vancouverpetunia

Hi ladies - Have not checked in for 2 (?) weeks! I was away for work from Tuesday to Tuesday. First time in my life that I booked hotels based on gym facilities lol. Last week managed to get all my workouts in but one. Was pretty pleased with that. Def did not stick to diet - but had some amazing dinners in Chicago! And I was really good with my breakfasts - buying yogurt and fruit from grocery stores rather than eating hotel breakfasts. I actually managed to still lose about .5 lb! It's been hard trying to get organized since I got back on Tuesday. But managed to get some food prep done that afternoon and also did 4 workouts this week (should be 6). Not great but not bad. Life happens, right? This weekend we are taking 3 days off together (we usually only get 1 day). So it's a bit of a mini break and definitely indulging more than I should. But we are knocking things off the wedding to-do list. Today bought our bands and registered at The Bay. And walked 6km to get there but then treated ourselves to wine and dinner at the Keg. Yum. So def hit and miss. Prepping to get back into the swing of things next week and sticking with it until the next biz trip in mid November. Hope everyone is doing well. I haven't really kept up with posts so hope I haven't missed anything big. Did someone mention protein crepes? Can you send the recipe? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Have a wonderful trip. Relax and enjoy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@SoozeCruise I haven't done these for welcome bags, but I've been to lots of resorts with big insulated mugs and have never had an issue. At the last resort I remember one woman having a MASSIVE mug, and she got it refilled a lot I don't think it's an issue as long as you're at an all-inclusive.

@@JoannaBanana Were you standing at a tall table trying to eat dinner and drink drinks?

@@smfahey I think you'll find that picking the resort can be one of the toughest parts of planning a DW. If you read through the planning threads from a lot of brides on here - they all say the same thing. I found it was overwhelming and very hard to make a decision. Here's a few things to consider... Read through the forums for threads on the resorts you're looking at and also do a search on those resorts to find planning threads/reviews from brides who are currently planning their weddings there or have already had them. Lots of good info in there. You've probably already done this, but just in case you haven't... Are you working with a travel agent? Most brides who have used one, highly recommend getting help from a TA to narrow down your choices. They can take your criteria and make sure the resorts meet them and also point out other highlights (or lowlights of the property). Have you thought about budget - either for you or your guests? Wedding costs can be different at different properties and certainly the cost to stay at a resort can vary greatly. Make sure the ones you're looking at are in line with budgets. You might think about other criteria that's important to you, since the criteria you have listed are pretty common among most resorts. Is the location important (close or far from the airport)? Is a nice beach important (while there are issues with seaweed everywhere in the area right now, some beaches are nicer than others - less rocks, etc.)? What about the level of food - high end or is standard AI buffet sufficient? Is top shelf liquor important? etc. I've stayed at the Barcelo before. The Maya Colonial section was actually closed for renovations when we were there about 3 years ago, so I would think the rooms would be pretty "new". The resort is massive - about 5 resorts all combined. So lots of variety to choose from for different pools, restaurants, etc. The beach was wide and sandy, as I recall. They had a fun little mini golf course there, too And there are a bunch of cenote parks directly across the highway if you are interested in checking them out. Good luck!

@ I'm glad you have a friend who is committed with you. It really does make a difference. @@maybeoneday 9.5 lbs in 4 weeks is nothing to sneeze at! That's fantastic! And so exciting that you are almost at your wedding date. Have so much fun! @@RivieraBride15 Wow - that's a noticeable difference! Good for you. How long between the first and second photo? Just curious... I've been pretty successful since I last checked in. Got all my workouts in last weekend and have 4 complete (out of 6) this week, so on track there. I've also done well on the food front - even over the weekend wasn't too bad. Surprisingly what I thought would be my worst food day was actually my best However, I'm going to be away for 7 days for work and a visit with friends/family, leaving Tuesday, so that's going to be tough. I'll be good where I can and workout when possible, but I'm prepping myself for a rather unsuccessful week. I have booked a hotel & AirBnB with gyms, so will make an effort. And the AirBnB will help out with eating at least a few healthy meals at "home" (there's supposed to be a grocery store around the corner). But I already have 3 nights booked for fancy schmancy work dinners, plus at least another 2 nights out with friends. So it ain't gonna be pretty. However, on the upside, I weighed myself last weekend and did lose 4.5 lbs in 2 weeks! I'm going to weigh myself again this weekend, so that I know how well (or poorly) I do during my travels. Good luck, ladies, with all of your fitness, nutrition & wedding goals this week. Oh, and I've barely managed to make it on this site lately, so I'm sorry if I've missed out on anything. I will try to catch up soon.

@@Kaitlyncrossley Congrats on booking your wedding! I am at Now Sapphire a month after you. We've been very happy so far with our WC, Juan Carlos. We also did a short site visit in the spring and really loved the resort (and the menu tasting!). Happy to answer any questions you might have, but haven't actually had my wedding, so may not know much more than you Most of the questions you did ask are pretty general and not specific to Now Sapphire. I would suggest looking through the forums for those topics - they are all covered in detail somewhere in there. I will comment on welcome bags & excursions. We chose not to do welcome bags, although many brides do them. I simply didn't want the hassle of stocking up and putting everything together and then hauling it all to Mexico Plus we attended a DW a few years back where the B&G hosted an excursion and everyone had a blast, so that's what we're doing prior to the wedding. We've rented a yacht with H2Oh Sun Cruises - we'll go snorkeling, fishing, etc. and have an open bar & full meal on board. We can't wait!

@@calgarybride2015 Amazing progress! Im sure you will be fine over this weekend. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@acw271011 I love your rings! So beautiful. As for meeting up in Toronto so funny that you work so close! But I fly into Pearson Friday evening so assume you will be long gone by the time I get downtown. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@cvooys Congrats on your marriage and thanks for posting a review. I'm getting married at Now Sapphire next April so always helpful to get a first hand perspective. You mentioned construction by the tequila terrace. Do you have any details on this? How extensive, how long, etc? Just wondering if this will be an issue in April (hopefully the seaweed will be better by then - fingers crossed). Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hahaha... you might be a little busy packing?

@@acw271011 You're so sweet Actually, it will be when you're in Mexico. Oct 16 - 20. And as much as I would love to meet some of you lovely ladies, I'm pretty jam packed visiting my sister & her family, as well as a couple of friends, and attending some work meetings/events. I'll be staying near Spadina & Richmond, though, if anyone is floating around... perhaps an impromptu drink if there's time?

I'll be in Toronto in a couple of weeks. Just missed it!

Happy hump day, ladies! @@calgarybride2015 Great work on the weight loss! I'm planning to weigh in this weekend after 2 weeks of being pretty diligent on food & exercise. Fingers crossed. @@deecol YAY! I'm so glad to hear you still get your spin class benefits. @@Wafflesmom Glad you are doing better and almost off the meds. Sounds like you had as good a week as possible, given the situation. Hopefully you can get back at it now. So, checking in on my goals from last week... Complete my 2 workouts left for this week and stay on top of it next week. Well, I missed 1 workout last week, but 5 out of 6 isn't bad. I'm motivated this week to do all 6 and did a double work out on Tuesday, so this should be doable. Watch what I eat over the weekend. We tend to go out A LOT and I don't want to really curb that too much, as we enjoy it. But try to make healthier choices and cut back on the booze. This is gonna be tough. I feel like I did okay with this. Not great, but okay. I chose the healthiest things I could from the menus when we were out and overall I drank less. Get my meal plans & food prep lined up for next week. Done! Send out update email to guests. It's written - just waiting for the 6 month mark to send it. Thought it would be fun to send it exactly 6 months out. Send out formal invitations - or at least get the labels done and buy stamps. Mailed tonight! ​As for the week ahead: Complete my 2 workouts left for this week and stay on top of it next week. (sound familiar?) Watch what I eat over the weekend (another repeat). We are going down to the US for the day on Sunday to help close up Jeff's family's campsite for the winter, so tough to bring food with me. Meal plans & prep (again). Figure out a plan of attack for some upcoming work travel. I will be in 3 cities over 8 days, with lots of dinners out, hotel food, lack of time to exercise, etc. Nothing on the wedding front next week, other than to send out that email. Seems like some of these goals are not so much goals, but routines (the first 3). Which is probably a good thing

@calgarybride2015 @acw271011 @@Wafflesmom Thanks, ladies! The dress is actually supposed to be more green. To me the sample looked "teal" - but my BM who received the sample dress said it is more green. Whatever... I am done looking and no one but me will know if it's not the exact color I had in mind @@Wafflesmom We don't want anything fancy for rings, so thinking just going to Spence. That's where my e-ring is from. But thanks for the offer. I actually do have a ring that I inherited that I would like to have redone into something nice one day (anniversary gift? hint, hint). If you can send the details along for the jeweler, I may need it at some point down the road.

Made some progress and/or knocked a few things off the list recently, so thought I would post a small update, starting with a quick list. Honeymoon flight booked! YAY! We are flying from Cancun to San Jose, Costa Rica for a week. It's a new route on an airline called Volaris. I just started flying earlier this month so I was waiting to make sure the flight actually went ahead before booking. Now have to sort out hotels, etc. I'm almost more excited about this than the wedding week Updated our wedding web site with local activity suggestions and updated schedule details. Have an update/reminder email all set to go. I think I will send it on the 6 month mark from the date of travel which would be Oct 3. I've collected all mailing addresses for the invitations and hopefully will get those out this week. Just need to pick up some labels & stamps. BM Dresses These are sorted out - well, mostly. I've decided to go with a company called Azazie.com. American brides should definitely check them out. They are only available online but have a wide range of colors, fabrics & styles. You can order swatches, of course, but more importantly you can also order sample dresses to try on. It costs $10 per dress to cover the shipping. We got 4 samples shipped to my BM in Portland, OR and she found that they fit pretty closely to the online measurements. She also thought the quality was better than David's and yet the prices were similar. Most of the dresses we are looking at are $140 USD. You can also send your measurements and get a dress custom made at no extra cost. They seem to be really flexible with return policies, credits towards alterations, etc. I spoke with a customer service rep who was very helpful as well. The one issue is that my sister lives in Toronto, so cannot get the sample. So she's going to head to David's to try on different styles (as I'm having them pick the style they like) and then order from Azazie based on her measurements. It only takes 3 - 4 weeks to get them (although may take longer to Canada), and she can return it if it doesn't fit (or get it altered, of course). Here is the dress my one BM picked. It's called Mikaela and the color is Jade. Actually this one is only $100. Next Up Ring shopping. We have a long weekend booked off together in late October, so I think we go shopping then. Bridal registry. I'm not planning to advertise the registry, but if anyone asks - especially anyone not coming to the wedding - we'll have something set up so that they can get us stuff we need. We don't have room for stuff we don't need! Where have other Canadian brides registered? I'm thinking tried & true - The Bay. I've also set up an account at HoneyFund, but not sure if we will use it. I feel my mom will think it's gauche, as it's basically asking for money.

@@yycbride2016 Sorry to hear you've been sick but glad you are feeling better. Hopefully you can get back on track this week. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@yycbride2016 LOVE the taco bar. Honestly, I would do this for our actual wedding reception if it was an option at the resort LOL. I have a serious love for tacos. And the centrepieces look great. Elegant but beachy. Agree that a single flower in the vase would be a nice touch. Are you already planning to do that?

Love the tall table rounds... for a cocktail hour! Not for an entire reception. Sheesh... boys.

@@deecol The BM dress is really pretty and love the bun! You are making great progress and now I'm wondering what I should be doing next as I'm a few weeks before you!

@@SunshineDreamKay Welcome! I'm also an April bride @@deecol That sucks about your gym membership. Maybe check out community centres around you? I used to go to a really great spin class at my community centre for $5 a class. If you are only going once or twice a week supplementing your other workouts, it might not be too expensive. @@Wafflesmom I liked your post - but for the workouts you've done, not for the bronchitis! I had bronchitis earlier this year (and have had it a few times before). I actually was sick for most of our Mexico vacation, including our site visit, which sucked, so I can empathize. Take it easy and get better. Hopefully the antibiotics kick in quickly. @@cruisebride2016 Sounds like you have a good plan in place for managing your vacation. It def helps to have a plan. I've even found that if I'm going out for dinner, I check out the restaurant menu in advance and decide on the healthiest option. It's better than trying to decide when I'm hungry and delicious smelling dishes are going by my table. So I can imagine that planning for your cruise, while on a much larger scale, will help a lot. Have a great time! @@JoannaBanana Oh no. But I'm sure it's just a fluctuation. It definitely happens. Glad to hear you got a walk in today!

Well, ladies, it's my pre-Thursday check-in time. @@Wafflesmom I hope you are continuing to feel better! @@maybeoneday Congrats on "being legal"! You are so close to your wedding day now! Sorry if I am missing some of the earlier posts.. I haven't really been able to keep up this week. Accomplishments this week: Started new fitness plan - have done 4 of the 6 workouts for the week. Yahoo! Started new nutrition plan - planned my menu for the week, prepped a bunch of stuff on Sunday, have been eating super healthy and staying on track all week. Set up My Fitness Pal and have been tracking workouts & food. Updated wedding web site. Booked honeymoon flight (Cancun to Costa Rica). So excited! Goals for the next week: Complete my 2 workouts left for this week and stay on top of it next week. Watch what I eat over the weekend. We tend to go out A LOT and I don't want to really curb that too much, as we enjoy it. But try to make healthier choices and cut back on the booze. This is gonna be tough. Get my meal plans & food prep lined up for next week. Send out update email to guests. Send out formal invitations - or at least get the labels done and buy stamps. It's been a good week for staying on track. I'm feeling pretty optimistic about my longer term goals to tone my upper body and drop a dress size. Hope you are all having a great week as well!

@@deecol Sorry to hear that. I hope everything gets sorted out! Sometimes you need some down time to let your body heal - both mentally & physically.

Our wedding is booked at Now Sapphire for next April. We also looked at Jade. So far I have had very good experiences with Sapphire - I love my WC (which many brides cannot say)! We also did a quick site visit (a few hours only) earlier this year and thought it was gorgeous and the food delicious. For us, Now Jade was a little bit more expensive - but not by a lot. I mainly went with Sapphire because a friend of mine had gotten married there a couple of years ago and was happy with her experience, and also because Sapphire seems to have a more traditional Mexican feel to it, which is what I wanted, while Jade is more modern. But the resorts seem fairly similar, at least on paper. Happy to answer any specific questions you might have, at least as best as I can, not having had our wedding yet.

Safe travels and have so much fun!!! Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back.