Peach

Gorgeous!

Oh my god, that is terrible! I totally get you snapping, and though I sympathize that it is a difficult decision for your FI, having to choose between you and his family, I really do not get why he is mad at you. His family is putting him in the bad situation; why is he not mad at them? Maybe try writing out your feelings to him, kind of in a letter, and give it to him to read while you are there. That way you can get it all out, thoroughly, without him interrupting, but while you are still present. I don't know, is that lame? I think it must be so hard and so stressful living like you are walking on eggshells.... Oh this must be so hard. I wish I knew what to say...

Can you try posting the template? I am not sure if I have that or not, since this is a new laptop... but if I do not, I am sure others would love it too!

Thanks! I am actually originally from a small town more in central Alberta, but I moved to Lethbridge 8 years ago. Glad to be here!

Yes, I would love a template too! This is exactly what I want to do!

Like! I think it is so funny! Glee?

Wow, a place for Calgary brides! I am not actually technically in Calgary, but I am fairly close.... Lethbridge, actually. I will be using resources/shopping in Calgary, so this is great. Thanks!

Great idea!

I think it depends on the photographer, but great question. I would hope not... you are paying for it, you are living with those photos forever, you should love them, and he should not be insulted about that, provided you are polite and straightforward about it. Most of my friends who have gotten married (though none have done destination before) did have a list of pictures they wanted taken. One even had examples printed off of the kinds that she wanted. So it is totally doable.

Mila Kunis - Black Swan

like (usually) fuzzy socks?

Indifferent, I am not a big designer-person. Thrift stores?

Steal away! I know a few brides do them, so I cannot take credit for the original idea, but I know we have bubbas and LOVE them on vacations!

like back to school stuff in the stores

There is a thread somewhere called Top 10 Tips for the Frugal Bride or something like that, which is great for ideas. Here are my top tips; we are pretty broke too! Just buy a white dress; it does not need to be a bridal one (a lot of bm dresses come in white and are gorgeous); believe me, with the veil and everything, you will look like a bride. Shop around. Compare prices on everything. Do not buy anything regular price. I just bought 4 bags for the moms and b,s gifts for the price that one originally was a month ago. Do you DIY? I would suggest doing AS MUCH DIY as possible; invites, STDs, even simple jewlery and a veil.... there are some fabulous threads on here to help you! I am going to pay only approximately $50 for my message in a bottle invites! My FMIL knows a woman who owns a U-Brew who is giving us a fabulous deal on bottles and corks; I am using regular scrapbook paper I already have, and sand from the dollar store. We are hand-delivering them at a time when we are already in the different towns; we only have to ship one! (Which is responsible for a large chunk of that $50) That brings me too.... call on your friends (and family). Do they have any talents? I scrapbook, and my friend has an eye for design. My FMIL knows people (apparently, from our bottles!), and used to be a photographer, so she is taking our engagement shots. I have a teenage sister who will be doing my makeup. Use it all! Bonus - are they enthusiastic without talent? I bet they can pick up some skills! Use them anyway! Hahaha! Just be nice, work with them, and supply the wine Plus, you wiill be left with all this fabulous bonding time, and great memories! My number one tip? If you can, travel off-season. We always travel off-season because of my work (I get summers off). Last time we were in Mexico in July, we paid close to half of what a week in peak season would have cost; and we stayed two weeks! The downside? It is hot. And I mean, HOT. Also, depending where you are, it is hurricane season; keep that in mind, and get your insurance for the trip. Do not skimp on that. Okay, my OTHER number one tip.... Prioritize. We knew we wanted GORGEOUS pictures, and lots of them, and a video.... We do not care about decor, since we are travelling to a gorgeous place and nature has already taken care of it. So we are not buying/bringing down tons of stuff. And at the AHR, I am DIYing - saving glass bottles to cover in paper, put in wholesale blooms, surround with tealights, make hanging curtains.... all very thrifty. Buying wooden packs of frames, checking out dollar stores and thrift shops.... And because of that, we can have the photos and video we want. All that little stuff really adds up! Our budget focuses: pictures, gifts for the bridal party. Everything else comes second, and since we knew that from the get-go, it is easier. Okay, one more tip, then I am done. Be organized! Know where every cent is going; keep track of everything, $-wise and not. Then you won't be surprised to see $20 gone here, $50 there.... even $200 before you know it. Like I said, that litle stuff seems to get forgotten about, and it all adds up so fast. Hope all this rambling helps. Just check out the forum lots and lots for different ideas - I am saving so much just by looking at what everyone else is doing!

Oh love! thunderstorms

Yes; I started in Powerpoint, and I used Word too. I found the layering easier in Word, but that is probably just because I am more familiar with it. I found the saving and such easier in Powerpoint.I am still fiddling, but I think the underwater one is my favourite too. I am trying to get the red colour closer to our coral colour; if not, I will just go blue or something. If you look, there is a sticky with instructions you can download once you hit 150 posts on how to make them in powerpoint; that is what I used to begin with.

Stunning!

I am not doing whole bags. I am getting everyone a bubba keg and filling it with a few things, depending on the person. So not all-out OOT bags, but similar. And I am making activity books. That is it for the rooms. I am not doing a separate favour at the reception at the DW; I will be doing something at the AHR though; not sure what. We will have a fairly small group , though, and no one has been to a DW before, so they will not be expecting the bubbas; they are going to act as favours and welcome gifts. Hope that helps!

Have not yet seen Rio... though it is sitting in my basement. Generally, though, LOVE cartoon movies. Saturday morning cartoons? (either now or years ago)

I really like your fans. Maybe I will start a layout for them too. I am so impressed by how much you have done! And it all looks so great! I love checking out your blog; thank you for sharing it with us.

Okay, I fixed that one, and made another one.... this one is actually a picture of the resort where we are getting married, but I am not sure if I like it or not; it might be too 'busy'. Still trying to decide my favourite among all 4.

love! the first sight of leaves yellowing with the fall?

Yikes! I am not sure why that first one is so much larger.... sorry about that.

Okay ladies, I tried my hand at making a few monograms this afternoon. I decided not to put on the date, because a) it is not finalized, and I want to use the same ones for stuff at my AHR too. These are what I have made so far. They are easier to make than I thought, but I wanted the opinions of all you lovely ladies. Which one is best? Or should I keep trying? What do you think?