JoLo908

Mine haven't rolled up or down, they seem to fit securely on the legs and all... Also HIGH WAISTED power panty is best...for dresses, esp. wedding... they look like shorts, but the waist goes up to your bra strap and bubbies. So there is no cut off or rolling in the middle of your waist. Please ladies, if you have not yet, get SPANX!!! There are clothes that I could NEVER wear normally because of my curves or my lil belly pooch, but I don't have one at all in my Spanx!!

Spanx are my best friend... aside from MOH and FI .... hahha... I love them because they hold everything in (my tummy is a littly flabby, I miss my flat tummy), and smooth everything out. and they are crotchless so esp. in a wedding dress, easy bathroom access. they make the high waisted power panties which I LOVE and am wearing under my dress. They are a little pricey, but they work really well. I don't think they are really uncomfortable either at all.... so, SPANX!!! PS, my mom went to sit in the audience of the VIEW last year and Tyra Banks was on, and my mom was like "Tyra was wearing Spanx too like me! She showed them during commercial!!" My mom is smaller, but they still help smooth it all out...

I am just throwing this in to all the curvey ladies since I had a rough morning.... what to pack? For me? SPANX SPANX SPANX!!! And some moreeee SPANX!!! haha.... love my Spanx!!!

Okay, now for the big update. The regional manager refunded us $500 in hopes that it would satisfy us. Yes, this is nice. But I informed him that this money issue was only a tiny part of the many problems we dealt with. We found out that since our TA had to go through another TA due to contract reasons, it made the whole process extremely difficult for herself, and for us. Regardless, as I told him, this is not an excuse for misspelled names, wrong information, deadline switches. I let him know that we were not complaining to just get a discount but to let them know that this is not acceptable, and that we would want to warn other brides not to use this company. His response was, "Well we have plenty of brides who are very satisfied and we have written letters to show it. We learn from these experiences to try to make our business better. If you choose not to use our company again, it is a personal opinion and choice." This is going to be the choice of us, and the 50+ people attending our wedding, booked through the agency or not. (Many booked on their own after getting poor service through the agency.) I believe the TA herself got caught up in this mess and got frustrated about it...understandable... but this would SUCK if it happened to anyone else. I really feel like the manager felt if he credited us $500 that it would make everything go away. I guess this is how they run things. FI and I run on principle, not solely on the dollar bill. Great company.... BUT now we are going to be leaving in less than two weeks so I will be marrying the man of my dreams, and we can put this part behind us... thanks again ladies... I do not want to post the agencies name on here as to not violate others who are booked through them, and I will discuss this with the mods if I can say anything. Thanks again!!!

So now we get a $500 discount that is supposed to make up for everything.....

Update... I just got off the phone with customer service and the regional manager. Cust. Service said in regards to our trip, it has to be a mirror package, or else they can't do the price beat (note, the flight there is overbooked, so we would take the following flight if we have to to save $2200)... so, that probably won't be happening. I also sat with the regional manager and went through a whole list of things that went wrong and told him our frustrations. I had e-mailed him as well, and let him know that with all of these people booked, there will be a lot of bad word of mouth, and that if things were not "taken care of," that FI and I would write up a poor review. To boot, one of our best friends is high up in the Public Relations field in NYC, and she said because of all of the frustrations that if things were not "sorted out" that she would contact her friend to do a write-up of all of the poor experiences we have had. I am not trying to be pushy or mean here, I just want things done a little bit close to right! And I was also brought up with the phrase "always use honey first rather than vinegar," and I was nice all along, and nice up to this point... and look what happened!!! PS, FI was very touched by the letter, and we talked and now anything that needs to be done will be taken care of through him (I mean talking to the TA on the phone). Thank you all for helping me out here. I feel like I am one of those people who always says, "Hey, don't freak out, there are bigger fish to fry, not the worst thing in life." And I do know that. I am thankful for a lot, and I know that my issues are miniscule compared to real heart wrenching events people go through everyday in their lives. But I also know that because I care about people, and the bigger issues, does not mean that we have to ignore our feelings or thoughts about these frustrating issues at hand. Thank you all for following me with this... BDW is comforting because unlike my in-person friends, you all know FIRST HAND how we are feeling, and I don't have to keep saying, "If only you were in our shoes!" Thanks ladies...

P.S. just wrote FI a letter for when he wakes up telling him how happy I am to marry him, and how sorry I am that everyday I am stressing out over travel...

Thanks ladies... Tammy gave me the advice of confronting the TA (which I do appreciate, so thank you) but I have told her multiple times now about the mistakes and people being upset, and these things just continue to happen. The past few days have really put me over the edge, especially my mom's best friend getting booked for the wrong days... (and finding out two weeks prior).... enough is enough... I can't sleep!!!

thats PiperRiley on Etsy - Stand out from the crowd! Its just an idea, but may be what you are looking for! They can custom make things too...

My friend started a business and she makes REALLY cool peacock hair accessories, and jewelry and stuff, and does it for bridal parties as well... the site is piperriley.etsy.com check it out! Ask for Courtney.... I think their stuff is really cool...

She and the manager at the branch know that there have been many mistakes, and mishaps, and she seems to get aggrevated all the time at guests for getting upset over things (um hello, I would too when many slip ups have happened)... and now my parents are super upset too... They got an AMEX bill with all separate charges all over the place with no explanation of what is for what...and my mom called but the TA was about to leave for the end of the day, so she said she would break it down for my mom tomorrow... and being that there are all little charges that add up to thousands of dollars, and now she said my mom will also get billed on her next credit card statement (no explanation for what each amount is equal to).... so my parents had a huge fight at their house over this too because now TA has charged over 7 charges to their cards and they are trying to add things up and keep track of prices... others have had this same scanario happen as well and are not happy. I just wish we did this at home... I love FI, and the TA situation has been such a stress... like, as soon as we get a moment of happiness about the wedding (two nights ago, making final CDs with music) I get a call about names being spelled wrong on plane tickets from TA, and then a call that someone got booked for the wrong days (and they already put in to get off of work).... I don't want to be upset over this anymore!!! It's like she knows she is F'ing up, and keeps saying don't worry, not a big deal, well this is the reason... blah blah.... but how am I supposed to not worry?? What is our names are spelled wrong? We don't even have our info yet!!! 12 days away!!!

Anyone who read my post about my TA woes, it has gotten worse. We are now only 12 days away from our departure, and we have not received a single voucher, paper, or anything for our trip. FI's mom's name was spelled wrong on the vouchers, and my mom's best friend was "accidentally" booked a day later than us, and then she had planned... and they made it up to her with giving her the day, and a first class ticket (I am the bride, have not gotten any accomodation for our problems with TA, and at this point, don't really care that we are flying in coach even though said guests have been upgraded to first class, and MOH is flying first class as well. FI is more upset about this whole thing. I don't care, fly me in coach.) And now, drumroll..... We found our entire trip on the internet, same EXACT package for $2200 cheaper... taxes, transfers, gratuities, everything... and I just keep getting more e-mails about frustrations with the TA, and how people think she's rude... and it is not in my personality to be a Beeotch to someone, and not to her... but apparently, if you yell and get mad at her you get first class tickets.... I sound whiney.... and I am not... but I have been crying at least once a night for the past week trying to deal with all this, driving all over, delivering vouchers to people that were sent to the wrong place... And worst of all I told FI I just want the whole thing to be over with, and wish we could just go to the courthouse and call off the DW.... Our TA has made this hellish.... and I am trying to keep spirits up.... posting happy posts, being positive.... but I am sick of crying and trying to handle everyones travel concerns and problems.... I don't get paid to be a TA!!! I want to throw up.... And the worst part is, the TA is still giving me attitude, even in the message she left! Ughhhhhhh,,,,

Thanks everyone!!! If anyone has any questions or wants info about anything please let me know!!!

THere have been so many problems with my TA so most days I have been sorting out peoples travel problems... like as soon as I start to enjoy a moment I get a call "They spelled my name wrong and booked me for the wrong days"... needless to say, not so great.... but we are so happy and excited!!

Hey Lisaloo, I am always running into you here, because BDW is my escape! I should be getting ready for work or cleaning.... Anyway... FI and I are trying to find random ways of saving. Biggest ones? Making our own lunches and bringing them to work/ eating at home as much as possible. This saves SO much money,,, and the coffee thing? Have him make coffee at home, and then maybe once a week treat himself to a coffee out at Starbucks or wherever. Totally saves like $20 a week or more, depending on the person. We are trying to get better about these things, it is difficult. I have college loans too, and we want to come out of the wedding with a clean slate. Good luck!!! You guys can do it, we are trying too!!!

So, originally I was going to record a song to walk down the aisle to (I am a singer) but due to money and time constraints with my musician friends, that did not happen. I think I am going to sing a song to FI at the reception the song "I'll stand by you" because I am walking down the aisle to the acoustic version. This sound like a nice idea? I feel bad because I know he wanted me to sing the processional originally, but I thought this would be nice.

Bobs Discount Furniture!!! We got a HUGE sectional there for $1000, and they replace any damaged parts within 3 years or something along those lines... everyone loves our couch...

Ughhh Tammy, I went through the same thing when I got my bag stolen with my keys, liscence, $300 cash, and a new digital camera.... you feel so violated.... but as much as this stinks, look at it as a lesson. That's what I did to put a spin on it. Now, whenever I go out, I NEVER hang my bag on my chair... something I never thought about before unless I was in the city... something so silly right? But now I feel like my lesson is to tell other ladies as well not to do this, that they are at risk of getting their bag stolen. I am so sorry, I know how you feel... especially about the picture...

St. Thomas is great! I love it there, go to the Blue Moon Cafe!! Great food and atmosphere!

My mom's School district which is 20 minutes away, has a bunch of cases of SF. They sent letters home to the kids parents, and my brother had one of those parents at his work who was freaking out. And YET people are still weird about going to Mexico! Craziness! My friend is a nurse as well by Rutgers, and she said that people keep coming in with SF, and she is like stay home! Get better! Don't spread it to everyone!!! Crazyyy

My Makeup artist is great, she is a friend, and coming to Mexico with us as well. She is located in NJ, and gets contracted out through a company for weddings, but also does them freelance on her own. She is super sweet, and the great thing is, she is so easy going, you can tell her exactly what you want, like, and don't like... PM me if you want info...

OMG, our wedding is in less than three weeks!!! I feel like I am going crazy!!!!

They have this special material that holds you in well. That's why I like them!!

Take trip advisor with a grain of salt... We went to St. Thomas and some of the reviews for our hotel were terrible and it ended up being phenomenal! A few people also complained about the food at Gran Bahia Principe in Riviera Maya where we are getting married, and when we went to visit, we were extremely satisfied. (And we are good food wackos, we go out to eat in NYC all the time). So don't believe everything you read. Some people will say a place is full of bugs if they see one bug, and they forget they are in a tropical climate! Duh! Don't worry, PS, my TA said Paradisus was amazing!