Brandii

I skipped the STD and just went for the straight invitation (even way ahead of time)... but that was mainly because I had a deadline that guests needed to put their deposit down by so that they would take part in the payment plan

I'll be sending "reminder - final payment due by *** " postcards though ^.^

This is great advice!

For my invitations, I looked up the weight allowed for 1 stamp and weighed the completed invitation using a digital kitchen scale before I sent them (to make sure). I didn't use a wax seal or anything but I did have passport invitations which has twine wrapped around the middle and a little charm and I still only needed 1 stamp (surprisingly... and barely LOL).

I haven't worked with anyone personally but these are two of the popular wedding photographers I've heard about from other women who have had their weddings in varadero.... maybe they can travel to cayo coco? Alex (AV smiles) particular does phenomenal work.

https://m.facebook.com/pages/Cuban-Wedding-photographer-and-videographer/205619149526632

https://m.facebook.com/ivan.botello

Congrats! I've never been to PR but I have friends who have and they LOVED it. It's a shame you had to postpone your wedding but I'm happy that he is responding well to the treatments.

Good luck in your planning!

What a fantastic bag!

I love the starfish. I'm hoping I can find conchs and use those

These are fantastic! I love the shot glass ones!

Hmm So basically not a good idea if windy.

Hey ladies! I'm wondering if any of you have heard if we can release biodegrade lanterns in Cuba? I think they look amazing and it would be a great way to send off our wishes for the future.

I feel like I'm getting so much better at food choices because of this app!

Have any of you tried zucchini pasta with chicken? It's seriously amazing. I don't even eat real pasta anymore because of it... and talk about low in calories! Om nom nom

Done! Although I cant figure out how to find the group lol

Wow! beautiful!

Oh no!!!

Sending healing thoughts your way!

I am!

I've been using it for abut a month and lost just over 8 lbs (40 is my goal)

I've never been but one of my bridesmaids went there for a trip and is forever talking about it lol. She said it was an amazing resort and she had the best experiences ever there. Good luck!!

Varadero! At the Iberostar Laguna Azul. We're flying from Toronto

Where did you get engaged in Cuba?

Ultimately we ended up with Cuba to better fit guest budgets but if that's not an issue I would consider Jamaica.

The food is supposed to be phenomenal and the experience amazing! I had a friend who got married there and he was raving about how great it was. If you can find something there within your budget it's sure to be incredible.

I'm a June 2016 bride! We are getting married in Cuba and already placed our deposits and put out our invitations so that everyone can put their own deposits down and take full advantage of the payment plan ^.^

We went through a travel agent and they were fantastic and got us a great with for 1132 (tax incl), with every 11th free and all the air transat bells and whistles for the bride/groom. I'm really happy and feel like i can relax ^.^. I'll be spreading out costs and slowly buying everything over the next year

A little off topic, but I was wondering if you have put any thought into what you and your fiance plan on doing with the 'free 11th person' money? 

My fiance and I have 2 free people so far and we have very mixed feelings about what to do with the money. Our TA gave us a couple options, but none of them seems just right. At this point I am thinking about taking half of it and putting it towards one of our trips, and splitting the other one between the rest of the guests. I cant help but feel guilty for keeping it...any of it really...

The first free person is going towards paying for my grandmother to attend as we were paying for her anyways. If we reach a second we would probably have it pay for one of us since we are partially paying for my BIL as well so any bit helps!

Hey, can i ask who your travel agent is?!? I'm from TO as well & have just started looking for one. Thanks

Robert Townshend from Total Advantage Travel

His email is [email protected]

He's honestly fantastic, I feel like he got me a really great deal and definitely recommend him. He's really quick on replies too!

I've never been but researched both extensively when I was looking at resorts... I also had a friend who stayed at the Caribe. Apparently although the Caribe is nice, Flamenco comes out on top. The resort is newer and has good food. The downside to Flamenco is the beach, which tends to be rockier but apparently they have been working on improving it. But even then, you walk out 10 ft and its really nice sand.

Also, a review I saw for Flamenco showed the snorkeling is really nice there. Look up some youtube videos on it!

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g580450-i10244-k6800515-Memories_Flamenco_vs_Memories_Caribe_Help-Cayo_Coco_Jardines_del_Rey_Archipelago_Ciego_de_.html

Thanks! We're flying out of Toronto -- and every 11th person free!

A good TA is SO important. I've talked to about 5 since starting to look for a resort. A lot can't give you specific answers about resorts and others try to push you into a resort you don't like because they are familiar with it.

I recently found one who specializes in the country I was looking at and knew specifics about the resort I was most interested in. AND he was able to get me a better rate of $1102 vs $1200 all in, 7 days.

Ok because I had such a hard time finding info on buying a Chinese knock off I want to post a detailed review. This dress is gorgeous. Really well made. Great details, there are little beading details that are very well done. The ruching is lovely. The fabric is really soft and pretty. I paid $200 including rush shipping and processing for a custom made wedding dress. There's a ribbed bodice, nice satin inner lining, beautiful chiffon outer layer. And it's exactly what I ordered. The waist could be taken in a bit but that's because I mismeasured my natural waist (took it too low and therefore the number was larger) and I meant to tell them to remove the train but I forgot. But they made exactly what I ordered and did an excellent job of copying the original. Honestly, it fits wonderfully and really doesn't need any alterations just that one little 1/2 inch or so! Best purchase I've ever made! Couldn't love it more.

 

 

They were super responsive when I asked them to remove the sequins, always answering my emails promptly. I could not recommend dressilyme.com more for a wedding dress. Not sure about bigger poofy ones but for this fairly simple sheath one I couldn't have done better. The quality is way better than most of the dresses I tried on at David's Bridal.

 

OMGSH That's amazing!! I've definitely saving that link for when I order, wow!

Okay so update,

I went to the wedding show AND the travel show this past weekend and all the planners there definitely helped me narrow down choose the location... Iberostar Laguna Azul. I also found a great travel agent there who was able to get me a quote of $1100pp (incl tax) traveling May 27 next year (7 days all inclusive). I am incredibly happy with this quote and am just quickly designing the invites this week (I want to give as much time for ppl to put down deposits etc as possible) and putting down the deposit by next Friday.

My big concern when choosing a location was finding somewhere that was at minimum, 4*, had access right on the beach, modern looking rooms, had good locations for the wedding, and fit within a tight budget for guests.

Then I asked for quotes from different agents, I found a lot didn't have personal experience at the resorts I was looking at and only a few of them had weddings in them and kept suggesting places they had experience with but I didn't like.

I attended a wedding show this past weekend and spoke to each of the booths with destination wedding planners and told them which ones I was thinking of. I would say I was thinking "..." but "..." is the main contender, changing the main contender at each booth. Each and everyone said that while the others were nice, the Iberostar was the nicest for weddings in that area. I also found a travel agent when I was there there that I got along with fantastically, who said that 3 of his agents at their office had been there and loved it, and that they plan several trips there yearly... when he got back to me with a quote it was FAR better than the other agents, PLUS he gives a free customized bag with each booking (bonus!)

Moral of the story, if you have a wedding show coming up, I suggest going to it and speaking to the planners there. Finding a good TA is the main thing as they will be able to help you narrow it down and give you better pricing.