Kristy!

How did I miss these! They look great! I love the sunglasses pic.

I took about 2 months off from wedding planning when I was 6-7 months away from our day. There just isn't as much to do. Just relax and be happy that you're not having to obsess over every little detail!

Here is what I had, just two simple arrangements:

I don't know if I'm more excited for the video or the pics. I'm already realizing the value of a video. I think Chris' cousin had her video camera at the wedding as well. Too bad she lives in California!

I edited my post. What else do I need? I've never written a wedding review before!!

Woo hoo! They look great!

Hey girls, I finally posted my review (it's in my siggy). There are some minor details I left off that you may be interested, so feel free to ask me anything.

Sheesh Abbie, so pushy! Too bad we can't share that bottle of champagne you sent me together! Happy reading.

Oh, they're so much fun. I love them!

Pigeon Island National Park: A+ What a beautiful place for a wedding! We were on a mostly shaded beach facing the Caribbean Sea with some mountains in the backround. I couldn’t have pictured anything better. We also used this location for our TTD the following morning. Ceremony: A Things went really well. No falls or craziness. The funny thing was that I swear it was the first time the registrar was reading our script. He kept stumbling over our names. (It's not hard, we have practically the same name!) He was all out of order, all I could do was laugh. I totally didn't care. Most of it was such a blur, Ican't wait to see the video. All I really remember is that Chris kissed me for such a long time, I thought he was never going to stop (and I was cool with it!). Oh, and my flower girl my so funny. She would take like 2 steps, stop, and carefully place some petals down. Then she would do that again. Too adorable! Jacques Waterfront Dining: A- The food was excellent and Cathy was such a pleasure to work with. We were on a private deck on Vigie Cove which was beautiful. Everything was very reasonably price, including the alcohol. A few negatives were that the bathrooms were a bit sketchy which surprised me for the level of dining this restaurant is. There was also this ugly broken boat on the land right behind where Chris and I were sitting. I was told it wouldn’t be there that day, but there it was. Ten-90: B- This is the band we hired for the reception back at Villa Capri. That sounded great, but I was disappointed. They never got the crowd going. They kept playing slower songs instead of upbeat ones at the beginning and I think it make everyone tired. In their defense, they were stuck in a random spot where they could barely see anyone. Then I noticed that our play list/do not play list either never got to them or it was ignored. There were a few songs I really wanted to hear that I didn’t get to and a few I didn’t want to hear and did. The most obvious mistake was the dance with my dad. The song was supposed to be “My Girl” and they started playing “Dance with my Father.” I instantly burst into tears because we had heard that song on the way home from Chris’ father’s funeral last September and now I can’t get through that song without crying. Luckily my MOH had asked what song we were dancing to earlier and she immediately ran over and told them they were playing the wrong song and they quickly changed it. Kristi Klemens of KLK Photography and Paul Bennett of Blue Sky Videos: A+++ I’m in love with them! They were so awesome to have around and they fit in so well. I won their services through BDW and could not have been happier. I have gotten a few teasers and have no idea how I will get through the next three months or so waiting for the rest. I highly highly highly recommend them! Excellence Resort Punta Cana: B This is a great resort, but I wouldn’t call it a 4½ star. The food was delicious at almost every restaurant, but I felt like it needed a lot of cosmetic touch-ups. We were left off of the honeymoon list and it took 3 days to get any of that resolved. The beds are really hard which affected me more than DH because I have a back injury from a car accident 10 years ago. The ocean night couples massage was wonderful though (and needed). We also got manicures and pedicures. DH’s person was great, mine, not so much. She put so much of that quick dry solution on my nails that they never hardened, so my manicure was ruined by that night. I was happy DH’s went so well though since he’s never had it before. I had a wonderful honeymoon, but was a little disappointed in the resort. I didn’t get that “ultimate-luxurious feeling” that I kept hearing about. OK, I think that’s it. Feel free to ask me anything. Oh, and one of these days I’ll get my planning thread up!

Carnival Sailing: A++ We chartered a 50 person catamaran for 4 hours and it was the best part of the vacation (other than actually saying I Do). Everyone had fun and the crew was getting people up and dancing. We sailed for a while and then stopped at a black sand beach to going swimming and snorkeling. The gear was supposed to be $8 a person, but because we had to wait for it to arrive, it was free. Paul and Kristi (videographer and photographer, more on them later) took some great under water shots while snorkeling. The sail back is when things got crazy. It was so much fun that Chris and I turned to each other at the end of it and said this will definitely upstage our wedding. Oh well! It’s all part of it. Jump-up street party: A- The Jump-up takes place every Friday night to celebrate the arrival of the weekend. Both locals and tourists party together with alcohol, street food, and music. People literally just bring their grills out and sell their food. So yummy! I had this chicken pocket thing that was out of this world and it cost less than $2.00. The BBQ chicken on the grill was fantastic too. Just be careful because DH’s cousin accidentally bought a skewer of kidneys! I found an ice cream shop and bought guava ice cream. It was so good. I think we went a little too early though because we ended up standing around kind of waiting for our taxi. I think the party really gets going around 10:00. ATV tour: according to DH, they get an A This was the groomsmen’s gift as well as my fathers. Chris said the guys had so much fun. Well, maybe not my oldest brother who somehow flipped his ATV after about 2 minutes. For some reason this is not surprising. Hair and make-up by Saria: C This was a tough one. She did 3 BMs’ hair, the flower girl’s, and mine. Mine is the only one that really held up and I absolutely loved it. I didn’t like how she randomly stuck my veil in and the top of the comb was showing. I didn’t know that until I saw some pictures. Oh well. As for the make-up, I’m the only one she did. Everyone had left except for my dad and I told her that I want a light and airy look. She asked what colors I like and I said I often wear purples. (I have green eyes and purple makes them pop.) So she’s doing my eye make-up and my dad says, “Wow, you have big eyes. You’re like a synchronized swimmer.†I knew that couldn’t be a good sign. So I went to the bathroom to use some mouthwash, looked in the mirror and saw that I had hot pink eye shadow up to my eyebrows! I simply came out and said, no, this needs to be lighter. I only half panicked, so I was proud of myself. 3 rounds of lightening up the eye make-up later, we were good. Thank goodness my dad said something. This held up my wedding by 20 minutes, but that’s just the way it had to be. No way was I walking down the aisle like that! The Flower Shack: A+ My flowers were exactly what I wanted. They were reasonably priced and Deirdre was so easy to work with. St. Lucia girls, definitely use this place!

Well, here it is! We had 34 people including Chris and me and couldn’t have asked for a better wedding. St. Lucia is such an extraordinary island, it’s like it’s made for weddings. So here we go… American Airlines: B Everything went very well on the trip down. The flight was on time and the flight attendants let me hang my dress in the closet (although the closet wasn’t tall enough). The reason I gave them a B though was that when we were leaving St. Lucia for the rest of our honeymoon, we had to stop in Guadeloupe for fuel. It was supposed to a 2 hour flight to San Juan and then we would have a 2 hour layover to get through customs and board the plane to Punta Cana. It took an hour to get the fuel and we were rushing like crazy in San Juan. Luckily we made our plane by 15 minutes. I’m glad they let us on it. Blue Skies Apartments: A My parents, brother, sister-in-law, 3 year old niece, and I stayed here for 4 days before the guests arrived. The 2 bedroom apartment had plenty of room and the pool was great. Francine and Simon, the owners, were so delightful and very accommodating. The only downside was that the apartment didn’t have a phone, so we had to use their cell phone whenever we needed to call a cab. Villa Capri: A The villa is just beautiful. It has a great view of the Caribbean Sea and is surrounded by such a lush environment. The rooms look like your typical hotel rooms, but the air conditioning was nice and cold so I was happy. Water pressure was awful in the shower and a couple of things that was supposed to be provided (like soap) were not. Once I said something, they magically appeared the next day, so that was good. The staff was super nice and made some great food for us. The pool is small, but it’s just for the people staying in the 9 bedrooms at the villa, so it was fine for all of us. It was a wonderful place to stay. Wedding Coordinator – Kris Wagner: A+ Talk about a straight shooter. This woman gets things done. She has a nice personality, but I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side! Exactly what you want in a wedding coordinator. She seemed super laid back about some details, so I worried about things getting done, but she definitely knew what she was doing. There were a couple of minor miscommunications, but that’s to be expected when you are planning your wedding entirely by e-mail. I would recommend Kris in a heartbeat! Welcome dinner at Villa Capri: A The food was excellent and the guests were all happy. They did a much more elaborate set up than I had anticipated, so that was great. I had the cooks bake a cake for my brother’s birthday that day and they did a great job. Harmonites – Steel drum band at the welcome dinner: A+ Excellent music and a pleasure to watch! They let our nieces and nephew (ages 12, 10, 3, and 2) play the drums and they were so excited. Definitely the highlight of the night.

1. Who were you really taking the BD pics for? Yourself or your husband? My husband 2. What syle did you want for your pictures? Sexy & seductive? Glam? Elegant? Classy? Maxim-like sex kitten? Another adjective? Sexy and classy 3. What was your motivation for wanting to take the pictures? Reward yourself for weight loss? Motivate yourself to get in better shape? Have a record of how hot you were in your younger days? Make yourself feel sexier? Make your husband think you are sexier? Just wanted to surprise him with a different side of myself 4. Who do you think enjoyed the pictures more? You or your husband? About equal 5. Did seeing the pictures make you look at yourself differently? Not really 6. Was the experience good for your love life? No difference 7. If you did them again, would you do a different style? A little bit sexier. I definitely wouldn't gone with a different photog 8. Do you think BD pics make sense for single women who don't have a man to gift the pictures to? Sure, why not? 9. Did you care if your photographer was male or female? I wanted female because I didn't want DH to be uncomfortable

You look so beautiful. Way to rock the camera!

Love it love it love it! I want mine!!!!! You're such a hottie Andi!

Those are some great shots, hottie!!!

We're having our AHR this Saturday, 8 days after we return from our honeymoon. It's a pig roast (very casual) and will probably be fun, but I couldn't care less about it. If you don't want an AHR, don't have one.

Thank you for the well-thought-out review. I need to get on mine!!

That's the problem with teasers...you always want more! Simply beautiful!

Quote: Originally Posted by Sandra&Mario Why did I bring like 6 pairs of socks? Seriously?! Does that mean you brought sneakers too? What were you going to wear 6 pairs of socks with...flip flops? LOL. Leave the sneaks at home (unless you plan on working out of course!)...if you're hitting the town during the day...bring a comfy pair of sandals instead! I brought sneakers with me because I was supposed to go ziplining through the rainforest. I also wore them when I went horseback riding on the beach. But did I honestly think I would wear them 6 times? So silly! For the chub rub (I had create a thread about leg sweat addressing this issue a while back), I bought two pairs of Hanes thigh hosiery. It's like wear bike shorts but it is stocking material. Total life saver!

Definitely pack Imodium AD. I never have stomach issues when I go away, but this time I did the entire time. The resort charged $25 per pack. Grrr... I actually needed more casual tank tops. I knew I'd mostly be living in my bathing suit and dresses at night, so I didn't bring a whole lot of casual clothes, but I definitely need another tank top in the mix. Why did I bring like 6 pairs of socks? Seriously?! More sunscreen. I had 4 spray cans (for 3 weeks). Yeah, that didn't last very long. Bring the cream and apply that before you go out, then when you get lazy on the beach or at the pool and need to reapply, use the spray. It's so convenient but you go through it so fast. I wish I had had 2 strapless bras. I wore mine all the time and it was getting pretty nasty by the end of the trip. So happy I brought tons of underwear!

DH (that's the first time I'm writing that instead of FI!) definitely knows what I weigh. We get on the scale in front of each other all the time. I'm about 5 pounds away from my all-time heaviest right now, so obviously I'm not happy about that, but knowing that he knows motivates me. (You would think needing to squeeze into a bridesmaid dress in 6 weeks would do it, EEK!)

I would have him write everything down that he spends in a day and collect the paper at the end of the day. Don't let him see these pages again until the end of the month when you total it up. He will probably be shocked at how much coffee and not refilling water bottles at the water cooler costs. I would do your own sheets as well so he doesn't feel ilke he's being singles out. Sometimes having a visual of how much money is being wasted can really help.

Here's our cake. It was a little different than I had wanted. I hate fondant and one of the ribbons was supposed to be green. Oh well, we were still happy with it.

That sucks. I'm so sorry. Hang in there and try not to beat yourself up too much.