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Quote: Originally Posted by Stephanie 525 We are in the same boat! Never be ashamed of being thrifty...unless you re-use plastic food bags I re-use plastic bags I bring a bag of chips to work every day & use the same bag. I do toss the bag i use for my sliced apples because it is wet. But I still feel like I need to come up with a better option, like putting it in tupperware. I'm naturally really thrifty, but it also works well with being concerned about the environment. I pass off a lot of my cheapness by saying I want to be ecofriendly. I'm being really cheap about the wedding. I'm making all my own invites, STDs, etc. using free vista print offers. I bought an off the rack department store dress. But, I still love it. I'm not doing any decorating. I bought a lot of our outfits to wear on the trip at the end of summer sales. We had a friend take our engagement pics with my digital camera. I bought a used camcorder off amazon.com to record the wedding & the rest of the vacation. I'm making my own hair flower. I found cheap veil options, but now I'm borrowing a friends veil. It was the one I wanted anyway. Hmm, what else? Pretty much everything I'm doing for the wedding is as inexpensive as i can make it. But I really don't think we'll miss out on any of the fun, romance or anything else that really matters. I'm also trying my best to keep it cheap for the guests. I don't like to save money at other people's expense. I like to help everyone around me save money while still having a good time.

Quote: Originally Posted by akh ugh - i can't remember who jason (lambert13) and karen (lucky ??) used. nor do i know how much they spent - but i want to say they were on a budget as well. let me look ... They used Vanessa Vargas. I'm currently talking to her to try to hire her for my wedding. Her prices are well under $2000 & she does great work. I felt the same way at first. I want good pictures, but can not spend $3000+ on them. At first I thought my only option was to stick to the cheap but cheesy hotel photographer. Now I know there are lots of great, affordable options in the area.

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...your-hair.html Here is another one

Quote: Originally Posted by Christine try dafont.com they are free there Neither are on dafont.com. I thought that was where I got rage italic originally.

I have switched computers 2 times in the last few months I had these two fonts on one computer, but didn't back them up. I used both in my logo so I really need them for other projects. Does anyone have them that they can send me? I found one for sale, but I'd rather not pay for a font I already had. Thanks!

"With a business card, they are wonderful items to leave behind on a sales call." Can you imagine if the guy that sells you ink toner left you a pinata? Makes me laugh. They are so cute! I'm avoiding getting too much stuff to pack. But I really want some!

Quote: Originally Posted by jak27 If you want to address them separately as individuals, use Mr. John A. Doe and Mrs. Jane A. Doe rather than Mr. and Mrs. John A. and Jane A. Doe. Make sense? I would either do it this way or just drop mr & mrs. I also don't like Mrs. John Smith. It's like the woman no longer has any identity. I've had a women tell me her name was mrs. fred jones before when i was writting up a contract. I said "but what's your name." She repeated "mrs. fred jones." So i had to write "fred" where her name goes. I didn't put mr. & mrs. on the save the dates. I probably will for the formal invites.

I have it on my website. I've also been spreading the word to make sure no one brings a gift to mexico. This is what's on my website. maybe I didn't need the part about the pictures, but I REALLY REALLY want everyone to share their pictures. More than any gift they could give me. We are also having AHR's which I guess some people will bring gifts too. I imagine people will mail us some stuff too. Gift Registry If you are making the trip to Mexico, please do not also give us a gift. Spending your time and money to celebrate with us is the gift. The only thing we want is for you to share your pictures of the wedding & vacation with us. We do not expect gifts from anyone. Your love, support and friendship is all we need. We understand that people may enjoy gift giving so we will do some gift registries to make it easier to pick things out.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sunsierra I'm going to go against the grain on this one. Personally, I wouldn't like the fact that I'm being told (or politely asked) what to wear. Is it more important that your guests are all uniform or that your guests are comfortable? The way I see it is your guests are paying $1000+ for your wedding (and vacation) you shouldn't ask them to go out and buy specific clothes for this occasion. Not trying to start an argument, just pointing out the other side. Either way, good luck with whatever you choose. I felt this way originally when i'd see weddings where all the guest are in white. It thought I would be annoyed if told to dress a certain way just so they have good pictures. I don't want to feel like a decoration, but more like a guest. But, after seeing several people's wedding albums, I thought maybe it's fun for the guests, too. I enjoy going to black & white new years parties etc. It's also fun at a football game when you are all in team colors. And it's not just the wedding pictures that will look cool, but also the guests snap shots. So they might enjoy the theme just as much. I think including beiges makes a big difference too. Most people have khaki pants, but not white pants. I also think saying "everyone where yellow" would be too much. Anything that most people would have to shop specifically for may be asking too much. But just about everyone has something neutral.

Here is my postcard. Thanks jason for the picture!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by anacgarcia Really? is it our monitor? I know my monitor's quality is baaaaad but it's weird,.. I just hope it doesn't come out blurry when printed Oh and I'm planning on buying the codes from ebay too!!! Buy them right before you plan on using them. Some people have had problems with their codes getting deleted.

Here is the list from my website Things to bring water shoes- the beach can be rocky camera underwater camera if you plan to snorkel or scuba dive passport!!!!! travel agent's phone number incase there is a problem medication for head aches or stomach pain sunscreen snorkel equipment: If you plan on doing a lot of snorkeling, having your own is very nice. The hotel has some you can use, but only for an hour at a time. There is a dive shop 2 miles away where you can rent equipment. You can get a set for $25 on amazon.com. bottle opener sunglasses swimsuits hat dramamine if you get motion sickness single ones for tipping or buying bottled water/beer when away from the hotel calling card if you plan on making phone calls extra batteries for cameras, etc. camera charger & extra memory cards (for digital cameras) outlet adaptor, if your plugs are 3 prong. The outlets in Mexico are like the 2-prong outlets in the US. insect repellant comfortable shoes addresses if you plan on sending postcards Things to do Make a copy of your passport to leave with someone back home incase your passport is lost or stolen. You can also carry a copy with you or scan the documents and email them to yourself. Having a copy will make it easier to get a replacement if necessary. Leave the phone numbers & last 4 digits for your credit cards with someone so they can cancel them if they are lost or stolen. Call your credit card companies and inform them you will be in Mexico so they do not freeze your account due to suspicious activity. Inform your bank you will be in Mexico, if you plan on using your ATM card. You can ask them to temporarily raise the max on how much you can withdraw per day.

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...ay-passes.html This is another post where is was talked about before. People were split on pay or don't pay. So I was a little concerned because I wouldn't want to pay.

VistaPrint - Business Cards - Full Color Printing - Digital Printing Company | VistaPrint you can get 100 free postcards & pay only $2.49 (instead of 4.99) to upload your image. I made my save the dates with vista print & I love them. I uploaded 2 images- the front & back. You could probably just type the back. I wanted to use my own font & layout for the back. i found their templates for the back to be a little restrictive. maybe someone else knows a better way to do it. Shipping was $5. So for 100 postcards you'd be paying $7.49. Here are my save the dates http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...d-wording.html

Quote: Originally Posted by Nrvsbride I've thought of a solution to this never ending day pass problem. Well its not a good solution (lol) but at least its something. I would designate someone you trust, like a best friend or MOH to casually mention it to people in passing. The person should never end up mentioning who would end up paying for it only say something like the following: DESIGNATED PERSON: Hey you guys staying at the hotel? I'm so excited its going to be so much fun. COUPLE/FRIEND: Actually we/I are/am going to stay at XYZ Hotel DESIGNATED PERSON: Oh I love XYZ hotel! I was also thinking of staying there but then I would have to pay a $80 day pass each time I wanted to go hang out with everyone. I figure if I'm going to pay all that money to go to a DW then I want to be able to hang out with everyone. Plus, it would be so weird to have to pay $80 to go to their wedding. Or worse, I wouldn't want Morgan to have to pay for that. COUPLE/FRIEND: Oh really? I had no idea there was an $80 day pass fee. That sucks. It makes more sense to stay at the hotel with everyone else if that's the case. *Okay so I realize that I'm delusional and it will never work out that way, but the truth is that people tend to go along with whatever the majority of people are doing and if everyone starts to hear about the fee, I think they will cave in and stay at your resort. I actually have been doing something similar. I'll tell my friends "if anyone seems stressed out about spending money on the trip make sure they know it's totally ok with me if they don't go. I have no expectations." I'll start spreading the same word about staying at the hotel. Previous posts seem to be mixed about whether or not you should pay. So far it seems like everyone says I shouldn't. Is the difference that my hotel is less expensive? I felt like that made me no longer liable for day passes. Although I don't think people staying in expensive hotels should necessarily have to pay. It's a tricky subject. i just wanted to make sure I wasn't be unreasonable. I am trying to make sure everyone knows, from my website & spreading the word, that staying together at the same hotel will be the best way to do it. I'll also pass the info on to my TA.

Thanks jason! I already seem some that would be great. I need to leave for work now. If I send you the numbers of the pictures later can you email me the picture? I don't think snatching it off photobucket will give me high enough resolution to make a postcard.

Wedding Directory - Find A Photographer - StrayWeddings.com - Destination Weddings in Mexico I have found this website to be really helpful. They have a "prices starting at" section which helped narrow down the search.

I'd like to find some pictures of the area we'll be in. We are staying in puerto aventuras, but anything in that vacinity would work. it's between PDC & Akumal. I might also make this a collage & include pictures from tulum & xcaret. If we were doing a site visit, I'd take pictures while we were there. I think it would be really cool to use our own pictures.

Quote: Originally Posted by IrieBride08 I'm also going Wednesday for my Saturday wedding, but I wonder if that's enough time to meet with the coordinator and make sure everything's set up--my guests are arriving on Thursday!!! I think I should have left atleast 2 days between my arrival and my guests... I hope it will be ok! I think it will be plenty. I've heard the meetings don't take long.

Some of us are way ahead of schedule, it doesn't mean you are behind The DIY projects can be done if there is time. If not, go with something simpler. Start wih the stuff that is really essential. If you have time to make your own programs, OTT bags, invites etc. then do it. If not, get some premade stuff. I'm the kind of person who likes to start something intense at first. Then I totally lose interest & finish it up right before the deadline. I feel like I've put way too much time into planning the first 3 months. Other people do most their stuff the months before the wedding. Just know you have enough time to do the stuff that matters. Only do the other things if you are having fun with it. If I was house shopping, I'd be way more into that than wedding planning & wouldn't be doing so many DIY projects.

Quote: Originally Posted by Hopels I agree with Jamy... I don't think you should have to pay for your friends' decisions to stay elsewhere. We also chose a very affordable AI so our guests could make it. We had a few people look online and find something nearby that was just a tad cheaper, but not AI. We told them they were welcome to stay there, but that our resort charges $75/day per person, and there would be several activities at the resort. No one decided to stay elsewhere (which was our hope). That's what I was worried about people doing. Finding a non AI to save just a little when it's not really worth it. In the end they could end up spending more & not having near as much fun. If we picked an expensive resort I can understand people wanting more options. But I searched around a lot & I don't think they can beat this deal. Maybe that's just everyone's tendancy to look for the best deal. I just want my guest to trust I've already done that for them. Most people want to check out prices on expedia even after I tell them my TA can get them the best rate. I'd be likely to do the same thing in their position though. Just shop around before making a decision. I just want to make sure they understand how it works. Not everyone is familiar with the whole AI thing. I tried to explain it all on my website, but I don't think everyone is reading it. I'm asked a bunch of questions that are cleary explained on my website. Thanks for the feedback!

Quote: Originally Posted by TammyB If you look up coupon codes for MYpublisher they usually have buy one get one free offer, and for a 20 page book, I'd say it's about $45.00 (depending on the size. Then that's not much more than shutterfly full price. If you want 2 books it's a better deal. I like the book covers on mypublisher. maybe when the free book offers run out I'll switch.

So far no one has asked me to pay for the passes. Guest haven't started booking yet. But I do know the one couple is planning to stay with friends. That is fine with me because they know people in the area. Originally I thought it would be no big deal to tell them it would cost $80 to get into the hotel. Then I read a bunch of posts & realized maybe that isn't fair. So I figure we'll pay for them. But I'd rather pay for their nights stay at the hotel so that way they can stay up late & party with everyone and have breakfast in the morning. A night's stay is about $100 so it seems worth the extra $20 to not need to drive home. I was also going to talk to the WC about a reduced rate for the pass. Possibly when we offer they will say not to worry about it. Once I started looking on the forum to see what people thought about that situation, I realized it might come up with other guests. I'd like to think about what I'd say to them before it comes up. Hopefully no one choses to stay somewhere else! I know someone was thinking of staying in cozumel instead & I was a little worried, but she no longer is planning on it.

How much is mypublisher for a 20 page book? I'll probably make my wedding book with a different company, but these are still really nice for other books. I'm working on one with pictures of my friend's baby. She asked me how much she owed me & it was great to say "it's free!"

Every week or two there is some new offer, but some are better than others. Ones I've gotten recently are: free shipping within the next 3 days, buy 35 prints & get free shipping on the entire order, and spend $25 and get free shipping. They have a new offer pretty often. They send me an email & the offer is in my account. Right now the deal is to spend $25 to get free shipping. I'm waiting for a better one. I looked at page 3 & it was possibly a little blurry around your face. I only noticed because you said something though. I checked the resolution & that wasn't the problem.