Snswedding2016 Planning Thread - Jan 9 2016 (Azul Fives)

[acw271011]

Oh I love Happy Feet!! Both of them!! lol  I love Pink so her song from 2 is great! I have Frozen too and Doug just shakes his head when I watch it lol

[snswedding2016]

Updates

 

Decor - I wasn't intentionally looking for new decor items but I was in a party store wandering around waiting for a friend and stumbled upon an entire blue section and there were a couple of things that I just couldn't pass up.

 

I've been looking for those paper striped straws for the kids glasses - I thought they would be a fun addition. I kept finding options that were either not the right colour (ie. navy - just a bit too dark for our palette) or too expensive for not the perfect colour (ie. grey - our accent colour). Well this weekend I found the perfect light blue straws and there $2/pack. 

 

I also found light blue cocktail napkins - so not necessary but I thought I could use our personalized stamp that says "Thanks for being a part of love story! xoxo Steph & Sean" to stamp them and have them by the walk up bar during the reception.

 

There was also a big role of light blue tulle that I might cut to the right length and use for chair sashes. 

 

Lastly I found some blue trays at home sense that I'll find a use for. haha! They were blue and cute and two for $7 so I couldn't pass it up. I might use them for the escort cards or favours. 

 

 

Jewellery - I was debating for a while on what I wanted for a necklace. I'm not a big jewellery wearer so I wanted something that felt natural on me and didn't look too over the top. I decided on wearing the necklace Sean got me a couple of years ago fro Christmas, that I tragically lost  but then he had remade and used as the decoy gift when he proposed!  It feels right, it is something that is so sentimental to me and us and now so connected to the wedding. I love it and it makes me so happy thinking about wearing it on our big day so I know that this is the perfect choice! 

 

I'm going to get a thinner chain for the wedding day. I have a fairly thick chain on it now with an intense clasp mainly because it was clasp that came loose the first time when I lost it so I'm pretty careful with it now. 

 

 

The back - excuse the slightly blurry pic…I was trying to get the inscription in focus without the reflection getting in the way. It says "To The Moon My Love" …with moon spelt in our silly way of saying it (I know cheesy, but I love it!)

 

 

Accommodations - Sean's brother decided to upgrade to the 1 bedroom and it got me thinking about whether or not we should upgrade as well. We're hoping for the upgrade to the sky suite but I heard they only upgrade you one category level so we initially booked a deluxe pool view room so the next upgrade if we got the free one would be to the 1 bedroom. We thought if the price isn't too much upgrading to the 1 bedroom would be good because if we get the free upgrade we would get a sky suite and if not we would still have the extra space to have some of guests over to party throughout the week. We paid $230 total to upgrade for the two of us so I'm pretty happy with that!

 

Honeymoon - We've been making payments in chunks to our TA so that it doesn't all happen in the fall when it is all due at once. We've now officially paid off our honeymoon!!! Woohoo!! That feels good - now onto the next thing...

 

Sky Terrace - I finally got the dimension of the terrace back from my WC. To her credit she has checked in with me several times to apologize for the delay and let me know that she even went to her manager because the hotel was taking too long to get me a response and that was unacceptable. I really did appreciate her following up with me even when she didn't have the info. 

 

Here it is for those who may be interested. I know some of you have been asking me to post this when I received it. I'll post it in the main Azul Fives Brides thread as well.

 

 

Bridal Shower - my maids of honour have been asking me about potential dates and for a guest list so they're starting to plan my shower, which is kind of exciting. I know a lot of my guests won't be able to be there but there are a lot of people who aren't able to attend who have been asking about it so that they can celebrate with me. It will be nice especially for my cousin who was supposed to be a bridesmaid but found out in Feb that she's expecting.  

 

Second Engagement Shoot - I mentioned in an earlier post that a photographer friend randomly messaged me on Facebook offering gift us a photo shoot! I'm excited to have some summer photos to go with our first session that was in the winter (although you can't tell since we're inside). I'm also happy to have another chance as I wasn't particularly happy with my body at that time. I still really like our photos but I just feel better and healthier now so I'm happy we get a second go of it. 

 

We were toying with several ideas including going back to our engagement spot but that's a 4 hour drive!! yikes!  Nothing else was really speaking to me. I wanted something a bit different and we already did the urban city kind of look but I didn't want to just pick a random field or beach. After much searching I stumbled upon Terre Bleu a lavender farm just outside of the city. It is gorgeous and I'm super excited about this idea. I told my friend and she fell in love with the idea instantly as well. We're just trying to figure out dates and organizing getting the permit. I didn't want to necessarily have to pay somewhere to get a permit but I feel like the location is worth it and the photos are free. 

 

 

 

Last minute trip - Sean's going away for a short boys trip at the beginning of Aug and I thought I should go away too!! haha! So I booked a trip pretty much on a whim to NYC in Aug!!! I'm super excited! I love New York and it's a bonus that a really good friend of mine is living there now with her new husband. She just got married last month and can't really leave for a while so it will be nice to spend a couple of days with her. I was also able to get in on that porter sale they were having last week! 

 

It's been a rough couple of weeks with Sean working such long hours and then it hit us that we haven't taken a vacation in a year! We've had a lot of people visit us this year which has been nice but we're really itching to get away. Then I realized that this is what the next couple of months looks like for us:

 

Aug: separate trips - Sean's going to Ottawa/Montreal and I'm going to NYC & mini trip to Niagara on the Lake (wedding)

Sept: BDR to Azul Fives

Oct: PEI (family wedding)

 

They are all pretty short trips but still we have 4 trips in 3 months - haha! I'm kind of excited to just get through July now! Plus I have to figure out when we can squeeze in seeing my clients in their out of town shows. 

 

I know these next 6 months are going to just fly by! Exciting and terrifying!!

 

 

 

[yycbride2016]

@@snswedding2016

I know how you feel about decorations when you had no intentions of buying more haha. I’m the same way. It’s hard to stop looking, and when you do it’s like things just start jumping off the shelves at you. I also bought the striped straws. That’s a great deal! I found them on clearance at Michaels for $1.50 (I ended up buying sooo many). We decided that we are going to have a signature drink and use these straws only for that drink. I like your idea of having the fun straws for kid’s drinks though! Cute! Everything looks so cute though! It’s all coming together! Yay!

 

Your necklace is so cute! I love it and the fact that it has sentimental meaning to you makes it perfect for your wedding!

 

Also that’s so exciting about getting a second engagement photoshoot. Especially one in the summer. I love the location you picked. The photos will surely come out stunning and because the color of the lavender might come out close to your wedding color it would work to decorate your location with your new photos for the wedding! Can’t wait to see them!

[ashhtayy]

@@snswedding2016

 

great decor additions! i'm not in that stage yet but i can only imagine that when i lock down a theme and colour scheme i am going to run wild; especially at homesense. i love the idea of making your own chair sashes. much more economical! if you cut a piece and try, show us a picture!

 

i don't think you could have picked a better necklace to wear. i love the sentimental value and it will look so unique and beautiful.

 

we too are really banking on getting the free upgrade to a sky suite. off the bat we booked a one bedroom thinking we would definitely want the extra space & the king sized bed. i didn't read that they only upgrade you one level so that makes me feel better about our situation. i think you made the right call and for $230 it seems like a steal. fingers crossed you get upgraded!

 

are you registering anywhere? my girlfriends that just got married had a blast doing their registries. they registered at the big bay downtown. if you do the bay, one piece of advice she gave me was to go to more than one bay (for example). she found that although downtown had tons of stuff, they didn't have as many dish patterns as some of the smaller locations. sounds like it pays to visit a few.

 

LOVE your second engagement shoot spot. so beautiful and will make for amazing photographs.

 

everything is looking great!

Edited July 15, 2015 by ashhtayy

[TinkerSofi]

I think you got great decorations. I've stopped going to Michael's and searching all together because I could find more, but I think it would be overdoing it at this point, plus I don't have any more room. When I got a coupon for Michael's this morning for 25% off everything I was like "gasp!!" but no, I need to control myself. At least I'm keeping busy with house decor now

 

That's so exciting that you have so many trips coming up. Even if they're short, it's nice to get away. 

 

I love your necklace, and I love the inscription on it. I think it's very cute. 

 

Edit: I knew I was forgetting to comment on something important. OMG!! That lavender field is beyond my wildest dreams. I absolutely love lavender and that site is just gorgeous. Your pictures will look so good!! I can't wait to see them. I've only gone to one lavender farm in Kelowna BC and I loved that place. That smell made me want to camp there and stay forever. I even tried lavender ice cream, it was delicious. 

Edited July 15, 2015 by TinkerSofi

[snswedding2016]

@@yycbride2016 @@ashhtayy @@TinkerSofi Thanks ladies! I know I have to stop going into those stores, I keep picking stuff up and justifying how to use it for the wedding. haha! Although last time I was in Homesense I had about five things in my cart and only bought one of them! I was pretty proud of myself!  Those Michaels discounts are just way too tempting sometimes!

 

We've asked for no gifts but we know some people will still want to get something or those who won't be able to go to the DW will want to get us a little gift. We decided to do a honeymoon registry instead. Sean and I are transferring to the El Dorado Casitas Royale for 5 days after our wedding week so we'll be using anything that we receive for that trip. They can purchase candlelit dinners, room upgrades, excursions, champagne etc. 

 

So excited for the engagement shoot! Hopefully the farm is everything I'm envisioning. I think we're pretty much set on a date, I'm just confirming with the lavender farm about the permit. They've already said the date is available, we just have to do the paperwork. Aug 2!!! We were going to do late Aug but they warned us that, that is a bit late in the lavender bloom. Although there is no guarantee, there is a better chance for the bloom in early Aug. Now to pick out the outfits!!

[calgarybride2015]

Ohhhh the El Dorado!! My sister has stayed there and said nothing compares enjoy!!

 

Hehehe I was in Michaels the day before we left. One night we were bored and my husband (being a smartass) says 'hey wanna go walk around Michael's?' Men!!!

 

 

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[snswedding2016]

@@calgarybride2015 Men! Just fuelling the fire! 

 

I'm so glad to hear that your sister loved the El Dorado! My TA recommended it after we decided to do a little mini moon. I'm super excited for the casitas suite with the outdoor shower!!

[calgarybride2015]

@@calgarybride2015 Men! Just fuelling the fire!

 

I'm so glad to hear that your sister loved the El Dorado! My TA recommended it after we decided to do a little mini moon. I'm super excited for the casitas suite with the outdoor shower!!

She said it was rated above as 5*. She attended a wedding there!! I'm excited to hear what you think. We are planning our one year - country unknown - but I'd like to splurge a bit

 

 

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[snswedding2016]

@@calgarybride2015 oooh that's exciting! I think I read on your thread talk of Thailand or somewhere in asia maybe for your one year?? That would be so fun!!