diadiamond

I just saw this now. Hope I didn't miss out =( Hopefully we can meet up sometime this summer. I can't believe it's been almost a year since we all met in person for the first time.

@@acw271011 I missed this place so much and just saw that you mentioned me. How are you? I'd also love for all of us to do something. I can't believe it's been almost a year since most of us first met.

So happy to see you ladies tonight! @@Meandhim I'll have a margarita for both of us @@calgarybride2015 As far as I know I'm free both days. I would love to meet you in person!

Hey Ladies! It's been a while, but I'm back. Sorry I couldn't make it to the last meeting, but I'm definitely making it to this one. April 8th works for me! I love Mexican food, so that sounds like a plan to me. My co wokers said good things about El Catrin. @@deecol thanks for keeping me in the loop hun!

@@snswedding2016 Sounds like a plan to me =) See you ladies later! @@acw271011 I really hope you can make it, but I understand if you can't. I'm so sorry I've been MIA since my wedding. I was really hoping to hear all about your vow renewal. I hope you feel better =)

Hey Ladies! So sorry I took so long to respond I'm definitely in. Just need to know where and when! I need to know what's going on with you all! Is this still where we're planning to meet? I can get there at around the same time that you'll be there so you won't be alone =)

It's been quite a while since I've been on the forum. Life's been super busy and I think I'm really starting to feel the wedding blues. It's been a whole month since I got married and time honestly just flies! Past brides, what advice do you have for beating the wedding blues? I totally forgot to tell you all about my legal ceremony. The weekend after we got back we had a small, intimate wedding ceremony with just immediate family at a restaurant. It hit me about 4 months into my wedding planning that I needed to find a way to ensure that our marriage is legal in the province of Ontario. We decided that we didn't want to do a legal ceremony in Cuba because of all the work that we would have to go through to provide documentation. Also, we didn't feel comfortable travelling with important documents such as our birth certificates. Furthermore, we heard that it takes a year to get your marriage certificate from Cuba and then you need to have it translated. That's when we decided that we would have a symbolic ceremony in Cuba and a legal ceremony here. I know that a majority of brides do their legal ceremony before they leave, but that was something we felt wouldn't work for us. It was mostly because of my MIL. She was against our destination wedding from the start and basically said that if we had a legal wedding here before we left she wouldn't come to our destination wedding because there would be no point. This was quite hurtful to us since we see our destination wedding as our real wedding. We thought about having a city hall ceremony and not telling anyone about it, but Dan didn't like that idea. Our only option was to have the legal ceremony after and plan it in a way where it didn't feel like a wedding. I learned that City Hall won't do weddings if you previously exchanged vows i.e. they won't do your legal wedding if you've already had a symbolic one. We hired our own officiant through an agency and he was okay with the concept and still agreed to perform our ceremony. We planned our legal ceremony to be the same day as our anniversary (October 4). I initially wanted to do the ceremony then lunch seeing as the date was a Sunday and I had sent my invitations out and everything. A few weeks before our legal ceremony my MIL made us change the time to 6 p.m. and was very insistent upon it. I changed it just to make her happy and let our families know about the time change. We had our ceremony at Topiary's restaurant in Mississauga. We had a private room that was really nice. Our officiant was amazing, he had the perfect mix of humour and sentiment throughout our ceremony. It was actually quite traditional which was nice. We did a celtic handfasting which was really special. I decided not to wear white for my legal ceremony and re-wore the dress I wore for my bridal shower - a pale pink dress with nude flats. The food was really good. Most of us had steak and we shared appitizers. We didn't bring a wedding cake, we opted to order dessert off of the menu instead. All in all it was amazing. I feel with the way I planned my wedding there are no regrets, everything was amazing and everyone had a wonderful time. I got to have an amazing non-traditional beach ceremony in Cuba and traditional at-home ceremony as well. Sorry I haven't been on in a while, I have a major case of wedding blues, and I chose to step away from the forum to sort out my feelings. I'm still a little blue, I wish that I could turn back time and re-live it all over again.

I got married last month at Iberostar Varadero. I'm probably not the best person to help you out because I handed out my favours prior to leaving. I don't think it should be a problem though. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Happy planning hun!

Hey Everyone! I can't believe that I got married almost two weeks ago! It's insane how fast time flies! I already miss my wedding week and I wish I could turn back time so badly! We had such an amazing time with all of our family and friends. It truly was a once in a life-time experience as we were able to mix groups of friends and family that would have otherwise never gotten a chance to know each other and we got to spend time with everyone! I have absolutely no regrets about having a destination wedding! I believe I mentioned it in my first post, but it was actually my fiancee (now husband!) who persuaded me to have a destination wedding. Until I started planning my wedding I always thought that I would have a traditional wedding at home like all my friends and family. Choosing a destination wedding was the best decision I made! Below is my review: Iberostar Varadero Wedding Review: We got married at Iberostar Varadero on September 24, 2015. We were there from September 19-26. We booked our wedding with Yogesh Anand of Marlin Travel in Oakville and we flew with Air Transat. Our TA Yogesh was amazing and great at handling my questions, requests, and concerns. He got us a great rate and went out of his way for us. Flying with Air Transat was great too! They were really good to us and our wedding group. We were all seated together which was great. The pilot made an announcement about our wedding and my husband and I got complimentary bottles of sparkling wine. The only downside was that they don’t have a special closet, like Sunwing, to store your wedding dress and they only offer you a whole overhead compartment if it is available. I had to cram my dress in the overhead compartment. The resort was amazing, despite having a few weak points. Check-in went really smoothly we didn’t have to wait long to get our rooms and they had three people doing the check-in so it went fast. We were told that there would be bellboys to assist with our luggage, but there weren’t any so we had to take our luggage to our rooms ourselves. Our guests were in blocks 11 and 12 and we were in block 17 because we were upgraded free of charge to a suite! In our suite we received a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine which was really nice. Our room was really nice, but the button on our toilet was a little broken, the toilet still worked though, this was the only drawback to our room. It was also nice that we were able to access the wifi from our room, everyone else said that they had to use the wifi in the lobby. Wifi is available; however, it is 2CUC per hour. The only complaint for rooms that we had was from my MIL who wanted to be in a room on the second floor, she was given a new room the next day. The food at the resort was the best food I’ve had in Cuba (This was our third trip to Cuba). My family couldn’t eat the meat (they only eat halal meat), but were able to eat fish and we also had vegetarians with us and everyone was able to find something to eat. My only complaint was the food handling, this is a 5 star resort and part of the Iberostar chain so I expected more. I’ve seen better food handling procedures at lower star resorts. There was lots of cross-contamination (i.e. one spoon for meat and veggie dishes). We booked a reservation at the Japanese a la carte and there were cockroaches on the cooking surface and the table that we were at. This was unacceptable to us so we got up, left, and went to the main buffet instead which didn’t have any bugs or other critters. I hope that they work on their food handling procedures in the near future. The beach was simply the best I’ve ever seen. There was no seaweed, the water was bright blue and clear so that you could see all the way to the bottom. The water was warm and the ocean was calm the whole time we were there. The pool was amazing as well and it was HUGE! The swim-up bar had the best drinks! Especially the Banana Daiquiri and Papa Hemingway. They also had amazing virgin drinks too for my family members and guests who don’t drink alcohol. There were plenty of palapas and chairs near the beach and pool so there was never any competition. Since we travelled during hurricane season it was very hot and humid during the day, but nice and sunny and then it rained for about an hour after 4p.m. which is when we all headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner, nap, ect. anyways. The staff really does go out of their way to make your stay special. When they found out that we were getting married I found that they were super nice to us and our group. The staff never begged or asked for tips (something we had seen at other resorts) but went above and beyond for everyone. Since they knew we were a big group they often set aside enough chairs and tables for our whole group so we could eat dinner together in the main buffet. I will definitely go back to the Iberostar Varadero for vacation. The Wedding: We arrived on Saturday and during check-in we were given a piece of paper with a time and place to meet the wedding co-ordinator. We met with our coordinator on the Monday morning to go over details such as the flowers, cake, decor, venue options, timings, photography, videography, appointments, and pricing. Belkis, the wedding coordinator was amazing! She is so good at what she does! You are in good hands with her. She told us what to do, where to go, and how the wedding will work. We didn’t even need a rehearsal. Our ceremony was set for 3 p.m., dinner at 6:30p.m. at La Parilla restaurant, and reception at 8:30p.m. at the beach bar. On the wedding day I was extremely calm until I realized that I was running a little behind schedule. My hair appointment was booked for 11a.m. and the woman that did my hair did an amazing job. I knew that I wanted an updo because of the heat and humidity. I brought my own hairspray (Redken Control Addict) and bobby pins. My hair was amazing and stayed all day. My hair took almost 2 hours to do. I raced back to my room to have my bridesmaid (a freelance makeup artist) do my makeup which she had offered to do as a wedding gift. Just as I got my makeup done the photographer, Ibrianny, arrived to take some photos of us getting ready. I had to quickly slip on my dress and jewelry for him to get some shots. Next thing I knew it was time to leave for the ceremony. Belkis picked us up in a golf cart and we headed down to the beach gazebo. The ceremony was beautiful. I chose a live Cuban trio to play music for the ceremony and my walk down the aisle which was absolutely beautiful. We had a symbolic ceremony which was about 10-15 minutes long. We signed a piece to paper to make it look real to everyone, exchanged vows, and exchanged rings. We had a champagne toast with all of our guests after the ceremony and were greeted by friends and family so that they could congratulate us. After the ceremony we did a group photo with everyone, family photos, photos with the wedding party, and then pictures of the two of us. Ibrianny was absolutely incredible! He knew the right lighting and angles to make us look good. He was also very friendly and a pleasure to work with. Our videographer was amazing as well. We couldn’t be happier with our photos and video. I wanted a choice of two main dishes for my entree because my family would only eat fish and other people didn’t eat fish. So we chose to have a salmon and a chicken entree. I had the salmon with mango chutney which was delicious. We had a buffet appetizer, lobster bisque for soup, and crepes with flambeed bananas for dessert which all tasted fabulous. There was some confusion after dinner with our reception. We originally wanted the beach bar which is outdoors, but because of rain we were relocated to the disco. The reception was supposed to start at 8:30p.m. but because there was a function happening we had to wait until 9p.m. We were all just confused as to what was happening. We didn’t have an MC so we ended up MCing the reception ourselves which was a little stressful, but we had fun with it. We did speeches while they were setting up the cake then we did the cake cutting, first dance, and then we danced the night away till 11p.m. when the disco opened to the public. When we left the reception we went back to our room which was beautifully decorated with rose petals, chocolate, and another complimentary bottle of sparkling wine! Even though there were a few hiccups in our day we still had an amazing time and I wouldn’t change anything. I definitely recommend getting married at the Iberostar Varadero it was a dream come true. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my planning thread and my review! I'm not done yet with updates! I'm so behind lol, but I'm hoping to upload some pictures of my legal ceremony and tell you all about it as well. I wanted to post some pictures of my wedding day in Cuba, but for some reason I can't =(

Aww you're so sweet hun! We had an amazing time! It's so true it does go SO fast. I feel like my wedding day went by in the blink of an eye lol. I will definitely be posting all about it soon! My index finger on my right hand chipped a little by my wedding day, but it wasn't very noticeable. Awww thank you hun! You're so sweet! I got my nails done at Nice One Nails near the Walmart at Argentia. I got the idea from a picture I saw on social media. I thought it was really cute and different. I was really surprised that I was able to leave with my pictures and my photographer did an amazing job! It went so fast! I wish that I could go back and re live it all over again! Awww thanks hun! The shellac was really good and chipped a little bit by my wedding day. I plan on posting my review and spilling all the details of my trip. Hope your planning is going well. We had such an amazing time! More details to come =) I wish I could turn back time too. I ended up buying a steamer, but I didn't end up using it. It's actually still in the box lol. My wedding went way too fast! I wish I could live it all over again. Aww thank you hun! It was so amazing! Thanks hun! I can't believe you're about two months away! Aww thank you hun! Thanks so much hun! I can't believe you're about 3 months away! So exciting. Thank you hun! Also, congrats on your fitness journey you're doing so well! I just saw your ticker in your signature. Your day is coming so soon! Thank you so much! It really was a dream come true. Hun, your day is coming up so soon! I can't wait to hear all about it!

@@veryvalentine feel better hun! Have fun in Mexico!

Hey Ladies! Sorry I've been MIA! It's been crazy! I got sick when I got back and there's been a lot happening at work, I'm still in for tomorrow though! I can't wait to see you all again!

I'm so sorry I haven't been replying or anything it's been super crazy! I just wanted to let you all know that I'm definitely still in! I can't wait to hear what you've all been up to!

Hey Ladies! I'm so sorry I didn't get a chance to respond individually to each one of your comments as I normally do, but things have been pretty crazy! I'm really glad that I took a few days off before we left as we had so much to do. We leave tomorrow!!! I honestly cannot believe it! Like I know it's happening, but for some reason it's not clicking with me. It's been pretty busy since I've been off from work. In the last three days I've: packed everything, printed all relevant documents, gotten all of our money together, bought some last minute things, packed my carry-on, got our marriage license for our legal ceremony when we return, confirmed all of my details with my TA and the WC at the resort, and the list goes on lol. All of the stress, anxiety, planning, and joy has lead to this point and I feel really overwhelmed by emotion. A small part of me wishes that I had more time to enjoy it all, but a large part of me just wants to experience it. I can't wait to share details with you all when I get back! Oh I almost forgot. I got my nails done today. I ended up getting a shellac mani/pedi based on advice from some co-workers. The woman at the salon put like 4 coats of it on so I'm hoping that it won't chip or anything while I'm down there. I know that my wedding colour is red, but as the bride I really wanted to stand out so I picked my favourite colour (pale lavender) for my nails and an awesome design a friend showed me. I wanted something a little nontraditional. What do you think?

Ladies! I'm leaving in less than 1 week, 6 days to be exact! I can't believe how fast time is flying! For some reason it's still not clicking with me, I'm unable to believe that this is really happening. Sorry I've been so sparse with the updates, but I've been super busy. Work has really picked up and some major changes are happening so it's been all hand on deck at work trying to figure everything out. It also doesn't help that a few other assistants have quit so the extra work has fallen on everyone else. I've seen a lot of brides work up until they leave and I honestly don't know how they do it. I'm so exhausted by the time I get home and do my regular daily chores I barely have time to do any planning. I'm leaving next Saturday and my last day at work is Tuesday, so I'm hoping that having 3 days off before we leave is enough time for me to get everything together. Also, every time I come back from vacation I get sick so I took an additional two days off to recover and spend some time with my soon to be hubby. I feel accomplished this week as I was able to: write my speeches, write my vows, finish my playlist and put it on my iPod, make a list of questions to ask the wedding coordinator, hand out the last of my favours, give out all of the bridesmaids/groomsman gifts, and pick up last minute items. I ended up buying a travel steamer to bring with me. Did any past brides find it helpful? I think I paid around $30 for it from Walmart. I was going through my planning thread earlier and realized that I totally forgot to put up my website. My fiance is in IT and having a website was really important to us, so we used WIX to create our website. It's really user friendly. I know almost nothing about computers and I found it really easy to use when I had to do updates and everything. It did cost us quite a bit for a 2 year subscription (I believe it was around $100). I don't think anyone really visited our website, so if I were to do it all over again I might skip the website and maybe create a page using social media or even send a newsletter to everyone. Thank you so much for your kind comments about my decor. I am planning on also having some flowers just to spice up my space a bit and really hammer in the point that a wedding will take place. I will definitely update before I leave. Anyways ladies I am off to start packing!