Jessalyn

Welcome Melanie! We have quite a few RM/Cancun brides here, so I'm sure you'll get lots of great ideas and advice. Let us know how we can help!!

I didn't do magnets or use vista print, but I have to say those are so cute. Margaret, I love the second design too. And Ann, yours turned out really cute...I've always liked that color combo and stripes are so much fun.

Happy Birthday Julie!! I hope you have great day! Did you get the beautiful dress that you were considering before? Can't wait to see the pics.

Tasha~ How exciting! We plan for our wedding for months and then it is over in a day (or a weekend). I hope you savor every minute of your special day. Can't wait to hear all about it......and to hear all about Christa's wedding too!

Welcome! I think it is so great that Jason is so involved in the wedding planning. You sure did find yourself a good man! Can't wait to see your photos and hear how wonderful the private wedding on the beach was!

Welcome Jolene! Let us know how we can help! Have you considered Lake Tahoe?...Casinos there and a beautiful lake! Good luck!

Those are cute and a great price! Thanks for sharing

Quote: Originally Posted by tob1kanobe I only have one response - yes those are great tips ---BUT i dont see my self abstaining from caffeine, spicy foods, red meat or god forbid alcohol in the 72 hours before my wedding....lmao Yes, Good point! LOL

So, I was surfing the net last night and came across this article, by a make-up artist, Mary Erickson. It is targeted at models, but I thought there were some great tips in general for us brides wanting great photos. I thought it I would post it for anyone who is interested.... Preparing For A Photo Shoot By Mary Erickson Most professional models know by experience about what needs to be done before a photo shoot. If you do not have a lot of modeling experience I suggest you look over the following list of things that will help you for this shoot and in the future. The more of these guidelines you follow the better your shots will turn out. 1. 72 hours before your photo shoot, avoid the following items (these items can give you oily skin and swelling): a. Red meat b. Alcohol c. Caffeine d. Spicy foods e. Retin A and Alpha Hydroxy creams (causes skin peeling that will show with photo makeup) 2. Drink lots of water, carry it with you everywhere you go, and keep sipping. 3. Exfoliate your skin at least once a week and also the morning of the shoot. 4. Have your brows professionally shaped and then keep them up by plucking the strays every few days. I will Pluck strays the day of the shoot but probably will not have time to shape your brows. 5. It is a good idea to carry your own mascara to the shoot with you. Some make-up artists use mascara with the same wand on several people. This can spread infection very quickly. Unless you know the artist and know that she only uses disposable wands, it's best not to take your chances. I do use disposable wands! 6. Dark roots will look even worse in photos. Refresh your hair color a few days before your shoot. If you do not color your hair, try “shades†or a toner just a shade lighter then your hair to make it shine. If you need a trim, do it before the shoot. 7. Fingernails and toenails should be one length, well manicured, and the polish should be colorless or French, unless this shoot calls for color. 8. All traces of makeup should be gone from your skin. All eyeliner and mascara should be gone. Your face should be clean and product free when you arrive. 9. Do not over condition your hair before a shoot. Do use your regular styling products to make your hair behave, as chances are the hair stylist will not be wetting your hair and not be able to use gels, etc. Your hair must be dry before you arrive at the shoot. 10. Avoid dry lips by putting Vaseline on your lips before bed and the morning of your shoot. Exfoliate your lips by brushing them when you brush your teeth. 11. For body (lots of skin showing) shots, be sure you get rid of tan lines by visiting a tanning booth a few times. 12. Don’t do the spray on tan, it looks orange in photos and it looks streaky 90% of the time. Spray on tans have ruined shoots for everyone involved. 13. If you have facial hair and you are a woman you need to have it waxed before the shoot. Peach fuzz will show up on your skin, in fact it will look worse in photos then it does in person. People get used to it, you may have it and not be aware until the photos come back. 14. Get rid of body hair. Anywhere and EVERYWHERE it could possibly show. 15. Bring strapless bras, nude undergarments and a tube top usually comes in handy. 16. Wear loose comfortable clothing to the shoot, clothes that bind will leave marks. If you are paying the artist, feel free to give advice on how you want to look. The photos are yours and you will have to live with them. If it is a test shoot, editorial, commercial shoot or a shoot that someone else is paying for it’s best to keep quiet on makeup and hair. Chances are the artist knows what the photographer and art director want. It may not be what you prefer but normally the person paying for the shoot likes to make ALL the decisions. If you are new at modeling it is a good idea to go ahead and let the artist make the decisions, even if you are paying her or him. In most cases they will know what will look better in the photos - they are dealing with lights, backgrounds and lens filters that you probably are not familiar with. Telling an artist or stylist how to do their job or how you like your makeup is the luickest way to insure you won’t work much. Once you are on the job here are some industry etiquette tips 1) Do not chat or answer your cell phone unless it's an emergency. 2) Do not eat or drink while in the makeup/Hair chair 3) Don't smoke or take smoke breaks, wait until the job is done and never smoke in wardrobe provided for you. 4) Be 15 minutes early to every job, traffic is never an excuse for being late....you need to assume heavy traffic. 5) Don't comment on the clothing, hair or makeup you are in, these are decisions out of your hands for a reason. 6) Never bring anyone to a job, this is very unprofessional and there is rarely room to accommodate more people on a shoot. 7) If you are asked to bring wardrobe, bring more than you are asked to bring, clients change their minds so bring lots of choices. Never touch your makeup or hair, do not adjust your clothing, these are things the stylist and artist will do for you, that's why we are here. Mary Erickson Mary Erickson, The Makeup Artist .com - San Diego and Los Angeles make-up, hair styling and wardrobe

I was planning to give them the morning of the wedding as well, probably while getting ready.

You're invites will be beautiful! And, I'm looking forward to seeing your STD sample next week.

I would definitely include the contact information for your travel agent (if you have one) and if you have an idea of the weekend/week activities you could include a list for your guests. I sent a list of "tentative weekend activities" for my guests so that they could start thinking about when they would want to come to town. If you don't want/expect your guests to stay at one hotel, I would suggest sending a list of hotels in the area. Also, if you have a wedding web site, include it on your STDs so that everyone can get all the info about your wedding there. We have a list of local activities on our website. Hope this helps!

That sounds like a great tour! Hooray for you for putting all of that together on top of a wedding and everything else! You are on top of it!!

Christine, you might want to check out this site for hurricanes. I thought they had good prices when I was searching. Search

Quote: Originally Posted by MaureenM618 Thanks girls!! I'm not sure about how I'm going to pack them yet. I hope they come in individual boxes with padding that I can use for transporting them. The price was definately right! Yeah, whoever wants them can take them home. I love the color too. I was going for an aqua blue theme. So you really think 4 sets is enough?? That's what I'm worried about. I like those. When you get them, you can always do a mock up of your table to see if you want/need to add more candles, etc. Great find!!

I agree....keep looking until you find the one that you love and don't want to take off!!

I sent a STD out about 10 months before the wedding. The STD contained the travel agent's contact info and a link to our web site that had ALL the travel information on it. I mailed my invites the first week in March for my 6-23 wedding, because my room block will be released on the 21st (next Wednesday--yikes!). I felt that my invites went out early (almost 4 months before the wedding), but I wanted to give the stragglers one more reminder to book their room, etc. Forgot to mention...my respond date was May 23rd, but I figured I would have a very good count of who was coming even without the replies by checking with my TA to see who had booked.

I'm actually going to make my own runners. I bought some fabric and am going to probably make them about 12 inches wide. I'm planning to do a U shaped table or one long one depending on how many guests I end up with. I think Christine was referring to pinking shears

Lindsay~ Your wedding was beautiful. I love the location and your flowers were great, very tropical and pretty. The letter your mom wrote was very touching. I'm so glad it was such a wonderful, special day for you and your husband! Congratulations!

I'm a little late, but I really like #3. The gathers at the waist are very flattering. However, I understanding your concerns about the "sparkles" in your pictures. #2 also lookd fantastic on you. #4 is beautiful and would love to see a picture of you in it. I agree with your friend, that you should get the dress that you WANT and that you LOVE. It's your wedding day and you can wear whatever dress you want to! My FI is wearing a tan suit and a Tommy Bahama style suit and I'm wearing a full on beaded wedding gown. ....and, I'm going to feel beautiful in it! Good luck! Looking forward to seeing which dress you choose!

Lenita, Your photos are beautiful. I loved Andre's sombraro...so much fun. You were truly a gorgeous bride! Your hair style and make-up were perfect! It looks like all of your guests had a great time. I'm so happy for you two! Congratulations!

Their work is beautiful! Can't wait to see your STDs and of course or invites when you decide which ones you are going to do! ...are you still considering orchids for your invites?

Thank you! The wax paper way sounds like the one that would work the best. Thanks for explaining in detail. I'm anxious to try it. I hope I have wedding pics in time (before the AHR).

Quote: Originally Posted by host its funny, even though you can tell a person 100 times "passport required" for some reason you always get the ones that think it is "required" for everyone but them... So true...That is what is driving me CrAzY!!! ...we'll see if all the "yes" rsvps make to the wedding!

Natalie~ I love both of the invites! Great choices. AHR really makes it easier to choose...you can have both!