Vancouverpetunia - Now Sapphire - April 7, 2016

[TinkerSofi]

I'm happy to hear that your FIL is doing better and recovering

 

I would definitely send out a message or call people to let them know not to wait as the resort is filling up, but at the end of the day that's as much as you can do. We had a few people who waited until last minute and then prices went up, but we had warned them about it. At least from my experience, those who didn't book now will not book until the last 3-4 months when you start bugging everyone to finalize your numbers. Hopefully it won't be the case with you though. 

[TinkerSofi]

From the people that didn't book at the time of our deadline most didn't book at all. I kind of knew that but you'll see that aside from your MOH, which is obviously a big deal, when you get closer to the date everyone else is just nice for them to come but if they don't make it it's not a huge deal. I started thinking of the extra money in the budget that I could add to things here and there haha.

 

I just kind of reminded everyone before the deadline and if they hadn't booked 4 months before I asked them again as to whether they were coming. That's when a few booked and others said they weren't coming.  

 

I'm glad it's almost over for you, getting people booked has definitely been the #1 stress for me. I think 40-45 people is a great number for a DW  

[veryvalentine]

Just read through your wedding thread a bit.  I love that you guys met at a destination wedding!!  There are a few single people coming on our trip and we are kinda secretly hoping we can match make them as well!  he he 

 

I'm sorry to hear about your FI - I hope he's doing  much better.  That's a great reminder to get some travel insurance.  eeek

[vancouverpetunia]

In terms of those still left to book or respond, I'm not going to get too worried about most of them. Like @ said, they are adults, and they can figure out their own sh*t, I figure   When I sent out my last reminder last weekend, I did note that the resort was filling up and they risk paying a higher cost or even not getting into the resort at all. Hopefully people took me seriously (but probably not)!

 

I expect most of the stragglers won't come. With the 8 that I do think will come, I will be checking in on them from time to time. They all have good reasons for not booking now or with our TA. Most of them are coming for different days than our group rate applies or they are booking separate flights because they are coming from other countries and/or continuing on elsewhere after the wedding, so it makes sense. I hope they all do come, as they are pretty important people to me, particularly my BM, of course. 

 

Good idea to send out another email down the road to those who are still on the fence. Our final booking deadline would be early December (although rates are no longer guaranteed), assuming availability. I'll have the TA keep an eye on availability and send something when things are really getting tight.

[vancouverpetunia]

The Dress

 

I very unexpectedly said yes to the dress today!  I wanted a short dress and was actually leaning towards a BM dress. Given that you don't need as much time to order BM dresses, I wasn't going to do anything about it until the fall (hopefully lose some weight between now and then!). But I've been wanting to get an idea of what I want and I wanted to be sure that I didn't want a more traditional wedding dress where I would need more time to get it ordered. So I have been to a few bridal stores. 

 

Today I hit up David's. I was skeptical. So many mixed reviews about the place. But they have a few really cute short dresses on their web site and the price point is great - around $200 for the ones I liked. It was the first one I tried and it was not what I thought I was looking for (typical, right?). It was tank style and fully beaded. I thought I wanted a-line and lace and/or chiffon. 

 

It's been discontinued and there are only 8 left in Canada, so I walked out with it today! I'll need to have the straps taken up a bit and I might need to have it taken in, depending on how much weight I lose, but it's a pretty good fit right now. 

 

I also ended up getting shoes! Wedges with an ankle strap and rhinestones across the toes. Those had to be ordered in, as the pair in stock had marks on it. I can't believe it will take 10 weeks?!? Not that I'm in any hurry.

 

So, with no further ado... the dress (and shoes)!

 

 

 

 

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_short-beaded-tank-dress-with-v-neckline-061896880_wedding-dresses-short-wedding-dresses

 

Oh and it was marked down from $249 to $179. Even better.

Edited May 17, 2015 by vancouverpetunia

[calgarybride2015]

It looks fantastic!!!!  Great job!  And that price is awesome too!

 

I was a bit hesitant of going to David's Bridal too, but honestly you can't beat their prices.  I got my dress and all my BM's dresses there too!  

[vancouverpetunia]

I actually had a pretty good experience there. Our "stylist" was working with me and another bride. I felt a little neglected standing around, waiting for her to finish each dress with the other girl (esp since my dresses were so simple to pull on and off as compared to a standard bridal gown). But she was friendly and knew her stuff. My girlfriend & I went for lunch to mull it over and when we came back, the store was much quieter. Then she was great! Remembered our names, spent lots of time with us, talked to the seamstress about what would be possible with the dress (I was concerned about all the beading), even talked to her about seeing if the shoes could be "unscuffed", but they suggested any attempts to get the marks off might stain the satin. She gave me about 3 hugs. She was sweet. It's just a bit of an assembly line when they are busy, which I gather is most of the time. 

[calgarybride2015]

I actually had a pretty good experience there. Our "stylist" was working with me and another bride. I felt a little neglected standing around, waiting for her to finish each dress with the other girl (esp since my dresses were so simple to pull on and off as compared to a standard bridal gown). But she was friendly and knew her stuff. My girlfriend & I went for lunch to mull it over and when we came back, the store was much quieter. Then she was great! Remembered our names, spent lots of time with us, talked to the seamstress about what would be possible with the dress (I was concerned about all the beading), even talked to her about seeing if the shoes could be "unscuffed", but they suggested any attempts to get the marks off might stain the satin. She gave me about 3 hugs. She was sweet. It's just a bit of an assembly line when they are busy, which I gather is most of the time. 

 

That's awesome. I am so happy you had a good experience. Did you ring the bell? (maybe that is only here?)

That was my first experience there too.... but when we went back for the BM's dresses we had the same lady but she wasn't busy so she sat with us and we had a blast!   I even put my wedding dress back on with the BM's to see how they looked together lol

[Wafflesmom]

Your dress looks beautiful on you! And the shoes are fantastic! You can't beat that price, congrats

[Victoriabride]

I love your dress! great choice I contemplated getting a short one too. You will be so comfortable and not have to worry about being a sweaty mess! I chose a long  dress with a lot of material and I'm afraid im going to sweat buckets! Great shoes too!