Diadiamond's Planning Thread - Iberostar Varadero, Cuba - Sept.24.2015

[MissJen3]

Hey hun!  Thanks.  I thought our quote was amazing!  I've seen so many other brides have much higher quotes.  I know that from Eastern Canada the quotes are pretty much $2,000.00.  

 

Thanks for the advice on the bachelorette!  I think I'll take that advice.  I'm already starting to feel the stress like there's just so much to do!

Congrats hun!  What resort are you getting married at?  I'm so happy to find another Cuban bride too!  There aren't that many of us on this site.

Invitations:

 

I really don’t know what the etiquette is with STD’s (Save the dates) and invitations.  I’m not really sure if there are rules for a destination wedding.  Dan and I wanted to give our friends and family about a year of notice so that they could save and book the time off.  Immediately after booking with our travel agent we scouted for invitations. 

 

During our wedding meeting the month before, aside from discussing the resort and the date we also talked about invitations and save the dates.  We decided that we wanted to send “save the date magnets” along with our invitations.  We loved the concept of a passport invitation and Wedding Paper Divas had an amazing tri-fold passport style invitation.  It was super easy to do and didn’t cost as much as I thought it would even with express shipping!  I wanted to get those invites out ASAP!  I was really happy with the quality of the product.  We paid extra for the pearl shimmer, the style of envelope, and the colour of the envelope.  We also bought the burgundy seals separate too (from Staples).  We wanted to incorporate travel into our invites.

 

I can’t remember where we found our save the date template from, but we did our magnets ourselves which saved us a lot of money.  We bought business cards and printed what we wanted on them then attached them to magnets.  We messed a few of them up, it was difficult to get the placement right.

 

For the bridesmaids and groomsman we sent little cards with a cute graphic picture on it asking them to be either a bridesmaid/groomsman.

We sent out about 23 invitations and invited about 52 people. 

 

It's been a while since we sent out our invitations.  We had 17 people (including ourselves) book with our TA and then we had 12 people book seperately.  We may have another 3 people coming as well.  So I'm thinking we're going to have a total of 32 guests attend our wedding!  We're really happy that our friends and family are able to make it.  We really didn't expect that many people.

I love your invites. I have been slacking the last couple of months. I have had no motivation. We just purchased a condo and are moving in August so I have been putting most of my time into that. Last night my FI and I tried to work on the design for our OOT bags. Oh man. What a fail. Back to the drawing board! 

We are getting married at Memories Flamenco Beach Resort in Cayo Coco. 

[diadiamond]

@@diadiamond. Now that's really funny.... That's our Walmart and the superstore across the street. I go from the Meadowvale Go station!

 

 

haha!  We've probably bumped into each other and just didn't know it =p  Dan's parents live in the area so we're frequently there.  We are closer to Erindale GO now.

I love your invites. I have been slacking the last couple of months. I have had no motivation. We just purchased a condo and are moving in August so I have been putting most of my time into that. Last night my FI and I tried to work on the design for our OOT bags. Oh man. What a fail. Back to the drawing board! 

We are getting married at Memories Flamenco Beach Resort in Cayo Coco. 

 

Thanks hun =) We slacked SO much throughout the entire process.  I've found that there really are ebbs and flows with the planning process.  I would do a lot of planning in a month then do none for like a few months then pick up again.  I can't wait to see what you come up with for your OOT bags.  

 

I heard good things about your wedding resort.  I've never been to Cayo Coco, but I heard that the snorkeling is amazing!

Oh No!  The pictures didn't get uploaded.  I'll try it again and I hope it works!  

[acw271011]

Ok. lol now you're really starting to freak me out! lmao This is just too weird. Your rings... your band is the same as what mine is and your hubby to be - it's almost the same as what Doug will have. So close the difference is negligible. He has lost a lot of weight  almost 25 lbs. Doctors orders. He has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and is pre-diabetic so no choice. His wedding band is tungsten and we can't find anyone to size it. We keep being told because the metal is so hard it can't be sized. But he almost lost it down the drain because it's so loose. His ring finger is down a whole size so he wears it on his right hand. I hate that. Drives me nuts. It's his wedding band after all. I want him to wear it on the ring finger. So I told him that since we're renewing our vows that it gives me the chance to give him a ring but that it's going to be one that can be sized if necessary. He kicked at first but now that we've been 5 places and they have all said we can't re-size his ring, he has given in although a bit unwillingly! lol It's totally bizarre that the rings are almost the same!

[diadiamond]

Ok. lol now you're really starting to freak me out! lmao This is just too weird. Your rings... your band is the same as what mine is and your hubby to be - it's almost the same as what Doug will have. So close the difference is negligible. He has lost a lot of weight  almost 25 lbs. Doctors orders. He has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and is pre-diabetic so no choice. His wedding band is tungsten and we can't find anyone to size it. We keep being told because the metal is so hard it can't be sized. But he almost lost it down the drain because it's so loose. His ring finger is down a whole size so he wears it on his right hand. I hate that. Drives me nuts. It's his wedding band after all. I want him to wear it on the ring finger. So I told him that since we're renewing our vows that it gives me the chance to give him a ring but that it's going to be one that can be sized if necessary. He kicked at first but now that we've been 5 places and they have all said we can't re-size his ring, he has given in although a bit unwillingly! lol It's totally bizarre that the rings are almost the same!

 

haha we're so similar! and we have the same taste too =) I'm sorry to hear about Doug's health issues, I hope he's feeling better.  Congrats to him though to lose that much weight and for taking control of his health.  I can't believe that no one can re-size his ring, but I totally understand and agree with you about wearing it on the left hand.  Ours are white gold and since gold is soft it can definitely be re-sized.  Both of us had to get our rings sized when we bought them.  

[acw271011]

Aww thanks! He's ok - honest! He's on meds and he's completely stable. He worked hard at losing the weight and it paid off for him. I wish it would for me!! It's just an accepted fact as you get older that things change. I'm not entirely sure he did need the cholesterol and blood pressure meds but we had a doctor a few years back that pushed pills for everything so Doug went along with it. I think he might have had alternatives but now it will be a serious struggle if we just pull the meds and our current MD has some concerns if we do. Hey - it is what it is. Like I said, he's fine. I love him to death and we do a lot of things so it's all good!!

[diadiamond]

Life Threw Us Some Curve Balls:

 

My fiancé was hesitant when it came to picking a date because he felt that life was “too unpredictable” to plan something a year in advance.  I tried my best to give him a reality check that weddings take time to plan.  I know some traditional brides that starting planning their wedding two years in advance!  As much as I tried to understand his perspective I thought that we were never going to get anywhere unless we just picked a date and saw what happened.

 

Life was going just great for us until we hit a few bumps along the road.  We’ve been wanting to move in together for a while and we knew that we didn’t want to wait until after the wedding.  Also, there were some difficulties in my housing situation at the time and we had signed a lease starting in February for our new place.  At the same time I ended up leaving my job for many reasons.  My mom needed to have surgery, so I had to take care of her for a while.  Shortly, after we moved in we got into a car accident and I was hurt.  I’m better now from the accident thankfully, but a few weeks ago I was diagnosed with PCOS and now my life is in a HUGE transition all over again, but for the better.  I realized that I was unhealthy and I’m now taking control of my health.  Being unemployed and only having one income made the budget a lot tighter!

 

There were points where we thought we should cancel the wedding and take the money out of our savings to give guests their deposits back.  We also did fight and argue about certain things for the wedding too, like the date.  In my experience picking a date was the hardest part.

 

I ended up finding a job in May, 2015 and things are so much better!  We now have a bit more of a budget to work with.  And I know I’ve definitely gone overboard in some categories.  There’s about 2 months till we leave for our wedding, so I feel there’s really no turning back now.  We got really lucky with our family and friends, we didn’t have to hunt them down to pay their deposits or final payments.  We now have about 30 guests coming (I had originally anticipated 25). 

 

I’ll admit, I haven’t had the smoothest planning experience.  There were lots of ups and downs and lots of stress too.  There were moments where we did contemplate on cancelling the wedding, but we kept with it and here we are today, so close to our wedding day.  In my opinion planning a destination was not stress-free like many people seem to think.  It comes with its own set of challenges and I’ve learned that I’ve just had to be adaptable and take things as they come.  I’m not the best person at handling stress or change, but my planning experience taught me to be more open, adaptable, and just to not worry everything will be okay in the end.  I’m not perfect and I still struggle with letting go and trying not to sweat the small stuff. 

 

I’m not trying to scare off any potential destination brides with this post, I’m just being honest with my experience.  Your experience will be unique to you!      

[diadiamond]

The Dress:

I always thought that this was going to be the best part of wedding planning for me and that I was going to be that bride with the HUGE entourage at the bridal boutique.  I also thought that I would burst into tears when I found “the one.”  This WAS NOT my experience.  I will admit that trying on dresses is fun, but I didn’t have the experience I envisioned.

I went to David’s Bridal about three months after getting engaged just to try on dresses (I was still in the Newly engaged stage where I just wanted to immerse myself in all things wedding).  I brought my fiancé and two of my best friends/bridesmaids.  I tried on about 4 dresses and fell in love with two (one was a satin A-Line and the other was a Lace fit and flare).  I really loved the fit and flare silhouette on my body it really showed off my curves.

 

I loved all the dresses and I could see myself getting married in each one. 

As a child I always wanted a satin ball gown with lots of pickups and bling, but I just couldn’t see that vision on the beach.  After trying on the Lace dress I was dead set on lace and thought I had my dress picked out. Or so I thought…

 

After we booked our wedding in August, 2014, I knew that I had to start looking for dresses.  I saw a post on social media of a woman selling a size 18 satin, A-Line, ivory dress with beading for $300!  I just had to message her for more details as this could be it!  I arranged to meet her at her house with my mom.  The moment I saw myself in the dress I knew it was the one!  It needs some alterations, but it’s perfect!

I ended up giving the woman who sold it to me $350.00, because she also threw in the bag for the dress and some lovely shell bouquets.    

I was having a bad hair day when this was taken lol. 

 

The Drama:

 

I took the dress to be altered a few weeks ago and was told that the alterations would cost almost as much as a new dress!  Also, the seamstress had told me that she needed to add material and couldn’t guarantee that she could match the colour of my dress and she could not replicate the bead work on my dress (so I’d have a patch of dress that was just plain and potentially a few shades off from the rest of my dress).  I was devastated!  I fell in love with the dress I bought, and to be honest being about 2 months away from my wedding date I was really stressed out.  I think I cried for the whole day about it. 

 

Since it’s really close to my wedding and I’m really stressed out with what I have to do, I opted to buy a new dress.  I went to David’s Bridal with my cousins and my mom and found the dress of my dreams.  I’m much happier with my new dress.  It’s an ivory, lace, sheath, with a sweet heart neckline.  After buying the new dress, jewelry, veil, and belt I am now very over-budget on my bridal attire.  A fact I feel I just have to suck up.  I’ve already bought everything for the wedding, so it’s really hard to try to stay on budget.  I think I may have to make some sacrifices when I get to Cuba and skip on some of the upgrades I initially wanted.  

 

 

Sorry guys, I forgot to attach the pictures in my last post. 

 

 

 

 

 

[maybeoneday]

Sorry to hear about your dress drama. I bought 2 dresses as i changed my opinion on the first one (and it was a bit on the small side). I will be selling the old one soon so that might be worth a try to get some money back.

I love both dresses, they really suit your body shape. The jewellery looks amazing xx

 

Maybeoneday

14 /10/2015 - R R C, Mexico

[acw271011]

I love both dresses! They're both gorgeous but I have to say I really, really love the lace! I think it's perfect for a DW!! And I also think you'll be more comfortable in the lace. September is still very warm. The jewellery is gorgeous too. All together it will be beautiful!

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you're much better now. The PCOS can be dealt with even though it sucks. I lived with it for many, many years. Just hang in there and get as much medical info as you can!

 

By the way, Yogesh has been great!

[diadiamond]

Sorry to hear about your dress drama. I bought 2 dresses as i changed my opinion on the first one (and it was a bit on the small side). I will be selling the old one soon so that might be worth a try to get some money back.

I love both dresses, they really suit your body shape. The jewellery looks amazing xx

 

Maybeoneday

14 /10/2015 - R R C, Mexico

 

Thanks so much hun!  I'm planning on selling my old one too to see if I can get some money back.  I'm just happy that in the end it all worked out.  

I love both dresses! They're both gorgeous but I have to say I really, really love the lace! I think it's perfect for a DW!! And I also think you'll be more comfortable in the lace. September is still very warm. The jewellery is gorgeous too. All together it will be beautiful!

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you're much better now. The PCOS can be dealt with even though it sucks. I lived with it for many, many years. Just hang in there and get as much medical info as you can!

 

By the way, Yogesh has been great!

Thanks so much hun!  I initially wanted a lace dress as I feel it really compliments my romance vision and I think it will look stunning on the beach.  My new dress is very light-weight and really comfy.  Thanks for the advice with my PCOS, since I've been working I haven't really been doing much about it aside from starting birth control pills.  

 

Yogesh is really amazing!  I would definitely recommended him to other brides in the Mississauga/Oakville area.

 

I loved the pictures of the lace dresses on your thread.