ashhtayy

Potential Colour Scheme & Bouquet Inspiration Seeking advice from brides and brides-to-be! I am in love with neutral colour pallets. The only thing I’ve known from the beginning is that I wouldn’t have ‘one’ particular colour; there is no way I could pick! I think I have narrowed it down to two colour pallets and I’d love your advice. I realize that we all have our own tastes so my question is not whether you like what I have selected (although I hope you do) but rather, do you think the pallets I have proposed are doable? I’ve read in a few of your threads that after picking your colours or colour pallets that you struggled to find certain items that matched, ex. bridesmaids dresses, florals, chair sashes, etc. Based on your shopping experiences, how do you think I will do with these combinations? I feel since they are neutral I shouldn’t have a problem but hey, where’s the harm in asking?! Thanks in advance! PS. Mike is in BC for work and I text him the two colour pallets and asked for his opinion - his response "I like it, baby!" Gee, thanks for the input lol I guess I should be thankful he isn't demanding a Vancouver Canucks wedding theme. I’m sure when it comes time to pick the cake he will try and get some blue and green in there. He makes me laugh because he doesn’t see the need for things to match. When it took me ages to pick a STD because I wanted it to ‘match’ our wedding website he thought I was being ridiculous. I can only imagine what our wedding would look like if he designed everything.

@@TinkerSofi maybe I'll wait and get your opinion lol I wonder if they use white or red for the sangria? if the bellini is frozen like at milestones I'm sold! ps. I just googled to make sure there was a milestones in Calgary to ensure you could relate to my post haha

@@yycbride2016 first i need to settle on a colour pallet lol and then you will hear from me

@@yycbride2016 i thought of you yesterday when I was at Marshalls. they had their starfish display at the front of the store. SO many awesome options with your theme. i would have an incredibly hard time not buying every single item i saw. ps. everything looks great! you're on a role. when it comes time for chair sashes i am going to pick your brain.

@@Laurena1229 welcome to the forum! and you are right; if you aren't addicted yet, you will be. we might be twins - summer(ish) weddings for both of us, Azul Fives, no facebook, Toronto area brides, sky deck, extending the reception time, approximately 60 guests, etc. i haven't negotiated anything yet so i can't give you any tips but i look forward to hearing from anyone that has. i agree - the prices are insane but the venue is just SO beautiful; hard to say no. @@TinkerSofi is getting married VERY soon at AF and will likely provide us with TONS more information post her nuptials. @@snswedding2016 is attending the BDR (brides dress rehearsal) at AF as well. have you looked into attending? we want to so badly but it doesn't look like it will work out as my FI just started a new job and i just got promoted - needless to say, work is about to get very hectic for both us. happy planning!

@ get your hustle on! tell her she came recommended and that i got $13/set (she agreed to that before I ordered the 6th). i can email you screen shots if needed.

@@yycbride2016 thank you! i saw your cards and they were great. i'm sure your girls and your FIs guys loved them! Mike was thinking of using fiverr to propose. for those of you unaware of fiverr...check it out. basically you can pay strangers $5 to do just about anything - edit your essay, create a video for you, etc. anyways, we found this guy that makes these super offside and hilarious videos and he will say whatever you want. we thought that would be a funny way for him to propose because we thought he wouldn't be able to see his groomsmen in person for awhile. all that changed because we are going to be there for 10 days in august. still looking for an idea or a gift for them!

@@TinkerSofi yes, i missed it. what did you pick? if i didn't have to consider mike's choice i would be going with the bellini or sangria lol he is on a work trip but gets back friday - i will run it by him smart call extending your hair appointment! you are FULL of great tips. thank you! @ here are some details: Cost - $13USD each (rather than $14.75USD) Shipping - $27USD Ordered - 5 on 03/26/2015 & a 6th on 03/29/2015 Shipped - 04/06/2015 Delivered - 04/14/2015 I'm either super impatient or the date of delivery is incorrect. It felt as if they took 3 weeks to arrive but etsy says i got them 8 days later. either way, they arrived, they're adorable and all the girls loved them @@TinkerSofi it was REALLY hard to wait until i finished the boxes to ask my girls. some of them told me afterwards they were like 'what the f, why isn't she asking us?' lol so, it actually may have been more kind to ask everyone right away. we were engaged in October and i didn't ask anyone until the end of April and early May. i knew who i was asking the entire time, i just wanted the proposal to be perfect haha

@ yes! happy to inspire two things: if you go with the lady that I did you can negotiate the price a little bit if you're ordering multiple sets. Initially I ordered 5 and she gave me a deal and then I decided to get myself one. also, they will take awhile to get to Toronto, especially since she hand makes them when you hit order. I can check dates if you'd like but just don't wait too long if these are something you are interested in.

@ i should probably pick a colour for the girls before i get to painting (or 'sequining') but that likely won't happen. chances are they will be my very next project lol i think i am echoing something i read in your recent thread but, better now than at the wedding. peoples true colours and priorities certainly do come out during this process. i bet you everyone of us on here has a story like that, some worse, some 'better'; and as silly as it sounds, in an odd way i find comfort in knowing we aren't alone. keep your chin up The Bridesmaid Proposal Boxes (& Groomsmen Debacle) I was SO excited to start these. I had spent some time on pinterest gathering some ideas and in the end I loved how it all came together. They included: A photo box with their name on the front (chalkboard sticker and chalkboard marker to write their names). The photo box was wrapped in a burlap ribbon with a gold bow on top. Photo box & burlap ribbon from Michaels Gold bow from Dollarama A handmade card that said “Will you be my…” on the outside and “Bridesmaid” or “Maid of Honour” on the inside. I handwrote long notes to each of the girls explaining why I needed them by myside and how much they meant to me. Blank cards from Michaels Gold glitter paper from Dollarama A mini bottle of champagneFrom LCBO A small makeup bag containing a travel sized toothbrush holder, toothpaste, lip balm with SPF, and hand sanitizerAll from Dollarama A ring popFrom Dollarama A luggage tag and passport holderFrom Etsy (BettinasDesigns) – she was GREAT to deal with! Being too eager to give these to the girls I didn’t snap a photo of them complete. I’ve included some progress pictures I did take. I gave these to my girls all individually. Basically when they were in the area I asked them to pop by and had them open their boxes. They loved that they got to open a present and thought the luggage tags and passport holders couldn’t be more fitting. In total I have 5 bridesmaids. Each box cost $48.72CAD. If I were to do the bridesmaid proposal boxes again, I wouldn’t change a thing Mike still hasn’t asked his groomsmen to be in our wedding party. For me it was an easy choice – my best girlfriend from elementary school, my best girlfriend from high school, my two best friends from university and my best girlfriend from work. Neither Mike or I have sisters so that wasn’t a factor and I only have one female cousin whom I am close with, but not close enough to have in our wedding party. Mike on the other hand has a lot of people to consider – his two brothers, my brother whom we are both VERY close with, his godson (and cousin), his cousin, his very best friend, and his thousand other friends that he is extremely close with. I said from the get-go that I did not care if we had more groomsmen than bridesmaids but that I couldn’t imagine him having something like 10 guys standing by his side. I know this has been extremely stressful for him as he doesn’t want to offend anyone. I know for sure it will be his two brothers, my brother and his godson. I will update you all on how this turns out in a few weeks. He plans on doing his ‘proposal’ (he won’t let me call it that when I talk to him) when we go on vacation to BC in August. I keep reminding him that there are lots of other important jobs at a wedding that can be given to those super close to us. We haven’t picked an MC yet and I think one of his friends would be honoured to do that. I would also love to have people other than groomsmen usher our guests down the aisle. Lots of jobs that need to be done and luckily lots of fantastic people in our lives that would be happy to fulfill those tasks. We will have a ring bearer as well – our nephew Gabriel. He will almost be three and half come wedding time. We still have to officially ask him too J I’ve been shopping around for a cute ‘Ring Security’ shirt to gift him when we visit in August but the ones I’ve found on Etsy have been priced so high. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear.

@nicofio22 Hi! Congrats. Someone posted this link before and it does generate some cute ideas: http://mktg.weddingwire.com/wedding-hashtag-generator/ Good luck!

@@calgarybride2015 thanks. like i said, things HAVE been better it's just so unfortunate that it took me calling her out multiple times to get us to to that better place. @ thanks for stopping by and for the kind words! i actually thought of you saturday (weird, right? lol) when I found a bunch of old wooden coat hangers. my mum purchased me my 'Mrs. Romeo' hanger but I am going to make my girls there's own. not sure if i'll do sequence like you or just paint them. yours turned out beautiful so it motivated me to give it a shot. ps. i've been reading about your groomsmen drama. i hate that you and Chester had to go through that. i'm happy to read you both are feeling like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. @@TinkerSofi i still can't believe the temporary TA did that either. the first time she did it, i politely asked her not to and explained why we gave them a different date and she STILL went behind our back (to my aunt of all people). mind blowing really. it even got to the point that i called the owner and said i did not want anyone booking through the operations manager because of reason X. Y and Z. thanks for the tip re: travel documents and for the other tips you've given me - much appreciated!! 24 DAYS!

@@vancouverpetunia I'm so sorry to read you have had similar situations with your TA. She isn't based out of BC so it isn't the same person; sounds like these issues may be more common than we think. After booking with her I found two brides on here that were less than satisfied with her. By that point it was too late to make any changes. I agree in that things could be MUCH worse. I personally couldn't be a TA because as organized as I think I am, I still don't think I could keep everything straight...especially considering how many brides she is the travel agent for. I think that may be part of the problem. It seems that she may have taken on too much - too many DWs at once. But, that being said, there is a reason I work in a completely different field. We all have our strengths and I don't expect perfection but I do expect some form of communication and I shouldn't have to ask for follow up on everything that is being done. The problem is, the trust is now gone. I can't believe her when she says she will do something because there have been 1000 examples of her not following through. This sounds so ridiculous but she used to sign every email with a and then her name. I haven't gotten a since the deposit due date debacle and it drives me crazy. I want to get passed the fact that everything got screwed up for a little bit there and work together to make this whole thing come together. Lately things have been better and I hope we continue this way. Fingers.Are.Crossed. I hope nothing but the best for you as well. Such unnecessary stress that we don't need

The Booking Process for Friends & Family Like many brides-to-be will tell you, your wedding is not as important to anyone else as it is to you. Even my bridesmaids who knew how stressful this had been for me (and Mike because he had to deal with me lol) didn’t even book right away. As I said we sent our STDs in late April and didn’t follow up with anyone until three weeks before the deadline. I decided to create a new gmail account with our wedding website (also our hashtag) @@gmail.com and sent all communication to guests via that email. The first email read: Hello Friends & Family! By now you should have received the ‘Save the Date’ for our June 2016 wedding in Mexico. We really appreciate all the kind emails, texts and phone calls we have been receiving. It is great to see you are as excited as we are. As we hope you are all aware, our wedding is Tuesday June 7th, 2016 at Azul Fives Gourmet All Inclusive Resort (http://www.karismahotels.com/hotelsresorts/foreveryone/azulfives). Our travel agent is X from X. As indicated on our website (www.weddingwire.com/X) a deposit of $150 per person is due by June 7th, 2015. In case any of you weren’t unaware of that date, we thought it might be a good idea to reach out and let you know. In order to take advantage of our group rate, we ask you make your deposit as soon as possible. After the deadline you are still able to book, but unfortunately, your rate may increase. After your deposit is made, a payment plan will be coordinated between you and X. The final payment due date is March 28th, 2016. Should the rate drop, X has provided a one-time price drop guarantee. When you reach out to X, she will ask for your: name as per passport, date of birth, address, telephone number, departure city, room category, and preferred date of travel, if different than June 5th – June 12th, 2016 X can be contacted via email at X or by phone at XXX-XXX-XXXX. We realize that our wedding is over a year away and that making a commitment this far in advance is difficult for a lot of you. Keep in mind that you are deserving of a vacation and we would love if you spent it with us…in the sun…in beautiful Mexico. If you could be so kind as to let us know whether we should expect you or not we would really appreciate it. If you have any questions, concerns, thoughts, etc. feel free to reach out to us. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts. We hope to celebrate our wedding in Mexico with you! Very few people even replied to our email. I sent a second email out one week before our booking deadline. It read: Hello Friends and Family! By now you should have received our 'Save the Date' and our first 'Deposit Reminder' email. We are writing today to remind you that deposits are due in one week (Sunday June 7th, 2015). Because there has been some confusion, we wanted to clarify a few things: The deposit of $150 that is due Sunday June 7th, 2015 is per person, secures your room at Azul Fives and is taken off your total trip amount. Full payment is not due until March 28th, 2016. You are able to pay weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc. How you pay for your trip is entirely up to you. The only two mandatory dates are Sunday June 7th, 2015 ($150) and full payment by March 28th, 2016. We are guaranteed a one-time price drop guarantee. If the price drops prior to our final payment due date, X will work with Transat to ensure each and every one of us is granted that deal. If payment has already been made in full, a cheque will be issued to you or a credit to your credit card (if that was your original method of payment). If you are interested in attending but cannot stay for 7-nights, our travel agent will customize a package for you. Azul Fives is a small gourmet all-inclusive resort with less than 400 rooms. A lot of resorts have 2000+ rooms and are able to accommodate last minute bookings; because of the size of Azul Fives, this is rarely the case. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to Michael or myself via phone or by replying to this email. If it is a travel related question, contacting our travel agent would be best as she is the expert and is able to provide you with the best advice/answers. Our travel agent X is in Mexico this week but will be available via email. In her absence, the agency owner, X and Operations Manager, X, will be in charge of our file while. Their contact information is as follows: X Email XXX-XXX-XXXX or X Email XXX-XXX-XXXX and X Email XXX-XXX-XXXX Resort Website: http://www.karismahotels.com/hotelsresorts/foreveryone/azulfives Our Wedding Website: www.weddingwire.com/X Again, we realize our wedding is over a year away and that planning this far in advance is not easy. We would love if you could make it but understand for all of you that is not possible. We ask again that you let us know whether we should expect you or not - we would really appreciate it. Letting us know will also mean we can stop bothering you with these emails Thank you in advance xx The last email I sent was on the day our booking deadline. It read: Hi All, We are writing you this very last time (we promise!) because either Michael and I or our travel agent X have not heard from you. Today is the booking deadline of $150 per person. Because X was in Mexico this past week, she is able to accept your RSVP via email tonight and will contact you this week in order to process your deposit. Again, if you cannot come or have alternative plans, please share this with us as soon as possible. Knowing how many people will be attending makes planning the wedding much easier. Please contact X exclusively. She can be reached at: X Email XXX-XXX-XXXX Thanks in advance xx PS. We're getting married one year from today! As per advice from our GI TA we told people deposits were due a week and half before they actually were. I later realized this didn’t seem to benefit us, rather gave our GI TA more time to play catch up. As mentioned in a previous post we were able to receive a free trip (excluding taxes) for every 21 people that booked a 7-day trip (excluding children). My understanding was all of these people had to make their deposit by our booking deadline to be eligible. I later learned that is not the case; anyone that books a 7-day trip (or longer) and pays in full prior to our full-payment due date counts towards our free passenger credit. Had I of realized this earlier I would not have sent so many emails to our guests. Post-wedding I will write a full review on our experience with our travel agent. Although everything started off as rainbows, butterflies and unicorns…it all started to change come time to get people booked – a very crucial time where it benefits you to have your TA be your bestest friend. I will leave it at that for now. I was more than disappointed in a lot of people when it came to commitment time. My FI and I’s expectations were realistic. We knew there would be let downs when some people couldn’t make it, we knew there would be happy surprises when others booked…but it was those closest to us that seemed to give us the most grief. A few debacles we ran into: Almost half the guests never bothered to reply to our emails My FIs father went behind our back and tried to get his own group rate with other family members because apparently our quote was too high. PS. We weren’t supposed to find this out and when we did, as you can imagine, it didn’t go over well. I will leave it at this: he is booked with us, the BC guest’s prices were adjusted and we can now move forward from that. As shady as that sounds, he is a good man and had good intentions…he is just very stubborn and admittedly went about this in the incorrect way. People called to make their deposits and their credit cards weren’t charged for weeks. This meant many phone calls to Michael and I asking if they had done something wrong. We then had to follow up for almost every guest with our TA. TA fault, definitely not our guests. People with requests for 4-day trips or departing from gates other than BC or ON had to wait AGES to get their quotes back. This made sense for the 4-day guests, not the 7 or 7+ day guests. Our TA attended a client’s DW the week our deposits were due. She left the owner and operations manager in charge of our file. This was a complete and utter disaster as they were either rude to our guests, told our guests they wouldn’t answer any questions as they were just there to accept credit card payments, and worse, made Michael and I look like liars as they told everyone who called that we deceived them by telling them our deadline was much earlier than it was. Even after telling the operations manager she was not to disclose that information, she continued to do so. She told my aunt “well I wasn’t supposed to say anything because Ashley got mad at me, but your deposit isn’t due for another week and a half”. Please keep in mind we only told our guests the deposits were due a week and a half earlier because our TA advised us that that was the right thing to do. If we were to do this again we would: Not tell our guests the booking deadline was more than a few days before the actual deadline Not agree to make our booking deadline the week our TA was going to be out of the country Only send one reminder email (I hated pestering people) As of today we have 54 adults booked and 2 children. 48 are booked for 7 (or more) nights and 6 are booked for a 4-night trip. The majority for our guests are flying Sunday to Sunday. Michael and I decided to fly in Friday so that we could take care of some of the administrative things, prep our OOT bags (if we decide to do them), etc. We are staying for 2 weeks at Azul Fives and will have 5 days to spend together alone after our guests leave. My mom, dad and brother are also coming in Friday to help us with anything we need to do. It was important to Michael and I that we be right at the entrance greeting our guests as they arrived and we felt that arriving a few days early would be the only way to achieve this. It ended up working out perfectly in that our ON guests and BC guests flights will arrive at the airport within a half hour of one and other. AH! So excited just writing this. Fingers crossed the TA drama subsides and it is smooth sailing from here on out (until final payment time anyways )

@@TinkerSofi no, i haven't chosen our welcome cocktail. do you mean the one the guests are greeted with when they check in or at the wedding? i don't think i have seen options yet. i'll double check tomorrow. thanks for the heads up! i still have all the big things on my list - decor, dress, dj, etc. i have a plan for the photographer but my FI and i haven't decided 100%. i'll share details on that soon and get some opinions from you ladies - the experts. hair & makeup - i have been nervous that i haven't booked our appointments yet. did you only book yours a few months out? if so, i can stop worrying about that! thanks for the feedback. definitely gives me a great starting point. @@snswedding2016 thanks for the suggestion! i'm in no rush at this point but it's great to know the demo sold you on it. if i decide to buy and not use my bridesmaids i'll price Steamply out. another thing i LOVE about having your own thread is it's SO easy to go back and find what you were looking for. i find so often i read something and then can't remember in what thread i found it. @@Wafflesmom thanks so much! they weren't my first choice (i would have loved to hand make/design them) but we ended up being so happy with how they turned out. great customer service can be seldom - i am so thankful for how they handled my mistake. not sure if the voucher is a new thing but my fingers are crossed it isn't and you get to take advantage as well. did you hear back from your TA? @@deecol thank you! you should start a thread for sure. like a few people said to me, there are no rules. i did it so that i could start holding myself accountable to making the big decisions i've been putting off. i'll keep an eye out for your thread