ashhtayy

Wow - what a detailed review! Grand Sirenis brides-to-be must be SO excited for their upcoming weddings. Very kind of you to take the time and break down every little detail - I read every bit and I'm an AF bride

Congratulations! Your day looked absolutely perfect. Pretty sure I posted this before but I love the colour of your bridesmaids dresses - so elegant and beautiful. You looked stunning and your HUSBAND (is that weird still?) looked very handsome!

@@cruisebride2016 @@calgarybride2015 thanks ladies!

I'm not sure this would have made a difference at all but I wish we a. included an rsvp card with our STD and/or b. placed the booking deadline on the actual STD.

I also wish I didn't procrastinate so much with the planning lol So much left to do and such little time.

@@Cablelove11 We're doing pretty much what you explained. We hired an officiant to come to our home and surprise marry us in front of my parents and my brother and my fiances mum and nonna who are flying in for Easter. Short and sweet. The only people that know about this are a couple of my bridesmaids Should be perfect and I don't think it will take away from our Mexico wedding at all - no personal vows, no ring exchange, just a formality.

@@deecol sorry about your best friend

@ thank you! I'm loving how things are finally coming together.

I finally found these adorable milk jars ($1.25 dollarama). They will be used to hold the aisle bouquets post-ceremony. I'll have some on the head table, one on the cake table, some on the 'other' table and one on the bar. I like them clear but to hide the stems I will likely spray paint them gold to match the mason jars.

Now that I have the flowers, I tried out the guest table. Not 100% sold but I think they will look something like the pictures attached.

Hoping I can negotiate a similar price to @@TinkerSofi! Steph - I'm in for the lights.

@@deecol Thanks Dee! I'm hoping next month some come in. I'm all over for work so I'm bound to find some if I keep checking in. How's the planning going? You're getting SO close.

@@calgarybride2015 I'm not a nurse and writing BM makes me laugh Guess I'm just too lazy to write the whole word out lol Glad you like the flowers too. I'm very happy with them.

@@Meandhim thanks for thinking of us! these are adorable!

ps. @@deecol - see link above! ^

I had a pretty productive day! I have to go in on Saturday so I took today off – having days off during the week is absolutely the best. You get so much more running around done when you’re not fighting the weekend crowds.

After a stop at my esthetician and our local paint shop (I love fusion painting furniture and needed some more paint – if you haven’t tried fusion, you should!), I stopped at 4 Dollaramas on a serious hunt for those $2 tumblers. I have been checking stores randomly and most don’t have any in. Today one of the 4 stores had about 25. After going through them, I purchased 15. So…38 more to track down lol Not too worried yet because most stores think they should be carrying them again in a month or so.

After Dollarama I went to the mall to pick up our flowers at the post office. I popped into a new stores looking for some dresses to wear for my bachelorette/shower and wedding shoes but didn’t have any luck. I did stumble upon and purchase my wedding necklace though! It’s got a lot going on but I figured since I don’t have my belt yet, I can go more basic with the belt. I love the antique look!

I was pretty shocked when I saw the box of our flowers. I think my words were “my fiancé is going to kill me!” lol Oh well! Some were squished but that is expected as they travelled a long way. Stemple Shop packaged them with such care. I only planned to take a few things out but then I couldn’t stop myself. I opened…everything. The BM's bouquets are smaller than I hoped but they are as described so I shouldn't be surprised.

My Bouquet - 

@@deecol - Thanks! We are happy with our map Frame shopping will start next weekend!

@@Jasminr3803 - Our engagement was a surprise to me too! I couldn't be happier it happened that way. I started planning that night too (our guest list was complete!) but I've fallen off a lot throughout the process. I've found it pretty overwhelming at times with us both starting new jobs, buying our first house together, etc.

My hair trial is complimentary but that is because we were offered one of three choices - 1. photo voucher, 2. spa credit for hair, makeup and nails or 3. free cocktail hour and I chose option 2. Sadly, I think this is a Canadian perk only offered through our GI certified TAs.

I wish we were able to go to the BDR but vacation time was our trouble. With my fiance's family being in BC we try to use our vacation when we can see them or when they are coming here. Luckily there are two brides that recently got married at AF and I have gotten A LOT of information from them! 

We're doing white table cloths with gold sequin table runners. I was worried it wasn't enough at first but you're so right - the scenery itself is beautiful

You have the best best man ever! We are still sorting that out - Wedding DJ app or onsite DJ. Who are you using? DJ All Music or Mega DJ? There is next to no information on either of them so if you have anything that would help our decision I'd appreciate it. 

I looked at cheaptotes.com too and probably would have ordered from them because their prices are great but sadly, they no longer ship to Canada Your tumblers are adorable! I can't wait to see them all around the resort! I'll know who your guests are that way and will go introduce myself Once I get my done I'll share a pic so you know who our guests are too - hopefully they use them lol We will likely do the same but instead of a bag, fill the cups with the hangover kits.

The video you attached didn't come through so I'll send you a private message with my email - I'd love to see it! I randomly go on ustream and watch strangers get married on the Sky Deck so I am very familiar with it but it'd be great to see a video someone actually shot of it.

Seems like you are on the ball! I need to start making some serious progress, too! 

@@Jasminr3803 Most of our guests are traveling June 5th through the 12th. We are arriving a couple days early to do hair trials, meet with the on-site coordinator, etc. I really cannot believe how fast time has gone. We've been engaged for 17 months and had the resort picked for over a year. I really wish I didn't procrastinate for so long. My fiancé and I decided to have a Sunday Wedding Meeting were we made a list of everything we have left to do and it is massive. Not sure it will all get completed on time but we'll try our best.

We have not decided 100% on favours or welcome bags - you didn't miss that in my thread!. Since day one I didn't want to do welcome bags because I couldn't imagine our guests using them and the contents. The more and more I read this site the more I regret that decision. We're now considering tumblers with a personalized sticker and an Oh Shit kit inside (like @calgarybride2015). For favours we've also been undecided. My BIL had a destination wedding and they did maracas so we wanted to find something different. We haven't been able to find anything we love so every night I almost buy the maracas from Amols. The only thing stopping me is they don't have our colours. I've considered ordering white and spray painting and adding a custom design but the thought of that extra work on top of everything else we have scares me.

Your centrepieces will look great. Are you using their white linen? We ordered the chandelier too! Actually, all we've ordered from them so far is the chandelier, beaded backdrop, white sheers for gazebo, cake...and probably a few other little things I'm forgetting. What are you doing for a DJ?

Congratulations! Your legal sounded perfect

Your to-do list is almost done - what a relief!

@@Jasminr3803 Hi Jasmin - welcome to the site! You can find almost everything on here

Very exciting that our weddings are only a few days apart. We're at the resort from the 3rd until the 17th so we will likely being seeing lots of each other. We're sitting at 53 guests right now with final payments due on the 28th. How many guests do you expect?

Tell us more about your wedding! What's your colour scheme? If our colour schemes are similar I'd be happy to share Some of the rental prices are outrageous so bringing your own decor is a great way to get what you want at a more reasonable price. I'm starting to get super excited!

@@cruisebride2016 @ Our flowers arrived today! Too bad we weren't home and have to go pick them up tomorrow $46.89 customs fee too. Ew! I'll post pictures tomorrow as soon as I get them home.

@@snswedding2016 They just wrote me back again saying "this will be quoted on site, disregard the $2500 fee". I'll look back on @@TinkerSofi 's thread and see if I can find the cost.

Hold my dates again, please

@@snswedding2016 OMG Steph they've quoted me $2500 to hang these lights on the Sky Deck. Obviously that isn't in the budget. If they come down to a reasonable price I'll be in touch

@@cruisebride2016 It look just like the photograph Nathan sent! You must be so pleased with both.

Guestbook Map arrived today!

Flowers are in Canada now so they should be on our door step soon too!

@@snswedding2016 Steph - I may want to rent the lights from you. They looked amazing in the garden - need to figure out how they could/would work on the Sky Deck. We're travelling June 3rd - June 17th. I'll be in touch.

Looks like you had a great time at both!

Your sequin dress is gorgeous - such a fun party dress

@@vancouverpetunia Thanks Erin. Did you include this information for your guests? I'll look back on your thread to try and find your wording.

I'm good for April 8th!

@@vancouverpetunia @@deecol Thanks ladies. I know our TA has sent information to all guests about insurance. I thought this had to be sorted out before final payments so I'm not sure how much help it would be on our mailer post-final payment date. I'll ask my TA though - thanks!

@ recommended them to me! I can't take any credit. Post a pic of yours once you receive them - I'll do the same So excited!

@@cruisebride2016 Isn't Nathan the best to deal with? My flowers are in transit and I can't wait to see them Love the proofs he sent you! Your flowers will be beautiful.

@@cruisebride2016 how is your planning go? Your wedding is coming up soon! Who did you end up ordering flowers from? Nathan shipped ours yesterday and I can't wait to see them!

Pre-Travel Mailer - HELP PLEASE!

My plan is to send these to print the day we find out our final numbers and have them sent to our guests the following week. I've searched on here for ideas but they are all over the place and I'm probably missing some important tips, tricks, information, etc.

I would love if you could take a look at what I'm thinking of including (mostly all borrowed from other brides) and let me know if I've forgotten anything. These are meant for all guests and will not include specific timelines for our bridal party.

- Packing List: passport, travel docs, photo ID, cash/debit/credit, hat, sunscreen, bathing suit, long pants, collared shirts, bug spray, medication

- Wedding Attire: beach formal with examples (long pants and collared shirts for men and sundresses for women - heels are okay)

- Wedding Week Itinerary: welcome drinks, wedding ceremony, wedding reception, farewell brunch

- Resort Information: restaurants (attire, reservations - where needed and how to make, $ on menus - not for GI guests), room service, wifi, don't drink tap water, room key instead of wristband for food and drinks, on-site activities and shows

- Mexico: average high, average low, time zone, airport to resort, common words, off-resort activities

- Other: contact credit card company to let them know your travel plans, avoid time shares, include our wedding hashtag, if using whatsapp ask guests to download, map of resort, travel agent name and contact information

Thanks in advance