nikkianddean

Heather, I agreee that you have a lot of time to get another photogrpaher that is responsive. Any vendor that is MIA at this point is a HUGE red flag. There is a great list of DW vendors on this site. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t2177 I am sure that you can find a great photographer to work with your budget!!! Good luck!!!

Welcome to the forum Feliecity. I love your name!!! Happy planning!

Thanks for all this great feedback ladies. I think I agree with a lot of you. I am going to ask him to list pros/cons. Dean just asked me to lunch (a rarity because of our schedules) so I think he's gotta get something off his chest.... Wish him luck!!!

Congratulations!!!! I know you must be so excited to have that major item accomplished! Isn't it great!!!

Wow - that's really great info....wish I had something like that for Zihua...

Oh Abbie - I can't wait to see them!!!!

I think everyone will probably try to pull it together for your shower! I would say keep the bubbly flowing, but hopefully no one gets carried away and starts to feel "free"...

This is why children should not watch TV and parents should realize how smart their kids are: they have excellent memories and grow up trying to emulate adults around them. I probably would have smacked her, just on instsict - sike. I always talk , but I would have had a very strong word with her and her father together when we got back. You poor thing!!!!

Sarah that is a crazy story. I would be so disappointed if my sibling (brother) did that. Rachel is right though, you have to let people make their own decisions and learn from that sometimes. Life is just a contiuing learning process...I am sure that this requires a lot of patience and understanding and we're here as your sounding board!!! Good luck!

So excited for you! Can't wait to see the pics!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by JennyK Sorry Heidi but I voted shaved! I agreed with you Jenny - Let's see more shaved pics!

Quote: Originally Posted by happygilmore I am in the similar boat. My suggestion would be not to use that song as your entrance song because you'll think of something sad and not the happy moment you are presented with. Perhaps you could have a "moment of remembrance" for your mom and play that song then. Hope that helps a bit. Great idea Meagan! I like the moment of rememberance. It seems like a fitting tribute to your mom.

I thought this was interesting, since this is how Dean and I flew to Mexico on a recent trip to Mexico. Now we are all about AMEX points!!! Using your frequent-flyer miles to get to Europe can save you a bundle, if you know the ropes and plan ahead. Book as far in advance as possible to up your chances of getting your choice of flights. What began as a way to reward customer loyalty has evolved into a profitable side business for the airlines, who sell "award miles" to credit card and other companies (who pass along those miles as incentives to their own customers). Here are some strategies for getting the most travel out of your miles. For more tips, check out FlyerTalk - The world's most popular frequent flyer community. Book as far ahead as possible. Airlines reserve only a handful of "award seats" on each flight -- and once they're gone, they're gone. Even if the "award seats" are booked up, you can sometimes use additional miles to get on the flight (for a first-class seat, or for a double-miles "rule-buster" seat -- though these are being phased out). In short: The farther ahead you book (ideally several months in advance), the more likely you'll get your choice of flights for the fewest miles. Maximize the miles you earn. I'd never fly on a particular airline just to get the miles, for me, the price and convenience of a flight plan always trumps the potential for netting miles. But if you're flying anyway, many figure you might as well get all the miles you can. For example, booking direct with the airline, rather than on a third-party booking site, might earn you bonus miles. Some credit cards allow you to accrue miles with each purchase (sometimes with an annual fee). Know about alliances. Most major airlines belong to one of three gigantic frequent-flyer collectives. For example, the Star Alliance includes North American airlines (United, US Airways, Air Canada) as well as European carriers both big (Germany's Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian, LOT Polish Airlines, Spainair) and small (TAP Air Portugal, Croatia Airlines, Slovenia's Adria Airways). Other alliances include SkyTeam (Northwest, Continental, Delta, KLM, Air France, Alitalia, Czech Airlines) and OneWorld (American Airlines, British Airways, Air Iberia, Finnair, Malev Hungarian). Don't Miss Travelers' mantra: Pack light, pack light, pack light 20 ways to stretch your dollars in Europe If you have miles on any airline in the alliance, you can redeem them on any of the others. So, for example, if you're headed to Prague, try using your Northwest miles first (allied with Czech Airlines); for Helsinki, see what you can get with your American miles (partnered with Finnair); and for Croatia, check with United (allied with Croatia Airlines). Use airline alliances to collect miles smartly. The same alliances work for collecting miles. You might not care about earning miles for an SAS or Air Portugal flight, but if you give them your United frequent-flyer number, the miles go into your United pot. To redeem your miles, check online first, then call. Check if the flight you want is available on the airline's "miles redemption" site. If not, don't give up. Call to speak with an airline agent. While this can come with a small additional fee, it's worth it to talk with a live person who has all your options at his or her fingertips -- especially if you... Do some research and know your options. There are a variety of ways to connect any two points. When you try to redeem miles, the agent might simply try the most straightforward route. If that route is sold out, ask them to check other ways. Better yet, do some homework before you call, and make a list (in order of preference) of the connections that would work for your trip. For example, if I'm going from Seattle to London, it's easiest to take a direct, nonstop flight. But if that's full, I'd be willing to settle for any one of the dozens of other possible connections through other cities. Buy or transfer miles. If you have almost, but not quite, enough miles for the trip you want, look into the option of buying miles from the airline, or paying a fee to transfer them from someone else (e.g., a spouse or relative). While it obviously wouldn't be cost-effective to do this for the entire value of a ticket, if you're 2,000 miles short on the 50,000-mile fare, buying or transferring miles can bring it within your reach for a relatively small cost. Watch the expiration date. For many airlines, miles expire at a certain point after you accrue them (usually one to two years). Know your miles' shelf life, and use them before they're gone. Typically the miles must be used for a ticket before the expiration date -- but the flight can occur anytime, even months later. You're still responsible for taxes and some fees, but it's still a fraction of the full fare. If airline miles help you afford to fly, using them smartly can help you actually fly more frequently. Happy travels!

This is a great thread! I got that feeling when I moved back to SF a few years ago. I have been a youth mentor with City of Dreams (City Of Dreams) for about 2.5 years now. I have a mentee named Keeana Thompson who is 15. She is a great girl and we hang out, talk about what's going on with her life, school home, etc. We have sleepovers and take trips. It's nice to have some comnnection to a younger generation and hopefully impart some wisdom. I think the most important lesson I have learned from our relationship is patience and I hope to have a positive influence and be a good friend to her

Ooohhhh...Meredith is growing up? Would it really be so bad for her & McDreamy to just get together. He knows he doesn't like Rose!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mel University of Arizona--I'm a Wildcat...graduating in less than 3 weeks!!!!!! Congrats Mel!!!

Hey NY ladies- Has anyone had a great experience purchasing their engagement or wedding bands form the diamond district in Manhattan? I know there can be some good deals there and I was thinking that I may buy our rings there the next time I am in NY.... I appreciate any feedback here!

Quote: Originally Posted by becks Maybe you should suggest to FI to think about how his mom/grandmother/aunt/sister/etc. are going to feel when he starts behaving this way and he has to explain to them that Randy is his guest. This was the conversation we had last night. He even said he did not think it would be a good idea to have Randy around his grandparents. I think it's more flexing his (male) muscle than anything else. I am going to try to give him some space and he will (hopefully) understand where I am coming from. Dean is so reasonable which is why this threw me for a loop last night...

...and it better be the last!!! So yesterday, Dean came to me and said that he has to invite his old co-worker (that I can't stand) to the wedding. Here' Randy: -He likes to fight and instigates confrontations at bars with strangers -He has been really rude to my bro and now my bro can't stand him -We were at a bar once and I was having a little problem with a girl in another party and Randy walked over and farted in her face while she was sitting (I was mortified) -In a cab ride, he suggested that he wanted to "rape" some girl who pissed him off -Randy was banned from our X-mas party last year b/c he was embarassing. Dean invited him anyway and midway thru the party Randy had put the You Tube of "2 girls, one cup" on our computer and started inviting our guests to come watch it. this was the last straw. Months ago when we made our guest lists I thought we were very clear that Randy was not invited. So now Dean feels like he has no say in anything regarding the wedding. On one hand I feel bad because I want him to feel like it is his wedding too, but on the other hand, Randy has no place at our wedding. Am I wrong here?

....to Rob Patterson, the guitarist for Korn. I guess she really likes guitar players....do they have that magic stroke?

I did not work out today, but i did squats, p/u's and sit-ups while i watched oprah

Quote: Originally Posted by Christine hmm good question, does BDW count as a hobby? Christine you are hilarious!!! BDW is my least expensive guilty pleasure. I would say my hobbies are: reading shopping talking on the phone constant trips to NY...I miss that place sometimes!

George Washington Colonial...my fi-fi went to CUNY Albany. I don't know what that mascot is....

Congratulations Nicole!!! I love your ring!

Those are great Heather!!! Good idea on nixxing the boy. Gosh, I have not thought about placecard holders...