Canadian Brides!!!!!!!!!

[Ploman]

haha I was talking about it constantly when I was that far out too. Now that I'm 2 months away I'm thinking about it a LOT less and now when people ask me about the wedding I think to myself 'what wedding?' haha. I think it's because I got most of the stressful stuff out of the way and only have little details left, so it's not always on my mind. 

[missroxy]

Originally Posted by jreist 

 

haha I was talking about it constantly when I was that far out too. Now that I'm 2 months away I'm thinking about it a LOT less and now when people ask me about the wedding I think to myself 'what wedding?' haha. I think it's because I got most of the stressful stuff out of the way and only have little details left, so it's not always on my mind. 

OMG are you really having more than 90 guests ???? wow I would be even more stressed out haha. What do you have left on your to-do list ?

[Ploman]

Yup, I think we are at 96 now,  but we have had people drop out in the last month. 

 

I have to do my whole beauty routine obviously, but I'm waiting until closer. But I need to start booking appointments [tan, wax, nails, hair dye, teeth whiten, mani/pedi]

 

I have my dress fitting this weekend

 

I have a craft night planned for the bridesmaids to:

-put together our 'survival kits' 

-tie ribbon on our fans

-put our favours together with ribbon

-label and pack our mugs for everyone

-DIY boutonneires and finish bridesmaids bouquets

-get drunk

 

Bachellorette Party, which the bridesmaids are doing entirely on their own which is nice

 

Plan the flow of events on the day of the wedding. I'm waiting on a response from the hotel on certain options we want before we make the final details.

 

Pack my 6 suitcases of stuff :-) 

 

We are still considering booking an excursion through a private company, not the resort, but I think that may be too stressful to get the information to all of our guests and take payment from them all etc. Especially because no one on my fiance's side of the family has email... like WTF! 

 

I think that's it.

 

 

 

Now the stuff I've already done:

-bought decor: diamonds, shells, chair ties, table runners, decor for the arch, petals for the aisle

-bought stuff for our survival kits [tylenol, condoms, zigzags, emergen-C, bandaids, wetnaps, mini flashlights, floating duck coasters, note pad]

-bought miscl others: straw fans, koozies, floating lanterns, T-shirt prizes for competitions with guests, shot glasses for wedding night, mugs, tip/room key holders] 

-DIY bouquet and Bridesmaids Bouquets

-bought dress, and Trash the Dress (and altered TTD)

-bought bridesmaids dresses, bought groomsmen outfits

-bought invitations, sent invitations

-negotiated rates with 5 tour companies, picked a tour company, booked 68 people in 2 days and had the tour company say they can only take 60, negotiated with another tour company, had first tour company completely cancel their Jamaica flights and hotels (but still guaranteed our trips, just terrible flight schedules), informed all guests of their right to cancel because of bad flights, booked people in from 5 different cities. 

-book AHR reception, cancelled AHR (haha)

-got mad at his family for refusing to pay for anything for our wedding, but paying $12,000 for his sisters wedding last month

-got mad at his sister for getting engaged after we picked the date in Jamaica and then getting married 3 months before us

-researched and booked our honeymoon

-wrote our ceremony script

-made wedding slideshow

-made budget and then doubled it when 50 more people booked then we expected haha

-told everyone who we want to do speeches and what to talk about in them

-bought wedding shoes and jewelry

-asked all my friends if they were throwing away luggage so I could take it with me to jamaica and leave it there

-bought bridesmaid/groomsmen gifts [towels, fancy mug, tote bag, necklace for girls and hat for men]

-bought a bunch of cute clothes for the week, new bikini, etc

-made a huge packing list

-hired photographer to come with us (on free travel credits)

 

 

Not that you asked, but it might be helpful if you're trying to see what you could plan in advance [or over-plan, like me]

[futuremrswarner]

That list looks a little intimidating right now. Im just stressing about guests making their reservations right now. Dont really how to get the point across that its really important they book as soo as possible because some of my planning will depend on the number of guests coming. Sigh

[Ploman]

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

That list looks a little intimidating right now. Im just stressing about guests making their reservations right now. Dont really how to get the point across that its really important they book as soo as possible because some of my planning will depend on the number of guests coming. Sigh

Yea I hear ya!!

 

What we did is went to all of our family and close friends and told them that we would pay the deposit on their behalf if they knew that they wanted to come, because we were worried about getting enough seats and wanted to ensure that family had priority. (they were to pay us back by check)

 

We had 44 of them say yes right away, so we knew we could expect at least that many.

 

Then we sent out general mail invitations to everyone else and had 24 more book within the first 2 days. This could be because we had a long engagement and had decided on Jamaica very early on, and I talked about it constantly lol. Also, there are only 120 seats on the plane from Edmonton, so we put that in the invitation so that people knew they had to book ASAP. 

 

The rest were from a  different city so not a huge rush, they took MUCH longer to book because they knew there was time. We had a few that booked very late and the hotel was booked so they are bunking with people on some nights and staying off resort on others. Some people booked off-resort without asking which is kind of annoying for me!! 

[missroxy]

Originally Posted by jreist 

 

Yup, I think we are at 96 now,  but we have had people drop out in the last month. 

 

I have to do my whole beauty routine obviously, but I'm waiting until closer. But I need to start booking appointments [tan, wax, nails, hair dye, teeth whiten, mani/pedi]

 

I have my dress fitting this weekend

 

I have a craft night planned for the bridesmaids to:

-put together our 'survival kits' 

-tie ribbon on our fans

-put our favours together with ribbon

-label and pack our mugs for everyone

-DIY boutonneires and finish bridesmaids bouquets

-get drunk

 

Bachellorette Party, which the bridesmaids are doing entirely on their own which is nice

 

Plan the flow of events on the day of the wedding. I'm waiting on a response from the hotel on certain options we want before we make the final details.

 

Pack my 6 suitcases of stuff :-) 

 

We are still considering booking an excursion through a private company, not the resort, but I think that may be too stressful to get the information to all of our guests and take payment from them all etc. Especially because no one on my fiance's side of the family has email... like WTF! 

 

I think that's it.

 

 

 

Now the stuff I've already done:

-bought decor: diamonds, shells, chair ties, table runners, decor for the arch, petals for the aisle

-bought stuff for our survival kits [tylenol, condoms, zigzags, emergen-C, bandaids, wetnaps, mini flashlights, floating duck coasters, note pad]

-bought miscl others: straw fans, koozies, floating lanterns, T-shirt prizes for competitions with guests, shot glasses for wedding night, mugs, tip/room key holders] 

-DIY bouquet and Bridesmaids Bouquets

-bought dress, and Trash the Dress (and altered TTD)

-bought bridesmaids dresses, bought groomsmen outfits

-bought invitations, sent invitations

-negotiated rates with 5 tour companies, picked a tour company, booked 68 people in 2 days and had the tour company say they can only take 60, negotiated with another tour company, had first tour company completely cancel their Jamaica flights and hotels (but still guaranteed our trips, just terrible flight schedules), informed all guests of their right to cancel because of bad flights, booked people in from 5 different cities. 

-book AHR reception, cancelled AHR (haha)

-got mad at his family for refusing to pay for anything for our wedding, but paying $12,000 for his sisters wedding last month

-got mad at his sister for getting engaged after we picked the date in Jamaica and then getting married 3 months before us

-researched and booked our honeymoon

-wrote our ceremony script

-made wedding slideshow

-made budget and then doubled it when 50 more people booked then we expected haha

-told everyone who we want to do speeches and what to talk about in them

-bought wedding shoes and jewelry

-asked all my friends if they were throwing away luggage so I could take it with me to jamaica and leave it there

-bought bridesmaid/groomsmen gifts [towels, fancy mug, tote bag, necklace for girls and hat for men]

-bought a bunch of cute clothes for the week, new bikini, etc

-made a huge packing list

-hired photographer to come with us (on free travel credits)

 

 

Not that you asked, but it might be helpful if you're trying to see what you could plan in advance [or over-plan, like me]

Geez !!!!! Haha yeah I'm gonna try and do whatever I can do NOW, so I can relax like you when I'm closer to THE date !

 

Thanks a lot for all the details ! You made me think of stuff I had never thought of before (like bringing shotglasses, because it's true they don't really have those in many resorts)

 

I hope for you that his family will change their mind and help you out $$ I can't imagine the cost of having 96 guests waaaaaaaaah !

 

If I understand well, you are bringing 2 different dresses ?

What are your wedding colors ?

 

I'm sure those 2 last months will fly by like crazy!!! I hope to see pictures of things you did in the future !!

 

Marie

[futuremrswarner]

My problem is people are afraid of committing so early. My wedding is in november and they think its a year ahead, so its too early. I have my hotel lock until January 30th so I want the close family and friends to book as soon as possible. Theyre like 90% sure they'll be coming, they're more afraid of last minute things that might pop up.

[Peach]

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

My problem is people are afraid of committing so early. My wedding is in november and they think its a year ahead, so its too early. I have my hotel lock until January 30th so I want the close family and friends to book as soon as possible. Theyre like 90% sure they'll be coming, they're more afraid of last minute things that might pop up.

I have the EXACT same thing... mostly from my family. Even my parents. They have been saying it for the last 14 months; we are now 8 months out (to the day!)... get your butts in gear, people! SO frustrating! We put deposits on for 10 people (including us) so all they need to do is fill in the paperwork. My mom is convinced they will get a better deal booking on their own... they won't, they will pay more. And flights only go out there once a week. 

SO frustrating. 

So I totally hear you. Just be as diplomatic as possible, reminding them to book!

[futuremrswarner]

Yeah thats what I'm trying to do right now and convince them that I hve a group rate and it will be the best rate since I've done some research on my own. I'm hoping to have some people who are certain make their deposits to convince others that it's ok to book now.

[Ploman]

Marie- In lieu of contributing to the wedding, his parents are throwing a party back home for their friends and family who couldn't come. My friends and family who can't come to Jamaica won't fit in their venue... Needless to say, I'm not impressed lol

 

futuremrswarner- We had the same problem too with several guests, but we only sent out invitations 9-10 months ahead of the trip, and then the flights/hotel was only finalized 6 months ahead. You still have a lot of time so try to not think about it (haha I know, easier said than done). I think you're making a wise choice to not plan too much until you get your numbers more firm though! I had a few stress attacks as my numbers kept growing and I had already bought stuff. 

 

Peach - Sorry to hear that your parents aren't putting enough faith into your research and booking. My fiance's grandparents did that too and it ticked me off. So they are staying off resort to 'save money', and won't spend any time with their family at all except on the wedding day with a day pass that I have to pay for, and it is only saving them $50 each !! (and I have to pay $75 each to get them into the resort!) I also had friends who wanted to get a 'better deal' and book on their own, and never found one, and now the resort is full. I'm a little pissed at them, like CUMMON you don't think I did my research and got a good price?!?!