ErikDaGenErik

hi ladies! i am so happy to share that my WC in Cancun contacted me today! i got an e-mail from her at noon today. I will be working with MARIBEL. today is exactly 5 months before my wedding date. i feel sooo relived now. i didn't want to wait until 3 months of the wedding. yay!!!! has anyone worked with Maribel before? could you please share your experience with her? response time and attention to planning your wedding? thanks in advance! =)

gosh i love this post! i am using sooo many of your advice. thanks!!!

go for it ladies! i got a cheap gown from David's Bridal ($625 from $1,100!!!) it's seriously sooo fun to shop for a dress just for TTD. that way it's less worry than your real one. PLUS you get to try a different look! =)

this is such a good thread! keep the advice coming photographers! thank you, pbnj, for starting this thread! =)

awww you guys are sooo amazing! thank you so much for the nicest words! mummergirl: your "square" comment made me laugh sooo hard!!! i don't understand WHY the designer picked that makeup and hair for the model!!! like...seriously...WHYYY? lol.

what's another great island in the FP to explore? we are arrvining in Tahiti and staying fo 1 night before we head to Bora Bora. We want to go to another island but don't know where. for the FPers... could you please suggest a secondary island and state why that is your choice? thanks a bunch!

Quote: Originally Posted by KatyKo Her style is great..I'm glad you are pumped about it! I go for mine THIS SATURDAY! YIKES!! I am so excited, yet so nervous. BD pics are not something I ever thought I would do, but FI will definitely love them and never expect them! hey how did your BD pics go? how did u calm your nerves? i cant wait to hear your experience!

thanks!! i'm going to call Katherine from the Miami office to ask how i could incorporate the legal ceremony with our catholic ceremony. i'll keep u all updated!

u ladies are so creative! how the heck you do DIY the wedding invites!!!?? i'd rather spend less and make them but i just have no creative juice in me. not a single ounce!

could you ladies please share where you bought your bags? i really want a personalized oot bag with our logo on it. i just dont know where to find them for cheap!

amazing! great pictures. i love the scenery at Las Caletas!

i am in love with your TTD pics at Dunn's River! My FI and i were in Ocho Rios past February and our highlight was Dunns River. you are sooo lucky to have amazing pics there in your fab wedding gown. is that a Rivini? it looks a lot similar to the Rivini gown i've seen.

wow i cannot wait to see the elizabeth medina pics! thanks for your input regarding the reception dress! =)

great cake pics on here! i am getting so many ideas for our wedding cake. thanks , ladies!

Quote: Originally Posted by trophywife Our wedding is going to be no more than 50 people tops in Hawaii. Anyone have any idea how much a wedding for that size should cost?? my cousin had a wedding in Oahu at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider in Waikiki for $100 people. the whole thing cost her $40,000. your wedding for 50 should be less than that.

ahhh this is the unavoidable! my FI and I have been doing a good job putting our expenses in excel. here's what we've got so far: - roundtrip airfare from San Francisco to Cancun for 11 people (me, FI, my parents, and his parents, sister, hubby and 3 kids): $3,960 - roundtrip airfare from TX to Cancun for my sister, hubby, and my niece: $1,432 - me and FI's 1 week stay at Moon Palace Cancun and also deposit for our group rate: $2,600 - personalized monograms: $30 - photography (7 hours) and TTD in Cenote and beach in Riviera Maya: $7,500 - engagement photography: $500 - bodouir photography: $900 - my Rivini couture wedding gown: $6,000 - my Vera Wang veils - $550 - my TTD dress: $700 - my dress rehearsal dress custom designed by Monique Lhuillier: $2,300 - flower girl's dress: $120 - STD cards and evelopes: $130 - wedding website: $60 for a year - FI's tux: FREE (promo special with purchase of my gown) TOTAL SPENT SO FAR: $26,782 what i haven't included: alterations, postage for cards, invitations, wedding program fees at the resort, honeymoon (Tahiti and Bora Bora). how are we getting by? both of our parents gave us $20,000 to help pay for the wedding. we've already exhausted the $20,000 so the rest of the cost we'll have to pay for ourselves. i still think this is way cheaper than if we were to do our wedding at home. our choice was the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay for a cliffside wedding. that would have made our wedding total close to $100,000 with all the details we want. we wouldn't have settled less for a wedding location at home. it was either the ritz or a mansion/chateu in napa valley. having a DW will allow me to have all the details without paying the price i would pay here. PLUS we'll get to have a 1-week vacation with our loved ones while at it! memories are priceless =)

glad you went with a choice from the heart rather than having your wedding location dictate what gown u should wear. kudos to you! =)

anything goes with ivory. pink is my personal choice. =)

thanks for posting this!!! what an awesome idea. i am sooo getting one!

i'm going to check out Macy's or Nordstrom's first since they carry variety of styles from variety of jewelers. if i can't find them there, then i will visit specialty stores like Swarovski or Na'Hoku.

Quote: Originally Posted by ErikDaGenErik hi smf47, no, i haven't posted the pics yet. i CAN'T FIND the pics online or on the designer' website. i found the dress from a trunk show. i am hunting for a pic of that dress every single day! =/ Quote: Originally Posted by smf47 I think it's so awesome that you chose a poofy princess gown for your TTD! Can't wait to see pics! Speaking of, have you posted a pic of your real wedding dress on the forum yet? I'm dying to see it! I FOUND THE PICTURES!!! i posted them on a separate thread. here it is: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...641#post610600 i thought about you when i saw the pictures online cause you've been asking about them =) now it's your turn to show your wedding gown!

hi ladies! thanks for all your comments on this thread. i appreciate all the kind words you shared with me about my wedding gown before u guys even saw the pics! well, i am soo excited to announce that the pics have finally surface online! i posted them on a new thread. here they are: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...641#post610600 thanks =)

Hi ladies! I bought my wedding gown about a month ago and I was going crazy because I couldn't find ANY pictures of my gown! I went to the designer's website and nothing! The bridal salon and the style director I met at the trunk show told me I wouldn't find any pictures of it for a little while cause it came from the runway. So this morning I found out that Brides.com had the full Fall 2008 runway pictures from Rivini---- who designed my gown. i copied and pasted them sooo quickly so i could run here and show them to you! to read the full story of how i found and fell in love with my dress, click here: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t31689 i am, however, kinda disgusted with the face and make up of the model. it's not the regular "bridal" makeup but the model still looks cute despite the dark lipstick. i wish they had a softer makeup. there must be a reason why the designer chose this makeup style for her Fal 2008 collection. Now, pictures!!! here are pictures of my high-fashion Rivini couture gown.... This picture is from Brides Magazine. It was part of a featured article titled "The Finer Things: Indulge your passion for high fashion and couture-inspired details" My dress was under "Trumpets' Flair" my dress is on the right: i didn't want to post this picture until i saw the professional ones. now that i have the run way pics, here's me with my wedding gown on: that's a stolen pic because we weren't allowed to take pics. my mom decided to break the rule and take a quick pic with my camera phone. hehehe go mommy! i am a huuuuge fan of the sweetheart neckline so i asked the style director to change the neckline. just one simple request and i will get my sweetheart neckline gown! I am sooo happy!!! I always have dreamed of wearing a designer gown for my wedding day. i can't believe it's actually happening!!! i am so excited for my gown to finally be here and to wear it again. the dress looks wwaaay better in person. the lace that covers the bodice is amazing. it cascades down to your waist instead of ending in just straight line. the tulle accent on the bottom has alencon lace, chantilly lace, and point d'esprit lace. the dress is very detail oriented! when i was dreaming of my gown i knew i wanted lace. another important thing for me is to be multi-layered, to have contrasting fabrics and details. i love how the silk covered buttons line the spine on the back and goes all the way down to the skirt of the dress. i think my gown is very unique and i am in love with it! as for veils, i will be wearing a cathedral veil, designed by Vera Wang, that goes all the way down to the floor. since my gown has no train, i decided to get a long veil to create a tail. my veil is also a 2-tiered veil with the 2nd veil hitting my elbows. the style director for Rivini was at the trunk show so he showed me how to make my dress even more bridal by wearing a combination of 2 veils. my 2nd veil will be a flowered point d'espirit short veil that only covers the face. HOWEVER, he did something to it where the lace part covers the bun of my hair. then the long veil will go on as usual displaying the small flowered veil inside. for the reception i'm considering getting a blush pink veil with ivory alencon lace on the trimmings. my wedding is pink and ivory so i think it will be fun to have! for jewelry, i am buying chandelier crystal and pearl earings. pearl necklace and a pearl bracelet with a crystal charm. i am also wearing a high tiara. yea, i'm going all out. this is my wedding and there's 101 different looks to go for so why not have fun and experiment? try them all! =) a bride should never be afraid to enjoy and have fun with their styles! i am sooo happy!!!!!!!! i think this has been the FUNNEST part of planning the wedding. =) i love the fashion aspect of a wedding!!!

thank you jean-marcus!!! this is great advice! the fish net description gave such good visualization! lol. thanks ladies who also commented on the poufy dress for TTD. i'm obsessed with looking at TTD pics of other ladies to see what dress they ended up wearing.

omg thank you sooo much for posting this thread!!! i will bookmark it for more advice to come. i am sooo with you on the taffeta dress! i was going to get one for my TTD, but i figured my dress will look like a floating parachute on water. i did buy a gown with a very full tulle skirt to make it look very dramatic while running on the beach. would you consider tulle and easy fabric to work with when wet? please be honest even if negative---i won't get hurt! =) here's a pic of my TTD dress: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t32275 i got really cheap so i dont care if it does get all trashy. now i am considering a 2nd dress for my TTD in cenote? do u think tulle will work in calm water? or should i get another cheap dress that would look better? please advise! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!