Kristy!

Thank you for posting your blog again. I always get some great ideas from it.

Great pics Martha! You look so pretty!

Can you send her the one she made and send everyone else the new ones? If she's at someone else's place and sees a different invitation, use the coffee excuse JoLo suggested. It is evil, but effective!

The problem isn't a place to stay. Only about half of our guests are staying at the villa. The problem is that we're actually having our reception on the deck of the villa. Between the band and having room to dance, it can only accommodate 40 people. I'm trying to get creative on this one. Like maybe have dinner somewhere else and then come back for partying and dancing, this way we wouldn't have to have a bunch of big tables and chairs set up and there would be more room. I'm afraid having dinner at a restaurant will take too long and make people tired though. Hmmm...Looking for suggestions!

So jealous! I wish we had this.

I'm so sorry Kate. I just lost my Nana last month and it's so difficult, but knowing she's in a better place right now gives me some comfort. Bug hugs to you and your family.

FI and I made the mistake of inviting one of his cousins and not the other two. We're just closer to he and his girlfriend and thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Well, invited cousin cannot attend, so we basically opened up a can of worms for nothing. Since making our guest list, we've grown closer to the other two cousins and would actually like them to be there. One tiny problem though...our villa can only accommodate up to 40 people for the reception. We have invited 56 people, 5 definitely cannot go, a few haven't said much, but almost everyone has talked about already receiving their passports in the mail and booking their tickets. We're on track for an 85% positive responds rate (which we should've expected because FI's family and friends travel to other countries together all the time). So we're already pushing the numbers. This past weekend we were at a wedding, and one of FI's cousin comes up to me, saying she and her sister have figured out a plan. They're going to crash our wedding! If we were having this at an AI, I'd totally have them there, but there just isn't any room for them. What kills me is that I would love to have them there though. I totally didn't know what to say to her! AUGH!!!

I'm sorry to hear about this, but I give you a lot of credit for listening to that little voice that was telling you this was not the right thing for you. It still totally sucks though. We're ALL here for you, whatever you need.

Just sent you a PM Velda. Both Jacques and The Edge are supposed to be amazing. There's a good amount of fine dining on the island (as I hear anyway!).

Alyssa, to be honest, when I was looking through your planning thread, I thought your bouquet was an odd choice. I really liked it, but it seemed out of place. Just the first reaction I had. I think the dark orchids that were previously posted would be absolutely stunning and tie everything together beautifully.

I love your colors. They turned out very well! I did the postcard RSVP too and loved saving the money on the postage.

That made me tear up. I'm a kitty lover. I'm so sorry for your loss. BIG HUGS!!!

I'm a May 2009 bride and I sent my invitations out about a month ago. I didn't see the need for STDs. I made a crazy early RSVP date (September 1st) knowing that most people tend to ignore that date anyone, but at least it got people seriously thinking about the wedding and whether or not they would attend.

I agree with many others. It's a cute idea, but it is so difficult to buy a swimsuit for yourself, let alone another person.

Congrats on becoming a Mrs. Martha! Love the Jay kissing Noah pic. So sweet!

I had the same issue with that too Dez. Danielle is right, they did away with the search one.

All set! Good luck to her.

Sweet, thanks for the tip. Can you tell I usually book my own stuff?

That's a good idea. I don't have to talk to them just about their specialty areas, right?

I am a HUGE Olympics fan! I tried so hard to stay up for women's gymnastics last night, but ended up dozing sometime around the balance beam. I'm happy they got the silver, but it sounds like they totally gave away the gold. May I ask what is up with synchronized diving? I never even knew this was an Olympic sport. I just can't take it seriously. Every time the divers (men) hit the water in those itty bitty bathing suits, all I see is plummer crack!

FI and I need a vacation. We've had so much go on this year and we weren't planning on taking one in 2008 at all, but I think the beach is calling our names. What travel site do you use to find good last minute travel deals?

Vluv (what is your first name?), did Awesome Caribbean send you any menus other than 1461? If so, I would love to take a look at them.

Are we really into September planning threads already? Alyssa, you're going to have such a lovely wedding. Everything looks so put together!

I'd love to participate, but I'm doing everything through a private villa. It's interesting to compare everyone's answers though.

I'm happy to help!