Now Jade Destination Wedding

November 2010 Pose Destination Weddings + Travel had the pleasure of booking and planning a Group Destination Wedding at Now Jade Riviera Cancun
Tim and Melanie at Limelight Studios were apart of this Wedding and were able to create and capture this AMAZING Wedding video

Exercising and not losing any weight for your big day?

5 Diet Mistakes That Prevent Workout Results

By Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD

I’ve been the sports nutritionist for three professional teams and numerous athletes in my private practice, and whether you head to a 9-5 job each day and work out when you can, or you earn a living exercising, the right nutrition plan is the real key to results. Here are five mistakes that may interfere with getting the most out of your training time:
Drinking a Protein Shake Before a Workout
Protein is digested much slower than carbs, so too much pre-workout can give you stomach cramps and prevent the carbs you need for fuel from getting absorbed and becoming available to your working muscles.
The Fix: Reach for a smaller quantity of protein, along with slow burning carbs pre-workout, and choose higher protein shakes, snacks or meals afterwards.
Exercising on an Empty Stomach
It's physiologically impossible to burn pure body fat — during aerobic exercise you burn a combo of carbs and fat. When carbs aren't readily available, your body is forced to break down its own muscle mass and convert it into blood sugar. That means by skipping a meal, you may end up eating away at your own muscle instead of building it!
The Fix: If you don’t like the feeling of food in your stomach when you exercise stick with a liquid, like a small smoothie made with unsweetened frozen fruit and organic skim or soy milk.
Overusing Energy Bars
Overusing them can cause you to "eat back" the calories you burned exercising, preventing you from seeing results. A lot of my non pro athlete clients grab a bar post workout and eat a meal a few hours later, which may be overload when you consider that many bars are the equivalent of a turkey sandwich — and most people wouldn't eat a turkey sandwich, then sit down to chicken stir fry a few hours later.
The Fix: If you’re going to eat within an hour of the end of your workout, skip the bar, or go for it and pare down the portions in your next meal.
Not Eating Enough “Good” Fat
Every cell in the human body is partially made out of fat, including muscle, so "good" fat is needed to heal and repair post workout — without it you can stay sore and fail to see an improvement in strength and muscle tone.
The Fix: Include small portions of foods like extra virgin olive oil, avocado and almonds at every meal, and be sure to include a daily source of omega 3 fatty acids
Buying Into the Afterburn Myth
While it's true that you will torch more calories in the hours after a workout, for most women it amounts to just an additional 50 calories burned, not enough to sanction a splurge (note: a medium original Pinkberry = 230 calories).
The Fix: My general rule of thumb: the 50/50 principle — if you’re trying to trim down you can afford to add about half the calories you burn to your usual intake, preferably about 50 percent before to help fuel the activity, and half after, for recovery. For example, an hour on the elliptical burns about 500 calories (for 150 pound person), which means you can safely “spend” an extra 125 calories both before and after hitting the gym — that’s the amount in about one slice of whole grain bread spread with one tablespoon natural peanut butter before, and a half cup each nonfat Greek yogurt and sliced strawberries topped with a tablespoon of sliced almonds after.

Planning a Destination Wedding?

I have decided to let all of you future brides and grooms in on some key points when planning a destination wedding to make your day run even more smoother.

1. Choose a Travel agent who SPECIALIZES IN DESTINATION WEDDINGS! www.posetravel.com

2. Now that you are engaged send out an email ASAP to all of your invited guests letting them know;

a. that you are engaged and b. that you are having a destination wedding and they are invited. In this email you should mention;

* What city you are thinking about having the wedding i.e. Mayan Riviera, Costa Rica, Jamaica etc (if you don't know list them all!)

*Approx time frame when you want to have the wedding i.e. "We are hoping to have our destination wedding/your vacation mid - end of November 2012".

*Approx price range they should be expecting to pay (always go a little higher than what you expect to pay so that you look like a hero if it does come in lower and it gives more room to be flexible when choosing your resort. As a rough guideline for prices e.g. Mayan Riviera 5 star All Inclusive wedding for 7 nights accommodation, return flights and round trip airport transfers in Mexico, typically most people try to budget for their guests paying $1600 per person including taxes.

* Explain to them how a group booking works; Most suppliers i.e. Westjet groups, US Vacations offer a "group" air and land booking (which is only available to a Travel Agent) Thus meaning return flights, accommodation and round trip transfers when a minimum of 10 rooms are booked at the same resort. The benefit of a group booking is that is typically around $100 per person cheaper than what you see online + the price is guaranteed for the whole group not just a seat sale that you will come across online + you pay an initial non-refundable deposit per person of approx $250 and this deposit is taken off your final payment + you do not need to pay the final balance until approx 60 days prior to departure. This way your attending guests have some time to start saving.  

3. Set up an online free wedding website, there are many to choose from such as www.mywedding.com or www.ewedding.com let your guests know the link via email. You can set up an RSVP link on this website so that guests can RSVP directly to the site, you can update your guests with info, let them know if you are having a gift registry etc.

4. Speak with your destiantion wedding specialist travel agent about resort options (they are experts and know prices very well as they are used to this). Once you have narrowed your options to about 3 different resorts your Travel agent will now send away a request to their preferred suppliers and wait approx 3 -5 business days to hear back with a group price.

5. Depending on whether your Travel agent is a destination wedding specialist or not he/she or you will contact the wedding team at the chosen resorts and make sure there is a day available to be married, when the resorts wedding team confirms which date you/travel agent will temporarily book your wedding. (Pose Travel offers this service to all clients)

6.. Group prices have been received by your Travel agent and you decide to choose the Now Sapphire, Riviera Cancun as the price came in under what you expected, now you will send your guest list to your Travel agent who will then prepare an info sheet with all of the prices, dates, info on the resort, you name it! and email it off to your guests. You will have 30 days from the time the Travel agent receives the quote until initial $256 per person deposit is due. When a guest decides to commit to the trip they will contact the dedicated Travel agent and he/she will take the information required for the deposit.

7.You or your Destination wedding specialist (Pose Travel www.posetravel.com- Destination wedding specialists) will conact the resorts and make a final booking for your wedding day.

8. Once all of the guests have replied and the group quote has expired (30 days have passed) the Travel agent will send all the details to the supplier who will make the reservation, your credit cards will then be charged.

9. From this point up until the final payment is due you will be working either on your own or with your Travel agent/destination wedding specialist on your wedding planning (Pose Travel offer this service for $500 + hst).

10. Next stage the final payments are due along with Passport information - your travel agent will advise everyone 2-3 weeks prior and if anyone needs to update their payment method or let the Travel Agent know their passport details, date of birth etc.

11. Departure day - Just like a regular flight however this one will be even more exciting as you will have family and friends on the same flight and the bride will be treated like a princess as she wonders around the airport with a HUGE white bag (her wedding dress)

12. A couple of days/one day prior to your wedding day you will meet with the wedding team at your resort to go over all the details and also to do a walk through with everyone who is in the wedding party.

13. Your wedding day! enjoy!
*Note: A destination wedding can be legal or symbolic - You have a choice to be legally married with a Marriage celebrant in your home town prior to departing (I would suggest approx 60 days prior to departing to allow for the printing and sending of your marriage license) or if you choose to have a legal wedding during your destination wedding than there are some different processes i.e. in Mexico you have to arrive a minimum of 3-5 days prior to the wedding for both of you to get blood work done (there is a cost involved in this), the marriage license will be mailed to you once you return (allow at least 90 days) The document will be in Spanish so you will need to pay to have it translated, you will also have to pay a little more for the ceremony itself + processing fees.

Wedding Stats

North American Wedding Statistics for 2010 are published! some very interesting information that you may find interesting when you are thinking of planning your next wedding / or just to see if you fit into the "average" category.

Key Average Wedding Statistics

• Wedding Spend (excluding honeymoon): $26,984
• Most Expensive Area to Get Married (excluding honeymoon): NYC (Manhattan), $70,030
• Least Expensive Area to Get Married (excluding honeymoon): Utah, $13,214
• Wedding Dress Spend: $1,099
• Percentage of Destination Weddings: 24%
• Bride's Age: 29
• Groom's Age: 31
• Number of Guests: 141
• Average Wedding Spend (on a per guest basis): $194
• Number of Bridesmaids: 4
• Number of Groomsmen: 4
• Length of Engagement: 14 months
• Most Popular Engagement Month: December (16%)
• Most Popular Wedding Month: June (15%)
• Most Popular Wedding Color: White/Ivory (43%)

2010 Average Wedding Budget Breakdown
Category		2010 National Average Spend
Overall Wedding (excluding honeymoon)		$26,984
Ceremony Site		$1,393
Reception Venue		$12,124
Reception Band		$3,081
Reception DJ		$900
Photographer		$2,320
Videographer		$1,463
Wedding Gown		$1,099
Florist/Décor		$1,988
Invitations		$351
Wedding Cake		$540
Ceremony Musicians		$503
Catering (cost per head)		$61
Wedding Day Transportation		$667
Favors		$222
Rehearsal Dinner		$1,127
Engagement Ring		$5,392
Figures based on respondents who hired a professional vendor for the service.

Valentines Day Proposals

Did you know.....? That 10% of ALL Engaged/Married Americans were officially engaged on a Valentines Day? HUH!

With that in mind Valentines Day is only one week away! There are so many nervous males out there at the moment deciding which ring shold I buy? how do I ask her father? More importantly how am I going to ask her to marry me! oh the list goes on.....!

We have come up with a few Marriage Proposals for this upcoming Valentines Day that will be sure to make your Fiance say YES!

1. Make her a photo album.....With each photo being a memory of your relationship i.e. a picture of the venue from your first date, a picture from your first house you lived in, a picture of your favorite restaurant etc and then when she gets to last couple pictures take a picture of either a. the jewellery store you are buying the ring from or b. a picture of the street name you are going to buy the ring from, then have picture of you in the jewellery store (or  of the ring if you already have it) and then the last picture is the MOST IMPORTANT include a picture saying "Will You Marry Me?"

2. Take her to a sports game....and prior to the game arrange with the source to display "will you marry me" on the score board!


3. Take her out to a romantic restaurant.... (she will just assume its going to happen here) don't propose at the restaurant until, on your way home stop for an ice-cream or coffee at DQ, Starbucks etc (a little less romantic) when the server hands your ice-cream/coffee have your napkin pre-written in marker "Will You Marry Me?" (Make sure you pre arrange this with the Ice cream/coffee shop)

4. Write on the bathroom mirror.... in lipstick "Will You Marry Me?" so when she wakes up in the morning it is there waiting for her.

5. Dog lover?.... you can get a dog tag made and printed for a very low cost these days, have one printed "Will you Marry Me?" and take her dog to the groomers that day so when she picks the dog up see if she notices what is written on her dogs new tag.



6. A girl will always want a fresh manicure when she is newly engaged...., so for Valentines book her in for a romantic dinner and also treat her beforehand to a manicure, once she at the final stages of her manicure and her nails are drying have the nail technician pass over the envelope (the one you will tell her is for the payment of the nails) and inside will be the ring, next you can arrive to take her to dinner WITH freshly manicured nails and hands and a RING!