TinkerSofi

I spoke to my Argentina MOH yesterday and she said she can help me set up my own photo booth. Even if I win the fight against the hotel the whole thing will cost at least $500 after adding in the outside vendor fee (and that's if I get a really big discount on it). Juan and I decided to use that money to get one more hour of reception. I think in the end people will have fun with a photo booth regardless of whether it's DIY or professional and it will be nice to be able to spread things out during the reception rather than feeling like I'm in a race against time. My MOH said she can help me by setting it all up and then fixing the pictures up with photoshop before sending them to people . About the people backing out, it's a bummer mostly for those that had a year to save or pay month by month and they just didn't. I guess that's just life though. We'll see what happens when the deadline rolls around next week. For some, I totally understand their situation and that's ok, I'd probably lose the $150 too if I was in their shoes. Some have said that they might stay at another hotel but they're not sure. I just mainly want people to make up their mind and stop with the back and forth. It's getting to be very stressful. I'll give everyone a call after the deadline for our resort and let them know they have one more week to let us know if they're coming or not so we can finalize things with the resort before our final payment is due. I've come to accept that we will not get the third person for free, which is too bad. I wanted to give one to my family because they've been so great with me and they've been having a really rough month but I don't think that will be possible .

OMG I need to do this! how far is it from Playa? @@TammyWright can we reserve your tours even if we're in Canada?

that's what I keep thinking. It would be nice to have everyone there but I was planning for about 10% to back out. It's just a bit hard when that happens but I keep telling myself exactly the same, I won't struggle as much to see everyone and spend time with them

First I'll run it by Juan to make sure we want the photobooth 100% before I start fighting people for nothing. I had to call them today anyway so I figured I could find out how much the outside vendor fee was to bring someone to do the booth and then compare our options and come up with a decision. That's when they told me they're not allowed and I lost it on them a bit hahah. I think it was just the straw that broke the camel's back after months of being nickel and dimed. I got fed up of being treated like an idiot. I'm sure she agreed with me that their price was just a bit off the chart but they don't make those decisions so their hands are tied. If we decide to go through with it I'll try to contact upper management. I'll use the "I booked before they changed the rules" card and see where that takes us. I'm not sure when they'll switch us over to the on site coordinator. I'm afraid the photobooth company won't have our date available anymore at that point. I doubt it because it's low season, but better safe than sorry. We'll see what happens after I talk with Juan today.

I just talked to her on the phone. I am beyond pissed off right now. I got a really sweet deal for a professional photobooth and they won't let me bring them into the hotel, not even paying an outside vendor fee. They want to charge $1300 for a freaking photobooth from Lomas!! I kind of got mad on the phone and told her that Lomas is insane. I wish I made that money in two hours for basically setting up a machine and watching people take pictures. My photographer is not even that expensive for 4 hours, and he not only needs to be running around all day, but then he actually needs to go home and edit the pictures. Anyway I'm going to fight for this and we'll see where it takes me. Stress plus being latin just doesn't mix. I can feel the crazy coming out hahah. If there is something I hate in this world is people taking advantage of others and this is just robbing people blind. If they had somewhat reasonable prices with their vendor I wouldn't even think twice, but this is just a bit much.

Everything looks great!! I love the design on the do not disturb signs

Oh boy, when they tell you the last couple of months are stressful I never believed them. Well, they were right haha. I'm a freaking mess. I feel like for every thing I get done from my list I find another 5 that I still have to do and forgot to put on my list . Update on Guests: Guests are dropping like flies now that it's time to show the money and make final payment. Some have legit reasons, but others it's just due to poor planning. We've gone from 40 guests to maybe 31, which is still a really good number and I'm happy about that. I try to not let it affect me but it's hard not getting a little bit bummed out. I'm 100% sure we will have a blast over there regardless of who comes. Juan the other day reminded me of when we went with my family last January. It was only 5 of us, it rained continuously for most of the week and we still had a great time . That made me feel better. Hotel frustrations: The hotel hasn't answered me in a month. I'm freaking out. I called them two weeks ago to see if they had received my previous e-mail and apparently their e-mail was acting up on the day I had sent it, so I sent it again and still nothing. I'm getting a little bit angry because they actually answered a lot more quickly when I was a year out than now. I'll call them again today and see what is going on. After thinking long and hard about all of the ACTUAL things I have to do, I think this is a more realistic list: - Write vows (after some discussion Juan insisted that he wanted to do this) - Finish up playlist for the party - Make playlist for dinner - Get kids' menu choices - as we stand we might not even have any kids at the wedding anymore. - finish up photobooth- I've contacted a couple of companies who do this. I doubt it will be in our budget but it doesn't hurt to ask. I found out the hotel fee is actually lower for this vendor so I think it's a good idea to explore the options. - finish putting tags to all the fans - assemble emergency kits - Pre-assemble welcome bags - Send welcome brochures to vistaprint - Get groomsmen gifts - start tanning - finalize the hair and makeup ideas - First dance - our lessons start next thursday. yay!! - Call hotel to finalize details (booking of hair and makeup appts, etc) - Get wedding license and contact officiant for a meeting before the wedding - Find a nice lipstick and fake eyelashes to wear on the day of the wedding

You'll be ok . I started freaking out at around the same time because I felt like I had nothing planned. When I put together the planning thread I realized that I had actually made huge progress. Now i'm having my second freak out moment because I realize that every time I check one thing off my list, another 5 come up. Agh!! The never ending story haha. I've also been super busy with work so that hasn't helped the stress. I find making a list is the best thing to not only keep your mind at ease but to also keep the procrastination at bay hahah .

you're so ahead of schedule girl! It's getting so close!!

the part I dread the most. I've been wanting to create a pile of all the stuff we have to bring to get a visual but I think my fear is leading to procrastination haha.

thank you @@acw271011 and @@calgarybride2015 for your opinions . We decided to leave it up to the guys as to whether they want suspenders or not. My brother is totally going for suspenders but I don't know about the other two. Either way I think they'll look good as they'll be wearing the same shirts, pants and tie Not much wedding planning this weekend because it's been so busy, so not many updates

They actually might be saving $200 after taking into a account the taxes for our resort and everything, which I guess it kind of makes sense.

I love the sound of that email @@vancouverpetunia. It was probably more informative than my text haha. I really don't know if they'll switch hotels or if they'll even come, but I think if you're already short on money, losing $150 would kind of hurt. These are two young kids (young, like 23 lol) and honestly they're a bit disorganized. They had a year to save up but they didn't. At this point I'm done making accommodations for people or trying to put out fires so they can do whatever they want, they just need to let me know haha.

I don't know if they'll get to take pictures with the hangers for the guys. most of the pictures I've seen for guys getting ready is them putting on their ties or things like that. Their sessions are way shorter than ours because it takes them like an hour to get ready and that's it, so jealous . I just thought it would be a nice touch anyway for them thank you . The bows is kind of a cute story, when I was growing up in the 90s bows were everywhere lol and my mom had the dining chairs with cushions and the cushion's straps were big enough to make nice bows. So sometimes I would play and make perfect bows on every chair, so let's just say I got plenty of practice. The one on the bride hanger there on the picture is actually a bit uneven and it bugs me hahah. I'm finding the planning a little overwhelming now. I'm trying to make working out my priority right now, but usually by the time i get home from work and everything I only have time for working out or doing something wedding related. It's frustrating.

@@racht33 If you go to edit the text, select the word/words you want to hyperlink and click on the button I highlighted with green on the picture. Then it will let you enter the address for the link, you click ok and it has been hyperlinked!

so beautiful, I especially liked the under water ones

It looks so beautiful. If it was my family giving me this I'd cry hahah. I think your families will love them Thanks for the tip that they are good quality! I was thinking of doing the same for our parents so it's good to know.

the invites look amazing! Super classy I agree with you that all bridesmaid dresses should be ordered together, also sometimes they give you a bit of a discount. We got 10% off for ordering 3 or more . I love the dress you chose too, it looks so nice and summery. OMG, I totally had the same experience with the website and the questions haha. I'm kind of glad I didn't spend the extra money on more extensive invites with all the info because people wouldn't have read them anyway haha. I thought that it helped a little when I put things in point form, but people still asked .

meh, I misspell things all the time! I blame it on my ESL . I only knew that word because I like watching crime shows so the word always comes up haha.

I felt like a stalker too haha but at the end of the day, if people booked they'd be off my stalker list haha! It was mainly those people that said they were interested and hadn't booked that we contacted so I didn't feel so bad

yeah, I think they add a little nice touch, especially since they won't be wearing a suit jacket. I think the suspenders dress up the look a little more without it getting too hot

Yeah, ours was $150, so even less of an incentive to pay the full amount haha. We have a couple of people who want to jump ship now and go to the hotel next door that is about $200 cheaper. I don't even know if that's the best idea, considering they'd be out of $150 if they do that, but who am I to tell people what to do. Update on Bridal Party Attire: The groomsmen/man of honour outfits are ready to go! I went with my brother today to buy his, but they'll all be wearing the same. The pants look a lot darker than they are in real life. They're actually the exact same colour as Juan's suit - we kind of lucked out here, the fabric also looks almost identical. Not the best picture, as we were all tired, but I wanted to see how it all looked together. Sometimes it's hard to imagine when you get all the pieces separately. Now the debate, suspenders or no suspenders? My brother is leaning towards suspenders and Juan and I are both ok with whatever he decides. I'm kind of leaning for suspenders too to be honest. I think they look pretty cool. He might be the only guy wearing them, but he's also the only guy standing on my side so I don't think it will look bad.

Here are the old responses I had typed up before leaving for the mall: I know! I keep looking at this ticker and I keep stuffing my face with food. Whoever said that you lose weight when you get close to the wedding was obviously lying. I can't stop eating I'm so anxious, and I have a dress that I need to fit into in a month! As you can see I didn't make the wire ones because I really don't think I've got the talent. I know there's plenty of tutorials out there but I don't think they would have turned out too well so I saved myself the frustration I'm really not all that organized but I am a type A personality, thanks to my dad, and a bit of a perfectionist. My plan was originally to be done with all the planning at 3 months before the wedding so I could just chill. Obviously that didn't happen but I feel like I got pretty close to it . Most of my stress now is coming from the fact that payments for the trips and the wedding are due and I just want to finalize numbers to give to the hotel and know how much we owe for sure. Again, the type A personality coming out right there haha, I don't like estimates, only real numbers haha. It is totally like the first stress of getting people booked! Maybe not as bad because I hope the numbers don't change drastically, but it is again that uncertainty that drives me nuts. I spoke to my TA today and she said a couple of people have made final payments but most haven't. She's leaving for a week next week and that only leaves about 3 days when she comes back eeek!! I'm sure that just like the initial booking, most people will wait until the last 2 days, especially because for most people a new paycheque is coming in a couple of days before the deadline. I really hope we don't end up with no one but ourselves and immediate family. I would feel so disappointed that after all this planning everyone cancels. I know they won't, but it's that little voice in your head that tells you "what if", that just messes with every inch of confidence that you have. 2.5 weeks! That's so exciting!! I really hope our numbers don't change much. on the one side less people would mean less money, but I really want all of them there It is tough because of the perks, you're kind of hanging on there hoping that everyone will come, but at the same time, like you said, whoever wants to be there will be @@ashhtayy I've been trying to make the same post 3 times and it won't let me! We sent out text individual messages to people who hadn't booked. I remember putting something along the lines of "Hi XXX. Just a friendly reminder that this date is the final day to book your trip with our group to take advantage of our group pricing" I think I might have referred them to our website, so you can always do that. Some people had forgotten about the exact deadline, others told us that they'd be booking soon and some others told us they wouldn't be able to make it. I think I agree with most of the ladies here, those people that think of you as a priority will make sure they're booked and ready to go or they at least tell you why they can't make it, and in the end they're the ones that matter. For those who don't even bother in getting back to you or booking, then maybe you didn't want them there anyways. Everyone still waited until the last 2 days and I'm not exaggerating. A week out there were 11 of us, including us two haha. @@calgarybride2015 They're starting to grow on me! Every time I look at them I have a little chuckle, especially Juan's because I think it looks like a potato head hahah. I didn't know if i wanted to keep them fun like that or make it more along the lines of what you see on etsy. Juan liked the guys' hangers too and to be honest it's less work to just leave them like that haha.

Steal away! They were so quick and easy to make. I think mine was the hardest because I had to make sure the writing was straight, etc. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was actually replying to your other post on my computer but my brother came and we're off to get his man of honor outfit. No I didn't even attempt the wire ones because I had a feeling the wire and I wouldn't get along haha. I would have ended frustrated and they would have looked totally amateur. I just feel like bending wire is not one of my fortes lol. I looked for some inspiration on google and then put my own spin on them [emoji4] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk