*Krista*

Hi ladies, I have done a couple of my own DIY projects for this wedding, so I thought I would share and maybe it will give inspiration to someone! I never thought I was creative/talented enough for DIY, but it's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it! I started with my DIY invitations for the DW and the AHR: bought from Michaels and added my own coloured ribbons, seashells, flowers, etc to make personalized: I DIY my own guest book and pen, was bought plain white by my MOH and FSIL, but I decorated it with our wedding color ribbons to match the invitations. I also used a seashell and glued a ribbon on and added some sand for holding the rings. My bouquets were not DIY, they were made by an etsy seller - jdleggans. I wish I would have found the DIY part of this forum beforehand though, because I think I could have made this bouquet myself and saved myself a little cash that way. Oh well! I love them! My MOH also bought me a garter, but I wanted to make it more "beachy" so I added a seashell. Here are some of my DIY (Vistaprint) purchases - all for free - only paid $30 for shipping: magnets, business cards (for maraca tags), and welcome postcards for OOTs bags. I also bought some "I do" stickers on ebay and they will be my something blue! And this is my favourite DIY so far, my t-shirts! After looking around for rhinestones at Michaels, and realizing how expensive and time consuming it would be, I asked a seller on etsy to make the transfers for me, but I picked out my shirts and ironed them on this weekend. I'm very happy with how they turned out! Okay, well that's it for now! I hope you girls like it!

Alison - I love your wedding video! It may me all teary!! Especially cause I could hear your hubby crying, and he tells you how beautiful your eyes are - what a sweetie!! And I love the part at the end when he kisses you and you can hear you say I wanted to kiss you the whole time, and he says you're beautiful! You guys are such a sweet couple!! I also love the part when your dad is giving a speech, and he says he's not losing a daughter, but gaining a son, along with a baseball team, two football teams, etc...LOL! Having a wedding video of your wedding day is so great! I hope my video turns out as wonderful as yours! I got lots accomplished this weekend for wedding stuff so I'm feeling pretty good! I also took pictures! YAY! I completed my invitations for AHR, as well as shirts for me, maid of honour, FMIL, and my mom. I got my "i do" stickers put on my shoes, and also got started on our wedding ceremony script (about half done). I also did my ring holder - DIY seashell with bow and sand to match my guest book and pen. Anyway, I'm going to post all of this stuff next month when I do my planning thread, but I thought I would post a few pics here as teasers! WHOA! I can't believe my wedding is only 8 weeks away! It seems like just yesterday I was living vicariously through you February brides as you were doing last minute preparations. So, here is the TTD that I found and my reception/party dress is next to it: Here are the shirts I DIY this weekend: Here are my shoes and blue I do sticker: Here's my DIY guestbook (bought it white and decorated it with my own ribbon and seashells, same with pen), the ring shell is one that I got from Newfoundland (where my family is originally from - so that's my something old - and also special to me! - I decorated the ring shell using same ribbon as well. And my bouquets match also - were made by an etsy seller Here are the invitations (DIY) that we did for our AHR: Okay, well I think that's it for now!I hope you ladies are having a wonderful weekend!!

YAAAAAAYYY!!! It's Friday!!! WO HOO!! I'm so excite for some relaxation this weekend, and of course, finishing wedding invites for our AHR. So, kinda funny story, I went to have my yearly "ladies exam" yesterday, and I wanted to get some birthcontrol because I've been off for about 2 years, to give my body a much needed hormonal break! lol! Anyway, I need some to regulate my period because it's been all over the place and now I'm supposed to have it during my wedding week!! AAAAAHHH!! So, anyways, I'm gonna get the pills and time it so my period comes later. Anyway, so the doctor asks me when my last period was and I told her about 2 weeks ago, and that it had come early by a week, so she says, well I'd like to do a pregnancy test just in case!! WHAT?! I started to panic, because I didn't know that could be a sign of pregnancy. anyway, I did the test and it was negative - PHEWPF! It's kinda funny because everyone is wanting to get pregnant, but not me, at least not right now! I'm half way into my masters, man would that throw a wrench into plans! WHOA! And I've never actually had a pregnancy test done before, so that made me a little anxious too, it kinda got me thinking, what if I was pregnant? YIKES! Krista I saw your photos on facebook and that looked awesome!!! I love all the funny sayings/writings your friends did on that board, and their facial expressions to match! That was awesome! How did you pull that photo booth off? Did you set it up yourself, or was there a company/photographer that did it for you? Have a great weekend ladies!!

WOWWWW!!! Fer you are so talented! Your pictures are awesome!

Ron your pictures are amazing! They make me feel like I am in the moment with the ones being photographed! Awesome! Whoever takes advantage of your promos or services are lucky gals!!

Hi Michelle! Welcome to the forum and congrats!! There is lots of information on this forum that will help you in preparing for your special day!

Magalie! I absolutely love love love your vows!!! They are amazing! These are the same kind of vows my FI and I are going to do as well - theme of marriage as a journey, growing together and also giving each other their own space to grow, appreciating the other for who they are, rather than looking for perfection! Your vows are touching and real!! You are going to have a beautiful ceremony!

lol rosie posie!! I'm sure you will pull it off! Just try to stay calm and enjoy the process - at least that's what I keep telling myself, so maybe it will work for you too!

Hi Mimi, there are quite a few girls who got nice flowers from Dreams Tulum, and they have many more to offer than what they put in their brochure. Somewhere in the first few pages of this forum, Sunbride posted a pic of the tropical bouquet they did for her. I think they even used birds of paradise in it. You could email Aurora and ask her what types of flowers they have available (at no extra charge), and see if there's something from that list you like.

FI is finalllly going shopping this weekend with groomsmen to pick out their outfits! I know his outfit it much simpler to get than mine, but still has me in a bit of a panic that its 2 months till we leave and still nothing...hopefully this weekend they will find something great! Has anyone else been having trouble with their vows? I'm trying to think of ideas for writing mine, I want them to be unique, not the same thing everyone says all the time, but I'm not a creative person, which makes it hard... Is anyone else doing personal vows?

Sweet Kelie! It sounds like you are on the ball!! Awesome! I like your idea of personalized towels and flip flops! Your guests will love that! It was funny once I sent out my deadline of May 15, a few people emailed and said, I'm sorry but I won't be able to make it. I'm just wondering how long it would have taken them to tell me that if I hadn't told them there was a deadline that I needed to know by? people can be so frustrating! Ah well! Two weeks and I will know for sure who is coming and then I start oot bags!! YAY!! I'm so excited to get started on them!

LOL Chris - I just saw your message - I have lots to do so if you want to be my personal wedding assistant you are going to be busy girl!!!

BAHHHAA!! Willow tree statues - my FMIL loves those things! LOL! I don't particularly care for them, and I'm not sure why anyone would give those as a wedding present... ? Susie! Good to hear from you! A wine giving AHR sounds awesome! That's my kinda party! LOL! Wedding planning is going good ladies! My custom wedding band is in the makings, FI's dad is the jeweler who helped design/make my engagement ring, and now he's doing my wedding band, so he's making up two different molds so I can try them and choose which one I like best. Then he will be making my ring for me, but I must say, I've felt lost/naked without my ring for the last two weeks!! Sean has finallllllyy picked out his ring, geez you'd think he was a girl...lol! But I told him to make sure that he picks one he loves cause he has to wear it for the rest of his life! HAHA!! I wanted to see his reaction, but he didn't give me one...lol... I'm getting started on our ceremony script and my vows, and I have started filling out all the paperwork that the resort wants - their forms are really weird though, they want to know things like my parents occupations, ages, addresses, etc....why do they need all that useless information? I guess it's for the civil ceremony, but weird nonetheless... FI is also going out this weekend to look at outfits for him and groomsmen, at last! He's been waiting to lose some weight before he buys, but I told him he should at least go shop and find something he likes that he can purchase or put on hold for a month or so. At least his outfit is less complicated than mine! Next week, I'm starting to tan, because I'm paler than pale and I don't want to burn (which I tend to do), so I'm starting early and hoping to build a good base. I also have to finalize my music lists soon! YIKES! There is still so much to do!!

Hi ladies, northernflasher, how did things go with your ceremony? Have you had a chance to do your review or post your ceremony script yet? My wedding is coming up in about 8 weeks, so I'm starting to work on my ceremony script now and I hope I have good luck with mine, like you did with yours!

Ems4 - I also booked about mid 2009, but as far as I have heard, brides are expected to pay the "new" prices, or at least that's what I've been quoted by Aurora. If you can find an email with specific prices that are based on 2009, then that would definitely help you to get the prices you were quoted. Good luck finding that email! look through the ones you've sent as well, because it may be attached to one of those. Oceanwonderland, as far as I know the free wedding package comes with champagne toast and cake for 10 people, so I don't see why you couldn't request to have the champagne right after the ceremony. That is what my FI and I are going to request as well. If not, I would imagine they have champagne at the bars, but I can't be certain as I've never been there. This may be a question for previous brides....any previous brides who can help us with this?

Hey ladies! Krista that photo is toooo funny! Brooke it sounds like you had a great surprise! Are you gonna post the pics of their faces when they heard?! I think that was a great idea for you guys to do it that way, plus now pretty much everyone knows and you don't have to spend time calling/telling everyone individually! how are the renos going? Breens - how are you feeling? Chris - don't worry, I'm on here everyday too! Oh, and today it's sunny and warm here, but was snowing and cold yesterday, Canada is definitely on crack! LOL!

Hey ladies, well I woke up to SNOW this morning...crappy Monday! LOL! Anyway, my hand is feeling better, thanks for the well wishes everyone! My one finger is still swollen/bruised/can't move it alot, but all the other fingers are back to normal. My FMIL and I worked on wedding invites this weekend, that was a fun task! And I was able to find a TTD - YAY!!! I know I know, still haven't had time to post pictures. That is my task for this week/weekend is to start taking pics of everything. Brooke how did your AHR go? Any baby suspicions from people Ali - good news! I was able to sell the TTD to another girl on the forum. I'm sad that I wasn't able to fit it, but I was able to find another beautiful TTD this weekend, everything happens for a reason I guess! I hope she loves it as much I as did! I saw your NYC pics on facebook and I love them! spring in New York looks awesome! I think I have such an ideal picture of New York in my head, cause I watch Gossip girl (I know i know!) LOL!! Chris, how are the pics coming along? Can't wait to see some more and some of your transformation/painting pics! Where's Shells She disappeared...

We are also doing an AHR, it originally was supposed to be a small backyard bbq with a few family and friends who couldn't make it to the DW, but now FMIL has turned it into a huge catered reception, which I am totally grateful for because FI and I dont have money to do that, however, we feel frustrated because if we knew that they were willing to contribute, we wouldn't have had to plan a DW. Our reason for doing a DW was to keep the budget low, so now we are paying for our DW, and they are paying for our AHR, but it's twice as much work and planning! YIKES! Well, I'm trying to look at the bright side, I get to wear my dress twice, have my hair done, and enjoy being the bride for the day! We are having the AHR about 5 weeks after we return from Mexico. We are planning to show a slideshow of video from the wedding, along with pic slideshow running in the background while guests are rolling in, visiting, getting seated, etc. Then dinner, followed by speeches, first dance, and then dancing. Full on reception!

Thanks Jhartford19! I hope I can sell it soon and find/buy another that fits me before my wedding...about 2 months to go! YIKES!

Bump....anyone??

Hi reagan lane, I have a dress you may be interested in, its one I bought from another BDW member, but it doesn't fit me, which is too bad because its such a great deal and a beautiful dress. It's size 10, the girl who sold it to me her measurements are 36, 30, 40, and the dress was a little loose on her she said. It doesn't fit me because my chest/rib cage/upper waist is about 37.5, so I can't get it done up all the way. I'm just trying to recoup my costs, and she got it from a charity, so the money went to a good cause! I paid $70 including shipping, so that is what I will charge (including shipping for you). Here are the pics: Its a little wrinkly/dirty so it would need to be cleaned/pressed if you want it to be pristine, I wasn;t too concerned because it was going to be a TTD, but for $70 its such a steal! I'm actually really upset it won't do up

Thanks!!! I'm glad to hear that we wont have any problem bringing them back with us!

Great review Tricia and you had a beautiful wedding - congrats!!

Hi ladies! well this is going to be short because im typing with one hand....yup I sprained the fingers on my right hand...boooo! I was at football practice last night (I play in a ladies touch football league, and bam, caught the ball wrong and jammed my fingers)! Makes wedding planning, and anything for that matter difficult! since it's my right hand! Ali, dont worry bout the dress, the funny part is it totally would have fit my chest measurement, but my lower ribcage is really wide too, so thats what prevents me from zipping it up... im glad you had fun in NYC! I can't wait to see that city! alright I gotta go ice my hand and pop some ibu's.... home from work today!

Hi ladies, thanks so much for the advice! I'm definitely going to go the free wedding route. Sunbride, in their new wedding guide they actually have pics showing the different setups included in different packages and the free wedding is just the chairs, no gazebo structure at all, not even the wood poles, so Im not sure if they remove it or if they have a different location that doesnt have gazebo poles. mmmm....strange...