DEH83

yes, these are the pictures Carolina sent me. They only have these 3 colours.

We're not exactly doing OOT bags either. It's just too pricey. We have 30+ people, so what we have done is get each guest a Bubba Keg, and they will have our monogram on them. I'm also giving each female guest foot jewellery, but I'm unsure of what to give to the guys - ideas?

 

I think I might do a small favour for the reception, but nothing huge.

 

Oh, and here are the pictures of the chair sashes I promised - Iwas having problems uploading pics before.

 

Orange sashes

 

Gold Sashes (This is Sea Princess' wedding)

 

Green Sashes

hey guys, where abouts on PalladiumAddict are the photos - I can't seem to find them...

 

I'm very excited about this gazebo. I too am torn because I had pictured myself getting married on the beach, but this gazebo sounds amazing!

Carribean Lover; We're getting married by a judge in the early afternoon, and then having our ceremony with Pastor Rick York later in the day. It seems like no one ever gets the same information! But I'm glad it worked out for you!

 

Is anyone else using a minister down there or is everyone using just the judge?

 

Nonnie: I emailed Carolina about the chair sashes, and yes, they do supply them, but you only have a choice of 3 colours: gold, emeral green or orange. I have pictures of them, so i will post them tonight when I get home. None of these are my wedding colours, but i think I will settle for something, as I don't want to go to the trouble to bring my own down there.

Hey CarribeanLover,
I can't imagine that you will have a problem with your wedding date if I understand you correctly. There is no minimum amount of time you have to be in the Dr to get married - just what the resort likes and from my previous conversations - Carolina was pretty flexible. They just like to have the time to prepare once you're there. We are going on a Saturday and having our wedding on the Wednesday, but we were offered the Tuesday for a wedding day too, so you should be fine. But I know! It's hard when you just want to know 100% that it's alright!

So I had mentioned before that i was really liking the Caprice by Maggie. After trying it on 4 times within 2 weeks, I kind of just stop looking. This is totally my dress and I love it! I fell in love with Maggie dresses as soon as I discovered them!

 

Caprice - by Maggie Sottero

I personally think this is a great idea. Pictures are probably THE most important part for me about my wedding. I tried contacting Photo Souvenir because I heard so many gread things about them, but they never contacted me again. I had debated bringing our own photographer down as well, but then it turned out that my friend who is a photographer (and whose work i love), was able to come down, and offered to do our wedding week as our wedding gift to us, so I am very happy in the end, and it was free!

But Isy-Beau, if I hadn't done this, I so would have been in! 1300.00 is a good price, and I've seen her work - it's fantastic! It will be nice too, since she is from Ottawa, so you won't feel rushed when selecting your packages and such.

Nice to see another Bride from Ottawa - your one day after me!

I'm still unsure of where I want the ceremony as well. I think I would really love a beach wedding, but Carolina has also told me that they are building another gazebo near the beach, and that sounds pretty good too!

 

A question for the rest of you: Has Carolina confirmed times, or restauarants with any of you? Trying to get any kind of commitment out of her seems pretty difficult. We have the judge for sure at 1pm, but we have requested to have our actual ceremony later in the day (we are having Pastor York perform the ceremony which our guests will attend). Carolina has told me that there is another wedding that day, so she can't confirm anything until our arrival. I don't really get this because I would assume that it would be better to coordinate beforehand. All she has said is that she can take my requests and preferences into consideration...

 

I understand things are much more laid back down there, and I don't mind some compromise so that the other bride can have a wonderful day as well, but I also don't want to be left with the "leftovers" - you know what I mean?

 

So have any of you guys been able to confirm a restaurant, a ceremony time and/or location?

My name is Dianne. I was born in Oshawa ON but lived in a little fishing village in NS since I was 5. I went to school in Quebec where i met my fiancé, and now live in Ottawa now live in Ottawa where he is from.

 

nice to see so many other Canadian Brides!

This is my dress as well! I just ordered it last week. I too was wondering about what my fiancé should wear and was initially thinking a linen suit, but we decided against it in the end, because the linen can wrinkle a lot, and he'll be more comfrotable in something not as heavy. We went with cotton pants from Banana republic, not quite brown and not quite tan, and a shirt from there as well, that has cuffs built in to roll the shirt up to the elbows. It looks really sharp, and dressy enough, yet casual. I find that as long as you buy good quality clothing, even if it is casual, it will still look classy enough to be beside such a wonderful dress!

I also bought my bubba kegs this week - 40 of them at Canadian tire half price! The lady there was great, she took out all the stock they had in the back and let me pick through the colours. I had a lot of people staring at me like i was a crazy lady with a cart full of mugs, but I'm so happy I got them on sale, and all at one store.

 

Now to try and figure out how I can get our monogram on them. I think I heard of some sort of sticker/transfer that would work..anyone have ideas?

Thanks for all the adivce ladies. I really don't want to purchase my dress too small, and my dress takes 4 to 5 months to get in, so I don't really have a lot of time to wait and have time for alterations.

 

Amarillis, it's comforting to hear that your dress was able to be taken in, even if it did cost a lot in alterations. That's really my concern is that it won't be able to be altered.

I know, it is normally a big no-no in wedding dress shopping to purchase your gown too small. They say it can always be re-sized to fit, but how much can actually be taken in?

 

I am planning on ordering this dress: Caprice - by Maggie Sottero

 

It does not have a corset back, and I am not entirely sure how much will be able to be taken in without it being an issue.

I have just started a very aggressive weightloss program with a trainer that I will be doing until my wedding in April. Our goal together is for me to lose at least 30 pounds, and I am fully confident that I will do this.

 

So my question to you wise ladies - should I buy my dress smaller or for my current size? Will it be able to be taken in enough without ruining it? Did anyone else buy their dress too small?

Yes! That's what I love about it too. It has the really sexy back of the Reese, but a more formal front. My friend called it the "Mullet of wedding dresses" because I described it as business in the front and party in the back! (I have a strange sense of humor...)

It really is stunning on if you can find it. on the model too, because of the way she is standing, you don't see how well it flows, it is an a-line shape, not just straight. I love it!

So I haven't been looking for too too long for my wedding dress, but I think I have found my dress! I actually tried it on the first time I went dress shopping and subsequently have tried it on 4 more times...so I'm thinking it's my dress. I haven't found anything I like even remotely as much as I love this dress It's from Maggie's fall 2009 line, called "Caprice" and it is a take on the Reese dress.

 

Caprice - by Maggie Sottero

 

So now it's just a matter of choosing which place to order it from!

Speaking of emails from Carolina, have any of you heard from her lately? I emailed her almost 2 weeks ago and haven't heard back from her (I'm sneaky too and put read recipts on my emails to her, and the email hasn't been read). I normally hear back from within a day. So maybe she is just on vacation or something. But I thought I would just check in here to see if it's just me...

I'm with you guys on the low planning before hand. When i first began to look into a DW and found this amazing site, I was thinking that I would have a lot of planning to do, and I was initially looking forward to it, even though we said we wanted to go away so we wouldn't have to plan. But now that we have almost everyone booked, and have our date, I really don't think I want to do a lot of detailed planning.

 

The reason my fiancé and I chose a DW was for the simplicity it could offer, and i was getting carried away and forgetting why we were doing it. So my main goal of this whole process is to really just chill out and let things happen as they do, and just enjoy the moment. Which is a very hard thing for me as I am a planner, so this is a great learning experience!

I've decided to try this diet starting today. I think tomorrow will be tough. I thought this would be a good way to boost my weight loss quickly to help motivate me to get back to a healthy lifestyle. Summer has been a little rough!

Hi Chantelle,

That's not true. I suppose it might depend on the tour operator, but we got both the early booking bonus and group rate offered to us by our TA. Our early booking bonus was a very minimal "bonus" however. So we decided to go with the group rate only, so people still had 45 days prior to the vacation instead of paying 4 months in full in advance.

Hi Shanti, that's not true. I suppose it might depend on the tour operator, but we got both the early booking bonus and group rate offered to us by our TA. Our early booking bonus was a very minimal "bonus" however. So we decided to go with the group rate only, so people still had 45 days prior to the vacation instead of paying 4 months in full in advance.

For those ladies that were married already at the GP - were you married in the Gazebo or on the beach? I have concerns about both now from reading some comments!!

 

On the beach, i hear there is a security guard that keeps the "lurkers" at bay. But what about wind? was you hair and dress blowing all over the place?

 

And the gazebo - I have hear about it being close to the pool...but also we are looking at about 40 guests. I know now that there is space for them around the gazebo, but can they actually see what's happening inside the gazebo?

 

Thank you!!

We are also doing a group booking. I really like the idea because it makes it a lot easier to keep track of who is actually coming vs who says they are coming - there can be a difference! What we did is book enough spots for the amount we were sure to get and then people can call the TA after, so it does not have to be done within the 7 days.

 

We went with Sunwing as our tour operator. Originally we were told the 7 day thing too. However our TA said their policy changed and that as long as you book the minimum 10 people, that the price will stay the same for people who book later, unless it goes down, then they get the cheaper rate. Wit our group rate too, for every 15 people, we get a free seat!

 

Why we went ahead and booked 32 spots, most have names to them and some don't but we know we will be able to fill them. The reason we did this is because the tour operators only have so many rooms at the hotel, and others had booked for the same week with Sunwing. By booking as a group, my TA has told me it is easier to ensure that we get our group reserved.

 

Of course we're still waiting for the final confirmation, which is scary....my fingers and toes are crossed.

Military Mrs., I believe that the chairs do have covers included for the ceremony. Carolina sent me the package choices (2009 rates, mind you), and covered chairs and decorates tables was included in the package. I think they have coloured sashes that you can choose from, but I don't know what the selection is yet.

That's what I was afraid of too! I don't really want men in speedos in the background. Carolina sent me some pictures of the gazebo and it looks really beautiful, and that it would be easy to keep more private. I too, will check with her about how it would work for a larger crowd. I'll let you know!

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure where we are getting married. I love the idea of the beach, but I'm afraid it will be too windy...and the Gazebo - does anyone know how they set this are up? We have about 30-40 people going, and I'm not sure it would be big enough.

 

I've seen lots of great photos from Photosouvenir. I emailed them but they never got back to me. Fortunately though, my good friend who is a photographer offered to do our wedding for us.

 

If you bring a photographer from offsite, the day pass is 60USD according to Carolina, but if the photog is traveling with you, there is no charge.