~Kate~

We didn't want to do the whole vows and everything here, either - just sign the paperwork and not make any kind of deal of it. I found an officiant that is willing to work with us as much as possible for this - I guess she does this for lots of destination brides. She's outside of the GTA (here in London) but maybe there is someone like her closer to you, Ana?? Here's her info: Lori Siska - Lori Siska - Romantic Wedding Ceremonies This is what she wrote to me in an email when I asked her about her services for destination couples: "Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and thank you for your interest in my services. I would be pleased to perform a legal ceremony for you. I have been performing such ceremonies for the past two years as it has been costing, on average, $900-1200 for the legal requirements alone from countries such as Mexico. Couples doing a legal ceremony with me often do not wish to exchange rings or even vows, opting to keep that for their day in the other country. Often they come only with their witnesses. I have a few fee structures to give you an idea of what you can choose. If you come to my home for the above, it is $75. If I go to any other location in London it is $100." Good luck!! Kate

Quote: Originally Posted by Mel&B kleslie5, I love your DIY work! I am also a Playa Fiesta Bride!!! Do you know of a thread for PF Brides? I have done a search, but haven't found just what I am looking for. Thanks! Hey Mel! There are a few of us on here, but not really enough for our own thread....yet!! Check out the Puerto Vallarta subsection for some good info, along with these threads: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t25185 http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t17431 http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t6017 And feel free to PM me with any q's!! Kate

Mishka did her Sept 15th blog on these colours - check out the thread: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t29588 And I'm using orange and blue! I posted some pics of my DIY projects that have some of the colours in it... http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t29750 I'm also getting my pashminas for guests, etc, in these colours. Good luck!

Have you checked out the sticky in this subforum called: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t28059 ? It has a great list and you could pick some things that are cheaper...and maybe do something France specific - small French phrase book, small bottle of local wine/pastries...when I was in France this summer with some French friends, they would take me to local places and I loved getting a taste of the culture that way. Good luck!

oooh Kate, I've been waiting to see these!! Looks great - LOVE the theme and your sis did a fantastic job on the invites!!!

Wow Erica looks fabulous!!! You have thought of everything. Only a few more days to go....

oh I'm so sorry to hear about your Mom's dog!!!! Thank goodness you were there. I'm sure she'll need you and your FI over the coming weeks and months. About the new puppy, I would just see what she wants. My parents lost their 8 year old dog about 2 years ago and started looking for a new dog the next week. They loved their old dog so much and a lot of their daily activity revolved around their dog (my Dad jogged with him every morning, he kept my Mom company while she worked from home) so even though I was kinda like "whoa, that' s a little fast", it was definitely right for them to start looking right away. It was about a month or so before they found the right dog. He hasn't taken the place of their old dog - he has a very unique personality - but they are much happier as a couple with a dog. Anyway, if you Mom is anything like that, she might start looking, with your help, pretty soon - I guess it will depend how she feels....good luck!!

My university has a lot of jobs for students who qualify for what we call "work study" (to qualify you pretty much just need to qualify for our provincial student loans, which most FT students do) - so most of my classmates who want to work will have work study positions as research assistants for profs, working on campus in the libraries, etc. The money isn't as good as waiting tables or bartending or anything, but the hours are very flexible and school is always a priority over your work hours - the profs take this very seriously. With regards to the loans, you should talk to the Financial Services dept of your school - we have student loan officers and financial advisors who know that stuff inside out. And you're already paying for it with your tuition

oh WOW!!! Everything looks fantastic!! I love the brochure holder and the party invites. Have a fantastic time!!

Quote: Originally Posted by sstotz where did you find the luggage tag holders?? THANK! see post #38 Quote: Originally Posted by Anthony'sGirl Now I'm just having a hard time finding the clear badge holders.. I live in Canada and Amazon doesn't ship to me! Anyone know where I can get them in Canada online or store?? hmmm....I got them shipped to my friend in NY who brought them to me when she came to ON in August. I have seen them in Staples but they were more expensive. How many do you need? I ordered way too many and was planning on selling them on here after the wedding when I will have tons of extras to get rid of, but if our numbers line up I could sell them to you - where in Canada are you? I'll count them up tonight to see how many I have - it is at least 30, probably closer to 50....

Welcome!! There are a lot of DT threads on here, and the brides here are very much on top of what is happening - so you've come to the right place!

Wow Trisha!!! Fabulous!! I love the personalized towels!! Where did you get the image flourish thing on your menus? It all looks great!

Quote: Originally Posted by hmk012 How did you get your monogram on the stuff? I've been trying to figure it out but I can't! I have a Monogram from Powerpoint I did but I can't get it to transfer and when I do it shows up as the entire business card instead of just having it in a little corner! :-) You're working in Vistaprint? In Powerpoint, save your monogram as an image file (jpeg or tiff or giff or bmp). When you're in VP in the business card, click on "add image", browse to find your image, and click upload. Then you can use the little corner things to resize your image on the business card. Good luck!!

Quote: Originally Posted by jlwhite5 everything looks fabulous - wonderful job! do you mind giving up an approximate price you paid for each thing? i'd just like some sort of idea for the future. Not at all! Most of it I got free with my weekly "Best Deal Ever" emails from Vistaprint, so most was just shipping. I don't have exact numbers, but everything from VP was around $50-70. The cardstock and ribbon are both from Michaels and were pretty cheap (like $1/sheet that will do 3 menus). The badge holders for the luggage tags were around $25 with shipping from amazon. The pens from OTC were $6/dozen and I bought WAY too many - and of course, no one else wants them since they are personalized!

Quote: Originally Posted by Amarillis Wow... Everything looks AMAZING!!! YIPPEE Amy, I should mention that I was using vistaprint.ca, not .com - works great for us Cdn gals!!

Congrats on your baby!!! Thanks for posting - I always love your blog. And those are my colours!!!

Yep!! If you do a search, you'll find some threads about this and lots of pics. Here are some I just created with vistaprint: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t29750

Quote: Originally Posted by merocket59 I love the door hanger idea, I'm always looking at ways to get great stuff from vistaprint. I'm doing a lot of the same ideas as you but I never thought of the door tags.. what did you use to make them? I used the brochure template on Vistaprint. I put in a black background, then added the text box and the Mexican themed artsy thing at the bottom. I copied this to all three panels of the front of the brochure, and then did the same process on the back. We got 25 brochures (they come in batches of 25), so we have 75 door hangers. Steve took them to work to cut them and run them through the laminator. If you can laminate them, they are a little stiffer and will likely hold up through travel, etc, a bit better; however, the brochure paper was surprisingly sturdy so I wouldn't say it is necessary.

I was surprised at how much good photography costs, since I really had no idea before planning a wedding However, we weighed it and think that good pictures are worth it, so this has become one of our biggest budget line items! There have been a lot of disappointed brides who decided to skimp on photography (that being said, I have also seen some brides who are really happy just going with their resort photogs...). I absolutely love our photographer and can't wait to see the pics after...I think it will be worth it!! Good luck finding a photog.

In my neck of the woods it is generally considered poor etiquette to include the registry info in your invites, since you aren't supposed to look like you're asking for gifts. But if it is common around your area, this would definitely get the word out. I have definitely seen registry info on DW websites and in shower invites (since they are sent by someone other than the bride). I agree with what everyone has said - don't worry about ppl bringing gifts to the DW - my WC said in all the weddings she's done, no one brings gifts. You might get some cards, but if people are planning on getting you a gift they will send it to you at home.

Quote: Originally Posted by Bavaro-Princess OMG this is Awesome!!! you did an awesome JOB ... I am looking to make luggage tags would you be able to tell me how you made yours? where you got them from? the taggs... thanks Quote: Originally Posted by AnneW I love everthing! I am going to have to steal your ideas! You did such a great job! Where did you get the plastic holders for the luggage tags? I got the luggage tag holders off Amazon - they are officially called badge holders - Advantus 75451 Proximity Badge Holders - Vertical, 2-3/8x3-3/8, clear (in packs of 50). Check out Beck's and Tara's fantastic threads on their luggage tags....I pretty much copied theirs!! http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t23345 http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t26571 They both printed their own, though, while I used the "standard business card" from Vistaprint b/c I had 250 free. If you sign up for Vistaprint's emails, you'll be able to get business cards for free all the time. On the front of the business card, I put the palm tree photo that I am using for most of my stuff - they have it in vistaprint, or you can upload your own. I also put our monogram on the front. On the back, I put "Destination....Paradise!" at the top, and then a line each for Name, Address, and Phone Number. I bought the ribbon from Michael's in our wedding colours. Hope that helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by Sherry We registered with Swirl Fine Art and Design in Calgary. I don't know if they ship to Ontario, but I'm sure it's not impossible. Here's their website, if you want to check it out: Swirl Fine Art and Design - Wedding Registry Thanks!! I found one in TO that does a registry too Bridal and Gift Registry - you're right, all galleries should do this!!

That is really cool! What is the name of the gallery? I wonder if they would ship to Ontario? I don't know of any around here that do that...maybe in TO....thanks for sharing!!

Quote: Originally Posted by weddingchick it all came out great! cool idea to use the brochure as menu cards. I wasn't sure how this would work, but I'm really happy with them. They are definitely too flimsy on their own, but once you put them on the cardstock, they work great. Quote: Originally Posted by dancingdolphin What did you put on your wedding ceremony program? I can't quite read it. Did you use a template? I haven't used VistaPrint before. Here's a better pic of just the text on the program - hopefully this works. It is pretty simple. There's a thread around here with program samples - some are really detailed, some are pretty simple - depends on your style (and the fact that I'm too lazy to put more effort into these!). In Vistaprint, we used the oversized postcard and I added all the text in there using textboxes - there are templates for styles and backgrounds, but none that suited what I wanted. It took a lot of time to format, but was actually easier that I thought it would be. You can also make your own design in another program, like photoshop, and then import it to Vistaprint.

hmmm...pics are a bit small....let me know if you can't read anything!