Canadian Brides!!!!!!!!!

[Mlite83]

Originally Posted by PuntaBride 

 

Hi Canadian Brides,

 

I'm looking for some advice on where to buy men's linen pants and dress shirts.  I went to the obvious choice ... Tommy Bahama ... and of course I fell in love with an outfit, but it is waaaaay too much money for our budget.  I'm talkin' $300 for each groomsmen.  I can't ask them to spend that much.  So, I'm looking for other ideas?  I know we are also limited in terms of the time of year to buy this kind of thing due to our seasons, so I'm getting antzy.  We are getting married next May and I don't want to leave it to the last minute!

There is a website that sells $99 linen suits - lots of brides on here have used it and written very positive reviews (there is a thread) - that's what we plan on doing.  Website is studiosuits.com

 

If you feel more comfortable going into a store I saw linen items at Le Chateau ($$) and Old Navy ($) as mentioned as also at International Clothiers ($), Banana Republic ($$$) and Tip Top Taylors ($$)...it is definitely the time of year to be looking for them so good luck!

[MJKH]

Ok all you Photobook Canada users...I found out something really important tonight that I wanted to share. After hours and hours...over weeks and weeks...spent working on our big wedding photobook (230 pages worth), I decided it was time to send it in for printing so I could move on with my life! ; )

 

I was curious if there were any reviews regarding the paper upgrades they offer...in my seach for more information, I discovered this girl's very interesting blog on photobooks:

 

http://www.photobookgirl.com/blog/photobook-america-canada-photo-lustre-paper-review/

 

But, here was the highlight of my evening...after reading her calculations (see below), I figured out that I was indeed better off to use the company's 40% off discount rather than one of my groupons (because our book was so large). I priced our book out using a groupon, and then again with the 40% discount they are currently offering to "like" them on Facebook, and we saved over $50 by using the discount over the groupon. 

 

How to Get the Best Deal on a Photobook 

Groupon vs. Company Promo Savings Compared

Generally, the best deal out there now is the 70% off Photobook America/Canada Groupon that pops up from time to time in various cities throughout Canada and the U.S.  Groupon is a company that works with national and local businesses to advertise big discounts to folks who subscribe to its free e-mail newsletter.  Many deals such as restaurants and salons are obviously local deals, but many companies like photo book companies are online and therefore their deals can be purchased no matter where you live, as long as the company ships to your location (in some cases even internationally).  I havemore information on how Groupon works here.  Groupon operates in more than 100 cities and we also track Living Social deals – a company very similar to Groupon.  If you check out my Photo Book Groupon Tracker – you won’t have to sign up for emails from 100 cities – we track the deals daily on our Groupon Tracker page so be sure to bookmark it or fan my Facebook page so you don’t miss a deal!

Since I’ve been writing this blog for over a year now, I’ve also noticed that Photobook Worldwide consistently has a 40% to 45% off promo code that’s updated every month.

This book was not cheap, but it is a very large size, of high quality and and more than 150 pages with upgraded paper.  But still I’m PhotoBookGirl and as my motto goes, “never pay full price for a photo book!â€

So which deal is better?  Let’s compare the two savings for my book.

Groupon $35 for $115 worth of value:

Book total $304.00 less $115.00 = $189.00 + $35.00 spent on Groupon =$224.00

40% off company promo:

$304.00 less $121.60 = $182.40

So for the book I ordered, using the company’s promo is better than using the Groupon.

I calculated the tipping point before where it’s better to use the promo than the Groupon and that amount is $200.00.  If your total photo book order is under $200.00, then the Groupon will give you more savings.  If your photo book is more than $200.00, then the 40% off promo is better.

 

 

[sosodj]

thanks so much, this is so helpful
 

[Mlite83]

Thanks for sharing your findings - no doubt that will help save some money!

 

Just a question for photobook users - I have tried a few different websites in advance of our wedding so that we know which company offers the best quality product for our wedding album.  I have used My Publisher and won't be doing that again! I have also used Shutterfly and well it is usually pretty good I notice a couple little things in each order (ie pictures cut off a little bit).  I haven't used Photobook Canada yet, that's the next one I'm going to try. 

 

Any thoughts or suggestions on other companies to use or avoid?

[MJKH]

Check out this girl's blog if you haven't already "photobookgirl.com"...she's done lots of reviews and gives Photobook Canada high marks in terms of quality and ease of use. I've only ever used Photobook Canada...my husband and I are now both really comfortable using it...and we're so happy with our books we have no desire to try any other printer.

Originally Posted by Mlite83 

Thanks for sharing your findings - no doubt that will help save some money!

 

Just a question for photobook users - I have tried a few different websites in advance of our wedding so that we know which company offers the best quality product for our wedding album.  I have used My Publisher and won't be doing that again! I have also used Shutterfly and well it is usually pretty good I notice a couple little things in each order (ie pictures cut off a little bit).  I haven't used Photobook Canada yet, that's the next one I'm going to try. 

 

Any thoughts or suggestions on other companies to use or avoid?

[MJKH]

And for anyone struggling to create inspiration boards to share (as I did) here is a great site for helping to create photo collages...www.picmonkey.com

[FireyNurse]

I used PhotoBin and really like the quality of the book I got! I haven't used PhotoBook Canada so I can't give a comparison that way. 

 

Cheers!

 

 

Originally Posted by Mlite83 

Thanks for sharing your findings - no doubt that will help save some money!

 

Just a question for photobook users - I have tried a few different websites in advance of our wedding so that we know which company offers the best quality product for our wedding album.  I have used My Publisher and won't be doing that again! I have also used Shutterfly and well it is usually pretty good I notice a couple little things in each order (ie pictures cut off a little bit).  I haven't used Photobook Canada yet, that's the next one I'm going to try. 

 

Any thoughts or suggestions on other companies to use or avoid?

[FireyNurse]

Oh, and I had one made at Costco once, made it through their online photo site and then picked it up at the store and it was ok but not the best quality!

[sosodj]

Originally Posted by FireyNurse 

 

Oh, and I had one made at Costco once, made it through their online photo site and then picked it up at the store and it was ok but not the best quality!

thanks for sharing i was actually thinking of doing it with Costco

[CdnBeatPrincess]