Calgarybride2015's Planning Thread 15/1/21 Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya

[acw271011]

PHEW!!!!!

 

Dress fitting a success

 

I go back Jan 3 for a final fitting. She's taking it up more but I forgot my sandals tonight (sigh) so we will firm up the final length and make sure the waist adjustment is perfect and it'll be ready by Jan 7!!

 

She did a ?french? Bustle so it's goes under not on top so it shows the beading. My BM said the picture does it no justice.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1417660487.202395.jpg

 

One thing I need to re-purchase -- underwear!! White under an ivory dress = see it all. Will look for something nude.

 

I had kind of talked myself into it being too small so I started looking at dress alternatives. My advice -- don't do it!!!! While I still love my dress I get the temptation to pick it apart and want a different one.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It looks great!! and yes vic secret has some awesome solutions for no seams and no show!! Your thread really has come together and everything looks great! Looking forward to the after report and of course pictures!!

[Surfingsara]

By the end of my last post, I think my eyes were crossing so I apologize for errors and run on sentences!

I hope to finish the major part of this, this morning!!

 

Photography

Something in the beginning that was not super important to me.   I am a fairly basic person. Don’t like over the top, over edited, over posed shots.  We had asked Shawn’s cousin to come to our wedding and we would pay her to do our photos.  She declined (drama, hindsight super glad this didn’t work out), so that left me to find someone else.  Our resort photographer is Adventure Photos.   The ladies I know who married at our resort used them and I loved their photos.   I was going to get the $700 package, then splurged for the $1200 one. In the end we are doing the $1600 entire day package but it was a hard sell for me.   It’s just not as important to me. I only want a few good shots, nothing over edited or posed as I said above.  I started to panic due to all the negative feelings about ‘resort photogs’ on here, but when I did my research I just couldn’t afford the other ones when you take into account that silly vendor fee. Honestly there was only 2 that were my style and remotely close to my price range (Bohemia Photography and Dean Saundersen).   So what I did was start talking to Adventure Photos about who photographed who’s weddings.   I looked thru all the weddings they sent me and picked all my favorite weddings.  I then asked them who did these weddings – oddly it was the same lady ‘Perla’ except she didn't do my friends.  I made sure I could have her, and she says I can. I am super excited to use them.  Hopefully I do get her and have been in frequent contact just in case

 

Flowers

Ohhh flowers!   So my package includes my bouquet and Shawn’s bout.  I knew right away the 'free' bouquet wasn’t big enough for me. An upgrade is about $42 and I plan to do this.   Flowers just wasn’t something I was willing to spend $$ on early on in the planning process.  I went from nothing, to pin wheels, to them holding the maracas, etc.   Finally I realized they were important to me and decided on a 4 gerbaras daisy bouquet in 2 hot pink and 2 orange.  These bouquets are about $28 each and will also serve as my centerpieces at the reception. This ties in the orange and is where that all started. Now I have the turquoise to tie in and am considering having the ribbon in this color.    Shawn will have a hot pink gerberas bout and everyone else (3 groomsmen, my dad, and my son) will have orange.     My bouquet will be a mix of roses and gerberas in hot pink and orange.  How do I tie in the turquoise? Considering a blue rhinestone starfish. Undecided at this point.  

This is an idea of my bouquet - from the resorts choices - and I will just ensure that all flowers are hot pink and orange and have a mix of gerberas and roses (excuse picture quality)

 

At our ceremony we get 2 hanging flower pieces and a table centerpiece. I plan to have them made from all the same flowers, but possibly throw a few blue in the mix if they can match the color and/or come close. These will also them move over the reception for the head table and cake table.

 

I also made this memorial charm in honor of my mother. I bought it on Etsy - SmilingBlueDog  (She is Canadian!)

 

Ceremony

We are doing a symbolic wedding.  Then we will have a quick toast/appetizers with our MC. We will do family and group photos right away, then we have splurged for a Mariachi Band – this is a surprise we have told noone about.  At our resort a 3 man band is about $375 for 45 mins.  I want to enjoy a little bit of it, but then we will sneak off for our photos.   I am quite shy by nature, so we won't be having any personal vows, but only what is included in the ceremony.  Our groomsmen and bridesmaids will walk down the isle together, followed by the ring bearer and flower girl then me and my dad!  Our music:

Bridal Party Entrance: Marry Me by Train

Bride's Entrance: 1000 years in instrumental by The Piano Guys

Signing: Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden

Exit: On Top Of The World by Imagine Dragons

(in case I forget, here is the reception too)

First Dance: All of Me by John Legend

Parent Dance: Undecided!!!!! (ideas?)

 

I am not doing a program, but we will have fans on all the chairs.  I shopped around for awhile, but after that stupid shipping to Canada, the fans at Michaels were the best deal.  I waited for a 50% coupon and went shopping!  We ended up picking the white silk fans and got all 45 for $45.  We will tie ribbon thru the one end so we can do them before leaving.  They will be set on each chair before the wedding, but will be closed.  I don’t have it in me to go to Mexico, open all fans, and tie on ribbon.  We will use fuchsia, orange, or turquoise ribbon on them.   There won’t be a tag attached at this point, but have considered a ‘thank you’ charm. Still up in the air, Shawn doesn't like it.   I am also considering personalizing  the side of the fan with 'Mexico 2015' or something.  

 

OOT items

Ok, I didn’t even know what OOT was before I found this board.  To be honest, Shawn and I always talked about doing bubba’s for everyone, but then our numbers crept up and up and up and we now have 43 total.   Bubba’s just weren’t in our grasp at the time – remember cheap Kim?!?! – so I wasn’t going to do anything.   The more I read on here, the more I wanted some sort of a cup.   Shawn loved the hangover kit idea, and I loved the cup, so we decided to combine them.  We will hand out tumblers at our welcome drinks event.  They will have an ‘oh sh!t kit’ in them and have the items in the picture.  I made a cute tag on Vistaprint to add and also will include our wedpics card.   I tried to make my own labels for the cups but ended up going with Davet Designs on Etsy and am super happy with the product.  The shipping was a bit much, but they were worth it. These are also a surprise and no one knows about them!!! Super excited to hand them out.  The kids will get their own version, but I haven't done much with these yet.  Still debating on adding people's names but Shawn thinks its unnecessary! 

 

Supplies for OOT cups

Emergen C - 2 each - found 30 per box at Walmart for $4.94.  They were on rollback at $9.94 and I found a $5 coupon on their website!

Pepto Bismol - 2 each -  Walmart sold boxes of 48 for around $8.50

Tums - 1 roll each - Walmart for around $2 for a pack of 3 (depending on flavor)

Mentos - 1 each - 2 for $1.00 at Dollarama

Tumbler - 1 each - $2 at Dollarama

Hand Sanitizer - 1 each - $1 at Dollarma (they had better deals but we needed small ones given they were going in the cups)

Nail file - 1 each - pack of 32 at Dollarama for $1.25

Bandaids - 2 each - box of 90ish at Walmart for $3

 

Pre-Travel Mailer

I bought luggage tags early on and was going to use those as my favors!  I quickly realized I didn't want to do this and decided to do a pre-travel mailer.  I was going to do it all thru my home computer, but when groupon had the Vistaprint coupon, I was set!

My Vistaprint order will be in, in a few days and these will go out by the end of October.   Every house will get 1 brochure and 1 luggage tag each.  Kids will get a more appropriate luggage tag (thinking of using Minions and 'are we there yet??') I spent hours on here looking at people's brochures, so thank you to everyone for your help!

 

I bought the Advantus Proximity Badge Holders from Amazon. I paid around $30 for 50.

I got the loops from Dollarama. They have kits there for 5 for $1.  They are self laminating pouches, so I threw those out and just used the loops.

 

Reception

We choose to have the buffet menu solely based on price as we have to pay per person (no one Is included when you upgrade from the free package).  We think it offers a lot anyways, and so it was a no brainer.  We opted for the cheapest booze for the bar, as we have about 4 hours of it to pay!  I have no timeline yet for our reception, other than start and finish. Thinking t it will include dinner, possibly speeches, dancing, and cake cutting.  We won't be doing a garter or bouquet toss. We have opted for the resort DJ and he will cost us $59/hour. I believe I budgeted about 6 hours for him. We will have our MC move the night along. I am pretty easy going, but we do need to supply the DJ/resort with our style of music for them to play. I don't plan to bring any music other than the important songs. (I have supplied these to the WC, but this is more for my peace of mind). We will have our head table of 8, then 4 other tables that will have between 8-10 people each.  I am currently working on our table arrangements - boy it is hard!!    We will be doing a table arrangement, but the people can choose to sit wherever they want at that table (ie no place cards). 

 

Favors, etc. to follow!

Favors

Once I saw the maraca idea on this board, I was hooked! We purchased the multi colored ones from Amols.  They are awesome but the paint on the yellow ones is a bit disappointing (could use another coat) but that is ok. For those that are curious I ordered them in medium size and they were $1.65/pair. All their sizes vary anyways, so I wouldn't even bother spending more on the large sized ones.  I will use a marker and write our names and date on the back of them myself (scary!). Below is a picture of the tag I will be attaching to these maracas - yes they are basic, but I plan to cut them out and attach them to cardstock and attach with ribbon.   I am using the 3 colors (fuchsia, orange, and turquoise) and each maraca will have a mix of color. I think I will do a thank you on the back as well - hand written.   These will be placed on each dinner plate at the reception.

 

I bought these stickers for fun, I may use them to seal the envelopes of our pre travel mailers. Not sure yet.

 

Seating Chart

As I said above, I plan to pick their tables, but not their exact seat.  I bought one of those 'collage' frames that has 4 so each table will have one. I didn't make one for the head table, as I assumed that was a given? oops, oh well too late now.  The frame is black and will have sparkly cardstock as the backdrop. I plan to use the same font as my 'guestbook sign' (see picture farther down) and will post pictures when I am done.   I am working on this, this week as it is due to my resort by the 21st. It's a tough job!  You always feel someone is getting 'screwed' lol

 

Guestbook

Early on I got a great idea for a postcard guestbook!   I had my friend get me some postcards from the Mayan on her trip and I got about 40 for $18.  Who knew I would need more, but I am sure people will sign together.   I plan to personalize the back of them with our info as well - using small alphabet stamps I own - can you say tedious?.  Then once they write on one, they will stick them in this ‘treasure chest’ type box I got at Walmart for $15.  I plan to make a ‘post cards’ banner for inside of it.   It will double for cards if we get them as well.  Once the banner is complete I will post a picture.

 

Table for guestbook and Seating Chart

These will be together.  Seating chart, treasure chest, and then the postcards will be scattered over it.  I will have a picture of Shawn and I as well (or 2) that I will add to this table.  I may scatter shells on the table but am undecided at this point.  Once all my items are done I plan to take pictures of it all laid out to give to the WC. I will post pictures here as well.

 

Cake Topper/Cake Table

At first I was only going to use the flowers offered on the cake. Then I found the cake topper thread here!  I went out and purchased a ‘B’ but as time went on I wasn’t overly happy with it.  I recently purchased “BEST DAY EVER’ in black glitter from Etsy – Chicagofactory and am super excited to see it.   My kids say ‘this is the best day ever’ a lot so it really drew me in.   I got it in sparkle as we are using sparkle cardstock on the table numbers and seating chart.   I may, again, sprinkle shells on the table but am still undecided. Some of the extra flowers for the ceremony will also be used on this table.  We had an engagement photo done spelling “LOVE” with my ring and scrabble letters that I plan to frame here as well. I am not sure one random frame will look in place, so it may be used on the guestbook table.

This is the black glitter effect

This is an idea of the cake I want from the resort's photos.  I plan to have the fuchsia ribbon, but only gerberas on top, with the cake topper. I may try to find inspiration of the flowers  on other levels of the cake - we will see. (sorry again about picture quality)

 

 

Sorry I forgot this above, so randomly throwing this in here....

Flower Girl/ Ring Bearer items

At first my daughter was going to carry a 'here comes the bride' sign but I quickly realized I wanted her to sprinkle flower petals down the isle before me!  I am not big on the regular flower girl baskets from Michaels, etc. so I bought her a galvanized metal bucket for about $7 after coupon at Michaels. We spray painted it white and I added some rhinestone hearts to try to jazz it up.  As you see in the picture the ribbon done on it was PRE orange and turquoise, so this will have to change and I will post a picture once decided.       

My song will be carrying a shell with our rings tied on - I picked this shell as it already has 'holes' in it that I can feed the ribbon thru and it doesn't need to be glued on. Same ribbon issue as above, pictures to follow.  I got this at Michaels for about $4

 

Centerpieces/reception tables to follow......

Centerpieces/Tables

Well, these have come a long way. Considering in the beginning I was too cheap for my girls to even carry flowers!  Things change! J  Each table will have a picture frame from Michaels in a fuchsia color – they are plastic which is a bonus.  One side has a table number made from sparkly cardstock, and the other will have a picture of Shawn and I. I am ordering blume boxes in orange for the bouquets – I plan to use the BMs bouquets and will order one extra so I have enough.  I will decorate them with turquoise ribbon and possible a “B” in cardstock to tie in our last color.  I also bought some white favor pails to use as votive holders.  I blinged them out and each table will get 3 - hindsite I could have used turquoise bling but it's too late as I had to glue them on.  I may sprinkle shells but have considered those little beads too or nothing. We will see.   Every plate will have a maraca on them. The head table will have 6 votive holders and the flowers from the ceremony. I am debating purchasing a 'MR and MRS' banner for the head table or even 'JUST MARRIED'   Quite honestly I think I can probably make one myself, so I am considering this DIY currently.   Stay tuned lol

 

Frames from Michaels - $3 without coupon

Blume Boxes - $3.95 ($20 total, but shipping was $25 OUCH. I had my heart set on them, so I hit 'purchase' with my eyes closed lol)

Pails for votives - $1.25 for 3 at Dollarama

Bling for pails - $1.50 a roll at Michaels (needed 2)

glittery cardstock - approx $3.50 a sheet before coupon (needed 3)

shells - large pack for $5 with coupon at Michaels 

 

I also plan to purchase glow sticks. I was going to put one on each place setting, but honestly I may put them on the guestbook table. I ordered an extra blume box vase (just in case since shipping was obsurd), so I can use that to hold them all and put a cute sign on the front.

 

 

I was very nervous about bringing anything breakable, hence my selections!  The only things right now are the shells that I have to worry about!

 

 

To Do List

- complete paperwork and send to the resort by October 21st

- put together our pre-travel mailers and send out

- make tank top and undies with iron-on transfers

- Shawn to finish purchasing groomsmen gifts

- OOT cups - attach labels, assemble with items, purchase kids items and the mentos, Decide re adding people's names to them

- finish seating arrangement and make frame for same

- personalize post cards, buy pens to bring for signing, make sign for postcard box

- make timeline of wedding day for MC

- ?? buy crayons, coloring items, etc. for the kids at the reception

- buy glow bracelets/necklaces and decide where to have them situated 

- put together/decorate blume boxes once they arrive

- banner - make one or purchase from Etsy

- add ribbon to all the fans, decided on personalizing them

- make card to hand out at welcome event so all guests can record eachother's room numbers

- list of 'wanted poses' for the photographer

- decide on jewelry for myself (do I want new necklace or not)

- personalize all the maracas, make tags for them, and attach with ribbon

- get notarized letter from kid's dad for travel with them

- get legally married in Calgary

- decide on which colored ribbon to use, and complete, for the kid's pail and shell for ceremony

 

Throw in Christmas and my kid's 9th birthday and I am wiped!

I am sure there is more that I forgot. This is a little list I have made up on my phone!

 

That was a lot of work, so I truly hope you enjoy it.  I also appreciate all your past brides even more as this is a time consuming task!

Photobucket and I may be bestfriends now!

Oh wow!! You have been busy!! I've really enjoyed reading your blog, it makes me feel better to know others are in the same boat, yet it's stressful at the same time. 

Your post have been so helpful!! I'm not sure how I'm going to make all of this happen. I'm in my last year and a half of school and my last year will be spent in the field as an hands on internship. I graduate May 2016 and a few weeks later, I get on a plane to Mexico to get married! I think I'm a bit crazy to try to plan a wedding now. 

 

I have the major stuff picked out, Resort- Excellence Playa Mujeres; Dress (I got luck and it kinda found me); veil; bridesmaid's dresses and I know what the guys should wear; and I've picked out jewelry. Shoes seems to be a difficult thing for me to find, but then again I have some time....

 

I'm working on our wedding website during my time off (which isn't often, just holidays and summer). 

 

Trying to find things like luggage tags and other little things is super stressful to me. I really appreciate you giving me a suggestion on where to find them on another blog.

 

Any tips to limit stress in the planning process and while in Mexico? I know this is wishful thinking, but maybe it could happen? 

 

Thanks again!

Sara

I also have a little tip that I found (hope it's okay to share on your blog), In the US (don't know about Canada) each cap to a Coke product has a code on it. I've been collecting them for a while and if you go to MyCokeRewards.com then you can enter the codes and use them for different things. You can get prints from SnapFish, and I even saw that you could get announcements from Snapfish with your points. I think about 300 points (I could be wrong on the number of points) gets you 12 announcements. I'm seriously considering doing this for my save the dates. I just hate to spend money on anything that I don't have to. 

[nadiakat17]

@@Surfingsara I hear you, I have three months left. I also have a super stressful job working up to 80 hrs or more a wk.after next wk I will have limited days off ( which will be taken up with family stuff bachelorette etc) before the wedding so I am cramped for time. It seems you have like 1.5 yrs which is good. It is good to get a rough estimate of guests a year out bc usually they should know by then if they really want to go. Then I spent a lot of the first few months just researching , finding ideas on here and Pinterest I lked to get a general idea going like wanting certain colors, certain style etc. do the things you can do, like buy a dress. Set deadlines for getting out the STD and invite and when u need people to rsvp. Start working on little projects where you don't need a head count ( like the guest book) the wedding planners are notoriously bad at responding so try to relax and make sure you get big questions answered . In the end I think of two things1) I am marrying the man of my dreams no matter what and 2) even if the wedding completely sucked unlike most weddings where you'd maybe be like man I wasted this night ( but who would say that anyways with drinks and friends?) , your guests will remember the whole amazing week they spent in Mexico !!

[Surfingsara]

@@nadiakat17 thanks! Wow you have a lot going on too!!

I have a time line planned out, for the website to be finished and for the save the dates. I hope to have them both done in the next few weeks. Most people who are invited know my plan about going to Mexico. So I sort of have a head count- which is nice! Both of our parents won't be coming, mine for medical reasons, his, because its at an adults only resort. Also I have an adopted mom ( lady who I worked with that took me under her wing and made me a part of her family) won't be able to travel to Mexico, so we decided to do a small reception when we get back. I haven't even thought about this other than the venue.

Luckily my dress found me! I was just procrastinating one day and came across a dress at preownedweddingdress.com and fell in love with it. I contacted the seller and purchased it. Turns out it fits perfectly!! No alterations needed! How lucky was this? Also, its a discontinued dress and the designer has suggested finding it used ( they will even help you).

I'm sure it will turn out beautifully, and everyone will enjoy themselves. Its all of the little things I'm concerned about. But I've been learning a lot on this site!

[calgarybride2015]

@@Surfingsara

 

Thanks

You can do it, but with all on your plate you will just be super busy.

At first I thought I was diving in too fast, but now that I am less than a month out I am super glad I did.

I am just tying up lose ends and finishing up some crafts.

I spent soooo much time on this board and on the internet in general. I am sure it killed my fiance and he felt neglected hahaha but our wedding wouldn't be what it is without all the extra planning and such.

I am glad I am over that - as my gym lacked,my healthy eating lacked, extra time with kids/fiance, housework and such - so it's nice I am getting back to more of a happy medium.  I have been taking more time to focus on the house and such!

 

None the less as you move along you will make decisions you stick with, you will change your mind a lot, but in the end things just come together as I am learning!!!   You will find tonnes of ideas on here and you will have to scour the web for the best deals, etc. but you will get there.  You just have to start and keep moving

 

If you have any questions let me know!!!

Will post another update soon!

[Surfingsara]

@@calgarybride2015, thanks again.

Housework and things like this have definitely been lower on my priority list. I've really tried to keep a balance with wedding planning and school stuff. When I'm in school, I don't do wedding stuff, but once the semester is over it's all I seem to do.

People think I'm silly for trying to plan wedding stuff this far out, but I know time goes fast. June 2016 sounds far away but its only about a year and a half away.

Yes, I keep finding new ideas and things I would like to incorporate, its driving me crazy at times. But, this site has given me some onsite on what I should actually focus my time and money on. Money is a whole nother issue, I don't want to spend a bunch of money on things that arnt necessary or people won't use or care about.

I think ( thanks to post on this site) I'm going to do a Terrvis Tumbler ( insolated travel cup that are super popular here). I'm thinking of getting one with something each guest would like. So for instance, my friend loves the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, so I'm getting a UNC one for him. I'm sure it will take time to figure out exactly the right one for each person, but it will be something they could use every day a d long after the wedding.

Also, you sent me a link for luggage tags. Up until this, I can't begin to tell you how annoyed I was getting over luggage tags!! I would find things I like but they were expensive. My poor finance even went out on black Friday with me to hunt down luggage tags! Needless to say, I only found 2 simple luggage tags in my whole city!! For a while I was ready to just purchase a printer that will print on PVC cards ( what most businesses use as ID cards).

 

I think my biggest thing is keeping cost down. I just dont want to spend thousands of dollars on something for one day. Cost is partly why I decided on a destination wedding.

 

Merry Christmas and I hope you and everyone else here has a wonderful holiday!

[Surfingsara]

I kind of forgot this above, as it came later on in my planning process, but I will throw it in now....

Engagement Photos

Ok, this is an expense I don’t necessarily think is important. At first we were going to have Shawn’s cousin take some photos as she does it as a hobby and Shawn has a great camera.  It just never worked out, so I kind of wrote it off.  The more time went on, I really wanted some photos of us to have around our wedding.  (And not those drunk ones from your iphone ha!).  Again, I am cheap, so I went on Kijiji to find some photographers in our price range.  I decided what I would do was engagement, family, and kid shots to get my monies worth. I would forgo school pictures and make it worth it!  Well, I found all the cheaper ones and then picked the one that best suited us.  For 90 minutes and 100 edited photos I paid $200.   OMG!!!!!!!!!! Best $200 I ever spent, I am so happy we did it. He did a fabulous job and I wish we could have him come to our wedding.  I could ask him but I am scared (I know his fees, but I know how ridiculously expensive our package is right now and that it’s only 3 months away)   Any Calgary ladies interested, he is www.gathcityphotography.com   We will use him again!   The ones of my kids I am leaving off here, but they are phenomenal. If nothing else, I realized I don't look like a dope smiling, rather I look like a dope NOT smiling.

 

The Dress

I had no idea what a wedding dress cost or alterations for that matter!  I think alterations shocked me more than the dresses themselves.   I had budgeted $1300 including alterations.   At first I envisioned a sun dress, then decided I wanted a wedding dress.  I am that typical DW bride that wants something you envision a bride wearing at a DW.  I knew I didn't want strapless and I thought I would love lace. I fell in love with 2 dresses.  A lace gown (it brought tears to my eyes), but it was over my budget at $1600 and wasn’t really what I had envisioned for my day.   I then went to David’s Bridal and found my gown for $500 made to order!  Oddly, it's strapless!  I quickly learned that things I thought I wouldn't look good in, actually looked good!  It fits great, so only a hem and bustle will be needed. YAY!!!! What every budget bride wants to hear!    It’s David’s Bridal brand in Ivory. The beading on the front wraps around the back and goes down the train.  I can’t wait for a professional photographer to take pictures of it, as mine do it NO justice.

 

The accessories

Shoes

I don’t wear heals ever, so I knew sandals would be perfect for me.  These aren’t my first choice, but finding things at the later end of summer was super hard.  I got these from Spring and do love them. 

 

Jewelry (see above)

In my photos above you will see the braided/twist pearl necklace I purchased from The Bay (Canadian Department Store), on sale I purchased it for $14, but it was only originally $18.   My friend has matching bracelets that I will borrow. I also have pearl stud earrings of my sisters I plan to wear also.   After I found this many moons ago, I came upon the necklaces with the offset brooch. I LOVE this style, so I am currently debating about upgrading. I love the style more, but I also feel it is more glamorous (opinions? hehe).  I love them both, so I can't go wrong either way.

 

Undergarments

For my underwear I wanted some white with lace. I bought about 4 pairs on clearance at La Senza and La Vien Rose and settled on these J  I wanted something higher cut as I have some love handles LOL….  I also love that they have a large area that I can add ‘MRS BOURQUE’ in rhinestones.  <<add on to do list>>   There will be no lingerie, too darn shy for that!

 

Hanger

Loved this idea and found it on Etsy - whiskeyweddingbells

 

Hair

This was a huge stressor for me as I have shorter hair that I feel is curly (my hair dresser says it's more of a wave I don't like). Nonetheless in humidity it goes nuts and my flat iron is pointless. I am going to hope for the best, and that the spa's products tame me in!  We decided on a light curl done with a flat iron, and we chose to leave my bangs out (yay!) as it gives it a softer look.

 

Since my hair is super important to me, I plan to get a trial beforehand.

I also went back and forth on the hair piece.  I knew I didn't want a veil, but wasn't sure about a flower, or a tiara/headband, etc.

I almost purchased a $110 hair piece as a major splurge but brought this one into my trial and my hair dresser said it looked good and not to spend another cent. Done! good enough for me!  After coupon this was $4.50 at Michaels (about a $105 savings haha)

 

Bride Tank

I also plan to make my own "BRIDE' tank with iron on transfers from Michaels.  Pricey, even with a coupon, but I got the tank and my undies out of it, so I am happy! <<add on to do list >>

 

 

More to come......

Kim, Beautiful dress!!

[calgarybride2015]

Update

 

I have been a busy little lady lately and to be honest a tad bit stressed.

As I mentioned in another post, when I started getting it all put together to take pictures I realized that my 'travel' theme for the guestbook and such just didn't match my bright pink frames!     I was up until 130 am today trying to come up with a way to display my seating assignment as the one I had planned to use no longer worked well.     So I have all that sorted out - my guestbook table is very travel related, and the rest of my theme is bright, vibrant colors.   I think it's ok they don't match and honestly at this point I don't care.  I am well over crafts, color matching and paper cutting lol.   Can it be wedding time now?

 

With that said, we are under 3 weeks until we leave now!!!! eek!!!!    Thankfully I get 2 long weekends in a row to get a lot of stuff done.    I don't regret whatsoever that I started planning and making my crafts super early.  If I hadn't I would be in PANIC mode right now.

 

Some updates:

- Legal marriage booked for January 10!!!   My resort has said for our symbolic ceremony they will have our witnesses sign as well.   Which is a nice gesture.

 

- final dress fitting is January 3rd.

 

- I am ironing out the final details with the wedding coordinator.  She is super helpful, but painfully slow - taking about 1 week to reply   We are making lots of progress though on the little things.

 

I am going to hope that my dress sorts itself out as I haven't booked it for a steaming!!  Same for the bridesmaids.  I may still look into one of those portable steamers but at this point I am really strapped for space!

 

Left to do:

-attach tags to fans

-finish up the bridesmaid's gifts - print pictures for the frames and do final presentation.

-wrap groom's gift and sign card

- get groomsmen's gifts (I knew he would leave it last minute)

- do my BRIDE iron-on tank

- make timeline for our MC

- make list of 'must have shots' for photographer

- print out our timelines for the guests

- legal letter from the kid's dad for travel (debating this as lots of people travel without a notarized one and are fine. We don't live in the same town which makes coordinating it hard)

- wash all the clothes

- pack

- sort receipts, etc. 

 

Doesn't sound like a lot but it's overwhelming!  could be much worse though, that is forsure.

 

Well without further ado here are some new pics (cause we all love pics)

 

ohhhhh and I need to lose 5 lbs

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made this sign and the vase for the glow bracelets which I had originally thought would be on the guestbook table. Since they don't match they will be on the bar!  I think that works better anyways.  (I fixed the punctuation error in the sign if anyone notices it LOL!!)  I decided on bracelets solely based on size. I have about 100 of them.

 

 

I ordered another hair flower - I know!!  I got a stellar deal of $9 on Etsy. She is a Canadian seller and I had it within a week. My daughter has a pink one that is close to the same.  It's the one on the right - just put it beside my original one for comparison.

 

 

A shot of my necklace with the bracelet I had made to match

 

Pictures of the fans with their tags. These will be on all the ceremony chairs

 

My aunt got me this for Christmas. It's super cute. I may bring it if I have room and put it on the cake table??

 

 

 

Here is a picture of getting my cups assembled. They are all in a suitcase now. I got about 42 of them in a large 30 inch suitcase, a few will have to go in another bag.

 

 

 

That is it for now!! Thanks for all the help, advice, shoulders to cry on, and ideas over the past 8 months. It's been a blast!

ohhhhhhhhh

I just wanted to add that my hair is SUPER long now (for me anyways!) and I can actually put it back into a small pony tail. So with that said, I am hoping that she may be able to pull off some sort of an up-do. I have a trial booked and am eager to see what she thinks!

Edited December 28, 2014 by calgarybride2015

[AllieH]

Kim you are SO close!!! I'm so excited for you. Your guests won't notice if one thing doesn't perfectly match another - trust me. Just go with it, and enjoy the celebration. 

[Kayla88]

I'm so excited for you Kim! I can't wait to hear all about the wedding! Reading you thread has been a huge stress relief and so inspirational at the same time! you're amazing!