jajajaja

Well I found ones online I like, but every time I turn around I'm thinking about hauling all this crap down with me. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a direct flight either so it's a huge hassle. I like Ann's idea of "think it and Nicole will make it happen." I like to see the dollar sign though too.

Can you post a pic of the box/bag? I have no idea what anything from tiffany's looks like. Personally, I wouldn't be offended, nor would any of my BMs. Even if I told them they were real and they found out otherwise...haha. I would never do it though. On my recent trip to NYC, I ate up all the knock offs. I never saw such a spectacle before. It was great, but then I felt like a tourist with all my black garbage bags. I say give it to them the way they are if you love them so much. But an alternative idea which is usually a really cute/inexpensive way to give a gift is go to a craft store and buy the recycled jewelry boxes. I spray paint them gold and used a gorgeous ribbon. If you have a stamp of your monogram, even better.

Ann, if you don't mind me asking, how much did they charge you to add the crystal curtain to your chuppah? I love that look! Did Nicole provide those and charge you for it or did you buy them and bring it with you?

Quote: Originally Posted by Adamsgrrl Fortunatly MY parents are paying for the wedding and paying for Bridal party to go. They are very generous. When we first started planning we were planning with a very small budget but then parents offered to "up" our plans. We're paying for honeymoon, attire, DIY projects etc. FI's family are paying for themselves to go... other than that they haven't offered or asked ONE thing about the wedding..can you tell I'm a little bitter. LOL! At least your FI's family will go. My parents are paying for 6K (and yesterday asked me to email our budget outline because it has grown since the 6k offer...my mom said they are discussing on providing more. My mom is saving money out of her paycheck to pay for the photog and dress, which I have declined, but she insists. My FI's parents don't even know if they will come even though they just gave his little brother 3k for his wedding. We told them months ago to start saving up for our destination wedding (before they contributed to his wedding, which we didn't know they planned on doing) and they said they weren't sure if they had the money. Then a little bit ago his mom accidentally slipped and said they gave them the 3k for the wedding. Talk about bitterness for me! Here's my thinking- spend 3k to get yourselves there. It's an even amount spent on each son's wedding. Sounds fair enough for me. Oops..sorry for the thread hijack.

Looks great Susan! This is stilll on my To-Do list. I hope my turn out as well as yours.

Congrats! Happy planning!

My parents are giving us 6K and we are roughly figuring on paying 10K ourselves but every day I see that figure rise a little more. I don't figure on it being too much more though.

Ya! Can't wait to see pics. How exciting. Congrats. I'm glad it worked out so well for you.

Yes, I have already locked and loaded my date. It's fine for me now. How unfortunate they are only saying it has a potential chance to start earlier. I think this is the only down side to Las Caletas. But on a more postive note, everyone's pictures from this seasons have turned out beautiful even with the late start time!

My main concern about getting married in Las Caletas was the late ceremony start time but apparently they are offering Sunday rates for the same price now and you are able to dictate a schedule. I don't know if November 7th is a must for you, but maybe you could move your date to a Sunday and have an earlier start time and dictate your own ceremony schedule like Tara did. I'm very jealous they added this after I already booked. I would have snatched this up in a heart beat. Oh well.....

I don't understand why vendors are so slow either. They must have a ton of business so their slow responses don't really matter. It's so frustrating though...I feel your pain. Personally, I got so fed up with a WC that I ruled them out altogether. I mean, if they are slow to respond in the beginning when they are suppose to be selling the place, what will they be like when you are SOLD? When choosing places, I created spreadsheets- basically what each place will cost us, what is included in packages, what we would have to buy beyond basic packages, the pros and cons. After that we sat down with all the spreadsheets and chose one that we thought most suited our needs. I think we made the BEST decision by doing this. I just didn't want to go over budget and regret it. It took us probably a couple of months to choose. The longest process of course was collecting the info and I think you already have a head start by having the forum. I wish I found this forum when I was banging my head against a wall.

Welcome! I've already chuckled at a few of your posts. Keep them coming.

I probably went about this all backwards, but I found a location we loved then tried to figure out if we could afford it. We did a lot of math (and when I say we, I really mean I). I have all kinds of crazy spreadsheets for how much we can save to our approximate budget (it's only approximate because really...I'm a spending girl at heart.) I planned a wedding with all the things I would love. Then I worked to scale back from there and stuck with items I thought "essential" to having a perfect wedding. Everyone has different priorities and you will find that Donnie and you most likely will as well. We had to compromise a lot.

Ok Erik is cracking me up. This contest reminds me of Project Runway. They make beautiful clothes out the craziest material. But with TP, heaven forbid it's a DW wedding. Could you imagine a Trash the Dress? It would look like you climbed straight out of the toilet bowl.

Quote: Originally Posted by TammyB I wear makeup, and like Sarah mentioned I also went to the Mac counter before the wedding and had them do it. I'm SOOO glad I did because I had the women at the resort start with my eyebrows and they ended up 4 shades darker then my hair.. That's when I stopped her and told her "never mind I'll do my makeup".. In all honesty, I wish I spent the extra money to go to suzanne Morales in cabo, I "liked" my makeup but I wasn't "thrilled" with it on the wedding day. Tammy, I thought you looked gorgeous. Isn't that the whole point to make up anyways? You achieved the feat while saving some dough.

I love make up. Maybe it's silly, but I love experimenting with all the different colors. I've done make up for brides for a few weddings and all of them never wore make up. Sometimes having someone come in that's a "professional" and a make up lover, they don't understand the difference of what looks subtle to them might look outrageous to a non-make up wearer. When doing friend's make up sometimes I put on something that I think is natural and they get kinda skittish. That's why it's best to do trial runs to see what you are comfortable with. I think you should wear some make up on your wedding day- just to make your skin even and to add a little pop to your eyes. It will photograph better too. However, I think what Sara did is the best idea. Go to a make up counter, buy what you like, and PRACTICE. It's not hard once you figure out what you like and how you did it.

After reading all of these comments, I feel much better. It's naive but I honestly thought only my family and friends were being so inconsiderate. I don't understand why it's so upsetting to them either. I mean really...is it the thought of missing out on a free party/dinner? I personally find some weddings to be a chore- it's all the same and sometimes really boring. I didn't want that at all. I wanted people to go because they wanted to- not because they felt obligated. DW is perfect for this. People who want to go will go AND they will appreciate all the effort we have been making to insure they have a helluva good time once they get there!

Quote: Originally Posted by starchild Alaska Airlines was the best! They put my dress in the empty first class closet, announced us to the whole plane, gave us free champagne, and went around and got advice from married couples then announced it on the PA.....it was above what we expected for sure!! If you call they'll say it's on a space available basis, but if the closets are full you can still carry it on, you'll just have to lay it flat in the overhead which isn't a big problem. This makes me feel better. I think we are going through Alaska. Thanks for all the feedback girls. I just want to know what to expect!

We decided to do this Guess shirt for the groomsmen. The color isn't quite right in this picture. It's a light mauve color (and the groomsmen liked it because as they said "real men wear pink.") FI will wear this: We wanted to do a jacket over it, but gave up because he thought it was too much money to spend on something that will only make him sweat his balls off. Yes, those were his exact words. Ehh..whatever he wants to do. He had no decision in my dress, so I'll let him wear what he wants...with little nudges.

My girls picked out this Raylia dress. It's great because it looks good on different body types since it has a corset back. Also, you are able to pick a satin base color and a lace overlay. We did a terracotta satin with a peach overlay. It's very pretty together.

We just did this last weekend. You better act fast if you want to do it this season. Most were on their way out. Macy's had some. Nordstroms moved theirs to The Rack, so skip looking at their store and go straight for The Rack. We found a few in JcPennys. They were alright- not the best. I also found some online at Target. I wanted to check to see if they were decent quality but I never made it there. We decided not to do a linen suit after all of this. We did find nice cotton/linen blend pants by Dockers at Macy's.

Does anyone know what specific airlines will allow a wedding dress to be a carry on? I have a couple of emails into a few, but I didn't know if others have any feedback on this subject or any experiences to re-tell. When buying my dress, the consultant told me about a bride cleared her wedding dress with the airline at the time of purchase, but at the ticket counter they took it back and made her check her dress. I swear if it were me, I would put that thing on and wear it on the plane. I have the WORST traveling luck...and just for saying that I'm sure I jinxed myself again.

Before me then...please post pics! I can't wait to see more of her work.

Quote: Originally Posted by hls140 Thanks for all of the help and recommendations. We've decided to go with Elizabeth Lloyd/Beth Fladung for our weddding! She seems really nice, very responsive and I love her photography style and photos! I requested additional photos apart from what are on her website and she sent some great ones. If you are looking for a photographer and would like to see them, just provide your email address and I'll forward them to you. Thanks for letting me share! She is doing our wedding as well! When and where is your wedding?

Quote: Originally Posted by Morgan I was just reading about this on the knot last night so I thought I should pass it on. "Releasing farm-raised butterflies can be disruptive or even disastrous for local butterfly populations, especially if the just-released are a non-native species or diseased. Even if this isn't a problem, the butterflies you release don't have a great chance of survival. For an alternative, consider a dove release -- these domesticated homing birds will return to their handlers. (For more info about butterfly releases, go to NABA.org.)" The Knot - Green Weddings: Green Wedding Myths Busted My FI was just telling me about a wedding in which each guest released a butterfly. He said that they watched the hundreds of butterflies flutter off until a bunch of birds sitting on the church roof swooped down and started picking them off right and left. What a sad (and morbid) way to celebrate a union!