snswedding2016

Hey ladies! I should be there by 6pm. I worked from home today so I'll be a little later than if I was coming from work but I'll be there pretty close to the same time.

@@vancouverpetunia I hope you had a wonderful day!!!

@@ashhtayy I'm so glad that everything worked out with your dress alterations. It sounded like a stressful situation and you handled it really well. I also LOVE the belt!!! Can't wait to hear about your shower, it sounds like your girls have an amazing day planned for you! The poem is so cute! It's all coming together! 2 months...how did that happen? it's so soon!!

@ OMG hahaha that's too funny...and thank you I've been trying to place that song, I think it is Clocks!

Thanks Ladies!!! We love and and we can't wait to get the full video an relive the whole thing. It's making us really want to be in Mexico right now!!! @@deecol @@krystalball @@vancouverpetunia @@ashhtayy I'll have to live vicariously through you all! @ The songs in the middle were not chosen by us actually. We picked the first and last song and the others have actually really grown on me. I was so happy that Mike decided to use part of our first dance song since it was sung by a very good friend of mine, it's really special to have that as part of our video! Clocks...as in biological clocks?? lol Everyone's is ticking for us it seems...both speeches with a lot of kid talk. We love the parts of the speeches Mike chose to edit into the video. We're so happy that in the end we decided to get a video!! I know now that I would have regretted not getting one. I'm really excited to share it with my mom who couldn't be with us in Mexico.

@@Bmitch829 Welcome and congrats on your engagement!! The first place to start is the hunt for a great Travel Agent. Do you have one yet? The owners of this site can definitely help you if you are still searching for one. From your list of requirements the resort that I was married at this January might be a good fit. The only thing is the price per person. It is definitely not one of the cheapest resorts but we were able to secure a good rate (Azul Fives). I'm from Canada so our packages work differently. We paid $1630 (CDN) from Toronto that included a flight for 7 days. I would say April is probably a more affordable option in comparison to Feb. If you are working around a teaching schedule you may also want to look at the summer months as prices tend to drop. Azul Fives: *Family Friendly *Several non beach locations to choose from (Sky Terrace -free, Pier, Beachfront location, Sky Deck for an additional charge) Sky Terrace (this is where I was married) Pier (sorry not a great pic) (New)Beachfront Location Sky Deck I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions about Azul Fives. The add ons can definitely start to get costly but you can definitely have a budget friendly beautiful wedding at this resort...but then again I'm a bit biased!

Ladies!! I just got my highlight video!!!

@@vancouverpetunia wow can't believe you're off tomorrow already!! Have an amazing time!!!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!

@@yycbride2016 Beautiful photos and video!!! Looks like you guys had the best time!

@@vancouverpetunia everything is really coming together!! Your day is just around the corner! Can't wait to see the final product. So excited for you too @@krystalball! Hope you guys feel better soon and that the house hunt isn't too stressful!

@@deecol you are really getting through that to do list!! You're in great shape for your big day! 1 month - so so exciting!!! Love your hair piece with your up do. It's going to look so elegant and romantic!

@@ashhtayy you dress looks gorgeous!!! Sending good vibes for your next alterations appointment! Your day is coming up so quickly!! How has the communication been with AF? Any improvement??

@@melanderic2017 I just double checked the price and it was $370 (on top of the basic Always and Forever package) in 2014. The price may have gone up since then though. The pier is a really beautiful spot!! We did all of our bridal party photos there before the ceremony. If you're planning on wearing a veil, I would strongly suggest getting veil weights or possible opting for a hair piece instead. It is VERY windy out on the pier. I would also wear your hair up so that you can see during your ceremony! I kept asking one of our groomsmen if he needed a hair elastic - lol His hair is in his face in half of those photos. These are all on the pier:

I think the pier is $500 but I have to double check the package i got from AF when we first booked.

@@ashhtayy Congrats on being a (legal) Mrs!!! You guys look so cute and I love that you decided to keep it casual. One step closer to your big day in Mexico!!

@@vancouverpetunia I'm not the best person to ask about make up - this is one area I knew I would not try and do myself. lol! I'm pretty useless in both hair and make up...I leave it up to the professionals. I do however bringing your own lipgloss/lipstick for touch-ups. I totally forgot to do this but one of my bridesmaids bought lipgloss from the spa and my photographer had some with her as well (she thought of everything).

@@melanderic2017 It all depends on timing with Air Transat with their current promotions. I know some brides received every 11th person free and some with every 21st. I received for every 15th person $1000 credit (up to a max of 4). I hope that helps!

@@deecol Us brides...well some of us now wives ( ) gotta stick together! Happy to help out where I can! Can't wait to see it all come together! Post a pic when you have your new hair piece!! I was just saying to Sean this morning how crazy the time is flying by. I remember thinking all of you April/June brides were far after our wedding and somehow here we are just around the corner from your weddings!! I still feel like I just got married last week - haha! So so excited for all of you and can't wait to hear about how it all goes!

I heard from our videographer last week and our video should be done in the next week or so. He has our full video almost ready and is working on the highlight. I'm really excited to see it but also a bit nervous! Also I found out my wedding dress designer's store is closing this week. She's closing her retail store but continuing her custom dresses out of a private studio. I'm sad that I won't be able to just walk along Queen West and pop in to say hi to her. So I went in yesterday to say hi and give her a hug. You develop these relationships with all these people over the course of your engagement, all in preparation for such a big day in your life that it is said to say goodbye when the planning is all done. Speaking of which I've been emailing with my TA over the last couple of weeks. We're both sad we're not working together anymore. I told her I wish I was still planning a wedding so we could stay in contact more. I also started the name change process recently. So far I've tackled the health card...next up SIN. This will be a slow and steady process. I still have thank you cards to finish as well. How do I still have a to do list post wedding??? lol!

@@ashhtayy if you use a high cocktail table they usually cover it with white linen and add a bow/ribbon of some sort on the bottom. They try their best to match your colours. We got lucky and they matched our blue chair sashes exactly. Definitely double check about the opening time of the Zky bar, because I heard from another bride that they weren't open until later when she was there. I'm pretty sure it was 5pm but I could be wrong or it could have changed since Jan. Love your mom's dress - very pretty! I think she'll also love the length and the fabric in the heat! @@Jasminr3803 Are you only getting your hair done at the spa or your make up as well? Even if it is just your hair I think 2:30pm is too late. You just don't want to feel rushed. You want to budget at least an hour for hair and for make up (each) plus a bit of travel time to get back to your room and get ready (unless you're using the bridal suite at the spa). Are you doing getting ready photos, a first look or photos before the ceremony? If you are doing any photos before the ceremony, also consider the locations where you will be taking them and the travel time to your ceremony location. I'm sorry to hear you've been shuffled around so much. I did go through two WCs but overall received pretty good service. You do need to stay on top of them though. If your own personal WC can't be reached, just call the main wedding department line for answers. The wedding department knows what they are doing but definitely the onsite team is a lot more flexible and once you're there they really focus on you and your wedding and make it a priority.

@@WPGBride17 I really loved my real touch flowers and have no regrets. There are a bunch of different companies that do great work in this area but I agree with @@calgarybride2015 - if your wedding package includes a bouquet to definitely use that. Save the $$ for something else. Your fiancé being able to print at work will be a huge help!

@@deecol You're getting so close to your big day!!!! I can't believe it is so soon!!! Very excited for you! I'm sorry to hear about your friend and I'm sorry that she can't see that you didn't force her out of your wedding. Hopefully in time as she heals from her breakup she will see that you were there for her when she needed you. One of my initial bridesmaids felt like I forced her to back out of my wedding (which wasn't the case), I just needed to know if she was coming. Since then we've been able to talk about it and she now sees we were both just doing what we needed to do in that situation. I'm sorry to hear about the veil too. Do you still need a veil? I'm happy to lend mine out to you. Not sure if it is the style you're looking for though. I can send you pics if you're interested (but no pressure either way). It looks like you are really tackling that to do list!! Way to go! Your big day will be here before you know it!

@@nkavanaugh So sorry for the delay! I haven't forgotten about you. I got really sick and I've been desperately trying to catch up with work and everything and then last week I went to go get the signs to get them priced out and I couldn't find the alcohol sign. My hubby has put it away somewhere and I'm still searching for it. It's driving me crazy that I can't find it. If I only have the mr. and mrs. signs are you still interested in just those ones without the other sign? I'll keep looking though.

@@WPGBride17 Congrats on your upcoming wedding!! My husband and I were on a budget too so I definitely understand where you are coming from. Here are some of the areas we saved on: STD & Invitations: I used Paperless Post for our invitations. We skipped the Save the Dates as we had all of the information right away and our booking deadline was fairly soon after our invites went out. I love invitations but they can be really costly or too time consuming to do DIY (not the most skilled in that area lol). We thought Paperless Post was a nice compromise, they still had the look of a beautiful invite without the cost. You pay for the "postage" and it depends on the type of invite. I think we paid $40 total. Other Private Events: We skipped doing a welcome dinner and instead did informal welcome drinks at one of the bars. We also opted for an informal farewell breakfast on the last day at the buffet. My husband and I just got there early to get a section of tables. Cocktail Hour: We decided to just do an informal cocktail hour, letting our guests know which bar they could go to between the ceremony and reception for drinks. We didn't think it was worth paying the extra money for hors d'oeuvres and the bar service when some guests may want a break between events anyway. To our surprise we qualified for a free cocktail hour so we had it anyway but we wouldn't have paid extra for it. Menu choice: We wanted really good food, it was important to us but we didn't want to pay an arm and leg for it and we also didn't feel like at an all inclusive with free room service that we need to over feed our guests. Our plated menu options at Azul Fives were cheaper than the buffet options so we saved a lot per person that we. We also had all of our kids at our wedding order off of the children's menu which was free of charge. Flowers: I chose to get real touch flowers for my bridal bouquet (which I LOVED) and it is a great keepsake now. My bridesmaids carried custom clutches instead of flowers which also doubled as part of their bridesmaid gifts. I thought this was a little more unique and practical. My girls loved having a purse for the night! My husband and groomsmen went without boutonnieres and to be honest, I didn't miss them...although I'm not a big flower person. Dress: I went custom for my dress and ended up saving a ton of money!! Although this is an area I would say not to purposely skimp on as you do want to feel amazing on your big day but it is possible to save in this category. Wedding bands: I got my wedding band at an independent jeweller where my husband got my engagement ring and saved a ton of money. My husband also decided to go with a ring that wasn't gold - also huge savings and he loves it! Again you want to love your wedding bands as you'll be wearing them everyday but just another way to save if you can. Decor: I got very little from the resort and brought the rest from home. I only ordered a couple of floral arrangements for the ceremony and then had them transfer them all to the reception to be used for the centrepieces. We definitely saved a lot by using the same items for both parts of the day. Photography: This is an area we didn't want to cut costs on. We really wanted to save in other areas to be able to afford great photography, so we went with an outside vendor and paid the outside vendor fee. That being said we went with a smaller package. We thought we'd rather had better quality for a shorter amount of time rather than all day coverage with just a mediocre photographer. We only did a 4 hour package from 2-6pm. We had a jam packed schedule but got it all in. I did my hair and make up before they got there but we still had getting ready photos, a first look, family/bridal party pics before the ceremony, ceremony and then ended the package with our first dance that kicked off our reception. Videography: We were originally going to not have videography but the more I thought about it the more I wanted it. We ended up splurging and used some wedding money to pay for it. DJ: We skipped the DJ and used our own playlist. We used a program called QLAB but Wedding DJ app is even more popular with the brides on here. Paper products: I printed my menus, welcome packages, thank you letters etc all at work. I know not everyone can do this but it saves you a lot if you can do it. Guestbook: Originally we were going to do a video guestbook in conjunction with polaroid pictures...well we didn't really set up the video guestbook properly (totally my fault and not the hotel) and I forgot to give the camera and polaroid film to the wedding department (again my fault)...so we accidentally ended up without a guestbook and I have to say I really don't mind. It didn't bother me the day after when I realized or now. I think we may have looked at it once in a while but it really isn't a must have for me. Those are all the areas I can think of right now...I'll let you know if I can think of more. Happy planning!

Here are some of my thoughts: @@ashhtayy reading your thread is taking me back to my planning days so it's nice to relive it through you! My wedding nightmares started about 2 months before the wedding I think. Ironically I think I had more wedding nightmares for my friend's wedding where I was a bridesmaid. I kept dreaming that I was the one holding up the wedding, that everyone was dressed (including the bride) and I couldn't find my dress or shoes anywhere - It was a stressful nightmare! haha Here are some thoughts about your list: -Wine on tables: I personally don't think you need to worry about this one, especially if they are going to charge you extra. I don't think I ever saw a single guest up at the bar because the servers were so quick to serve drinks and top you up. I think I had 3 drinks going at all times. They don't like to leave you empty handed! -Podium: We didn't have a podium and didn't really miss one. That being said, if you want a home base spot for your MC(s) I would maybe just ask for a little table. It won't have the height of a podium but they won't charge you for an extra table, whereas they will charge you for a podium. Might be an easy switch to save some money! -We started our appointments pretty early. Like @@calgarybride2015 said, I really didn't want to feel rushed during the day. I started out with my maids of honour at the spa for mani/pedis at 10:00am and then had my hair and make up at 11 and 12 for our 4:30pm ceremony. We also had a first look so that bumped up our time we had to be ready (3:15pm). I would suggest having one of your bridesmaid order your lunch ahead of time or at the spa while you're getting ready so that it will be ready when you get back to your room. That was my original plan but then the wedding department dropped off mimosas, gourmet bites and quesadillas so I wasn't sure if we really wanted to still order a full lunch after. We ended up ordering room service after all and it took a little while. -Cocktail Hour - Do you know if there is another wedding on your day? If not, I would suggest the Zky Bar as it is right below you and it should be open as of 5pm, which would work out well with your ceremony time. Otherwise the Cantina would be great but it's on the other side of the resort. Both of these bars are kid friendly, the Gin Bar is adults only. There are the other little poolside bars but they will be closing around the time of your wedding. -Dietary restrictions - I would let them know when you pay your resort bill (1 month prior) although really if you have any changes you can tell the wedding department onsite and they will make the necessary arrangements. -Ceremony - I just left the time as is on paper but our WCs onsite told us to tell our guests to arrive 15 min prior, although most people knew to do that anyway. We also started a bit later...although I have no idea how much later (I had no concept of time that day unless someone said we were running late). They kept me waiting downstairs with my wedding attendant while they lined everyone up in the bridal party but the WCs onsite are a well oiled machine. They get everyone organized and where they need to be to make it run smoothly. (for example: Angelica came running downstairs while I was waiting to tell me that the bridesmaids were facing the sun directly and asked if I was ok with them wearing sunglasses and I said of course, but it was nice that they checked with me first) -Sky Deck video - do you mean a hardcopy or just a link to the video online? @@TinkerSofi will probably be the better person to ask about this. I know you can access your video on the ustream site. You're getting so close to your big day!! Very exciting!