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I was SO excited!! But you have to travel by May 22. =(

Look at how fabulous you are! Those are beautiful!

I've got a dollar that says his wife files divorce papers two weeks after the indictment comes thru. Who wants the over/under?

So, wait. How are you tying the names to them? I love the idea of sand dollars, but I don't want to write on them, and given that they are round(ish), couldn't figure out how to tie something to them. Share your wisdom!!

Maura - I'm sorry that the Hotel is being dumb. And I'm sorry that your sister is a twit! I'll totally come help with your DIY stuff - because you KNOW I loves me a project! I'll be your bridesmaid in absentia, and you can be mine. But I'm not buying another dress, because I've already got one picked out for that day. As for an update on dear-ol-dad, his reply didn't even mention it. Clearly he was a bit ticked, because the message was short and terse, but nada. Which is totally fine by me. (... and the point goes to the bride!)

I think we've all been in situations where we contemplate changing resorts. There's always something - whether it's money, response time, service, quality of the beach, brand of shampoo in the rooms - there just is. And if you look, you'll see a thread or two from me when I was frustrated with the Paradisus because I wanted things that were different. However, the WCs there have bent over backwards, found loopholes in policies, begged favors and moved heaven and earth for me so that I can have the ceremony and celebration that I want. Am I going to pay a bit more for it? Yes. Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. No one wants to have their wedding at the Motel 6 Cancun. We all want the Ritz Carlton - at Motel 6 prices. The reality is that if that existed somewhere, we'd all be getting married at the same place. But it doesn't; so we all have to determine the trade-offs we're willing to make. Having talked with, e-mailed and met with a variety of other WCs at a huge range of places, I'd rather have Elisa and Perla over any of them. [Well, the WC at the Fairmont Mayakoba was great, too, but they wanted $15,000 just to set up and turn on the lights for the reception (no, I'm not kidding).] For me, the Paradisus just makes sense. The WCs get back to me, they go way above and beyond, they accomodate my off-the-wall requests (pinata, anyone?). And when it comes to money, if what I want is out of my price range, they come up with alternate ideas (for example, hiring a private waiter to run to the lobby bar rather than having a full blown private cocktail hour before our welcome dinner). Personally, I couldn't be happier.

Amanda has it right - get a circle cutter. I highly recommend the fiskars squeeze punch - the large is 1.5" and is great for seals. One thing to note, the transparent stickers don't cut well with a punch - you're much better off with a paper-based sticker rather than the plastic transparent ones. (Learned the hard way.)

This comes from another thread somewhere - it stuck with me as a great response to this stuff: This is MY wedding. You already had yours. Remember?

Your dresses are so beautiful!!! I vote for silver, but only because I'd wear those again, but probably not the gold. I say let your BMs choose.

Yari, they are gorgeous!!! I love (LOVE!) your starfish!

I'm in a snit. It's not a big deal, but I'm in a snit. So I thought I'd tell my story and you can tell yours. We can all vent for a bit, and in a week we can all laugh about it. Dad is remarried. Step-mom has a daughter a few years older than I am. Step-sis has a family. I am not close to them. We share 1 meal per year (xmas time), and otherwise have no contact. Dad essentially stiff-armed me into inviting them to the wedding. FI said I should do it to keep the peace. Fine. Done. Whatever. Today, I get an e-mail from Dad asking about the mechanism for FI and I to pay for the hotel and the kids' airfare for the Steps (which we're doing for family). Um. What? No. They are invited as guests. Not family. I respond to Dad's note reminding him that I didn't want to invite them in the first place and don't intend to cover any of their travel expenses. (Precisely: You consider them to be your family, and I respect that. You need to respect the fact that I don't consider them mine.) Yup. In a snit. Just can't believe he'd even suggest it after we went around and around for 3 weeks about inviting them at all. Amazing.

Quick follow up on Mannia: I've been trading e-mails with Carlos, and just sent him the information that Elisa sent, because it lists insurance requirements, etc. His response: "Hello Rebecca, THIS IS KIND OF CRAZY, the insurance is really high, is too much , they just don´t want you to have another vendor , let me see what can i do about this , We keep in touch" I'll let you know what he comes back with.

Oh no! What a headache for you! And I'm sorry you're going thru this. You might be able to find cheaper, but honestly, I don't know if it will be much cheaper - at least not with the same level of service. The problem is that when you've got 6 kids, no all inclusive is going to stay in any less than 2 rooms, and probably more likely 3. Can you split the kids up and put some with aunts/uncles/grandparents? That's what I did. My mom is taking the 2 oldest boys in her room. And they're all excited about it (thankfully).

Kids? Lemme tell you about kids at the Paradisus. We've got at least 11 of them coming. Possibly 16. Yup. 16. Under 3 (meaning anyone who hasn't seen their 3rd bday) is free for rooms and for food. No cost anywhere. 3-12 is 1/2 price for meals, cocktail hour menus, open bar (yes, I know). 3-12 in the rooms is $90 per kid (if booked thru the hotel - a travel agent may do better). Anyone who has seen their 13th birthday is considered an adult, full rates on everything. One thing to note, you can have a max of 3 adults (meaning 13+) or 2 adults and 2 kids under 13 in the rooms. If you've got a family with 2 adults, a 13 and 14 year old, they won't let them all stay in the same room. Same with 2 adults, a 14-year old and a 5 year old. (Here is where you lie about the age of the 14-year old...) Also interesting. If you have a family with one adult and two kids under 12, it's actually cheaper to book it as a double room plus 1 kid than it is to book it as a single with two kids. For those with little kids (say under 7) the family concierge rooms are AWESOME. All-day daycare (great for naptimes so mom and dad don't have to sit in the hotel room waiting for jr to wake up), with walkie talkies between the facilities and the parents in case they need you. Let's mommy and daddy have a vacation, too. For kids older than 7, it's probably not necessary because the kid is going to want to spend all day in the pool anyway.

I have one of these (mine was from target - 2 for $5 or something) in an amazing neon pink. I don't think it really adds anything to the ease of carrying the luggage (besides, we all have wheels now), but it is GREAT for identifying your luggage when it comes down the belt.

I'm no help on Bora Bora. But FI and I are honeymooning there (well Moorea, but still). Italy, however, I can help with - I lived there. It's great! Beautiful, fun, the people are great. And the food!!! But it really is a question of what you want to do. Italy is interactive. It does not come to you - you have to "do" stuff, go places, see things, stand in lines for museums, etc. On the other hand, Bora Bora is all about the not doing. Sitting on the beach, snorkeling, getting up for a leisurely lunch.... So it's a question of what do you want, and how much commotion do you want to undertake? If you want to veg, then Bora Bora. If you are doers, then Italy is fantastic. If you decide on Italy, let me know. I can point you to some fantastic places, hotels, restaurants, etc.

That' is a riot! I so needed that this morning! ...Put down the hammer...

Ack! We just found out that there is a second bidder on the house, and their current offer is higher than ours! We'll sort out our numbers, but someone MAKE THEM GO AWAY!!!

Okay... the thing you don't know about me... you're going to love this. The late senator Strom Thurmond once gave me a tour of his DC-area (Virginia) apartment... while wearing his boxers and a wife-beater undershirt. Nothing sordid or inappropriate. Sorry. I used to work on Capitol Hill for the committee that had jurisdiction over the physical transmittal of legislation to the WH for signature. Late one night, they passed something that needed to get to the WH right away, the only person left in town from the Senate who could sign it was Sen. Thurmond, so I went to his place to get his signature. Being old-school southern, it apparently didn't cross his mind that it would TOTALLY AND UTTERLY FREAK OUT the 23-year old staffer when he answered the door in his BOXERS. He signed the papers, gave me the 5-second tour and off I went. 85-year old men in their undies are not a good visual, for the record.

That is so much fun! I'm totally seeing those as invites to my AHR!!

These are great! Well done!

Morgan to the rescue (again)! I have no idea what we'd do without you!

Hi Laura: I made them, and they really weren't that hard to assemble. The templates, as well as some instructions, are here: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t16771

Tobi - those are adorable! Well done!

Woo hoo! Bonus! I was just about to volunteer to make the trip with you!