ashhtayy

Bridesmaids Dresses

They're in! My MOH is going to pick all the dresses up and bring them to my shower next Sunday. After the shower we're going to have a little fashion show and decide if we want to leave the cap sleeves or have them removed. Next thing is shoes for the girls

Looks great!

Oh! I'm all over for work and I keep popping into Dollarama's buying two tumblers here, three there, and today (2.5 hours north) the store had an unopened box of 24 in the back! Finally the search for tumblers is over. All we have to do now is get the stickers.

@@calgarybride2015 - You used Davet Designs on etsy, right? If you were to do it again, would you order from them? Did they hold up perfectly or would you have tried DIY? Thanks

Hi ladies,

I am getting married at Azul Fives in June and received the same email on March 29th. Did we all get passed on to Carolina Sigala? She is going to be one busy lady! I am totally fine with the idea of dealing with an onsite WD but it would be nice if in the meantime they would monitor our wedding ID. My WD vanished three weeks ago and everything has been unresolved since them. Fingers crossed Carolina (or whomever you have) works out. It's crunch time. It would be nice to get some answers!

@@snswedding2016  Thanks Steph!

Communication with AF has not gotten any better. I am thankful I selected a lot of options early on so its just the little things that are left now. I have been reassigned to a new WD who is onsite at AF. The email said I should hear from her in the next two weeks. So far no one replies to my emails; ie. no one is monitoring my wedding ID right now. I have a few questions and adjustments (they overcharged me for a few things) so I guess I will need to call and have that taken care of. Frustrating but not the end of the world.

Final Numbers

These are ALMOST in. We had some booking drama with one of the groomsmen but thankfully that has been resolved. Our guest count right now is 47 adults (all paid in full!!). We have 2 last minute bookings pending. The couple has the quotes and our TA is just waiting on them to make a final decision. 

Maracas

We ordered coral and white maracas from Amols.com. I think these will look pretty on the tables and be a nice Mexican take-away from our wedding. They've already shipped and should be here mid-next week. I will post pics when they arrive

That's it for updates!

@@cruisebride2016 The consultant started pinning me and then went to get the seamstress who removed every pin the other lady had placed lol They actually never even started the bustle on mine - maybe because they needed the length completed first?! Not sure but fingers crossed they figure it out soon. They were supposed to call Tuesday or Wednesday to firm up my next appointment but haven't. I'll try them tomorrow.

@@deecol Thanks Dee. Can't wait for alterations to be completed and to see the final product

@@krystalball You have a very good reason to be MIA - you leave SO soon! Thank you - our at home ceremony was perfect. Wouldn't change a thing.

I'm glad someone can relate to the pointy boob issue lol Madonna was exactly who I thought of and not the look I was going for haha

Thanks for the etsy link. I've been searching on there but like you said, it's scary to purchase something like that without seeing it. I think Saturday morning I'll go downtown and see what I can find. Sash & Bustle is have an accessory sale so fingers crossed.

You made me LOL. Again with the wig links - I think that's the third time on my thread. I GET THE POINT haha

@@calgarybride2015 Thanks Kim! I have no ties to this shop and it's no where near my house so if the next appointment is a bust I'll just take my dress elsewhere. I had in my mind that because I bought the dress there, they would take more pride in the alterations and that's why I didn't mind making the drive. Not sure that is the case. We will see next appointment.

@@krystalball SO soon! Try not to stress. As long as you've got the big things covered, you'll be fine. Hope you two feel better asap.

@@deecol Looks like you are in great shape!!

I've been piggy backing off both yours and @@vancouverpetunia to do lists - they've been so helpful Thank you!

Love the hair and hair piece. I think you'll be so happy to have all your hair up and out of the way. I can picture it with your dress - you'll be a stunning bride.

I like option two for the tag on the champagne bubble bottles

Time has flown! I can't believe how close you are now.

@@cruisebride2016

Good luck win your final dress fitting. Fingers crossed everything perfect

Great job fitting everything into one bag. If you have any packing tips, please share. I'm getting nervous about how we are going to squeeze everything in but I'm not letting my fiancé know that as he reminds me daily about how much I plan on bringing.

Love your guestbook binder idea. What a great keepsake!

Buying a good lotion is well worth it in my opinion. I have never tanned well when not using a lotion. They're expensive but it definitely speeds up the process.

Don't stress! Sounds like you are in great shape. Good luck!

@@kristinejasmin The belt they picked for me was also $400 The consultants know how to pick them haha

Thank you for the kind words. I really do love the dress I just need to find a reasonably priced belt. The hunt is still on

@@karinaL I think they just have the ballroom. I haven't seen pictures myself.

@@ashhtayy thanks doll!! i looked at that resort also  its goreous but I am trying to be budget friendly for guests as well.. I love that sky rooftop but I thought its going to  be too windy and stuff idk maybe I am being too picky.. so besides paying for the package you  had to pay per plate and per additional guest(i am assuming they have the standard 20-40) you had to pay $1800 + $5 plate?

 

@@karinaL Being budget friendly to our guests was a top priority as well. We are in Canada and our guests from Ontario are paying $1560 and the others from BC are paying $1730 for 7-nights. Our guests were very happy with their prices.

At our resort we pay for all of the food. We are paying $36 per plate which includes 4 hours of open bar and then another $15 on top of the $36 because the dinner is served on the Sky Deck. There are cheaper options for dinner (and more expensive!) and to avoid the extra $15pp you could have dinner anywhere other than the pier or the Sky Deck.

We are all a little bit bias towards our own resorts I think.

We chose Azul Fives in Riviera Maya because of the Sky Deck. We also did not want a beach wedding and as soon as I saw these photos we fell in love. The Sky Deck costs $1800 to rent for the reception and then another $15 per plate on top of the food you select. For this view, we felt it was worth it.

The resort itself isn't cheap but if you are flexible with which month you get married, you can get affordable rates. The Sky Deck itself holds 200 people so you will be able to fit your party no problem.

@@Jasminr3803 I actually think the dress fitting experience was kind of funny. I don't think it will be as funny if it happens like that again lol

3 of the 5 couples have already paid this morning so we are just waiting on two more

@@vancouverpetunia Everything looks great! You've done a really good job. Your program fans make me want fans

I can't believe you leave in a week! So exciting.

@@yycbride2016 Your photos are gorgeous! You and your husband make a hot couple Can't wait to see your video!

@@vancouverpetunia & @@Wafflesmom thanks ladies

So today was my first dress fitting and final payment date for our guests.

The dress fitting went alright, but not great. The shop is owed by this lovely Korean family and the mother is the seamstress. She doesn't speak or seem to understand any English. When I purchased the dress I told them what alterations I wanted and the son (who the store is named after) translated for the mother and we were super happy with what she planned on doing. Today the son was away and the consultant and the seamstress could not communicate with one and other. Basically I had to try and use hand motions to explain how I wanted things; not the easiest thing to do. I'm quite shocked they didn't cancel the appointment.

Here are some photos but neither are very good. Obviously I'm all pinned up and couldn't articulate "less pointy boobs" very well. They are going to call in a couple days to book another fitting with someone present to translate. I also still don't have a belt. My dress needs a belt and I haven't been able to find one. This store had one I fell in love with but it was totally overpriced and of course, is now sold out.

So as of a few hours ago, 5 couples in our group hadn't made their final payment and 1 couple cancelled. We are confident that 4 of the 5 couples will complete payments but the cancellation came as a surprise. Our guest count is now down to 47. Because payments haven't been completed we haven't been told what our credit will be. When we booked it was 1 for every 21 but because we have so many 4 and 5 day guests it looks like we are JUST shy of two credits. One is better than nothing so we really can't complain.

@@deecol & @ thanks ladies!

Dress fitting tomorrow Will update afterwards!

@@melanderic2017

I feel like $1750 from Toronto in May is a great price!

I actually can't remember the cost of the pier but have you searched all the other AF threads? I bet it's in there somewhere. I know the Sky Deck is $1800 & the new beach location is $1000.

What is the size of your group? I think the pier can only hold a smaller group.

Edit -

Did a quick search and found this (still no price but it's probably there if you take the time to read through some threads):

The Sea pier gazebo holds a maximum of 32 people with long tables or 24 with round tables for a plated reception. You also need to add $15 per person to the price of food (food is also on a per person basis but they have a range of prices).

@@snswedding2016 Thank you! Time is flying.

@@Jasminr3803 Thank you! It took about ten minutes to get things started because nonna was hyperventilating because she was so shocked and my mum and Mike's mom were bawling their eyes out. For a few minutes I was concerned that maybe a surprise was not the right way to go - I couldn't tell if Mike's moms tears and nonna's reaction were happy or sad lol Thankfully everyone loved the surprise and were super grateful we included them.

So it's official...we're (legally) married!

We started off with appies and drinks at our house at 3PM. The door bell rang at 5PM and it was our officiant. Luckily our families thought nothing of the door bell ringing. Michael and our officiant walked upstairs where our families looked at him like he was crazy. Background on Michael - he is SO nice - they assumed he had let a nicely dressed sales lady into our home. He felt awkward and then blurted out "so, we're getting married right now!" I then came down the stairs and the ceremony began.

Before our families arrived we decided to scrap the dress clothes we had planned on wearing and keep it super casual. Right before the officiant arrived I threw on a white blazer I already had to make it somewhat traditional lol

Our officiants name is Anne Houston and she was super lovely. We would highly recommend her for any GTA brides wanting to do a legal ceremony before their DW.

We didn't take many photos but here's one of us enjoying our champagne that my MOH bought for us

@ I did them today and they're okay but not nearly as good as when the Sephora girl did them. I need to practice

@ Anastasia Brow Definer.

@@TinkerSofi Oh that's great news, especially because they told me we couldn't download or purchase. Thanks!

@@karleealyssa Congratulations and welcome to the site! I'm happy you and your FI stuck with your original plan and went forward with a DW. Best of luck with all your planning. I look forward to reading more