that (minor differences aside), your dress does look nice even if its not what you had wanted. Someone else here mentioned that the pictures they send you dont look as nice as the actual dress when you receive it, and I do have to agree with that!

My situation isn't quite the same as yours, but I understand your problem. I'm not close to my dad either (though he is still married to my mom) and I nixed the father-daughter dance (which offended him a bit too) and am having both my parents walk with me. I agree that you can't really have 3 people walk you down the aisle, so just a personal opinion but I think you made the right choice. If your dad is the traditional type where he thinks its the father's role to walk his daughter down the aisle, then I think you should talk to him sooner and explain that you want to do things a bit untraditionally just because of your mom's importance to you. If he's not traditional, then give him a little bit of time to see if he brings it up again... and if not, then you should. Either way, it is your decision, so I dont think you need permission to do what feels right for you.

haha! Maybe thats why

Beautiful dresses Ginger and TSBride!!

Thanks ladies! Natalie - I didn't buy my dress in Calgary, so I'm on my own for alterations. Luckily it fits almost perfectly, but I need a bustle and some material removed from the waist - looks like it was made for someone 2 months pregnant!

That explains a lot... we are having our reception at Seaside Grill and I"ve just been told that there will be another function happening on the beach right outside the restaurant. This is probably because the other group wasn't allowed to be at the pool! Hope the two DJs playing over each other doesn't turn into a nightmare