krystalball

@@calgarybride2015 Thanks Kim! We leave for Mexico on April 6th and our wedding is on April 9th. Time has been flying by, especially once we hit the one month mark, and I can't believe we're hopping on the plane in a matter of days. Will definitely post pictures and a review when I get back. Looking forward to the next meetup after April - miss you girls!

Less than one month to go now! Your to-do list looks totally doable, great job staying on top of things [emoji3] Love the hair piece BTW, I procrastinated on getting something for my hair, so if I don't stumble onto something this weekend I'll be just a regular updo. I really think your hairpiece will complement your dress beautifully [emoji7] Enjoy your final countdown to the wedding, it will pass by quickly but with everything you have completed so far you're in great shape! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry I've been so MIA lately! Congrats on being a legal Mrs and pulling off the surprise ceremony. I'm sure your family was over the moon to have been there. Too bad that your dress fitting didn't go as planned, but hopefully the next one will have the translator and you can get rid of the pointy boobs, lol. My dress was the same way so I feel you on not wanting to look like you're in a Madonna video for your wedding day Hope you find a perfect belt at a great price somewhere - maybe etsy? Always hard to order things like that without seeing it in person, but I've heard of other brides going that route with success. One shop that was recommended on facebook was www.etsy.com/shop/lolaandmadison (but I'm sure there are others). Oh, and for the record - I don't think you need any wigs, lol

@@vancouverpetunia We leave on April 6th - a week from tomorrow Having a bit of a meltdown trying to get all the last minute things done on top of work and searching for a new apartment (landlord is kicking us out so his daughter can live there, so we have 60 days to find a new place). We're both coming down with a cold right now, so I guess when it rains it pours right? At least we caught it now and not right before we're leaving. I'm trying to take the attitude of making sure the things that must get done are looked after and the smaller details are probably just not going to get done. My final dress alterations are the biggest concern right now, so it's a huge relief that your dress is just getting finished right now too. Thanks for always itemizing your to-do list here - I've been using it as a sanity check and to make sure that I'm not missing anything! Everything you've done so far for the wedding looks so lovely. Can't wait to see it all come together for you Hope your last few days before you leave are stress free!

OMG, your pictures look amazing! You have me sooo excited to leave for the resort next week. Please tell me where the pictures were taken that look like you're in a forest of palm trees - those pictures are to die for Can't wait to see the video too!

@@TAPreety The free credits are an Air Transat promotion (not from the hotel) and the exact wording in our contract is: "Every 15th adult passenger booked under the group will earn a complimentary passenger (16th adult passenger free). Complimentary passengers are a monetary refund given after final payment has been received for the entire group, based and earned on least expensive adult double occupancy package, excluding taxes, connectors and surcharges. Up to a maximum of 4 complimentary passengers can be earned on the group. Passengers booked outside the group, with the hotel direct, or land only will not count towards the complimentary passengers." I guess what I'm looking for from you or @@TADarci is confirmation of whether TA commissions are ever excluded from the refund amount when the refund is based on the air + hotel base pricing (minus taxes and fees) - i.e. say she gets $150 for every guest that I book, is my refund reduced by $150 for every 15th passenger? I'm guessing this might be the case, but don't want to accuse my TA until I hear this is a possibility and I also want to know if there's any recourse. @@nkavanaugh I'm in the same boat - I used the refund money I was expecting to help pay for my Vancouver passengers who were charged a lot more than the Ontario trips. Why was your refund reduced? If I remember correctly you were well over the # needed for the 4 passenger refund. I'm sorry you're going through this too

@@snswedding2016 Yep, I think we'll take all of them. My centerpieces are just going to be the bouquets in vases and then a ton of candles, lol. Clearly I've given this a lot of thought.

@@snswedding2016 Can I rent the medium votive and large pillar LED candles from you? I'm sure we can arrange a pick-up / drop-off at some point over the next 3 weeks

@yycbride2016 Thank you so much for your detailed review. So happy that your stay at the resort and wedding went so well for you - it's making me so excited for my wedding!!! One thing to note for other Air Transat brides: the 1 hour of free wifi and free safe at the resort doesn't apply if you're travelling with Nolitours (which is Air Transat's "budget" travel vendor). As far as I understand, everything else is the same - you just don't get those perks. Huge bummer for us as we didn't clue in to the fact that it would be different at all when we did the group booking. I'm so excited that you and Kim had Aranza and loved her because she is my WC too! Can't wait to meet her in person and will have no stresses based on how well she executed the weddings for you two So for the spa, did the woman who did your hair speak much english? I want a curly up-do but my hair is naturally curly so I will come in with it curly and they just need to pin it in place. Most hair people usually want to straighten it, then curl it and I need to be able to explain what to do (or bring my MIL who speaks decent spanish to translate for me). For the makeup, I was planning to have them do mine at the spa as well. Can you pinpoint what it was about the makeup they were doing that turned you off? I'm going to bring down my stash to Mexico so I can always fine-tune their work if need be, but if I can steer them away from doing it wrong / differently then that will save me some hassle (i.e. was the makeup too heavy, or too dark, etc). Oh, and recommendation for your favourite eyeliner and waterproof mascara? @ ? I'm not in love with mine and they are starting to run out so might as well upgrade while shopping So glad to hear that you weren't overly hot in your dress, because you looked fabulous in it and didn't have to take it off. I'm bringing a reception dress just in case, but hoping not to use it. Your jewellery looked so good with the dress too! I loved your setup for the ceremony, simple yet beautiful. And all the flowers were gorgeous too. I was wondering how well they could make changes to the bouquets shown in the packages so great to hear they are flexible since your end result looked perfect. What a funny story with the iguana at your cocktail hour - he wanted to join in on the fun too! Did you rent any furniture for that portion of the day? I know Kim has said it would be needed for people to have a place to rest while waiting and we will have 45 ppl (including 8 kids) so I'm thinking we will do that. Glad to hear the DJ did a great job! Did you give him a large list of songs to play or just some favourites and he filled in the rest with his own picks and guest requests? Hoping the latter as I haven't even picked out any of our dance / ceremony songs yet, let alone other music, lol. Seriously, everything about your stay at the resort and the wedding day looks like it went reasonably smooth, very few hiccups and the whole thing was beautiful. Looking forward to seeing the professional shots once they come in, but even with just the guest pictures my mind is completely at ease

@@vancouverpetunia I'm getting legally married on Friday! As the Toronto ladies know, I was planning on crocheting a reception dress and would have worn that for the legal wedding if it was done in time. Well, work has been crazy for months now so that project got completely pushed aside and I was lucky enough to find a dress this weekend that's the exact same pattern that I was planning to make anyway! This is it We're all set now to get legally hitched (except I need my FI to get his butt in gear and get the license at city hall this week, lol) Hope you have lots of fun at your shower this weekend - a slumber party does sound like a great way to cap it off! Congrats on hitting your weight loss goal! You looked awesome in all your previous pictures, just going to be that extra bit stunning in your wedding dress I can't think of anything else missing from your to do list, but I'm frankly flying by the seat of my pants at this point. I'm just going to figure the alcohol will be flowing at the wedding and everyone will be loosened up after a few days together so anything I forgot to do won't be a big deal (hopefully I'm not being delusional / missing anything important, lol).

Yay, you're a married lady now! That's still on my to do list. I've contacted the officiant and just have to get the marriage license from city hall and book the restaurant (and then actually get married, lol). Thanks for the to do lists - since our dates are almost the same it's been helpful to make sure I'm not missing anything [emoji4] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So excited to read your review and see more pictures! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First of all, love your flowers! They're going to look amazing Your bridal shower and bachelorette look like lots of fun! I'm also doing a paint night outing with my local friends who aren't able to join us in Mexico. Hopefully our art turns out as well as yours. I love that it's a tropical scene - perfect for your upcoming tropical wedding.

So I finally have an update on this saga - though not what I was hoping for. We had a couple who last minute (days before the final payment deadline) had a work obligation come up and while they are still coming, had to move their package from Toronto to Montreal - leaving 2 days earlier than the rest of the group. Since this happened before the payment deadline, my TA has said the refund amount is calculated using their base price. When I check today's pricing, the all-in cost between the two trips is less than $50, but flying out of QC means that the airline doesn't have to break out the taxes and fees online like they do for ON.... I asked my TA to contact Air Transat for a breakdown of the fees used to calculate the Montreal trip and all I got was: "Montreal fees and taxes beyond what are listed for legal purposes are different than Toronto. Other reductions in the price - not shown are agency taxes, commissions and fees." @TAPreety @TADarci What do you think of that response? Am I interpreting that correctly that they are including my TA's commissions in the fees? That doesn't seem right to me for the purposes of the "free trips" but I don't want to respond back to my TA until I understand if that's normal or if I am reading the statement incorrectly. Thanks again for everyone's input on this!

Still super bummed that I'll miss the next meet up, but I'll send a picture of us from Mexico in my place! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That foot jewelry looks perfect! Yay for helpful moms who take things off your to do list for you [emoji4] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Welcome back! So glad to hear that your wedding day went well. After the last GS wedding review was negative (though it seemed a bit weird), I was stalking your instagram hoping to see beautiful smiling faces and wasn't disappointed [emoji7] Have fun at your at home reception. Can't wait to see your full review and professional pics! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks awesome! The updated watercolour wash to the background adds an extra bit of visual interest. Great idea and I think it turned out perfect! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Somehow I've missed commenting on your review! I love these detailed reviews - really lets me feel like I was there and I get so pumped up for my own wedding seeing how much fun you had with your guests. Everyone is so happy and having tons of fun in all the pictures, looks like the perfect week Thanks for the no-drinking the day before the wedding tip! Like @@deecol I'm planning a bachelorette party 2 nights before, so luckily I probably won't want to be drinking that day anyway! I think it's sweet that you followed tradition and slept in separate rooms the night before the wedding. I hadn't really thought about doing that before, but am guessing we would both sleep terribly, lol.

Sounds like a lovely bachelorette party Glad that it was exactly what you were hoping for and not an a penis-filled event since that's not your style. How cool that you saw Peter Dinklage (and got a funny autocorrect story out of it too)! Living downtown Toronto I see celebrities from time to time, but he would have topped any of the famous people I've seen around here. Your to-do list seems pretty similar to mine, except I haven't been introduced to my WC yet (should be in the next few days). Very manageable! Hope your dress fitting goes well - I know you've been working hard and it's been paying off. You're going to look amazing in your dress

Looking forward to seeing the how the updated map turns out. It's such an awesome idea for a guestbook and I'm sure with a bit of colour added it will be perfect

I love reading your review (thanks for all the details) and seeing all your pictures - everyone looked like they had an amazing time I'm not sure what Sean's dad was thinking with the "OOGA CHAKA" but glad that everyone had a good laugh and it didn't put a damper on the event! Oh, and that first dance picture (swoon) I hope I end up with a picture half as good as that one!

@@calgarybride2015 She hasn't said much yet, just that the amount we will be refunded is lower due to surcharges and that ideally it would have been more clear what our refund amount was when we signed the contract in order to set expectations... I've followed up with her again this morning for more details and will be calling her this afternoon if I don't hear anything. @@ashhtayy Thanks for providing your TA's response. I agree the response is not abundantly clear, but they seem to be saying that there are surcharges built into the base price (which matches what my TA is saying). However when I looked online at Air Transat's website, they specifically break out the extras on top of the base price as "taxes and fees" and those match our contract. Not sure how they can bury extra costs in the base price and not call them out or provide a breakdown to prove that they aren't just pulling numbers out of their asses @@nkavanaugh Awesome that you got the 4 free trips! That amount back seems to line up pretty well with our expectations, given that your trip is a month after ours and at the same resort. Do you mind telling me what the base price was listed as in your contract? Thanks so much ladies

@@snswedding2016 @ Thanks ladies I've asked my TA to escalate this further with Air Transat and if that gets us nowhere, to give me the contact info so I can escalate myself. Fingers crossed I don't have to go to small claims court to get the almost $700 they don't want to pay me

@@780chick Thanks! I'm not giving up without a fight. That's a lot of money they're not giving us and it seems pretty clear that the fees should have been spelled out in the contract if they were going to charge them later! @@TheFutureMrsRoberts As you guessed, our trip is direct so no connection fees should apply. Was the connection fee spelled out to you during the quotation process / in your contract so you knew how much you could expect to be reimbursed? @@TADarci Our contract states "Every 15th adult passenger booked under the group will earn a complimentary passenger (16th adult passenger free). Complimentary passengers are a monetary refund given after final payment has been received for the entire group, based and earned on least expensive adult double occupancy package, excluding taxes, connectors and surcharges. Up to a maximum of 4 complimentary passengers can be earned on the group. Passengers booked outside the group, with the hotel direct, or land only will not count towards the complimentary passengers." Our cheapest double occupancy package (Toronto) is listed in the contract as $1,089 plus $386 in fees. This also matches the online pricing that includes $386 for our trip listed as "taxes and fees". We do have a person booked as land only and some booked outside the group, but we still met the threshold for a refund of two complimentary passengers based on the other guests. @@ashhtayy Thanks for your help Will be interesting to see what your TA has to say