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Quote: Originally Posted by Alyssa Thanks Morgan!!! this is awesome If I didn't already make a bunch of DIY cards, I'd probably order these hallmark cards from now on. I love being able to do my card shopping online during my lunch break & customizing them is so cool. Mike wrote a really sweet & funny poem on his mom's. I made a card with a joke about this story my mom always tells. I love personalizing things.

Just saw this great deal on slickdeals You can create 2 free cards. Order by May 1 for Mother's day. Free Customized 5x7 Mother's Day Card - SlickDeals.net Forums Mike & I just made custom cards for our moms. To use both codes, you have to do two seperate orders. You can ship the card right to your mom for $0. Add pictures, change the text, or add text inside...it is really cool! Regular price is $3.50 so it's a great way to send cards even without the freebie. Go to hallmark.com & make an account then use promo code card4mom or aprilcard when you check out. You can use both codes in the same account I do not know experation dates, but you can order these for cards you want to ship much later. You just set the ship date when placing the order.

Even though my one year anniversary is coming up, I still keep up with the "what I would & wouldn't do" thread. That gave me the idea for a game that might be fun & helpful. For those married: If you could add something to your wedding, what would it be? What would you cut to free up the money? For those to be married: If you had a $500 wedding stimulus check to add something that you are not already having, what would you add? If you had to cut $500 from your budget, what would you cut? My answer: I'd like to add a mariachi band to play right after the ceremony. As soon as we were married, we had a champagne toast. But, then I felt like everyone was looking at us like, "what do we do now?" I think a band would have increased the excitement & taken the focus off us so we could just enjoy the moment. I get really uncomfortable as the center of attention. I also think it would have made for some really cool pictures. To free up the extra money, I'd cut the OOT bags. I had fun making them, but they really were not needed. Most of our guests only stayed 3 nights & didn't even have time to open the bags. I think they would have enjoyed a band more.

Quote: Originally Posted by boven No worries Bubblebee 287, everyone on this forum is looking to create a special and meaningful celebration and that comes in many different forms. One thing my fiance and I are doing is putting a twist on the old tradition of "something old, new, borrowed, and blue". During our cocktail hour we will have have 4 signature drinks that are as follows: 1. something old: classic margarita 2. something new: mango mojito (or something like that) 3. something borrowed: lemonade, non-alcoholic - this is my FI mother's recipe who has passes and will be one of many ways we honor her memory throughout our wedding 4. something blue: mineral water with fresh blueberries We will also do a sand ceremony with another slight twist. I grew up on the West coast while he grew up on the East coast therefore, we will bring a small amount of sand from both locations and merge it with the sand from where we marry. There are so many great ideas that will inspire you so that your personalities will truly be reflected throughout your wedding. Good luck! i love your something old, etc. I really think the best way to keep it non-cheesy is to make it personal. things get cheesy when they become a cliche or people are just so tired of them. None of our guests had seen the hand ceremony so it was unique. the other day i was watching a show where the couple got married at one of those places that does a wedding an hour and they did the hand ceremony. so who knows, it might be something i'd consider cheesy in a few years but then Im already married so who cares. I don't mind looking back at my wedding & thinking "wow, that was so 2008." I'm actually pretty curious what I'll laugh at from my wedding. you know the old pictures where the grooms men are all wearing plaid suites? I wonder what will be our wedding's plaid suite? anyway, I think real & authentic stands the test of time. so just make it true to who you are as a couple.

if you want original, you probably need to come up with it yourself. nylalany did some really unique stuff at her wedding. search & you'll find her review. All the guests threw rocks in the water & she hung a picture frame on her husband. We did the hand ceremony which i really loved. Many of the traditional wedding things didn't suite us. I've been in a lot of weddings, so I've gotten bored with the typical wedding traditions.

Quote: Originally Posted by BillysBride Morgan, you're sounding mighty...experienced. I kid! I kid! lol...yea, you can pretty much guess what a kid that age would be needing with an undetectable hiding spot. lol haha, nope never hidden weed in a highlighter. I just assumed that was the purpose of the video from the bob marley music playing. then i read some of the comments below & many were about hidding your weed. anyone remember the SNL skit "you could put weed in there?" Still, i was thinking that a pack of highlighter safes could be a good addition to the OOT bags. My favorite is the underware with fake skid marks for hidding your money in. Someone posted that on BDW a while back. You could always paint a pack of underware for the OOT bags.

Quote: Originally Posted by stachr Check out this link I found on youtube for how to make a mini safe YouTube - How to Make a Mini Safe could you tell the purpose of that video was to teach other kids how to hide their weed? I would work for money too, but I'm pretty sure he intended it for weed.

putting your stuff in the safe just makes it easy to get robbed. they can find your valuables in seconds instead of having to look through bags. i warned all our guests about this, but many didn't listen. luckily no one was robbed, but another couple at the hotel was. they were packing to leave and could no longer open their safe. they also missed their ride to the airport dealing with it.

Quote: Originally Posted by stachr As long as our parents, brothers and long time best friends are there, we will be delighted! yeah, i meant the excess people. i found people did a lot of talking, but they were not really going to follow through & go. although we did have many close friends not make it. it was fine with us. we just wanted our parents and siblings and maybe a couple of friends. I was hoping to have less than 25 people. We had 21. I was just getting really worried for a while that we'd have 60-100 guests with all the people talking about going. I wasted a lot of energy worrying about this & talking to them about their arrangements to get there. so many of the people who didn't actually go, were creating complicated scenarios for the trip. Then i started to worry about all the day passes. I wish I would have just ignored it all. it would have saved me a lot of time.

Quote: Originally Posted by stachr Yeah they say to bank on 50% of people invited to the destination wedding to show up. we had a ton of people talk about coming, but few actually did. it was much less than 50%. with the economy the way it is this year, i think it will be less. i just crossed my fingers & hoped that excess people didnt come. it all worked out.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dmitri_Markine This is why I like to say Hi to the housekeeping lady on my first day at the hotel. I don't need the room to be cleaned every day so I tell her when to come back. Then I give her a tip(say $5) and have a small talk for a minute Even if she's the one that steals stuff, my guess she'd less likely to do so to a person who's being that nice to her. I also never ask my room to be cleaned a day prior to the departure. From what I hear, things usually get taken between then and the last day. Overall, putting valuables in a locked suitcase can greatly reduce any attempts. This all may sound a bit paranoid to some,but when you have $20K in equipment with you, it's good to have protective measures against any attempts. I don't think it's paranoid at all. I was locking up my canon point & shoot. The experience that photographer had with the $1 bill might have been a fluke too. I still use the do not disturb strategy at times.

The hotel WCs are overworked & underpaid. If you want a lot of personal attention, you might want to hire an outside WC. I just stayed persistant for the info I really needed. For everything else I releyed on the forum for information. One you get there, they are usually amazing.

one of the forum photographers tested this method. he left a $1 bill on the bed as a tip for housecleaning & put up the do not disturb sign. the $1 bill was gone when he returned. That is what I always did when I traveled, but then my room was never cleaned. On my last trip to mexico, I just kept everything locked in luggage within luggage. We packed a bunch of snacks, because the last AI i stayed in had terrible food. Our hotel had great food, so we didn't need all the snacks. So we started leaving a piece of chocolate from the snack bag & a $1 bill for housecleaning. The hotel staff in mexico work so hard & make so little so we loved tipping the entire trip.

even if it's cloudy, you can still get a tan. when it's stormy in cancun, it's usually brief. you rarely have a day without sun that time of year. I don't tan easily at all and I always get a tan in Mexico without trying.

Quote: Originally Posted by AnnR i would have gone w/something other than a white flower. like a shotgun?

Quote: Originally Posted by Alexis It took forever for me to get responses from Elena in the beginning! It gets better. You just have to continue to be persistent. Yes, they communicate with you more closer to the wedding. I think they put their priority on brides closer to the wedding. They are so overworked & I think that is a good way to do it. I would want the attention on my wedding the days before instead of someone who is a year away. don't forget to tip the WCs. They work their butts off and get paid so little. Both Elena & Cora worked with me on my wedding. Quote: Originally Posted by Alexis do you remember the prices at the spa? Did you go to the spa to get your hair done or did they come to your room? the spa was built after my wedding. I had someone come to my room for $75. I think the spa is around $50. I know it was less than the $75 I paid pre-spa.

OK, now I'm finding her to be amusing. I'm still not giving her money, but I like that she is making the blog interesting. Someone suggested she post 3 options for things & let the blog readers vote. Vendors are starting to donate services in exchange for advertising. Hmmm... maybe I can learn some tricks from her to pay for my ferret.

Quote: Originally Posted by katrina morgan, i'm in the same boat as you. dh and i are happily agnostic and have no intention of even baptizing our kids. but there is a part of me that feels like because of my pure ignorance on religion (i grew up in an agnostic home and i've never gone to church except weddings and funerals) i will already be making my child's decision for them that they will also be agnostic, even though i'm fully open to them making their own choices... but since i have no exposure, nor do i want any, how will my kid get any? yikes i don't know. Any advice for raising kids in an agnostic house? Did you parents talk to you about religion or was it just never brought up? Did you ever feel different or like you were missing out? I also think that if I never expose my kids to religion they will most likely be non-religious. but, maybe not. I guess they could always find at some point on their own. i just don't want to feel like I'm controlling that experience by doing nothing. but, the more natural thing to me would be to not take them to church, but allow them to go if when they get older they want to go with friends. I'm just unsure about doing it this way. I will probably baptize my kids to make my mom happy. I have nothing against it. actually when I was 8 I thought it was really fun. you got to go in this secret hallway and get dunked in a tub that was up high above the alter. it was pretty cool at my childhood church. i don't think i've seen a set up like that anywhere else. I'm really enjoying hearing everyone's experiences. religion can be so touchy, but it's also a complicated subject and it really helps to be able to talk about it with people.

Quote: Originally Posted by TA Maureen Thanks Morgan! That's exactly what I was thinking but you worded it way better...unfortunately a lot of parenting involves forcing your kids to do stuff they don't want to do (i.e. brushing her teeth is a big fight here!). Eighth grade is when Catholics make Confirmation as a way of reconfirming their faith because they didn't have a choice back when they were baptized. My daughter will be 14 then. I guess that's a good age to ask her if she really wants to continue on with the Church. In a lot of ways she's more religious than me so I think she is going to want to and I already know she is dying to go to our Catholic HS. Now I just have to figure out where to pull $7000.00/year from!!! it was almost imposible to get socks & underware on me. Oh & sometimes I'd refuse to pee. I'd be playing to hard and not want to stop so I'd just squirm around holding it. Kids are so weird

Quote: Originally Posted by TA Maureen I understand the whole let them decide for themselves thing and agree with it. I guess my point was what do you do in the meantime? I mean when they are too young to decide for themselves, say before age 12? From a mere babysitting standpoint my children will have to go to Church with me until at least age 12. And yeah I'm sure there are going to be some Sunday mornings when they would rather stay in their pj's and not go. This has already happened with my 12 year old. She goes to Catholic school and when we moved I gave her the option to stay in that school, transfer to the public school here, or transfer to another Catholic school closer to here. She desperately wanted to stay in that school. So if I'm paying $350.00/month for Catholic school and driving her 35 minutes one way to school events so she can stay in that school then she should go to Church the way she is being taught to in that school otherwise what's the point? this is just my opinion from personal experience & I don't really know a lot about kids. but, I feel like when a kid is so young you really are not forcing anything. If a 6 year old doesn't want to attend church, it's probably that they want to sleep late or don't want to put on shoes. the shoe thing was usually my reason. One easter sunday i wore my brother's house shoes. I think there were times my mom had to drag me to the car, but it was mostly that I loathed panty hose and shoes. to me, that is very different than making a 16yr old attend if they are starting to want to look at other options. or making a 14 year old attend your denomination if they are feeling more at home at a friend's church. As a parent, I think there is a certain amount of forcing that happenes that is fine. Like forcing your kid to get up in the morning and go to school when they want to sleep. Or forcing them to go to bed when they want to play video games. I think this is very different than trying to force a kid to believe something, act a certain way, or be a certain type of person. not just with religion, but with all things in life. So I personally think it makes sense to take your kids with you. I feel like the letting them decide comes in later as they start to figure out who they are and become their own person.

Quote: Originally Posted by paraisobeachbride2009 Morgan, I haven't really given thought to what I would do if/when DH and I have kids although I know for a fact that DH feels very negatively towards Catholicism, so that would be ruled out...for us it would probably be easier to let our kids decide for themselves what they want to do (if anything at all). I can speak from personal experience that my mom used to force my two sisters and I to attend mass with her regularly until I was about 14 and my then 16 year old sister told her that she didn't think it was necessary to force us to go to mass anymore and that we're spiritual in our own ways. My mom was totally pissed at us for a while but I do feel like it is a personal choice that shouldn't be forced upon anyone one way or another. So I guess I am for the "let them decide for themselves" option. yes, I completely agree with letting kids decide for themselves. I'm just not sure how to do that. I haven't attended chuch in about 10 years. I started going less in high school after an incident at my church. i intended to go back eventually, but over the years I started to change until some point in college when i accepted I was agnostic. it was all very gradually, but I'm very solid in who i am now. Anyway, i like that my mom allowed me a very natural experience. If she would have forced church on me, I might have continued to attend a little longer, but I know I would have reached the same decision eventually. it's not like she failed me & more forcing would have kept me religious. maybe it would have worked for some people, but I know I would have ended up with the same belief set regardless. I am so thankful to have such an amazing mom. I know she isn't thrilled that I'm not religious, but she understands me. All that she has asked is that I take my kids to church. I understand this feeling too. I don't think I would have been happy if I wasn't allowed to attend church as a kid. But, I also don't know how/when to take them. I could take them occasionally to a variety of churches when they are younger. Or wait until they are a little older and want to start attending with friends. I've talked to my agnostic friends who were raised by agnostic parents and they just never attended church. In a way I feel like their parents then made that decision for them. but, I guess if they wanted to go at some point they could have gone. I just don't know if it's the parents role to expose their kids to a variety of things or if kids just naturally explore as long as they are allowed. I also think my decision will vary based on where we live. where I grew up in south texas, everyone had a church. i think i would have felt like an outcast if I didn't. If I live in an area where there are lots of people who don't attend, maybe it will be simpler.

Quote: Originally Posted by TA Maureen Just want to offer a different point of view for those worried about "forcing religion" on your children. If you believe in a certian religion and practice it I don't think exposing your children to that by taking them with you to Church (or wherever you to worship) and having them practice your faith with you is forcing it on them. I can't imagine participating in my religion but not having my children join me in that. When they get older it's up to them but when they are children it's up to me and my personal opinion (just mine) is it's better to expose them to something (whatever something is to you) than nothing. Just thought I'd offer up the other side of that coin for whatever it's worth! I agree, taking your kids with you when you attend church isn't forcing religion on them. some parents do force it, but i dont think its just by taking kids to church. its more of an overall attitude of not letting the kid make decisions. where i struggle is not wanting to force non-religion on a kid by not taking them. luckily i have a while to figure things out, but it's something I've been thinking about for years. I went to church a lot as a kid, but it was never forced on me. if i wanted to stay home on a sunday, I could. My mom picked our church based on how good the youth programs were, which is why we switched denominations when we moved. She was the leader of the young girls group & was our conselor at church camp. I was in the kids choir & played handbells. These were all things I really enjoyed as a kid. it was also my own choice to stop going. I really appreciate my mom being so open to letting me be different than her. What I struggle with is what to do with my own kids. Do I start going to church just to take them? Let them go with friends? One thing I liked growing up was that I could attend any chuch I wanted. I had friends who were not allowed to attend church with me. just as I had friends forced to attend chuch, I also had some that were not allowed to. I want to let me future kids be their own person, I just don't know how to do it. I don't want to attend every sunday, but i wouldnt mind going occasionally so my kids can experience everything, but im not sure if thats confusing. anyone else struggling with this?

Quote: Originally Posted by Jacilynda Oh Morgan I am one of your referrals!!!! i think I saw your knottie bio and was mesmerized and had to join! Ha Ha! Mesmerizing isn't it? I don't have a knottie bio. I just used the blog because I already knew how to put one of those together. It was in my knot siggy. Now you have to win the contest to continue the legacy. Or one of the other 67 I refer to as "Morganites." That is what I call my people.

It's funny that I have one & I'm not playing this time. I'll go ahead and reveil my trick for referring to make it easier for those in the competition. I made a planning blog with my referral link to BDW. Our Destination Wedding Plans Then I shared the link with lots of people. I have 68 referrals right now. Sometimes the number will drop. I assumed they were inactive or got banned. Good luck everyone! It was fun to lead DW brides here. I would have hated if I didn't find this place when I first started to plan.

thanks everyone for the advice. my trip was this past weekend, but I'll try these tips next time I need a room. I used hotels.com to search & booked through the hotel. The only good deal I managed to get was vallet parking for $10 when regular parking is usually $18. It was nice having vallet because I packed a ton of stuff.