BillysBride

That site is a trip. I've gotten everyone from Serina Williams (which I get in real life anyway, so maybe that one is true) to Meg Ryan. MEG RYAN....give me a break! Sorry for the huge siggy. I just can't resize it, so I'll have to try a different one.

Quote: Originally Posted by Morgan Another thing we have in common- This happened to my ring!! I looked down one day & thought it might have moved. I realized I could rotate it slightly. I took it in 2 weeks ago & had it tightened. It cost $35 & he had it fixed by the next day. I was telling a friend about it & she looked down at her ring & saw one of prongs wasn't even touching the stone. So yes, I think these things do happen. I think I need to have a conversation with my mother tonight Morgan...ask her about any secrets she might be keeping about my birth, cuz I'm tellin ya, you're my Caucasion twin. No joke. hahahaha I'm taking it in. I'm just ticked cuz ALL this man had to do was mount the damn stone...we brought the setting and the stone in to him, with the mount head made to the EXACT measurements of the diamond. All he had to do was mount the stone and make sure it was in there securely. I mean...is that really that hard for a licensed jeweler Geez! BTW, y'all know I cheated and took pics, so if you wanna see, I'll post if majority rules. I was thinking I'd just wait til I got to wear it "officially", but y'all know that as a member of this forum, I cannot in good conscience miss an opportunity to take a picture.

Ok, so we just got my ring back from the jewelers today...he hasn't officially "proposed" yet so I'm not even supposed to be wearing it, but I'm freaking out, cuz he came down and sat on the couch and goes "Is it supposed to be loose?" I'm like "Loose, how?" and he goes "C'mere." and he holds it up and shakes it real hard by my ear...you can hear a really faint rattle! I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that is NOT right. Anyone have this happen? I'm not worried, cuz I'm marching my happy a** right in there in the morning and telling the guy he's gonna fix it and at no extra charge. I've just never heard of this happening before, and I don't wanna take any chances with my precious dream ring.

Absolutely stunning bride you made!! Congrats, and I really love your hair as well!

Looks like I'll try it on. I'm waiting to see if she reduces the price at all. If it doesn't sell the first time she puts it up, she usually reduces the price by a good chunk before she tries again. I am wearing my hair loose and with wild curls and putting tiny ivory seed peaarls (velcro backs) all through it. I think that might be too much with a dress that is "busy", kwim? I think I'll have to do trial run hair with the dress to be sure. I'm starting to think I need to go simple just because I'm dead set on the hair style.

Quote: Originally Posted by babycow I think it's beautiful but definetly without the boning coming out of the corset. The detail is ever so subtle and goes perfect with the softness of the skirt. One thing to consider is that the bodice might be slightly sheer, but it could work if you're okay with that, it would be great for a beach wedding. The skirt almost looks like those wrap around beach skirts- love it. Do you have a link to the site? If it goes with your colors then you should give it a try it. Oh and show us pictures! Ya, I thought about the fact that the bodice is so sheer. With my dark skin, that could be a little much, so I'd probably have to wear a bridal corset underneath....which is always a plus anyway. I hate strapless bras (don't think they do anything to help the situation if ya KWIM), so that might be a better option any how. And I ABSOLUTELY agree about the "V" in back. Would have to have it altered in SOME wayto close that up, because I agree that it makes it look like it was too small to zip all the way. The dress is made by an Ebay bridal designer. She is good about working with you if you don't like it, and will do the alterations according to your measurements. Its just a hassle sending the dress back if you don't like it (did that once before already), but if you give it back without purchasing any from her, you lose 30%, which isn't bad because the dresses are vey reasonable. If you want the info/name, just pm me. She sends them fast, I got the first one I tried the third day after ordering it. It IS one of those things that I like the more I look at it. I initially seen something in it that made me look closer, so it definitely catches the eye. You're all right though, I won't know til I try it on, and losing 20-30 bucks is worth it if I choose not to buy any of them since they are so reasonable anyway.

Me and my maid of honor were messing around online last night, looking at dresses (yes, everytime I think I'm sure of one, I see another I want to try on). We found this dress, and my first impression was that its horrendous. But she blew up the pic, and we kept picking it apart, and ended up saying that we both that it could look really unique and kinda cool. But I still don't think I'd be brave enough to wear it. The "straw" thingy's coming out of the top...those would need to be leveled off even with the bodice. Looks like a scarecrow this way. Anyway, tell me if my judgement is just truly off or does anyone else think this is kinda cute in a wierd, strange kind of way. Our accent color is gold, so maybe thats why I'm even looking at this thing.

Thanks for all the info ladies...we're looking at ABR and Grand Bahia Principe Tulum now. ABR was great at contacting me right back, so now I'm just waiting for details We shall see. Dreams Tulum would be gorgeous, Jilly. I may check out the possibility of having the wedding there, but guests accomodations elsewhere. We have families with children coming, and as I've said so often here, I don't want to over burden anyone with expense when there are cheaper options. We just want an AI that isn't a dump...lol.

Sending the best birthday wishes..enjoy yourself and doing something just for you, Mama!

Wow, THANK YOU Morgan! I'm really interested in ABR because the prelim stuff I've read sounds a lot like my original choice....laidback, and low key but not five star or luxury, so it would fit the budget I have in mind for our guests. I'm up and its 2:30 in the morning, so I am glad I logged in and seen your posts. This gives me uninterrupted time to check out all your info! Its just me, a cup of cocoa and General Hospital on Soapnet, so I'm on it! Thanks again. (I'm sure I'll be posting questions or whatever as I go along)

Looking at them for a possible site. Would love it if anyone had any experience or information.

Quote: Originally Posted by Morgan Sorry to hear about your location! You are getting married April 09? I think you could wait until april 08 to decide. Most of us started planning a year in advance or less. That way you can see if the place has reopened. We would rather not wait. We need an exact budget, and the only way to have that is to decide everything now. And since most every place we contacted was fine with booking early AND honoring 2008 prices if we did so, its just a better idea all around to do it sooner rather than later. The WC is suggesting some place in Playa, which I never even said we would be willing to do it in Playa. I'm not. This is starting to stress me and I never get stressed. Ugh. OK, tomorrow is a new day, and I will buckle down and start researching again from the beginning. I'm sure the Tankah will re-open by next year...I just don't think I want to wait to book.

Quote: Originally Posted by akh well, won't it really just turn into another hotel? like, it won't actually close - but instead will just be bought by another hotel or something? maybe you could still have it at this new place? unless, of course, they do in fact close it for remodeling or something. i've stayed at hotels while they transition over to a new chain - like mid-week. i checked into the hotel when it was a sheraton, and checked out when it was a Marriott. I would think that will be the case. But how would we go about preparing? They aren't booking anything, so we wouldn't even be guaranteed rooms, the use of the chapel, nothing. We can't secure anything, so the place is out. If they are changing hands, I can only assume that there will be renovations, upgrades and some adjustment period before they reopen. I've read every tripadvisor comment on them, and I know they wouldn't be doing this unless they planned to make changes, so that leaves us out pretty much.

Quote: Originally Posted by akh well, won't it really just turn into another hotel? like, it won't actually close - but instead will just be bought by another hotel or something? maybe you could still have it at this new place? unless, of course, they do in fact close it for remodeling or something. i've stayed at hotels while they transition over to a new chain - like mid-week. i checked into the hotel when it was a sheraton, and checked out when it was a Marriott. I would think that will be the case. But how would we go about preparing? They aren't booking anything, so we wouldn't even be guaranteed rooms, the use of the chapel, nothing. We can't secure anything, so the place is out. If they are changing hands, I can only assume that there will be renovations, upgrades and some adjustment period before they reopen. I've read every tripadvisor comment on them, and I know they wouldn't be doing this unless they planned to make changes, so that leaves us out pretty much.

We heard from our TA today (she is a PIT BULL who has gotten more done in one week than two wc's have in a month) well, she was DOGGING the event coordinator at the Tankah about getting us the information we've been needing. He promised her yesterday that he would get back to her by afternoon, and when he didn't call, she called him to check up. This is the email she just sent me. The title is "You're Going to Love This": hello Savannah wait until you hear this one. i called marco again since i received nothing from him yesterday. he said the hotel is closing in 5 months and will not be accepting reservations for accommodations nor weddings. I said why didn't you tell me this yesterday he said they just found out. i said will it reopen as something else and he didn't know at this time. so there you have it. wont be going there. amazing to me. so i guess we are strictly dealing with the La Zebra. Nancy Are they freakin' kidding me? How do you not have ANY inkling that your property is closing?! I am over here cursing a blue streak. Thankfully, we had already check into La Zebra and planned to book the remainder of our honeymoon there after the ceremony. It was just too expensive to have the ceremony and reception dinner there...but looks like we're gonna have to bite the bullet and scrape together another $1500 for this. Someone, PLEASE give me some heads up info on other places we can have this wedding. Not to mention accomodations. We were doing Tankah because it was pretty cheap, even if it wasn't the greatest, we have to think of how much we're asking guests to spend. I'm at a loss right now. We do NOT want Cancun. Way too touristy for us. Help!!

You girls rock! Thats what I needed to know, thanks. We are having the boarding pass std's done, and I had this idea to some how make the prelim rsvp at the end of the pass, it would be perforated and guests could tear it off and the mailing info would be printed on the back with postage. They could just drop the whole thing in the mail and also have the option of rsvp'ing on the web site...BUT evidently there is a glitch as far as the paper we would have to use to have it heavy enough for perforation. I dunno. I'll likely just have postcards in the envelope.

I'm just wondering....has anyone done or seen a save-the-date with an rsvp request? We just really need a heads up, not a sure count, just SOME idea of who all even will WANT to come. So many things will depend on how many guests we have, its getting difficult to set things up without knowing. And nope, we aren't the couple that has unlimited funds to book food, drinks and seating "just in case" (unfortunately). Help.

Well, I tried to be smart about it. The first thing I did when he announced that he wanted to set a date was to sit down at the computer and pull up calendars for '09. I wanted April (I have no idea why), so figured I better look to see when Easter was, which it is indeed the 12th, so thats why we picked the tentative date of April 25, because that would put it a full two weeks after Easter. I guess I am just worrying that thats not far enough PAST the holiday, but the planner said she thought that would be enough time. Maybe I'll check Locogringo and see what I can find out. Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by TA Jennifer Hey Foxytv- End of April, early May will be your best prices on airfare & hotel. I've booked alot of families for spring break ( Mid February - mid April ) to Riviera Maya & Tulum- they want Mexico but not the craziness of Cancun so before then even the resorts are fairly pricey. Hope that helps the planning! TA Jennifer Hey, Jennifer. It was me wanting the info:), and YES that definitely helps. We knew going in that we wouldn't be able to book til about about a 10-12 months prior, but have just been trying to figure out what date to set the wedding for that would be near our original date, but outside the spring break hike zone. Looks like we nailed it the first time out with 4/25/09!! Woo hoo! Thanks ladies!

We had a date, but have been worried about the whole spring break craze affecting the air fare prices. We're not worried about the hotel, its not popular amongst those crowds being in Tulum, but I am still trying to think of my family and friends and getting the best possible rates for them for that time of year. Because we are planning for '09, things are still pretty flexible, but we need to decide on a concrete date asap. From March-May, which month will we likely get the best rates on flights?

Thanks for the kid comp,Rachel. Yes, they are quads. They just turned 2 on Aug. 28! My Fab Four. Well, I am emailing her to tell her that if she doesn't think the basic package will cover what I need, we need to negotiate up from that just adding the coverage that I will need beyond it. I am just not paying all that. She said she would honor her '08 prices which would bring it down by $200, but still, not enough.

Quote: Originally Posted by lissah Savannah - which WC are you using? Hey Lissa, I've been working with De la Mora I am REALLY liking Ana y Jose. I had no idea you could do it all at the hotel, I thought you had to use the beach club, which is out of my price range. We don't have enough guests to justify $3500 base price. Anyone have any experience with them?

Thanks for the heads up, Beachbride. Do you know, if either hotel allows weddings to be done when you are not staying as a guest on the property? And thanks so much Mora! I just saw your post! I'll check those out asap!

Ugh, long story short, we are having problems that make me doubt my choice in location for the ceremony. I know people are busy and there is a language barrier, but for cryin' out loud, its gotten to the point where I am NOT comfortable leaving my dream wedding up to these people. Some of you already know where I am talking about, but I won't specify as I do not want to unfairly state anything about a location I can't give an honest review of. Anyway, what we need is something gorgeous ofcourse, but very, very low key. We'll only have 20 or so guests, so bearing that in mind too. Some place sort of intimate, with a nice venue for the ceremony preferably near or overlooking the water. I'd love to still be in or near Tulum, because we still want to stay at the original resort...the price can't be beat and we are still good with the accomodations and property itself.

Quote: Originally Posted by JANET1111 Just to give you an idea, I hired a "day-of coordinator" instead of a "planner" for $500 for the day. Maybe you need to get a bid just for help on the day of the wedding. (I was a really frugal bride but very happy that I hired someone for this) Thats what I'm thinking, Janet. I guess I am just banging my head over nothing, because there IS a package for just day-of with a couple of the WC's, but when I listed a breakdown of what we wanted, needless to say, they didn't suggest the smaller, but the next one up. I'm just going to pick one and tell them that we want basic coordination for the day and thats that. When I looked at the list, it included a LOT, some things that I hadn't even thought about, so I think that should definitely do it.