MyTye2B

Sarah, thank you so much for all of this information! I honestly hadn't considered getting my lashes done, but now that I read this it sounds like a perfect idea! I'm going to look into some places in Calgary that I could go - any suggestions anyone!? I live in Calgary now, but I'm originally from Windsor - not too far from where you are. It looks like you'll be getting married at the same resort a few months after me! Great choice! Thanks again for answering some of the questions. I'm glad I've stumbled on this thread!

Oh and to answer your question Claire I am very happy with the bridesmaids dresses! They are beautiful. It's funny how nothing comes in the proper size though so I just can't wait to see how beautiful everything is going to be when they are all the correct size for the girls. I think it's another way to add to the anticipation!

It looks like I missed a lot when I posted earlier! We must have all been writing near the same time. I LOVE your finished bags, Claire! I can't believe how talented you are! You could sell those hangers on Etsy (and even bags - I bet they took a ton of work because they are so beautiful) and make a fortune! Ladies I am a crazy cat lady at heart, but I love ALL animals so much so it was nice to see a picture of a furry friend here. Chrestena your story of how your puppy came into your family was so wonderful. Liana it kills me to leave my babies alone too when I travel but usually they have Tyrel home to take care of them. For the wedding I did a ton of research and finally found a wonderful set of women who will be our hired cat sitters while we're gone. They even vacuum and sweep, take out the trash and bring in the mail.... and they asked what toys Maggie and Zain like best so that they can have them available for when they come to watch them. I think it will be some of the best money I'm spending on this trip and I feel soooo confident now that they're in good hands. They've even come over for a meet and greet with the cats. Told ya I'm a crazy cat lady, haha! Chrestena thank you so much for sharing how you got your dress clean. I have my beautiful wedding dress, and I also purchased a cheap knock-off dress that I intend to wear for my TTD session, however it is HUGE on me, so when I go on July 13 to have my wedding dress taken in and sized I am going to ask how much it would cost to have the cheap TTD dress sized as well. If it is too much money to have it sized then I will probably wear my real wedding dress in the TTD session. The only things that scare me are 1. It is mermaid style underneath so I do not want to drown! and 2. I worried that I wouldn't be able to get it clean and I don't want to pay to have it professionally cleaned because I just saw a 1/2 off Groupon for wedding dress cleaning and it was still $250! And you're right - I will probably never wear it again anyway. I don't want it to be ruined though, so I can see myself soaking it in the tub as well haha. Thanks for the picture! I may show that to Tyrel so he doesn't think I'm crazy! Can I ask what are you ladies thinking of getting your bridesmaids as gifts? Or what have you purchased for them if you are a former bride? I got them necklaces to wear with their dresses, but I want to put something else special in their OOT bags that are special just for the bridesmaids. I feel a bit bad, because I put down the 50% deposit on the spa services for everyone and I know some people will pay for their bridesmaids hair and makeup, but it totalled $500 for the 50% deposit (although that included my $150 as well) but still very expensive so I just sent an email 'gently reminding' or asking if they could please e-transfer me the deposit which most of them had said that they would do months ago when I first booked it. I am trying to free up some space on our credit cards because we only have 48 more days until our wedding and I know that once we get to Grand Palladium I am going to have a big, fat bill waiting for me at the end of the trip and I need room available on my credit card to put it. Do you think it was rude for me to ask them to pay me back the deposit? Do you have any suggestions of something nice, meaningful but not too expensive that I can put in the OOT bags to go along with their necklaces? I have 5 bridesmaids. Thanks for your help! Lauren

Liana we decided on a DW for the same reason. My fiance's family is all in Alberta and my family is all from Ontario so it's a nice direct flight down to Mexico for all of us. Carlota, I am so sorry to hear that Thomas is so sick. That sounds just awful and I will be thinking of you guys and wishing him a speedy recovery. No fun! I'm glad the doctor has given him something stronger. Take care of him!

Bre, I'm not sure the answer about the Karen Bussen packages - I did hear that there are no substitutions but I don't see why they wouldn't allow you to bring your own and then use the included ones for another purpose or just not at all if you're still paying for it. Is your wedding coordinator Vanessa? They're all pretty good at getting right back to you within a day or two so I'd just send a quick email so then you know. They never seem to be annoyed which is awesome. You could even use the included bouquet for your toss if you wanted to and like you said I'm sure you could use it for table decor too. Bummer about the price going up so much but yeah, New Year's is an expensive time for sure (but also an amazing time for a wedding!! What a party!) The airliner in me knows that prices - especially that time of year - will absolutely not drop unfortunately. Here's hoping the rest get on booking before it goes up even more. Happy Canada Day, Canadian girls!!

Hi Everyone, And hi Chrestena it was sooo nice to hear from you again!! I It's crazy how you can meet people in this way and become friends and keep in touch. Eight years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter I met some people in a support group on the internet who were also having children with her condition and 8 years later we're still friends. Lol - I went to Texas to visit and they've even come to Canada but of course Facebook makes things very easy! I love the idea of the starfish for the rings, girls. I am still trying to figure out what to put in the little window of the box I've made, and how to make the paint look kind of distressed. The sandpaper didn't work well, so I'm waiting for my crafty friend to get home from camping for the long weekend to bounce some more ideas off of her. It took enough for me to look into how to do that signature thing you were talking about but I figured it out. I'm going to ask Vanessa about the rain thing for you, Carlota. I'm really trying not to think about it haha! It's such a beautiful day here outside I'm heading back out to sit on the deck even though I really should use this down time to start thinking about my seating plan and so many other last minute things I need to think about. I hope you're all enjoying the weekend! Lauren

Don't worry Carlota, I didn't work very hard yesterday either haha. It's so easy to upload pictures into Facebook so tonight I will put an album! Did Vanessa say that even if it rains we can still be the ones to make the decision to stay on the beach, or if there is a prediction of rain are we forced to move inside at 1pm? Claire your OOT bags are beautiful! I cannot believe you did all that painting! You are incredibly talented!! I can't wait to see your tree! I'm happy your etsy things had started arriving. I mentioned yesterday that inwasnstill waiting on my bridesmaid dresses and today two arrived! Talk to you soon!

Oh and ill definitely contact your videographer tomorrow too. I would like to have a short video too.

Oh yay! Thank you for the translation as well Carlota! I am on my phone typing now but tomorrow I will copy and paste that and send to Vanessa. You are awesome for sending that! And haha - I am going to bed tonight offering eggs to Saint Clara and burying knives in the ground. I don't think we really have any traditions other than just crossing our fingers. They say it's good luck but I don't believe that. I think it's just something they say to brides so that we don't cry haha! Good job on your tags too!! I can't wait to see what you decide to do with the starfish.

I'm answering all my own questions today, haha. Josef is the resort videographer! I hope everyone else is harder at work than I am today! I'm just enjoying the sunshine though the window and completely distracting myself!

Oh I found the name of Chrestena's videographer! It is Josef Rios and she said that he was right in the Kantenah lobby. I tried to google search and I could not find any information about him. I'm a bit nervous to wait until I get there to set something up in case I can't find him. Any advice?

I guess not, I give up haha. Sorry about that!

YIKES! I copied and pasted and that is NOT pretty! Sorry for no paragraphs! Let's try this again! MJones, I’m from Calgary and our guests who booked with WestJet vacations received a rate of $1374 I believe. I recently heard from my travel agent that the price went down $50 per person so everyone will be getting that back. We had about 20 people book from Calgary (they needed 10 rooms in order to get the group rate) and some people flying out of Toronto to add to that. Most of my family and friends are leaving from Detroit because they live in Windsor so it’s way cheaper just to cross the border and fly from there then it would be to drive up to Toronto and park to join the group rate. They paid anywhere from $1200 (Expedia which I honestly don’t recommend) to $1450 with our TA through Delta, United and Spirit. There were no group rates for that. My fiancé and I both work for WestJet so we encouraged anyone who could to fly with us because it’s just such great service. ïŠ I’m terrified of GDS bookings on the internet because if something goes wrong a lot of the times you’re at their mercy, although it can be much cheaper at times. We booked our flights separately from the rest because we wanted to get the Mayan Suite which was not available as part of a package. My advice is to pick someone you’re comfortable with and then hide from checking prices lol. It’s so frustrating to see them going up and down and back and forth but it always happens. March is probably going to be pricier since it’s spring break around the country. August is cheap because let’s face it, it’s going to be boiling, haha! We also just found a deal offered through our company for employees which is ridiculously cheap to stay at the Riviera so I’ve just had 6 more people ‘potentially’ added on. It’s on a space available list so they are all waiting for the hotel to get back to them. Two just heard and are now coming! Claire I am so excited for you as your wedding day is just about here! How are you feeling last minute? Are you nervous/excited?? How about the guests? I bet everyone is getting excited! Is there anything we can help you with from afar to prepare for last minute? What do you find yourself needing to do right now? I will be crossing my fingers and knowing you’ll have such an amazing day! I just can’t wait to see the pictures and how beautiful you’ll be! Carlotta I can understand why you are nervous about your dress being steamed since it’s so delicate. I am worried too! I wouldn’t imagine that they would touch the dress at all. I think that they will be very careful. I am hoping! I am getting more and more nervous as time gets closer thinking of all of the things that we still need to get done. I still need to get my bridesmaids dresses in. They have not yet arrived and I’m starting to worry. I did send an email to the company inquiring. I did send a follow-up email to the bridal store in Windsor where I ordered my wedding dress to ask about what the heck happened with the shipping of my dress. I haven’t heard back yet though. I am also starting to feel nervous about the weather the day of the wedding. I have paid so much extra to have chairs and the crystal backdrop brought in to the resort for beach decoration. I will be so upset if it rains!! I will cross my fingers for you and for all of us brides that we have beautiful days for our wedding! It’s good to know that they have things so organized in case anything happens, but of course we plan and pray that our days will be perfect. The girl I know from my office who got married at Grand Palladium 2 years ago now had rain on her wedding day and she did have to move to the indoor location. ïŒ She wasn’t too upset about it at all and said that the day was still perfect. I don’t think that I would be that calm! I guess it’s just one of those things we cannot control and we’ll have to roll with the punches if it happens. But I hope it doesn’t, haha! It is FINALLY supposed to be an absolutely beautiful week here in Calgary. The day is gorgeous today. But the city is still in shambles because of all of the flooding and rain over the last few weeks. We’re still in a state of emergency with people evacuated from their homes, but luckily we are safe and our home is safe. Speaking of getting a tan, I am going to Las Vegas one week from today with 5 of my girlfriends and we are having a ‘tanning party’ at my house the night before we leave. We are all so white, haha, so someone who I work with has an Organic spray tan business and she comes to your home, sets up a tent and does spray tans for all of the girls. The host of the party gets to tan for free and for the rest it is only $45 if you have 5 or more people! So I’m looking forward to that. Once we are in Vegas I think my tan will take off and hopefully stay until Mexico, otherwise I’ll get another tan again from her. I don’t usually hold a tan very well. Vanessa did get back to me as well about the bathrooms. She laughed and wrote ‘hahaha I was speaking with Carlotta about that and she said she talked to you!’ I thought that was so funny! Also she did not understand one thing that I asked her. Maybe Carlotta you can help me to figure out what words in English to use? I wanted to know if I can borrow the board that they use that the resort puts the daily activities on. I want to borrow it for the reception so that I can hang my seating chart on it. Vanessa thought that I wanted to include the daily activities for the guests but I do not need that. I just want to use the board during the reception so that I can stick up our seating plan. Does that make sense? I also think I really want to get a videographer for the wedding. I just want a short one like Chrestena had and I’m certain she told us who she used and how much she paid but I need to go back and figure it out. I thought that she had said it was the resort videographer, but I contacted Damarys through Vanessa and they sent me a price of $500 which is too much for me I think just for 2 hours. I might do it though! I just want to look into who Chrestena had.

MJones, I’m from Calgary and our guests who booked with WestJet vacations received a rate of $1374 I believe. I recently heard from my travel agent that the price went down $50 per person so everyone will be getting that back. We had about 20 people book from Calgary (they needed 10 rooms in order to get the group rate) and some people flying out of Toronto to add to that. Most of my family and friends are leaving from Detroit because they live in Windsor so it’s way cheaper just to cross the border and fly from there then it would be to drive up to Toronto and park to join the group rate. They paid anywhere from $1200 (Expedia which I honestly don’t recommend) to $1450 with our TA through Delta, United and Spirit. There were no group rates for that. My fiancé and I both work for WestJet so we encouraged anyone who could to fly with us because it’s just such great service. ïŠ I’m terrified of GDS bookings on the internet because if something goes wrong a lot of the times you’re at their mercy, although it can be much cheaper at times. We booked our flights separately from the rest because we wanted to get the Mayan Suite which was not available as part of a package. My advice is to pick someone you’re comfortable with and then hide from checking prices lol. It’s so frustrating to see them going up and down and back and forth but it always happens. March is probably going to be pricier since it’s spring break around the country. August is cheap because let’s face it, it’s going to be boiling, haha! We also just found a deal offered through our company for employees which is ridiculously cheap to stay at the Riviera so I’ve just had 6 more people ‘potentially’ added on. It’s on a space available list so they are all waiting for the hotel to get back to them. Two just heard and are now coming! Claire I am so excited for you as your wedding day is just about here! How are you feeling last minute? Are you nervous/excited?? How about the guests? I bet everyone is getting excited! Is there anything we can help you with from afar to prepare for last minute? What do you find yourself needing to do right now? I will be crossing my fingers and knowing you’ll have such an amazing day! I just can’t wait to see the pictures and how beautiful you’ll be! Carlotta I can understand why you are nervous about your dress being steamed since it’s so delicate. I am worried too! I wouldn’t imagine that they would touch the dress at all. I think that they will be very careful. I am hoping! I am getting more and more nervous as time gets closer thinking of all of the things that we still need to get done. I still need to get my bridesmaids dresses in. They have not yet arrived and I’m starting to worry. I did send an email to the company inquiring. I did send a follow-up email to the bridal store in Windsor where I ordered my wedding dress to ask about what the heck happened with the shipping of my dress. I haven’t heard back yet though. I am also starting to feel nervous about the weather the day of the wedding. I have paid so much extra to have chairs and the crystal backdrop brought in to the resort for beach decoration. I will be so upset if it rains!! I will cross my fingers for you and for all of us brides that we have beautiful days for our wedding! It’s good to know that they have things so organized in case anything happens, but of course we plan and pray that our days will be perfect. The girl I know from my office who got married at Grand Palladium 2 years ago now had rain on her wedding day and she did have to move to the indoor location. ïŒ She wasn’t too upset about it at all and said that the day was still perfect. I don’t think that I would be that calm! I guess it’s just one of those things we cannot control and we’ll have to roll with the punches if it happens. But I hope it doesn’t, haha! It is FINALLY supposed to be an absolutely beautiful week here in Calgary. The day is gorgeous today. But the city is still in shambles because of all of the flooding and rain over the last few weeks. We’re still in a state of emergency with people evacuated from their homes, but luckily we are safe and our home is safe. Speaking of getting a tan, I am going to Las Vegas one week from today with 5 of my girlfriends and we are having a ‘tanning party’ at my house the night before we leave. We are all so white, haha, so someone who I work with has an Organic spray tan business and she comes to your home, sets up a tent and does spray tans for all of the girls. The host of the party gets to tan for free and for the rest it is only $45 if you have 5 or more people! So I’m looking forward to that. Once we are in Vegas I think my tan will take off and hopefully stay until Mexico, otherwise I’ll get another tan again from her. I don’t usually hold a tan very well. Vanessa did get back to me as well about the bathrooms. She laughed and wrote ‘hahaha I was speaking with Carlotta about that and she said she talked to you!’ I thought that was so funny! Also she did not understand one thing that I asked her. Maybe Carlotta you can help me to figure out what words in English to use? I wanted to know if I can borrow the board that they use that the resort puts the daily activities on. I want to borrow it for the reception so that I can hang my seating chart on it. Vanessa thought that I wanted to include the daily activities for the guests but I do not need that. I just want to use the board during the reception so that I can stick up our seating plan. Does that make sense? I also think I really want to get a videographer for the wedding. I just want a short one like Chrestena had and I’m certain she told us who she used and how much she paid but I need to go back and figure it out. I thought that she had said it was the resort videographer, but I contacted Damarys through Vanessa and they sent me a price of $500 which is too much for me I think just for 2 hours. I might do it though! I just want to look into who Chrestena had.

Carlota you look BEAUTIFUL! Thank you so much for sharing what your dress looks like - I am glad you put your face in the picture you look so happy! Isn't it so exciting to try on your dress!? The glass beads just add something very special and I think they will sparkle in the sun so nicely. About the OOT bag wording, I think I have seen some wordings on here but I will have to look around a bit. I did add a card to mine that is like a thank you letter and also says "We hope that you can use these items during your stay to make it a bit more enjoyable". The things included were a word search book, playing cards, itinerary of events etc. I also included a small bag that has chapstick with SPF, after sun aloe, bug repellant wipes and tylenol and this one will be labled "In sickness and in health" which is an idea that I got from other ladies here. I think it just needs to be a simple message stating that it is a welcome bag that they can use during their stay. My dress arrived yesterday too. I purchased it in Ontario so that my mom could be with me when I tried it on, however I live in Alberta so I had them ship it out to me. I was VERY upset when I saw that it had arrived Friday and was sitting on my front door step in a box and I didn't have to sign for it. I'm sure some of you have heard about the flooding in Calgary right now, well that is where I live, so I was quite upset when I saw my $2000 dress sitting in a box in the pouring rain. LUCKILY nothing happened to it as it was in a box and a bag and no one had stolen it off my front porch, but I was very upset with Canada Post and the bridal store who shipped it with no signature required. Anyway, once I tried it on it was SOOOO big (like literally I could wear the bust around my hips. I'd need to go up 6 cup sizes for the top to fit properly, even the bottom is too big, but my friend calmed me down. She is good with the sewing machine and she said that it should not be too difficult to take it in - even that much. So I called the seamstress and she does not even want me to bring in the dress until July 13 because she says that it will take no longer than 2 weeks to correct and since so many women lose weight before the wedding she doesn't want to do it now. That makes sense so I am content that everything will work out. Yesterday was a wonderful day. My friend came over and I pulled out all of the things that I have for the wedding so far and started to think about what needs to be finished up. We made table runners for all of the tables and I started working on making a ring bearer box - I was inspired by something I saw on Etsy which was selling for $30 but then I found the box at Michael's for $3.99 and spray painted it, used some burlap I had and some lace ribbon I had, and created this box. It is not finished yet, I still need to get some sand paper and make it look distressed, and also in the window at the top I would like to actually get someone with nice writing to paint our wedding date and make a heart. I was just trying some things. I think it will be easy for our ring bearer who is only 4 years old, to bring this box which latches shut up to Uncle Tye. It's crazy how things are finally starting to come together! I'm getting soooo very excited! I have some new questions for Vanessa that maybe you ladies can help me with. Do you know (those of you who are having or have had a reception in La Laguna) if there are bathrooms right in La Laguna that will be available for the guests and if they are private too for the reception or if they are used by other guests at the resort at the same time as the reception if they're outside? I ask because I'd like to bring a small box with me to put in some hairspray, bobby pins and hair ties (dancing gets hot!) gum, etc. Also I am wondering if they will have maybe an easel or poster board or something that I can borrow to stick our escort cards onto rather than having to bring something with me. I am thinking they must have something because they usually have a big sign listing the day's activities on it. Thanks for your help! Lauren

Thanks, Heather! I ordered them from SlyCreationsBouquets on Etsy. Here's the link: https://www.etsy.com/transaction/136170471?ref=fb2_tnx_image. Etsy has a lot of great beach boutonnieres. Good luck!

Oh and here's the picture of the boutonnieres I ordered!

Jen, That is awesome, haha. Thanks for the little bit of positivity. I'll hope for some last minute pound dropage from the rushing too!

Oh wow Carlotta it sounds like you have done so much in the last little while!! Yes, those shoes of Thomas' are called boat shoes - they are so nice! I wish I could get Tyrel to wear some nice shoes, haha. I did just order some nice boutonnieres for the guys - I wasn't sure what I would do to differentiate them from the others, but I think the boutonnieres are nice. I will find a picture and post them for you. They have already been shipped. I bought them on Etsy like so many other things. I also did read about and see your shoes! So nice! I am glad you found them and it is so exciting that you will be going to try on your dress again with them. I am so excited to have the chance to do that. I absolutely can't wait for my wedding dress to arrive! I am getting very nervous about some of my bridesmaids dresses. We are still waiting for 3 of them to come in! The girls will need to get them altered too so hopefully they will come in soon. I also still need to finish up some things with the OOT bags. I am ironing on transfers so I need to buy some more ink for my computer to finish that and I think I want to put some hand sanitizers in too which I still need to buy. One of my girlfriends will be coming over on Saturday to help me make some table runners which I would like to bring for the tables at the reception. We have had wedding showers the last 3 weekends in Ontario (I flew home for that) and then out here at Tyrel's family's house as well as at my aunt's house. Here we do like you do in Spain where we make a registry at a store and most people will purchase things for our house. Our problem is that we have about 6 sets of measuring spoons and cups and no one got gift receipts so I can't return them. And we still need towels haha. I am so appreciative because we have been able to get a lot of new things for our house. But I feel like I've been writing thank you cards for weeks! My fingers have dents in them from holding a pen so hard! Most people at my shower in Ontario gave money or gift cards which was nice because they were much easier to carry back on the plane than it would have been if people got big gifts and dishes, etc. To answer your other question, yes some people have been asking me lots of questions! Mostly I feel like I don't know the answer. I feel like I am planning a lot but at the same time I know that I can not plan too much because things will probably go a different way than I imagine once I am there. About your 6:30pm dinner time, that is a great time for me but I know that it is so early for you! I heard that things always run later anyway, so maybe it will be pushed back a bit, although I guess you'd still have to be there for that time. I have also just started a crazy stupid new diet. I don't know why I left it so long to 2 months before the wedding! I know I will look gorgeous in my wedding dress because it is impossible not to, but I am worried about being 20 pounds overweight when I have to wear a bikini around my family and friends all week in Mexico! Haha It has been really hard to be eating so healthy especially since it is the summer and everyone keeps having BBQ's and beer and I can't indulge. I am going to eat SOOOO much in Mexico! I need to start thinking about the words for the ceremony too like you are. We are not doing a sand ceremony but I think we are doing a blessing of the hands? One of my girlfriends will read that. I also still need a basket for my flower girl and a pillow or something for the ring bearer to use too. Are you having a flower girl and ring bearer? What will they be using? Well, back to writing thank you cards! Talk to you soon! Lauren

Hi Ladies, I haven't been on in so long like Claire work has been insane! And we moved into our new home and now that we've been there for 3 weeks we're finally starting to put things together and I can start thinking wedding again rather than house. I have just read everything I missed and I want to respond to so many things but I'd need to sit and take notes lol! Welcome to all of the new brides-to-be on the forum! I am so happy that this is such an active place. Although I don't know a lot about the new packages it is all the same excitement and confusion trying to organize for all of us. We get married in 2 months from today! 61 days to be exact. I still feel like I have so much to do! I think we're pretty well set on 48-50 as our final number. My wedding dress is currently en route from Ontario out to Alberta for me right now. I'm in Saskatchewan for another 2 days for work though so I'm hoping I'm there to greet it when it arrives! I can't wait to try it on, and then I have to find somewhere to take it to get sized. I'm hippy, so it needed to be ordered quite large and my bust certainly doesn't measure up! Lol! Carlotta, how are you feeling? You're getting married just before me so you only have like 6 weeks to go! I don't know what this forum is going to do without when you're off in Mexico. You're such a fantastic help to everyone. Is there anyone on here who is getting married in the next month or two? I'll definitely be keeping up from here on out. I miss you guys! xo Lauren

Oh my goodness, Chrestena if I had teared up before reading your review, I really teared up watching your video!! I too was dead set against having a videographer - that's what pictures are for, I'll remember. But not now - now I HAVE to have one! Your video is incredible! I hate to ask the same questions over and over again so I will need to go back and read up as I don't quite remember the details since I didn't think it pertained to something I'd need, but I really want to know who your videographer was! Also, your makeup looks beautiful!!! You did it yourself right? So pretty and natural, I just love it! Again, I'm so glad you had a perfect day!!

Hi Chrestena and welcome back! I have to tell you I'm sneaking a peak at work right now and I literally have tears in my eyes reading your review!! Congratulations! It sounds like such an amazing, beautiful, perfect in every way day!! I LOVE that the two of you snuck off for some time just to enjoy. It sounds beautiful. Thank you, thank you for such and incredible review. The more I read, the more relaxed I feel. ENJOY married life! xo