Chantal85

Thanks for the tip on Kohl's! I'll definitely be checking them out!

I too met my man online and did the long distance relationship thing. Once I moved in with him, we were pretty attached at the hip because we wanted to take full advantage of every moment we had. Now that we're a little more settled in, we are a lot more independent. We only call each other at work every once in a while though. Mostly if there's something going on that we need an opinion. We still spend most of our time with each other but that's just because we're pretty much each other's best friend/only friend in town. Recently he's taken a few contract jobs working 20 hrs away (for three weeks at a time) in another province and its reminding me how lucky I was to have him home every night for so long. Every couple is different, if you and your man are happy with the time you have together, then don't worry about it. What works for one couple doesn't necessarily work for the next.

I live in Nanaimo, British Columbia (Canada) which is on an island. My neighborhood has a lot of small cottage homes, my home is steps away from the ocean and is only 2 blocks away from a ferry that connects us with the mainland. Its great because I can just walk to the ferry and head for a shopping day in Vancouver! Because I'm close enough to just walk on, I don't have to wait in long vehicle line ups that often spill onto the street...sometimes over a mile long! There is a sea-walk that leads all the way downtown for lovely evening strolls and fresh ocean air.

Thanks! It took me 15 different bridal shops in 4 different cities. I saved my city for last thinking it wouldn't have anything because it was a small city. And of course, there it was, in my city, waiting for me! Its Vivian by Sophia Tolli

I'm getting married January 30, 2009 at Dreams Punta Cana. Wow you ladies are very organized! I was sitting on the fence about so many details until last week. I've been sick which has really gotten my wedding on track. I never got any save-the-date cards out because I waited too long but word of mouth had gotten out so I didn't bother worrying. Since I've been sick: - I've ordered my dress (Vivian by Sophia Tolli) -Ordered the BM dresses (B2 line by Jasmine) in Espresso brown. -Designed, printed, assembled, and sent my invitations. -Fought with my mother on all my wedding details because she's a Momzilla! -Chosen my photographer; my dear friend is going to just be finishing up photography school in January and wants to develop her portfolio...so she said its free of charge (I will find a way to sneak her a cheque anyways!). She already does great work so I'm excited to see what she'll do with all of it! -Built my wedding website...although its pretty bare right now but additions are on the way! Now I'm just waiting to get my RSVPs so I can get people booked. I've also been on the search of decently priced beach towels that we can order in bulk as we're going to be getting them embroidered with our names and wedding date and giving them as wedding favours. Time is flying by and we're well on our way to having this wedding taken care of! I leave you with this: Getting married is hard...for the bride. When my FI asked his friend to be a GM, his friend asked him what kind of duties that entailed. His response was "Its easy, you just eat ribs and drink beer". Men!

July 2008 Jenna & Steve: July 1, 2008 - Sunscape Casa del Mar Erica & Jorge: July 5, 2008 - Iberostar Punta Cana Valerie & Richard July 10, 2008 - Ocean Blue Lindsay & Billy: July 11, 2008 - Paradisus PC Kristin & Justin: July 11, 2008- Dreams Punta Cana Terina & Roger: July 26, 2008 - Dreams Punta Cana August 2008 Jazlyn & Albert: August 2, 2008 - Excellence Punta Cana Kirk & Christina: August 8, 2008 - EdenH Real Arena Punta Cana October 2008 Chris and Monica: October 4, 2008 - Paradisus Palma Real November 2008 Danielle & Derek: November 6, 2008 - Paradisus Palma Real PC Shelley & Jamie: November 6, 2008 - Dreams Punta Cana Camila & Louie... November 8, 2008 - Bahia Principe Punta Cana Amy & Jordan: November 12, 2008 - Gran Bahia Principe in Punta Cana Caitlin and Joe: November 14, 2008 - Dreams Punta Cana Kasia & Rob: November 17, 2008 - Majestic Colonial Louise & Brian: November 18, 2008 - Melia Caribe Tropical Anil & Pam: November 20, 2008 - Ocean Sand Jessica & Dominique: November 22, 2008 - Dreams Punta Cana Cassie & Brad: November 24, 2008 - EdenH Punta Cana Lucy & Tom: November 24, 2008 - Dreams Punta Cana Erica & Larry: November 30, 2008 - Grand Palladium Palace December 2008 Taude & Jay: December 10, 2008 - Iberostar Bavaro, Punta Cana Tracy & John: December 11, 2008 - Melia Caribe Tropical Kyle & Daina: December 12, 2008 - Dreams Punta Cana January 2009 Jelena and Bojan: January 3, 2009 - EdenH Arena Michael and Nicole: January 8, 2009 - EdenH Real Arena Heidi & Derek: January 10, 2009 - Colony Bay Resort Punta Cana Erin & Martin: January 13, 2009 - EdenH Real Arena Lindsay & Jamie : January 28, 2009 - Grande Palladium Bavaro Chantal & Sheldon: January 30, 2009 - Dreams Punta Cana February 2009 Theresa & Stan: February 20, 2009 - Excellence Punta Cana March 2009 Nuc Med Bride & FI: March 19, 2009 - Gran Bahia Principe April 2009 Kim & Chris: April 4, 2009 - Dreams Punta Cana Raquel & Dominick: April 17, 2009 - Paradisus Punta Cana Jennifer & Eliu: April 18, 2009 - Paradisus Palma Real Michelle & Jeff: April 24, 2009 - Meliá Caribe Tropical DRBride2009: April 24, 2009 - Meliá Caribe Tropical Aliya & Joey: April 24, 2009 - Riu Palace, Punta Cana Brittany and Jay: April 23rd (I think) - Occidental Grand May 2009 Shawn & Jeremy: May 2009 - Punta Cana (Still deciding on resort) Yadira & Alexander: May 2, 2009 - Dreams Punta Cana jhildebr: May 11, 2009 - Majestic Elegance Jennifer & Adam: May 11, 2009 - Paradisus Punta Cana Meagan & Jeff: May 15, 2009 - Dreams Punta Cana Jessica & Omar: May 22, 2009 - Paradisus Punta Cana Kristen & Craig May 22, 2009 - Paradisus Punta Cana June 2009 melnb & FI: June '09 - Paradisius FYB87 & FI: June '09 - Resort undecided Summer 2009 FutureMrsRust & FI - Summer 2009 - Resort Undecided July 2009 Nadia & Julian: July 3, 2009 - Excellence Punta Cana Jenn & Chris: July 31, 2009 - Riu Palace, Punta Cana September 2009 Clare & Ross: September 7, 2009 - Ocean Blue (date to be confirmed) Chris & Martin: September 9, 2009 - Ocean Blue (date to be confirmed) Kristy & Vince: September 19, 2009 - Dreams Punta Cana October 2009 Jeannie & Jorge: October 10, 2009 - Dreams Punta Cana Jen & Dave: October 10, 2009 - Majestic Colonial Punta Cana November 2009 Veronica & Paul: November 5, 2009 - Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Leslie & Gerry: November 16, 2009- Majestic Colonial January 2010 Nicole & Michael: January 23, 2010 - Bavaro Princess This list is getting huge! How exciting!

I have never gotten the same person twice when receiving an email response to my questions. I can't complain on the speed though, they usually get back to me within 2-3 days. Purple Rain, you'll need to let us all know how things go. Have a great trip and a fabulous wedding!

I just emailed the resort to verify everything and make sure my date isn't in jeopardy because I most definitely was told everything wouldn't need to be paid until we got to the resort. I will report back when I get some news.

I didn't plan anything other than a nice jeweled pin but I haven't the piece I've imagined. I stumbled upon some pictures of birdcage veils and love the classic look. I'm hoping to get one made that will slant over just my eyes instead of a full face.

I had prepared my Fi by telling him I would spend no more than $1500. I bought mine for $1092 which included having the dress ordered for my own hollow to hem length. The rest of it fits like a glove so I don't intend on doing any alterations. Because I'm under the budgeted price I believe I deserve a new pair of Manolos....

I love that there is a place on this forum where we get to show off our dresses. All of the dresses are so beautiful! Here's mine dress resize.pdf

I have two brothers...one that just got kicked out of the house and the other that never has time! The best I can do is talk to my dad. He's like me, likes to avoid confrontation but I know he'll just side with my mom because, well, he has to live with her so he doesn't want to upset her. I think the best thing I can tell her is to forget what she thinks a wedding is and start with a blank slate because this one is so different. I think I will also have to ask her what are her concerns? From there we can address them if they are within reason. I feel like I should bring some diagrams and pie charts!

Welcome! This is a great place to have all your questions answered. It's truly a good support system!

Thanks, for the help. Shellb, I think I had read your post about your problems with your mom too. I totally feel for you. I think I will do my best to clearly lay out what I will tell my mom. I'm a bit of a planner so I may have to write some notes to make sure I stay on track and ask her not to say anything until I am done. I plan on being firm but I am done fighting. I am willing to hear her concerns but I've decided from now on, only happy planning is allowed. I feel bad because since my mom has shown lack of interest, I've done most of my planning and dress shopping with my soon to be mother-in-law. It hard to not have your mom participate in the wedding dress shopping. I don't know about you but I pictured my mom taking me to a bridal shop with my girls and all of us laughing when something silly is being worn and gushing over how fantastic everyone looks when they find "the dress".

Congrats Daina! I too am a Dream PC bride (January) originally from Sudz! I'd love to hear how your planning is coming along.

I love it! That's a great proposal! Mine was similar in a Cabin on Vancouver Island. It's nice to see there are still some romantic men out there! Oh, I'm also originally from Sudz!

Oh...and she disliked everything about my invitations. I planned on having two starfish at the top (that she told me I should add a top hat and a veil to) and told me she hated my little quote for the bottom which is "happiness is in the way of travel, not the destination". My Fi and I have a lot of attached meaning to that quote because it explains our relationship, since the beginning.

*WARNING* This is a long vent, months in the making! I most definitely know I'm not alone in this boat but this sure is getting frustrating! I am the daughter of a MOMZILLA! Planning a wedding is stressful enough on its own, I live across the country from half of my bridal party and family, and now I have a passive aggressive mom to deal with too. I come from a French Canadian background which means a large (mom is one of 9 kids) traditional wedding. I know that a destination wedding is way out of her comfort zone but I just know a large wedding is not what my Fi and I want. First there was the dress shopping. I went back East to visit my family, take my BM's dress shopping, hoped to take my mother out so she could try on dresses and help me with mine. My mom never made the effort to come out dress shopping and eventually said she would probably just buy her dress from the mall. She also asked is she could wear a dress I had bought her for her 25th anniversary party...that is white. Not to be a stickler but white is reserved for someone else....me! Then comes the creation on the invitations list. Everyday my mom had five more people to add! I finally put my foot down when she wanted me to invite her neighbor (that I don't even know). I would cringe every time she would say "just invite them, they won't come anyways but an invitation would be nice". I don't just toss out invitations, if I invite you, its because I genuinely want you there! I had to say no because my list was already at 140 invites (half of them being my mom's family alone)...way out of control! My mother then started her transition to Momzilla. She first got mad and took a cheap shot saying we were inviting my Fi's parent's friends. I had to explain that his family is very small and that those friends ARE his family. She goes on to cry and tell me its not her fault I moved and don't know her friends, that I'm selfish, and then hung up on me and left on holidays for the month. I don't like making my mom cry so of course I apologized for her not liking my decision but I most definitely never received an apology from her. Then there's the resort. I had shown her one resort that had a chapel. My Fi and I are not religious so we don't intend to use a chapel. There are too many attendees for the small chapel, and half of my Fi's family are Jehovah's Witness and would not be able to attend if we used the chapel. Knowing all that, my mom still wanted me to use the chapel. When I told her we couldn't, she said "oh, I thought your father and I could walk you down the aisle...". Oy! No matter how much I explained that there would be an aisle set up in the garden, it didn't seem to make a difference. The latest kick from her is probably the most insulting. She recently asked me how much a resort day pass would be for the wedding. Apparently, my resort is too expensive and she thinks people can't afford it ($1500 + taxes is pretty much the average rate, I've done my homework) so she's telling them they can stay at a different resort than the one we've chosen. ARGH! How dare she! I'm thinking of making a trip to visit her and sit her down so I can paint the big picture for her and lay down the law. I can't handle her pushing back every step of the way. I even told her she can plan a Canadian reception for those who can't make it, just to keep her busy but she doesn't seem to care about that. Please tell me if I'm being too difficult or if you have any suggestions on how to manage this issue. It has come to a point where I don't even discuss wedding plans with her anymore. I don't think planning a wedding should be so negative. I've gotten so frustrated that I've cried and told my Fi that I don't want a wedding! I'd rather go to city hall and sign the papers and forget about the whole thing!

Thanks for the warm welcomes!

Hi Everyone, My name is Chantal My wedding date is to be determined but we are aiming for February 20, 2009 We have selected the Dominican Republic as our destination I'm glad I found this forum. I've got so many questions! I Look forward to learning off of all of your wedding planning experiences. I've been engaged since October 2007 and think I am still clueless about everything! Chat with you soon, -Chantal