kristina&kevin

Hi Everyone! We have been back for a few days and I am finally finding the time to post on here. I will be posting my planning thread today hopefully and I will also be posting some items that I have for sale. I am really excited to tell you guys about our amazing time at Club Med Cancun. I haven’t come across anyone else on this site that is getting or got married at a club med so hopefully I can introduce a new hotel for you to consider. Number of Guest: 52 Resort – Club Med! I love Club Med! I always have! I grew up going to Club Med’s and couldn’t think of a better place to get married. I HIGHLY suggest getting married there! The resort is extremely well maintained and everyone is so friendly. Your not just a number here…We were the only wedding. They don’t do one every hour like they do at some other places. The way Club Med works is they have G.O’s (employees) and then G.M.’s (guest). The G.O’s are encouraged to party with the guest. They become friends and everywhere you go they call you by name. It’s such a great place. There is also a Chief of the village and he is like the manager of the village. He is always around. He’s not hard to find like some places. You know who he is and he is very approachable and in our case was overly generous by giving my father a discounted rate when he decided to stay an extra day. Price: $110 pp…includes ALL food, drinks, sports (kayaking, sailing, trapeze, water skiing, etc), tips, entertainment, etc. Truly all-inclusive. You literally don’t spend a dime at the resort. I had a few guest complain to me because they had saved up a lot of money to spend in Cancun and hadn’t spent any! I think that is a good problem to have! haha Wedding Planner: Club Med doesn’t have their own wedding planner on site. They use an outside lady named Sharon (she does weddings all over Cancun…if you want her info PM me). She was Amazing! She is extremely thorough and a real pleasure to work with. She made everything so easy and I can’t thank her enough for all of her help! She is really easy to contact too! We must have emailed almost everyday for the last few months. I flew to Cancun to do a site visit last August and she picked me up from the airport…took me shopping for centerpieces and took me to the resort….no charge…and she even bought back from me all of the centerpieces so I wouldn’t have to deal with bringing them back! Also, she gave me additional items to use for my centerpieces (shells, trays, etc)…again no charge. She rocked! I had Sharon do the ceremony set up and then Club Med took over for the reception. They set up the tables, music, cake, etc. Club Med has an events coordinator that took really good care of us. Throughout the entire week he was there for us if we needed anything. Getting to the Airport: We went with my Sister, her husband and their 3 year old son to the airport. My sister isn’t exactly one of those that is on time…So we arrived at her house 30 mins before we needed to leave. Amazingly we were all in the car and ready to leave 15 mins before we needed too. Good start we thought…until we went to turn on the car and the battery was dead!!!! Amazingly we found the jumper cables really quickly and was able to get the car started within minutes. Then we started our trek to Miami Airport (1 hour drive) in the middle of morning rush hour. We were in the HOV lane the entire lane and were moving pretty good…Then my nephew started throwing up his breakfast all over himself and the car seat! So as were driving my brother in law and my husband were cleaning it up. It was a real mess! We finally get to the airport and were able to check in curbside for new cost!!!!! Amazing, right? We tipped the guy well and were inside at our gate in no time. Soon after we got to the gate my nephew was playing with my mom (who flew in from DC and was on the same plane with us from MIA to CUN)…and he had horrible diarrhea in his pants! Well my sister didn’t have any extra clothes except for underwear so we had to leave security and buy clothes….Needless to say it was a very eventful trip to Cancun. Cancun Airport – Smooth as can be. I was traveling with 9 family members and we had at least 15 bags and not one person was checked. As soon as we got outside we saw our shuttle and were at the resort in 10 mins! Weather- When we arrived it was really cool…77ish and EXTREMELY windy!!! I was really concerned that it was going to be to windy and cold for my guest to enjoy themselves…but everyday it got a little bit warmer and was only cool at night really. The wind died down a lot too. The Club med resort is on the point of the hotel strip….So it has a beach on the main side overlooking all the other hotels and then a beach on the other side with no hotels in site. This side also had no wind. So if you wanted to sit in the sun without a breeze you had that option. Room – We got upgraded to an Ocean view room. We could have had an ocean suite…but we couldn’t justify the extra money…how much time do you spend in the room anyways! The rooms were very clean, modern and comfortable. Good A/C and awesome beds. When we arrived they had flowers, chocolates, a candle and a free couples massage certificate waiting for usJ Food – As in Club Med tradition, the food was AMAZING!!! All of my guest couldn’t get over the awesome food that they had. This club med had a Main Restaurant (buffet), a specialty restaurant (at night, 5 course meal), a tapas restaurant/Late meal restaurant….it served late breakfast, late lunch, tapas (by reservation) at night and then late dinner. SO pretty much you could eat ALLLLLLLL day. Bars- There were three bars and the drinks were constantly flowing. They served good strong drinks all day and you never really had to wait for a drink. They also brought drink and fruit to you out by the beach, pool, etc. Guest Arrivals – Went really smoothly. We knew when every one was coming so I separated the duty of greeting the guest among my family members who all arrived one day before the guest did. It worked out great. Everyone felt good to be greeted by someone they know. Welcome Dinner- For the welcome dinner the club closed off one room for us and we were able to have our own little private area. The dinner was great except for the fact that 10 mins before we arrived my husband started feeling like he was going to throw up…within 15 mins of being there he had to leave…so did my sister, my mother and my father!!! ALL of them got sick by my nephew (who as I mentioned earlier got sick on the way to the airport). From that point on it spread through my guest like a wild fire! The following day all of the sick people (including my husband) slept the entire day. Luckily it was just a 24 bug of constantly throwing up and diarrhea. And by the time the wedding came no one was sick. BUT after the wedding it still continued to spread….in all 10 people of the 52 got sick!!! Surprisingly though it didn’t seem to ruin anyone’s vacation. It went through their system so fast. If anyone gets sick it is usually me…So I am really surprised that I didn’t get sick!! Rehearsal Dinner – We had our rehearsal dinner in the same room that we did the welcome dinner. Luckily all of my family and my husband was feeling better so they were able to attend. They didn’t really eat much, but were able to attend. Hair / Makeup – My hair and make up turned out perfect! I did a tight French twist and put a flower in it. I was going to wear a veil, but the wind was so strong that I didn’t want to be bothered with it (I will be selling the never used veil…should be posting all for sale items today). I had good family friends do all of our hair and makeup and they really did an amazing job. Wedding Day – The day started off looking like rain. It was still really windy out and I was really concerned about it raining for the ceremony…but my grandmother was looking over me and the skies cleared just in time for the ceremony. It was truly beautiful from our ceremony till the time we left 4 days later. Up until then it had been overcast, windy and cool. I was so calm the wedding day. I even couldn’t believe it. I was just so relaxed. I am usually a worry wart and need to know whats going on at all times. But not that day…I was so calm and I’m really glad I was. I hate being stressed. The Ceremony- We were going to have our ceremony on the beach, but changed our mind and did it on the grassy hill next to the beach. I am so glad that I changed the location! It was so picturesque. We had a mariachi band and were married under a beautiful bamboo gazebo. It was perfect. The entire ceremony cost us about $2,100 I believe…this included flowers for my family (step mom and step dad), my husband’s family, flower girl, ring bearer, 3 bridal party, 3 groomsmen, my bouquet and my husband’s boutonniere, chairs, gazebo, pastor, mariachi band and sand ceremony. Reception- At this resort we rented out the specialty restaurant…They had a wide selection of menu choices. We decided on the $25 buffet. There is a 100 minimum to rent out the entire restaurant and since we only had 52 guest we had to pay for the extra 48, but it worked out because they charged us like $10 for the additional 48. So we got the entire restaurant to ourselves, plus open bar, a dj, and a cake for 50 for $2,300 I think…Something close to that. Which I thought was a deal. Photography – A good family friend is a wedding photographer. So we paid for her entire trip (less than $700 for air and 4 night stay) and she did the pics for us for free. She did an amazing job and I am really happy with the pictures. The only thing I wish we did was have more just Kevin and me shots. We were working against time since the sun was setting so quickly. But what we got was great! The next night we did the ttd pictures. This was the first time that my photographer had done this…so it was sorta a rough start. The pics would have been good….but my husband was not really enjoying himself so he wasn’t smiling in a lot of the photos. She had us crawling around on sharp rocks and the whole thing wasn’t what I wanted….but we went along with it. The next morning I was up really early and the light was so beautiful out that we decided to do it again! My photographer was asleep, but my brother in law was awake and so he took the shots for us (he is a professional photographer too). Those shots turned out awesome and were exactly what we wanted! I am so happy with them! Guest Departure- Over the next few days we said to goodbye to our guest one by one and then on the last day we were down to 8. It was perfect. We had such an amazing time. I hope I didn't ramble on to much:)

I am happy to report that I woke up feeling great!!!!! I took enough vitamins to knock it out I guess. We are leaving in the morning and I am SOOOOO excited! this day has finally come!!!!! Thanks for all the "get well" wishes! I think it worked:)

I am leaving for our wedding in Cancun in ONE day and while at work today my throat started hurting and my eyes started watering and I started feeling "blah." I have been waiting for this week to come forever and now I might be getting sick!!! NOOOOOO! I have taken Zicam, some homeopathic stuff that is supposed to really good and a zillion vitamins! I better feel better tomorrow!!!! Positive thinking!

We are leaving for Cancun in 3 days and I am SO excited! This day has FINALLY come!!! I am going to try to post pics of everything I did for the wedding before I leave...if not I will have to do it when I get back. I'm feeling good so far...I think I will feel more at peace when were actually on the plane. I spent the entire day packing and we are going with 4 suitcases (two with just wedding stuff and 2 with our personal stuff) and two hanging bags (the dress and my FI's suit). I know that we are able to put the hanging bags in the first class closet....but I'm concerned about going through security...how do you get through security with your dress? I really dont want to put it on the belt and have it go through the machine. I'm thinking they can do the hand wand... just curious what other people did. Any advice would be awesome. Thanks!!!!

Hey everyone! We have our registry at Liens n Things and they just sent me an email saying the following: "Today, October 16, 2008, Linens ’n Things announced that the company is entering into liquidation. This announcement pertains to both the US and Canadian stores, as well as LNT.com and will commence liquidation on Friday, October 17, 2008. In light of this announcement, we wanted to advise you that you should either purchase any remaining items on your registry or relocate your registry to another retailer. Our stores will remain open for a short period of time to liquidate inventory. Both the 10% off announcement cards and 20% off completion discount will no longer be valid effective Friday, October 17, 2008. In this exciting time in your life we understand that your registry and wedding are very important to you, and we regret that our company issues have led to this situation." I am guessing that after today they won't except gift cards either...since that is normal protocol when a store is liquidated. My FI and I have a remaining gift card from my Bridal Shower and we rushed to our nearest Linens n Things to go and buy what we could before the "liquidation sale" started. But unfortunately by the time we got there the signs were already up! So I went online and was able to buy some items using our gift card. I just wanted to give everyone else out there a heads up....You have 2 hours before you can't use your gift cards anymore.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. We went today and made it official. Were married!!! I spoke to my father a few times throughout the day today (He runs our family business...so it was mainly work related) and he didn't mention us going to the court house at all. So I guess for now. Everything is okay. Since he's not asking, I'm not going to tell him. All I care about is that I am officially married to the man of my dreams and I am SO happy!!!!

My FI and I decided to get married in a legal ceremony at the court house before we got married in Cancun. From day one my father has been very vocal that he is against it. He believes that the ceremony has to be done by a priest and there is no other option. I told him that when we get married in Cancun it will be in front of a priest and God will be included through out the entire ceremony. The legal ceremony is really only paperwork in our eyes. I mean yes we are going to be happy were "married" but we are going to feel actually married on November 1st in front of God and our family and friends. But, still he completely disapproves of us getting married "legally" in a court house. My father can be a little bit on the controlling side....His way or the high way...and really makes you feel guilty if you don't go his way. Well, he is currently out of town and today I told him that my FI and I are going to the courthouse tomorrow to do the "legal" ceremony. I wasn't sure if I should just do it or if I should tell him...I figured it was better to tell him because I didn't want to hurt him when he finds out I did it without telling him. His reaction wasn't the greatest. He told me he disapproves and that I am disrespecting him. I countered that I think I am respecting him by telling him and not doing it behind his back. Either way I can't win, I never can. So now I feel good for sticking up to him, but at the same time....I feel the guilt from him. I hate that he can do that to me. Why do we need our parents approval so bad? I say I don't, but then I feel bad when I let them down. Either way our wedding in Cancun is in two weeks. I'm sure he will get over it. Have any of your parents given you a hard time about getting married in a court house?? Thanks for listening!

I am making the fan program off of the template I found on here (I forget who posted it, I'm sorry). I know a lot of you have used this template to make your fans and I was curious what paper you used?? I am using heavy card stock and it still seems to flimsy. Any ideas??

I haven't done this yet....but I am planning to do this at my wedding in three weeks....I am planning to write it in the sand myself with a stick and then photoshopping out the footprints afterwards. I think its really hard to write it without having footprints. I'm guessing photoshopping is the best way to do it.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first dress!!! It is so beautiful and unique!!! You look amazing in it! my only concern with that dress is the sun tan line issue. Your going to have to be careful not to get to much sun on your back before the wedding! Besides that...go with number 1!!

I got this recipe out of a magazine the other day and ever since then my FI and I can't stop making/eating it!!! It literally takes 2 mins to make: 1 Jello Pudding Cup, Sugar-free any flavor 1/2 cup of sugar free cool whip Mix the two together in a bowl and then cover it and put it in the freezer for about 45 mins. Take out of the freezer and eat! The outside will be really icy and the inside more gooey. If you like the icy consistency better that leave it in the freezer longer. I just made two new flavors for our desert tonight..... Banana Chocolate and dulce de leche (vanilla carmel sunday)...and they were AMAZING!!! The plain ol' chocolate is great too!!! Enjoy!!!!

Those pictures are wonderful!! You did a really good job! I have a degree in photography and used to do semi-nude self portraits all the time for different college projects...It didn't even cross my mind do do DIY boudior pics! Thank you for the inspiration!!!

I just talked to my FI and he said that is the right website....Maybe she is out of them right now. I bet if you email her and send her the pic I posted she will be able to make it for you:)

Quote: Originally Posted by Tara Oh my gosh! That is adorable! Do you mind if I ask who the ebay seller was that you had put it together? I just asked my FI for the link to the ebay seller's page....And this is what he sent me.... eBay Store - Heavenly Creations Bridal: UNITY CANDLE HOLDERS, Hearts, Garters I just went to the site to make sure it was the right one and I can't find any starfish/shell toppers on there....So I think he might have sent me the wrong site. Check it out...maybe I'm just overlooking it. My FI just went to bed...So when we wake up I will ask him if this is the right sight. Sorry I didn't do the ordering so I'm out of the loop. lol

My FI keeps on asking what he can do to help with the wedding. So I gave him the job of picking out our cake topper. He found this really unique cake topper at beach wedding starfish wedding sea shell wedding seashell wedding cak topper sea shell wedding accessories starfish cake topper wedding whimsy seahorse wedding island wedding destination wedding for $75! We both that was way to expensive and kept on looking. We came across this girl on ebay who made something similar. So we sent her the pic from the expensive website and asked if she could make it like that. She said sure and it only cost us $30 including shipping and handling! I love it! What do you think??

Awesome pics!!!! I am so jealous!!! When they come through our town we will be in Cancun at our wedding!!!

I love it! You did a great job!

Thank you guys for all the suggestions. I love the Blessing bowl idea and the Digital Picture frame that we could give to them when we get back. I was online looking for some other ideas and came across this: Name Frames: Home I don't think it's appropriate to give to my parents as a gift for the wedding...but it is a really cool gift idea for a birthday or someone elses wedding.

Here is a video that was shot on my Flip Mino....Its of me working out on the wii fit! Hahahah! Sep 17 2008 - VID00039 The quality when it is converted to online viewing is pretty good...but the quality directly from the camera to your computer is better. I love this camera!! My sister just got the Flip Ultra this past week. She loves it...the difference between the two are the Flip Ultra is bigger, quality is a little bit less, and it runs on batteries. The Flip Mino has a rechargeable built in battery, is smaller, and better quality.

I am soooo excited about Greys coming back on!!! Only 4 more days!!!!!

So our wedding is in 41 days and I have no clue what to give my parents (i have two sets of parents) and my FI's parents at our wedding. I really don't even know where to begin on parent gifts. I have looked through a lot of wedding sites and so and I have seen handkerchiefs and frames and so on. But none of those things really excite me. What did you get/give to your parents on your wedding day? What about step parents? Thanks for you help!!!

I love it!!! So much fun!!!

That is so awesome!!!!! I am going to email her right now and order one. Thank you for sharing!!

1. Where is your cell phone? table 2. Your significant other? loving 3. Your hair? up 4. Your mother? giving 5. Your father? retired 6. Your favorite thing? fries 7. Your dream last night? bizarre 8. Your favorite drink? water 9. Your dream/goal? happiness 10. The room you're in? hot 11. Your ex? hot 12. Your fear? snakes 13.Where do you want to be in 6 years? mom 14. Where were you last night? bed 15. What you're not? awake 16. Muffins? love 17. One of your wish list items? dog 18. Where you grew up? texas 19. The last thing you did? eat 20. What are you wearing? clothes 21. Your TV? on 22. Your pets? sweet 23. Your computer? mac 24. Your life? thankful 25. Your mood? tired 26. Missing someone? always 27. Your vehicle? new 28. something your not wearing? watch 29. Favorite Store? aldo 30. Your summer? HOT 31. Like someone? yes 32. favorite color? purple 33. When is the last time you laughed? today 34. Last time you cried? unsure

I just got the new Jessica Simpson CD, her Country Music Debut, and it is awesome!!! I have never really been a Jessica Simpson fan. But I love country music so I decided to give her a chance. I bought the CD with only hearing her first single "come on over" and I think I have listened to the entire cd like 10 times since then. I love it. I wanted to share my review with you guys incase any of you were hesitant to buy her new cd. Listening to the CD is like listening to her read her diary. Its really well done. And I love #11 I want to dedicate that song to my FI on our wedding day. Such a great song!