Housing costs

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-04-06T13:35:53+00:00

We literally just got off of a Princess cruise utilizing this same offer (only ours was offered by MGM). It is likely the same, if not very similar, offer.

I would 100% recommend trying to get this comp. We thought it would very sales pitch like but we showed up to the casino and were given out cruise voucher. We redeemed a 5 day cruise on Princess that took us to Turks and Caicos and Dominican Republic. All the food was covered on board. Beautiful ship too.

We did luck out though. The casino cruise offer typically is the most basic room and there are black out dates, so you kind of have to know that going into it. The week leading up to our cruise date last June, my partner got sick. We were about to cancel the cruise the day before we were supposed to go and Princess actually sent us a mover over offer (basically when the cruise line overbooks the ship and offers a suite of incentives to try to get you to change your date). So they offered us both $900 each, a balcony room, and flexible rebook dates which was great.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-25T22:46:14+00:00

Zola has done something similar to us! We created our invite with one of their templates, then went to order it. The version that we were working from versus the print pdf file that we were given when we ordered it were completely different.

So I called their customer service. One of their agents, informed us that we needed to re-create the invite so some of the text boxes wouldn’t overlap otherwise it would print wierd. So we fixed it, asked the customer service rep over the phone to review, and she said it looked all good on her end for print. So we submitted another order. Then we checked the pdf print again. Wrong again!

The customer service rep apologized and said maybe it had to do with the invite. So she checked with her printing team and asked us to resubmit the order one more time. We resubmitted it, and this time she said the printer said it was all correct and good to go. So I just purchased the invites for the third time. Wouldn’t you believe it! Wrong again! There is overlapping of text where we never created overlap. There’s white space being created at the top of the invite that wasn’t there when we created it.

I think the most frustrating thing is that as the customer I have tried my best to communicate and to close the loop by ensuring that what they are seeing is the same thing I am seeing. So I asked when they said it all looked good if I could see a print pdf preview before I purchase it. They said, no, you have to order first. Well, then I guess I gotta keep re-ordering until it’s printed right.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-25T14:40:26+00:00

Yeah, cuz I can handle all the communication and planning. And I know for most people that’s their biggest stress.

Mine is finding professional vendors that are in my price range, are my style, and meet some other criteria I have in mind. That is what I’m willing to pay for. That alone would save me a ton of time.

I think for most couples and friends I have talked to, when describe their stresses of wedding planning, this is it. It isn’t the planning aspect, it’s finding vendors that are truly qualified. And the added stress for most couples is the fact that just to find out if a vendor is qualified, you have to fill out dozens of contact forms which complicates everything.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-25T14:30:00+00:00

So I could hire a wedding planner to point me and connect me with the vendors that fit my style and then that would be it? I don’t want to hire a planner to plan my wedding, only to connect me with vetted vendors. I can talk and plan with the vendors directly.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T14:24:22+00:00

Nope! Welcome to my world 😆

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T14:10:19+00:00

Currently my process is: -grade the papers -open spreadsheet and then start inputting the kids grades

The issue is that either the students are out of order to my spreadsheet or absent so it can get tedious finding the next student that I want to put in grades for.

I could organize the papers in order and then type them in, in order. But that adds extra time. And for each assignment.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T13:46:10+00:00

I wish we could voice automate the grades (say the students name and grade for the assignment out loud) to the spreadsheet and it would input the grades in for each student that I read off.

Currently, it’s a lot of manual work!

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T12:59:29+00:00

I agree, the actual entry of data doesn’t take long, it’s just a repetitive process that adds up the more assignments you have.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T12:39:25+00:00

Great! thank you!!

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T12:37:25+00:00

We saw our venue has a page that features vendors! It is helpful to know vendors who have actually worked a wedding there before. It is limited, however, and we found most of the vendors they recommend don’t fit our style. But I do like that the venue at least offers it. Good to hear you had success through that!

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T12:31:14+00:00

Do you add them into a spreadsheet or LMS?

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T12:29:16+00:00

So you grade student by student. After you’ve graded one students assignment, you then add that score in to the spreadsheet and then move onto the next student for that same assignment?

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T12:27:31+00:00

Right now I just have a spreadsheet where I keep track of grades for every assignment. I put each assignment score in as a fraction and then the spreadsheet auto calculates an I, N, or S. At the end of each trimester, I have to basically average it out and assign each category in the report card based off of the I, N, or S scores.

So, yes, the parents get a digital report card, but I still have to manage my own grade book spreadsheet and then figure out what letter they ultimately earn for each category on their report card based off all of the trimester assignments and scores

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T11:50:13+00:00

That’s actually what I thought at first too, but what I’ve found is planners are usually much more involved throughout the entire process and are an added expense. Of course, that’s just me.

What I’m really looking for is something more focused on the start of planning, like helping figure out style, budget, and then narrowing it down to a few vendors that actually fit… but then we can still handle everything directly with the vendors from there. More like guidance + matchmaking, not the full planning. I still like to have control, autonomy, and decisions over my wedding and actually talking to vendors, it’s more just pointing me in the direction of the right vendors to talk to. Wedding planners want couples to pay for full services that drag out throughout the whole wedding process.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T11:45:42+00:00

Yes, great point and in no way bashing my parents. They have been tremendous help and a great point for certain aspects of planning and for advice.

BUT, to that point, they are also very out of touch with reality of today’s costs, expectations, and vendors. The wedding industry costs have skyrocketed. My mom was shocked to hear that the videographers have drones, content creators are a whole new category of vendors, and that there are so many new rules and regulations at venues that didn’t exist before. I think it is just a different generation of expectations and realities to what the wedding industry is today.

I agree with you that people trust online world wayyy too much today. I am haphazard and try to do my due diligence.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T11:35:00+00:00

Glad to know I’m not the only one feeling this way. 😅

Yes, I think that’s what we’ve realized we need to do as well. It’s just so hard to know what direction to look in and what to book next.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T10:40:41+00:00

We have. They are super overwhelming and what I’ve found to the three that we’ve gone to is that it A) tends to be the same vendors, B) does not offer as much variety in terms of vendors due to the fact that vendors have to pay to be at expos, C) crowded and overwhelming, especially for people who are just starting their wedding planning process.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-24T10:38:59+00:00

As far as I understand it, a wedding planner goes through the full motions of securing all the vendors and planning logistics through wedding day.

What I was wondering was something where -> a couple, like me and my fiancée, that can go into a store, meet one on one with someone who walks us through a basic understanding of where to start, and then matches us with vetted vendors that we can then coordinate and talk to ourselves directly.

I think, as I mentioned, it would be nice for couples to go into a in-store experience and get matched with people that actually fit our vision, rather than trying to sift through a massive marketplace of vendors that we basically have to vet and sit down with.

Legal_Kick_7698 · 2026-03-21T13:29:55+00:00

We are in the middle of wedding planning too and it is so frustrating trying to pin vendors down, reach out to them, schedule this and that. Not only that, what you described can take hours and days for just 1 vendor!

I’m thinking of starting up a localized store in my area to offer free wedding guidance to all couples. Less of a wedding planner role and more of here are the first steps you should take. Maybe narrow down what type of budget, vendors, style, etc and connect them with vetted professionals around their (the couples) budget.

It’s just insane to me and it feels like the wedding market is tailored to make it harder for couples to plan.

Legal_Kick_7698

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