Tonia Bruyns

I was thinking of doing that, but with pricing not available until 11 months before hand.. I was a bit skeptical. I figure with the STD's, people will know it's a destination wedding and the location as well as the time of year, without me having the complete pricing and exact dates figured out.. how are you doing your passport invites? I love the idea, but I am sooooo not creative with computers so I don't know what to do!

Yeah I'm doing a year and a half as well.. so I plan on having them out by July, that way people have plenty of time to decide and save. I was thinking of sending the actual invites as soon as we find prices for the time we are going, so like 10 or 11 months before the wedding.. lots of time for deposits and what not. Where are you going in the DR?? We have picked our wedding destination and it is the Majestic Colonial in Punta Cana!

My problem is I have no clue what a complex/fibrous carb is lol. I'm thinking the book you bought would be a great investment for me.. I'm pretty new to the whole trying to count calories thing.. the biggest thing I'm doing is just watching my carb intake, trying to lay off the processed foods and portion control.. This thread is definitely informative and helpful!

thanks for the suggestions! I do love a good salad.. I may need to invest in a salad spinner! I will try to different variations, it does get kinda bland if you use the same stuff every day! An easy favourite of mine is making tuna salad using plain greek yogurt instead of mayo, adding a bit of mustard and sliced up peppers, and putting a spoon ful of that inside half of a pitted avocado. It's crazy how much it fills you up, and it cuts out the carbs! I also love quinoa but have no idea how to make it properly so I just buy the red beet and feta cheese quinoa salad from the caf at work.. It's a lot better than the pizza pops and bagel bites I used to bring to work lol.

Awesome! Hopefully we can help each other out along the way! Have fun

Hey ladies! I'm in Ottawa and planning a wedding for January 2015! The location is up in the air and we are still looking at different places, but we have fallen in love with the Majestic Colonial in Punta Cana. It's already stressful knowing that some of our relatives don't travel and won't be able to come... but we are hopefully having a low key reception when we return to let them celebrate with us as well. There is a lot of planning at the beginning of organizing a destination wedding and my head is going crazy with where I am supposed to begin! Any help is awesome!

Just wondering if you had the template still for the envelopes and stamps that you used? I Love these and I've been wracking my brain for a way to send magnets along with a paper that has some pertinent information on it! my email is [email protected] any help would be awesome!!!!

These are beautiful! I was wondering if anyone would be able to email me the document? There is no way I will get to 150 posts without rambling on about nothing.. it would be greatly appreciated! [email protected] THANKS!

Hey! Yeah I love Ottawa I moved here 6 years ago and met my fiance shortly after. I'm also starting to think that it is more about the food I'm eating... I'm trying to be more conscious about what I put in my body, but with my crazy work schedule I really don't have the time to cook at home and make lunch and dinner for my days I'm not home until after 10. I am def going to try the videos that Moodyc82 has suggested, and work harder at the gym and in the kitchen to prepare better meals that keep me full and don't make me buy junk at work!

I have been doing some searching of this resort, and have seen some pretty bad reviews about the beach saying that it is man-made and not very smooth. Full of small crushed stones and seaweed and stuff... anyone know what the beaches are really like at this resort?? We love everything about it, but a beautiful beach is definitely on the *must have* list of things we are looking for..

I'm finding the whole exercise thing very difficult. Almost every day of the week I work 2 jobs, so I leave my place at 7am and don't get home until after 10pm. I'm able to squeeze in about a 40 minute workout during my lunch at my day job and one evening a week I play ultimate frisbee (so much running lol). But I've been working out almost 5 days a week since January, and my measurements and weight don't seem to be budging. I am seeing some results from squats and running in my legs and butt area, but my tummy is definitely my trouble area... any ideas for quick workouts?? I want a gym membership but have no time to use it, and during the day I sit at a desk most of the time.. blah. he lady I go to the gym with has already lost 10 pounds.. I am finding it super unmotivating.. any advice or tips would be awesome! You ladies sound like you are doing great!

I'm the same way with those challenges... I forget about 2 weeks in.. I go to the gym almost every day of the week at work, but I have definitely been slacking. Let us know how the wrap works! I'm tempted to give it a try!

thanks so much I think I am just going to let them know it will be destination wedding and give them a max amount to save along with the month we are thinking. I will probably have so many more questions so I'm glad I have this board and I hope I don't get annoying lol. Thanks again!

thanks so much! I'm in the same boat with my family needing more time to save. 1.5 years seems like so far in advance, but I think it's better to give people more time to save than not enough. It is hard when contacting resorts because they don't put out their pricing until about a year in advance, so we kind of have to go off of this year's prices when looking at places and hope they don't change too much. A lot of places have told me to contact them closer to the date... so I have just been telling my family that it will cost no more than $1500 and that is stretching what we actually want to make people pay... I'm concerned about not knowing pricing and contact not happening for a while.. it feels like I need to just pick a week and tell everyone now, while hoping that they will have a time slot available when it comes time for me to book. Anyone else feeling this way or found a way around this stressor??? lol

I actually have a question.. when are you guys planning to send out your save-the-dates? I want my guests to have enough time to save so I don't want to wait too long. Just wondering if anyone kind of knows a guideline when it comes to that kind of stuff?

Hey ladies, so glad I found this thread! I am also a 2015 bride and am having the hardest time trying to pick where we want our wedding. Resorts all over offer great packages and amenities for guests... We are going between the Dominican (Majestic Colonial), Jamaica and Cuba... We want it to be affordable and not a burden for our guests but a lot of them have never been on an all inclusive vacation so I still want it to be amazing and something they will remember forever. It's crazy hard to find somewhere that doesn't cost a fortune to add colours and what not to the decor without us bringing 5 extra suitcases full of decorations for the day... I look forward to talking with you guys so we can bounce ideas and pros and cons of different places and hopefully help each other find the resort of our dreams!

this is a great thread to try to stay accountable and share ideas for losing weight. I know my wedding isn't for a while, but I really want to get into shape sooner rather than later! I plan on doing the same thing with buying my dress a size or two too small for motivation, but I am also nervous that the day will come and it still won't fit!

Awesome review and pics! I love the idea of the welcome books rather than just random fact sheets in the OOT bag

Thanks! I saw that right after I posted on here

Anyone know how to check how many posts we have? I would also love to put one of these lists in my OOT bag, but feel like I will never get enough posts. If anyone is willing to send me the list via email, that would be awesome. [email protected]

THANKS for this breakdown! BIG HELP!

This is great! Thanks so much for posting this breakdown! and especially the locations to obtain the stuff!! I have been thinking of places to get blister packs of advil! AWESOME!

Hello ladies, My Fiance and I are planning to get married January 2015 (I know.. I'm being eager), but it is important to me to hash out the details about where the wedding will be ASAP so that my guests can start saving I am just wondering if any of the brides on here are able to give a quick review of the resort, flower selections, hair and make-up, steel drum band possibilities and any other helpful information about this resort? A lot of my guests have never been out of Ontario and I really want our wedding to be a memorable first vacation somewhere sunny and beautiful! Any help you cuold give would be awesome! -Tonia

wow! This was so helpful. I was losing my mind on trying to figure out where to start and this helped BIG TIME. You have done an amazing job and I'm sure your guests will love all the thought you put into your planning! Can't wait to hear about how great it all went!

Hey ladies, So I stumbled upon this thread and was reading through. This resort seems like it has a lot going for it and the WC is super helpful. I am wondering if anyone could share what is exactly included in the free wedding package they offer? I've only been able to find one with prices, and I am intrigued to know what is available in terms of upgrades with the free wedding package. ANY help would be greatly appreciated... I'm having the hardest time deciding where I want to have my wedding!