Lucky_Girl

And now to truly confirm that it's not me, it's her... Yesterday was my birthday. She did send a short email in the morning (happy birthday, all the best) and I replied. A long rambling email about: - Thank you for the birthday wishes - Wedding planning updates - I told her for the first time that FI and I put an offer on a house and should find out today if we get it - And other random updates about life and work (I started a new job a month ago) ....she didn't reply....but her family will stand behind her and defend her. How could she be a bad person, she sent me that first birthday email. She did the same thing with our engagement. The day we announced to his whole family we were engaged, she said nothing to either of us. A few weeks later a generic congratulations card came in the mail. And again, she did the bare minimum to do the "right" socially acceptable thing.

Hi! I just wanted to put it out there (so I can't go back) that today is my 27th birthday, our wedding is coming fast (April 2010), and I'm going to start going to the gym! My gym membership starts today and I'm making a deal with myself to go 4 times a week and I'm going to make an effort to eat healthier food. Maybe I'll even do weight watchers, I haven't decided yet. We'll see how well the gym works out. I might even consider a personal trainer, if I need more help/motivation. I want to lose 15-20 pounds in a year, wish me luck!

I could not agree more with Angel1416! Our deal is that I research things (because I thoroughly enjoy spending an entire day browsing websites for ideas for favours, flowers, STD's, etc) and show him my favourites. He gives his opinion and we chose one together. As long as it's narrowed down to just a few, he's happy. As for time, our arrangement is that we only go to Michaels (the craft store) once a week. If it were up to me, we would go every other day! But, to be reasonable, I would have bought half the store by now trying out my newest ideas about centre peices or flowers, etc. You have to find a balance that works for you guys. My FI had the same attitude in the beginning, he said to just chose whatever I wanted. Now, as time goes on, he is getting more and more involved. We were talking about where to have our at home reception and he said he was looking forward to looking around for a venue. That completely took me by surprise! I had no idea he was looking forward to that! Curious about what else he was looking forward to, I asked...he said "I'm looking forward to being married to you" aww. These men do care about us, and our thoughts and feelings and opinions, if they didn't, they wouldn't have asked us to spend the rest of our lives with them. Just because he doesn't care what shade of pink ribbon you use, it doesn't mean he doesn't love you.

Reading through this post is such a relief! I'm going through exactly the same thing trying to book for April 2010. My travel agent says prices won't be confirmed until end of March. I guess if the prices that come back are acceptable, I'll just have to make the STD's really fast!! I had my heart set on giving 1 year notice, and I'll still come in close to that timeframe.

Thank you so much! I was starting to feel like I was the crazy one since his parents totally support her behaviour! We've actually cut down on how much we see his immediate family because they've all been so negative about everything. I sincerely hope that his sister is the one to look bad when her and her husband don't come to our wedding. It's actually a running joke now that she will probably try to get pregnant relatively soon so that her mom stays with her instead of coming to our wedding.

Hi Candice, We took each member of our wedding party out to dinner. It was just the two of us, and the person we were going to ask to be in the wedding party (and their significant other if they had one) As soon as we ordered the drinks, we told the person that we invited them out to diner for a reason, then we asked them to be in the wedding party and told them why they were special to us and why we chose them. It was nice to have that time to sit and chat and be excited together. I think my favourite reaction was our groomsman (my fiance's cousin). He looked like he was going to cry. I thought it was the sweetest thing. He got up and gave me the biggest hug I've ever gotten. It was nice to be welcomed into the family like that! Whatever you end up doing, it'll be special. Your girls will know how much they mean to you.

How far in advance did you get prices for your DW? I'm working with a TA who specializes in DW's, but I'm getting a little bit frustrated. We met for the first time in December. We told her the resorts we were interested in (Ocho Rios, Dunn's River and Montego Bay), told her we were thinking of April 2010, and gave her a rough idea of how many people we were expecting (15-20+). It's almost the end of February and I still don't have prices. She did come back with some tentative prices, but they are all over the $2000pp limit we set. She said she'll see if there's anything she can do about that. Is this how it should be? How far in advance did you find out how much it would cost for you and your guests? And if it isn't too personal, what kind of prices did you get?

April 2010 for us If everything goes according to plan, we'll be at Sandals Ocho Rios! (since the date is still far off, we're having some small problems getting prices, I really hope this gets figured out soon, I can't wait to send out our STD's)

For anyone in Canada, Staples has some clear luggage tags with loops as well! If I remember correctly, they're also 14.95 for 25 of them.

Hi Girls, I need to vent for a minute, and this seems to be the safest place to do that! My Fiance's sister has decided she isn't coming to our DW. She hasn't actually told us she isn't coming, but we've heard through other family members that she says she can't afford it. In fact, one of his aunts has even said that it's not worth it for his sister to spend the money on us. (How hurtful is that?? an email was accidentally forwarded to my fiance and that's what it said!) We did everything we could to give people enough time to plan vacation time and save their money. We are having a longer engagement (18 months) and trying as best as we can to keep the cost of the resort as low as possible. As it stands now, our wedding is 15 months away. We haven't even sent out the STD's with the group rates yet! I've seen his sister in action, and as much as I hate to say it, she is a princess and in their parents eyes, she can do no wrong. Believe me when I say that when I found out this fantastic guy I was dating had a sister my age, I was thrilled and had ideas that we could be great friends. I was wrong. She has kindly informed me that her mother will always love her more than she will ever love me, and that her babies will be more special than mine. She hasn't even really congratulated us on our engagement. He proposed in October. When we announced it at the big family Thanksgiving gathering, she left the room and didn't talk to us all night! She pouted and left the gathering early. Even now any time our wedding comes up in her presence, she sits quietly and doesn't contribute to the conversation. I could go on about other things that she's done/said that have hurt us, but I'm trying really hard to focus on positive things. A little bit more background on what's going on, his sister recently got married (August 200 and if I am to believe what she has been saying, they were able to pay cash for their wedding. So how is it that they were able to save $20,000+ in a year and a half to pay for their wedding, but they aren't able to save $4000 to come to her only siblings wedding? Has this happened to anyone else? I'm worried that during our week away his parents/family are going to be talking about how sad it is that his sister couldn't make it and "blaming" us for chosing to go away. How did you deal with it? I'm wondering if we should just pay for her to come to avoid all the crap we know we're going to get for her not being there. Thoughts? Advice?

You're selling a lot of great stuff! Too bad I still don't know how many people are coming to our wedding. Good luck finding a new job.

We met on July 22, 2007 I moved in New Years Eve (After only 5 months of dating. The way he asked was very sweet. I took the bus back to Ottawa from Christmas with my family 6 hours away. I wanted to go straight to his house because I hadn't seen him for 6 days, but had to stop at my apartment to feed my cat. He said "why don't you bring your cat to my house, you're here all the time anyway." I said "ok, that's a good idea, that way she won't be alone anymore" then he said "why don't you bring all your clothes over too?" I said "sure, that'll make it easier. I won't have to carry it back and forth" Then he said "why don't you move in?" and I did!) He proposed October 10, 2008 (after dating for 1 year and 3 months. It would have been sooner but his sister was getting married in August and we didn't want to steal her thunder) We're getting Married April 2010 (we will have been together 2 years and 8 months) When you know, you know. I couldn't be happier

Just a few small things you might want to bring makeup remover Books/magazines to read on the plane or the beach Purse/Small bag to bring with you on excusrions Bottle for water (Some resorts give bottles, others just give cups, personally, I like to keep good water in my room to brush my teeth with) Good luck! Have fun! Enjoy every minute of it!

Hi Sarah, One more thing to think about regarding the beach, depending on the time of day (and the shoes you're wearing) the sand might be hot Take Care Sylvie

Does this also apply to brides coming from Canada? I'm from ottawa and would love to check it out before we go! We still have plenty of time, DW isn't until April 2010

My plan is to wear a more "formal" dress for the ceremony and the pictures, then possibly change into another dress for the evening (I haven't bought anything yet, but I tend to like bigger dresses for the reception and I'm planning a boat trip in the evening, so I'm pretty sure a big fancy dress would not lend itself to that) I would trash the evening dress the next day at the resort and wear the more formal dress to the AHR. I'm thinking this is a win win situation. I get to pick 2 dresses, trash one, and keep one in perfect condition to wear again!

The flip flops are super cute! I'm sure your guests will love them! I think giving them to the guests before the ceremony is a good idea. Think of the cute picture opportunities if everyone is wearing their flip flops

Welcome to the forum! I'm also canadian Happy planning!

I love the first dress! ..mind you, the second one is also beautiful! The way I see it, your wedding is about you and your fiance. Do whatever makes you guys happy, and if that means having something non traditional, then do it!

We also met online! For us it was plentyoffish. I'd met a few guys before him and wasn't impressed....but as soon as Kirk and I met, we were inseperable! ...He's lucky I forgave him for cancelling what was supposed to be our first date and gave him a second chance! (ok, ok, I'm lucky as well)

Hi Ladies! Let me introduce myself... User Name: Lucky_Girl Name: Sylvie & Kirk Location: Sandals Ocho Rios - Jamaica Wedding: April 2010 in JA: TBD - We're waiting for rates from our TA before deciding We're still in the very early stages of planning. We've been engaged since October 10th. I don't know about you, but I've been going to Michaels and just browsing any time I can get in there! Take Care

Hi Ladies, We're planning a destination wedding at Sandals Ocho Rios in Jamaica and I was wondering what you did / what you're planning for after the ceremony. My fear is that the wedding will be anticlamactic....we'll get married on the beach, it'll be beautiful...then what?? I'm looking for ideas for what to do. I've heard from my travel agent that Sandals is fairly accomodating! So far I've thought of renting a boat for a sunset cruise for all our guest...but that's all I can think of, and it's a little bit expensive. Any ideas?

Hi Ladies, I have to say, I've spent my entire work day reading everything I could on this site! (I'm sure my boss is thrilled that I'm getting married, haha! Too bad I wasn't collecting points yet ) I already have so many good ideas thanks to the other brides! It's great to see that everyone is so willing to help and share inspirations! Since I'm new, I guess I should give you all some information about myself! 1. My name is Sylvie 2. We're getting married April 2010 (no date yet, still waiting for info from our travel agent) 3. It's going to take place in Jamaica (Most likely Sandals Ocho Rios) I hope everyone's having a great day. Good luck to everyone planning their special days!