Lindsay's (seaprincess) very LONG and overdue planning thread

Hi All!!! So I was married 3 weeks ago and didn’t have a chance to post my planning thread before we left so….here it is! From the beginning:

My FI popped the question on Christmas morning 2007 at 6:30am when I was barely awake - The E-ring is a Canadian princess cut diamond

With my wedding band which is two rows of pave diamonds

FI band and my plain band match and are white gold with a hammed/sand blasted finish

We chose the Grand Palladium Bavaro in Punta Cana (on the advise of our TA/wedding coordinator) to celebrate our special day. We wanted a large resort with lots to do and that is exactly what the Palladium offered.

The ceremony site but with yellow sashes

The invite designed by a friend of a friend and printed DIY on Martha Stewart cardstock/envelopes

The DIY fan ceremony programs

Tears of joy packages for the ceremony

Raffia fans with orchids; our colours are aqua/teal and yellow with small hits of pink

Jamie and I wrote our own vows the day before the wedding b/c neither of us was able to sit down and write them before we were under pressure and they turned out perfect! Not a dry eye in the house!

Sand ceremony frame and aqua sand to be mixed with sand from the beach

The Sand ceremony was read by my brother and the words are:

As you stand beside the ocean, may your love always be as constant as the tide; waves flowing endlessly from the depths of the sea. Just as water is the eternal force of life, so is love. Love is the force that allows us to face fear and uncertainty with courage.

You have just sealed your relationship by giving and receiving of rings. But although you will be sharing one life, never forget that you are two separate people. Cherish and affirm your differences. Love each other. Keep your commitment primary. Together you will laugh and cry, be sick and well, be happy and angry, share and grow. Grow sometimes together, sometimes separately.

To symbolize this union and the importance of the individuals within the marriage, two separate colours of sand will be combined. Each one holds its own unique beauty, strength, and character. They can stand on their own and be whole, without need of anything else. However when these two are blended together they create and entirely new and extraordinarily more intricate entity.

Each grain of sand brings to the mixture a lasting beauty that forever enriches the combination. Please pour the sand into this common container to symbolize the union of your two lives.

(Begin pouring sand)

Jamie and Lindsay, just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual container, so will your marriage be a molding of two individual personalities, bonded together forming one heart, one life, and one family.

For the reception, we choose the terrace of La Uva which is a restaurant on the beach. Menu was chosen by picking off the various menu options at all the restaurants and we chose garlic shrimp for the appetizer, beef medallions with veggies for the main, and red fruit cheesecake for dessert

The cake we chose when we got there was strawberry shortcake white icing and blue trim and the resort provided the cake topper

Reception décor included blue and green stones, yellow tealights, and shells

The favours are mints from Oriental Trading tucked in small aqua boxes filled with tissue paper

The guestbook that we brought down with us that will be turned into a scrapbook to be displayed at the AHR

My BM dresses which we bought as a gift for the girls from Pink Ice

The GM’s shirts which we bought as a gift for the guys from Le Chateau

The BM gifts – silver pashminas to go with the dresses

My MOH gift along with the pashminas and the dress; it is a business card holder engraved with her initials (long story behind this one)

The GM, my brother and the two other male friends who came with us all received stainless steel travel mugs with their nicknames engraved (no pics)

My BMs, MOH and the two female friends who came with us received the design your own mug from Starbucks designed especially for them. (no pics)

The luggage tags for our guests given out at the airport – used self-laminating paper, and a photo of the beach in Punta Cana on one side and the hotel address on the other

The Punta Cana Survival Kits given to all the guests (55 people joined us in PC) which includes: Lip balm, Purell, Q-Tips, Band-Aids, common Spanish phrases booklet, Advil & Imodium (thanks Morgan for your templates!)

The back of the pack has a welcome letter inserted thanking our guests for joining us and giving info on the day of the wedding.

My BD book for my man – given the morning of the wedding when it was just the two of us

My hubby in his clothes from Banana Republic (end of season sale!!), belt from Mexx and leather sandles

The dress by Mori Lee on the model

The brooch I added to the dress

The earrings purchased at the Bay, I didn’t wear any other jewlerry

The shoes- I also ended up getting white flipflops w/ Swarvoski jewels from my MOH which were a life saver during the reception

The handbag

My DIY mantilla

My hair flower and FIs bout are the same real touch orchid

My realtouch orchid and plumeria bouquet- The BMs and GM had white rose bouquets and bouts picked out when we were at the resort

My hair inspiration

We chose Photosouvenir for the photog and opted out of a videographer and instead had a family friend film the ceremony

I think that’s it! This planning process was definitely more fun than it was stressful and I would do it all over again if I had to! The biggest thing I learned is do what is right for you because its your day and you’ll remember it forever so no detail is too small if it means something to you and your FI!

WoW! Everything looks great, where did you get the sand ceremony frame?

I LOVE your BD Book! Where did you get it from? Did you print it form an online site or did a photographer do it for you? Very cool.

Lindsay, where did you find that reading for your sand ceremony? It's beautiful. I think I may borrow it!!

Thanks for sharing. Love the wedding shoes.