Snswedding2016 Planning Thread - Jan 9 2016 (Azul Fives)

[acw271011]

@snswedding2016  Steph - what can I say? First, I'm so sorry I'm so far behind. Being back at work is just knocking me out and my head just hasn't been "at" this site for the last couple of weeks. I badly need to get caught up!

 

You were an absolutely gorgeous bride!!! All your work, your attention to detail... it all came together beautifully! Wow on Sean's dad's wife.... I'll leave it at that. All I can do is shake my head. Some people.... geez. But good on you for keeping it together. I would have let her have it and damn the consequences... lol

 

I love your pier photos! I so badly wanted to do our renewal out there and have our pics done in that spot. I was so upset when it didn't work out and AF didn't even try to help. Yours turned out fantastic!! What a beautiful backdrop! Oh - and Fabio absolutely looks like what you said and should be named Fabio Hugo-Boss. It suits him!!! I would have asked him to put his hair back! lol But you can just tell by looking at him that he's difficult..... lol

 

Your vows made me cry! They're beautiful - both of them! I started out ok with mine.... then cracked. And I lost it totally when Doug said his. What he said was unexpected because Doug is just not an emotional guy. You and Sean are just so suited to each other and it came out so "right" in your vows.

 

All of your photos are great!! Your review makes me want to go to AF even in spite of how they screwed things up for us!! lol I still would like to actually go to the resort!  Without going all the way back in your thread, what is their outside vendor fee, and did they hit you with it for anything? Your photographer definitely did a fantastic job and I can't wait to see what Mike does for your video. It's going to be beautiful, I know it.

 

Thanks for such a wonderful review. Future brides here are going to be thanking you for sure!! Do you believe you've been almost 2 months married????? lol

[snswedding2016]

@@Wafflesmom Thank you! The first dance picture is one of my favourites too!!

 

@@acw271011 We loved the pier!! It was really windy but it was nice to get out of the heat (such a good suggestion from our photographers). I think if we had a smaller group we would have definitely considered the pier as our ceremony location. haha yes Fabio and her certainly can be difficult but the thing with him is he puts up a big facade that tends to annoy everyone but underneath he's a really sweet guy. He really is the annoying brother I never had! lol! 

 

We loved working with Derek and Lorena from Photos in Cancun. They were amazing! We invited them join the reception as our guests, we got a long that well. All of our guests loved them too! We did pay an outside vendor fee...it's $800 but Photos in Cancun work with us on that. It was expensive but worth it to work with them and Mike. 

 

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months!! With the snow today I'm really missing Mexico right now!

[krystalball]

I love reading your review (thanks for all the details) and seeing all your pictures - everyone looked like they had an amazing time 

 

I'm not sure what Sean's dad was thinking with the "OOGA CHAKA" but glad that everyone had a good laugh and it didn't put a damper on the event! 

 

Oh, and that first dance picture (swoon)   I hope I end up with a picture half as good as that one!

[snswedding2016]

@@krystalball lol I know my FIL..the whole sequence of events just confuses me but it does make me laugh. Now sometimes when Sean and I are having a super romantic moment one of us will just yell out OOGA CHAKA and burst out laughing. Your pictures are going to be amazing I just know it!! You are getting so close to your big day!!!

[snswedding2016]

Thank You Cards

I ordered mine fairly soon after we returned home from the wedding. There was a 20% off sale through Shutterfly and since it was my first time ordering with them I also received 50 free prints and a sheet of self addressed labels. We received a pre-paid visa gift card from a family member and I've never used it online but thought I would give it a try. It totally worked!! It definitely stretched our dollar further! 

 

Here is the front of the card:

 

And the inside:

 

We're also including a print of our group photo in every card. The nice thing about having a destination wedding is that there are a lot fewer cards to write with a smaller wedding. We also had a lot of families attend so that cuts down on the number too!

 

I've been writing a couple of cards every week and slowly getting through them all. 

 

 

We also received our marriage certificate (long form) in the mail today...FINALLY!!! Now I can start the process of changing my name (or rather assuming Sean's last name). 

Edited February 26, 2016 by snswedding2016

[deecol]

@@snswedding2016 love your review!  Your tables looked amazing with the books and flowers... like something out of a magazine!  You convinced me to start looking for a 2nd dress to change in to during the reception, my girlfriends are super excited to jump in the pool after lol

 

Your thank you cards are so nice!  And great that you didn't need to spend too much money on them after!

[ashhtayy]

@@snswedding2016 Your thank you cards are beautiful! Great job being all over it. I know so many brides that out this off for so long (sometimes too long!). Sweet gesture to include a group shot as well

[ashhtayy]

@@snswedding2016

 

Where did you find all this information? Did you gather most of this from the BDR? I asked my WD for information but it isn't nearly as detailed as you've provided.

 

I'm starting to work on our pre-mailer; I want to send it out the week after our deposit deadline.

 

Thanks in advance because I will be using a lot of this great information.

[snswedding2016]

@@ashhtayy I used a combination of info from my WC, the website, BDR and the booklet you get when you check in (I kept the one we got in Sept at the BDR). 

 

A couple of corrections even from Sept to Jan

1) None of the restaurants need reservations 

2) La Brasserie is a buffet for breakfast but an la carte for dinner (if you like French food you HAVE to make sure you go. This was probably my favourite meal. Order the chocolate souffle in advance, they make it fresh and it takes time but so so worth it!!)

3) the only restaurant that has a buffet for dinner is Flavours

4) the outdoor seating over the koi pond outside of Koh Thai are an extra charge - only free for those with timeshares

5) This wasn't in my booklet but your personal concierge will ask if your guests want to listen to a timeshare. Most of my guests declined but a couple of them agreed to do it so that they could get one of the perks for listening. You could choose from a beachfront couples massage, a romantic dinner on the beach or one of other option that I can't remember. It might be worth it to some guests to put in the time. My maid of honour and her husband chose the couples massage and said it was the best massage she's ever had. Another friend paid for a couple's massage at the spa and paid a ton of money at full price...although he said it was totally worth it too. 

 

I'll let you know if I think of anything else. 

Edited March 3, 2016 by snswedding2016

[snswedding2016]

I heard from our videographer last week and our video should be done in the next week or so. He has our full video almost ready and is working on the highlight. I'm really excited to see it but also a bit nervous! 

 

Also I found out my wedding dress designer's store is closing this week. She's closing her retail store but continuing her custom dresses out of a private studio. I'm sad that I won't be able to just walk along Queen West and pop in to say hi to her. So I went in yesterday to say hi and give her a hug. You develop these relationships with all these people over the course of your engagement, all in preparation for such a big day in your life that it is said to say goodbye when the planning is all done. Speaking of which I've been emailing with my TA over the last couple of weeks. We're both sad we're not working together anymore. I told her I wish I was still planning a wedding so we could stay in contact more. 

 

I also started the name change process recently. So far I've tackled the health card...next up SIN. This will be a slow and steady process. 

 

I still have thank you cards to finish as well. 

 

How do I still have a to do list post wedding??? lol!

Edited March 21, 2016 by snswedding2016