MarieSam

Thanks ladies ~ I knew your insight would help!! Quote: Originally Posted by MissyR The package that I negotiated was 12 printed pictures. In lieu of an album - each will be matted and framed and will sit in a silk memory box - from the outside it looks like nothing with a surprise inside! Missy that sounds like a great gift idea, your FI is gonna love it!! I will have to keep that in mind as a alternative ~ thank you!!! Quote: Originally Posted by Bryan Morris First of all I'm so happy to could address this. I've seen this too many times. MarieSam, your approach is not the best approach. Yes you can get a good cheap photographer, probably one building their portfolio or photography might be their hobby and not their livelihood. From experience you get what you pay for in most cases and almost always you end up regretting your decision. So what you do is see what you would really like to have and go for it even if it means cutting back on something else. Your pictures go for a lifetime. Your cake, band, venue, food are just for one night. Bryan Morris Bryan, I can totally see your point ~ but while I do want my boudoir photos to be great because it's such a personal gift, I also need to spend my money wisely according to my budget. So looking for the best package is how I will accomplish that. And rest assured, I've been very careful to choose from a group of photogs who are experienced and have stellar examples of previous work. None of them are cheap (nothing less than $450 for an hour or 2 of boudoir work) and all have established portfolios. Now I think your spot on when it comes to choosing a photog for the actualy ceremony, reception and trash the dress session ~ cutting corners on that aspect of photography is not an option for me. Afterall, like you said, after the big day is over the memories and images are all that you'll have left to recollect the day Luckily, I'm in the process of securing of a wonderful photogtapher who at the same time is offering me a great deal!!! monogram.pdf

I'm hoping some of the talented BDW photographers and some of you lovely ladies who have done a BD session can help me out on this one. I'm currently trying to choose a BD photographer in LA/OC Cali area, but unlike the great packages and prices other brides have gotten, the options out here are so expensive! So basically it's coming down to what photog offers the best package. I definitely want makeup and hair to be included, and a digital copy of the images so I can make a photobook for FI, or if a photog includes an album in the package even better! So how many images is enough for a nice book? And what's a good size for a book ~ I've seen some 5 X 5 album offers, but isn't that crazy small ??

Your photos are fantastic!! You both look like you're having so much fun during your post-ceremony pics and during the TTD ~ can't wait to see more!! Congrats

Amy, your pics are fabulous and you guys are such a cute couple. It is so awesome that you had so many family and friends there to share your day ~ you have a beautiful circle of people in your lives ~ congrats again!!

Such a beautiful wedding, and you looked gorgeous and so elegant! Congrats to you both, and many blessings for a life full of happiness

Everything looks so good! I love your invites, and your hair looks fabulous ~ your daughter did such a great job. Can't wait to see how it all comes together on your big day

Alyssa you look gorgeous in your pics, woulda never known you had to deal with all that stress before the wedding. That pic of you and DH on the rocks with the ocean behind you is awesome ~ you guys are a beautiful couple!!! And your gals in their VS dresses look great, I love how each one of them wore their style of choice. Looks like you had a fabulous day, and Jesus could your location have been more picturesque? Can't wait to see the rest of your pics CONGRATS to you both and welcome back!!!!

Looks like such a fun time!!! I love your dress Yari ~ you looked great!!

Looks great Leia!

These are fantastic Yari! Wow your friend did such a great job, I love the look of it ~ your guest will be so excited to receive this!!

Congrats on the new business!! You have some great stuff ~ def. will be bookmarked as I set to look for wedding favors

Quote: Originally Posted by bride2b08 o.k.... so the buckeyes totally bombed the game... I just went to bed after halftime.. seriously, what happend?? besides the fact that we played the number 1 team?? Sorry Buckeyes fans ~ that was a rather harsh way to go for the third time on a national stage...ouch! But as a Trojan alum I am ecstatic!!!! Fight on baby!!!! Playing the no. 1 team is no easy task, but the problem with Ohio State is that Tressel doesn't go approach big games correctly ~ yanno the games that mean something, i.e. the BCS championships, and Saturday's game which for many was considered the game that would ultimately decide at least one team that was going to be in the title game in January. He's too conservative, and doesn't go for the jugular. Look at that first scoring opportunity, you rush on 3rd and goal? I know Boeckman is crap but seriously, go for a big time play ~ throw the rock into the end zone. He's too predictable, all run plays nothing pass wise. Even after that though, on 4th and goal to kick a field goal isn't good enough, if you're on the road you need to strike at any chance, he shoulda went for the TD it woulda set the tone that OSU was there to win, especially against a team that has so many scoring options like USC. Aside from that, Tressel needs to change his style of play and recruit according to what works in today's game. The "big and powerful" mentality might work in the Big 10, but that approach is clearly outdated. Today's game is predicated on speed and versality on both the offensive and defensive ends. That's why Florida and LSU, and now USC have made the Buckeyes look like a JV team on the big stage. However, I will say Terrelle Pryor is definitely what that team needs. His mobility and athleticism is just what the doctor ordered and he's the right step into what should be the next phase of OSU football. I wouldn't be surprised if he became the No. 1 option at QB in the next few games and for the remainder of his career at OSU. And as a sports fan, I'm totally geeked on seeing what this guy can do! Sorry to rant, probably much more than you asked for. tee hee, sorry, I'm passionate when it comes to my sports

Hi gals...I am actually a news reporter for a So Cal newswire service that feeds all new info to the news outlets ~ so I had to work on this story during the overnight shift. It looks like 25 are dead so far, and they expect more fatalities in the next few hours and days as roughly 50 people were critically injured. According to the Metrolink spokeswoman, we're learning that the Engineer of the Metrolink train blew a red light, which appears to have attributed to this tragedy. Worse off, there are unconfirmed reports milling around that the Engineer was text messaging, which may have been the reason why he blew past this light. It's awful, it's tragic and I feel so bad for the families who have been affected. The media of course will not show the entire devastation from the scene because it was quite...gory for lack of a better word. But from first hand experience I can tell you, it looked like a war zone. Thinking of the families affected by this tragedy is absolutely heartbreaking...

These look fantastic! Your friend did a great job creating these, and what a great deal through Vista Print!!

Gorgeous dress, it is so flattering on you!! You are going to look amazing on your wedding day.

Quote: Originally Posted by sally So ........... When we get married next year we don't want a massive do as neither of our families can go for health reasons so we thought we would go with our best friends who we holiday with once or twice a year........... Last night while we were out I heard BF bitching about me to another friend!!! WTF So now do I want them to go? Do I confront her about what I over heard? Help ladies That is definitely not cool....hmmm... well if it's not too intrusive of me to ask, what exactly did you hear her say about you? What she said would def. determine if, or how, you would approach her with it.

These are so fun and look amazing! You did such a great job on these, your guests are going to be so impressed especially when they find out you made them youself ~ they're so professional looking! And yay, a fellow June bride. You're just 2 days ahead of me

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Debra~ My wedding date is also June 26, 2009! I'm getting married in Jamaica. I didn't think there was anyone getting married on my date. Glad to see someone else is. I have a date twin!!!! Awesome ~ I thought I would be alone for my date too!!! YAY ~ we will have to keep in touch to see how things are coming along Seems like you're on the ball with planning ~ I have a feeling I will be running around like a mad woman up until the day we leave!!

Yay ~ I've been waiting for a June 09 Brides Thread For me it's all about June 26, 2009, Akumal Bay, Riviera Maya, Mexico. So far wedding planning has made me a bit.... tee hee, but overall I have loved the process even though I have shit loads of stuff to do and not enough time to do it all!! So far I have: - Booked our wedding site and ceremony - Booked our caterer, who also happens to be my wedding coordinator - Established our entire appetizer, buffet and dessert menu (tasted it all too ~ delish!!!) - Booked a compound (villa and 4 townhomes) for 30 immediate bride and groom family members during our first week there - Bought a bunch of crap that will magically turn into DIY projects - Secured a group reservation for 18 people roundtrip that must have deposits paid by Sept. 23 but I have no idea where we're spending our 2nd week yet - yikes! - Sent out "will you be in my wedding" letters to my humongous wedding party (10 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen) - Booked Charlie and Maria who will be officiating my Mayan/Cosmic Ceremony In the process of: - FI is doing the finishing touches on the STD's for us to print out and mail later this week - Completing our wedding website but I am being a lazy bum - Looked at dresses but refuse to try any on till I lose 20 pounds - Setting up a contract to fly out a local photographer to the wedding - Setting up a contract to bring my fabulous stylist to Mexico for hair and makeup for me and my gals, and the moms - Trying to decide on who to choose as my videographer - Finding the last few gifts for my bridesmaids - Preparing a "Will you be my Wedding Sponsor" to certain couples (a Filipino tradition) And most importantly ~ trying to find a way to pay for this "it will be a small wedding" that has suddenly turned into an extravaganza that is costing way too much!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Just Martha OMG! You killed off the wrong guy?! That is hilarious! Well, hilarious to me since I wasn't the one that goofed. I hope you were able to find the humor in it! And, you still have your job, so that's good! Thanks for the laugh, now I have something to share with Jay when he wakes up in an hour. Are you able to sleep during they day? I hope your bedroom is pitch black. I can't sleep with the sun shining in our room. We have room darkening blinds and curtains that help alot. Which is good because these days, I need them! Crazy right? When it was happening I was shaking and cursing myself because I had never messed up like that throughout my 11 months here. My editor knew when the night started that I was exhausted beyond belief, so when I screwed up he yelled and cursed but he knew it was so out of character. Nevertheless, I've been a kick ass employee during this dreadful shift and my editor adores me. So he did a quick fix on the wire and never brought it up again. A few hours later, I laughed my ass off, and still do thinking about it Here's the brilliant background to my supreme F-up in case you wanna give your hubby the full laugh, tee hee: It was a shooting that broke out at a Samoan Cultural Festival in Carson. Some guy started randomly shooting into a crowd, and then took off on foot and a security guard chased after him. He and security guard exchanged fire, and the security guard shot him dead. YEP but in my 5 a.m. version, I had the security guard being shot dead. Good lawd ~ I truly F'ed up that one. Also my job is Union so we've got very strong support if any problems arise, but luckily it was never made an issue. Plus the nature of the newswire service is also very fluid so often times stories are constantly evolving and developing minute by minute. And thank God my Editor loves me As for sleep...ironically I have NO curtains in my room but I'm so exhausted I can manage. Have noticed though that I sleep much better in the wintertime when it's cold, during the summer I could only sleep about 4 hours because I'd wake up from the heat ~ sucks and I'm glad it's starting to cool down a bit!

Quote: Originally Posted by Just Martha MarieSam- that actually sounds like a super cool job! The hours are nuts, but I guess they have to be if you want to get all the crazy stuff that happens in the middle of the night. I can't imagine working those hours and raising a 13 year-old, much less planning a DW! My hats off to you! It is def. a unique job, can be exciting at times and it has certainly taught me so much in my career as a young journalist!! But good lawd, I am always freaking tired and feel like all I do is sleep and work, and of course be an addict on BDW! I challenged myself to stay at this job for at least a year ~ on October 1st I will have reached that goal and hopefully can move on into the next phase of my career. My editor, who is this old French guy, was an old war reporter in Africa and Europe, and let me tell you, his mouth is so foul but it helps keep me up in the morning, lol. On some of my more tired days I send him stories only to have him call me and say "what the F* is this? I need you to UN-f%#k this story ASAP." I never imagined I'd be getting cussed out at 3:30 in the morning, lol. A couple weeks ago I was working on an 16 hour day, and accidentally killed off the wrong person in one of my stories. It was put on the wire at 5 a.m., and by 5:15 a.m. I got a phone call from a pissed off sheriff's deputy who said I was misquoting him. Needless to say my editor called 2 minutes later and layed it on me. Luckily, the newcasts don't start until 5:30 a.m. in So Cal. It was a bad night, and let's just say I've realized I must get my rest no matter what it takes, even a 15 minute nap helps tons!! On a side note, high 5's to all my fellow BDW vampires These awful hours at work go by so much more quickly when I can sift through threads and plan my wedding

Absolutely incredible!!! I love it ~ where exactly is this at

The dress is gorgeous!! I love the layered look, it really looks wonderful on you I am contemplating the veil and flower combo too. If anything the flower is a definite, but everyone says wearing the veil sometimes completes the whole bridal look. I don't think it's too much, especially if you just plan on using the veil for the ceremony. Again beautiful dress ~ and wow less than 2 months away, you must be excited!!!

Hi Tami, I PMed you a while back but never received a response regarding the items that were mailed to me. I tried PMing you again today but your mailbox is full and won't accept any new messages. Please PM me once it's cleared. Thanks much!

What a fantastic idea!!! I love it