909 replies to this topic

[TinkerSofi]

@TinkerSofi that's crazy!!! I can't believe they won't let you bring in your own photo booth! It's annoying because I really feel that the on site coordinators would probably say yes. Do you think you can get one of their emails to start communicating with them directly from one of the past brides? Definitely try and fight this one!!

First I'll run it by Juan to make sure we want the photobooth 100% before I start fighting people for nothing. I had to call them today anyway so I figured I could find out how much the outside vendor fee was to bring someone to do the booth and then compare our options and come up with a decision. That's when they told me they're not allowed and I lost it on them a bit hahah. I think it was just the straw that broke the camel's back after months of being nickel and dimed. I got fed up of being treated like an idiot. I'm sure she agreed with me that their price was just a bit off the chart but they don't make those decisions so their hands are tied. If we decide to go through with it I'll try to contact upper management. I'll use the "I booked before they changed the rules" card and see where that takes us. 

 

I'm not sure when they'll switch us over to the on site coordinator. I'm afraid the photobooth company won't have our date available anymore at that point. I doubt it because it's low season, but better safe than sorry. We'll see what happens after I talk with Juan today. 

[nadiakat17]

Ugh that's so annoying about the photo booth . Definitely keep fighting

About the guests: as people saw on this message board I was really sad certain people backed out etc. but I will say after the actual day all I can think about are the people that actually came. And it seems perfect to me because now I have the actual memories of those people and not hypothetical ones I was thinking about before the wedding. Plus I honestly struggled to spend quality time with all groups ( immediate and extended family on both sides, two groups of friends, family friends, etc) and am so glad there wasn't more added to the mix!!

[TinkerSofi]

Ugh that's so annoying about the photo booth . Definitely keep fighting

About the guests: as people saw on this message board I was really sad certain people backed out etc. but I will say after the actual day all I can think about are the people that actually came. And it seems perfect to me because now I have the actual memories of those people and not hypothetical ones I was thinking about before the wedding. Plus I honestly struggled to spend quality time with all groups ( immediate and extended family on both sides, two groups of friends, family friends, etc) and am so glad there wasn't more added to the mix!!

that's what I keep thinking. It would be nice to have everyone there but I was planning for about 10% to back out. It's just a bit hard when that happens but I keep telling myself exactly the same, I won't struggle as much to see everyone and spend time with them  

[Wafflesmom]

@TinkerSofi, communication with your resort sounds so frustrating! I hope they realize how stupid their logic (or rather lack of logic) is for not allowing you to bring your own photo booth.

And I'm really scared about guests backing out! We are hoping to take advantage of the perks for having lots of guests and I think it would stress me out if this happens to us. I do agree that a small intimate wedding will be nice but we have fewer guests than you already and I can't imagine losing more!!

[calgarybride2015]

Ugh I'm sorry your resort is not being sensible. Sometimes I wonder if it's the people in Miami! Hopefully you come to some common ground! I would be just as annoyed with how Nickle and dimed you feel.

Sorry people are backing out. I'm surprised people would walk away from the deposit. I know it's a struggle but there are some positives - smaller bill (hehe) and like another poster said - more time to spend with everyone. I struggled and felt some guilt over this. But I tell myself it happens no matter the amount, as people have their own ideas for their own vacation.

Sooooo close though


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Edited by calgarybride2015, 27 May 2015 - 07:55 PM.

[TinkerSofi]

@TinkerSofi, communication with your resort sounds so frustrating! I hope they realize how stupid their logic (or rather lack of logic) is for not allowing you to bring your own photo booth.

And I'm really scared about guests backing out! We are hoping to take advantage of the perks for having lots of guests and I think it would stress me out if this happens to us. I do agree that a small intimate wedding will be nice but we have fewer guests than you already and I can't imagine losing more!!

 

Ugh I'm sorry your resort is not being sensible. Sometimes I wonder if it's the people in Miami! Hopefully you come to some common ground! I would be just as annoyed with how Nickle and dimed you feel.

Sorry people are backing out. I'm surprised people would walk away from the deposit. I know it's a struggle but there are some positives - smaller bill (hehe) and like another poster said - more time to spend with everyone. I struggled and felt some guilt over this. But I tell myself it happens no matter the amount, as people have their own ideas for their own vacation.

Sooooo close though


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I spoke to my Argentina MOH yesterday and she said she can help me set up my own photo booth. Even if I win the fight against the hotel the whole thing will cost at least $500 after adding in the outside vendor fee (and that's if I get a really big discount on it). Juan and I decided to use that money to get one more hour of reception. I think in the end people will have fun with a photo booth regardless of whether it's DIY or professional and it will be nice to be able to spread things out during the reception rather than feeling like I'm in a race against time. My MOH said she can help me by setting it all up and then fixing the pictures up with photoshop before sending them to people . 

 

About the people backing out, it's a bummer mostly for those that had a year to save or pay month by month and they just didn't. I guess that's just life though. We'll see what happens when the deadline rolls around next week. For some, I totally understand their situation and that's ok, I'd probably lose the $150 too if I was in their shoes. Some have said that they might stay at another hotel but they're not sure. I just mainly want people to make up their mind and stop with the back and forth. It's getting to be very stressful. I'll give everyone a call after the deadline for our resort and let them know they have one more week to let us know if they're coming or not so we can finalize things with the resort before our final payment is due. 

 

I've come to accept that we will not get the third person for free, which is too bad. I wanted to give one to my family because they've been so great with me and they've been having a really rough month but I don't think that will be possible . 

[pjay]

I'm sending positive vibes your way right now. It sounds like the last few months are very stressful. I'm very positive that it's all going to turn out though..you have put a lot of hard work, planning and heart into all of this. 

 

That's really sweet of your MOH to help you with the photo booth

[nadiakat17]

Yeah it is interesting about those people..we paid for a friends suite and one friend could have stayed there for free so really just plane ticket and food so saving up less than 100$ a month for the year in advance ( and she has job and lives rent free at parents no other big expenses ) so it was ridiculous to hear that she "couldn't save up" when she'd blow this amount on a night out and was deciding if she could afford it last minute ( you either know up front if it's going to work or not...). No I get it, it just wasn't your priority. I just got sick of hearing the money excuse.

[TinkerSofi]

Yeah it is interesting about those people..we paid for a friends suite and one friend could have stayed there for free so really just plane ticket and food so saving up less than 100$ a month for the year in advance ( and she has job and lives rent free at parents no other big expenses ) so it was ridiculous to hear that she "couldn't save up" when she'd blow this amount on a night out and was deciding if she could afford it last minute ( you either know up front if it's going to work or not...). No I get it, it just wasn't your priority. I just got sick of hearing the money excuse.

I agree, we had some cases like that as well. Mostly Juan's friends, who by the time we reserved the hotel, had just finished a year paid internship, their school is paid for, they live at home rent-free, but somehow also couldn't afford to come. On the other hand, they go out and blow $500 easily on one night. What are you gonna do right? Like I told Juan, they'd all be there if it was a local wedding and all they had to do was show up and eat for free haha. I guess in a way it's better to do a DW because then only your really close friends are there  

[TinkerSofi]

Alright. Update! I had the day off yesterday so I got a few things off my list, and some that weren't on the list (I swear, I need to stop finding things that need to get done haha) 

 

- Write vows (after some discussion Juan insisted that he wanted to do this)

- Finish up playlist for the party

- Make playlist for dinner

- Get kids' menu choices - as we stand we might not even have any kids at the wedding anymore. 

- finish up photo booth

- finish putting tags to all the fans

- assemble emergency kits

-  Pre-assemble welcome bags

- Send welcome brochures to vistaprint

- Get groomsmen gifts

- start tanning

- finalize the hair and makeup ideas

- First dance - our lessons start next thursday. yay!! 

- Call hotel to finalize details (booking of hair and makeup appts, etc)

- Get wedding license and contact officiant for a meeting before the wedding

- Find a nice lipstick and fake eyelashes to wear on the day of the wedding

- Create a wedding party itinerary for the rehearsals and timeline for the wedding

- send rings to get cleaned

 

 

Vows:

Ok, so last night I had some sudden inspiration and decided to write this baby up. The first part was easy, but when it came down to the actual vows, it was the hardest part. I think maybe because I'm not great with saying my feelings, I'm better showing them. I have no clue how i'm going to get through these because I was bawling as I was writing them. We decided to do them in Spanish, even though the rest of the ceremony will be in English. Do you guys want to read them or are they going to be a sap party? I can always translate them hahah. I feel like they're a bit cliche, but at the end of the day that's how I feel .

 

Hair and Makeup. 

I can't believe I forgot to show you guys what I decided. My makeup will look something like this: 

 

 Screen Shot 2015-05-28 at 8.55.52 PM.png   311.12KB   8 downloads

but I want the eyeliner to look more like this: 

 Screen Shot 2015-05-28 at 8.56.09 PM.png   457.93KB   8 downloads

 

As for the hair, it will be something along these lines: 

 Screen Shot 2015-05-28 at 10.20.41 PM.png   517.94KB   9 downloads

 Screen Shot 2015-05-28 at 10.20.52 PM.png   87.16KB   9 downloads

 

Bridal Party Itinerary

I wanted to make something a bit more detailed than what's on the brochures and include the rehearsal dinner and a more detailed itinerary of the wedding day. I don't expect to keep the times as written in stone (aside from the start of the ceremony and the reception) but it's just to keep track of things. They're not as great as some of the designs you guys have created, but I'm pretty happy with how they turned out! I made slightly different ones for guys vs. girls, since their getting ready portion is much simpler than ours  

 

I also don't have the times and locations for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner so I left it with blanks to fill out once we get there and get those sorted out. The plan is to just make a reservation at a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. It will just be our families, bridal party and their dates. 

 

Funny story, which I won't tell Juan because I'll drive him loco . I downloaded some new fonts off the internet and oh man, why didn't I think of this before! I'm reconsidering printing the reception signs again with a new font lol. I really do need to stop changing my mind about everything haha but I really like some of the new fonts I downloaded. I loved a bunch but for some reason they looked awful when spelling Sofia & Juan, they looked amazing when spelling anything else. It was a tad frustrating haha. 

 

 bridal party itinerary.pdf   102.25KB   17 downloads