Snswedding2016 Planning Thread - Jan 9 2016 (Azul Fives)

[calgarybride2015]

I found emergen-c on sale at Walmart for $10 but here it's regularly $14 I also found that $5 off coupon! So paid around $5 per box.

 

 

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Edited April 14, 2015 by calgarybride2015

[Smellsey]

Thanks for the coils and the id badges! I have been looking for cheap places to buy online

 

Your planning thread is AMAZING! I love how organized that you are!!

 

They didn't charge you to change your dessert? Because there is a couple menu items that I like as well but one thing that I don't like ha!

[snswedding2016]

@@Smellsey Thanks!! I'm worried time is going to catch up to me so I'm trying to plan as much as I can now. 

 

No, they didn't charge me to change the dessert. I just asked if I could substitute the dessert and my WC asked for which one so I just looked at the banquet kit and picked a couple of options at a similar price point. I listed three options that I was ok with and she picked one of them. My WC just added it to the wedding builder!  

Edited April 21, 2015 by snswedding2016

[acw271011]

Thank you ladies for the coupon advice! Just pulled it from the emergen-c site. Hubby and I both have rotten colds right now so going to use the coupon and since we only have a couple of guests, we'll still have enough to stick in a bag!

[snswedding2016]

@@acw271011 I should clarify "liking" your post...liking that you got to use the coupon not that you have colds right now. hope you feel better!!

[TinkerSofi]

@@Smellsey Thanks!! I'm worried time is going to catch up to me so I'm trying to plan as much as I can now. 

 

No, they didn't charge me to change the dessert. I just asked if I could substitute the dessert and my WC asked for which one so I just looked at the banquet kit and picked a couple of options at a similar price point. I listed three options that I was ok with and she picked one of them. My WC just added it to the wedding builder!  

that's great to know! I totally want the flan in there but i don't think our menu has it. Maybe we can swap something  

 

By the way, our WC told me the kids' menu choices for the reception need to be made before we travel, bummer. I wonder if it's because we're at the sky deck and we can't have pick and choose menus. Where's your reception?

[snswedding2016]

@@TinkerSofi hmm I wonder if it has to do with the sky deck...I guess they have to prep everything in advance and travel further from the kitchen (I think I read that somewhere). My reception is in the garden. Definitely ask about switching the desserts, they should totally be able to do that for you. I think as long as it isn't a premium option they don't mind substitutions. 

[TinkerSofi]

@@TinkerSofi hmm I wonder if it has to do with the sky deck...I guess they have to prep everything in advance and travel further from the kitchen (I think I read that somewhere). My reception is in the garden. Definitely ask about switching the desserts, they should totally be able to do that for you. I think as long as it isn't a premium option they don't mind substitutions. 

ok that would make total sense why your kids can choose on the spot and we can't. I'll send out the choices to the parents next month then before our deadline for finalizing things. 

[snswedding2016]

It's been a hectic couple of weeks. Work has been insane, things are really starting to pick up and I can tell I won't have as much time to wedding plan at work as I was doing in the winter. LOL! To top it off I was also covering for a colleague this week which doubled my work load - he's back tomorrow thankfully! Sean and I just finished doing our self-employed (groan!!) taxes…such relief. This is my first year filing where I'm commission based and I was nervous about how much I would owe. I've been putting a little away every month. I was pleasantly surprised that I owe quite a bit less than I was expecting….which means more for the wedding fund!! Woohoo!

 

This is us celebrating the completion of taxes! 

 

 

Back to wedding planning! I picked up our flower girl gift this weekend from a local Etsy seller (to save on shipping)! I'm very pleased with it and think she'll love it!!

 

 

Ceremony Location

 

So Sean and I are still back and forth on this one. We really wanted a beach ceremony but we are concerned about the lack of privacy that many guests and past brides have mentioned. Part of us feels like we won't care because we'll just be focused on each other and the other part of us wants the privacy. We love the look and view of the sky deck but unfortunately it really isn't in our budget as a lot of our budget is going towards covering the travel costs of our parents (which we are really happy to do). It's so important to us to have them there and we don't want them stressing about being able to afford it. That being said it limits our options for ceremony locations. We've considered the garden (where we're having our ceremony) but it is close to the pool so you run into a lack of privacy as well. We were hoping that the new beach location they were talking about was going to be the perfect fit for us. It is now available for booking but it is an extra cost ($1000 as opposed to the $1700 for the sky deck). The cost is an issue for one thing but the look of it just wasn't what we were hoping for. While I think the structure is interesting and I think it makes for great photo ops it isn't the look for the ceremony that we want. Sean thinks it looks like big spider and my mom thinks it looks like a giant bird cage. haha

 

 

 

The new option we're considering is the Oriola Grill. I recently found some pics online this past weekend. Usually it is used for a back up weather location but now I'm considering it for the actual ceremony. The issue with this is that the grill doesn't close until 5pm…so it would have to be a late ceremony and that would mean we would have to do ALL of our photos ahead of time. We are doing a first look but I'm not sure if I want to do all my pictures before the ceremony.

 

 

 

The other idea is the sky terrace…much smaller than the sky deck and usually used for cocktail hour. My original WC said our group would be too big but based on the a photo I found online we would totally fit. I might try and push this one further to see if we can make it work.

 

 

This brings me to the next thing...

 

Brides Dress Rehearsal

 

So if you're a Karisma bride you'll know what the BDR is all about, for those who don't it is a 4 day site visit. The resort plans several dates throughout the year where the couple can pay $399 for 4 days and 3 nights to do a site visit (flight is not included), they put you in their sky suite and tempt you with all of the upgrades (haha I'm mentally prepping myself to say no a lot!), you can do a menu tasting etc. We've been talking about this since we picked AF but we weren't sure if we could swing it time commitment wise and financially as well. It turns out I can use a travel voucher from my mom for our flight so we only have to pay the $399 for the two of us. That definitely sold us! We found dates that worked for both of us and with our work schedule, so we'll be going at the end of September. It is a bit close to our wedding but this will allow us to see everything in person and really make some decisions like the ceremony location. I also want to get a general sense of the resort to report back to our guests. I'm super excited even though it is only going to be 4 days and we will be busy planning, it will give me some peace of mind. 

 

 

Legal Wedding

 

I've been starting to think about this a lot this week as I haven't really at all since we got engaged. I've been so focused on planning the DW that I've really neglected to think about the legal part of it. I know we still have lots of time but I want to start thinking about it now so we're not overwhelmed and rushing when the time comes. 

 

We decided we don't want to do it too far in advance so we agreed on early Dec (before the crazy holiday season starts). We want to keep things really simple but also unique and us…it makes it a little more challenging doing it in the winter in Toronto. I wasn't too keen on just going to city hall. There is a local humanist officiant which means she doesn't use any religious language in her ceremonies but open to cultural traditions etc. This is a big thing for us as we are not religious and we're definitely looking for a ceremony that reflects who we are. She's also the mom of a successful actress and so she's is very tied to the arts community in Toronto as well - which we LOVE! Another plus is that she married some friends of mine, so that's kinda cool too! I still need to contact her to see if she is available in December but she is definitely our first choice. She performs weddings of all types from traditional to modern to surprise weddings. She does a lot of elopements as well especially for those looking to do a quick legal ceremony before a DW - perfect! Her website also has some great suggestions for locations as well. The ceremony will last between 17-23 min. 

 

We went back and forth on who would be there as our witnesses. For a while we thought we would do it right before we leave for Mexico so his parents could be there with my mom to be our witnesses but it is a little too complicated with flights and the added stress the week we leave. We decided the legal ceremony will be just us and we'll have strangers to witness (the officiant can provide witnesses if need be) and no one will know about the legal ceremony except for us, the officiant, the witnesses, maybe a photographer and well this forum haha. 

 

Now to find the perfect location, again we didn't want to go over the top because we really want to feel like our DW is the BIG day. We're treating the legal ceremony like paperwork and a formality. I've been searching all week for location ideas and a winter ceremony definitely makes it tougher. Most spaces are way too big and they come with a huge rental fee or the small spaces just look like a meeting room you would have a work…boring. I starting thinking about heated rooftop patios and had a couple of ideas but the one we LOVE right now is to get married in the Yurt connected to Ceili Cottage!! I was asking Sean about locations and what he thought, the usual answer was "that's a possibility" or "hmm let me think about it" or "that one's ok" …nothing over the top and all maybes with it leaning more towards a no (I know what those phrases really mean  )…then I said how about the Yurt at Ceili Cottage and I got a "Now THAT'S cool - I LOVE it!" so that kinda settles it! 

 

I emailed them last night and I'm still waiting to hear back. I'm really hoping that they'll let us use it. It would be absolutely perfect. The right ambiance, we would have to do and decorating or set up. We would just show up get married and then go and have supper or brunch (depending on the day we do it). Send your good vibes that they say yes to it! 

 

Here are some pics:

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2015 by snswedding2016

[vancouverpetunia]

@@snswedding2016 The new beach location is very dramatic. I wouldn't have thought "bird cage" or "spider" myself, but now that you say it, I totally see it LOL. Love the Sky Terrace! How many guests do you have coming? The yurt looks amazing. Where is Ceili Cottage? I'm somewhat familiar with Toronto...