BillysBride

Absolutely stunning! You have such a glow about you..I just had a chance to look at all your photos from the day, and I have to say the happiness just radiated off of you! Congrats on a beautiful day with beautiful pics. The slideshow made me cry!

They're trying to tell us that that piece of material costs $270? Yes, its a great idea though. Someone should take it and do it AFFORDABLY. I need something like this, but can't in good conscience ask my girls to pay almost $300 for a dress on top of travel expenses. Good grief.

Absolutely stunning. I don't think your pics could have turned out any better. Congrats on a beautiful day!

Ya, Foxy..you are absolutely right. It happens. I had to rethink my position on "poof" to begin with, because to be honest, I'm just too hippy to pull off sheath and I knew it from the beginning, but wanted to try anyway. I dont think I'd have originally even picked THIS dress if it weren't for the fact that the first one I tried on a couple months ago was like the exact opposite and it looked horrible on me, so I told myself to go the other way in terms of style. All I can do is try I guess. I could be pleasantly suprised (no, overjoyed!). But I gotta lay it to rest in my mind one way or another.

Thanks for all the feedback ladies. I think you're right. At minimum, I will have laid to rest the "what if" factor, and even better, I may have found The One. Its worth it to order it and know for sure either way. With something this special, I don't want to leave it to chance and end up walking down the beach the day of still thinking "I wonder if I would have liked that other dress better." It will be anywhere from 8-12 weeks before it comes in. (sigh) You know I'll post pics as soon as I have it.

Yup, my wedding dress is taking the plunge. It won't be ruined and at any rate, the odds of one of my daughters wanting to wear the thing in another 20+ yrs are almost zero. lol Besides, for as much as we all spend on these dresses to wear one day, I think we should get our money's worth out of them. Jones4- first off, I didn't get the chance to say THANK YOU for sending me the ad!! Its taped to the wall right next to my computer screen. I love it. Too cute. As to the suits, ya, thats a valid concern, but I think with the types of material that are used for lightweight suits generally used for DW's it might be fine. Do you have his suit yet and if so, whats it made of? The lighter fabrics...cottons ofcourse, and linen are generally ok once dry cleaned. Even most of the lightweight man made stuff (polyesters and such). I've found that even some things that have labels stating "Dry Clean Only" can be washed carefully. FH and his guys are wearing linen drawstring pants and the shirts are linen too, so I'm not worried.

After much searching, and three different "try on" appointments, I've decided to take a leap of faith and order a dress. The problem is that I have to order it without trying it on! NO ONE in my are or within a two hour's driving radius has a sample of this gown in their shop, though several shops carry the designer's line and are willing to order it. Its been between this dress and a couple of others that I DID try on all along. No matter what else I tried on, this one was still in the back of my mind since the day I seen it in a catalog then found a larger pic online. I love the detail and simplicity. Two things I really wanted in a dress...beautiful but simple without being boring. And the fabric is pretty lightweight. I'm planning to have one layer of tulle removed so there is still a defined A-line, but a little less "poof" for the beach. I had to be sneaky and use my camera phone to take pics of the last dress I tried on that I really liked since the shop doesn't allow photos...the lighting sucks, but here it is. I couldn't get the bottom of the dress in the pic since I was taking it myself, but its a full A-line with a chiffon overlay on top. Such a crappy pic, but I know you guys love visuals. The back has beautiful crystal beading down the length of it. Hard decision.: But here is the dress I fell in love with but can't try on. I guess what I'm asking for is some support in being brave enough to order this dress without having tried it on. I just don't know if it will be right for my body type and all that. I can always return it minus the restocking fee or whatever, but I guess I'm just nervous anyway. Seems like that would be a big waste of time/hassle if it didnt work out.

Quote: Originally Posted by foxytv I wish I could ... but I simply can't afford it at this point. What I will do is once we get closer to the date and I see how our funds are looking. If we have enough, I will put some money towards the final payments of our bridal party rooms. Thats my plan. Like everyone else, I'd love to pay for their dresses. Unfortunately, we just can't. So I offered to pay deposits to get them ordered after the initial selecting...but they all turned me down anyway. I feel guilty as it is making them pay for a trip when it was our bright idea to get married so far away. But FH (in his practical judgement) made the point to me that its not like they are just paying to fly somewhere, sit around in an ugly room while doing nothing, show up to be in our wedding for 20 minutes then fly home. They WILL get a bit of a vacation/break out of it some where beautiful with a lot to enjoy. BEING THERE won't exactly be a hardship. I've just urged people to say no if they don't feel they can afford to do it told them that I completely understand if thats the case. I also asked them to say it NOW as opposed to 6 months down the road. What I've found is that most people thought trips like this are much more expensive than what they actually are. When I gave them ball park for what my research has come up with, they were suprised and said that with a year's notice, they could swing it.

Niiice!!! Might have to check them out!

I cry everytime I read those. We are using two of the poems and setting up a memorial table for my father, and maternal grandmother. I had the idea of using a digital picture frame for a sort of slide show with pics of both of them. I'll likely have to stay away from it the whole night. I'll lose it and ruin the festivities, I know.

Perfect, thanks!

Work that hourglass girl! Looks beautiful and it sparkles just enough to pick up the sun in your wedding pics. Congratulations on finding the right dress!

Nylalani, there are several styles of bm dresses that look great on pregnant or non-pregnant ladies. The dress I chose for my girls to wear is listed as one that works great on "any body type" and in the reviews I seen where a couple of girls had pregnant attendants that wore it and looked good. I know the empire waist gowns especially carry over nicely for different stages of pregnancy. And talk about "showing early"...I remember going to bed somewhere early in month three and thinking "Gee, I wonder when I'll start showing." then BOOM, I woke up the next morning and had a belly poking out there. hahaha!

I'm takin notes ladies...again thanks for all the suggestions. I will definitely have fun! I just talked to my mom and while she isn't coming with on this go round, she and I are gonna hit a couple shops here in town in the next couple of weeks, so I will have another shot at finding The One. I'm still looking around online too to get an idea of the types of dresses I want to try and I found three or four that I absolutely love style-wise, so I hope I can find them or something similar. Anyone ever been in a shop that carried Bonny Bridal gowns? I think they might be kind of obscure, so all I can do is take a pic of this thing and see if they have anything similar.

We're doing 8 nights. We were planning 7 but we agreed to throw in the extra day after sitting around talking about how this might be the last trip we take alone for a long, long time. lol

I vote for #1 as well. It just looks like it was made for you! And its bridal without being too flouncy for a destination wedding. I think a lot of times we get away from buying dresses that look too traditional because we are having beach weddings, but the first dress still looks very bridal but still toned down enough for the beach. If that makes sense.

Great advice ladies! Thanks..I hadn't even thought about some of that.

Any advice? I know..I know..bring a camera. hahaha. I'll have my phone so I can take pics of the ones I like. Other than that, anything I should take with me? I bought a bridal bustier, so I'll have that. I'm excited! I'll have my maid of honor and her daughter with me (who is 13) who is my junior bridesmaid as well as FH's sister who is also a bridesmaid. So that should be plenty of eyes.

Real quick, also try the Cinema Secrets web site. They do make up for a lot of the television/movie actors to wear under the lights so its meant to stand up to heat and humity. I wore it for our engagement session, so I will be sure to post when I get pics back.

From what I remember, starchild, it was just a LOT of complaints even though many were resolved. Its been a few months since I looked at it, but thats what sticks out in my head. I just don't think you should HAVE to get resolution after the fact. I got the impression there is a lot of small print people aren't aware of when they place their initial bids and thats its not likely due to negligence on the consumers part. It SEEMS very straight forward when you peruse the site, but I'm thinking that travel dates are generally the sticking point. Like I said, for any other trip thats just a vacation with friends or family, fine...the cheap factor would likely outweigh most of the rest for me. But not for something as important as a wedding.

I'm scared of them. lol. I wouldn't mind doing something via them for a vacation, but I'm too scared to bid for the honeymoon. I checked the Better Business Bureau web site and started worrying.

Thanks, Starchild. I'd come to the same conclusion, unfortunately. I guess I'll have to figure out a next step. Maybe my brother can point me in the right direction. He's a professional dj, so maybe he knows of some software I could use/download inexpensively. *sigh* Otherwise, its gonna be the Etta James version. I like that one and don't care if its over used. Just would have preferred CA's.

I know..there are like 10 different covers by different artists and they are all good!! I just got done listening to one by Martina McBride and actually like it! But Christina's is still my favorite. I know there has to be a way to edit out the background noise...I'm just not savvy enough to know it.

Anyone know where I can find one? I don't think she has it recorded on any albums other than live versions and I'm trying to figure out a way to either edit out the crowd noises/cheers or just a clean studio version. I'm determined to have this song. I love Etta's version, but I like Christina's as a more modern and funkier version. Help!

Quote: Originally Posted by Leticia oh my goodness! that's so funny! i love motley crue, dan wants "without you" to be our wedding song but i had to put my foot down. i like them but c'mon! but yeah the lyrics are really sweet. Are you kidding me? I had no idea others were suffering like I am! hahahaa...Everytime I mention something to do with music for the ceremony or reception, all he says is "Without You". I'm like, "Honey, we cannot use the same damn song for everything. And if we did, it wouldn't be that one." Grrrrr! I'll check with the jeweler who set my ring and see if he does it or can refer me to someone who can. I'm thinking it should be simple enough...(I hope)