Scadeau - Grand Sunset Princess Planning Thread May 2017

[scadeau]

How We Met
Andrew and I met online early summer of 2014. Our initial conversation started with our likes for rivalry hockey teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins. From there the conversation kept flowing and we went on our first date in early July. We continued to talk and go on dates over the next couple of months until we made our relationship official in August 2014. From there the rest is history ♥

The Proposal
Every year we make a trip to Florida and stay in Indian Rocks Beach. This time we traveled with another couple (Ellen and Tyler) at the end of March 2016. Ellen and I being typical girls we wanted 'cute and coupley' sunset photos with the boys. On Sunday, April 3rd we finished dinner and walked down to the beach just in time to get in some good photos of the sun setting. Andrew and I took a few photos standing on the beach with the sun behind us, and then he said 'Let's try one more (pose)'. Then he got down on one knee in the water and I immediately started blushing and crying because I was so shocked/happy/surprised. After Andrew gave his romantic spiel and asked me to marry him, I said of course.

Travel Agent/Picking a Resort
We knew that we wanted to have a destination wedding right from the get go because we are beach bums and love the sun/water. Neither of us have ever been to Mexico, however it seemed like the perfect place for our wedding! The next thing on the list was to find a travel agent. I had been told to shop around for an agent for pricing and most importantly the person knows what they are doing/is easy to communicate with. We went to a local mall and popped into Flight Centre, they directed us to a nearby mall where their group travel specialist was located. Instantly we clicked and my finance and I knew we would be going with this agent based on her knowledge, experience and how helpful she was. The next step was choosing a resort, we wanted the resort to be affordable, yet still nice. We weren't very flexible with our potential wedding dates because the best man is a teacher and it is the only time he could take time off work to come to the wedding. After looking at quotes and reading (wedding) reviews we were sold on the GRAND SUNSET PRINCESS. 

On May 5th 2016 we put our deposits in for travel May 17th - May 24th. Our guests had the deposit deadline of July 13th to guarantee the rates given by the TA.

 

....More to come

Edited September 27, 2016 by scadeau

[scadeau]

I wanted to give guests as much notice as possible so one my brilliant bridesmaids made my invitations (: There are invitations like this out there, but she put a personal twist on the graphics/colours. So grateful for this and it saved me on all costs (except for printing, which I had done at the same place my work gets our marketing materials printed).

 

Double Sided-Invite (sorry for the glare)

 

Booking Information & RSVP Card

 

 

 

We still don't have our wedding colours picked out (fiance trumped my colour scheme of gold&blush pink)...... so we just chose colours that we 'liked' / considered beachy for the invitations! 

[scadeau]

So far we have 58 guests booked (including FI and myself). One of the groomsmen has not booked yet because he lives in another province, so we are thinking our total guest number will be around 60!

 

This morning I started my planning/organizing binder. My hope is this will keep me on track and keep everything in one place. I will bring this binder to Mexico with me because it will have contracts, receipts, ceremony details, etc. 

 

I bought dividers that have 8 tabs, so far I have only filled out 7.

What I have:
- Travel and Accommodations

- Guests

- Attire
- Welcome & Rehearsal Dinner

- Ceremony

- Reception
- Photography

 

Does anyone have suggestions for the last divider tab!?

 

The binder has plastic folders and a zipper pocket. These are perfect to keep smaller items (receipts, copy of our invitations) or things that I do not want to hole punch. 

 

My planning binder photos:

Edited October 1, 2016 by scadeau

[ktan7]

Hey there, 

 

Congrats on your engagement! I really love the story on how you guys met - there must have been a lot of bantering caused by your guys' favourite hockey team =p

 

Anyhow, I'm a destination wedding photographer based out of Vancouver. I was just browsing the site and somehow bumped into your post. Thought I would reach out to you and see if you are searching for a wedding photographer. 

 

I'm actually part of the preferred photographers from Wedluxe Magazine (http://wedluxe.com/service/vendor-locations). These are amongst the best wedding photographers in Canada. My work has also been published in Style Me Pretty and Destination I Do Magazine.  If you are interested in my work, I'll be more than happy to customize a package for you. 

 

My email is [email protected] (www.kentanphoto.com is my website). 

 

Good luck on your wedding planning again

 

-Ken 

[gaichan]

Yay another bride in the same resort. Congrats on your engagement and hoping your planning is going smoothly.

[scadeau]

@@gaichan Yay - its always nice to meet other brides at the same resort! There is an awesome Facebook group that have past, present and future brides posting pictures, questions and giving recommendations, ideas, etc. 

https://www.facebook...ps/59537241435/

 

I almost feel behind in the planning process, but will eventually get everything done! 

[scadeau]

The bridal shop where I bought my wedding dress from is closing down (the owners are retiring after 60+ years) so as any normal person I started to panic, hoping that my dress would come in on time, would it be what I envisioned, etc. Finally it arrived last week (with a few weeks to spare before the store closed). The sample size I tried on was a bit small/the wrong colour, so once I tried on the dress I ordered (correct sizing/colour) it re-confirmed how much I love the dress!! The overall the silhouette, the back, the look, etc. I love it all    

I ordered Essence of Australia D1702 in ivory!! There needs to be some alterations done... what I know so far is that it needs to be shortened, the waist and bust also need to be taken in. I also bought the belt in the photo below because the store was having a 50% off sale. I still need to buy a veil, but that will be plain so it should be easy to find one. 

I will paying/picking up my dress next week with my mom! She was unable to be there when I picked my dress so I thought it would be nice for her to see it in person (:

PS. Don't judge my awkward hairstyle haha I know its horrible. 
 

[tarabara]

Congrats on your fast approching wedding!! Im happy to see another bride at the resort. Just joined the website and just picked the resort! It feels like so much info, but at the same time not enough!!

[JasminMattPhoto]

Hola @@scadeau first off we want to say a big congratulations on your upcoming wedding. We absolutely adore your engagement story and your wedding dress looks beautiful.

 

You are going to have an amazing time at Grand Sunset Princess. We've been lucky enough to work there a handful of times and we've always had a wonderful experience and we know that the couple's we've worked with have always been so happy with their weddings there.

 

If you have a moment to, please read John's review of our services. He's always told us that if we know couple's who are getting married at GSP and have questions or need advice that he is more than willing to provide his email and help. https://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/reviews/r/5651-jasmin-matt-photography/

 

Other than that we'll leave you with some inspiration and wish you the best of luck <3

 

 

 

[scadeau]

My planning has taken a bit of a back seat with my finances birthday, holidays and a surprise trip to Niagara Falls. 

 

The only update is that we have selected our photographer! Pictures are one of the things we decided to splurge on because we have close family members that won't be able to make it to Mexico. We are using an outside vendor their name is Bohemia Photography! 

 

Next plan plan is to go bridesmaid dress shopping on November 19th. I still haven't picked what colour I want to go with... we are thinking of going with grey, navy blue or a dark purple. The guys are going to be wearing grey, so I think most colours will match this. 

ALSO just realized that I have been uploading my photos incorrectly. Here are my invites and planning binder AGAIN. 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2016 by scadeau