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@@deecol @@acw271011 @@vancouverpetunia @@calgarybride2015 - thanks for you suggestions. I don't know why making such a simple decision is so tricky for me. I wish I could be like Mike and just pick one and that be that. Tally (including my mum & girlfriends) 1- III 2- IIIII 3-I 4-II To be honest this is how I pick my meal when I'm at a restaurant too. Wait for everyone else to pick them go from there lol

@@Kirsteen I plan on starting to tan for my June 7th wedding fairly soon. I am going to do beds though, not a spray tan. The issue with the spray tan is the more showers you take and the more you swim, the more quickly you will lose that tan. I have had spray tans for $40 that turn out blotchy (hands and toes) and spray tans for $75 that have done the same. The cream they provide for those 'creasey' areas helps but its not fool proof. If you aren't against tanning beds, I would suggest you do that instead of a spray tan. Don't get me wrong, I have had spray tans I've loved and that photographed nicely (friends weddings) but in my opinion it may not be the best alternative for a DW where you'll likely be in and out of the pool (and sweating a lot!) I can't comment on lash extensions other than the fact that I too want them. Badly. A lot of the ladies on here have gotten them and will likely chime in. Where do you live? You may get lucky and get some suggestions on where to go as well.

OMG. I just asked Mike... A - "Which one do you like best?" M - "They're all the same?" A - "No, look closely; they're all slightly different". M - "Oh, yeah! Hrmmm I like #1". A - "Why?" M - "It's...captivating?!" LOL so helpful! @@deecol thanks! i have no idea...

Opinions please! 1, 2, 3 or 4...

I am going to put this post in both the 2015 and 2016 forum to try and get the most feedback possible. Right now we have 10 in our group that are booked for 4-nights land only, the rest are 7-night land and flight. We've had other people come forward requesting land only rates and two months later, no rates have been received. Our travel agent says that is because Karisma has seen a surge of Americans booking the land only rates in CAD $ therefore the rate on their site is super high to deter this from happening. Apparently they are being very strict on the number of land only rooms that are being allocated to CDN tour operators. Has anyone else ran into this? Seems crazy to me that a resort would rather no business at all over a 4-night stay. Obviously this is a huge deterrent for our guests. 1. Who would want to wait over 2 months for rates? 2. The price our agent sent from the site is astronomical (double actually).

I am going to put this post in both the 2015 and 2016 forum to try and get the most feedback possible. Right now we have 10 in our group that are booked for 4-nights land only, the rest are 7-night land and flight. We've had other people come forward requesting land only rates and two months later, no rates have been received. Our travel agent says that is because Karisma has seen a surge of Americans booking the land only rates in CAD $ therefore the rate on their site is super high to deter this from happening. Apparently they are being very strict on the number of land only rooms that are being allocated to CDN tour operators. Has anyone else ran into this? Seems crazy to me that a resort would rather no business at all over a 4-night stay. Obviously this is a huge deterrent for our guests. 1. Who would want to wait over 2 months for rates? 2. The price our agent sent from the site is astronomical (double actually).

If you create a Facebook group please put anything important on here too. I'm that annoying friend with no Facebook that needs the email updates lol Thanks

@@Wafflesmom Happy Wedding Day!

Obviously I love this idea! #BDWGirlsGoneWild (husbands too lol) Anyone else thinking about...babies? Ah! Mike would have liked them a few years ago lol I have a hunch I'll be feeling the pressure post wedding by him and our families.

@@deecol congrats! A few wise brides once told me time goes by more quickly the closer you get. Must feel great knowing you've accomplished so much. Lots of excitement to look forward to

@@snswedding2016 I've read these posts twice already lol Reading about your wedding is getting me SO excited for ours. I'm so glad to see that everything went so well. Good for you for keeping your cool and going with the flow. It can be so frustrating when you lay everything out for someone and they just disregard. Looks like you had a really fun group. Can't wait to see all your photographs and read the rest of your posts. Thanks so much for sharing this journey with all of us. It's so helpful! Looking forward to meeting you soon! Keep the posts coming

@@maybeoneday Thank you so much!! @@TinkerSofi Thank you! They're actually engraving our rings at no extra cost so there was no number crunching there

@@Wafflesmom Everything looks great! Your guests will love that waffle is there too Your bridesmaid did a really good job. Those place cards will be the perfect touch. A horse and carriage? You're a princess! A real life princess! Can't wait to see the photos. Great price for that and like someone said, no better day to be a princess than on your wedding day. I hope it's everything you imagined. Enjoy every last minute of it!

@@yycbride2016 your stationary looks great. Your guests will be lucky to have all that information at their fingertips. I may borrow some of the content I really like both dresses too. You make me want to go shopping. Immediately.

@@deecol I'll be sure to send you the sample pdf once I get our first draft. They're busy so it could be anywhere from 2-3 weeks. I actually decided to go with a different etsy vendor. I loved HereAndThereShop but in the end it was going to cost us much more than we wanted to spend. We saved about $60 by going with MissDesignBerryInc. Did you show Colin the etsy shop? I basically took variations of each design we liked and asked her to create something special for us. I still have asked it to look exactly how I outlined in a previous post. I also think you should look at TheOliveTreeDesigns. When Mike moved to Ontario I had something made from her shop. I'll post a pic. Even if you don't use something like this for your guest book it's a great keep sake. I'm going to order another one with our wedding date and Mexico in the heart Super inexpensive too. I can't remember - is Colin's suit linen? We will check that location! Thanks. @@acw271011 & @@deecol & @@vancouverpetunia thanks for the compliment on the bands. Sometimes simple wins. We love them. I tried on another band because I think I had convinced Mike that I should have one for our legal wedding but it just didn't look right. The combination was all off. I'm not done looking but I think I may be happy with just my e-ring and one wedding band.

@@Deannak Hi! I recently asked myself. On the day of your wedding if your wedding coordinator says you should not get married outside due to rain and you chose to move your wedding indoors they will reimburse you the $1800. If you choose to go ahead despite there warning and it rains you lose the $1800. Ps. You'll find lots of details here for azul fives - http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/76708-azul-fives-brides-2015/page-87- the forum is dead but there is lots of info in there

@ – OMG I can’t believe you ordered your flowers 10 months out and all I have done is decided on them but not yet ordered. So behind. Sweat Topic – I was thinking of wearing a little, non-sexy pair of shaper shorts under my dress if it works. My dress is really form fitting so it may show and that may need to be axed. Although I don’t sweat a ton I figured leg sweat was inevitable, especially in a dress like mine and the shorts may help. I had no idea about that product from Sephora so thank you for the heads up. I’ll add it to my shopping list! Mike and I will definitely benefit from using it. @@krystalball – I’ll grab some of that deodorant you mentioned. When Mike had to wear dress shirts for work I can’t even guess how many we had to throw out over the years. Men’s Attire – I quickly checked out that site you sent and the prices are amazing. We were at Yorkdale today and popped into a few stores to get some ideas. Linen isn’t out yet and I’m nervous we will be cutting it to close it we wait. Ordering online and getting it altered may be the way to go. We saw a lot of grey and blue and Mike decided he is set on blue, navy actually. That's progress, right? lol Registry – @@TinkerSofi what an overwhelming experience! We went today and it was a lot more stressful than I had envisioned. In my younger days (lol) I could make decisions on the fly but now I have such a hard time committing to anything. We did select a fair bit but the consultant told us to over-scan and go online and delete afterwards. Example – if you like two toasters scan both and make a decision once you get home. It was tricky doing it with Mike too. We really do have everything we need but we certainly don’t have the best of the best. His response to almost everything was “well we already have that and it works fine, what are we going to do with it if we have two?” lol Men. So cute. @@acw271011 – He is super sweet. We are lucky to have found one and other. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time. Never would have thought I’d meet the love of my life across the Country on a work trip. Everything happens for a reason Wedding Band Update Checked a big one off the list today! We ordered our wedding bands...YAY! We decided to have each ring engraved with our Mexico wedding date and each other’s names. Some may think that is cheesy, I personally think it’s adorable Mike says once we get legally married he is going to wear the band everywhere EXCEPT around people that are coming to Mexico LOL I didn’t say anything then but come on, that can’t really happen haha I'm including a picture of my engagement ring as well so you can somewhat invision them together. We kept it pretty basic but I couldn't be more happy. They're perfect Legal Wedding We had decided to do something super low key since only my family is in Ontario – like go get married and then take my parents and brother out for dinner. Well we got a big surprise last week. Mike’s Mom and Nonna are flying in from BC for a week over Easter. This was the perfect surprise because we thought we wouldn’t get to see his family until the wedding. I think this will be the perfect time to tie the knot (legally). They will be shocked and will love that we included them. That’s it for updates. After a day of shopping we’re cozy on the couch watching a movie and I’m working on some of our stationary. The time is flying!

@@deecol it was a few loonnnggggg posts so I don't blame you for not getting a chance to read it lol I'm going to update tonight. We scratched a big one off the list today and I'm excited to share Looking forward to meeting you too

@@deecol Your bouquet is beautiful. @@yycbride2016 did an amazing job with hers too! I think adding those little flowers in your bouquet and Col's brought it all together. Great job! Ring pops were a nice touch. I gave my girls one in their bridesmaid proposal boxes and they loved them - your guests will too!

@@yycbride2016 Your bouquets are to die for. They turned out amazing! Great job. Can't wait to see them in photos. Great score on the Michael's finds. Pit stop tomorrow for me for sure. Hopefully we get lucky and find some steals too. HomeSense/Winners/Marshalls has great deals on luggage. We've been looking for a new set (or two) as well. Might add that to tomorrow's to-do list too. Great work girl. I love seeing everything come together for everyone although it freaks me out thinking about the closer you ladies are, the closer we are

@@deecol @ @@Wafflesmom @@yycbride2016 @@TinkerSofi @@acw271011 @@snswedding2016 Because I'm so behind in my replies I figured I'd combine my responses. Thanks for the reassurance that I still have time. You ladies are a godsend. I'd show up with three things planned if it wasn't for this forum lol My friends refer to you all as my internet pen pals - kills me every time they say it. So excited to meet some of you at our BDW date night Chargers - I went through some other threads and found some past brides that listed a few sites they looked at for chargers. Web Restaurant Store or Save on Crafts both seem to have very reasonable prices. May look into purchasing from one of those sites and haul them down. Mike almost had a heart attack when I told him the price. He was so happy to see that I too thought it was ridiculous to rent them from AF. Miniature Cake Oddly Described As 'Large' - Since I jumped the gun and already ordered the cake topper I feel we have to have a cake lol I guess we could just use it for my shower though? Still unsure what to do. Only thing I know for sure is we won't be having the 'large' cake pictured above. I can't remember if Steph had a cake but I'll wait to see her pictures and maybe I'll be inspired to bite the bullet and go with a larger one. Sofi, is fake cake an option that you know of at AF? Or were you suggesting I bring it down with me? That's an alternative I would go for as we don't plan on serving even the real cake. Guestbook Frame - Dee: steal away! That's what this forum is for, right? Such a great keepsake. I'll be happy to have it hanging on the wall for years to come. Wedding Week Activities - You're all right. Maybe I am putting too much emphasis on this. Since our resort is on the smaller side it shouldn't be too difficult to find people. What's App is a great idea and we will keep people updated via Instagram. That may be sufficient. Guys Attire - We actually went to Moores on Monday and checked out a few options. My husband-to-be who was wholeheartedly against a suit jacket found a linen one with matching vest he loved. Problem...no matching pants. WHY? Why not make a matching pant? I don't get it. They found pants that they say 'went' with the jacket and vest but I felt it looked as if it was a pair of pants trying to match a jacket and vest. Didn't work for me. Mike thought I was crazy. This coming from the guy who thinks its okay to wear mismatched socks because 'who cares? They're socks!' For a fashionable guy I will never understand how he thinks it's okay to not wear matching socks lol Back to the jacket and vest - it's a shame because they were perfect. They had them in a blue that would have looked great with my girls blush dresses. Off to Yorkdale tomorrow - fingers crossed we find something Good tip on bringing him multiple shirts. I've read that before and definitely plan to do the same. He sweats. Man sweats. It's needed. Too bad buying two identical wedding dresses wasn't in the budget because I wouldn't mind a change of dress in that heat Glad to read grey wasn't a problem for you ladies. Dark grey may be the way to go unless we can find something in the beautiful navy blue again. Jerilee - I'll be looking for your take on the grey post wedding - thanks! Flowers - [Bride], do you remember how long it was between you placing your order and receiving your flowers? I'm trying to push confirming the order until I get a better idea of how many tables we will have. I think Nathan may let me pay the deposit and start the design and then let me add to it before shipping. He said he could wait and ship closer to our date but I'm just nervous to make the move and then have numbers change drastically. Rehearsal Dinner - Okay so no decor or minimal decor should be fine. Happy to read that as I've been getting nervous about how much we are bringing with us to the resort. Steph, assigned setting - check and kids menu - check! THANK YOU! Ceremony Decor - Sofi, glad to hear two sheers is enough and that they kept them up. Glad I specified because although I may not have noticed they were down I would have been upset later realizing we paid that money for such a short period of time. My Dress - I called today to see if I could book my first alterations appointment for February and she kindly laughed and said no lol She said too many brides bodies change drastically and I should wait until much closer to our date. She said to wait until April. She did confirm my dress was safe and sound at the boutique and I need not worry about it as they've never misplaced a brides dress before. Comforting? Not sure haha Cocktail Hour - Ann, thanks for the timing tips. No first look means we will need more time. I'm really leaning towards not hosting a cocktail hour (or 2) and mentioning an optional location to meet for drinks and leaving it at that. First Look - This is a battle that I have given up on. It's never been a battle exactly but last night I decided I'd stop even asking...or continue reading him sites that state all the reasons why a first look is a great idea. Mike looked me square in the eyes last night and said "stop trying to take away the one thing I look forward to most at our wedding - I'm so excited to see you for the first time as you walk down the aisle. I will not budge on this". And that was the end of that. He's really letting me take full reins on every other aspect so it's the least I can do. No first look. As I mentioned before our photographers are our friends and they will be there the entire week with us. We aren't constrained to a strict timeline that we have them for on our big day on our big day so I think we will end up with more than enough pictures regardless. Wishful thinking anyways Vow Books - I love ours! And yours. And [Bride]'s. Lisa at Noteworthy is great. All brides interested should check her out. Prices were excellent as well! Spa (rehearsal and wedding day) - Ann, my mani and pedi is actually included so thankfully that isn't an added expense. But will I want to do that day of? I doubt it. I'll likely show up with my nails and toes shellac'd (?) to save some time. Steph - thanks! The reassurance about timing is what I needed So happy you were happy with the ladies at the spa. I never doubted it would be great but how lucky am I to hear it first hand? Great info about the taxes and tips. I assumed there was a 'catch' but if they work hard I am more than happy to pay the extras. Love that they restyled your hair for you at no extra charge. My plan is to have it done before our rehearsal dinner as well. I hope I get the same treatment and get a second style. Fingers crossed. Bridal Shower - My MOH told me tonight at hockey that all my girls have confirmed that April 10th works and that will be the day of my shower. I've been on the fence for ages about even having a shower - feeling that I shouldn't have one because we are having a destination wedding and people are spending lots to come. My MOH has been determined to have one since day one saying destination wedding or not, you deserve everything everyone else has to look forward to leading up to their wedding. It will be small (about 20 females) and at my MOHs house. The more we talk about it the more and more real this wedding becomes. I'm pretty excited. Registry - Again, I was on the fence big time but if a shower is happening than a registry kind of needs to happen. People that can't come keep asking Mike and I and our families what they can get us. I say nothing but they don't accept that. A registry will hopefully solve that going forward. We're off to the Bay tomorrow to scan. Also pretty excited about this but still feeling a little uneasy about the whole gift thing. Bachelorette - We decided to do a night out in Toronto. Other than the day (May 7th) I'm being kept in the dark which is super fun. Not sure what tricks the girls have up their sleeves but they're crazy and I'm sure it will be awesome. I'm a big Justin Bieber fan. Yep. Almost 30 and I'm putting it out there. I of coarse am going to his concert in May and REALLY wanted to combine the concert with my bachelorette. Sadly the concert is on a Thursday so that didn't work for most of my girls. The concert is on May 18th and it will be myself, my MOH and one of my bridesmaids. It will likely be the last big fun night out before our trip to Mexico. I will 100% be taking Friday off work CANNOT WAIT.