becks

I haven't, but Karen and Jason did and rave about her. Her work is great! Here's her website: Vanessa Vargas Photography Funny to see this thread, because she is one of the photographers we've contacted. Good news is that she does have availability on my date. Here's the info she sent me on packages: wedding packages cancun 2008.pdf wedding packages riviera maya 2008.pdf

Those are terrific! And the spa gifts are SO nice!!

Barbados is great! The beaches are beautiful, the locals are SO, SO nice! It's pricey, but not so much so that you're totally floored. It's a former british colony (still part of the commonwealth). The history there is amazing - so many beautiful old churches, so many interesting former inhabitants. There is a wide range of hotels - from true economy venues to mid-priced AI's (the Almond Resorts group is good), right on up to Sandy Lane, where you can spend thousands per night. We stayed at the Hilton (used my HiltonHonors points) and LOVED it! They arranged a once-around-the-island tour for us and it was great - went to the rum factory, beaches on the other side of the island, a couple of old churches... so much fun! I'm trying to post a couple of photos - but photobucket keeps crashing when I try to resize. Let me work on it a bit. UPDATE: Okay, managed the photobucket thing - here are a couple of photos: The Hilton beach and pools: The bay

I struggled a bit in conveying our casual/fun mood, too. Ultimately, I addressed it via a dress code suggestion: Shoes optional, hawaiian prints encouraged. That doesn't quite work in your case, but would something about packing bags work? Like: pack your party shoes, beach attire and best wishes? I'm rambling. I clearly need more coffee.

Check with your DJ. He may or may not be able to accomodate it - it will depend on his set up. On the other hand, if you can print out the list he may have everything you want with no problem. Just be very specific that there are to be no deviations - that it's not a suggestion, it is EXACTLY what he will play in the order you want it played.

Hmmm. Well, I wouldn't say they were ugly. I'd definitely call them ordinary. And they don't seem to have any of your personality. The white aisle ones are so much more you. I think you're totally right to be switiching - if I were a guest, I'd much rather receive the white aisle invites.

I printed my 4 bar envelopes on an HP color laser with no problem. I set the pages up as legal so that they fed the right way and then all was easy. I printed in a blue color, but I don't understand how one would work and the other wouldn't. If you absolutely can't make it work, I'd be happy to print them for you. You can just mail or fedex me your supplies and I'll print them and get them back to you.

I got the $3 per chair from Perla during our site visit. Not much help, am I? I'm still waiting to hear from Mannia to see what they could work out on the DJ insurance thing. If not, I'm going to call SWANK and tell them to cut me a deal or I'm using my iPod. No skin off my nose at that point. I'm just not willing to pay $1700 for a DJ that I've heard is mediocre.

Hi Maura: I'm sorry your invites were ugly! Especially after the go-around with the FI! It sounds like you've madeup your mind, but one thought if your budget just won't get it done - to to microsoft clip art gallery and do a keyword search on "stockxpert" and "iStockphoto". There are several really nice graphics that, while not looking anything like the white aisle invite, are very pretty and might work for your purposes.

Yay!!! Congratulations!

You might also ask her to price it with the Wish and with the other packages. There's no "change fee" (that's not per person, is it) She was frankly very good with us - of course we were on site when we were doing it, so that probably helped. But she did suggest we go with the Wish and add on, rather than the other way around.

Quote: Originally Posted by Melissa Radolli LOL! And what exactly does that mean? He is actually sending me a quote as we speak so hopefully it will be $1250 - that's what it says in the package information that Perla gave me. I'm hoping to post all my spreadsheets - just waiting on some additional prices from Perla. In terms of the centerpieces - do you girls know if they are included in the packages? We are thinking the AQUA package (with changes of course!) and I was wondering if they were included? Also wondering what you guys were doing in terms of appetizers? Classic. $1250 vs. $1700. Let me know what he comes back with. If it's $1250 he's just about exactly what Mannia would cost (with supervision fees and outside vendor fees). We are doing the wish package - it covers the basic stuff: symbollic ceremony, gazebo/arch thingy (no flowers on it), music (CD) during the ceremony, white rose bouquet, boutinierre, basic set up for the cocktail party. It also covers 6 chairs on the beach (with plain white covers). Everything else is an add-on. Chairs are $3 each, cocktail hour food/bar ranges from $18 to $40 pp for the hour - we're customizing our menu and looks like about $32 pp at the moment. Our meals are $70pp. Then we're doing open bar and dancing after for 2-3 hours. We're also doing the terrace with couches in addition to some cocktail tables. Since we're having the dinner in L'Hermitage, we don't need the banquet tables. All in, when we ran the numbers, we found this to be about $900 cheaper than one of the other (bigger) packages that had things we didn't want, and about $1200 cheaper than doing everything totally ala carte. We should all totally compare invoices when we get quotes.

I'm SO sad. We didn't get the house. There goes my grand plan for having you guys all over for a barbeque next month! I know I am supposed to be all "oh well" about it, but I'm not. I LOVED that house. Stupid other bidder.

We're going to French Polynesia in November. 5 days on the beach and 10 days on a cruise. So excited!!!

See what you can do with these. There are 20 or so palm tree clip arts here. Any of the images can be taken apart, elements removed, colors changed and reassembled. Just find one you like, and right click, and select "ungroup" - it will say that it's a picture, but if you click yes (or okay) or whatever, and click ungroup until everything is ungrouped, all of the different segments will be available for editing.

Also, go to microsoft's clip art gallery (google it). They've got lots as well. And anything in black and white can be recolored. I'll see if I can pull some together into a powerpoint slide and post them.

Quote: Originally Posted by mauraw girl do you wanna get together for coffee this weekend sat or sun morning to have a bitchfest about obnoxious negative relatives? ive hit my limit with my family! ive already disowned my mom because of her bad behavior, and my stepmom is reaching the stage where she's crossing the line with me. oh, and my dad hung up on me yesterday. Maura - I'm about ready to fly to Chicago and open a whole big can of whoop-ass all over your family. Mine are annoying; yours are being unreasonable. In the meantime, call me tonight when you get home and we'll have a glass of wine together!

I'm feeling particularly obnoxious today. That caveat being mentioned, I'd suggest this: "Gee, FMIL, I am SO, SO sorry that our wedding plans are so uncomfortable for you. Maybe it would be easier if we just rescinded your invitation. That way you won't have to worry about any of this. We'd miss you of course, but we'll manage." There are just a bunch of people I want to say that to!

Here's a list of a few places I found that were adults only: Aventura Spa Palace Excellence Riviera Cancun THE ROYAL in Playa del Carmen El Dorado Royale hotel El Dorado Seaside suites Gran Palladium Riviera White Sand Paraiso de la Bonita Royal Hideaway Playacar Valentin La Hacienda Beach Resort Royal Hideaway Playacar Royal Porto Real hotel All of them are supposed to be 4.5-5+ stars. Apologies if they are duplicative of your list, but I can't see your original post from the reply window.

That is GREAT!

Maura - they are GREAT! I love them! Your fonts... the colors... simple... elegant... What more can I say?

That is so great! Can't wait to tell FI!!

Yay Lisa!!!! Congratulations! So exciting!!!!

Now there's a third bidder. I want to cry! They've asked for our best and final offers. We're putting it together, and I hope it's enough. I really, really, really love that house! Keep 'em crossed. Hope we know soon, and that it's good news. And you guys are SO invited over if we get it.

Silence. We upped our number to make sure we're competitive, but nothing back yet. Breathe, Rebecca, Breathe! But look! Abbie gave me a watermelon for good luck. She's awesome!!