LIW

I wanted to buy one, because I found a really pretty starfish one that would fit my theme. Then FH mentioned to me that I might have a hard time bringing it down with me because it was a knife. I don't know how true that is, but I guess it could be a potential problem. And now that I think about it, and reading an earlier post, buying one to fit my theme probably isn't practical, as I would probably never use it again or complain that I didn't have an everyday/every occasion set to use.

Quote: Originally Posted by BBtoB So is anyone letting their bridesmaids pick theor own dresses? I decided to pick a color palate and let them pick their dress. One of my girls just got her dress and it is cute! 2 more to go. I said to get a teal color and sent some pics. I hope this works! My MOH and I chose the dress together. I decided on the colour, but I wanted to maked sure her dress was a dress we both loved and that fit her budget. I tried to post a pic earlier, but it didn't work. I'll try again. The dress is from Alfred Angelo and it will be in cobalt blue.

FH and I will be doing this exact thing. After many discussion, we decided that doing large OOT bags would be a financial and logistical hassel. Instead, we've decided to give our guests travel mugs, which we can hand out a head of time, or at the airport, and then make a donation to 2 charities that mean something to us. I think it's a nice gesture, and honestly, a better use of money, plus, the less things we have to bring with us, the better.

Hereis my MOH dress. I'm only having one bridesmaid. The dress is Alfred Angelo and will be in cobalt blue.

I have a couple of questions for the past Melia Las Dunas Brides. When should I start planning the reception/ceremony? Should I wait until I get to the resort or should I start planning now through Melissa, or should I contact the resort's wedding co-ordinator now? Also, I'd like to organize a welcome dinner with my guetsts. Should I try and organize that a head of time? Also, did any of you use the DJ at the resort? Was he any good? Does he play is own music or should I suuply him all the music? I have some many questions. I've booked my wedding day, but I'm not sure where I go from here.

My FH is wearing a black suite and an Ivory shirt and some sort of blue tie. I thought about having the BM in a white shirt and black pants and some sort of blue tie, but I was afraid if the BM wore a white shirt and black pants he'd look too much like a waiter. Does any have any pics of an outfit like this?

I can't see the picture (some of the pictures are not coming up on my screen), but I'm sure it's gorgeous. I don't think you can have too much or too little for your wedding dress. If you love it, then you should wear it! You're only going to do this once (God willing) and you should wear the dress you love!

I like #4 & $5 the best. P.S. Newfoundland has the best place names!

What an incredible video!

Quote: Originally Posted by dawnandmark Me and my fiance have decided after 10 years together that it is time to tie the knot. So we decided that Blau Costa Verde is going to be the place. Just cuious if anyone has been married there and if so could you please shed some light b/c I am just curious if we should choose another resort or not I posted in your Newbie thread, but FH and I stayed there 2 years ago while on vacation. It's a great resort and we had a fabulous time! We aren't getting married there and I don't know much about the weddings (we did see a bit of one while we there), but if you have any general questions about the resort, I'd be happy to answer them the best I can. Happy planning!

Congrats and welcome! It's great to see another Cuba bride on the forum. FH and I stayed at the Blau Costa Verde 2 years ago for vacation and we had a fabulous time! It's a wonderful resort! I don't know much about the weddings there, but if you have any general questions about the resort, I'd be happy to answer them the best I can! Happy planning.

Welcome back! I hope that you had a wonderful time! I'm sure I can speak for us when I say we can't wait to see pics!

Congrats and welcome! I think you'll find this board extremely helpful in your planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by waliandayanna Quick background info: I was expecting about 65 guests. It looks like I may have about 30-35. I have 2 MOHs 4 BMs and 2 Junior BMS (my little sisters), so already there are alot of girls in the party. Here are the problems: 1. My 2 Moh's/best friends since 7th grade are acting like a$$holes! They haven't paid ANYTHING towards the wedding deposit, which is DUE March 1 and I gave them 2 years to plan. Funny thing is they were the ones that were the most excited when I got engaged and encouraged us to have a destination wedding. Now, they keep saying the economy has them strapped, but its complete bull because they are actually making MORE money than they were before the economic downturn and nothing has affected them personally (i.e. foreclosure, job loss, etc.) They don't want to go to try on BM dresses. They always complain about the fact that they don't have a man, which is annoying, like I should guilty because I do have one and I don't rub it in, believe me. Just recently, one of my MOHs told me that she would be fine just sitting in the audience! Well, gee thanks! 2. 2 of my other BMs have also expressed that they don't care one way or the other if they are in the wedding. The other one, I don't barely even talk to. Here are my questions 1. Should I just drop the whole bridal party idea? I don't want to have people by my side that don't care to be there. I haven't done anything wrong, except find a man that loves me and it seems like they can't be happy for me. Instead, they just bitch and complain about their situation and how they can't find a man and they are never getting married and blah, blah, blah. I have been a good friend and I am not pushy at all when it comes to the wedding. I tried to make sure that the dresses I chose were dresses that were affordable and can be worn again. I told them not to worry about a big lavish bach. party, because I did not want them to spend more money than they already will to come to Jamaica for the wedding. I don't even talk about my relationship with my FI because I know that they are so fixated on the fact that they don't have a man than I don't want to make them feel worse by telling them how happy I am. It's all stupid and trivial, I know, but its the way it is. I thought these were my girls, but it seems like they just aren't the least bit enthused about being in the wedding or even attending the wedding. 2. Is anyone not having any bms? What do you do instead? 3. If you have no BMs, who throws your bach party. Do they still do it? Do you do it yourself? So confused and sad Big Hugs to you. I feel your pain. I'm having similar issues with my MOH and best friend. I was here MOH in her wedding this past September, and I asked her to be mine. She was all excited when FH and I told her we were having a destination wedding and was pumped to go. FH and I did become engaged while she was in the thick of planning her one wedding, and while I did sometimes bring up mine, I pretty much tried to keep my mouth shut, because she was trying to enjoy her planning process and I wanted her to have her moment. Now it's my turn, she's completely uninterested. She never asks how the planning process is going and when I bring it up she doesn't care. I've had one day where I had the opportunit to plann wedding things with her, yet I HAD to devote an entire year of my life to listen to her planning process. My dress came in last week ( ) and I told her today that I was going for my first fitting, I barely got a reaction out her. Sorry, I've rambled and I don't have much advice, other than to keep doing your thing. If those that you've asked to stand beside you on what will be one of the happiest days of your life, don't care, then don't worry about them. I've decided that I'm not going to push my to be interested. If she doesn't want to make the effort, then I can't make her. If she doesn't want to be my MOH then she won't. I won't have anyone stand.

Quote: Originally Posted by Abbie i ADORE trip advisor! my hubby and i always say, there are 2 kinds of people who travel to mexico (for example): ~travelers- a traveler books the best hotel for their money and expects little but is rewarded by being surprised with way more than they thought they were getting. a traveler is the kind of person who tips well for services, doesnt complain much, and is just happy to be on a tropical vacation in a beautiful and warm location with a drink in their hand while sitting in the pool, instead of at home/work, and will find a way to make any situation work for them. ~vacationers- people who should have stayed in america/canada because nothing is good enough for them. unadventurous people. people who are used to being spoiled and waited on hand and foot but dont tip well even for fantastic service. people who expect 5 star/diamond/apple service and accomodations in a 3rd world country thats sometimes-motto is "Manana, I'm on Mexican time!" rude, pushy, and unaware that the native people of the country are human beings too. anyways, we always read the review with these descriptions in mind, you can immediately pick the "traveler" reviews from the "vacationer" reviews. hubby and i definately see ourselves as travelers, and we have never been so disappointed or disgusted with a place that we have stayed at that we came home and wrote an embarassing review like some i have seen on TA! my absolute favorite part about the trip advisor reviews is you can look at REAL pictures taken by and uploaded by the actual person, rather than just the resort/hotel photos that the PR person for the hotel chain wanted you to see. you can see exactly what you are getting yourself into: bugs, mold, dirt, linens, bathrooms, pools, bars, buffets, everything! if you dont like what you see, dont stay there! i always look at the traveler photos first when i start researching any hotel, pictures dont lie! but just take what you read with a grain of salt, if you feel good about the place and you dont go there expecting perfection, you will end up having the best vacation every time Fantastic Post! I wholehaeartedly agree! I read Trip Advospr, and I actually think it's a very good website, but I always take the negative reviews with a grain of salt. Some people will never be happy unless they are complaining. It's important for people to always keep in mind that they are going to a different country/place. It's not going to be the same as home. If they want everything to be the same as home, then they should stay there.

Wow! Great job on everything! You have definitly been my inspiration for my planning process!

Welcome back and congratulations! Your pictures are gorgeous!

FH and I have decided our first dance song will be "Have I Told You Lately" by Van Morrison.

I'm bumping this thread, rather than starting a new one... Has anyone ordered the design your own travel mugs from OTC? How are they? Are the decent? Would it just be better to spend a few more dollars and order something a little more sturdy? I'm thinking of ordering those and creating and my own label insert with our monogram and slogan. However, the mugs look kind of cheap and flimsy. I don't want to order something that's crap.

We became engaged just under three years of dating. We became engaged May 30, 2008 and our anniversary was June 10. We will be together just over 4 years when were are married.

Thanks for the pics ladies. I think I've decided to go in a completely different direction now. I will be using yellow roses for the bridesmaid bouquets, I think I will be doing a combination of yellow roses and a few other types of flowers for my bouquet.

Quote: Originally Posted by JoLo908 We are having about 50 people at our wedding in Riviera Maya, maybe even a few more... We were not expecting this many people to come, but we are reallly excited that we got such a huge turnout!!! Anyway, originally, we were going to make OOT bags, but I fear that with 50-60 people, we do not have enough money to do that. And plus, how the heck would i give everything to everyone Does anyone have any ideas of a nice, cool, or unique affordable favor to give to our guests... I think it might be tacky to not give anything... Any ideas?? We're looking at about 40 people attending our wedding in October. We initally wanted to do OOT bags, but after many discussions, we have opted against them. Were were looking at $20-$30 dollars per bag when all was said and done, and realized that many of the items we were looking to put in the bags were not going to be used by our guests anyway. Also, we had no idea how were were going to transport some of the bags down to Cuba, as we have a number of guests that are travelling from outside of the province and outside of the country, so giving them all out beforehand was not really an option. FH and I have decided, in lieu of OOT bags, we are doing travel mugs (because I think they are a fabulous idea, and our guests will definitly get a lot of use out of them) and we will be making a donation to 2 charities.

Quote: Originally Posted by BeautifulBridetoBe This can get even more interesting of a scenario... What if they are paying for themselves? Can guests bring whomever they want to your wedding if they are footing the bill? Does the bride/ groom have any say if people want to bring others who are paying for themselves and their vacations? Another gf told me that I cannot dictate who people bring on vacation...I do not own the resort and if people are paying for themselves, we cannot dictate the guest list... I don't think you can dictate who your guests bring the resort, espeically if you're not footing the bill for the flights, etc. It's a public resort/hotel. If someone wants to spend a week there, they can. However, you have every right to dictate who gets to come to the wedding. Just because the resort might be all inclusive, does not mean that everyone and their mothers can crash your wedding. I know when I tell people that FH and I have to pay for the wedding, they are shocked because they think that everything should be included in the PP price for the week's vacation. I'm in a similar situation. I have invited a single friend. She mentioned to a friend of her's, a girl that I can't stand, that she was attending my wedding in Cuba. Her friend said she wanted to come with her for the week. When my friend told me this I was less than pleased. I really don't like her friend, and I don't really want her there. However, I can't really stop her from vacationing at the resort, however, if my friend asks if she can bring this friend of her's to the wedding, I will tell her no.

I am so sorry you had issues with purolator, but I'm not entirely surprised that they refused to help you. I work in a law firm and the firm uses purolator and I have had several problems with purolator not delivering packages and I spend hours on the phone arguing with them trying to explain the urgency of the packages I've sent. They have also hung up on me or refuse to deliver the packages. You should probably considering switching to another courier, maybe FedEx. I've found when I need to send packages to the US, FedEx is much better and more reliable than purolator.

These are my bouquet inspirations pics My Bouquet: Bridesmaid Bouquet: With the bridesmaid bouquet, I just want the roses. I really like this shade of yellow.