Princess402

  You girls that are using both... how are you doing that? I wouldn't mind using a resort photographer as a "second" photographer, but wasn't sure if they would do that... also wasn't sure if they would hand over the digital negatives. Â

   It depends on what you want, not only in terms of quality but in terms of quantity! If you want just a few pics the resort photogs will save you money. But if you want lots, and want the images on CD/DVD then you may want to consider looking elsewhere. Not because the resort photogs will necessarily be more expensive, but certainly it's not as cheap as you think! Sure you might get 50 photos included but what you don't realize is that if you want more than that it's another 10 or 15 dollars per picture! Plus even more if you want the digital negatives. An outside photog may cost you more upfront, but they include hundreds or even thousands of photos (depending on how much time you book, of course) and all your digital negatives. Just something to think about.

I am feeling so freaking IRRITATED about the wedding lately and so down about so many things, espcially over this past weekend... no one big thing in particular but just all these little things that are just piling up, and making me understand why brides can often go "bridezilla" over the smallest thing, especially as the wedding day approaches! Apologies, this may turn into a long vent, but I just GOTTA let it out... Â First off, I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear that I am having bridesmaid issues! Lol, uncommon problem on here on I know (-insert bitter sarcasm here-). Already my best friend since high school who was going to be my MOH bailed on the wedding. This was awhile ago, actually pretty much from the beginning of planning she was coming up with one excuse after another... I finally called her on it and asked what was really going on and she said she "just couldn't justify going into debt for me". Nice. Not that I want her to go into debt but she has NO DEBT. God she's the only person I know with savings, and basically this would have eaten up her savings. Anyways, I know, how people manage and feel about their money is a very personal thing so I tried not to be mad or hurt, but I still kinda was. And obviously just disappointed that she wouldn't be there, and frustrated that she couldn't try to find some kind of solution (by the way, we gave people over 2 years notice that we were doing a DW, over a year's notice as to when it would be, and our TA even is doing a payment plan for all of us... so I really felt like anyone who truly WANTED to be there could be there if they really tried). So fast forward to more recently: one of the other girls I asked to be a BM (my cousin who has been telling me how much she wants to come, but couldn't get her boss to commit to giving her the time off. She just started this job in the spring so I know sometimes it's tough, you don't want to ask for time off when you are new, but if she really wanted to come why didn't she arrange for this right from the start? She has been telling me all summer that she has been bugging her boss but couldn't get a firm yes or no answer, so I've been stressing this whole time wondering about buying her bridesmaids gifts, whether to order her a dress, etc... my wedding is 3 months away and is she even a bridesmaid?? Finally she tells me this weekend (Saturday) that her boss told her that she wouldn't say no, but that it would be a really bad time for her to take holidays and would rather that she didn't. So she can't come. I was like what, I heard she didn't say no! WTF, why is your boss' preference more important than my wedding?!? Especially when you told me that this job isn't even long term, it's just a stepping stone for you! I just feel so unimportant to them both, and so hurt. Â So I was still bummed about my second bridesmaid letdown when I went to a wedding on Sunday... totally tried to just put my happy face on and get into good spirits and have fun. And in retrospect I did have fun, so I shouldn't act like it was all bad... but I'm worried/mad that I may have to rethink some of my music choices. Awhile ago now I had picked "Angel" by Jack Johnson to walk down the aisle to. I thought it was so beautiful and perfect, and not totally mainstream, kinda unique for a wedding. So the wedding is about to start and what do the bridesmaids and the bride start walking down the aisle to? Yup, Angel by Jack Johnson. I stared at FI, mortified. Like do I have to change my song now?? I thought he would say of course not, but he was like "yeah you probably should". UGH! Another song I picked to use was "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas, for after the ceremony when we all walk back down the aisle. Well they didn't use the same song for that, but they used it to start the reception. Doh! Now FI says that song is so cliche and we can't use it either. ARGHHHH! I feel like these people stole and ruined all my ideas! Okay I know that's dramatic, but that was how it felt. Â Then Monday we went to FIs parents house for dinner because his grandparents were visiting from out of town. Minorly irritating only because his grandparents have no interest in his life whatsoever and are not coming to the wedding due to their age (even though there are people older than them coming!), so visiting with them always just seems like a waste of time. But FI always wants to please them or win them over or something. Anyways, so it comes up in conversation that FIs 12 year old cousin who will be at the wedding has her birthday the same day as our wedding. I think I have met her once, FI maybe a handful of times - we had no idea it was her birthday when setting the date. Grandma clearly has no interest in us or our wedding, but lights up with glee at the idea of us celebrating this girl's birthday at our wedding. Of course my FI offers, oh yes we could have a cake for her and everything! WHAT? I'm like yeah we can wish her a happy birthday, maybe play a song for her that she likes, but seriously, does she need to have a cake at the wedding... like what will she cut her cake right after we cut ours? I feel like maybe I'm being mean, and I'm not trying to be, but geez they are cooking up all these plans for how to make her birthday special at OUR WEDDING, yet the grandparents couldn't give a crap as to our wedding or how to make that special. Not to mention FI, god he has been so useless and argumentative lately with anything wedding related I want his help with... yet reminds me often of how close the wedding is getting, and that I better make a list so I don't forget to do anything!!! Â AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Â and thanks for listening, whew

Love love LOVE your shoes Janine!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by KRama We got legally married two weeks before our wedding in Mexico. Initially we just wanted our parents there, and then in it snowballed to our siblings plus their spouses, and then grandparents and before we knew it we had like 20 people who wanted to be there! So NOT what we wanted. We ended up telling everyone that we had changed our minds and decided to get legally hitched in Mexico. We then surprised our best friends by inviting them over for dinner, had the JP marry us right there in our living room and then the 4 of us hit the town and told all the bartenders we had just eloped and got free shots all night! It was completely casual (we were all in jeans), fun and NOT romantic...exactly how we wanted it to be! By the time the "real" wedding was over, no one even remembered that we legally got married at home. It's the emotions of the day that make it your wedding day, not signing a piece of paper! Â My best advice is to keep down playing the whole thing by telling people it's just the paper work, like going to get a marriage license at the registry, and you'd really like that person to be there to see you in your white dress, full of emotions, on your wedding day. If all else fails, lie and say you're getting married at city hall and they only allow two witnesses. My thinking is along the same lines as these two posters: I think you should really play it up as essentially paperwork and nothing more, and that you don't want it to be a big deal and take away from your "real" wedding. Explain that you need a couple of witnesses for this and so you've chosen immediate family that cannot attend your destination wedding, but that is all. And put your foot down!!! Â FI and I are basically planning the same thing and have had to quash all sorts of ideas about our legal wedding being an actual ceremony that people will attend. Honestly, I would like to do this in my sweat pants on a street corner, that's how romantic I want it to be! To me, it's really just paperwork. If I could, I wouldn't even say vows or kiss or anything. Just get the legal stuff done. I have no idea who we will choose as witnesses - I am tempted to just grab strangers off the street and offer them money to witness, lol. I want all of the oohing and awwing and joy and tears to be saved for our wedding day in Mexico

Hi Donna, and welcome to the forum!!! Â If you are really concerned, you could ask the wedding coordinator, I'm sure they could let you know. As far as other girls on here, there's no one else that I've seen booked on our dates... but Dreams is SO popular for weddings, that it really wouldn't surprise me if there were other weddings booked. From what I understand they at least stagger the times, and they have a number of different locations they can use for the ceremonies and receptions. Â

Wow congratulations, that's so exciting!!! I know it must be a little scary too in terms of the timing, but seriously how can a honeymoon baby be anything but wonderful and joyful?! Let your bliss continue

This dress is really cute! I might be interested... you don't have a pic of you in it by any chance do you? Just to see how it looks on?

I think this has been asked before but I don't think anyone answered: does anyone know the dimensions of the beach chuppah? I'd like to bring some of my own fabric to decorate and I was also thinking of making some orchid and capiz shell strands to hang from the back, so I need to know how tall and wide it is. Thanks!!!

Aww I love them, especially the second one - it's gorgeous!!!

Wow I have the same question but I only have like 25 bags to fill!!! Lol. You have got a HUGE group - what an amazing trip that will be! But yes, can definitely see the trouble of the OOT bags and other things with that many guests!

This has been discussed at length on many threads on this forum and as others have mentioned, this is actually pretty standard. There is some variation in the charge, but all resorts will charge you for a private gathering. This is because (in a nutshell) you are requiring extra staff and services just for your group that is not available to other guests, and you are also taking away space/facilities from other paying guests to use. Moreover, there is a significant amount of preparation and set-up/tear-down involved in planning and executing your event. That being said, yup I totally think that some of the costs are a bit much, especially considering it's an AI and considering all the business you are bringing to the resort. Sometimes you can negotiate a bit, but in the end if you want a nice private event for your group you are going to have to pay for it!

Janine I ADORE your bridal clutch, it's fantastic!

I LOVE!!! Did you just use one light per centerpiece?

Re-registered now, thanks

I was searching all over the place to find flower girl dresses that I loved, but that were reasonably priced too! I couldn't believe how expensive most of the flower girl dresses I liked were!!! And I am having two flower girls, my nieces, who are sisters... and two expensive dresses was way too much to ask their parents to pay for. So I was super happy when I came across these on amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MOOJB0/ref=oss_product  The quality is really great, you can't beat the price, and the girls love them! They wanted really fancy dresses as opposed to too plain, and the tiers seem to have appeased that request, lol.  The bridesmaids are going to be wearing royal blue dresses, so my mom is going to add a royal blue sash to these (a wide one underneath the beaded sash and flower that's currently there).  Â

Agree with you about the lobby bar - I have heard the same thing and am planning to have an informal meet and greet there at the start of our trip for all of our guests as well. Â I haven't heard about this free shuttle to Cancun... in fact I have read on the DRC facebook fan page many times that there are no free shuttles to Cancun or Playa del Carmen. You have to take a taxi, etc. Are you sure about this? Can anyone who has been there confirm?? It would be so great if this were true!

I bought my fans from OTC and have to say that I am very happy with them for the price! They are handmade so no each one is not 100% identical in size, but the ones I received anyways were fairly similar. Like some variation but around the same size, which is fine with me. And as someone else mentioned, it's not like people are going to stand around comparing the size of their fans, lol.

Oh wow I just came across this thread SOMEHOW and had to revive it... I am at work trying DESPERATELY to hold in my laughter, but it's not working very well... people must think I'm crazy. Hope no one walks by and sees the tears in my eyes from trying to hold back! Â This is so disgusting and hillarious, gawd!!!!

FI's is: I yelled at a snowman because Big Bird said to and he's my leader. Â Oh boy... good luck with this marriage! lol

I had lunch with a pickle because I'm sexy and I do what I want, and just because I can! Â BWAHAHAHAA this makes no sense and yet I feel like I want to say it with such conviction! Lol

All I can say is OMG! That's so terrible and hillarious all at the same time!!!

Yikes! "Not their thing"? How can being at your son's wedding not be your thing?? It may open up a whole new can of worms but I think if it were me I would have to ask them just that.