GracieBebe

Just make sure when your guests book their trip, they book to include certain days so that if the date changes, they are already there and it won't matter as much.

When we originally were going to do a wedding in Hawaii, that's exactly what we were going to do so I think you're fine, but we ended up choosing a different location. Anyway, think about how much you would normally pay per head if you were to have a wedding reception in the U.S. and how many people would normally attend at home. It would range from $70-$120 per head, so paying for 34 people for a luau isn't so bad, but it all depends on your budget. Also, people say they are coming but until they buy tickets, they're not a definite yes, so you might end up with less people than you think. We invited about 30-something people and will probably only have about 20 or so attend. Also, find out if you can get any group rates on luau tickets. If you are buy a bunch at one time, you might be able to get a group rate. Hope that helps. And Congrats!!!

The dress is absolutely stunning!!! Can't wait to see pics!

We are having ours before our wedding so we're calling it a pre-wedding celebration/send-off party. We also wanted an outdoor bbq/picnic style AHR and our wedding is in Sept. By the time we get back and host everything, it will be late Sept and might be a bit chilly to have anything outdoorsy and still be comfortable. So, we opted to have ours in August. But you can do whatever you want and have it whenever you want. If you want to wait until the following spring/summer, go ahead! There really aren't any rules on when/where you can have an AHR! G'luck!

I haven't had a chance to read the other posts, but have you thought about going to a seamstress or another bridal shop and have them do the alterations for you since you don't feel good about DB? I know what you mean about DB though. I went to the one in Manchester, CT and it just seemed like they were trying to get as many people in and out as possible. I did not like it at all!!! Luckily, I already knew what dress I wanted and there are only 2-3 bridal boutiques in CT that carry that designer so I was able to get the exact dress I wanted. And the floor model fit me so well that I got a huge 40% discount off for buying the floor model. Anyway, I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. I would definitely suggest trying a seamstress or taking the dress to another bridal boutique to have it altered.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sapphire723 I totally agree with you. I saw one bride pay $24k for her dress. I was like "Girl, for that amount of money you better be able to drive it or live in it!" OMG, was that on the show Say Yes to the Dress? If so, I saw that same episode. She has the dress custom made and her father was paying for it and she didn't even like it when it came it that she switched it to another dress that was even more expensive and she still didn't like everything on it so she has things changed on it!

We just had our wedding website but we provided info there about accommodations, things to do in the area, some history, etc so we thought that was enough. And we used our blog section to provide any updates and news.

We mailed ours because FH thought it would be cooler to receive them in the mail than to hand them in person. Although, we didn't want them to think they weren't worth the $1.51 it cost to send each one.

I got them garnet pendents with pave diamond accents on a white gold chain.

Yes! Those are it! Thanks for finding those pics!

Hi Girls!!! I just was at the post office to mail out my invitations and the lady who worked there showed me these new $0.42 and $0.58 (or is it $0.59?) stamps that are totally for weddings. One of them is of a beautiful wedding cake and the other one is of 2 gold wedding bands propped next to each other. I was so upset that they aren't out already!!! I can't remember when she said they were coming out but I think she said it would be very soon! Hopefully, for those of you who haven't mailed out your invites or STD's yet, you'll be able to use these!!! Laters! Grace

We are doing a destination wedding because we wanted to do something completely different. I always knew that when I got married, it would be a destination wedding, I just did not know where. I love big parties and all, but I wanted the romance of going away somewhere. We ended up choosing France because FH has never been to Europe, we've done the Caribbean to death on our yearly vacations, and Hawaii (because it is tropical) seemed like it would blend in too much like one of our vacations. Granted, we did think about budget, and even though budget did play a role in picking our destination, it was not the sole reason. FH and I always felt that the wedding day should be something special between us and that usually, people might come to a wedding out of obligation, free food, a reason to party, etc. If we did a DW, the people who really wanted to be there would be there. It would weed out those who did not care as much. We even helped offset the cost by providing accommodations for everyone so that all they have to worry about is airfare, food, and any excursions they may want to do. I understand that there are extenuating circumstances that some people who really do want to be there can't because of cost or work, etc and we totally understand them also. But we really wanted to weed out the ones who we barely know (i.e. extended family, acquaintances, people we can't stand, etc.). Also, everyone who has a local wedding says that they spent so much time having to meet and greet on their wedding day/reception, they barely had a chance to eat/dance/talk/enjoy their day. We did not want that. We want to thoroughly enjoy our day. So by doing a DW, we have already spent some time with everyone who is going to be there that we can just enjoy the party! Ultimately, we picked our actual location because it was just so beautiful and you would never find anything like that in the U.S. and it just seemed so grand and majestic and very fairytale-like. What better way to celebrate a happily ever after!!! Hope that helps!

_anywhere from $1000 to $1500 per couple (airfare only b/c we are providing accommodations for all of our guests) since are guests are flying from CA, FL, OH, and majority from CT/NYC__ $ for 7 nights occupancy (double) - cheapest room option possible at your resort (inc airfare and taxes) ___13______ # of invites sent (1 invite per couple) ___18 so far but awaiting more responses______ # of guests attending ___Chateau de Challain______ Resort Name ___5 stars______ # of stars of resort

I've seen that before and I think it's a brilliant idea! Unfortunately for me, I won't be able to use it because the person who made our invitations already put them in the mailing tubes and sealed them with wax. :-( Oh well!

We rented a picnic area for $200 for the entire day (until sunset) so we plan to start our AHR at 1:00 with us getting there at around 12:00 to set up and we plan to go until the last person leaves and then just clean up and go. So it could go as long as 7-8 hours.

I was a MOH for my friend's wedding but I didn't throw her a shower. I was going to but then I found out her mom had already planned and booked everything for it. It was a co-ed shower that she hosted at a very expensive reception site (where most people have their wedding receptions) for approx. 100+ people. She also made all the centerpieces and everything. It was almost like we went to another wedding reception but with no wedding. We even dressed up in suit and cocktail dress. So, I say, usually it is the MOH responsibility to host but the costs are usually shared.

I have not even considered doing this for our wedding, but now that you mention it, it might be nice to include it as part of my Korean heritage. We did do this for my cousin's wedding almost 4 years ago. My sister, my cousin, our moms, and I spent the day before the wedding folding all the cranes. Even FH (who at the time was my b/f) helped out. It took a lot of time but with everyone pitching in, we were able to get it all done. It was a nice bonding period. :-)

I initially set a date out in May/June 2010 b/c I figured FH would be very gunshy about getting married since it took him forever to even propose (it happened out of the blue that even he wasn't prepared that he needed a couple of days to even get used to the idea, LOL). But once he got used to the idea, he was all gungho and said why are we even bothering to wait that long? So he wanted to move it up to some time in 2009. I knew it would take at least a year or so to plan the type of wedding we really wanted and to give our family and friends plenty of notice to save for the trip. I was also in another dept that worked on quarterly earnings at the time we got engaged so April, July, October and January were out of the question. So we thought we would chose either Aug/Sept 2009. That way, no matter what location we chose (since we hadn't chosen one), it would be warm but not too hot. We were leaning towards Aug b/c he has nephews that might come and we didn't want to impede on their school schedule. However, his brother (the father of the kids) told him that they probably wouldn't make it so to pick whatever day we wanted. So we picked the 1st week of Sept, just after Labor Day so people could also use the holiday as part of the trip and would use less vacation days. Then it dawned on us that 9/9/09 would fall during our wedding week so we figured it would be easy to remember many years later so we ended up with that date. Sorry I rambled on!

I agree with all of the above posters. Also, what he's doing to you is a form of verbal abuse because it tears down your self esteem and is emotional manipulation. Also, either he's committed to you or he's not. Marriage is a lifelong commitment. Just because you get into an argument doesn't mean he can take back the ring. That's a form of emotional blackmail. Is he going to do this every time you get into an argument? How fair is that to you to bring your hopes up and then have them come crashing down every time things get rough? You say you thought you had a great relationship, but you also say "When we decided to get married he said things would be different, but there not." Just because you exchange vows doesn't mean the problems are going to magically disappear. He's not going to be a different person and you're not going to be a different person all of a sudden because you're "married". I agree with JPitts that it looks like there have been problems before that you may not want to face but you probably should. These are things that need to be fixed before you get married because they are not going to go away. And lastly, the man that you are going to marry and be with for the rest of your life should NEVER EVER EVER be embarrassed of you. You can have embarrassing moments but he should never be ashamed of you. Love is unconditional to be given freely without any expectations or demands. For him to put you down that way and make it seem like there is something wrong with you is totally wrong! It's a telling sign when you said, "As silly as it sounds I don't even know who I am without him." I know I may sound harsh, but you need to find yourself and figure out who you are without him. Love is not supposed to lose yourself in the other person. It's about both people coming together to make a greater whole. And that sickening, empty, horrible feeling people get when they are apart from the person who they love is not necessarily love. It can be, but not always. That awful feeling is the need to be loved. You may not agree with everything I have to say, but I read your post and I felt for you. Your FI should not ever make you feel that way and be ashamed/embarrassed of you. Maybe counselling can help you and him to work out the issues. (((((HUGS)))))

FH didn't even want to have an AHR. After much feedback from our friends, I finally convinced him we should have one for those who can't be at the wedding. We are having a very casual bbq at a park. We rented the picnic area and we plan to play softball, volleyball, horseshoes, beanbag toss (one of our friends says it's called Cornhole, but that just sounds really bad), and something called Frisbee golf. We plan to hire someone to cook the food (we'll provide it), and have a bartender too. As for music, we can't have a DJ there so we're going to have our satellite radio boombox playing music. We will have a real wedding cake (5 tiers), but that's as wedding/reception-like as it's going to be. Also, we're having it before the actual wedding so that we can take advantage of the warm weather so we're calling it a Send Off party.

Just wanted to remind everyone that today in Admin Appreciation Day so those of you who have any admin that support them, let them know what a great job they are doing. And for those of you who are admin, We appreciate all the work you do for us!!!

if the temporary crying is getting to him, can he try ear plugs? I had to stay at a hotel once where the walls were so thin you could hear people having normal conversations, showering, everything through the walls and it was LOUD!!! I bought earplugs and they drowned out everything and they were pretty comfortable to sleep with. Maybe as a temporary solution, he could wear earplugs until the cats learn not to cry at night. Hope that helps.

Those look amazing! Totally impressed! You can't tell they are DIY at all!!! Great job!!!!!!!!!

If you are wavering and letting him know that you are possbily considering the option of removing the cats from the house, he is going to instinctively/subconsciously jump on that. That is why he is pursuing that line of thought, because he knows it might be a possibility that you will give in. If you stand a firm ground and let him know that they are your children and it's not an option to move them, if he really cares and loves you, he would eventually adjust to the "inconvenience", because that's all it really is, an inconvenience. It's like asking someone who's not a morning person to wake up everyday at 6:00 am. They may not like it, but eventually, their body/mind will adjust to it. Your cats need time to adjust not sleeping with you and your FH needs time to adjust having you and your babies in the house. 7 wks is not a lot of time to adjust. It took my FH and me 4-5 months before we fell into a normal routine and pattern. The first 1-2 months were a nightmare, fighting all the time and getting used to each other. Best of luck!

Ours is Red with hints of light gold and black.