ntlsnow

Hey ladies!! It's been a while since I have been on here. So much has been going on! We have had a few deaths in the family and between work and finishing school this semester I am TOAST! LOL. I have not done a thing with the wedding in the past month and a half so I am ready to get in gear now. My dress is finally in! YAY! Just have to go on an extreme diet before the fitting, with all of the things I have had to deal with these past 2 months, my weight gain is just disgusting... :-( How is everyone doing?? I am so sorry to hear about the trouble you are having with Transat...I hope both of you can get it settled and wishing you less stress! I cannot imagine going through that. My group still has until October to book but I am sending the final invites out in a few weeks with a September date so I can buy more for my OT bags. But I think booking here in the U.S. is different than in Canada. TTYS girls!

Let know what you find out. I will talk to my TA as well. Oh and FYI ladies - if you did not get approval to bring an outside photgrapher onto the resort in 2013, you will not be able to. Be sure to bring this up to the wedding coordinator!!! I fortunately got Yinette to agree to let me bring my photgrapher on the resort for $50.

I was starting to sweat reading this over here! Thank goodness! I was wondering why they would have renovations at their busiest time of year! That made no sense to me! I am getting married in January and now I am not freaking out as much. Thanks for checking on that Alicia. :-)

I was thinking this too. I want sundresses, line pants, etc too..Beach business??? LOL I am kidding, Ill keep thinking about it.

SO TRUE....my FI is one my greatest friends and has been a SAVIOR to me with dealing with some "friends" and family that are either rude or decided not to go. This whole comment is great advice to remember... :-)

I am also getting married in Janaury 2013, for 7 nights/8 days for my guests it is $1300 - $1400 pp with flight, taxes, hotel, and transfer. But I don't know if it is different in Canada than the U.S. Looking at Ocean Blue prices for the year though, I haven't seen under $1000 at all for 7 nights. Other resorts yes, but not here. That $1884 seems high though. I did notice that once you got into February prices went up drastically.

That's a great idea. I know for sure the Detroit Tigers have Dominican players on their team and there are plenty of hats around here.

I went to Punta Cana, DR last June (different resort). You do not have to tip by any means BUT I found out that a few dollars goes a long way. For instance, we tipped a great bartender a few times and the rest of the 7 days we were there he always took care of us. Same thing with the maid, we would leave a few dollars everytime we left the room (sometimes a gracias note) and we would have extra towels, extra items in the mini fridge, and one time a beautfil bouquet of flowers from her. So while it is not customary, I would suggest tipping. It doesnt have to be every time you order anything, but a few dollars here and there and they are beyond grateful. They work crazy hours and for 24 days straight I believe so I wore my heart on my sleeve and tipped them. They are very appreciative people. :-) Hope this helps!

Thank you for the tips ladies!!

Dang, I know for sure I will not have 100 people...otherwise that is a great deal!

Good Morning Alicia! :-) That is great to know about the bubba kegs. I will have to go check out the Walmarts around me, I did not know they carried them. I really have no color preference if I can find them all. OOT BAG question: What size bag are you looking to get? I have seen some pretty big beach type bags on here that are really nice (the cotton canvas ones) but I have yet to find any that are not expensive. Side note: I didn't know shipping to Canada was that big of a difference...I know it is another country but it must be because it is faster for me to go to Canada than any other state! I used to go to Windsor all of the time or sometimes Sarnia too. It takes me less time to get to either of those places in Canada than the states surrounding MI. LOL!

I don't have them yet, still looking! Trying to find a decent deal on some, even though I know they will be the costly item, from what I hear they are the biggest hit!

I will have my stats to you by then. I feel like I have been slacking. With all of the stress of the wedding, family, work, school, etc. I have not been motivated as much as I should be. Especially seeing as I have less time than all of you! Ugh. I hate feeling like this, this is when I turn to junk food. Haven't yet but I am at a weak point. Thank you so much for this thread, reading through it this morning has been very helpful. :-)

That's a good idea.

Alicia - I am so excited to do the OOT bags and I plan on doing what you are doing. Focusing more on the insulated mugs and keyhoders than anything. About how much are those bubba kegs?? I am interested in using those over anything else. alittlerandr - Love the drawstring bag idea, I found some on abcdistrubuting.com but they were all girly, i should order some though at least for the girls I know that are going. I want to start looking at items on clearance for these bags but I really have no idea what the guest count would be. Once I have a better idea I will start buying more items. Thank you for the Vistaprint suggetion for the brochure, I am going to check that out too.

Talked with the FI about this last night...he said almost exactly what you just said. lol. Regular room and if we get it, we get it. It really is quite a bit more, I checked again yesterday. If we get it great, if not, we will still have a great time. :-)

I was thinking about going to MAC and having them do my makeup how I would want it for the wedding and seeing what tips or advice they offer. Then buy the products they use. LOL. I know it will be a pretty penny but its my wedding and I dont want my every day makeup.

Right? They do look amazing. I am going mention that to my TA. I really like the Honeymoon suites!

Michigan bride here!

That is one of the things that I do not get. When my FI and I first started talking about doing a Destination wedding last year...so many peopel were all about it. They were so excited, so happy, and all of these people couldnt wait to go. Then the information is out and people avoid you. Why not just tell me that you cannot go? Don't tell me "this is such a great idea, I wouldve done it, I cannot wait to go," and then do a 180 and ignore us. Honestly some people cannot go, I get that, I understand it, and I have no hard feelings to most. But when very close friends and family start turning on you...it hurts. And like everyone has said so far...it is nice to not feel alone in this. I do think this though...after our wedding, after the honeymoon, we will come back from the most amazing vacation in our lives and say..."why did I even care? Eff the people that were rude and ignored us". At least I hope...LOL! Quote: Originally Posted by Krysta lee ann wow it's nice to realise you are not alone in this..... we had all of my FI's groomsman say YES right away but then when it came time to book they started avoiding him completely!! one told us he couldnt go because his FI just lost a job (she has like 3) and he couldnt afford to pay for her too which was fine. but a week later she was working at another place but nope they arent coming. then my FI's other groomsman is totally avoiding us! wont answer texts, calls, emails, FB msgs, or Xbox msgs!!! my question is that if you are unsure if you can come why say YES right away to being a groomsman. i know my FI is upset, really upset, but is trying to hide his disappointment in his friends. His aunt and uncle did the same thing to him too!! they have been buggin and joking about us getting married for years!!!! we have always told them we are doing destination and told them to start saving a couple years ago to which they said they wouldnt miss this for the world! well what do you think happened.....they arent coming cause they cant afford it! wth! its crazy how unconsiderate people can be!!! lying to us and telling us you want to come and are coming but having no intention to come is just stupid! dont people realise being upfront and honest is all we want. everyone who plans a destination wedding understands some ppl just wont be able to come and we are prepared for that. it is when they keep telling us they are comign or the 'want' to come and then avoid us or keep deferring the questions is when we get upset! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Are all of you doing OOT bags and brochures too? I am! All I know so far is that I want lanyards with keyhoders and insulated mugs.

That is what we are doing as well! LOL. Normal room and trying for an upgrade. Our TA suggested that too. She said there is no reason to pay that much for that Honeymoon suite (even though I am in love with it...outdoor shower, 2 levels, huge bathtub in front of a window, and a huge canopy bed?!?!?). I do love the suite though, it is really nice!

I added random info on my webite like spanish phrases as well, posting them on there helped me practice as well. LOL. I cannot believe they wanted a deposit for the rooms, I have never had to do that before with a TA. That sounds ridiculous. I am doing my own boarding pass invites and actually having a good time doing them. They are a TON of work but I like doing things like that so it doesnt bother me! Just in the design phase now, deciding the pictures and fonts, then I will work on what I want them to say. It really is fun.

Welcome to all the new Ocean Blue Brides! We are filling up the calendar very well... :-)

These are AWESOME! I want to redo the ones I already sent...LOL. Great job, they are seriously really cool.