SSNM

I posted this somewhere previously but OurCostaRicaWedding.com has been great so far. Got a proposal drafted up and they will work with your specific requests. Check it out.

I am currently going through this website called OurCostaRicaWedding.com who is also teamed with CostaRicaVacation4Me.com. They put together a proposal package for me based on my particulars and budget. They don't do airfares but they do essentially plan your entire stay complete with tourist stuff to do if you wanted with all necessary transportation in between.

Quote: Originally Posted by chika Hmmm, I think if you are assuming your husband's last name anywhere it has to be everywhere as well. For example, your paycheques would need to match your bank account information, as well as your SIN card and taxes... It might be useful to give a call to the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) to see what they say about that. Of course, you could always just keep your maiden name throughout but have everyone call you by your husband's name socially. Hmm, yea I guess that would be the case. I think then what I will do is just tack his name on at the end of mine without a hyphen and then that should be the least disruptive. So I will be legally Dr. "maiden name FH". Most people would call me Dr. "maiden name" in my professional life and then I can be Mrs. "FH" socially. Thanks for the response

All the places I looked at so far said they conducted the ceremony in spanish (mind you I didn't look at very many). What your TA said is probably accurate. They do translate the ceremony but the minister/officiant does speak the native tongue unless you are able to find an english-speaking minister. I would ask the WC at the places you are considering to see if they can arrange an english ceremony.

Quote: Originally Posted by natashakc Gosh, I just sent all my docs and $300USD to WEDO, so I hoep to God that they are legitimate. I guess I'll soon find out:) Should be as long as they get them legalized by the D.R. embassy in the country that you live. From what I understand, they basically do the paperwork for you and get them legalized by the embassy (again it has to be where you live or that is where the "invalidness" comes in). Just to clarify an earlier post, the $360 fee I quote seems to be in USD not CAD (why I am being quoted USD from a D.R. embassy in Canada is beyond me...even the D.R.'s currency is in pesos). Anyway, I will post an info pack they sent me. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WEDDING INFORMATION (REQUIREMENTS FOR CANADIANS).doc

I bought a used bed frame and I love it! It will be the bed I will eventually share with my fiance. Don't worry about your mom's comments. I plan on buying a lot of used furniture when my fiance and I move in together. Tell your mom to buy the new bed set if she wants you to have one.

Quote: Originally Posted by krishna69z Yup, it's amazing what you can find on Craigslist these days :-) lol...that is an awesome quote! Please share...was it through the "missed encounters" section? For that matter, has anyone ever met anyone this way? I read about them in the newspaper and always wondered...'does anyone ever get a successful response to these?'

Or you can do that...personally I would prefer to have the ceremony be the real deal if I am asking people to pay out to see the ceremony...but that is a personal choice. To add to my previous post, the $360 charge is for the translation and legalization of both you and your future spouse's documents. I am not sure if it includes notarization if you go to the embassy directly.

So I called the Dominican Republic Embassy in Canada who told me that: 1. If you have never been married, divorced, widowed, or had a name change, you only need your birth certifricate, passport, and sworn affidavit stating you are single. Only the birth certifricate and the affidavit needs to be translated. 2. One can send their copies to the embassy to do the legalization and the translation for $360 CAD. If you send it by mail, make sure that (a) it is notarized and ( you include a postage-prepaid envelop for them to send the copies back. If you walk it in personally (they are in Ottawa) then there is someone there who can notarize it for you. I am unsure if there is a fee. 3. There is a consulate in Toronto who can also provide the above service although I do not know what their fees are. I believe a couple of BDW'ers are looking into that and I will do the same and post it when I get the information. 4. DRSI and WEDO are private businesses who basically take care of the paper work for you and charge a fee that seems to be a lot higher than if you deal with the embassy directly. Both of these companies must send your documents to the embassy in your country anyway for legalization. I believe a previous poster already confirmed this with the Toronto consulate. So in short, the paper work does not seem as daunting as it initially did, but it is a bit more work than if you wanted to get married in, say, Jamaica. Hope that helps someone.

Hopefully, you are right Kathy. Truth be told, I personally don't care if my marriage EVER gets recognized as legal. I just care that I can have a nice wedding overseas. I am just afraid that I will be caught in a viscious loop hole of no marriage certifricate-no symbolic ceremony, no birth certifricate-no legal ceremony. And since I would have to wait 10+ weeks to get my license in Canada (1 day for license, 10 weeks for registration, 6 days for rushed certifricate)...by then the allure would be gone and would really take away from the whole event for me. I guess another option is elope secretly to city hall, wait for the papers to come through, then just plan symbolic ceremony...again, that just sounds so sucky to me but I may have no other recourse

Thanks a lot guys... Yes, he has a passport and a drivers' license and a Canadian citizenship card so he has plenty of proof that he is who he is...I am just not sure if these places tend to put emphasis on the birth certifricate or if they will accept other forms of ID. I would like to get married in either Jamaica or Dominican (Dominican if the costs for Jamaica are too high). Jamaica would be WAY easier in order to avoid all of the excess legal fees that the DR seems to have. I guess I will have to plead my case with all the resorts and see what they can do for us...I'll definately keep you posted. I really want a DW...if not, I'll seriously cancel my wedding and do city hall and a big honeymoon.

Okay, so my FH was born in Bangladesh and he has lost his birth certifricate. I have yet to come across a DW location that did not ask for a birth certifricate. He is unable to request another copy. Is there any way to work around this? I feel like all my DW planning and researching has been for naught now. I mean, we could have a legal marriage here and do a symbolic at a DW but a) I don't see the point in making our guests pay so much money just to see a symbolic ceremony Even if I was okay with (a), I am not sure if the timelines between getting a married in Canada and getting the marriage license is in our favour (if it takes months to get the marriage license that most resorts want to see before they do a symbolic ceremony, what is the point)? Any advice would be great. I feel very upset right now

Thanks for the postings! Really helpful!

OMG I can't believe this thread started over two years ago. I got engaged March 2009 and decided to get married in eithe May or August 2010. Did I set my date too early?? In fairness, I was planning a local wedding until I realized how expensive it will be and decided to do a destination instead to keep costs down (and so my FH and I can have a blast at the same time)! But seriously, is this realistic, or do I really have to haul A$$

I met my fiance through the MSN chat room 6 years ago. I had just come out of a relationship and was just looking for good conversation. We really talked well together and eventually met up (turned out we lived in the same area!). I really don't know the exact moment when things went from just friends to more than friends but somehow it happened within 3 months of chatting. Only a few people know how we really met because we were both self-conscious about it at the time. We are still a bit self-conscious (especially because I don't remember which people I told the truth and which people I told something else)! I think, however, it is definately a more practical way to find someone especially if you don't get out a lot. I wouldn't change a thing about how we met because I would want the result to be the same

I can't WAIT to be in your shoes! Congrats

Thanks for the input guys! Most appreciated. I got in contact with a couple of the wedding coordinators there. The first one I talked to was nice to deal with. The other, who I believe was covering for the first while she was on vacation, was a bit ify..I called and she sounded like I was bothering her with my questions. Then she put me on hold and never came back to the phone. Now if she was busy, I can appreciate that, but just say so and don't make me hold the line. Anyway, hopefully she won't be there if I choose to get married there. I looked at their packages and it does seem that your money goes a good distance with them wedding wise. It seems like a nice option for the budget bride who still wants all the perks. I started to look into sunset beach and grand pallidium but I think I am mind numbed right now from all this research. It has pretty much consumed me to the point where I seriously think I have an addiction issue...gonna take a few days off of this planning stuff to address the rest of my life to make sure it doesn't fall into shambles :-s For anyone else who might be interested in Holiday Inn for a wedding, the website is: Holiday Inn Resort Montego Bay - Weddings Island Style!. Most, if not all of the prices must have 16.5% tax added as well as 10% service fee. Rental surcharges for the reception are between $60-$150 USD depending on where you have it (beach is most expensive since they have to take everything out; the balcony/lobby is $80 and the ballroom is $60). Holiday Inn does seem like it is in close proximity to the Iberostar, so anyone who is having a wedding there and needs a less expensive resort option for their guests may want to consider recommending this resort. On that note, anyone not staying at the holiday Inn does not have to pay to attend a wedding at the holiday Inn unless they want to use the resort ammenities; another useful feature for guests.

Sounds like even though they do a lot of weddings, you will still enjoy the day simply because it is YOUR DAY. I'm stoked for the day I look my love in the eyes and profess my uncondition devotion to him. I won't even care about the other weddings going on. I am counting on being a teary, blubbering mess when I get married and I can't wait!

I know what you mean. The gazebo is naturally picturesque requiring minimal decorations but it doesn't always work in all cases. I, personally, would prefer a chuppah or an arch on the beach. I think it is one of those things where you would have to see pictures. I have on from the Iberostar so you can get a sense. Iberostar Wedding_Locations_H2-BEACH[2].pdf

Geez, now I don't know whether to feel calm or nervous. It seems that the dates I am interested in are also of interest by many other brides. Should I book off my wedding date first, or determine flight and accomodations first? I would hate to do one only to find out that it doesn't work with the other.

It does, thank you! So from the description, I would say it is adequate, but not up to the likes of something like RIU or beaches. Is it better than starfish? I heard starfish looks unimpressive from the outside. Does Holiday Inn at least have a nice look to it?

Quote: Originally Posted by NegrilLB Stay-C, The wedding fee and $18pp includes the chair covers and decorations. This is what I have in a document from them: "Included in the package you have the decoration of the wedding area, which includes white sheer fabrics, artificial ivy and flowers, chairs for all the guests with white covers and a tie-bow (gold or silver) and a white or red runner. For the Beach location we also offer a bamboo canopy (Huppa)." I'm not sure about the cake though. I know I saw somewhere that the free cake is for 8 people, so I don't know how much it is for a large cake. Maybe one of the past brides on here knows? This is the cake info I have: "You can choose your wedding cake during the wedding meeting in the hotel. Our standard cake comes in two different shapes: square or round, both covered in a white frosting and decorated fresh flowers, matching the bridal bouquet. As per the flavors, you can choose between vanilla cake, chocolate cake, fruit cake or strawberry cheesecake. Other options could be available with an extra charge." Thanks so much for the reply! I emailed them, so hopefully I will hear back soon. When I do, I will let you guys know what they told me. Cheers!

Quote: Originally Posted by amberlynne87 I completely understand if you only want immediate family and close friends at your wedding, but this is a once in a lifetime event (or at least should be). You would be surprised at who would want to be apart of this or even who won't. Overall, I think it would be greatly appreciated by everyone to at least receive the invite to your wedding regardless if they show or not. I had this thought originally until I saw that my budget severely limits the amount of people I can host at my DW. So instead of inviting 100+ people to my DW (my original plan) I think I can honestly only invite my closest family and friends up to my max amount. It would be most embarrassing if it turned out that a lot more people showed up than you anticipated and then you had to either break the bank, or worse, un-invite people or even cancel your wedding plans.

I too have a goal of 5-10K for my wedding but that is proving to be nearly impossible. Some of the things pushing my budget up include the fact that I am paying for all 6 of my bridesmaid dresses (which will double as their gift) and the fact that I am having two ceremonies (one bengali one in Toronto and then my DW). The two ceremonies include two different outfits for myself and the groom and we will be serving dinner at both. I am also pushing for a higher end resort to ensure that my guests have a quality time. However, I may just dumb that down a bit to keep costs lower for everyone. In any case, my budget is looking like it will be realistically between $11 - $13K CAD inclusive of taxes, gratuities, and all wedding related costs. The only thing not included is the cost of my e-ring at $3500 which came with a wedding band for myself. My fiance and I are footing 100% of the costs and are not footing the bill for anyone else's travel. We are adding very little to no extras to our wedding packages for which the cost is looking to be between $2000-$3000 inclusive of a semi-private dinner and cake for all 40 of our anticipated guests. No excursions or group activities have been planned that cost extra (will just do dinner reservations on resort and/or do group resort activities part of the all-inclusive). We will do basic OOT bags. I have allotted money for videography and photography although I may get BIL to do videography and save money. No DJ, no ipod; may just go to the resort night clubs to dance it up. I will do my own hair and make-up (my hair is short so it can't do the fancy up-dos anyway, and I have enough make-up saavy family that I don't need to pay for this). My bengali ceremony is probably the more fuzzy part of my budget since I haven't itemized pricing yet, however it is going to be very low key, private (<50 people), and prolly in my fiance's home so I don't see it running us more than $2000 inclusive of food (some ordered (~$300), some cooked by parents), decor (fiance's dad is pretty good with decor), drinks (non-alcoholic since fiance's family is muslim), outfits (~$720) and the Imam to do the ceremony (prolly $200-300). If there is room in the budget, I will "splurge" on someone to wrap my sari and do my make-up for $150, but I can do this myself anyway. My mom will drive me to his place and the ceremony will start While I have definately cut out a lot of things that I would have liked to have added, my fiance and I also need to save for moving out of our parents home into our own and we need to buy a car. And, if I am honest, I may even choose to turn the DW into a honeymoon just to keep costs further down if I see it is getting out of hand. Hope that gives some context to our budget. It is one thing to quote a number, but I think when you take everything into consideration (i.e. who is paying, # guests, what is included/not included) it is better appreciated.

Hi, I also have package info for Sunset Montego Bay, but there seem to be a lot of holes...can't seem to determine what the prices include. If I can post it, I will and maybe someone can make heads or tails about it.