Sapphire723

Your pics look awesome, by the way. I love your hair! Did you guys just meet in the lobby lounge or did you reserve it as a cocktail hour?

Jenn- Thanks for such a great review! Did your guests who didn't stay in Akumal have a better time checking in? Did you meet Palamo? Was she any better? And did the manager ever "compensate" you for the situation or was that just a ploy to persuade you into moving to the Tulum side? Did you guys book the Dolce Vita for just your wedding party or did you use it as part of the a la carte dinners included?

Lisa - honestly, I think John has been my biggest motivator. He's been very supportive of me by cooking me healthy meals on occasion and encouraging me to stay on track or go to the gym when I need an extra boost of motivation. He also gave up drinking Coke when I did, because "if you don't need to drink it, I don't either." Hehe... I just got up and he ordered me to get back on the couch and rest my ankle. He told me that he'd get me anything I needed. I told him that I don't think he can go to the bathroom for me! But yeah, even though he loves me no matter what weight I am, he's still super supportive of my goals and that makes me want to do well. :-)

Sorry, Deanna! I've just been kinda crazy with my own stuff. I'm glad to hear that you're doing very well! Aunt Flow makes me want to eat a lot too... if you have chocolate munchies, try either chocolate whipped cream (you can spray it out and freeze it for a low-cal ice-cream like treat) or a really good quality piece of chocolate. I've found that I appreciate my chocolate more if I substitute a better quality smaller piece instead of lots of cheap chocolate, although AF still makes me want to eat an entire back of Flipz in one sitting. So, I hurt my ankle a while ago and haven't been to the gym in like two weeks! I thought it was just a sprain, but I've been RICEing it and it's getting worse instead of better. I just had it X-rayed today and it's not broken (which I never thought it was, but you know doctors) but I've got an orthopedic appointment tomorrow. Mostly, I'm just disappointed because exercise has been such a key part of my weight loss. I've been trying to do stuff while sitting, but I don't feel it's as effective. Blech.

I agree with everyone who says you don't have to give them details on why you're leaving. A simple "Due to personal reasons, I feel that it would be best for all involved if I discontinued my employment here." Anything more may be overshare or may make them feel as if they have the chance to change your mind or can expect you to return to work once things are better for you. I would type it out and send it or hand deliver it to avoid having to verbally express your resignation as I'm sure it will probably be emotional for you. If you have someone who is trust worthy and available that you would recommend, then great! Ask that person if it's ok for you to refer the family you take care of to them and then give the family the contact information. If you don't have anyone to refer, it's not really your job to find a replacement. It's nice if you want to do that (especially if you're close to the family), but unless you're in an employment contract, you don't have a professional obligation to do so. However, the better the situation you leave this family in, the more likely you'll be able to use them on your resume as a positive reference. Plus it's nice to help them out, considering that the reason why you're leaving is not because of something they did. I am very sorry for your loss and I hope the best for your physical and emotional recovery. You're right to put you and your DH first, because you can't be very good to others if you're not good to you.

Wow, this is a tough situation. I'm glad to hear that your FI is better. Unfortunately, there is no good way to leave people off the guest list the second time around. No matter what you do it will come across as "I no longer like you enough to want you at my wedding." People may even feel that they've done something wrong to you in the past year. The good thing is that as you have changed in the past year, so have your relationships. People you aren't very close with may not even remember that you postponed your wedding. Or it might slip their mind that they were invited to the first wedding planned. By sending an announcement, you'll definitely remind them and it will be very much brought to their attention that they weren't invited to your AHR. One possibility is that you could invite more people to your DW banking on the fact that money is tight for most people so many of them will be unable to attend. Or, you could send a post-wedding announcement or letter stating that you more or less eloped at your DW. This way people won't feel as if you've singled them out to be dropped from the list. It reads more like you left everyone out instead of just cutting the people you don't like anymore. The danger with this, is that if people who were invited to your AHR know people who are no longer invited, word may get out anyway. Good luck with whatever you decide and remember that it's still your choice who gets to attend your wedding. If you don't want someone there, no amount of etiquette or niceties should force you to have them there.

I agree with everyone else... will you use it? If so, how often? Plus, if someone only bought a few pieces of your pricey china, would you be willing to buy the rest of the set? My boss said she still hasn't purchased the rest of her china set that she didn't get for her wedding.

I agree with everyone else... will you use it? If so, how often? Plus, if someone only bought a few pieces of your pricey china, would you be willing to buy the rest of the set? My boss said she still hasn't purchased the rest of her china set that she didn't get for her wedding.

That's not really bridezilla-y, in my opinion. The whole reason why we have trial runs is to "audition" our vendors for the big day. If they don't perform well during the trial run, there's no reason to believe that they will magically get it together on the big day. And for someone to say "Don't worry, I'll do it better on the big day" instead of doing a good job now?! I mean, you're paying for the trial too, why is she being a slacker?

Weird.... I really want to know why he sent that message.

Those are AWESOME mugs!

I'm actually looking at that dress for my BMs in Bahama Breeze. I would pick the color of the dresses based on the color scheme you're having for your wedding.

Try eating more protein. Lack of protein in your diet causes premature wrinkles and thinning hair.

Quote: Originally Posted by lolkitteh Very cool - kind of like "Sisterhood of the Traveling Wedding Veil"! I was going to say the exact same thing!

I think wedges would work, but make sure to commit before you get your dress altered. I'm already three inches taller than my FI, so I think I'm gonna stick with bare feet.

Oh, by the way, when I told John about this thread, he said "What do you want us to do? Get down on one knee? Guys don't need a lot of words to get the point across."

Quote: Originally Posted by Inked1 it took my FI about 3 months after asking to actually get a yes out of his third GM...I kept asking, "has he given you an answer" and kept getting the "I forgot to ask again" response...this particular friend even spent a week at our house over Christmas and not once did it come up. The kicker was when he finally said yes, he asked my FI to be in his wedding as well! Men... When my FI asked one of his friends to be a GM, he gave a non-committal answer like "A wedding in Mexico sounds like fun!" I'm thinking to myself "Is that a yes? Is that a maybe?" But, I think it's guyspeak for I'm too cool to actually say the word yes.

I love the VS swimsuits. They're the only ones I can find that support my boobs properly, and I only have 36C's unlike some of you boobieful ladies. I also am a big fan of their swim skirts. It covers the chunkiest part of my thigh while still looking super cute.

Tatiana is NUTS! I'm a Danny Gokey fan. I think the girls aren't very good this year, save Lil Rounds. I really like Anoop and Jorge and thought Nick would have been a very entertaining addition to the competition. SgtPepperette... do you know where Matt sings back home? One of the shots of his "home" videos looks kinda like Pub 13 in Ypsi, but I think it may just be me being home sick.

Oh! I totally know what you mean. I couldn't wait to tell my BMs and MOHs, but John is all "Yeah, I think I mentioned it to them." I think it has to do with the way guys (or at least my guy) typically plan their time together. "Hey man, wanna hang out tonight? I'm getting married. Maybe we can grab a beer afterwards."

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I LOVE PRINCESS! And that's not just because I got engaged on the Crown Princess. I think their food is pretty good and their service strives to be perfect (not just good... perfect). They're very reasonably priced IMO for what you get. It's definitely less of a party scene than Carnival, but I've enjoyed my cruises with them way more than I enjoyed my one Carnival cruise. Plus, Princess is one of the few lines where the Captain can legally marry you if you decide you want that. As for islands, I would recommend going to a USVI like St. Thomas, because it would be less of a hassle to have a legal wedding ceremony and get the marriage license and all that jazz. The only big thing to keep in mind is that some times ships change their route due to various issues such as weather or damage to the island or some sort of disaster. If you can keep your cool when faced with this possibility, then I'd say go for it! June-November is typically hurricane season, with August and September being the most likely bad weather (I think, but I'm not 100% certain). I also definitely agree with Andrea about not picking a tendering port. All I remember from my last tender is being covered in half a margarita (I bumped my drink trying to sit down... klutz!) and super hot, sweaty, and sticky for the ride back to the ship. Not the ideal scenerio for a beautiful bride!

Quote: Originally Posted by Tlseege Honestly, I think I gave her the final numbers once we were down there already! I am pretty sure she confirmed my guest list at the meeting three days before the wedding. Prior to that I had told her a rough guesstimate... but that's it. Haha... was it a rough "guest"-imate? Sorry, bad punn, I know!

I did mine myself and got lots of $$ back! John also got some back. The money helped pay off my car and pay for our site visit to GBPC. I did them as soon as possible cuz I knew I was getting money back. Like someone mentioned, you can e-file for free with some pretty easy to understand tax software from the IRS website. Last year I made slightly too much, but they upped the minimum this year so I'm just under. Or, if you make below around $35k, the IRS has volunteers (like me!) who will do your taxes for you for free.

Hey! Welcome to the forum. Since you've been to GBP before, you might be able to help us other GBP brides out at the thread below: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t786

Hey! Welcome to the forum. Since you've been to GBP before, you might be able to help us other GBP brides out at the thread below: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t786