ashhtayy

@@Wafflesmom & @@vancouverpetunia Thanks for the support ladies. I wrote that message when I was consumed with so much anger. It just baffles me how someone can be so perfect at the beginning and then change when it's most important for her to be there. I guess that's just how she gets her clients?! She is phenomenal until you reach the point where it doesn't make sense to switch agents. Onward and upward from here Marquee Love - inspired by @ I had always looked at these and kept walking at Michael's figuring I would just use letters we already had at home for our head table. And then I saw Perian's and knew I had to have them. I bought the '&' last week for 40% off (I think?) and am waiting for next weeks 50% off to buy the M and the A (hopefully I can find the M; they're always sold out!) I bought paper from Michael's and decorated the & and then saw a gold and champagne chevron patterned card stock at Dollar Tree and recut. Keeping in mind our colours are blush, champagne and gold, which do you prefer? Mike and I feel the same but I'd like to see what you ladies think. Our vote is totally option 2 (gold & champagne chevron).

@@deecol & @@calgarybride2015 thanks ladies! I appreciate the support. I'm not one to let things get to me like this because as I said at this point it is what it is but it's so frustrating because our guests are looking at us like "where did you find this lady?" People are putting out lots of money for this vacation and for our wedding that obviously we want this part to be flawless for them. It's unfair to both them and us that we need to follow up with every little detail. Fingers crossed that things turn around for the better

@@snswedding2016 I can't believe it's almost your turn! So close! We wore robes for one of my girlfriends weddings and it was so fun. They looked adorable. Yours are even more beautiful. Your girls will love them Your dress looks beautiful on you. Good job speaking up. That's the only way to get exactly what you want. So excited for you

@@dandi76 cute! where did you get the bottles with the cork tops? will you fill them with booze once you get there? i like this idea a lot!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and a great New Year's eve! I apologize in advance for this rant; maybe it will make other brides-to-be feel better knowing their travel agent really isn't that bad or it will help other brides-to-be recognize that if they are having these issues, they're not alone. I have mentioned before that we are extremely unhappy with our travel agent and unfortunately this has not changed at all. I am trying my best to have the 'it is what it is' mentality and just turn a blind eye but it is getting more and more difficult. This is going to sound odd but I seriously look forward to our wedding being over so I can write a full review on all the reasons to avoid our travel agent at all costs. Had I of found this site earlier we would not of gone with her as there are other brides you all have come to know rather well that had the same terrible experiences with her. And one of the most frustrating things is I know there are likely 1000 other reasons to hate on our agent and we don't even know about those. We only hear about things months later when our guests are just fed up with waiting for a response. Issues we've had thus far: - double charging cards - not charging cards when she said she would - leaving on vacation during our deposit deadline and leaving two completely incompetent people to handle our wedding booking (one being the agency owner) - leaving on another vacation and not telling us - excuses. she has an excuse for everything! when I confront her about not responding she says "i did! i must have had poor connectivity". yeah, right! - not responding to our guests; ex. TA emailed to tell me my cousin was bringing his girlfriend - great! my cousin just told me yesterday that his girlfriend hasn't even paid her deposit because our TA hasn't been responding to their emails (dating back to AUGUST!) - not updating us on changes; people cancelling, people extending their stay, etc. (yes, our guests should have told us) - won't stick to the payment plan our guests have set up with her. they email saying they want to make a payment and she just ignores the email. she doesn't even want their money?! I don't think Mike and I are being unrealistic about our expectations at all. It's gotten to the point though that we have had to tell our guests to CC us on all email communication with her. That seems to be the only way she will respond to them. And even then she responds immediately to their email and then once we are off the email (not CC'd) she stops communication. When she returned from her vacation after our deposit deadline Mike and I expressed our anger via email in a very professional manner and we asked that she call us as soon as possible. We explained our frustrations, she apologized profusely and promised she would make it up to us. Things got better for all of 5 minutes and then we were back to square one. I know a past bride even asked to be switched to another travel agent within the agency. That wouldn't even fix our problem because the two that we were given when she was away were worse than her. Ah! I recognize this post is incredibly pointless but my frustration is growing. I want to scream lol If she wasn't 4 hours away from us I would have this conversation face-to-face...much more effective of course, but not worth our time to drive there. With our luck we would drive all the way there and find out she's been out of the Country for 2 months. Annoying. Thanks (and sorry again for the pointless rant)!

@@danielleesme Hi Danielle! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Which resort are you getting married at? I love Vancouver Island. We are many, many, many years away from retiring but when we do, that's where I want to be. My fiance lived there for a year and I loved visiting. Mike's family all lives in BC and we are in the Toronto area. We chose a DW for the same reasons you did. A lot of ladies bring their OOT bags down with them. I've read making sure to pack your receipts is always a good idea. Not sure about edible favours. I'll be interested to hear what past brides reply. We are stuck on favours - no idea what to do. A lot of brides do maracas and I like that idea but my sister-in-law did that so we want to switch it up a bit. Good luck with your planning!

This website (www.clker.com) had exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

Happy New Year, @@deecol! Looks like you had a very successful Christmas break. I imagine the guys will love those watches. Such a generous gift. Col's band is perfect and so is that suit. Love it! Your wedding is only about a month before ours. Time for us to kick it up a notch and cross some of these big items off our list. Hope you had a great night!

@@snswedding2016 your list is getting shorter and shorter! So exciting Try and get some sleep though

@@Smellsey & @@snswedding2016 Okay so I've been getting waxed on and off for the last 10+ years by the same lady and every time I go she just shakes her head. She tells me (in her nice way) I have the lowest pain tolerance out of any of her clients. Always says it will get easier but for me, it never does lol I do find my legs hurt way more than anything else though. Sugaring may be the way to go?! I'll see if she offers that

@@Sgarc061 Hi and welcome! I wish I could help on the photography front but we've opted to bring our photographers with us from Toronto. Search the site though - you'll find tons of recommendations for great photographers. Good luck!

@@acw271011 Ann your photos are BEAUTIFUL! You looked gorgeous and your husband...very handsome! You must have been so excited to receive these Christmas eve. Great Christmas present @@Wafflesmom Didn't realize you two had the same photographer. Looks like you're in good hands!

@@cruisebride2016 I'm currently working with Stemple Shop on etsy as per a recommendation from @ So far Nathan has been amazing to deal with and the prices are great. I also emailed Bloom Bridal and they never got back to me.

@@vancouverpetunia what a lovely Christmas surprise Looks great.

@@snswedding2016 i'm going to talk to him about it again today. keep your fingers crossed for me lol yes, i totally want to come to the next GTA meet up. i missed one because it was one of my bridesmaids birthday, another because we were in Montreal for Mike's birthday and i play hockey on friday nights. i'll miss hockey for the next one @@TinkerSofi lol don’t say sorry – I am just happy you’re around to answer my questions. Selfish, I know lol Hope being an adult is everything you had hoped for J Oh, love that they grill the food right there and that everyone gets what they want. That’s perfect and definitely puts my mind at ease. You’re so right about not wanting to spend the time inside. It seems silly to do that when you are in MEXICO! I’ll likely be too scared that I will run out of time and not end up getting my fingers and toes done while I am there that I will get them done ahead of time. We arrive on the Friday, most guests arrive the Sunday and we get married on the Tuesday. I should be able to keep the shellac looking nice for 5 days – I hope J Oh my gosh – if you were able to fall asleep on the day of your wedding with your mind going a mile a minute that reflexology session must have been amazing. They mention bites for the groom and nothing for the bride. Glad to see they took care of you too. I can eat…a lot. I don’t see the morning of my wedding being any different lol Good point about the light – my photographer is a friend and will be there the whole week. If we book the bridal suite I’ll be sure to take her by beforehand so she knows what to expect. LOL at Juan inviting people haha Obviously he had good intentions, not wanting people to be alone, but I’d be so mad at Mike. I imagine I’ll be quite stressed out and won’t want people other than my girls and my mom there. If I need to scream I want to without any judgement lol So by getting the ceremony for free you mean they waived the $1700 fee or the $950 fee? Either way if that’s the case…WOW! My TA will be no help, I wouldn’t even ask her. I have a hard enough time finding out who has paid their deposits or not or who has emailed to inquiry about rates. That’s a story for another day. Ugh. Good to know they asked you right before and gave you a better deal. Maybe those things I want that I can’t justify paying for they will give us a better deal on in the moment. I won’t chance it for the important things but those unnecessary wants may come to fruition last minute… Nice thing with having our friends as photographers is they are there the whole week. I by no means expect them to work the entire time but it’s nice to know they will be there and can snap random pics at any time. I guess that also means we don’t have to be as strict with timing because they aren’t going anywhere.

@@snswedding2016 I really hope Mike comes around re: first look. He's being VERY traditional about this one thing. I asked if we were going to stay in the same room the night before, assuming he'd say no, and he said "absolutely - why wouldn't we?" lol Thanks for your photog schedule - super helpful. On the BDR topic, did you see it went up to $699 from $399? Just saw that on the site yesterday. Creating your own drink is so fun. Sounds delicious.

@@snswedding2016 oh my gosh don't say sorry - I was just excited to say I reached out. I hope I hear back soon Who is your WD again? My first email was from Emma (I think) and now we have Maribel.

@@snswedding2016 ps. i looked back through your thread and see you used BloomBridal.com - I emailed them my inspiration photos and am hoping to hear back soon

@@TinkerSofi Thank you for popping in to share your wisdom! I am so scared for when all the bride’s I’ve been following or communicating with leave. How will I ever make a decision? Sure I have Mike but well…he doesn’t see the reason to put so much thought into any one decision. Example – we get white table cloths, why would we want anything else? lol My concern with family style is how much of each will they provide. I’d hate that the last person to get the dish gets stuck with something they don’t like. I hope it is one for each person?! I am going to ask our WD if she has actual pictures of the food that will be served. Is that crazy? lol I asked her if pop was included because it only says “includes 4 hours of international open bar and coffee, decaffeinated and herbal teas”. She laughed and said of coarse but I had to know. I was thinking how embarrassing would it be if someone is like “can I have a coke?” and they said “the bride and groom didn’t pay for that”. The charge for everything else; I didn’t think it was that crazy of a question. Did you do a first look? I want to so badly so that we can have some of our pictures done and because I want to see Mike before everyone else does but he is NOT on board – like won’t even budge on the topic. Good advice. We need to sort this out. So you got to enjoy your ‘Welcome Drink’ at your wedding? Our WD said “well remember you are picking for everyone else because you won’t be there to drink it!” Glad to know you liked the pink juice and I hope @@snswedding2016 reports back that she loves it too J Good point. Didn’t realize the Oriolla grill was so close as well. I am really leaning towards not paying for a cocktail hour (or two). That money could easily be spent in other places. Mike agrees that it seems silly to pay for something everyone already paid for. Glad to read you didn’t regret or feel bad for not having one. Question about the spa – do they do shellac? I chip regular polish in 5 minutes so if they don’t offer that I will for sure have my nails done before heading to Mexico. Would you do the bridal suite again for getting ready? I like the idea of getting ready in our room – that is if we get upgraded to a Sky Suite (FINGERS CROSSED!) Also thinking air brush is a must. I have a ton of freckles/sun spots/moles and I’d love if they could cover them (not all just the big ones lol) and I think air brush is the only way. They seem to EAT concealer. Too much info? Sorry lol Being a bride that LOVES a deal, can you suggest any areas that you were able to get them to come down in prices? If you don’t mind sharing of course. Thanks so much for all the help. Much appreciated!!

Vow Books I'm lying in bed sick on a Friday night. The worst. Even missed hockey Updating our budget tracker and realized I didn't post our vow books. I ordered these back in April and I LOVE them. In hindsight I wish I wrote 'Ashley's Speech' and 'Michael's Speech' but I am very much over it. They are adorable. Etsy Vendor: NoteWorthyDesignsCo Cost with Shipping: $17.69 CAD Highly recommend the seller - she was so quick to respond and we were so happy with the final product. ***I REALLY think I did post this picture but I can't find it in my thread. Sorry if it's a repeat ***

@@Smellsey our WD said to pick the kids meals when we get there as well - she said they'd likely change their minds day of. @@snswedding2016 - did your WD ask you to pre-pick or did you do that to ensure it was taken care of?

@@Wafflesmom I don't think there could be a more perfect cake topper - adorable!

@@calgarybride2015 I've been thinking about everyone's replies all day and I'm so glad I posted because everyone had some good points. To your husbands comment - LOL and with our group, the party group, it might get TOO crazy. I think you're right - it's too long. It would be set up for standing but I know (I think lol) there are couches for lounging. I'm leaning towards what @@snswedding2016 is doing - much more economical and I like the freedom it gives people. Why pay for the food and booze everyone has already paid for? I like the idea of preconfirming a meet up spot where people can get snacks and drinks but leaving it as optional. Freshen up, grab a quick power nap, go for a quick dip, etc and be back in an hour. Less stress for us - no music, no food, no drinks, no additional costs. Steph - where are you telling people they should go (if interested)? You know the lay of the land best - what makes the most sense? And yes, please send me your floral contact. I'd love to check out someone locals site. Even if we have to pay shipping at least it's not travelling far. I think when the WD suggested it I was too excited and would have agreed to just about anything she proposed. I talked to Mike about it and he agreed it isn't necessary given where we are. And if we decide to do no cocktail hour we then save on my hair and makeup - good trade off I think. Thoughts on switching reception from 4 to 5, anyone? She said 4 is the best time but if we move to 5, ceremony at 7 then we would only have to pay one hour extra to keep the party going until 12. Too late? Sunset issues? I know my mum and dad won't care if we chose not to have a cake but I'm going to run it by Mike's Nonna and mom before we make that call. If they feel strongly about it we could always buy the "large" cake that only serves 6 people ($60) and at least have that traditional cake cutting photo. I never eat wedding cake and neither does Mike so we are happy to cut that out especially because our dinner comes with a variety of desserts.

@@vancouverpetunia so glad everything went smoothly upon final payments for you...and bonus that your friend broke up with his gf glad he can still make it! great turn out for your wedding week your girls dresses are very pretty - love the colour. also love that they are wearing a style that i presume works best for them. great combo! love that you're going short. much more practical than what i am doing...long and satin lol can't wait until jan/feb to see it.

@@snswedding2016 love your ring...and loving the idea of having one for your legal and for your mexico wedding! can't believe it's almost your turn!