Marinah84's Planning Thread - 3/14/15 - Crown Paradise Club Cancun

[calgarybride2015]

Sorry to hear about the hangers.  I used an Etsy seller if you are interested in the name - I believe it was whiskeyweddingbells.  They did fabulous. Unfortunately I left it with the seamstress, then packed it in my suitcase and it was a little bent out of shape. It still did it's job but it's definitely more for pictures than using.   You will see it when I post my pictures. 

 

Glad everything else is coming along!!!!  It will be here before you know it.... It's so hard to believe and super sad we are home already.  Spending a week in paradise with all your close family and friends is a trip of a lifetime..then to get married, wow... tearing up just thinking about it all.

[AyeWatSoon]

Update 6.23.14

 

So I've pretty much gotten EVERYTHING in the mail from my post a few days ago...plus our favors!  I also spent some time this weekend working on bridesmaid bouquets - and yes, I spent most of it with my family & cleaning the house.  But I felt compelled to do SOMETHING

 

I'm giddy - everything looks amazing!

 

Here are some updates and my To Do list!

 

 

Favors - Color Changing Stadium Cups!

These seriously turned out amazing, absolutely perfect.  And they will be light enough/compact enough to easily pack!  And they were just under 1.80 per cup.  How awesome is that?!  Here's the Etsy shop I bought them from (they also sell them on ebay under the same name - same prices):  https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyWeddingStore2

 

I had them customize the design to our names, the graphic & put "Pi Day Cancun, Mexico" on the back.

 

 

 

 I also had them split the colors into 3 - blue, green, pink.  

 

 

 

They ended up sending more pink than blue, which is okay, I'll just make sure that all couples bags get at least 1 pink and I think we have more single girls coming than guys.  Either way, combined, the blue/green outnumber the pink so I think we'll be fine!

 

 

 

 

Reception Sandals:

I bought these off ebay for less than $20, and I think they'll work great for when I'm ready to kick off my heels!  The auction said size 10, but they are actually size 11.  Which is ok, because they feel like they run small.  (I'm short and have big feet...the shortness is why I'll be wearing heels at least part of the time LOL).  Please ignore my ugly feet, thanks!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mail Items:

I did get the seashore brads for the invitations, as well as the garters in the mail today.  And replacement starfish from the ones my dogs chewed...grrr.  They look like the pictures, so I won't waste your time posting them again

 

 

Centerpieces:

I went to Walmart and Dollar Tree this weekend, because I got our submersible LED lights in the mail on Friday.  I fell in love with this and am using it as my inspiration:

 

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ac/f8/32/acf8321e0d33fbd2a837b658d47a5b14.jpg

 

However, I want to be economical with vases - they are expensive and it's likely they will break!  The Dollar Tree had a cylinder 7.5 inch vase that I liked, and Walmart had a 10 inch vase (for 4x the price, and it was one of the cheaper ones...), but I didn't find a small one and didn't like how just the 2 looked.  So I decided I could either get 3 of the same, or do 3 different ones (mismatch on purpose!).  

 

So in the interest of saving money AND carry on space, I went with mismatch on purpose!

 

 

 

 

They worked out to less than $10 per table, and that's including some dollar store containers to pack the vases in!

 

I will be filling the vases with water and probably putting some sand on the bottom (both free at the resort, haha!)

 

List of Pieces for 4 tables (we'll have 2-3 tables and a sweetheart table.  If we get enough guests for 4 tables, I'll just do something different for a sweetheart table or get more supplies):

 

 

• 3 vases per table (12 total)
• 3 blue submersible LED lights (12 total)
• 4 silk orchids (16 total)
• Half a bag sea glass (2 bags total - spent $10 before tax at Walmart, will check out craft stores & return if I can find better/cheaper)

I got 24 submersible lights, and will take them with me (extras though the lights are supposed to last a really long time).

 

 

Bridesmaid Bikini Bags/Wedding Day Emergency Kits:

In addition to customized robes, I'm putting together a bikini bag ($4 each at Walmart) that will have little wedding day essentials in it.  I've got travel hairspray, lotion, mouthwash, hand sanitizer clips and a bunch of other stuff.  I've also got some items to make a "Couples Kit" for them  - it'll include condoms & lube, for sure, and possibly some other fun stuff.  All my girls are married or going to be, and they are all bringing their hubby.  My son was conceived on a work award trip to Mexico, haha, so safety first!  It'll be a funny gag gift type of thing that will be actually useful  Bags are seriously cute in person, and the inside is waterproof, so it'll be great for the rest of the week!  I'm using puff paint to put their names on them.

 

 

 

"I Do" shoe stickers:  

I was able to snag one of these stickers on ebay for 2.49 shipped!  So if you want it, keep an eye on ebay haha

 

 

On to the To Do Lists!  I'm sure I don't have everything, but these are some of the main things on my list:

 

 

To Do (Short term list):

• Set Wedding Week Timeline - It's a lot tougher when you have 2 young kids to plan a wedding & honeymoon.  We have to get that cemented down so I can talk to the travel agent, and get our resort(s) booked!
• Invitations - Hubby printed out the PDF at work, along with the jacket template, so I'm going to play with that tonight when he gets home.  He said he has a color laserjet printer at work that he can probably use to print stuff...eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!  That would be amazing and save us some money!  (His boss said it was fine, how cool is that?!).  Goal is to have them completely done by mid-July, as FI family is coming in town end of July for my daughter's 3rd birthday.  Hey, it saves on stamps, and they can give them to his family up there!
• Starfish Boutonnieres - Still need ribbon for one, but have everything ready to go to assemble!  Now to find my hot glue gun...
• Photographer - I got a few recommendations on several affordable photographers who offer TTD sessions, and I'm pretty set between 2-3 of them.  Have to get pricing from the 3rd and then will sit down and decide.  Shout out to @@tygrrlily for all her help/recommendations so far!
• Bridesmaid Shoes - Considering getting my bridesmaid flip flops for the day of the wedding, and putting a starfish brooch to customize them.  I ordered 2 of the brooches to put on my resort shoes, so if I like them, I'll go ahead and get 6 more for shoes for them.  
• Chapstick Labels - Labels & waterproof sleeves ordered, label created and chapstick in hand.  Just need to get the last 2 supplies & assemble!
• Centerpieces - I got some "bling" jeweled ribbon to add, so once I get that, will hot glue it to the vases
• Bridal Bouquet - I bought blue & white orchids as well as some lilies and filler flowers, and will work to put together a DIY bouquet.  I'm also going to call my intown florists to see how much they'd charge to arrange it for me.  The lily bouquets were relatively simple, and I want a cascading bouquet.  

 

To Do (Long Term List):

• Ceremony Shoes - I want to DIY glitter heels, unless I can find some for a good price online.  Need to add the shoe sticker when done
• OOT Bags (First Aid/Wedding Week Survival Kits) - I have most of what I need for the First Aid/Oh Sh!t kits, and tons of templates to play with.  I need to sit down and decide how I'm going to do it!
• Bridesmaid Bikini Bags/Wedding Day Emergency Kits - I have the fabric bags and a bunch of contents.  Will probably play with the Survival Kit templates to make something cute for my girls
• Program Fans - @@Mwise17 was a doll and sent me a bunch of her templates, and this is one that I love & will be customizing soon.  I won't print them til closer to the date, of course, but I love the idea of using cardstock & jumbo popsicle sticks!
• Welcome Book - FI printed out a copy of this today (not front & back, and B&W, but it'll still give me an idea for how it overall looks/etc.  Work in Progress!
• Door Knockers & Other Printables - Those that are done, i need to print/put together!
• 3rd BM Bouquet (Matron of Honor) - Making my MOH bouquet a bit bigger than the other two, but am waiting to get the real touch lilies and match the ribbon color.  Work in Progress!
• Sand Ceremony Shadowbox Frame - This will be FI's DIY project, and we'll do that later this year when his work slows down a bit.  Have my SIL looking for a recommended from this board frame at Michaels or Joanns.  My BFF/bridesmaid gave me some leftover sand from their ceremony, 3 colors (blue, bright green & something else).  I'll probably use the blue and then get either a white or silver or teal.  
• Custom Wire Hangers - This will be another FI DIY project.  I found a few decently priced ones on ebay/etsy, but the SHIPPING UGH.  
• Second Dress for TTD - I'm not risking my beautiful (and heavy) gown, so will find a 2nd flowy/fun dress for under $100.  I've seen some potentials on ebay and amazon, and may check out the customized ones from China that people on this board talk about!
• Mother of the Bride/Groom - Rather than corsages, I'm thinking of getting them bracelets & DIY'ing it up a bit to customize them
• Jewelry - Chandelier Earrings - Found a set I love on eBay - waiting to see if they'll send me a "%" off for having it on my watch list
• Champagne Toasting Set - Long term goal is to customize a set or buy the heart vase set listed earlier.  If it doesn't happen, I'm sure I'll live

 

Custom Items (etsy):

• Custom Robes - Ordered!
• Custom Cake Topper - Ordered!
• Signs (Mr/Mrs, Ring bearer/Flower Girl) - Ordered!

I love your color changing stadium cups. I think I will return my plastic mason jars and get these. They will be easier to pack.

 

What color is the imprint on the cup? I am leaning towards the blue and green cups however I'm unsure of an imprint color. I want them to still be able to read the words if the cup is empty.

[marinah84]

I love your color changing stadium cups. I think I will return my plastic mason jars and get these. They will be easier to pack.

 

What color is the imprint on the cup? I am leaning towards the blue and green cups however I'm unsure of an imprint color. I want them to still be able to read the words if the cup is empty.

 

I believe I had a choice, and chose Silver - they show up pretty well I think empty, but you could always do a dark gray/black?

 

 

I'm really pleased with them - they will be easy to pack, and it's more than fine if they just take them home/not use on the resort.  I'm considering getting a bubba personally to bring, ha!  I'm putting them in the OOT bags, so up to them  I have some extras (34 guests, 55ish cups), so if people lose them, I can replace a few

[TinkerSofi]

I enjoyed reading this! I can't believe I only found it now! 

 

I really like those stadium cups! and the timelines, they're really cute

[calgarybride2015]

 

I believe I had a choice, and chose Silver - they show up pretty well I think empty, but you could always do a dark gray/black?

 

 

 

 

I'm really pleased with them - they will be easy to pack, and it's more than fine if they just take them home/not use on the resort.  I'm considering getting a bubba personally to bring, ha!  I'm putting them in the OOT bags, so up to them  I have some extras (34 guests, 55ish cups), so if people lose them, I can replace a few

 

 

I would have done stadium cups if I had 'known' of them before I got the tumblers.  I had a lot of extra cups on hand in case some broke and I used a new one each day  hahah!!!!      The cups at the resort weren't a bad size though, but the tumblers and especially by bubba were much bigger!

Edited January 27, 2015 by calgarybride2015

[marinah84]

Update 1.30.2015

I've gotten quite a bit done this week, and will continue to update as I get the last details done!

 

 

 

Ceremony Time

We've moved it to 4:30, for the time change and hopes to get the sunset photos I want!  So now I have to alter all my timelines/etc, but I can start printing

 

 

 

Flower Girl Necklace:

I found a necklace on ebay close to the colors of our wedding, and she is insisting on having a pretty necklace.  Just like the dress sleeves, I'll let her have final say on the day of the wedding!

 

Ebay picture:

 

In person:

 

 

 

Kid "Busy Bags":

I put these together to keep everything organized, and to have things for the kiddos to do!  For the bigger bags, I'm putting in their spf shirts (ordered), some sand toys, an aquadoodle thing, coloring books and some snacks (such as fruit snacks, because my oldest is obsessed).  The reception smaller bags I grabbed items from the dollar store.  I anticipate that my son is going to be most interested in food, lol, and will add snacks to these as well, tho there should be plenty at the reception!  The goal is to keep them entertained long enough at the reception to make it to the first part (where I've planned a dance with the four of us to "You'll be in my heart" by Phil Collins) and then if they want to pass out/go to bed with my older relatives, they can

 

Flower girl big bag for all gifts

 

Flower girl reception "busy bag":

 

Ring bearer big bag for all gifts:

 

Ring bearer reception "busy bag"

 

 

 

 

Coloring Book

I also finished the coloring book for my daughter (maybe my son, although he hasn't shown much interest in coloring as of yet!).  She's had a lot of fun coloring the mess up test prints, haha!

 

For her to color, I printed on regular ivory paper, but you can see how it bleeds through to the other side (she doesn't care).  I printed out one on the nice ivory invitation paper for me to keep, though.  I don't think it'd be great paper for her to color on, unfortunately, so I'll just let her have the regular one.

 

Her version to color on the regular paper:

 

The nice paper print, that I'm going to keep for myself!

Both papers side by side:

 

 

 

 

Placecards

I know *most* everyone who is coming now, and have *just* enough of the luggage tags for everyone who is for sure and the 2-3 who are "probably".  So I made them  I took an avery label that had 30 slots or so (it was for spices, so the picture is a little spoon/fork which I thought fit really well!) and just put in the names.  I used the teal paper leftover from invites for the background and the ivory paper also leftover to print names on (which is awesome!).  They're pretty cute!  I'm going to figure out some way so that people know which table to sit at - right now, I have 4 tables with 9 at 2 and 8 at 2.  The ones with 9 have my kiddos lol.  So if 2-3 more come, I have to do a switch (so dates can sit together) or just make one of the 8s a 10.  The tables sit 8-10, but 10 adults is a little tight...

 

 

 

 

 

Maraca Tags

They are done!  I made enough for about 40 maracas (we're at 34 guests plus the 2 kids plus a few extras), and just stuck them in a bag with the roll of ribbon to make when we get there.  You need the maraca to tie them, so makes sense just to wait.  I plan on bringing a pair of scissors, so this will be just fine

 

 

 

 

 

Chapsticks

FINALLY done.  I had to look at the ebay seller to see how the shrink wraps work (they are amazing), and put them over the labels.  They fit a little funny, but I'm just glad to be done.  

 

 

 

 

Passport Holders

FI is going to groan when he sees them, but they dropped below $7 with shipping on Amazon so I thought it'd be cute  

 

 

[marinah84]

Update 2.13.15

29 days until the wedding, eek!  

 

Some quick updates in regards to where I am.  It's all coming together fairly nicely, which is amazing!

 

 

 

Legal Ceremony
Unfortunately, my small town only does weddings as "courtesy" so the next available date is April 20!  That's what I get for letting FI slack off I guess lol!  We still plan to celebrate 3.14 as our anniversary - after all, we picked Pi Day for a reason!

 

 

Wedding Dress
So I dropped it off in early December, and called to check earlier this week.  She goes, oh I was going to do it next week.  Um, what????  I don't understand the wedding industry.  I do things in advance so it's done in plenty of time, I don't want to wait until 2 weeks before I leave the country to do my dress fitting Lmao.  I go in on Friday - can't wait!  I've been hitting the gym super hard and have definitely toned up.  Crossfit plus hitting my 15k step goal per day plus hitting the gym has really paid off.  I feel in the best shape I have been in like 8 years lol, tho I still have a ways to go.  I'm worried about my arms in my dress, I've always had broad shoulders and big muscles, so I don't think it'll ever change unfortunately.  Swimmer issues, ha.

 

 

Hangers

I ordered from another shop on Etsy, and they should be here next week.  Got my money back from the scam shop too, whew!  Will update with pictures once I recieve them (a little gun shy...IF I get them, haha).

 

Nightmare
Had my first official wedding nightmare last night....dreamed we were at the wedding but it was in a hotel in downtown NYC, but had Mexican staff from the resort and Chicago suburbs.  I dreamed I forgot the top of my dress so it was see through, but I figured it was fine, I'd just wear the second one.  Then when I put it on, it had a huge hole in the train (which this dress doesn't have?).  So I was freaking. I also forgot the flower girl dress at my MILs house, and called my SIL (who's the groomsmaid) to grab it because she was at her house in the burbs still.  Even tho the wedding was on like thirty minutes!  Vistaprint also screwed up programs and misplaced the paper items at the hotel.  The wc didn't know who I was, and kept confusing me with the other 2 weddings happening at the same time!  I woke up in a cold sweat lol.  I'm guessing it's because I was bragging about my organization & 7 page Excel spreadsheet with line item detailed budget...whoops.

 

 

 

Sunglasses

Finished up the tags for the ones I have, and realized that I'm short like half the guests lol!  I looked at eBay for more royal blue ones, and with the holiday in China there's no way I'm getting them in time.  I'm also not spending 9.99 each from a USA seller (good to know lol).  So got similar wayfarer black ones from Amazon from a link posted here, and will just have two choices.  Wedding party is all getting blue tho, for pictures!

 

 

 

To Do list
This is pretty awesome, it's short!  But I'm scared I'm missing things...my biggest item is the welcome book for the bag.  Do I scrap the big book and just do a brochure?  It's getting close, and honestly, I'm a bit lazy right now.

 

• iPod playlists (send ceremony mp3s to WC, put together dinner & reception lists for MC)
• Vistaprint - order programs & menu/i spy cards (completed), decide if I want to add the postcard for the timelines or just "lose" the $5 credit from livingsocial voucher
• print parent wedding photos in 5x7 form for table frames
• notarized permission form for kids to go out of country without us
• groom starfish boutonniere (yep, only one that isn't done haha)
• stuff/pack OOT bags
• finish sunglasses tags (once I get the ones i just ordered)
• pre-travel wedding guest information (email most likely, maybe mail?)
• finish welcome booklet (or brochure...)
• pick up wedding dress (eek!!)
• PACK!!!!!!!!!!

 

It's all getting so real!!

 

 

Most immediate is the pre travel info, via email most likely, since we're 4 weeks out.  What did you include/suggest?  I'm putting in general timelines, Monday excursion info, packing suggestions (especially as it can get cold), wedding attire suggestions, asking for gluten free/vegetarians to let me know.

[Wafflesmom]

@@marinah84 29 days? I'm so excited for you!! You have done such an amazing job with everything and I can't wait to see it all come together. I'm glad you were able to move your time to accommodate the new sunset time. I kept my schedule the same and have now timed our first dance at the beginning of the reception, just in time for sunset I'm hoping it will look good.

 

I may have steal the stadium cup idea because those are great!

[TinkerSofi]

I've been having nightmares for months! Some of them are pretty scary already so I don't know what they'll look like as we get closer! Haha

 

If you're lazy to do the books I would do a brochure. I've seen someone with an amazing book on one of these threads but I'm too lazy for that haha. I can barely fill out a brochure! I will make sure to put a section to people can write their friends' room numbers to call each other. I'm sure your guests won't think it's a big deal, getting a brochure vs. a book ️

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TinkerSofi]

Ps: I feel you about the whole being muscular thing. Seriously, my body throws on muscle so quickly, you'd think I'm on something haha but I'm sure you'll look beautiful. 

 

I can't believe it's so close!! and the countdown begins yay!!! 

I had a nightmare last week that I was stood up at the alter and then my father was there in a Maple Leafs Jersey and splash pants. I'm not sure what part was more terrifying.

bahah, I actually LOLed to this .

 

I finally had a nice one last night! My dress was totally different but pretty, it was basically two pieces, a corset and a short pencil skirt, but then it had the tulle skirt that mine has at the back. It almost looked like one of the outfits from the evil queen on once upon a time, but white and with tulle hah. It was pretty cool