snswedding2016

@@acw271011 Thanks! I'm trying to stay on top of things, I felt really good at the beginning and now I find myself really busy with work and other things. Definitely look into Xcaret - they offer some good online discounts as well if you book it far in advance. I think I will most likely get the robe even if it doesn't go on sale - it's too cute to pass up!

@@Meandhim oh right - sorry!! I totally forgot for a second...

@@Meandhim we're in the same boat. I wish we could pay for a group excursion for our guests but it it simply isn't in the budget especially since we're covering the costs of the our parents trips. Let me know if you want more info on Xcaret. It looks really fun. One of our kids in our group has mobility issues as well and over 50% of the park is wheelchair accessible, so that's a huge plus! I'm super excited about the terrace now!! I just want to go and see it! The Claire's with the flower girl section was at Markville Mall - I'm not usually up there so it was a total fluke I found it. I'm not sure if all Claire's has that section. They also have a ton of cute flower crowns, signs for your flower girl to carry, baskets, wands etc!

Not too much to report but here are a couple of updates... Centrepieces: So Sean loved my initial centrepiece demo except for the colour of the blue mat. He thought it was too blue and it reminded him of lego - lol (note: he LOVES lego, so why is this a problem? your guess is as good as mine). He was hoping for a softer blue and something that wouldn't be so harsh against the white table linens. After I let my ego calm down ( ) I realized that I agreed with him and wanted to keep searching. I did some more hunting for options and found these great cloth napkins at Indigo. They had the blue we wanted and it has a mix of blue and white that will go nicely with the tables I think. Please ignore the huge creases, I didn't iron them before I did these demos. I also think we're going to fold them in a bit to make the surface area of the napkin smaller (see second photo). We tried it with its full size and Sean and I both agree that it looks like the centrepiece gets a little lost. Original centrepiece demo (I definitely like the light blue and white napkins better...sigh, he was right) I was at the mall on the weekend with our flower girl and we went into Claire's because that's what a 3 year old wants to do of course! When we went in, I found a flower girl wedding section that I had no idea existed. While the little miss was trying on everything in the store and collecting items in her purse (haha - we did put them all back eventually) I found the cutest flower girl robe!! It's a bit pricey, considering it is so tiny and it costs more than my bride's robe I got at Target. I'm hoping that there might be a sale. Optional Excursion: My TA got back to me with prices through her contact for the Xcaret group excursion. We're looking at just the basic admission to the park but with transportation. I was able to talk to the park directly at get a price of $109.65/adult and $55/child (5-11). The price my TA got was close to what the park was offering but slightly higher $111/adult. Her contact is a guy she works with a lot at Lomas, which is the vendor we're using for our wedding at Azul Fives. While I didn't necessarily want to use Lomas (their prices tend to get over inflated rather quickly), I thought if they could price match to the what the park was offering than it would be worth while to keep it with the company through Azul Fives as well as I like that idea of using a contact that my TA trusts. Not that I don't trust the park but I feel more comfortable knowing that he wants to maintain a good relationship with my TA as she sends him a lot of business. I contacted him yesterday, within minutes he responded to my email and price matched to the prices of the park. The adults were slightly cheaper than the park and the child prices were a couple of dollars more. Most of our kids in our wedding are under 5 so that works out. I also really like that we'll be getting private transportation in a mini bus for just our group. We can also set our own pick up and drop off times. Now the trick is to get numbers. I need a minimum of 10 people, which I don't think will be a problem but I don't want fully commit until I know. Last night I sent out an email to all of our guests inviting them to the optional excursion and also setting up an event on our wedding facebook group. So far I'm very happy with how this is all working out. Hopefully we'll get enough people who are interested!

@@TinkerSofi Just an FYI that I needed to call Karisma today about something and Ivis answered the phone in the wedding department. Not sure if you're waiting on any answers but if you are today might be a good day to call!

The week of Aug 17th, I'm free weeknights every day except for the 20th. I'm clear on the 14th as well. Let me know if any of those dates work. I would love to meet you guys but again please don't change the plans on my account.

@@yycbride2016 I just called my fiance about it and he's pretty excited, he was like "sold! Get it!" lol! I'm going to get one too. I take my ring off a lot (doing housework, helping my fiance with renovations etc.) and I agree with you I feel very naked without a ring now, so this will be a nice replacement.

@@yycbride2016 this is so cool!! I love this idea. I'm looking at the website right now. My fiance does a lot of construction so this would be great!

Hi Ladies! Unfortunately I can't do the 28th anymore . I've been looking for hotels for Niagara on the Lake at the end of Aug and as you can imagine, the prices are crazy high!! The couple getting married couldn't get a group room block so their "cheaper" recommended hotel was starting at $339/night!!!!! For that price I might as well stay longer in Mexico which gives me food and booze! lol! Anyway I found a b&b for $125/night but it's a two night minimum, after much back and forth my fiance and I decided to go on the 28th. It's probably better because we need to help set up. I'm sad though about missing drinks with you guys.... if you guys end up planning another gathering, I'm so there! Also I can still set up a reservation for that rooftop patio for you guys, just let me know numbers and a time.

Oh haha I wasn't sure if there were holders with an actual zipper. I can't believe they sent you grommets and 1000 no less! I feel like one of the crafty brides on here (definitely not me) can do something creative with them. Anyone up for a DIY challenge? Lol!

Not sure if you can get zipper ones but I know Staples has id holders (the resealable kind).

@@TinkerSofi wow! I can't believe that guy did that to you! I would be so furious! I am glad that you now have your final numbers and hopefully all the drama is behind you. Sending good vibes for the price drop!!!

I agree patio and drinks are top priority!! I'm good anywhere on the subway/streetcar lines. My fiance is currently project managing the renovation of a new restaurant/bar. It is supposed to be open by July 1st and they are going to have a beautiful rooftop patio. I could talk to the owners about reserving a big table for us. It's at Queen and Soho/Peter St. (if anyone has been to Barhop on King, it's the same owners). That being said it is still under construction so we'll have to play it by ear...it should be ready by end of Aug for sure but I won't know the situation with the place probably until July. I'm also up for other suggestions too!! Just thought I would throw that idea out there.

@@veryvalentine love the idea of using both veils!! They both look lovely!

I'm good for any of those dates except for Aug 30 - I have a wedding on the 29th out of town.

@@beckys98 so so excited for you! Have an amazing time, take the time to soak it all in and let us know how it all goes when you return!

@yycbride that's great news about the job for your bm!! fingers crossed it all works out!!

@@TinkerSofi I LOVE your journal for your vows! It's making me want to go to Indigo. I keep going in there and picking up decor items and then putting them back down because they are big, heavy and not necessary but so cute and in my wedding colours - haha! Sorry to hear about your guest backing out like that. I can't believe he wouldn't tell you especially leaving a roommate with a single occupancy. Glad you were able to work it all out though. Please update us on your dance lessons - I'm so excited for you!! I think no matter how it goes, it will be something fun for you guys to do together. Maybe it will take some stress off the wedding planning.

@@yycbride2016 I think that's a good plan. If you can wait a bit longer that will probably make it easier for your bridesmaid too- buy her some time and maybe by the time you want to talk to her, she'll be able to book.

@@jswllms that is exactly how my fiance and I feel. It is gorgeous but I think the terrace is a great compromise especially since our group is smaller.

@@yycbride2016 your invitations are beautiful!!! I love the starfish design - very cute! As for your bridesmaid dilemma I had something very similar and I did have to talk to her about it. One of my original bridesmaids is planning on trying to get pregnant with her second child at some point this year. Her and her husband decided they were aiming for somewhere between the spring and summer, which would have meant she would have a very young newborn or she would be pregnant by the time my wedding rolled around. I totally understood...you have to do what's best for your family. The tricky thing was that she accepted being a bridesmaid but told me should would have to book last minute. Initially I was fine with that but as time passed and I was ordering things for the bridal party it was starting to stress me out. I finally talked to her said to her that while I would LOVE her to be there and stand up for us that maybe it would be less pressure for both of us if we took the bridesmaid card off the table since so much is up in the air. If she can make it last minute then that would be a huge bonus. She agreed that that would probably be the best idea and apologized for making it stressful. I told her not to worry that we all have our own family plans and sometimes the timing doesn't quite work. I would say especially since you're ordering their dresses that you should talk to her. It's only going to get more complicated for you if she doesn't plan on making a decision until the fall.

Some updates... I got a bunch of emails from my WC tonight at 10:30pm …I can't believe she was working that late tonight! She gave me some good news. The Terrace is available and confirmed for our wedding!!! Now I know what you're all thinking ….I just posted at the end of the last week about how I was feeling better about the beach ceremony situation. I do feel better about the beach and it was our initial idea for our ceremony venue but if I can have a guaranteed private ceremony and not have to pay extra …AND we have a beautiful view, I think I'm sold!! When I spoke to the other WC on the phone last week she said they were waiting on confirmation from the hotel about approval so I was really worried that they would reject it saying our group was too big. The more I see additional photos of the terrace I really do think that this is the perfect ceremony venue for us! It will be pretty simple in terms of decor as there is no gazebo or structure on the terrace which actually doesn't bother me or my fiancé. In fact we may save some money here because we won't be able to use the full decor package I requested (sheers and hanging corsages are useless now without a gazebo). My WC recommended added the decor items we want a la carte and I think it will end up being cheaper. I might even decide to bring some/make my own pomanders. @@TinkerSofi I think you made your own right?? I have to go back through your thread and look for them! Now I just have to go through my decor list and see what I actually want to keep and what I can get rid of. Here are some additional pics of the terrace: Excursion Day We're are trying to organize an excursion day with our guests. Unfortunately we can't afford to pay for everyone but we do want to organize the event to make it nice and easy to book if our guests our interested. I think it would be fun to be able to do an excursion as a big group. Considering we have 8 kids in our group we wanted to pick an option that would be kid friendly but also fun for the adults. We've decided on Xcaret! There are a bunch of shows, animals cenotes, caves, an underground church…so much to see! http://www.xcaret.com Over the weekend I spent some time comparing prices between a couple different tour operators as well as calling the park directly. Everyone was really helpful and the park gave me fairly competitive rates compared to the tour operators and the woman I spoke to is going to speak to her manager to see if she can get me a further discount for a larger group. We decided to go with just the basic park admission and not add the extras as I hear the food package isn't worth the package price and not everyone wants to go swimming with the dolphins. Now I'm trying to decide whether or not to add transportation in a package with the admissions price or to try and arrange for transportation on our own/through the hotel. I feel like we could save a lot of money if we got a bunch of taxis to take us there rather than added $25 USD to every person's admissions price. My TA is asking around as well with her connections to see if she can beat the prices. She also told me that's she's been with her family and loved it and that they are going back in Sept. So that's always a good sign. Bridesmaid dress My cousin went for her David's Bridal appointment (in Edmonton) and has ordered her dress!! She sent me a pic of the swatches and I realized that Malibu and Capri definitely fit within our colour palette but Pool is a bit too green. In a lot of the images online it looked a lot more blue. I gave my girls a list of colours that would work from the David's site (as a reference) so it's good to know that one of them doesn't really fit. My bridesmaids in Toronto will not likely be buying their dresses from David's but they are using those swatches as a guideline.

@@jswllms I have been back and forth on the whole beach situation. After my conversation with one of the WCs last week I was feeling better about it but I just heard got an email tonight saying that the Zky Terrace is available and they have agreed to let my group use it for our ceremony. My WC sent me some pics and now I think I'm leaning towards going with the Terrace. My fiancé and I are going to make the final call in Sept at the BDR but for now we're keeping it on the Terrace. Like @@TinkerSofi mentioned it just really depends on how much privacy you want. If you don't mind being close to the pool than I think the beach would be really nice. They reassured me that if I had it on the beach that all the beach chairs are removed and they keep people away from that area on the beach. It also really depends on the time of day and time of year you get married. I'm getting married at 4:30pm in Jan so they were saying that most of the guests will probably be getting ready for dinner at that time but of course you never know how many will hang around.

@@TinkerSofi your vows are beautiful. I don't understand spanish but I think everything always sounds more romantic in spanish!

@@yycbride2016 love your planning thread so far!! You are off to a great start and hopefully the hardest part is over (finding the right TA). Your proposal is so romantic - love that it was at the top of a mountain! Amazing!!