BillysBride

Yea, I'd have probably invited her right then and there. What's one more person at that point, ya know? BUT, I can see you not wanting to make the exception at that point since it was something that had been decided earlier. But I can definitely see her being hurt. Tricky situation...for sure. Would have been easier if there had been a way to keep the other group from even knowing about the bachelorette, but clearly that wasn't an option. Can't change anything now, so....just a tricky situation. Maybe when you speak to her again, just let her know that you weren't in charge of sending out the invites which is basically the truth.

The only "rule" is that you be in absolute love with your gown. I've seen FAR more elaborate gowns worn for DW's...believe me, you don't need to be worried about how formal/informal it is! If you love it and your belly tells you this is it, GET IT! btw, it's gorgeous!

Christina is right, Monique--give up the stash dammit!

To be honest, "they" always say that about taffeta, satin and ALL of the common wedding dress fabrics; which most of them are what? Taffeta or satin. lol I've seen sooooo many ladies talk about their dress being fine after going into the ocean. I just can't see it being "ruined" by water, regardless of what the almighty "they" say. Too much evidence to the contrary. I think a LOT of the anti-water legends are about it weakening the fabric structure anyway..meaning weaker fabric can rip/tear/loosen at the seams faster than dry cleaned fabric. Oh well. But you have to do what you are comfy with. If I was all that worried about the darn thing, I definitely wouldn't take a chance with it. Lucky for me, I'm not...I do plan to sell it if I can afterward since it's brand new (well, ok..both of mine will be brand new, but trust me, I'm only having two dresses because I WANTED both, not because I'm worried about ruining either). If it doesn't look good/hold up after the session, oh well...my girls can play dress up in it for the next ten years.

Don't you dare feel bad for giving an honest review! I have no doubt this may save someone else a truly regrettable experience, so in all honesty, thank you! Even one person spared is enough.

Not planning to, unless MAYBE we do a small one after we return. That way, it's clear that we do not expect guests traveling to the wedding to give us a gift, and only if we do decide to have an AHR. Otherwise, for us it seems a bit much.

First off- it's beautiful! She has really done an amazing job, and in such a short time!! I COMPLETELY AGREE with you about the empire waist...I don't see the harm in asking her to bring it in a bit. THIS IS YOUR WEDDING DRESS, and while yes she is doing you this HUGE, ginormous favor by doing it, you still need to be happy with it! Favors don't mean you have to settle. Not when you're the bride, baby! I dont know why she would be insulted by that, but you know her so maybe she would. Just maybe casually say "Hey, how much trouble would it be to nip in the empire waist a bit?" And maybe go through the pinning process with her so she knows how much you want and you can avoid having to have her do it a second time. I think that if you go with straps, my vote would be for the lace with the spaghetti straps on either side. That would look really "together" to me. It's beautiful and you look beautiful IN it! Go girl!

I only JUST NOW decided to have a little "first look" time. I'd been pretty against it before and the only reason I'm going to go ahead with it now is because the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it might alleviate some nerves on his part. Theres a lot of pressure with the whole beginning of the ceremony thing where all eyes are focused on the two of us and our response to seeing each other-especially for his part. The book would be a great spontaneous mood lightener I think, along with just seeing me in a semi-private moment where he can have whatever reaction feels right to him away from all the eyes.

1.) Location, location, location:) 2.) Size 3.) Affordability for all concerned 4.) Wedding facilties 5.) Traveler reviews; and by this, I mean the reviews from travelers who seemed to have the same attitude/expectations as we do.

Theres also some rumblings about a potential cancer issue and hysterectomy for Lily. I really hope they decide NOT to go there with her-girl's been through enough for crap's sake. I'm all for infertility, and even some serious medical problems. That would leave the door open for a "miracle baby" for Lily and Cane at some point. But hysterectomy? Come. On.

Spoileres for the week of June 22, 2009: Thanks to Adam, Estella is charged with harming Ashley! Adam drops the bottle of botox before he can inject himself again. Dr. Donahue examines him and tells him that he will become permanently blind if he continues to inject himself. Rafe is stunned when a desperate Adam confesses that he has feelings for him! Mac reveals that her engagement with Raul is off. Chloe is stunned when she walks in on Billy and Mac in his bedroom! Sharon receives the DNA rest results. The baby is... Nick's! (how convenient) Cane uses Phillip's blood when Nina forces him take a DNA test. (which makes NO sense..since now he won't be a match for Jill's) Daniel gets out on bail, and someone's not pleased by this. COMING: Adam's actions continue to cause major drama for the Newman clan! Personally? My money is on this Phillip being a fake, only Cane doesn't realize it. Cane is the real deal and has no idea, so he's covering his ass all over hell and back for no reason. It would explain a lot, especially if he used his blood for the very first test two years ago; would explain why it didn't match Jill's. Then with the second test, he had nothing else to lose and used his own....and bingo a match, which he probably thought was a fluke or a messed up result. I'm not sure where they are going with this, but Daniel says it's "Huge and explosive", so I'm ready to ride the wave.

Either she's completely paranoid...or this is personal some how. No-I wouldn't send her an invite or anything else. Not sure if thats your question, but wanted to cover it. As for your dad, send it-but ..what was his point in telling you this? Is he like, actually LISTENING to what she is saying? If so, forget him too. I mean, seriously, it even SOUNDS like lunatic ravings and paranoia. I'd look up some stats on Mexico tourism and fling 'em at her. How out of the tens of thousands of Americans that holiday in the area every year, the number of tourists encountering a problem of ANY kind is so miniscule.....it's hard to reason with hard facts. But sounds like it woulnd't matter to her anyway, because she's just paranoid and all her wires aren't real tight, if ya know what I'm saying.

Yea, if it were first or even second impressions, I'd change it. But this is something that guests will see in the excitement of your actual day-nobody is going to care or notice! Please, don't irritate yourself worrying about it-not worth it!

"If we haven't called in four months.." What the hell I can only imagine the stress and fear you are feeling-let alone your poor mother! I'm completely unfamiliar with the condition, but what are the chances of her being able to consult with a second doctor? It just doesn't sound right to me that she has this SERIOUS medical condition and her physician is following it in such a laid back manner. You're in my thoughts...blessings to you and your mother.

Quote: Originally Posted by jennie What have ypu past brides done about carrying his outfit onto the flight? I was wondering if I would have to hang his inside of my garment bag, or can he also have a garment bag as a carry on? EXCELLENT question! I'll have two dresses, his outfit and the broom for our jump which is like 10lbs. I'm gonna just try to put that in with one of my dresses standing up. But I'm wondering the same thing about his wedding attire; does he get to bring a garment bag as well?

I think with DW's especially, theres SOOO much PLANNING that we do. Even before we can TRULY do anything. It just feels wierd when you get to a "stopping point" where you can sort of relax for a while. Doesn't mean that you're done--just that you're done and in a good place for now. If you feel like you're missing something, just go over your wedding day from start to finish, the way you envision it. Every thing for every moment from the time you get up til the time you guys call it a night. If you're forgetting anything, believe me-it will pop up when you do that mental review! Relax and try to enjoy..the six month mark seems to be a beautiful place to be; you've still got plenty of time for anything left but not TOO much time to have to wait! Enjoy!

TRULY amazing photos...wow, he really is a genious. Well done and the attention he's bound to get from your review is well deserved!

LOL, Dr. Phil would be in litigation if he had me sittin next to him....I'd end up making half his patients ledge jumpers.

Yea- I finally decided to give my girl's free reign and simply ask that they keep it to one color in the After Six/Dessy collection; Venetian Gold. There are a TON of dresses to choose from and some of them can be ordered online for $100 or less, so they are happy and I am happy. I've got everything from a size 2 who has to have everything altered because she's so tiny @ 5'1, to a size 24- I just didn't feel right trying to dictate what I thought would look good on everyone in MY personal opinion. I wanted them to be comfortable and secure about how they look.

Oh, and Chris Egen/Adam, is choosing to end his contract. He doesn't like the direction (or lack thereof more accurately) that they are taking his character. The show is letting him out of the legal ramifications, so its an amicable split.

Jen--Girl you are getting married on MY BIRTHDAY. I refuse to allow any foolishness..you are a fly ass diva because I said so. Dammit. lol

Christie- you are sooooo right. With all that at their disposal, honestly..what do they even have to complain about in all reality? I'm just starting to get into the wedding shows--Style Network is fantabulous. I need to do a guide seach and set reminders for the shows you mentioned. I hadn't even heard of some of them!

Quote: Originally Posted by npaterson I think for the most part my guests will be staying 4 nights. We have a quote for 7 nights, but I'm thinking a majority of them will only stay 4. My stepmom was worried when I told her about the amount of people that would be coming and she wanted to make sure that I didn't feel like I had to entertain any one. The day after my wedding, I'm not entertaining anyone but myself and my new husband. I would like to think that if guests were going to stay longer, that they would be respectful in the fact that they know that this is our honeymoon. I would honestly like to think so too. Unfortunately, I've seen some behaviors from some folks that tell me that not everyone has the same sense of what's appropriate that we do. hahaha!

What we're doing is sort of a combo of both limiting the open bar times and offering specific drinks to keep costs down. The restaurant actually suggested a price limit, but I wasn't comfortable with that even though we have SOME "drinkers" in our group, but it's a pretty good balance. We paired down the bar menu list they gave us to 4 specific drinks. We'll do two hours "open bar" which will include meal time in which people will be eating along with drinking so that will automatically cut down on SOME of it. It's easier to announce on the web site and newsletter "Please enjoy an open bar for all of our dinner guests featuring Mojitos, Sangria, rum punch and draft beer from 7-9pm" That doesn't sound tacky to me at all, and it still serves the purpose of letting them know it is not an all night boozefest. And to be honest? If given the option of paying for all their own drinking or having some of it paid for, I think it's a no brainer for most guests. They know we are not made out of money therfore they would know the reason behind it. If anyone has a problem with it, it's their problem. lol But then, I'm a b*tch that way.

Quote: Originally Posted by Bing & Win Win The way I look at it is like this. I see my soon to be husband everyday of my life. Which I love! We don't have kids (unless 2 dogs count?!), so we have time to focus on one another in our day to day lives. It's not too often we have a chance to go away with so many of the great people in our lives. We aren't planning anyone's trip for them. We just want them at the wedding/wedding dinner and party. If they choose to go off and do their own thing - that's fine with us. We will want some alone time too, I think our guests respect the fact that this is also our honeymoon ;0) And, to be honest - we know some of our guests are going away more for themselves than for us. We want to make the most of this trip and the time we have with our friends and family! It's going to be a very chill vacation. I can understand that! For sure. We're just seeing it from opposite ends of the same spectrum. We can see our friends and family anytime- and enjoy it immensely. It doesn't matter when that time falls, if it's a holiday or whatever, we'll enjoy them just the same. For us, it's not so much about it being time away from the kids...we can get that if we plan it well enough. It's that this is the only honeymoon we're ever gonna get most likely. Other trips? Probably over the course of our lives...but I have this image of what the week after my wedding is supposed to be, and it's all about the two of us focusing on each other and getting to know each other as hubby and wife officially. In a beautiful, romantic setting where the romance is OOZING out of our pores because of the ceremony we just took part in. Can't be recreated, so they just need to leave us alone. hahaha!