katman

Such great ideas. Hindsight's always 20/20. Thanks for sharing your forgotten items ladies

Another file I can't wait to download!! Man, these are adding up lol Thanks so much to acireta and other brides who have shared their amazing resources This site is amazing....and the people on it are even better!! Cheers!

The extensions might be a good idea!! (Although, I wouldn't have the first clue how to put them in, so same as you, would be relying on the salon). I know I don't even have enough hair to do a half-up type do...so that may be a good solution. Any thin/fine hair brides have pictures or suggestions to share? Quote: Originally Posted by lmadore I have fine hair, it has a wave but i know full well it wont keep a curl for a whole day through humidity. When I think about my hair do I think I would like something half up, but then my practical mind starts thinking about it being windy and if it will continue to look as nice through the day. I dont know about maybe having clip in extension to add some volume for a nice up do. And hope that the salon would know how to put it in and make it look nice.

I'm also in the process of attempting to narrow down resort options (a seemingly impossible task at this stage...) but am trying to come at it in the form of an excel spreadsheet. We are in the very early stages of planning, but so far have narrowed the location down to somewhere in the Mayan Riviera/Cancun area. What I've been trying to do (and it's a very slow and tedious process) is come up with a chart that compares important features of the resorts we are potentially interested in. I've created column headings like; - distance from airport, size of resort, # of restaurants, # of pools, wedding ceremony locations, etc.... (There's MANY more columns, and the list is still growing) I may sound like a huge type-A nerd right now, lol, but I find the chart to be a good visual to help lay all the information out side-by-side. So far, I only have the whole chart complete for 3 resorts...but it's slowly coming along. I was wondering if anyone else has gone at the resort selection this way? If so, does anyone mind sharing their charts (or at least their templates?) with other brides-to-be?

Hahaha I LOVE IT!! I need to make my way out to Winnipeg more often! I'm living in Alberta at the moment, but am originally from Southern Ontario. Judging by your explanation, Stag & Does are pretty similar to a wedding social, but generally not quite as big. Considered kind of like male/female bridal shower (why we choose to refer to the male and female of the DEER species is completely beyond me...) but instead of gifts, everyone just buys tickets/drinks/games/raffles to support the couple. Tickets are still sold to friends of friends of friends and so on...but usually a couple hundred people attend TOPS lol (Sounds like you Winnipeg folk know how to paaaarty!!). The only concern with a stag & doe, is that it is generally the wedding party who do the planning (with some help from the wedding couple here and there), and I don't know if that would be too much to ask. But you make a great point....any reason to let loose and have a great time (especially when drinks are cheap..) is usually welcome by most! Haha, Thanks for the input!!

Facebook! Of course....the answer to all life problems! lol Thanks for the tip

Hey Dazeydawl, We do the wedding social thing (stag'n'doe) where we're from too but wasn't sure what the etiquette on this was for DW's. Is it still acceptable to raise money for the wedding when many guests are already paying lots to attend (or unable to attend due to funds?). I feel that most of our friends would be okay with it (any excuse to have a good time/party...) but not sure if the majority of people will find this cheap?

Not a bad deal really. Were you happy with the products?

THANK YOU!! Very much appreciated!

Thanks for the reply If any of your single guests HAD decided to bring a +1, would you have had them at the wedding reception etc? I feel it would be rude not to, but at the same time if it puts us over budget by adding the extra meals etc... although, maybe I'm just over thinking it...if they come, they should be invited. The more the merrier I suppose

Some great ideas here. I think the more "personal" gifts are truly the sweetest...the photos/videos/cards etc....awesome ideas. Parents are sure to love items like this. If it in the budget, the day trip ideas are really great too! Creating beautiful memories.

This is a really helpful thread. I have been humming & hawing over this one...We have a lot of young guests who are single/not in serious relationships and I'm not sure if our budget will allow for accommodating everyones +1 for the wedding festivities. Did you all include +1 on the invitation or just addressed the issue if/when guests requested to bring someone along? Quote: Originally Posted by maridr2012 They will bring the date on vacation and immediately after our reception everyone will re-group at the disco. Hopefully if we get enough declines I may be able to include them! I think that's a good idea - if space opens up due to other invitees RSVPing "no" then why not fill in with others +1!! Great thought.

I agree with JayKay - I would definitely send each of your siblings their own invitations. First off, it makes it feel a little bit more special for them knowing that you think of them as adults and important people to be involved in your special day. And secondly, some people like to hang-on to wedding invites as keepsakes, so this gives that option to each of your sibs. As for the "plus one"...I'm struggling with this as well. A lot of our guests will be a younger crowd, and quite a few of them are single/not in serious relationships. As our guests will be paying their own travel expenses, I feel that we should offer the "plus 1" option (although the more people the more extras we will have to add to our wedding package of course). What's the norm for single guests for a DW? Anyone have experience with this?

Excuse my ignorance...but I can't seem to find out how to access the BDW travel agents page. I am a Canadian bride-to-be (currently living in Alberta - but most family/friends/guests are from the Niagara, Ontario area) in the VERY early stages of planning. FI and I are leaning towards using a TA as we think we will have a group of 40+ people travel ling to our DW. We have not decided on a resort at this point, and feel that maybe it is time to turn to a TA for help with this process. As we don't have too many narrowed down, we are looking for someone who going to give us fair reviews/quotes/etc. on a variety of AI properties (looking at the Riviera Maya/Cancun area) without pushing us towards a specific company. Does anyone have recommendations for how soon to get involved with a TA? Is it better to have someone you can meet with in person, or does electronic communication make that irrelevant? And would someone be able to direct me to the BDW TA page? Thanks to all who have posted on this topic!!

Thanks for the review! I noticed you're Canadian as well, so no probs with shipping to Canada then? Did you have to pay for the swatches?

For those of us with just a little extra around the middle...anyone seen any one piece bride suits? lol The pre-wedding boot camp can only get us so far... haha

Did anyone feel the need to "run-it-by" people first before making the official DW decision? We know it's what we want, but there are also some "key players" we want to be able to share our special day with...should we just get the feeler out on those special people before announcing to EVERYONE that it will be a DW?

awesome ideas, thanks for the links for the books...I like the idea of something custom made to match your wedding theme but still have the spontaneity of instant guest photos!

Would you ladies recommend using a TA you can meet with in person or using one of the TA's from this site (which I have heard great things about)? Also, I'm not sure about when to enlist the help of a TA as we are very early in our planning process. How do they charge for their services (Or is that taken care of via commission from the resort we book with)? Help ... lol

Some really great ideas! Our bank has an option to "bank the rest" and we have just started to use this feature...all transactions on our debit card are rounded up (by a predetermined amount - either the nearest 1$, nearest 5$ or nearest 10$) and deposited into a savings account. Small bits here and there really do add up.

PurpleUnicorn I think you pulled off the flower and veil combo beautifully!! Thanks for posting the photos! The photos posted so far seem to be brides with curly and/or thick hair. Anyone out there with thin, fine, horribly straight hair like myself? lol I'm worried because my options will be so limited.

Just curious, with the wedding in the morning, will your reception immediately follow your ceremony or will your day be divided and the reception held at night? That would leave tons of time for photos!

This is such a cute idea!! How did you collect everyones songs beforehand? Just through word of mouth or did you include a section for this on your website/RSVP card?

MJKH, I love the tip about taking pictures of the scenery....I mean, that's part of most peoples reason for a DW anyway, so why not make a point of highlighting it in your photo albums!? Especially for use as transition pieces and simply to draw attention to the beauty of your destination! Thanks for this wonderful tip

Consignment store!!! Great idea! I know I don't have one in my immediate area, but the city I will be wedding dress shopping in has one for sure!! YAY. lol And definitely appreciate the tip on finding someone who does alterations out of their home. I was browsing prices at some of the bridal boutiques and even the local tailors and they seem pretty steep! Thanks for the advice!!