KAT2015

I used some i got at the dollar store last Christmas at Halloween - 4 hours outside and all lasted. I'm sure they will last even longer. if you get them at the dollar store, grab a few extra just in case one bums out early

Yes we are definitely considering that as an option. FI has an interview tomorrow that I am hopeful for (even with a +50% pay cut from the previous job). However, given his profession there is a very real chance we may wind up heading east for a job for him. We've decided that we will still go forward with this wedding here, even if we wind up moving away... so much going on! I hope all you girls are having a bit of an easier go with the wedding plans than I am

I was doing some wedding research myself for my now at home wedding next year, and I found these. My first thought was 'OH! If I was still doing a DW this would have been perfect!' Lanterns, LED lights and then some silk flowers/bouquet in there... or you do a mini-pom out of silk flowers and a foam craft ball. Light, easy to pack, no breakage and gorgeous. Just an idea for all you out there still looking....

Thanks @@TinkerSofi... I'm the same way. We are very lucky as my FI and I have enough accessible income to support us for awhile - with my salary we only need about $2000 from him a month to stay on top of things, so we have enough to technically sustain for 2 years without any additional income. I think after the cancellation of our last wedding that this one will still go ahead, because I know his parents will be jumping in to help (and we have people already booked from the UK to come to Calgary). Its just hard to let that money go....

Since I already had a thread going here about our wedding troubles - I'd thought I'd add another little vent. Even though I am not doing a DW anymore, I'm still poking around on the site - mostly because the support is great, the ideas translate to an at home wedding and the people are amazing!!! So after EVERYTHING we have been through in booking this wedding - from the DW cancellation, to the scrambling to find another venue, to booking our major aspects.... we were finally all caught up, moving forward and enjoying the wedding process.... -until- My FI lost his job last week - out of nowhere, technically no cause - no warning. And BOOM - our household income drops by more than 50%..... Honestly - how do you get a break in this world? So now I'm debating if I can even feel comfortable putting down a final $400 in deposits (hair/makeup, officiant, dj) when financially, we just took a HUGE hit. On top of it - he is in an industry where you can't just find any job - its a long process to get a job, and most positions that he would be obtaining are still a 50% pay cut from his previous job since he had worked his way up there quite quickly.... his parents are willing to help, but I hate asking. Bah... just when you think you're in the clear....

That is SO frustrating - I hate when people don't think to tell anyone these things. Its like verbal fine print! No matter what, you have the room now, and any damage you do in the gym just makes you feel better all around - you also have a few bathing suits to wear So sweat it up and feel great about it! Ok so I finally got our sneak peek photos! I don't have the full set on usb yet, but here is a couple as promised:

I think you absolutely did the right thing - I'd much rather have my dress let out now and then taken in later as opposed to scrambling last minute and stressing about it fitting. DON'T worry so much about the gym stuff. Keep up with what you are doing - if the numbers are dropping, you're doing well. If you can, get back into the back exercises and get into some other full body ones (squats, push-ups) combined with some cardio/ intervals - burpees with a pushup, skipping between exercises.... You WILL get to where you want to be. Our bodies are hard to work with - to maximize our weight loss, we actually have to put on some mass in muscle FIRST, and then hit the cardio. I always explain it to people like this - you burn more fuel in a Hummer going up a hill than you would a Mini - the more muscle, the more fuel (calories) burned. And then as the fat melts away, you're left with a nice tone. The problem is that building muscle UNDER fat can sometimes make us size up for a bit (ahem - I'm in that phase right now). Dresses for weddings are supposed to make us look and feel beautiful and I think it stresses us out and does the exact opposite. I'm always scrutinizing over the pictures I have in my dress - I'm super thankful that I had to buy it off the rack (discontinued style) so the fit and colour is EXACTLY what I tried... and it has a corset back. The pics I've seen of you in your dress on here are beautiful - no one will notice (or needs to know) if it came out an inch, a half inch or was taken in 2 inches. As long as you feel good, you'll be beautiful - and I would beg anyone at your wedding to disagree

I totally will post some! Here are a couple my brother did for us: So those ones were done in downtown Calgary - except the dog ones - they were done in the park across the street from my house The ones we JUST got done with our photographer we actually went to the Calgary Corn Maze! It was the first date I took my FI on (and a surprise at that) so we thought it would be a good spot. Sneak peek photos should show up any day so I will post it here when I see it. I'll always be around - there are too many good ideas on here for weddings in general that I need to steal

Hey @@TinkerSofi - if you do want to look at engagement photos in the city, I have two options for you - The first - my brother is working on a photography certificate, and has a pretty good eye. If you have ideas of shots you would want (I looked at Pinterest for my ideas) he could get it done for you. He is a master at editing too - we had a couple photos on the Peace Bridge, and he was able to edit full PEOPLE out of it. If you want to see some of the photos, check out our wedding website, under photos (the Engagement Album). I don't know his cost, but I would bet about $200 would do it (I'm not sure how many photos he would do an edit for you but I can find out). kellyandjames2015.weddingwindow.com Second option - since we are doing a wedding in Calgary now (and yes, I still look at this site because I love the people and ideas!), we hired a photographer in Calgary. She does AMAZING photos and has fantastic prices (we have her for 12 hours on our wedding day, as well as her husband, get 300-400 edited photos, free engagement shoot for $1650). She JUST did our engagement photos on Sunday (I don't have them yet) but she has reasonable prices. Her blog of photos is here: http://www.fdpstudio.com/idea/modules/blog/bloglist.aspx?pageid=165

Only slightly off topic.... I have had to cancel my destination wedding and move the wedding back home to Calgary next summer. My fiance and I have booked our ceremony space, reception and our photgrapher already. However, we need an officiant now, and I'm hoping the girls in this forum maybe have some experience from other weddings they have been to recently that can help! We met with one officiant who was fine - he knows his stuff, been doing it awhile, extremely professional. He even has his own sound system (but he charges an extra $150 to use it). The thing is, I felt like something was missing. We want someone with a bit more 'oomph' - like a bigger personality. While adaptable is nice, I don't want a chameleon that feels like he couldn't offer any personal experiences, jokes etc. Yes, there will be an aspect of seriousness to our wedding, and romance, but we are light hearted and fun and want the same vibe at our wedding. We can do different readings and have jokes written into the ceremony, but I'd like someone that can, on the fly, add a little humour in his opening spiel, or ad-lib something during the ceremony.... Does any Calgary girls have any suggestions of officiants in the area? I know many are looking to do their civil portion here before travelling so I thought I'd give this site a go (even though I'm not technically a destination bride anymore!)

July 4,2015. We were a bit hesitant doing it during stampede but we really had no choice!

Now that I finally logged back on... We just booked the last date at Gunn's Dairy Barn in Heritage Park. We also booked our photographer last night. So the dream of a destination wedding has ended - now we are just hoping to do a honeymoon soon after the wedding (London/Paris we hope!!!).

Yes there are options - I think we are looking at Heritage Park for the reception and maybe the Bow Valley Canoe Club for the ceremony. Its do-able, just much more work, and more difficult. You win some, you lose some!

Well - thank you all for the feedback. At this time, we've cancelled our block of rooms with WestJet. We haven't cancelled the wedding just yet, however, any other options available to us are likely a logistical nightmare, could cost more and could have other people committed to coming backing out. We are about 85% sure that we have to let go of our dream of a destination wedding week with those people who we care about most. This wasn't about getting married on a beach - it was about the time we could spend with everyone we care about and have a wedding at the same time. So, for now, we are working on identifying and budgeting for options here in Calgary next year. Its taken me two days of stomach aches and crying to even get to this point! So fingers crossed the worse of it is over and we can move on....

Hi Tammy - we did it through a Travel Agent with WestJet vacations. So its a flight/room combo right now. WestJet looks to be fully booked up on flights the date of our travel. I can ask my TA if they will honour this but WJ's policy says you have to keep it at 10 rooms to qualify. I unfortunately can't switch tour companies without a huge price increase for my guests out of Calgary. Transat and Sunwing are not flying direct to PC next spring, and because they are vacation companies, they do not have connecting flights for us. So everyone would have to book a flight to Toronto and pay the fee from there - which works out to another 200-300 per person anyhow.

Hey ladies, I am getting married (hopefully) May 25, 2015 at Now Larimar. I have travel dates for my guests of May 20-27, and quotes departing from Calgary and Toronto, Canada. I'm in a super tight spot right now - I had a list of 16 rooms that I was inviting from Canada (couples and singles) which was well above the 10 minimum I needed for my group discount. Or so I thought. There were 4 rooms that that were iffy. One was for my cousin who was doing photography, who now can't because his gf is pregnant and likely delivering at the same time next year. But - now my brother is mad at me and not booking, and I've had two friends cancel (one because of finances and another because they are trying to have a baby). I have another friend who I don't know if they are coming yet. That brings me to 7 rooms - 3 less than what I need to hold these rates for my family and friends. If I can't hold the rates they are going to be charged more (and some are at their limit already), or they have to book on their own. Online searches seem to be showing no real travel for those dates or for our rates to Now Larimar. Unfortunately, if people can't book the extra cost and the resort has limited availability for rooms, I will have to cancel my wedding. So I thought I'd ask here - see if any brides from Canada may be there that week and needing extra rooms. Our rates are: Calgary - double occupancy - $1668 Toronto - double occupancy - $1355 Our deadline is next Monday to book ($200 deposit), so if you do know of anyone, please PM me ASAP! Maybe we can help each other out.

Maybe I'll give that a try.

Not ruin my day. But my mum, her fiance, my sister and a good friend of mine from Ontario are all strapped financially. If we don't get the group deal then it is likely they can't afford to come. The family from the Uk is my FIs, I don't know them. My brother may eventually book, but not by the deadline. He was recently very cruel to me and threatened not to come - I'm not going to beg him to book. Aside from them, I have a friend and her husband, and another friend here that will likely still come. But I can't get married without my best 3 girlfriends and my mum and sister. I just never wanted a wedding with only a couple family members - I want to celebrate and have fun like i have at all my friends weddings. Not just have a wedding and a normal old vacation. I don't know if that makes sense...? Our whole group will lose this pricing if I don't have 10 rooms. It isn't about people losing it if they don't book - if we don't meet the minimum rooms, we have no deal.

Unfortunately no. The two friends trying to have a baby won't book because they don't know what is going to happen. The other isn't booking due to finances. The FI aunt and uncle have tons of money and don't seem to be that interested so they won't be bothered to book now. My aunt is the one who's son is having a baby. Come to think of it we had another 2 invites for our Canadian friends go out - neither one of those couples have even bothered to acknowledge the invite at this time. I don't know what the amount will be for each person that wants to book if we don't have a group rate - I am betting about $200 per person which won't be manageable for my singles coming from Calgary (that'll take them to 2300 each).

So I just need to get this out - my FI is flying home from the States and isn't here to talk about all this. I'm literally losing my mind. When I started arrangements for my wedding, I had my TA (a friend) block off 15 rooms for guests. I had 15 rooms invited for sure. Of those 15, I was sure I had a guaranteed 10 rooms - the minimum for our group discount. Also, of those 15 were my aunt, my FIs aunt and uncle - both of whom we were not sure could come. 1 room was set aside for my cousin, as we were going to pay for him to come and do our photos. I left a buffer of one person in case of an unexpected decline. My cousin's gf is going to have a baby (his) by our wedding date so he is out. Now, I have had that decline (a friend of mind who didnt work for a year and is only doing a one year contract now - watching finances). I have had another set of friends (the TAs) tell me they can't book because they are trying to have a baby. My brother is pissed at me and won't book before the deadline. I have a least one other friend that is a question mark. For everyone counting - I only have 7 out of 10 rooms booked and we are only 7 days from deadline (and 3 from when I told people it was). Meaning no group discount. Even worse - I have run some searches online and can't seem to find any trips for our week to that resort - looks booked up. We already have people booked coming from England (booking on their own). So now - we have a block of 15 rooms. I am either forcing my guests to pay more (which may or may not be possible) without the group discount or book on their own. But judging from the info online, booking on their own will be difficult and we may wind up with some people not being able to get rooms. If my guests can't get rooms - we'll have to cancel the wedding as a lot of these people are important to me and I wouldn't get married without them. I'm extremely upset. My friend who is trying for a baby said that she and her husband knew for awhile they would start trying in September. I got engaged at the end of July and set our date the first week of August and she didn't bother to tell me then so I could plan! The people I depended on to be there and who were all gung ho about this wedding are now backing out and completely screwing me. I have zero idea of what to do right now. At best, my TA friend is going to ask his friends if any of them want in on a group deal vacation for next year to save my ass. If that doesn't work, I'm lost. All I've ever wanted was to have a small destination wedding with the people who are closest to me - relaxing, fun and memorable - and now its starting to look like that won't happen. I've been crying for the last half hour and still don't know what to do.

The instrumental is also what I am going to walk down the aisle to! Haha. Gorgeous set up - you have made me feel better about keeping all white decor with just a couple small accents for our reception!

I was able to book my alteration with David's Bridal in October - I just had to ask. Then again, all I need is a hem. But they want to charge me $171 for a hem!!! I'm thinking about going to a private place to get a hem, bustle and the crinoline ripped out of the bottom (maybe). Its pretty hard to screw up a hem and a one point american bustle (although I might look at an Austrian bustle as I have ruching on the back side of my dress already. Hoping I can get that all done for the same amount!

Yes - posts are posts on the board. I'm getting there - slowly. But I only signed up a month ago and some posters have been nice enough to email me the templates I wanted. So I can be patient!

They aren't that bad really - you can get 10 for $20 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/thu-WATLAN10-Water-Lanterns-pack/dp/B005GJETCU That's a good idea - we have a small pool but the set up for the reception will likely be on one end only so a little weight may be beneficial!

I did - Plenty of Fish! I actually almost didn't go on the date - I was so tired of these meet and greets with guys I struggled to keep a convo up with. I actually almost did a drive by the doors to see what he looked like and decide whether to go in or not! Well I did - and we wound up talking for about 6 hours over only one beer (our waitress HATED us). And its only been him since. Even with him shaking my hand when we meant and a bit of an over-eager first kiss a few days later on our first 'real' date. Online dating is a pain in the you know what - most of the time its a waste, frustrating and depressing. But if you have patience, you never know what could happen!