Ashhtayy's Planning Thread - Azul Fives - June 7, 2016

[ashhtayy]

Congrats again!!!

 

Love your story. It gave me goosebumps. Men can be so romantic sometimes, the scrapbook is a lovely keepsake!!

 

We also have family in ON and BC so everyone would have to travel. Why not go to paradise. Great decision. I am so glad your TA could find something to make it happen for you!

 

Your engagement photos are beautiful. And I agree - they are good practice for the big day. I said that as well. Gave me the confidence for our wedding photos. I love them both.

 

Can't wait for more.

 

 

 

 

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@@calgarybride2015 thanks Kim i will be reaching out to you for lots of guidance along the way. you're a pro and are SO kind to all the brides-to-be on this site. thanks for being YOU!

[ashhtayy]

The Guest List           

The night we got engaged we started (and pretty much finished) our guest list. We quickly decided that we were going to invite everyone we would have invited had we had a local wedding. Our guest list with children and plus one’s was just shy of 200. There were quite a few people on there that we knew would not be able to travel for a variety of reasons but we still sent them a save the date.

 

I have read a lot of posts on here about whether children should be invited to a destination wedding or not. Michael and I agreed from the very beginning on this topic. We looked at this as not just our wedding but a vacation for our guests. If a family could only afford one vacation a year then who were we to say “we want you, but your children need to stay home”. Although I respect the right of any couple to decide whether they want children there or not, we knew we were leaving this up to our friends and family. It also worked out that the resort we fell in love was family friendly.

 

In the end we expected approximately 50 guests to attend. Today, almost a month past our booking deadline we have 54 adults and 2 children booked. At least one new person per week contacts our travel agent. I think it is very likely we could have another 6 – 10 people book.

 

To create and track our guest list I simply used an excel spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are my life. We will probably have 500 by the time this wedding is over. I included:

• Name
• Departure Gate
• Yes, No, Maybe Indicator
• Address
• Email
• Length of Trip

[calgarybride2015]

At first I was nervous when you said 200 because I was like 'OMG what if they all book?' hehehe, but 56 is a very respectable number and like you mentioned (and are seeing) you will always get some stragglers!   We had 3 children at our wedding, 2 of them being mine LOL!!!  Kids make life fun, but I totally respect both sides.  

 

I also made a spreadsheet!!!    Had about the same information as yours, but I had columns for 'deposit paid'  'paid in full' 'double occupancy'  etc.  As I had to have 10 double rooms booked to use the free wedding package that we had planned on!    

 

You are on top of things!!!!!

[TinkerSofi]

I love your story, sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants, and sometimes you also know when something is just meant to be and you do everything in your power to make it work . I'd say the second he moved to ON just for you guys to be together was a sign that he was a keeper . 

 

I think your planning is coming along great! I have all these spreadsheets that I barely keep updated haha, so in the end they're more work when I need them because I have to update them first . I found weddingwire was a good place to keep track of guests and RSVP's etc. It's not perfect, and I wish it had some extra functions, but it worked pretty well for me . 

 

I'm so happy you were able to get a good quote for AF. I was the same, the second I saw that terrace I was sold haha. One of the reasons why we're doing our wedding in August was because my MOH is a teacher, so she has it off. The fares were quite a bit cheaper too, and so it was a good way of getting a really nice hotel for less .  Also, we had the choice of doing it in June or July, but with Juan finishing up school at the end of May, that left little time to get some money together and not be so strapped for cash by the time the wedding came around. It will be super hot, but that's ok, that's why we go there right?

[acw271011]

Your story is so cute! And it sounds like you have a romantic on your hands! I love my hubby to death but there is NO WAY he would have come up with a scrapbook! That's just so adorable! As @@TinkerSofi said, definitely a keeper!

 

You definitely got a good rate for BC and that's not bad at all for ON. You're going to have a good group there too by the looks of it! That's great!

 

Your photos are beautiful! Look forward to seeing the summer ones too!

 

Oh  - and there are definitely no hard and fast rules for starting a thread!! lol There are all different timelines for when the brides start them so absolutely not breaking any rules.... since there aren't any!!

[Wafflesmom]

@@ashhtayy I love your planning thread, thank you so much for sharing your story! And that man must love you to pieces to leave BC for ON. That is unheard of! Lol We complain about weather and the cost of living all the time but we Vancouverites are so snooty and think that this is truly the best place to live in Canada (I can say that, I'm from here ). So yup, him moving to be with you is true testament to how much he loves you. And I love the scrapbook idea, he's such a romantic.

 

You got such a great price for your trip! Azul Fives is gorgeous and to get it at that price us really good.

 

And your engagement pics are gorgeous! I love that your pics will be very different from your wedding pics. Huge contrast from snow to sun! And yes, it's your wedding so you can break and make rules to your heart's desire ☺

[ashhtayy]

At first I was nervous when you said 200 because I was like 'OMG what if they all book?' hehehe, but 56 is a very respectable number and like you mentioned (and are seeing) you will always get some stragglers!   We had 3 children at our wedding, 2 of them being mine LOL!!!  Kids make life fun, but I totally respect both sides.  

 

I also made a spreadsheet!!!    Had about the same information as yours, but I had columns for 'deposit paid'  'paid in full' 'double occupancy'  etc.  As I had to have 10 double rooms booked to use the free wedding package that we had planned on!    

 

You are on top of things!!!!!

 

@@calgarybride2015 we knew we had enough people out of the 200 that could no way make it (age, new babies, work, etc). we gambled by sending out all the STDs and in the end, it worked out for us. my FI did tell me if everyone attended i would have to get a second job

 

 

I love your story, sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants, and sometimes you also know when something is just meant to be and you do everything in your power to make it work . I'd say the second he moved to ON just for you guys to be together was a sign that he was a keeper . 

 

I think your planning is coming along great! I have all these spreadsheets that I barely keep updated haha, so in the end they're more work when I need them because I have to update them first . I found weddingwire was a good place to keep track of guests and RSVP's etc. It's not perfect, and I wish it had some extra functions, but it worked pretty well for me . 

 

I'm so happy you were able to get a good quote for AF. I was the same, the second I saw that terrace I was sold haha. One of the reasons why we're doing our wedding in August was because my MOH is a teacher, so she has it off. The fares were quite a bit cheaper too, and so it was a good way of getting a really nice hotel for less .  Also, we had the choice of doing it in June or July, but with Juan finishing up school at the end of May, that left little time to get some money together and not be so strapped for cash by the time the wedding came around. It will be super hot, but that's ok, that's why we go there right?

 

@@TinkerSofi he definitely is a keeper we are so lucky to have found each other...it's crazy how life works out. we always talk about how if i didnt leave my former company there is no way we could have met. someone was looking out for us!

 

i know what you mean about keeping the spreadsheets updated. it's tricky but i find it so helpful to have everything in one place.

 

i should have mentioned in my post that all DID work out for my two teacher bffs. although neither were approved for the entire week off they are able to attend saturday through wednesday. they are coming in a day early to do trials, prep, etc with me and they will fly out as late as possible the day after our wedding. not the best case scenario but certainly not the worst.

 

and you're right. we go there because it IS so hot. i'm over the fact that the wedding is in june. people that want to be there, will be there. i am SO excited to read about how your wedding goes. i follow your thread and it has inspired me tremendously. you've put so much work in and i can't wait to see the photos of how it all comes together.

 

 

Your story is so cute! And it sounds like you have a romantic on your hands! I love my hubby to death but there is NO WAY he would have come up with a scrapbook! That's just so adorable! As @@TinkerSofi said, definitely a keeper!

 

You definitely got a good rate for BC and that's not bad at all for ON. You're going to have a good group there too by the looks of it! That's great!

 

Your photos are beautiful! Look forward to seeing the summer ones too!

 

Oh  - and there are definitely no hard and fast rules for starting a thread!! lol There are all different timelines for when the brides start them so absolutely not breaking any rules.... since there aren't any!!

 

@@acw271011 thank you! i'm so lucky we found each other. he really isn't a super romantic guy but when the time was right, he didn't hold back. what's funny is after the scrapbook and the proposal he apologized saying he had hoped it could have made it look better but he could only find craft box #1 of mine. he couldn't find the "special paper" and the "glittery markers". those items were in craft box #2 lol

 

after looking at the photographs of the resort almost all of our guests that have booked commented on how they thought it was one of the nicest resorts they had seen and thought the price was amazing. it was a relief to hear that from everyone.

 

thanks - we love our photos too. we had to take a break 20 minutes in to warm up in our cars. we were all FREEZING! i had no feeling in my toes. obviously i wore cute boots not warm boots haha

 

 

@@ashhtayy I love your planning thread, thank you so much for sharing your story! And that man must love you to pieces to leave BC for ON. That is unheard of! Lol We complain about weather and the cost of living all the time but we Vancouverites are so snooty and think that this is truly the best place to live in Canada (I can say that, I'm from here ). So yup, him moving to be with you is true testament to how much he loves you. And I love the scrapbook idea, he's such a romantic.

 

You got such a great price for your trip! Azul Fives is gorgeous and to get it at that price us really good.

 

And your engagement pics are gorgeous! I love that your pics will be very different from your wedding pics. Huge contrast from snow to sun! And yes, it's your wedding so you can break and make rules to your heart's desire ☺

 

@@Wafflesmom i threw the "yes, he left BC to come to ON not the other way around" comment in for you west coasters. we hear it every time it comes up. it is cute though because after people snap out of their shock they always follow up with "he must love you a lot"

[ashhtayy]

The Website

I spent what felt like forever working on our wedding website. Although I don’t feel they are necessary for an at home wedding (but still super fun to look at!), I felt it would be a great place for our DW guests to visit to get all the information they needed when making the decision as to whether or not they would attend. In the end, you’ll read it here a thousand times because you DO read, people (in general) don’t read. Except for our parents and immediate family members, I don’t think very many people even visited the site. The few friends that I know visited the site, likely only did because we asked if they had been on.

 

I had started by using mywedding.com and when I was half way through I realized, I just didn’t like the site we had created. I went through multiple different sites when I finally found a simple layout on weddingwire.com that I loved. It was tough to find something when you don’t have a colour scheme in mind. All I knew was no bright colours, no beachy theme, likely just a blend of neutral colours. I found a basic design with a calligraphy I liked and just went at it.

 

Our website includes:

• Welcome
• Our Story
• Our Engagement
• Wedding Party
• The Resort
• Guest Accommodations
• Travel Arrangements
• Wedding Events
• Photo Albums
• Book Now
• Guest Book
• Contact Us

We paid nothing to have our wedding website. We considered paying (I think it was $50 CAD) for a unique domain and then opted to just have the weddingwire.com at the beginning. As I mentioned I had read that many people wouldn’t read the website and figured the $50 could be spent elsewhere. In hindsight I am happy we didn’t spend the money as it would have been extremely unnecessary; in our situation anyways.

 

If I could back track I would have utilized the RSVP section that weddingwire.com offers. Life would have been MUCH easier. I will speak to the RSVP process (or lack thereof) in a future post.

[yycbride2016]

@@ashhtayy

 

Awww I absolutely love your story! It really seems like you two were meant to be together! It’s funny how things always seem to work out in the end, especially in a way you least expect it to. And the proposal is so adorable! What a romantic guy you’ve found! Congrats!!!

 

I love your engagement photos! And it’s such a great idea that you will do more in the summer time to use at the wedding. The practice will make your wedding photos seem so natural and easy! Also how great is it that you got the first set done for free! I’d love more photos of my FI and I if it weren’t so expensive haha. Good for you guys!

 

You got such a good deal for bookings! I’m actually really jealous. I wonder what we were thinking booking in peak season (February) because it’s so darn expensive. I’m really relying on the price drop guarantee to make the trip cheaper for our guests. I’m glad you were able to get reasonable quotes for both departure locations. Are you getting any perks with the bookings? You have so many guests booking that I would imagine they offer you some sort of “rewards”. You will have so much fun with that many guests! I’m sure it will be a week long party for everyone!

 

I’m totally the same way with excel for the wedding. I have spreadsheets for so many different things, I have the budget done and every possible budget outcome as a spreadsheet (depending on how many guests come, or what package we end up doing), I have ones for guest lists, like you with where they depart from, and also if they are coming to the Mexico wedding, at home reception, or both. It’s funny how you rely on having these spreadsheets after a while.

 

I can’t wait to read more on your planning thread! J

[calgarybride2015]

@@yycbride2016

I used a fella in Calgary who charged $200 for 90 mins and 100 edited photos. I thought that was reasonable. If you are interested let me know

 

 

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