ErinB

I agree that Hobby Lobby and JoAnn are better than Michaels. Having worked with Sarah, I would highly recommend her. The theme for my wedding planning seems to be finding out things too late. If I had known Sarah could so STDs and programs and anything else you can dream up, I would have paid her double just to save myself the hassle! ANd because she's awesome!

Thank you! Thank You! Hair and Make-up is on my to do list this week.

Oh no! I'm sure everything will be fine, but I'll say a prayer for both of them anyway. At least there was someone close to she didn't have to go through this alone!

You're right Glenda, posting does help. I've been bad about and gained a whole bunch. I'm really restricting my carbs and fat right now. Additional tips I've found work are: 1) For portion control, I use a divided toddler plate. The big portion at the bottom gets the veggies, the smaller section gets the protein, and the last one gets the whole grain, additional vegetable, etc. 2) Try to separate carbs and proteins. So, have oatmeal and fruit for breakfast and a chicken salad for lunch. Don't eat a steak and a baked potato. They theory is that your body uses different enzymes, etc to process carbs, fats, and proteins. If you eat them all together they can't be completely broken down, but if you split them up, they are. 3) Set an eating schedule. It is best to eat within 30 minutes of waking up. Continue to eat small meals during the day. Give yourself cut off times. For example, don't eat fruits or carbs after 2pm. No meals after 8pm. This gives you the chance to burn off what you eat. 4) Keep healthy snacks in the fridge like celery sticks and sugar free jello. You actually burn more calories walking to the fridge, opening the package and eating & digesting them than are in the foods themselves! 5) Everyone already knows this, but really monitor your salt and drink lots of water! Now, if I can just practice what I preach, I'll be good to go!

If you do decide to go with a holiday weekend, your guests will need to book early! About 2 months ago I tried to get us seats for this Memorial Day for FBIL's wedding and the cheap seats on Southwest were already sold out. For us to fly Friday and Monday, it was over $150 pp difference! Also with the hotel lots of people will probably have the same idea, so again you will need to book as quickly as possible.

Looks great! I'm a september baby so my birthstone is the saphire. I absolutley LOVE your wedding set!

Congrats and welcome! I know feathers are very in right now, but I haven't heard of a peacock theme. I bet it will be beautiful with such rich colors!

Very pretty! and what a bargain!

I was going to say the same thing as Rachel. They might be floral lights www.floralytes.com that range from about $3-$15 each. That is a ton of moeny for lighting! I sure hope that quote was in pesos!

Those are really cute! My concern is the sizing, though. A 12 = a 2XL! That seems a little crazy!

What a jerk! He totally could have just given you a warning, especially after your reaction! I'm not saying people should park in handicapped spots, but honestly it was Subway! It's not like you were going to be in there for 12 hours!

That's great news! It might sound sneaky, but I would consider keeping the extra to cover an additional party or something there. $20 to each person is not a lot spread out over a week (or however long) but if you have to pay $1000 for a reception, that's a lot out of your pocket. Just a thought...

Great article! Weddings are expensive but the budget numbers can be skewed. Do you talk about just food, include the dress & rings, etc. I usually tell my brides that they need to have at least one $50 bill to put down next to every name on their guest list because that is how much it costs in the long run when you do figure in attire, honeymoon, and all of the extras. I think most of us are guilty of getting caught up in the moment or finding something super cute and it's only $37.99. Too many $37.99s add up really quickly! I'm hoping to keep our total under 30k. That is inclusive of everything for the wedding for 32 guests and our AHR for 300. I had originally hoped for 20k, but then FI's family backed out costing us $3000 in cancellation fees and 2 BMs didn't have the money so that was another $4000. I realize I was planning on spending a good deal of money, but I view that $7000 as completely wasted and unnecessary! FI needs a new car and we are trying to buy a house and tht much money could have really come in handy. If I could have paid for everyone I would have offered, but I have to cover this because it is my name on the contract!

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome! I never really tought about it but BDW is a great support group! No one under stands the frustrations of a DW like a fellow DW bride!

Thanks for the laugh Jen! I'm glad you're ok. I don't know what it is about falling that I find hysterical. I can usually ask if the person is ok before i roll on the floor. I fall rather often so I don't feel bad for laughing. I laugh at myself all the time!

There is a ton of info on locations to be found here! In the Caribbean I know that the Couples and Sandals hotels are all AI and Adult Only. You can also look at some of the SuperClubs properties. They have a variety of properties and some of the cheaper ones do allow children, but only those over 14 or 16. You might want to contact a travel agent (ther are several on the boards) for more recommendations.

Here is the original thread: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t17229 There is no way I could have come up with these on my own. A big thanks to all who posted templates that I was able to merge into the finished product. Here are my supplies: http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...2/100_1044.jpg I used white linen 67lb paper for the passes and Metallic Cardstock in Aqua Lagoon for the jackets. Both were from PaperandMore.com From Michael's I bought the rotary cutter, big palm tree punch, 2 corner punches, brushed nickle rivets, 5 assorted beachy/travel stamps, and 2 Martha Stewart inkpads in Aqua. My omega ribbon came from Baer's Fabrics, a local store. I bought the whole spool, so everything is getting ribbon! Our Travel Agent printed up a little flyer with trip details, her contact info, and request for info form at no cost to us that we included in each envelope (not the pass). I did 3 pages. The first was the announcement page, the second detailed the location, resort, and what was included, and the last page was about our At Home Reception. I put our webite on each page and asked everyone to RSVP to our website. Now, I wish I had done a postcard RSVP. I loved Heidi's mad-libs! The actual passes were pretty easy. I just basically altered the template to pertain to us and our location. I was having trouble with the clip art in word, so I decided to stamp the designs. I like that it gave them a slightly more weathered look. I did decide to skip the perforating part. Normally, the ends tear off, but this was just too much work. I also bought the wrong size blade to fit the cutter that I had and I just wanted the project to be done! The Jacket/Folder things were really easy! I started by folding the cardstock into thirds. There is something called a bone creaser or something that helps you get the lines straight and crisp. I cut the bottom panel at an angle so the pass could show. I then used the corner punch to round all of the outside edges, then opened the jacket to round the inside corners. Finally, I punched the palm tree out of the right side to give the jacket a little more detail. I thought about stamping the outside or adding text, but again I was done crafting at that point. Now I have about 100 little palm tree cut outs that I don't know what to do with. Tips: 1) Find any 4 people and start an assembly line! (stamper, cutter, riveter, folder, etc.) 2) Use the corner-rounder paper punch to save time and make the edges even on the passes. 3) Because the eye of the rivet was so small I used a needle threader to get the ribbon through. Here's the final product: http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...2/100_0984.jpg http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...2/100_0982.jpg http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...2/100_0983.jpg

Thanks for sharing! I'll be sure to ckeck it out. There are about 9000 different shades of Aqua!

Have you tried Striv-Ectin? It's a lotion that is great for stretch marks and they say it works for wrinkles too. I know it is a little pricy but you don't need to use very much.

I'm not yet in my 30s but I'm on a medication that basically puts your body into a chemically induced menopause. I've noticed major changes in my skin and hair! I am currently using Biore products. I love Clinique but for the price difference this stuff works just as well. There is a warming scrub cleanser and a mild toner. I also use a night moisturizer and an oil-free day moisturizer that has an SPF. All of my founcation, powder, etc also has SPF. Garnier makes a great under eye cream that is supposed to help with dark under-eye circles. I also use Retin-A cream around my eyes when I remember. My MOH works for a dermatologist so I get all kinds of fun samples!

I agree. Neither of you is right or wrong or spoiled or anything else. You just need to sit down together and figure out if you can afford to go or if the money needs to go toward the wedding. Could you possibly exchange the time share for a different location that might not be as expensive to get to?

Wow! That is kind of odd. I guess you should be happy that you have friends who do care about you and your well-being. However, a lot of times, people just don't get it. They will impose their beliefs or pre-conceptions onto your situation. I'm sure the one girl is concerned about your financial situation if she is separating from her husband because she probably feels that way. As far as them saying you are only working for your wedding, well it's none of their business. I applaud you for paying for it on your own and not racking up a pile of credit card debt. I would guess that there is something else behind this "intervention". It is possible that with the trouble your one friend is having, they expect you to drop everything and support her and it's simly that your schedules don't mesh. As far as the necklace goes, go on and give it to her, especially if you have them for the other girls. Later on down the road this won't be an issue but if you cause one girl to feel singled out it could do some damage to the friendship. I think her heart was probably in the right place, her head was just up her ass and she didn't know or understand the whole story.

I'm almost 27 and have no life! LOL It's pretty bad when TV Monday and Thursday nights are the highlights of my week! And I wonder why I'm fat...

Cute dress! After trying on my dress, I'm starting to wonder if I should have a "costume change" dress. It's big and poufy and I lolve it, but it is a little heavy. I have my TTD dress that I could change into if I get tired of lugging mine around. Although I think my mother will have a fit if we paid a grand for my dress and I only wear it for an hour! LOL