Any Grand Palladium brides?

[claire0701]

Hey Lauren and Chrestena,

I'm not sure how I missed all your discussions but have just spent the past 20 minutes reading and smiling ... it's so exciting and lovely to hear of other brides looking forward to the same amazing thing!

 

I have not been out dress shopping yet, but have booked a date for 2nd Feb with mum, fiance's mum and mum-in-law and my 4 bridesmaids (2 sisters and 2 friends) so a big crowd to try and accomodate!  Have been having a look on Pintrest at dresses though (I'm addicted!) and have pinned quite a few which I like the idea of.  All are totally different from each other though  

 

That's great that you have decided on bridesmaids as well Lauren, that's next for me as soon as I get mine and know the style.  We're still swaying on colours so hoping to see something which catches my eye.

 

Glad to hear you managed to find chairs which you like more, that's another tick on the list! Did you ordered the crystal backdrop and bamboo sticks with flowers from the same place?  Do you mind me asking if these were expensive?  I hadn't thought of an outside vendor for decor, and am limited to how much I can carry (we only have 25kilos each for luggage). The Japanese lanterns sound gorgeous, and Im sure will be just as pretty as the fabric hanging.  I was also hoping to buy fans as favours but am struggling to find a resonable price to get shipped to the UK.  Love your idea for bubbles, I must keep this in mind if the sparkler idea doesn't work out.

 

That's a shame to hear your sister-in-law can't now manage to the wedding.  We booked Gonzalo Nunezlast ear and are super excited about meeting him and also the TTD shoot.  We follow him on facebook so get to see wedding pics regularly!  I'm sure your photos will be lovely, and it's always nice that you have worked with the girl before too.

 

I hope you have recieved your save the dates and can get posting! 

I've also been thinking about oot bags and so far have decided on a 'wedding survival' kit ... all the medicines etc that might be needed, as well as the essentials which are sometimes forgotten - toothbrush, plug adaptor etc. but am trying to keep them pretty low cost.  I did manage to get magnets, postcards, and buisness cards to ask guests to share their photos on photobucket when they get home.  I also made up rack card door hangers and rack cards which ask guests not to post wedding photos on facebook until we have had the chance.  Got all of that stuff from Vistaprint with only postage charge so was pretty pleased about that.  Oh yeah, also ordered 'Just married' banners from Vistaprint too.

 

We don't really register for bridal showers in the UK, although it is becoming more common the register for wedding gifts.  I dont think anyone would mind (in fact they'd probably prefer) ordering online if it cuts out the transportation hassle!  Failing that, people may just give you wedding gifts before/after the trip?

 

Chrestena - i love the Senor and Senora signs . . . may steal that idea as well!  Your wedding sounds lovely, especially the welcome party and morning after brunch.  I think we'll definitely try to organise a welcome party similar to yours (white party sounds fab!) although I don't know if I'll want to see everyone the morning after, maybe need a day or two of alone time I'm going to have a peak at your wedding website as it sounds fab too!

 

Take care girls and speak soon,

 

Claire

 

[Chrestena]

Hi Claire  Congratulations!

 

Feb 2nd is almost here- and I know you will have a wonderful time wedding dress shopping. Have you tried any dresses on at all yet? If not- bring tissues!! Especially if you will be with your mother and mother in law to be. It's emotional to be in a beautiful wedding dress, and with all the people you love

 

The wedding survival kit is a great idea- so is asking people not to post on FB until you do! I didn't even think of that...

 

I am browsing around on Etsy for a pretty hanger for my wedding dress, and also for a Just ~ Married Banner for the golf cart. And can I ask- is Gonzalo a photographer only or does he also do videography? I still need a videographer. Trying to watch some and see who has a style I prefer- hard to do because they are all good!

 

The White Party was something Vanessa, the wedding coordinator, told us about. We wanted to set up some kind of welcome cocktail party for Monday night, which is when most of our guests are arriving (we're getting married on Wednesday, May 8th).  Vanessa suggested having it at Las Rocas as they are having the White Party that night. It won't be private, but we will all be together in one area, and there will be music, and yes, she said everyone wears white. We liked it!

 

Are you adding anything to the tables at the reception? Still trying to think if I'll be ok with bringing lots of candles or if I should add more. We have to keep suitcases relatively light- they charge for anything over 50 lbs.

 

Have a great night- I'm off to find a videographer! ( I hope)

 

Chrestena

[MyTye2B]

Hello Chrestena and Claire!

 

Oh my again I'm going to warn you that this is going to be long!  Chrestena I am not sure also how I missed your post over a week ago, lol - I'm on here almost every day at least once just going through the recent posts.  Anyway, I had a chance to look over your wedding website which is WONDERFUL!  And I signed it too.    I hope you don't mind I love a lot of the wording that you've used in describing the resort and the things to do around there and I hope to update my site soon.  If either of you ladies want to check out our site so far you can find it at tyrelandlauren.ourwedding.com.  Enjoy!  Chrestena I have to say I cannot believe you have 5 children between the two of you!  What a beautiful wedding you guys are going to have.    I also checked out Amols and looked at the maracas.  I think those are perfect and they are sooo cheap!  They definitely look so colourful and fun.  Have you received them yet?  That is so exciting!  I don't think your OOT bag sounds boring at all - in fact I think I may steal another idea from it - loved the tequila shots idea!  So cute!  Claire great idea to think about the plug adaptors!  We won't need those but I can see it being a huge problem if they were forgotten.  I like your idea of making the cards requesting people not share photos on Facebook until you do.  I haven't made a thing on VistaPrint yet although I hear such good things about it.  Was it hard?  How can you personalize the cards more, I mean not use the backgrounds that they have?  I'm not really sure how it all works.  And there is sooo much to choose from I'm overwhelmed lol.  Do you have a Michael's in the UK Claire?  That's where I got the bubbles from and they were SO cheap.  You can also always find a coupon for there.  The Japanese lanters travel very well if you can get them to the UK. 

 

Claire I hear you about the cost of having things shipped out of the US.  I am in Canada and if I did not have a bridesmaid who lived in Michigan I wouldn't have half of the things I do now just due to shipping cost.  And I'm sure you've noticed that a lot of places don't even ship out of the US even for lots and lots of money.  And sometimes I'll come close to finishing a transaction and they say that they will ship out of the US but then you need a US billing address which obviously I don't have in order to pay for it so I can't go through with it anyway.  I am so thankful for my bridesmaid Christine who has even ordered things to her house for me with her credit card and I just transfer her the money.  She was able to purchase my memorial candle for me for my daughter who passed away 7 years ago when she was a baby.  It will be hand painted and it's flameless.  I ordered it from a wonderful woman named Dorothy at Covenent Lights.  Christine also did that for our OOT bags (Chrestena you may try from there) for cheaptotes.com where I got 30 bags (for now until I can get accurate numbers) for 0.99 a piece!  Christine says that they're perfect.  They are just natural coloured canvas bags and I am going to iron transfer on a generic design for most guest (1 per room) but make special designs for the bridesmaids and mothers of the groom and bride. 

 

I feel much more confident knowing that there is no charge for the extra little parties.  I am going to write Vanessa an email tomorrow and ask her about (and the golf cart transfers etc.) that although we still don't (and probably won't for a while!) know how many people are coming.  I think we are definitely going to have a brunch the day after but we might not do a welcome dinner just because our guests are all flying in on the Saturday and our wedding is Monday so we want to let them have the day to themselves.  I was thinking we'd just put something in the welcome booklet that meets them in their rooms saying that we'll be having dinner at so and so and if anyone wants to join us than they are more than welcome to.  Chrestena I love what you mentioned on your website about the rehearsal dinner and I was thinking something like that since technically that will be the rehearsal night.  I thought they didn't do rehearsal dinners?  I will ask Vanessa about that too.  Are you doing a run-through of your day?  I love your mom's idea about the love letters to each other.  Very cute and I personally think it would make me less nervous too.  I am really nervous about writing personal vows but I know we probably will.  It will just add to the personalized feel.  I was worried that there may not be a microphone at the ceremony and I definitely want people to be able to hear what's going on.  At the wedding I went to here 6 years ago there was not and it kind of sucked not being able to hear anything.    Vanessa assured me that there will definitely be a microphone.  Did she assure you both of that too?  I also asked about having a few fans at the reception area but she said that they don't have any.  I guess we'll just be VERY hot lol - August in Mexico and dancing and drinking and in a heavy dress, haha.  Oh well, I don't think I'll care by the end of the night how hot and sweaty I am I think I'll just be too happy and hopefully most of the pictures will be done by then. 

 

We did manage to get the save the dates out and I LOVED them.  People have had them for about 2 weeks now although I think they won't actually start booking until they have the actual invitations in hand.  That will be better for us too because then we can get the response cards back and get an actual REAL count of who will be there.  There are only 4 people who have officially booked thier trips other than Tyrel and myself right now.  Both are bridesmaids and their husbands.  Obviously our parents/families are booking but our TA has all of their info and when there is enough to go ahead with the group rate she'll put it through. 

 

I hear you on the cost of things.  To answer your question Claire, yes the chairs and the crystal backdrop and the bamboo sticks and flowers all came from the same place.  On their own they are not too expensive and very convenient since you don't have to bring your own.  I'm happy that I got them but they do have a minimum order (which is A LOT) and honestly you're probably better off going with what the resort offers.  I would have met the minimum because of the chairs I'm renting but I don't know that you would if all you're interested in is the backdrop.  The woman Saku was so wonderful to work with though and I think I'll be happy in the end, although I'm really going to have to cut back in other areas.  Man do things add up quickly!  weddingcancun.mx is their website and they do have a lot of really nice things if you wanted to take a lot around.  Have either of you made your appointments at the spa yet and if so what are you getting done?  I'm still not sure if they'll be doing my hair or if my sister will be.  I think my girlfriend will be doing my makeup.  I haven't even looked into what having those things done at the spa would cost.  I can only imagine, lol.  We definitely want to get a couples massage while we are there!  Are either of you doing anything just special for the two of you while you're there?

 

There's a lot going on right now, work has been busy and I hope that I'm not starting to slack as we're building a house and the last few weeks we've had to go to all of the vendors and choose things like our hardwood colour, granite, carpet colour, paint, literally EVERYTHING and it's super exciting but super busy.  That's another reason I'm really trying to save as for some reason we thought it was smart to buy a house and get married in the same year, hahaha.    And speaking of the money thing, I did not end up getting a second dress from the Brideses place!!  Hahaha, I still can't stop laughing at that.  I just read too many terrible things.  I did get one from lightinthebox.com where a friend of mine has ordered from before.  Again, not high quality but like you said who cares when you're underwater anyway and rolling around in the sand which I intend to do.  But they had a fantastic sale (55% off it was $450 regular and on for $218 then I googled a coupon code and saved another $20 and then FREE shipping to Canada!)  so in total it was $200.  I would have honestly just trashed mine because like you said I'm never going to wear it again (although I haven't decided if I may wear it at one of our at home receptions when we're back) but it's mermaid style underneath so in the sand and water I don't think I'd be able to move in it nor do I think it would look very sexy or flowy in the water.  Claire I'm glad you've gone Pinterest crazy I did too!  I think it's great you have a few totally different styles.  I was kind of stuck on one style that I had pinned a whole bunch of and ended up with something totally different.  That's the way they say it happens usually.  You're on the right track being flexible with styles!  So excited for you to go shopping with the mums next week! 

 

Thank you for the suggestions on the guys' attire.  I don't think it was that Island store you were talking about but maybe I'll have a look there too.  I like the idea of the striped and solid tie contrast.  Tye hates stripes so he would probably have to be in the solid one but I don't know how he'd feel about 5 other people having stripes on in all of our pictures lol!  The battle continues.  I think your colour scheme sounds perfect.  Don't worry about it being too bright - it's a destination wedding and bright is beautiful and the reason for the lilac/purple is so great.  I mean, terribly sad but such a nice, sentimental way to honour his mother.  I just ordered my bridesmaids jewelry off of Etsy too (from Melissa at lakeshorecreations4u) and she is SOOO nice and great to work with.  I'll attach a pic here - I wanted something totally unique and fun and bright, so here they are.  I'll also attach a pic of my bridesmaid dresses again to jog your memories lol. 

 

 

 

Instead of the pink flower it will be yellow to match the earrings.  I kind of liked pink better and we're having the bright pink flower petals on the aisle instead of the aisle runner but Tyrel like the yellow so he wins.    I don't have a videographer and I won't be getting one.  I wish I could help you decide.  I have heard really good things about Claire's photographer.  Maybe they do videography as well?  Worth a look!  I see that someone posted on this thread.  Wondering did you contact them?  I am at peace with our photography issue now.   My future SIL did our engagement pics for free here.  I'll post a couple of my favourites below.  Excuse my terrible roots on my hair.  I was getting them done the next week but Miranda was ready to take our pics then and being 6 months pregnant, hanging out in the freezing cold and climbing around railroad tracks I wasn't about to give her any trouble, lol.

 

 

 

 

 My next biggest battle is losing weight.  Tye and I are off on Saturday to a friend's wedding in Punta Cana.  I'm so embarrassed to have to wear a bathing suit right now.  If you read my wedding website you'll see that I used to work on the ramp at the airport and when I did I was about 30 pounds lighter.  That's because I pretty much got paid to work out for 10 hours a day and then I would go to the gym too.  I am naturally a very hippy type person but I've really let myself go over the last 2 years.  Lol - I just changed my phone screensaver to a super skinny picture of myself in a bikini from 2 years ago as motivation!  I have tried Insanity but gave up after a week.  I didn't feel like I was accomplishing much because it was so hard.  Right now I'm on day 5 of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred which I am actually loving!  It is easy enough that it's do-able but hard enough that I'm sweating and I feel accomplished because I can actually get through it.  I was kind of happy to have our engagement pictures done outside with big winter coats on and by the time the wedding is here I'll be in tip top shape again!  No excuses anymore. 

 

Ok well I think I've gone on long enough tonight!  I actually did have some work stuff to do but I figured if I didn't write back now I'd be doing it at work and getting in more trouble.  Talk to you soon ladies!!  I have to say I'm so happy to have found you here.    It's great to talk to some of you who are working with the same resort.  xo

[MyTye2B]

One last question for you Chrestena.  You've been to the resort before.  Do you remember what the door handles on the rooms are like there?  Are they big, round door knobs or are they like a straigher latch that you push down on to open?  I'm trying to figure out how large to make the hole on my door hangers.  Lol - weird question I know.  Let me know if you remember or if there's anyone else out there who has an idea!  Thanks! 

[claire0701]

Hi girls,

 

Lauren, you make me laugh with your 'long post' warnings.  I did start to read your this morning before work but realised then I wanted to reply straigh away and would definitely have been late!  Here goes my long post then...

After I post this I'm going to have a look at both your wedding websites (I'm quite excited about that!)

 

Chrestena, I love the maraca's idea, they'd definitely add some fun to the evening! Unfortunately we don't have a Michael's here - although I wish we did! I'm going to keep browsing ebay for fan's and will keep the bubbles in mind too - I can get those pretty cheap from cash and carry stores here.

 

Your memorial candle sounds lovely Lauren, a really nice touch, just like the lialac shirts Chrestena.  It's lovely to remember those who can't be with us on this special day. 

 

I hadn't even thought about a microphone Lauren - what a sensible thing to consider!   We're getting married in the Church so I might email to ask her about that as well.  It's a shame there can't be outdoor fans for the evening - we're mid july so temperature will be high!  I suppose by then as you say, the pictures will have been taken so it doens't matter if we're all a sweaty mess ... as long as we're having fun!

 

I'm glad you were pleased with your save the dates Lauren, it will be so exciting when people begin to book!  We have pretty much had our whole party booked since last April (we got a great price then so went for it!)  Just a handfu waiting to book now - once the prices drop a little, they're really high at the moment - almost doubled!

 

With regards to the hair and make-up, I had originally planned on having hair and make up done at the spa as I have read lots of wonderful reviews, however... I am pretty fussy and even at home struggle to enjoy having my hair / make-up done as I just want to change it / do it my own way!  So for that reason, I think I'm going to do my own, I'm pretty handy with my hair and have been trying out some nice up do's the past few weeks and getting lots of compliments.  My aunt is also a hairdresser and my sister is great at hair so they'll al be on hand.  I think I'm going to go pretty easy with the make-up due to the heat and that I don't usually wear an awful lot.

 

Lauren, it's so exciting that you're planning your wedding and house at the same time, my friends did it last year and although they thought it was crazy at times it was lovely that they had their new family home to move into on the night of their wedding!

Speaking of my friend ... she ordered our bridesmaids dresses from lightonthebox.com and they were fab.  I'm sure yours will be lovely.  I totally hadnt thought about trying to swim in a fishtail gown so will need to keep that in mind when I'm looking! I have been dress shoppinng once before, managed to fit in two different shops but no dresses I had the 'the is it' feeling with.  Hoping the next trip will be more successful!

 

The Vistaprint stuff is super easy and amazing quality.  I liked some of the pre-designed items and thoguht they suited the destination theme nicely so went with those for some things (postcards etc) and then uploaded my own complete design for other things (do not disturb signs made from rack cards).  I just made my design up in Word and then saved as a jpeg (or picture) and uploaded that way.  Really easy to do and clear on the website too.  The quality is amazing considering it's practically free (just shipping).  Chrestena, you should check out their banners for your golf cart, I actually got 2 so I can choose once I decide on colours for bridesmaids etc.  They're great quality and roll up nice and small to fit in your case!

 

I'm going to attempt the hangers with the metal wire spelling out 'bride' 'bridesmaid' etc so will let you know how they go once I give them a try.  I'm quite ambitious and will give anything a try (I love DIY!)

 

As far as I know Chrestena Gonzalo only does photography, although you could check out his website just in case.  We decided right at the start we'd go with photographer and trash the dress over photographer and videographer.  I hope you manage to find someone.  There are loads of reviews on here, that's how we found our photographer!

 

I'm really excited about the White Party idea now and again it can be quite informal, we don't want our guests feeling they have to spend their whole holiday with us - it's their vacation too!

 

I'm not going to add anything to the tables, purely because of the issue of trying to get everythibng there and back (and the extra stress) although I think it would look lovely with some candles or table centres over and above the ones provided.

 

Speak soon

Claire  x

[claire0701]

oh yeah Lauren your bridesmaids jewellery is gorgeous! I love the colours, they'll look fab in the photos and are something the girls can wear again.  I really love your bridesmaids dresses, they look gorgeous!

I loved your engagement photos as well and your roots are invisible!

 

I also feel your pain with the weight issue, I think the idea of spending a fortnight in a bikini with such a large group is quite daunting although it sounds like you're making better progress than me.  I started Insanity a few months ago and got through the first month - it was hard work! Work was crazy and I just could't find the time for it then, however Peter and I are determined we're going to start again and see it through this time.  We're not specifically aiming to loose weight (although I have a few Christmas pounds which I could happily loose!) we're more looking to tone up and feel a bit more body confident.  I'm also just going to try and be generally a bit more health conscious as I have terrible self discipline and eat junk all the time!  I was reading last night about eating clean which sounds great although again I just don't know if I could make the time for it.  Going to try with less processed foods etc though  Every little helps!

[87shayla]

I love reading the posts from you girls, 

 

We are 10 days from flying out to get married at the palladium, and its fantastic to see how excited you guys are, all the details and planning. Doesn't seem like very long ago that's what we were doing, and now the day is nearly here! Very excited, and will have to log back on here when I get home to give a review of the wedding

[claire0701]

Oh Shayla that's so exciting! I can't wait till we're only 10 days away! Have a totally wonderful amazing precious time and yes! We'd love to hear all about it when you get back!! Hope you're all organised now and can just relax and enjoy every minute!

[MyTye2B]

Shayla how awesome!!  I see you're in Alberta too.    Where abouts?  I wish you ALL the best at your wedding!!!  Please come back and share your experience with us!! 

 

Claire, I'm at work now but I owe you another long response tonight.    Like you said I want the time to comment on all of the amazing things you've shared. 

 

I leave to Punta Cana this weekend for another wedding at Dreams this weekend.  Very excited to see how it all goes!

[jambride2013]

Congratulations to all of you!!!!! It feels like our date is so far away.  November 23, 2013