Kits55

I just tried to edit this post myself but couldn't find the button. Well, I'll give the notepad a higher score because I just tried to replicate the dark lines by scratching it but could not. So it gets a higher score now. I'd give it about an 8. Quote: Originally Posted by Kits55 In my opinion on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give Vistaprint a score of 7.5. Granted, I have only purchased mostly free items thus far. They have really good basics but it's the details that make an item "high quality" that are missing here. I have purchased a photo calendar...they had choices as how you wanted your months numbered (very nice!) but it does not have stiff paperboard or cardboard as the cover and back pages. It's all just regular heavy duty paper. So if you're looking for a really high quality photo calendar you could do better but Vistaprint makes it SO easy! Overall I'd give the calendar an 8. I ordered over sized post cards to put in our OOT bags. They are HUGE, half the size of a regular sheet of paper. This could be my fault but there are white panels that are blank on either side of the picture on the front. Other than that they are a 10 for sure. I did read on here to be aware that if you purchase the regular sized post cards it will say "vistaprint" in small font on the back. I ordered a small business stamp and it's really easy to put together. From other business stamps I have used it's not quite as high quality as others but it's great for being free! I'd give the stamp a 9. I ordered a notepad for business and I would give it a 6.5. It has a design at the top and the rest of the paper is a light blue. It scratches really easily and then there are dark blue streaks on the paper. Not a huge deal. The writing on the top is really teeny tiny and definitely smaller than I'd recommend if you're going to want clients/customers using your paper. The type might be larger on a bigger notepad. It's nice because you can put a catch phrase at the bottom of the notepad. I ordered 10 free note cards. They are nice, folded over ones. It has a pink box with a black border on the front. In the pink box is a big letter K in my choice of font. I thought it would be perfect as a "thank you" card. The thing that really disappointed me was how not thick the paper is and it has the little bumps on the edges because it was like all of the cards were connected at one time and perforated in a few places. For instance, it has a small bump on three side of the card, on every card showing where it was attached to another card. This is probably the biggest deal to me and the paper quality secondary. It's not that the paper is "thin" per se but it's not even as thick as a $1.00 card you can get at a store. I would give the note cards a 6.5 because you could do better finding sale note cards but if you can't find sale ones these could do. I ordered magnets, also for our OOT bags and I would give them about a 7. They are really thin and don't have the best magnetism but the picture looks great and the font is very clear. I ordered a giant car magnet for the shelter I volunteer for and it is perfect. I would give it a 9.5 because it's very large and magnetizes very well. I ordered a small window cling for my business and I would give it an 8.5 because I think it's too small for people to be able to read on my car windows and isn't the point of these things to advertise whatever it is that you want it to? It looks great but is rather small. You can get larger ones but then why sell the smaller ones? I think that's all that I've ordered so far. It seems like the things that I've ordered for my wedding have the best quality. Hope this helps!

Hi Everyone: I just ordered some monogram stickers (for seals on envelopes, OOT bags, and whatever else I want) from Zazzle | Custom T-Shirts, Posters, Art and more.... It was a great experience, easy and fast! I'm not sure of the quality of stickers yet but I think I read a good review on here once. Anyway here is a coupon code. It expires 2/18/09 and is good for $10 off an order of $50 or more. They have thousands of items to choose from and you can even create your own. I probably should have ordered more stuff but don't have the time right now. the code is KPSGLUBJHSFQJWYJVLVJ Have a great day! Moderator: if this belongs in a different forum please move it, thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by ameliamae Great post~! I was wondering about the quality of VistaPrint, I know they are cheap!!! In my opinion on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give Vistaprint a score of 7.5. Granted, I have only purchased mostly free items thus far. They have really good basics but it's the details that make an item "high quality" that are missing here. I have purchased a photo calendar...they had choices as how you wanted your months numbered (very nice!) but it does not have stiff paperboard or cardboard as the cover and back pages. It's all just regular heavy duty paper. So if you're looking for a really high quality photo calendar you could do better but Vistaprint makes it SO easy! Overall I'd give the calendar an 8. I ordered over sized post cards to put in our OOT bags. They are HUGE, half the size of a regular sheet of paper. This could be my fault but there are white panels that are blank on either side of the picture on the front. Other than that they are a 10 for sure. I did read on here to be aware that if you purchase the regular sized post cards it will say "vistaprint" in small font on the back. I ordered a small business stamp and it's really easy to put together. From other business stamps I have used it's not quite as high quality as others but it's great for being free! I'd give the stamp a 9. I ordered a notepad for business and I would give it a 6.5. It has a design at the top and the rest of the paper is a light blue. It scratches really easily and then there are dark blue streaks on the paper. Not a huge deal. The writing on the top is really teeny tiny and definitely smaller than I'd recommend if you're going to want clients/customers using your paper. The type might be larger on a bigger notepad. It's nice because you can put a catch phrase at the bottom of the notepad. I ordered 10 free note cards. They are nice, folded over ones. It has a pink box with a black border on the front. In the pink box is a big letter K in my choice of font. I thought it would be perfect as a "thank you" card. The thing that really disappointed me was how not thick the paper is and it has the little bumps on the edges because it was like all of the cards were connected at one time and perforated in a few places. For instance, it has a small bump on three side of the card, on every card showing where it was attached to another card. This is probably the biggest deal to me and the paper quality secondary. It's not that the paper is "thin" per se but it's not even as thick as a $1.00 card you can get at a store. I would give the note cards a 6.5 because you could do better finding sale note cards but if you can't find sale ones these could do. I ordered magnets, also for our OOT bags and I would give them about a 7. They are really thin and don't have the best magnetism but the picture looks great and the font is very clear. I ordered a giant car magnet for the shelter I volunteer for and it is perfect. I would give it a 9.5 because it's very large and magnetizes very well. I ordered a small window cling for my business and I would give it an 8.5 because I think it's too small for people to be able to read on my car windows and isn't the point of these things to advertise whatever it is that you want it to? It looks great but is rather small. You can get larger ones but then why sell the smaller ones? I think that's all that I've ordered so far. It seems like the things that I've ordered for my wedding have the best quality. Hope this helps!

I love the bouquet charms, although I'd only need 2 and I know yours are already taken Do you remember where you purchased them? Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by soon2bePowers Hey girls, I just wanted to let everyone know I just got my order from vistaprints.com and my STD's look great. I ordered 50 oversized postcards-STD's 10 Thank You 1 Pad of paper 1 pad of post-its 100 return address labels 25 magnetic business cards 1 more thing but I can't think of it All of this was free! I only have to pay shipping and total it was $20. You can reorder, in case you need more of something! There stuff is great! Very colorful and they have lots of beach scenes. All of the stuff I ordered have the same beach scene on them. With some stuff you can upload your own pics. Once you order from this company you get lots of emails with more free offers. I have ordered twice and have been very happy with everything. If you order the regular sized postcards they have a small vistaprint logo near the bottom. The oversized ones don't. I plan on using a picture from the wedding and making my in town reception invites-using another postcard. I was so happy to learn about this site, so I thought I would pass it on. Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! Do you have pictures to show us how awesome your stuff turned out? I should be getting my postcards any day now and I can't wait! Thank you for the tip on how the small postcards have Vistaprint on them and the over sized ones don't...I think that'll be important for a lot of brides ordering the postcards!

Simi i love your thoroughness when you write your reviews! and thanks for your helpful emails...they make me laugh

Quote: Originally Posted by Andi I second Gracious Bridal Wedding Favors, Personalized Gifts, Bridal Shower Favors and cardandpockets.com From Gracious Bridal I ordered the "will you be my flower girl cookie" and it was really cute! From Cards and Pockets I ordered my pocketfold invites...these were great too! Plus you can order samples first so you know what the color looks like! The card and pockets link didn't work for me....has the website moved?

Oh no!! After seeing the pictures of Silversands I totally want to get married there!! I love the contemporary, chic feel to the resort. I saw someone's pictures from the resort on TripAdvisor but fell in love too. I wish I could have the feel and look of Silversands but on Maroma beach Maybe we'll honeymoon at Silversands.

Thanks Jill! If I wasn't already getting married at Secrets I'd probably still pick it! I love having all of these attachments in one place instead of trying to go back through our old thread to find everything

Thanks for the thread! I'll be sure to check all of the websites out as soon as I can! That goes for yours too Tylersgirl

Wow, what a gorgeous dress. Cruiser, it looks great on you! I also am having a lot of second thoughts about my dress. I don't hate mine per se but now I'm really wishing that I had chosen a different dress. I just don't like it now that it's been altered because it's kind of a cheap dress and I think it fits like a cheap dress. I wish I would have gotten one of the more expensive but more flattering dresses. I know what you are going through. My wedding is still four months away but the dress I want now is a Spring 2009 dress so I'm having problems buying it for a good price off the rack. Good luck in your search!

Quote: Originally Posted by Simistar Hey Kits55! We arrived on a Wednesday night and got married on Sunday...BUT ours was actually a symbolic ceremony. We got legally married before leaving... And yes -- I'd suggest getting a mani and pedi BEFORE you go! If it gets messed up before your wedding you can always go to the spa for a touch-up or whatnot... If you do get a mani/pedi before you go -- try not to drag your feet on the bottom in the hot-tubs or in the pool!:-) My friend did that and scraped off half her pedi:-) Oh my gosh, that's hilarious that your friend scraped off her pedi...that's SO me! Great tip, I'm going to tell my sister to remind me of that when we get down there. Hmmm...sorry -- I don't think I really heard ANYTHING from our guests about their rooms!:-) Everyone liked their rooms, but I'm not actually sure how many were in an ocean-view... However, a couple we're friends with stayed in ocean-front room 1711 (which is funny, b/c that is a honeymoon suite!), which is on the ground floor and is a swim-out suite, and they had to move on their second-last day b/c water was leaking through the ceiling! But that's the only problem we heard about :-) Was it difficult for your friends to change rooms or was Secrets really accommodating? I am wondering how easy it will be to request certain rooms once we're down there. I guess I better stay up to date on the TripAdvisor forums. I actually did send the list of ingredients b/c I wasn't sure if s'mores in Mexico were the same as s'mores in Canada/the US. I guess they were KIND of s'mores...there was a graham cracker-ish cookie on the outside, but it wasn't really marshmallow inside...more like a kind of mousse...and then it had cinammon sprinkled on top (even though cinammon wasn't in the ingredients:-))...About half of them had chocolate inside, about half of them didn't :-) They were still good! Just not really worth the $2/pp extra I thought :-) LMAO...i laughed so hard when i read about the cinnamon, that is so random! I'm glad you wrote about them. I'll save the extra $2 per person although my FI thinks that we can buy some $1 sticks at a dollar store, bring them to Mexico and purchase the rest of the ingredients once we're down there. I think he really wants s'mores. No worries -- I don't mind questions! Just glad to help:-) I think I know the kind of lounge furniture you're thinking of... And I would suggest renting this for the cocktail hour. At the bonfire (which started at about 7pm and went until 11pm...they kept the fire going and drinks coming!) -- we had three tables set up, and then the mats around the bonfire. So, people can eat at the tables, and then sit on the mats around the bonfire, or pull up a chair... But at the cocktail hour, there's really nowhere to sit...and some of our older guests left after about 1/2 hr b/c they needed to sit down (and also b/c there was no food:-)). So lounge furniture would actually be a GREAT idea for the cocktail hour! Woo-hoo! Thanks for the tip on when to rent lounge furniture...I did read someone's review a really long time on here and she said that for whatever part of her weekend they used the lounge furniture her guests loved it so much they didn't want to leave. Do you know if there's the option of extending the cocktail hour at all?

Quote: Originally Posted by jkcz0702 We are currently looking at his work also here is his email [email protected] and his website Cancun Wedding Videos | Mayan Riviera Wedding Videographer | Miguel Cantarell - Home JKCZ thanks for posting the information. When i was trying to google him I forgot that his first name would probably be Miguel.

Hey Simistar! Thanks so much for the help...I only hope my DIY stuff turns out as great as yours. I've been looking on ebay all day today for things that I can use for DIY stuff hoping for a lower price tag After reading your replies to my questions i though of another really random, weird questions. For the table numbers and the layering of papers, did you just use regular Elmer's glue? If so, did any of the glue show through the openings of the corners where you used the punch? Usually when I use Elmer's glue it gets rumpled and doesn't lay flat. Thanks again!

They look fantastic...i love the picture you used. It makes me want to be on the beach...right NOW

Quote: Originally Posted by MomentsThatMatter When I get down there to live (Feb 2009)... I will have to remember to make a post with all the cool "non-tourist" spots that are magical for photo shoots. I have seen a bunch on vacation... now they will be my new back drops. I will be expecting to see some great insider info on the cenotes after you move down to Mexico

Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock Just on the tails of our swimming with Whale Sharks, we have recently purchased an HD video camera and an underwater housing.... ok, so now I'm a videographer! HA... .not really.... but I enjoy documenting life and use my eye to put together our experiences. Sol & I have purchased underwater housings for our pro digital camera because it is so much fun swimming in the pool, cenote, ocean...wherever... and recording footage of the fun. I actually would like to motivate all the folks on the forum to investigate purchasing an underwater housing for your own Point and shoot digital camera. They are cheap and the payoff will come instantly. First, I'd like to give you advice based on the P&S camera that we have... I think its a Canon Powershot 850. Regardless of our model, there are lots of small P&S cameras out there with underwater housings available and for super cheap. Here is a combo set for one that seems very affordable under $400 for both camera and housing in a kit. Most camera manufacturers make an underwater housing for all models of their P&S cameras... if you already own a camera, search out to see if there is a housing to fit around your current model. You may be surprised they are all priced in the $150-200 range... well affordable for the fun imagery. That said, we spent a few thousand on our housing and accessories for our camera and used them for the first time. Here is a shot Sol took of me in action in & out of the water... This was our first TTD in a cenote with the camera housing plus the housing made for our video camera... so I shot some documentary footage and had some fun.... Here is my underwater video documentary of the session... a really cool perspective : del Sol Underwater Trash the dress | Underwater Photography on Vimeo there are many images from the session in the end of the video...check it out i think its some of the most creative footage I've ever shot. me in action with our housing for the pro camera one of the shots I got from the underworld Let me know your thoughts Cheers! matt Hi Matt: I'm curious to know if you've done more TTD video sessions since this one was posted. If so, would you be willing to do a TTD video (I already have my photog booked and paid for, that was first on my list back on April)?

Morgan: i read your other posts about the public cenotes. It's a great help! I like the idea of trying to find a private cenote but it might be like finding a needle in a haystack since I don't know anyone down there. Morgan, what time of day did you do your TTD session, were you glad with the time that you picked? I will be watching this thread for some great ideas...my photog already found an underwater housing for his camera.

Quote: Originally Posted by tlomlad hey morgan quick question are you doing this tour different then your trash the dress session with ur awesome photog, and if so could you give us some info on how and where you are planning on doing your trash the dress cenote shoot cause we did some research and found a few places but are not totally sure about there photo restriction an i dont want to show up in my dress and have them say no lol that would be my luck....oh and less than a month for you how exciting im down to 2 and cant wait!!!!! Hi tlomlad: did you end up doing a TTD session at a cenote? I am getting married in April and my photog has an underwater casing for his camera now! I'm so excited. Do you have any suggestions for some great cenotes?

Quote: Originally Posted by mhoudek Thanks so much for your help and suggestion. I contacted Paul and he is booked. Plus for some reason I'm really set on a longer period of time. I ended up booking with Mike Cantrall of Cancunweddings! His stuff looked great and at 8 hours he will include HD for free Thank you again-Sunbride-you were very nice and helpful!!! Mhoudek: does Mike have a website that I can go to? Thanks in advance.

Quote: Originally Posted by Simistar Hey Ladies, So, unfortunately, AS USUAL, I've waited until the last minute to get everything done:-) So, some of my stuff (welcome letters, pashminas, etc) has already been dispersed to friends' luggage :-) (We leave in a day and half!) However, what I do have here, I took pictures of... And I wanted to thank everyone who posted their own ideas on this forum, b/c there's NO WAY I could have done this stuff with out you! So...here goes...may not be the most perfect, but hey, this is coming from a complete DYI-dummie:-) Also, pls excuse some of the shots looking not quite focused...my camera was acting up... First...invitations...The only thing here I did NOT DIY :-) (I blurred the last names...they didn't come like that, haha:-)) Placecards... Table Numbers... Poem card for table...asking people to answer a Three's Company trivia question instead of clinking their glasses if they want us to kiss... Menu cards...(excuse the crooked shot:-)) Reserved signs for parents... Guestbook sign... Thanks again for all your help ladies! I LOVE your planning thread. I can't believe that I never knew about it until now; I found it on accident when I was looking for your review after having closed it. I am very much in love with your place cards (where did you find the font that you used on them), Three's Company Trivia (I'm kind of lame in the game department, is this a real game??), and especially the table numbers (where did you get the font, rhinestones, and paper that you used for them??). I love the little pattern in the corners on the table numbers. I have insomnia right now so I thought i'd jump on getting some wedding ideas put together so I can put them in motion

Hey Simistar! Thanks for the amazing review! I loved reading through it and hearing your stories and recommendations. Thanks for letting us know about the spa; I will say that I've been worrying about that already. What day did you arrive at the resort? And your wedding was on Sunday, yes? Our wedding is on a Saturday and we're arriving most likely on Tuesday or Tuesday night because we're having a legal ceremony. Do you think that if I got a mani and pedi on Tuesday morning that it could still look good for a Saturday wedding? I might also mention to my girls to get their nails done before going to Mexico. My favorite tip was the location of the beach arch and pool gazebo so I know which building to request for our room. We are also staying in an Ocean Front room upon request of my FI. Do you have recommendations for which buildings to stay and not to stay in for the rest of our guests? I think they're all staying in ocean view rooms. You mentioned that the s'mores were not actually s'mores, what were they like instead? Do you think I gave them the ingredients that they would make the real ones? I'm sorry to hear about the poor service during the cocktail hour...i'm definitely delegating chores to our wedding party! I'm glad to have a recommendation from Juan Navarro's company, Edgar it is! I'm thinking about renting lounge furniture...would you recommend for the cocktail hour or the beach bonfire? I love the pictures I've seen of beach lounge furniture but am not sure when to rent it for. What time did your beach bonfire start? How long did it last? Sorry for so many questions :)

Quote: Originally Posted by cancunbride Hi everyone... I bought several table runners and unfortunately they were too small and I decided to go with a zebra print instead. If anyone is interested, I can sell you the runners for 1/2 of what I bought them. Hey there: how big are the black and white damask table runners that you have? We are also having round tables and I'd like to be sure that they'll fit our tables!

Quote: Originally Posted by AnnR LOVE that ring! very cool. this store got Paul's ring from Ireland ... so it's the real thing! that was important to Paul too. they have quite a decent selection at the store, and then catalogs to look through. here is the website: Irish Gifts Minnesota not all of their available jewelry is on their website - i know Paul's ring wasn't. they were so, SO nice too when we went into the store. tami - please let me know if you want me to go into teh store too. i'd be happy to run over there! i'm not working much at all right now, so i have plenty of time. Ann: i LOVE Irish on Grand in St. Paul. I was just there this past weekend with my mom and sister. My sister studied in Ireland for a semester in college and wanted to get married at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Cobh. The store owner's wife told us that she could look out her bedroom window and see the cathedral when she was growing up. The owner was amazing. He was showing my sister all of the rings that she could get for her fiance and explaining what the symbols and words meant. The owner and his wife were very friendly and helpful the entire time. I would say that anyone looking to purchase an Irish themed ring should definitely contact Irish on Grand. I remembered reading this post and mentioned to the owner that his store was mentioned on this forum. He was very happy to hear that. I remembered your general story about not getting your ring and contacting Irish on Grand. He remembered your story well!

Quote: Originally Posted by ErinB Look for glass paint. It's what we used to make my shower favors. All you have to do is follow the directions on the package. You use like normal paint. Be sure to turn the glasses upside down (with the stems facing up) on a baking sheet. You might even want to line it with parchment paper. We did them in batches. Put one set in to bake and cool and worked on the next set. By the time the first ones were cool enough to take off the tray, the second ones were ready to go in! Awesome! Thank you so much for the advice. This past week I tried my hand at two different projects as holiday gifts...they didn't turn out so well! For one I painted the inside of a votive holder with a blue metallic acrylic paint and then used stencils and silver leaf glue to make a floral pattern design on the outside. it looked cool except for the fact that i super stink at using stencils. Then i tried to paint a giant letter "F" for my sister as her engagement gift. The paint was fine but my brushes were cheap so they kept losing hairs in the paint. I had to keep picking them out and then repainting the area. I then used a different stencil with a silver metallic fine point marker but it seeped underneath the stencil and made big blotches. I guess I'm not really cut out for crafty things!