Peach

Agreed. I think my invitations will be going out about 6 months in advance, not the save the dates. We had people asking, even though we are still over a year away. So they are going out today (13.5 months ahead), and invites will go out in January. That will give people a couple months before the deadline to book.

Oh I am a country girl, but FI is definitely anti-country... but I am still sneaking in a few here and there. There will be quite a bit of country at our at-home reception (since it is in a small town). I promise that fun party songs like "Friends in Low Places" will make an appearance. And we are playing "Lost in This Moment" by Big and Rich as guests are getting seated. FI just doesn't know that yet. haha.

Good to know!

I generally think that one of the great things about DW is that you can do it however you want! If you want to include parents speeches, do it! The local weddings I have gone to do parents speeches as a "welcome to the family" one. So FI's parents will probably do one (FI is an only child) but mine will be open to my parents or any of my siblings (if any come... drama). If they don't come, we will just ask FI's parents to say something nice. I usually love the parents' speeches... some of the fathers of the bride ones are the best ones I have heard! So if you want to include it, go for it!

I would be nervous shipping right to the hotel. It would depend on you though and your location. I have found that usually a 2nd or 3rd checked bag is better than going over the weight limit now though. We are going to be distributing most of our bags at the hotel the night before we leave... none of us live in Calgary, where most of us are flying out of, so we will probably have to stay the night before, and I think that will be a good time. Then distribute a couple more at the hotel itself. That way, we are probably only giving 2-4 at the resort itself. I like the idea of giving them to everyone at the resort, but we are all going down together mostly, so why not do it ahead of time and save the packing space and some money?

I am lucky in that my future in laws are great, but we struggle with my family. Like, really, really bad. So this is what we do that works. We try to be better than the problem causers. We take the high road. We are distant, yet polite. We want the door to stay open for future, especially since it is only a couple people causing problems. But we also do not want to give those people any power over our happiness either. So, we invite them to certain things. We are general with them, the same way we would be with very distant relatives or friends of friends (it is my own mom who is the big problem, so you can see why it would be difficult). We are not close with them, but neither are we rude. The fact is, they are family. When they are absolutely terrible, and frankly abusive, they are still family. And in twenty, thirty, fifty years, they will still be family. We do not choose our family, and we do not choose the family of the men we marry. But, like it or not, they are still a part of our lives. So, coming from someone who also has a lot of drama.... Distance is good. Rudeness is not. Take the high road. It sucks, yes, but at the end of the day you will know that you did what was best.

We are still deciding. I think we will do the legal wedding first. We had decided, sort of, to do the church thing with the grandparents and parents... but then IMMEDIATELY... like, within 5 minutes, my family starts trying to invite aunts and uncles and cousins.... woah, no. And then, when I said no, they ignored me, and then said, "Well, we will talk about it later". No. I still said no. So now I think we might sneak off to city hall. I am upset by this; I really wanted to involve my grandparents, but my parents are really not letting me do it the way we want, so it is turning into an "all or nothing" thing. Sigh.

This might be the most unique cake topper I have ever seen.

FI and his best man are both wearing white shirts. I don't know whether I will go for white or ivory. I know that it might clash if I go ivory with his white shirt, but I don't think it will enough to matter too much to me. I will get whatever I am most comfortable in.

Sure! Where are you looking at getting married? I looked at ***** Nova. I REALLY liked her work, especially since she is in Edmonton part time (and I live in southern Alberta). But it didn't make the most sense for us. http://www.*****nova.com/ Then there was Karina Jensen. Again, I really liked her work, and the price is good. Still, there is one more that is simply a better fit. http://photobykarina.com/ Finally, Michael Weiler, who we are booking with. We like his work, and some of the packages include a videographer, which we also wanted. So that is what we are going with (now we just need the wedding coordinator to confirm our date so we can book him!) http://www.weddingpuntacana.com/#/puntacanawedding/ There may be more who go to the Samana area, but these are who I found anyway.

Very pretty!

Another good idea!

Yes, that would be wonderful! Please do!

Ohmygod I love this dress! Gorgeous!

We are going to do a photo slideshow at AHR... pics of each of us growing up, to a song of our own choosing... not sure. I was going to use Rainbow Connection for my songs, but then we decided to do that for our parents dance... so not sure about those yet. Regardless, they will be very short. I liked "So This is Love" from Cinderella, but maybe not for just pics of me. Then for pics of us together, may or may not include DW pics: At the Beginning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP6kPVvIEC0 If we do not include DW pics with At the Beginning, we will be using Beach Boys: God Only Knows for wedding pics.

Could you maybe post pictures? I am not doing passport invites, but I love seeing what other brides have come up with! Would love to see more!

Only West Jet and Air Canada go to our location, especially during summer. We heard through Air Canada. The quote was for a little under 2000 for a week. It was about where we thought it would be, so we were okay with that. $150 down per person. We have to have 10 people to make a group, so what we ended up doing was put the deposit down for us and 8 guests... the first 8 who rsvp will get that early bird deal, because the others won't be getting that before-end-of-may deal. But they will still be part of our group. We are just so excited to have something booked! Now I am waiting to hear from the wedding coordinator at the resort about the specific date, to make sure that we get the date we want! How about yours?

I have also heard a lot of brides say that they do it the morning after so hair and makeup still look alright. We will be doing our the morning after, but that is because the photographer will still be around then.

Oh I would love to hear this. I have super fine and thin hair. I have to keep it short or I look totally bald. It is my least favourite physical feature. I am thinking I will curl mine (it will be somewhere between chin and shoulder length) because that tends to add volume. Then I will probably pull a side back for a hair flower, rthough I was also thinking a veil (just to feel more bridal and pics), but not sure if that would be too much with short thin hair. But yes, layers and curls add volume for me. I originally thought about extensions, but, while the salon is supposed to be good where I am going, it isn't supposed to be amazing, and I am not sure if I want to fiddle with them or not.

I think we are in the same situation. The photographer we would be bringing along with us, if we decide to go with that option, has no experience in tropical settings (which is why we would get such an awesome price)... I love her style, but not knowing what we are getting ahead of time makes us nervous. We can get a decent price, and decent pictures, with someone familiar with the area and used to sun, sand, salt, and so on. I think it is worth it. And, actually, after pricing it all out, FI and I are in agreement on adding on some of the extras I wanted but wasn't sure were worth it. The more we talked about it, the more we realized that the pictures and video (our photography packages can include videography too) are really our highest priority... well, each other first, then the location, then pictures and video... Now I hope we can book who we are after!

I was just wondering where you found the paper coasters?

Okay. Perfect! Thank you!

Thanks for the advice! Here is my other question, then... If I send one to each of my siblings, (which I am thinking is the right way to go), should I mail all the ones to one house together? Like, in one envelope? Or separately? I like the idea of doing it separately, but am not sure if they would all arrive on the same date. (Glorious postal service). Does that matter?

This might be a silly question, but I was wondering who gets the "and guest" invites... all single people? I know that destination weddings are a little different... I have 3 siblings. One is an adult, 25, but lives with my parents. Another is 19 and temporarily away for school. Then there is my sister, who is also my maid of honour, and will be 17 when I get married, obviously a student currently (will just have graduated high school at that time), and living with my parents. None of them have very significant others, or any really, besides my sister. My parents have said they do not want to commit to coming, so I kind of want my siblings to be invited separate from my parents. I have absolutely no problem with them bringing a "plus one", I am just not sure if I should send one invitation to my parents and include my siblings on the invite, since they all basically are still living there, or if I should send one out to each of them, or if I should include "and guest" or not...? What do you think?

Thanks for sharing!