Jenny2014

Hi Jess, FI and I have had our accounts joined for quite a few years now. Do you live together, share bills, etc? What aren't you accustomed to? We lived together for a couple of years during university without having our accounts joined, and it was growing frustrating always having to check who had more money when we wanted to do something. So finally we joined our accounts. For a few years we just had the one account between the two of us, paying our bills out of it, etc. Then in December of 2012, we opened a second account (mostly because we were having a car payment come out on a certain date, as well as insurance). Now, every time we get paid, I transfer over money to that account to pay all of our bills. I also transfer over our agreed amount to his tax-free savings account that we are using for our wedding/ savings for the future. Eventually I will open my own, and put money into both. That way, everything gets paid on time, and we know the amount that is left is grocery/gas/fun money. We have found it makes it easier on us to not have to worry about overspending when we know bills are coming out. If one of us needs to make a bigger purchase, we check in with each other to make sure it is okay. He is really good with this, me not so much. I think because I manage the money, I kind of just see it, and know what's there, what still needs to be spent, and know we can afford for me to spend such and such on this item. But it doesn't seem to bug him, so.... we've managed to make it work! It can be a bit frustrating, especially if he spends more money than you do on a monthly basis, but we have always seem it as "our" money, not mine/his money. One of you needs to take the lead on managing the bills/savings, because if you both try to do it, you manage to step on each other, and get into more fights. Not to say we don't have fights about money- we definitely do, but it's much easier when one person has a definite track on what the monthly spending is. We both have complete visibility in our accounts- know each others passwords, so there are no secrets. I hope some of this helps a little bit!

I would talk to whoever you contact at Dreams is and find out all the things you need to do to have the legal ceremony.... if you want a catholic ceremony, you cannot do it on the beach, you have to go to one of the local Catholic Churches. If you just want it legal, I believe a judge comes out, which is then another fee.... While I understand and agree with your fiance...... if your paying nearly $2000 to make it legal in a country that isn't even yours, plus the cost of making it legal back here (not to mention how LONG that will take because it takes a long time to get the paper work back)...... just something to keep in mind. You can always get legally married AFTER back home, so it's not like you did it before....again, just something in my honest opinion that seems to be a huge waste of money/hassle when you don't have to do the same things legally back home.... I would look into the photography pretty quickly.... November is a pretty busy month, especially since your getting married this year! Here's the info for the bonfire that Eleane sent me, hope it helps! I would send your your save the dates quickly, so that way people know...... and get your invites out as quickly as you can! People need time to put money aside... and you really can't do the same timeline as a traditional wedding (3-4 weeks), as it requires more planning (people need to check their passports, ensure they are up to date... save money.... get the time off work for a week, etc.) How many people are you inviting?

Hi Heather!!! Ohh, I will have to try that ice wine.... sounds good. Anything Maple is ohhh so Canadian hahaha. I'm getting married at Dreams PV- I see your getting married at Dreams Tulum! Amazing Love Dreams I love your reasons for picking Mexico. So cute! Congrats on reaching 150 posts! It is well worth it....amazing to be able to open the templates and stuff!

Yeah, I know! When I put all that together, there just wasn't any other option for me! There is a Desire's at Dreams in PV. It is across from El Patio. Alright, so Amir is standing on the stairs. Behind him is the doorway to El Patio, and directly across from these doors (El Patio) is the Desires Sports Lounge. I don't know why Dreams doesn't have it listed, but it is there! We hung out there briefly a couple of times, but I was usually exhausted by around 11 and wanted to go up to bed. I can't believe I didn't take a picture.... but it is there!

and it's estimate that its around 50 photo's per hour, so for the full day, it's a heck of a lot of photo's.... and they edit all of them.

NOOOO crap, no sorry, $2000

hahahahahaha! MAYBE! My bestie says that we are destined to have a baby on that date now haha. Or conceive one on that date. Awwww you made me think of her, and I haven't seen her since Christmas, as she is out in Calgary. Cannot wait for her to come home at the end of June! I am following the unique ceremonies- thinking of doing the sand ceremony in MX. Really like that. I like that you wanted there for be a foreign country aspect to your wedding/ engagement! I just wanted to get engaged haha. Friends came and went, met people, got engaged, got married, and were having babies and here we were, still dating like we were in high school. I was about ready to throttle him. But he finally got a clue and realized just because his friends weren't doing it, doesn't mean he doesn't have to do it... lol Yeah, I definitely think it will be more of a headache..... but if my bestie really can't come, I am thinking of telling her, so she doesn't feel so left out about not being there. I havent decided on that yet either.... again, as time goes on I will see how I feel about it! In California, I flew into LAX, and my aunt and uncle lived in Thousand Oaks? They now live in Irving, as my uncle works in.... crap, Orange County haha (had to think of the O.C. in order to remember that.... thank goodness for TV shows!) Yes, he did have nice things to say..... he loved FL. Had he not met us and came to school here and fallen in love with being here, he probably would have gone back to FL.

Hey! When is your wedding date? Sounds very close to what mine is! I can send you the package that Photoshoots Vallarta sent me- honestly, the $200 for the full day package is WELL WORTH IT! You will get a TON of pictures. PM me your email and i will forward it over to you. It was honestly what sold me, totally and completely. As well as the link they sent me of a wedding they did at Dreams, that had every picture on it. Sooo, absolutely incredible. Yeah, I am willing to pay the $150 for 12 stems of orchids. I will make due with that, but it gives me roughly 80 or more flowers, sooooo I will use them throughout! We opted out of the tables for the cocktail hour. We are going to get a set of lounge chairs for 20, and if other people want to sit, the reception tables will be right there. But as my Mom pointed out, the less seating you provide people, the more mixing and mingling people will do, which is what you want! You don't want small pockets of people who don't bother talking to anyone else.... and we all knwo we have those people in our families! I like the idea of pictures before the ceremony, but since my FI is so against weddings, I am forcing in those special moments, the one's he isn't even thinking about (aka seeing me for the first time in a wedding dress as I am walking down the aisle towards him). He plays it off as if he doesn't care/ couldn't be bothered to care, but I know him, and he is going to get choked up and be emotional, which is exactly how I want him! haha

BEAUTIFUL! What a fantastic moment- how perfect to see the shooting stars! I think it is fitting- what a great start to this chapter in your lives!

LOL yeah, that is a pretty bad date! Awesome though- won't ever forget it, but wwwwwaaaaayyyy too busy of a time of the year to get married/ the expense is ridiculous. How did you come to decide on your wedding date? Was it just a date that was available, or was there some kind of meaning to the date? I'm interested in how people chose their wedding date, as ours is so obviously laid out for us, I wouldn't dare mess with it.

I agree! We shall keep it Operation Wedding Dress! Yes, so our legal wedding will be on our one year engagement anniversary (out 11 year dating anniversary), and then the big wedding will be on our two year engagement anniversary, one year legally married anniversary (and twelve year dating anniversary)! HA! See why we don't want to change the date hahahahaha. I guess it will be like a vow renewal, though I didn't want it to be that way..... but it will mean a lot to my Baba (grandma), if we say some form of vow in front of her. Yes, we are getting married at Dreams because we got engaged there September 2012. So it's a great symmetry. Plus, we (I) always wanted a destination wedding. He is totally fine with the city hall wedding be the be it and end of it all. But he knows this will mean a lot to me, to have the slightly bigger wedding, with the dress and everything. What will we consider our anniversary? I don't know haha. I am assuming the 2014 one, as this is just a very informal legal ceremony that we are doing this year. It's one of those things that we will tell our kids.... we dated for 10 years, then got legally married, then had our big wedding the year after.... blah blah. I don't know... we aren't telling anyone we are doing this, as we don't want anyone to feel like it's not "real". Because it will be to us.... hence my complete indecision around the vows, as I don't want to take anything away from our wedding in MX. I'll decide as it gets closer to September of this year haha. I haven't been to FL Been to CA a few times because my aunt and uncle live there, been to OK and TX when they moved there for a few years. And have driven through most of the top states on our way out to Saskatchewan. Florida is on my list of places to go though. One of our best friends is from El Salvador, and he went to school in FL for a few years before coming up to Ontario. He always talks fondly of his time there, and how much he learned about American culture so quickly haha.

I feel like I have seen a newsletter on here from another bride who is in a similar position. They were together for many, many years, were engaged but the wedding just wasn't a priority to them. Now, they are getting married, so they did a newsletter to their family and friends to let them know it was happening! I thought it was one bride, but I'm not able to find the post where I had seen it.... but it has been done! I don't know if she used it for a STD, but it did go out to guests as a fun way to let them know what was going on! If I find it, I will send you the link

Ahhh, I think we all need a little Overweight Anonymous in our lives to keep us healthy and sane haha. I agree, Florida is probably very similar in climate, so at least there won't be such a huge adjustment. In my deepest, darkest moments, when I am alone, I sometimes rub the small budge and pretend it is a baby. Then I realize I am crazy, and suck it back in, moving on hahaha. I swear, men think we are complicated and nuts, but if they only knew HOW nuts and crazy we really are, NONE of them would ever choose to marry us hahahahahaha. Yeah, that was essentially how I went to the Bridal show. I just threw my hair up (which was semi-greasy from having curly hair that is thin and requires a ton of product to tame the frizz ) and put on a basic day make up. So I felt rather less than bridal when Iw as trying on the dresses. Just helping you with a boost of self esteem! If you like your hair and make up, the dresses will feel more beautiful! Getting legally married in Mexico is a pain in the ass. You have to translate documents into spanish, get an apostille seal, and have a blood test while there. It was just ridiculous that we had to do all that to get married in a different country, when we don't have to do any of that here! So we are getting legally married here one year ahead of time. I know we could do it at any point in time, but we thought because our wedding is so far off, why not do something a little bit special this year. That way, there isn't a different date to worry about, it will all be on the same day, we've just really been married for one extra year. Only our parents and my grandma will be there. I initially had taken out the exchange of rings, and the vows, but I might add a quick version of the vows back in, since my grandma will be there, and not at our DW wedding. Trust me, snow in May is the worst thing to happen here. We are all so over winter- not that it was particularily bad. We actually didn't have a crazy amount of snow, it has just been consistently cold since October, and we are all over it. We get a few days here or there, where the temperature spikes and sun comes out and everyone is joyful, happy, and so grateful to be alive. Then it gets cold again, and we all return to our hermit lifestyles, hating the entire human population haha.

LOL- that is funny how I knew your weight and height before your name. Oh well! Such is a wedding board experience! Yes, FI will be looking into what he wants to wear- he is thinking a grey suit, and he has been there, knows the heat and humidity, so..... I am leaving it up to him! If he wants to sweat in a full suit, that is on him! I will try and advise him, but he is a fashion-conscious kind of man, so he will do what he wants, regardless of what I have to say! Ugh, the "fat" baby bump is the worse. But at least I know how cute I will look with one- I just only want it for a real pregnancy, not this fat roll LOL Yes, eat before you go. AND, make your makeup and hair something that you like. Not necessarily wedding like, but maybe a bit more than just on a day to day basis. More, going out kind of makeup and hair. The worst is when you put on a beautiful dress, and your hair is a mess and you're wearing no makeup/ it's all rubbed off. It completely ruins the moment for you (I know from experience LOL)

Exactly! I am very excited to see what she does, and know I will love it anyways, because someone made it for me. I debated on whether or not to have a veil because of the wind, but I'm only getting married once (ha, okay, well twice since we are doing the legal thing this year, and then the beach wedding next year), I don't want to miss out on the veil experience. To me, it makes me look a bride, so.... for me, it was a non-negotiable. Niagara Falls is beautiful all year round, but you appreciate it much more when it is summer here. Southern Ontario is gorgeous in summer and fall.... but winter, ugh, I absolutely hate it here. Especially this year... winter has gone on and on and on. Take today, it is warm and sunny out and I was so excited to see that. Still am. And worried because it is currently snowing in Texas, which means that is probably coming here, and I DO NOT want snow in May. No, ice wine isn't just Canadian wine (but how freaking awesome would that be!). We have regular wine (Niagara wine has really stepped it's wine game up within the past few years). Ice wine is when they make wine using frozen grapes- so it is super sweet. I LOVE it, and if you like sweet things, I would suggest buying a bottle at some point in your life. It can be very expensive (as all delicious things are), but so worth it. It is an acquired taste- people either love it, or dislike it. I adore it, my best friend, who drinks the exact same kind of wine on a regular basis as me, despises it. It's a dessert kind of wine, and you can only have a little bit of it at a time (because of the sweetness).

Pictures embedded instead of as links: