jackshayne0123

Tammy that is my argument! Even if we did find out, it's not 100% for sure.

For all you TTCers and Mommies to be - will you find out the gender of your baby while pregnant or wait until the big arrival? I say wait, my husband says he will want to know. We aren't prego yet but had a big chat about it last night. It's a dicussion To Be Continued to say the last.

Oh so not a big deal then! 3 days is nothing! My SIL and her family made a two week vacation out of our wedding so the two kids were out of school for two weeks....and actually, it was more like a month they were out of school because they were off for Christmas break, and then got sick for a week, and then went to Cuba...I said their brains would turn to mush they've been out for so long! haha But like I mentioned, they are young, Grade 5 and 2 so no biggie

With any airline I have ever flown no, your purse does not count as carry on. But I would check to be sure if you're concerned, you never know, airlines are changing their rules all the time!

Yeah that would be awesome! We did TTD on our honeymoon, but an anniversary session would be wicked too! Maybe I'll plant the bug in my hubby's ear heeheehee

100 friends and family are going to your wedding? That's amazing! That's definitely the biggest DW I've heard of. You'll have a blast! How do you feel about having so many people? Are you stressed or happy so many people can make it?

I burned my music to CD's, and gave it to the DJ at the beach bar where we went to party after dinner. He put it on and only played maybe 10 songs, before taking it out and putting their own music back on. We had the place to ourselves for a bit but once other guests starting trickling in he changed it, which was fine with us, nobody cared anyway, their music was still really good. The music was already playing when we got there, and what really got our party started was the kids, our 4 nieces/nephews jumped right in, it was awesome! The first few songs on my CD were: Let's Get it Started Black Eyed Peas Get the Party Started Pink Holiday Madonna Just Dance Lady Gaga PYT Michael Jackson (this got my parents up and dancing!) Mom loves MJ Happy Pharell Williams (the kids went crazy over this one b/c of Despicable Me) Footloose Kenny Loggins Always Bon Jovi After the slow dance my music was taken off, I guess they didn't like it! And come to think of it, there wasn't another slow dance played all night...but I guess it's a beach bar, it wasn't exclusive just for us, so I guess people go to party not slow dance. We still had an awesome time and my hubby carried me out of there around 1am while a few of my bridesmaids and cousins stayed up to party more. We had a blast!

Congratulations friend to the north! We love the Riu chain, your wedding will be gorgeous!!

Me too!!!!!

You're getting married in Fiji?? That was our dream fantasy honeymoon location! We couldn't make it happen, but we sure dreamed about it! Hopefully one day we will make it there. That will be amazing!! You better come back to post pics after your wedding I'm totally going to stalk you

I hear ya I suck at waiting too! I am praying it happens soon, because we won't try in March b/c we don't want a Christmas baby. Has anybody else done this, plan the month you want your baby to be born? Or am I crazy? I just think Christmas babies get ripped off, it's a busy time of year and sometimes birthdays get overlooked, or they get a combo present. Anyway, just our preference. My hubby is excited for the idea too, he wants a family and I think he'll make an amazing Dad. He's nervous too, but I think most of the emotions will come once I'm actually pregnant and it's a bit more real. For now we're just trying, and dreaming of the idea of a little mini me or mini him! But I already have a plan of how I'm going to tell him I'm pregnant, once I am, and I can't wait! Getting ahead of myself, as per usual LOL

Ok finally, here's my review of the Blau! Pics posted in my Gallery, I can't figure out how to attach them here grrrr Review also posted on TripAdvisor We were at the Blau for our wedding, January 19-27th, we chose this hotel based on the price, the 4 star rating, reviews, and the wedding package that was offered. We had 45 guests join us for one week, family, friends, children included. Everyone loved this resort! It's beautiful, clean, comfortable, hotel staff is very friendly and helpful. The food was good, better than we expected! Even dairy free, vegetarian and gluten free guests had no problem finding something to eat. The rooms were great, clean, beds were a bit hard but we have noticed that no matter where we travel. There was a mix up with our room when we checked in, we were supposed to have a Jr. Suite but were given a regular room. We slept there for one night, and the front desk moved us the next day, and gave us a late check out time for compensation for the trouble. Our Jr. Suite was amazing! Huge bedroom, 2 bathrooms, lots of closet space, a living room area, two TV's, two balconies, on the 11th floor, ocean view, spectacular! We felt like royalty. Our guests enjoyed their stay, and the families with kids had a great time too. There is a kiddie pool, playground, games and activities. The elevators are slow, but whatcha gonna do? We knew that going in. If your room is low enough, take the stairs. The pool area is gorgeous, lunch buffet was great too, and a hamburger/hot dog grill outside that was open all afternoon. The beach was breathtaking! It was huge, lots of space, plenty of chairs, gorgeous white sand, warm turquioise water, it felt like a dream. The beach bar/snack bar was open 24/7, a good place for drinks and dancing after dark. Hotel staff, waiters, bartenders were all amazing! Very friendly, remembered our group, where we liked to sit, my mother made friends with a server at breakfast named Alberto and he called her his princess all week. They certainly make you feel special! Our wedding was incredible - the wedding of our dreams! The wedding coordinator Sabina was fabulous, we emailed almost on a weekly basis for 6 months, she always replied back very quickly with answers to all my questions (and I had A LOT). She was very patient, helpful, kind and sweet. THANK YOU Sabina for everything!! The wedding package covered everything, all the legal paperwork, ceremony, cake, champagne toast and appetizers for all of our guests, reception dinner and drinks, decorations, flowers, there is a salon on site for hair and makeup (makeup for bride only though). A BIG shout out and THANK YOU and a huge recommendation for Yoandy at the salon, he was fabulous! So fun and friendly, all my girls loved him. He went above and beyond for me. There was a slight issue with my flowers, and he made phone calls ASAP to get it fixed. He was incredible. I loved him. Sabina took care of everything wedding related and I felt very at ease. The wedding day ran smoothly, except the Notary was 30 minutes late. But once she arrived and the ceremony started it was perfect and amazing! We chose to get married in the garden rather than the beach, it was gorgeous. We were able to have our own music for the ceremony, which was a plus. Ceremony was very nice, we added a few of our own personal touches, which was not a problem to add, and after I DO we went right into cake, champagne and appi's for everyone, and had our first dance, and I danced with my Dad. Then group, family photos in the garden, and then the bridal party moved to the beach for more photos. After photos, the reception dinner was at the Palma Real restaurant, and the dinner was top notch! Steak and shrimp, chicken upon request, dessert, it was great! Our cake and guest book were also brought over from the ceremony by the staff, I didn't even have to ask for it, a very nice touch. We had the restaurant to ourselves for about a half hour so we were able to do speeches, and there was a string quartet playing the entire meal, and they played a special romantic song for us, and my husband and I danced again. It was beautiful, we couldn't ask for anything more. Speaking of photos - the resort photographer Addiel is AMAZING! Another huge shout out and THANK YOU to Addiel and his team, we also had a videographer, they took pictures and video from 2pm, an hour before the cermony, until around 5:30. Addiel is a true professional, very nice, funny, and amazing! He took the lead and told us what to do, where to stand, how to pose for pictures, but we had some ideas of our own and he was happy to do that as well. Our pictures and video are amazing, spectacular, perfect, we could not be happier! Our wedding was on a Thursday, and Addiel met us at the hotel Saturday to bring 60 prints of our pictures, the best of the best, and we also received a disc with all 700 pictures that he took, plus another disc with the video. Which was perfesionally done and edited, 45 minutes long. I cried through our entire meeting, looking at the pictures, they were more beautiful than I expected, I loved them all, I was so overwhelmed with love, appreciation, and his work. A+++ in my books. FABULOUS JOB ADDIEL!!! Our week at the Blau, time spent with family and friends, and the wedding of our dreams will never be forgotten. The Blau will forever hold a special place in our hearts, and we would not hesitate to go back. We loved it and we are so happy we chose the Blau. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

After our wedding week with all our guests they went home, we switched resorts and stayed an extra week to enjoy our honeymoon. It was amazing! A week to relax and unwind and have time to ourselves was pretty awesome

We had a legal ceremony in Cuba, and a notary peformed the ceremony. She read in Spanish and the WC at the resort translated to English. It was very legal, not fancy or romantic at all, but what can you do. We wanted to make it legal down there and actually get married there, so I had to suck it up. But we were able to personalize the ceremony, my best friend and her husband sang a song and played guitar while we signed our papers, and we said our own vows, so I settled for that. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Yes we had kids at our wedding, we are very family oriented, we want kids of our own ASAP so it was a non issue. We had 2 of our nieces involved in the wedding, Jr. Bridesmaid and Flower Girl, and we were so happy to include the girls. Yes the kids had to be pulled out of school since it was January, but only two of the kids who attended are in school (all the other kids were under 5) and they are 10 and 7 years old, so it wasn't a big deal, not like they are in high school and missing important exams or anything. I'm sure they got caught up quickly once they were back in class. Having the kids there was a blast, we loved it! Especially our nieces, being a part of the wedding was really special for them.

I think it's totally fine not to send formal invites if you don't want to! Especially if you do STD, and have a website or travel agent send info, no need if you don't want it! I did printed invitations because I wanted to, but only sent them to people once they started to book and were confirmed. They weren't anything fancy, just a postcard invite, but I wanted to send something since we didn't do STD, and I knew family and friends would want it for a keepsake. And me too!

My husband wanted a destination wedding from the very beginning, but he had to twist my rubber arm a bit. I've always wanted a beach wedding, I am from Nova Scotia and always dreamed of getting married at the family cottage. All of my family is in NS, but all of his is here in Calgary and AB. If we got married in NS or AB, one side of the family and friends are travelling, spending money on flights, hotels, meals, rental cars, etc etc etc. the costs would add up. A destination/all inclusive would be way cheaper for everyone. -The wedding would be much cheaper, it cost us peanuts to get married at a resort! -Everyone gets a vacation, and it's a reunion too! When was the last time we were all together for a whole week? That never happens now that we have grown up and moved away, have jobs, kids, etc. -It was a chance for our families to come together and meet and get to know each other, since they are across the country -I still got my beach wedding, it may not have been the family cottage, but it was a beach, ocean, sand, sun, I couldn't have asked for anything more. -Have I mentioned it cost us a fraction of what an at home wedding would have cost? $$$ was the biggest factor for my hubby. After we talked to our parents and they were on board, we jumped in and did it! And it was the best decision EVER. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat

Stunning photos, thank you for sharing!

Yup I also agree with these lovely ladies, STD is always a good thing to send, the sooner the better. We didn't, b/c we didn't have time, we were engaged in February, announced in May that it would be a destination wedding in January, so invites and travel info went out ASAP. I wouldn't send a wedding announcement either, it could be confused as an invite, and also it kind of rubs it in the face of people that it's just an announcement, and they aren't invited. And even if you say please no gifts, an announcement like that kind of still implies "but we still want presents". Just my opinion. You're better off not sending. If you wanted to do an engagement announcement, you could put it in your local newspaper? (do people still do that?)

Beautiful photos!!! I wish we could do it all over again, just for another photo shoot! We had so much fun and there are so many beautiful creative shots we didn't get...maybe an anniversary trip is in order? haha

That sounds like an awesome plan, if we had to go this route (and we almost did) we would have done the same thing, kept it minimal and quiet and saved the real thing and all the emotions and sentiment for the DW.