Branya2012

Venus909 your dress and pictures are stunning! You're right, it was definitely the dress for you! The TTD looks like lots of fun! Congrats!!

Well said Cinnagirl! If you don't consult people, then you just have to be prepared that people will say no if it is not convenient for them, which is what we expected anyways! The thought never crossed my mind to ask anyone else what dates worked for them, but that's probably mostly due to the fact that my fiancee picked our wedding day, our anniversary, and that sort of made it non-negotiable!

People alwaysw have a way of making it all about them...

Hopefully they back off!

Wow, your website looks awesome! Love that you incorporated your colours!

I didn't see clearly where it said which hotel/resort you guys are staying at for the wedding on the Travel Information page. It says Resort and Flight, but I don't see anything about the resort. Maybe you could provide a bit more information about the Melia Caribe Tropical (which is where I am assuming you are staying...unless I missed where it says that!).

Other than that, great job!

I am assuming that was a question to me? We have two different departure gateways for our wedding group - when we put our deposit, we had to deposit for 10 rooms, but we had to pick which gateway people would come from (next to impossible when you're 12 months away from the wedding and haven't even sent out invitations!!). Then, if people come from a different place, we have to pay per person to have that gateway switched because seats are being held on each plane for our group. There's a chance we won't have to pay if our TA can work her magic, but the closer it gets to the wedding, the less likely that is to happen and we have not been bugging our guests to book at all. Also, the deposits were not necessarily a hidden fee, but we did shell that money out about 15 months before the wedding, which was very early. We were okay with that because we know we will have enough people, it was just very early to get such a good group rate.

Hmmm...I think that's all we've come across so far, but it could add up quickly if all 6 seats are changed over to another departure gate. Oh well, we knew that risk going in!

Originally Posted by GingerMisty 

Thanks for your advice! What kind of hidden fees have you come accross?

Anya - December 5, 2012!!

You still have tonnes of time before you need to do something drastic like changing your complete wedding! Hang in there! Not a lot of people will book a holiday so many months away. We sent out invitations out 6-7 months in advance of the wedding, thinking that would be a better time frame, and even now (4-5 months away from the wedding and 2 months from the RSVP date) people that have said they will book still haven't!

Try not to stress and give people more time! Like the brides that have had their weddings have said, some people leave things to the last minute!

We are not doing a cruise, but we are using a travel agent (destination wedding designer, actually, but she is not designing our wedding so her services as a travel agent are free!) and I would highly recommend doign the! Yes, there will be certain things that are aggravating about using a TA and bookign with a group (deposits, deadlines, hidden fees), but if you ask me, it's all worth it when your friends and family have a bazillion questions and you can just say "talk to the travel agent" and they take care of everything!

Plus, I believe that travel agents can get better deals and have the professional know-how when it comes to shopping around and organizing flights from different places, etc. I'm definitely happy we have a TA!

Awesome! Your welcome tag is very nice.

What do the key chains say? I couldn't quite tell.

Well said! We all deal with other people's opinions, whether solicited or not, it sucks that it has such an impact on us while we plan one of the most exciting and happiest days of our lives! But, such is life!

Originally Posted by Mufin1785 

I believe a wedding is about you and future husband and people should feel privileged that they received an invite.  Don't feel guilty because your friends and family just want it to be easy easier to eat and drink on your tab.  A destination Wedding allows for a more intimate wedding and you get to share your day with truly close friends and family. 

My goodness, some of you December brides are so prepared!! (DwBride2Be!!) We are getting married on December 5 at Las Caletas, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and we are staying at the Barcelo PV for the week of the wedding. My then-hubby and I will be staying at Dreams PV for our honeymoon the following week!

Planning is going really well. We have sent STDs and invitations (seperately) and have 16 people booked (including ourselves, I believe. Should I know that number?? ). We still have to find my groom some clothes and then decide on decorations and flowers, but we'll do that just a few months away from the wedding. I'm glad I found the December 2012 thread...we can be excited together!!

Happy planning December brides!!

That is a beautiful story! Congrats! And good job recruiting guests, especially on short notice!!

Originally Posted by SenoritaBronco 

We had discussed moving in together and the fact that he didn't want to ever get married, I was ok with it - not thrilled but ok.  A few weeks after that conversation his Grandmother passed away and after leaving work to be with him and spending the day comforting him he started talking about how special I am to him and how I am the only person he would ever consider marrying. 

 

After the previous conversation and the fact that he was going through so much I just responded "OK".  He then suggested that we have a 'pretend' wedding on our upcoming trip to Mexico, to which I again simply responded "OK".  That quickly changed to maybe we should do the real thing and elope when we go (3 months later), again he simply got an "OK" from me.  The next words out of his mouth were met with much more excitement when he said we couldn't do that and we should call our parents right away to tell them.  We got my parents out of bed that night and his folks thought they were dreaming (he was 41 at the time and had been telling them since he was a teenager that he would never marry), he still thinks that he owes me a super romantic proposal but I think that the way it happened was perfect! 

 

It was a very short engagement but we were able to have 29 friends and family members join us and since his Dad passed away 9 months later I am very happy that things happened exactly as they did and we were able to share our day with him.

Fabulous idea! Your book turned out great!

Glad to hear you were able to compromise!

You could always have him ask someone once they book if they would stand up beside him at the wedding. No title or anything necessary. And if the (albeit socially awkward) friend is a close friend, then why not have him for support!

As for the bachelor party, can the BM that is not able to make it to the wedding still plan the pre-wedding stuff and just not go on the trip? My fiancee and I aren't having a wedding party so we have asked close friends to plan our stag/stagettes. I don't see anything wrong with having his BM stay his BM and have someone else stand up for him at the wedding, if that's important to him and you. But then again, we have been basically throwing tradition out the window, so of course some people's opinions might differ! Good luck in making your decision and helping him feel a bit better about the people not coming to the wedding in the mean time.

PS: Our wedding dates are only 2 days apart!!

Something that we thought we might have to pay extra for is bringing our own, off-site photographer. He is our friend and is coming with his wife, so we just have to pay the same per-head price for him and not the $300+ it would be for hiring an outside photographer.

Something to think of in case you are planning on doing the same!

Beautiful! I laughed out loud at the one with your ring finger up, showing off your gorgeous ring! Love the idea!

So exciting that you were published on the wedding blog! Congrats! And Congrats on the big day, too!

Thanks for taking the time to post this planning thread! It's amazing! Your wedding was beautiful, I especially love the table settings (in one of our colours, yellow!)! That was also great that you summarized what not to stress over at the end. Job well done and a big congrats to you and your new husband on your soon to be bundle of joy!

The Canucks garter is a fabulous idea!!! I'm stealing it...as long as the seller can make more! That'll be a funny surprise for any Canucks fan groom (which mine happens to be!!). Thanks for sharing Vancouver Bride!! From a fellow Vancouver Bride.

Originally Posted by Vancouver Bride 

Hi

 

I fell in love with the bright coloured garters on Naked Orchid Garters on Etsy (see first pic $60 for both but the seller was keen on negotiating for only 1 also at a lower price around $25 for the smaller). They are just so bright and fun!!!

 

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/79009328/bridal-garter-set-in-leopard-and-tangelo

 

 

BUT....I was thinking that the man who catches it wouldn't care much about a girly flower garter and that my fiance would be totally shocked and surprised with a sports garter. He would never even think that they made NHL garters and he will be so surprised! So I ended up ordering a Canuck's garter set to surprise him!

 

Etsy, narfer99 Both garters with $24+5.00 shipping

http://www.etsy.com/listing/73598169/vancouver-canucks-nhl-wedding-garter-set

I love both those colour combos but especially the blue and yellow as those are my colours! We are doing a lighter blue, though. What kinds of flowers are on the cake and in the bouquet for the yellow/blue combo? Love it!! I'd like a simply decorated cake as well...let the flowers/colours speak for themselves!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by AMW Studios 

Hi Ladies!! 

 

From a photographers standpoint, we absolutely love vibrant colors, it's always so much fun to see what our brides are coming up with for color combo's. Last year I swear we had three weddings in a row that were navy blue and pink!  For the beach I think that navy blue with pink would look great but I would definitely consider adding some yellows or oranges to make your colors really pop against the sand/ocean. 

 

One of our brides recently had navy accents but all of her flowers were orange and pink. I thought it was stunning (her wedding was on a farm but I think the colors would work equally well for a beach)!

 

           

 

Another one of our brides who got married in mexico chose yellow and blue

 

           

 

We just recently shot a wedding where the bride had chosen yellow and grey, pictures are still being edited but I have to say this is one of my new favorite color combo's. 

 

Pinterest is such a great (addictive, be prepared to give up hours of your life) resource when comes to details/colors etc... 

Love their looks, Avens!! I would like my groom to wear something similar. Good to know you got the pants at Le Chateau! We haven't started looking yet for our December wedding, but I want to go soon before all of the summer clothes are off the racks!

PS: Your dress is very pretty!

Originally Posted by Avens 

Here are our final result of grooms and groomsmen attire.

 

Groomsmen shirts and pants are from Le Chateau

Groom has the same pants, his shirt is Hugo Boss (it was white, and my dress was Ivory and it worked).

We just told them to wear brown sandals.

Hubby and I went shopping to find some pants together, then had the best man come in and try them on - and discovered the shirts.

Hubby went on his own and found his shirt and shoes (I didn't even have to harass him, I was so proud).

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think it's in poor taste at all! We do not want gifts either, and just didn't mention them on the invitation or save the date except to say "your preseence is your gift to us, whether in person or in spirit" or something like that. If some asks if we are registered, I just tell them we are not registered and their love and support is all we need!

I did ask my mom to put on my bridal shower invites something about no gifts though. I didn't really want a shower in the first place, so I wanted it to be clear that I do not want gifts. Although I'm sure some people won't listen but there's nothing I can do about that!

What did you decide Brenners??

Just to be different - I love the saying hubby! It's affectionate and fun. I do call him my husband sometimes (even though we're not married yet) just because it's easier. I did that before we were even engaged, travelling europe, it was jus easier to say I was travelling with my husband. May have even used his last name to book us into a castle we stayed at in Ireland...

As for close friends using the term husband...SUPER big pet peeve! If someone knows your husband, just use his name!! It's not that hard!

Good thread. Sorry to oppose!

Not weird at all! I love the positive spin that AMW Studios put on it!

It makes your wedding more unique!!

Welcome and congratulations Krups618 and Lauren6282!! The best advice I can think of is to make sure that you really, truly, deep down want a destination wedding. There will most likely be people, some very close to you, that will express their opinions about why you shouldn't have a destination wedding or do things a certain way (unless you are very lucky!!). Not to be negative, but I think it's just a really good place to start to make sure that a DW is what you and your fiancee really, really want! Then take it from there! Do you want the blue pristine ocean in the Carribbean? Or something private with Mexican flare (check out Las Caletas if this is the case...it is where my fiancee and I are geting married in December). The destination wedding world is your oyster!!

Good luck choosing a wedding location and happy planning! This site is the best!!