da.shmoopies

I did the Boarding Pass invites myself. Number one tip is not to be too judgemental of your own work! The most difficult part was cutting the boarding passes. I found that by practicing a few times, I got the jist of it and I was pretty much cutting on the line, and straight too! If you sign up to get Michael's newsletters, you will receive 40 percent off coupons, which you can use to purchase this: Fiskars® Portable Rotary Trimmer I only had to create 40 invites so I didn't want an expensive cutter. You will have to purchase the score blade and the preforator blade. Plus, you can then print out another 40% off coupon and have the fiance purchase the corner punch. Fiskars® Corner Squeeze Punches Practice first, and you will get the hang of it! I also purchase my cardstock from here: Cards & Pockets Good luck!

I forgot to ask! Does Shelly provide the hair flowers? Or do you provide her with what you would like to wear? Thanks a bunch!

Quote: Originally Posted by Chiquita Haha Deb.. no problem I didn't have a practice run with Shelly. I knew I wanted a messy up-do type of hair style and she pretty much knew how to do it from my description. She also brings quite a few hair magazines with her for you to look through so if you see something you want just point it out.. or bring a pic with you. If you are having a fairly specific elaborate hair style you may want to a practice run, but for me I was pretty casual about my hair. The guys at Aloha Maui Vans were great No complaints whatsoever! Thanks for the advice. I'm not having a very elaborate hairstyle. My hair doesn't hold styles for very long. I just want to keep it simple. I already saw a hairdo on her website that will work! Yeah, I like Aloha Maui's laid back idea. Who wants to take an expensive car to the beach! I wish they had one of these on the Big Island when we went.

Everything looks wonderful, and you look beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

Quote: Originally Posted by Erika J See I want cute sexy underwire tankini's for my trip. I got 2 from Old Navy last year, from the plus size swim and they are super cute but I want something diff now as I have been wearing those for 2 years, the only bad thing is that I hate the plus size bottoms that come with ON swim, that my me look totally fatter than i am, so I throw those out and buy different ones from target or VS. Also I cant really wear shelf bra swim because it makes me look saggy, then the halters hurt my neck, ugghh so tough!!! I can't stand halters either! Try this one: Surplice tankini with corsage at Newport-News.com I took off the flower though, as it kept buggin me. It has a underwire bra built in. It's my all time favorite suit, so I bought two. They only have 14W and 16W right now (on sale), but they tend to sell this one often. The top is actually longer than shown on the model, so no embarassing belly shows.

Hi Chiquita, I'm having my hair done by Shelly at Mariah's Mane also! Do you suggest having a practice run with her prior to the big day? Or was she good just the day of? Oh, and thanks for finding Aloha Maui Vans! Our folks have rented vans with them. Deb P.S. You are probably going to see me asking you lots of questions. There aren't that many Maui brides here.

Thanks for the information, Chiquita. I'm thinking we'll pass on the parasols. My wedding coordinator offered the use of some that other bride had "gifted" to her. Then if anyone really needs one, it's there for them. Bummer about your fans. I think Wailea is typically cooler than West Maui. I purchased paper paddle fans which I will probably use for the program... so if no one uses it for a fan, they can use it for that! I hope your guests at least took them home as souveniers!

I haven't purchased that suit... I keep looking at it though! I already have way to many bathing suits, but it's only a matter of time! LOL I saw a girl wearing one like it at the lake and it looked very cute. John pointed it out to me and said I should get one too (probably because it looks like a very short sun dress). Almost all my bathing suits have come from Newport News and they run pretty true to size, and have good lining, and shelf bras, etc. My only complaint is they started using plastic strap adjusters, so they should be line dried rather than machine dried. Deb

Quote: Originally Posted by tata2 lisaloo, Hi, I so want to embrass my plus size but I just saw pics of me the day I bought my wedding dress. While the dress looks great my arms are horrid! I am a size 22 in pants and 18 top , Yes baby got back! Anyway, reading your thread makes me wish I had your up beat attitude but just thinking of having to wear a bathing suit in front of friends and family in 6 months scares the hell out of me. Got any positive words of wisdom?? Tamasin I'm the same about my arms. I'm not Lisaloo, but I just want to say don't be embarassed! My fiance and I are avid kayaker, we lake camp, and our favorite thing to do besides that is snorkel. I spend alot of time in the bathsuit. I don't care one whit what others may think of me (even when I hang out with my very fit personal trainer Best Friend!). You just have to work on the self confidence aspect, and then it won't matter. If you've got it... flaunt it... and it helps that the fiance loves it. And, also, if you are going to be hanging out in the bathing suit with friends and family... they should love you no matter what! (Plus, they don't have perfect bods either I'm sure.) This is a great bathing suit for hanging out in... without hanging out if you know what I mean. Shape fx Bandeau swimdress at Newport-News.com

By the way, Lisaloo, I love your wedding website and engagement pics. The bathing suits in the snow is hilarious!!

Gotta love this thread! I've been looking at wedding pictures for decor ideas and all I see are skinny brides. I'm a pretty self-confident size 20 but I was starting to think I wasn't allowed to get photographed on the wedding day! LOL I'm short waisted so I have to wear Low Rise jeans (so glad they invented them... I used to have to wear mens). I'm big on Old Navy for the tops and cute dresses, but I LOVE, LOVE Alloy.com for jeans (they also sell the jeans by INSEAM for everyone) and some shirts! They are younger styles and the sizes range from a 0 to a 25. I like the Newport News bathing suits! As for wedding dresses, I think most designers are adding plus sized gowns (I don't like the adding extra money for fabric though... how come the smaller sized dresses don't to get to negate the amount of fabric NOT used??). For evening gowns, I'm for Nordstroms all the way... great customer service everytime.

I vote for invite the female friend also. I've been on the otherside, except the new wife didn't like ME. Now my male friend and I don't talk to each other at all. Definitely be the better person.

You are going to have a wonderful wedding. Everything looks fantastic! Whomever gave you the bra bag is a great friend! I so want one of those for myself!

The Glassine #4 Envelopes I used are 3 1/4 inches x 4 7/8 inches. The #3 Envelopes are 2 1/2 inches x 4 1/4 inches, which are just the size of a Kleenex tissue from their travel packs. They were too tight a squeeze for me. I wanted to just be able to stick the tissue into the envelope without fuss! I'm also thinking about getting some orange floral design tissues from the Tissue Store instead of using plain white. The Tissue Store for pocket tissues hankies sniffs Still thinking on these.

These are wonderful! You did a fantastic job. I'm so going to "borrow" your idea.

Quote: Originally Posted by CherylMc These look amazing! You did an amazing job! - were they hard to transport there? I haven't transported them to the wedding, since it's in October still. I know most gals order the rafia fans because of the packability, but I really liked the white ones! Though when the vendor sent them to me there didn't seem to be a problem with packing them as they lay pretty flat. I ordered a couple to see if I liked them and that is one of the "mock ups." I'm going to send the bulk of the fans straight from the vendor to my accommodating wedding coordinator and assemble them in Hawaii (I'm precutting the ribbon and such). I only have to make about 35 of 'em, so it shouldn't be toooo bad. Thanks for all the nice compliments.

Here is a picture of my Fan and Tears of Joy Packet for our wedding ceremony. They turned out better than I thought, and I owe it to the ideas I saw on BDW! Thanks girls! (This is also the first time I've posted pics, so I hope this works.) For the Fans: I used the white paper paddle fans from Lunar Bazaar: White Paper Paddle Fan<div class=sub>(Only $1.60 each for 24+)</div> - F2WH Golden Orange Real Touch Orchids from Flowers by Design (13 bucks for a stem of 12 blooms): Soft Touch Medium Dendrobium Orchid Spray w/12 Flowers & 3 Buds The ribbon I purchased off of eBay seller Omegacraft. I was able to get 100 yards each of 7/8" and 3/8" satin ribbon for 15 bucks! For the Tears of Joy Packets: I used Glassine #4 Stamp envelopes that I got from eBay seller Haworth57. (50 envelopes for 3 bucks plus shipping). I ordered the labels from myownlabels.com and used the 3/8" satin ribbon. I used slightly larger envelopes than I've seen with other DIY packets, since I read that some brides had to refold the tissues. I used zots to hold everything in my projects together. I'm now in love with zots. I'm quite proud of my work! My fiance couldn't stop fanning himself with the fan! Deb

I like the Pacific Whale Foundation: Snorkel Molokini Maui with Pacific Whale Foundation Ocean Eco Adventure Cruises and Activities I've used them before, and had a wonderfully amazing whale watching experience with them. Plus, you can become a member and get some discounts and free stuff!

I'm considering purchasing parasols for our wedding. Our ceremony is lasting from 4pm to 6pm in South Maui, and it doesn't seem like the grounds have a whole lot of shade. Any BDW Maui brides felt that they should have purchased parasols for the comfort of the guests? Or was it a waste of wedding funds? I'm asking this because I order a parasol from Lunar Bazaar and I was very unhappy with the quality (it looks like it was pasted together by 2 year olds and it smells awful... though their paper fans are lovely). So I'm considering going with a higher quality parasol but that multiplies the price by about three times! I need some personal experiences here to help make the decision and argue the cost with the fiancee.

Quote: Originally Posted by JaimeLynne K, we decided on the collapsible.. BUT, they say first that you ONLY have to rush if >=10 days... but then it says you have to pay $30 if you want it on or before May 19th!? The day we leave!! I wrote them kinda p.o.'ed (not a good day to catch me - lol). Told them no way we will pay an extra $30 for that... if they insist we will NOT order.HMPH! LOL I love the "Rain or Swine"! FYI, if you fire your original Koozie folks, another personalized koozie company I was looking at was Barry's Promos. He's on Etsy and on eBay. He mentions, that for rush orders of less than 10 days, there are no extra fees besides increased shipping. You may want to contact him and see. It depends on how P.O.'ed you are. Etsy: barrypromos on Etsy - Barry Promos eBay: eBay Store - Barry Promos: Drinkware

I think we've narrowed our first song to John Denver's "Annie's Song" sung by Jamie Lawerence our ceremony musician. It fits us in almost every way, and it makes me tear up every time I hear him play it. I will walk down the aisle to Elvis' "Loving You"... it's kinda obscure, but I wanted to get married in Vegas by an Elvis impersonator... but noooo John wanted to go "traditional." Need to put "dance lessons" on the To Do list!

So far planning a destination wedding for Maui has been pretty easy. I have been to all the islands, and chose Maui because it was a good combination of remoteness and comercial areas... plus, my whole family has timeshares there! We chose a destination wedding because it would keep the event intimate (John's family is huge and it would have been a circus). We'll have a At Home Reception later. You just have to consider that some folks won't be able to afford to go. I definitely suggest getting a Wedding Coordinator. It's good to have peace of mind that there is someone over there looking out for you, and can give you suggestions of vendors. I love this board for wedding ideas like OOT bags, templates, flowers, etc, but I have to say that the knot is stronger regarding Hawaii weddings. I think most of the girls on this forum go to Mexico. I started here (its a listing of a bunch Hawaiian wedding planning jounals): The Knot Message Boards Good luck and have fun planning!

Hey MauiBride2B! I'm getting Maui'd two days before you! Don't suck up too much of Lori's time around then. Kidding! ~ I'm so glad I'm seeing her name being thrown around the forum more. I had some bad experiences with other Maui Wedding Coordinators recommended to me when I first started looking. They didn't think my money was worth their time because I couldn't even get them to call me back! As soon as I contacted her, she got the ball rolling. She's been great getting back to me, and making vendor suggestions, and helping make arrangements. She's got a great sense of humor which is exactly what I like and need!

Hi Justine! Welcome to the Forum. I am getting married on Kalaeokai'a Estate this year in October. I'm also using Tropical Maui Weddings. Lori has been great!! I highly recommend her. She says that we will be the last couple married at this Estate, as they are no longer taking reservations. They are still committed to those who made prior arrangements, so we were safe. I'd double check or ask Lori if you work with her. If they have changed this, just note that the estate is up past Lahaina, in Kahana, and is about 45 minutes from Kihe and Wailea. We didn't mind the commute because most of our guests are from the Bay Area and we are use to spending hours in our cars! We chose to stay in Kihei because most folks have time shares there, but there are some good deals on hotels up in West Maui. Also, because Kalaeokai'a Estate is on a private beach, you can have Bring Your Own Booze... so we will be having a champagne toast there. Hope this helps! I do really recommend getting a WC. It helps reduce the stress. Lori Lawrence from Tropical Maui Weddings has been a great help. Deb

Me too! I'd like to hear some recommendations from some Bay Area Brides! I've done my own research, but sometimes hearing someone else's experiences can really help make the final choice!