DGG

Maybe this is a little off-topic, but are we supposed to register our marriage once we are back in the US? I'm not changing my name so I don't need to do it for that reason, but I would like our wedding to be "official"... I got married in the Bahamas, so our marriage is supposed to legal in the US - what I don't understand how would the US even know we did this though I've tried searching online but the best I could find was to consult the attorney general of your state - I couldn't find how to do that though..

sorry I left that out I guess I am asking $80 for bouquet and bout - the original price was $150.

I would recommend going to a Dermatologist or find a good medi-spa where you can get a consult soon - I started going to one about 3-4 months before my wedding and got a whole skin care regimen - it's called Obagi but they'll look at your skin and tell you what's best - I think it made a world of difference - it was pretty expensive but definitely was worth it. Everyone kept telling me how great my skin looked at the wedding and wanted to know what I did. If you're thinking about Botox, I think you should only get it from a doctor - they study the face muscles for years and Botox is an art - if someone injects the wrong amount or in the wrong place, your face can be uneven or they may over-do it. Personally, I would want the most trained person possible injecting my face - but probably several months before your wedding is not the best time to do it. The effects of Botox only last 3-4 months (maybe a little longer).. I've also used Oil of Olay Regenerist Eye-pods and I used to love those..

We had a 21 month old as our ring bearer - He did carry the pillow but he wouldn't walk down the aisle by himself so we had his dad (who was one of our ushers) walk him down the aisle.. If you have someone that could walk with her that might work well. If she will carry a basket I'm sure that would be adorable ..

Tropical Scene Pencils – 25 for $5 Tylenol packets (exp 10/11) – 50 packets for $10 Toothpaste packets – 9 packets for $3 Sunscreen packets – 8 for $2 The following items are free if you buy anything else – Floral pouches (fit credit card, zip shut) – 3 Pink bags (4 ½ x 2 ½ x 8 ½ inches) – 7 White favor boxes ( 3 x 3 x 2inches) – 4 – lie flat, fold into bags Lavender sheer tulle (to make bags) – bag of 10 Waterproof Cameras - Expired 2008 (I didn't know this when I bought them online - we did use some of them and the pictures came out fine) Double-sided tape unused roll White streamers (2 pack) Wow I had a lot of stuff ... PM me if you are interested in anything (postage is extra)

White Starfish (finger starfish, don’t break easily) – 4 to 6†starfish – 20 for $10 3 to 4†starfish – 120 available – $5 for 10, or $50 for all 120 3/4inch light brown starfish – 12 for $3 Bag of Shells - $3 Cricket paper cutter (12 inch) - $10 Circle cutter (adjusts to cut 1 to 8 inch circles) - $10 80 printable tags (templates online), not opened - $5 50 printable business cards, perforated business cards with silver swirl pattern on side (templates online) - $5 Circle hole puncher – 2 inch diameter - $5 Circle hole puncher – 3/4inch diameter - $3

White purse – not used – has matching silver metal strap - $15 Bouquet and matching boutonniere – Real touch flowers, realistic looking pink roses with white star-shaped flowers, matching bout is pink rose- Lilac organza chair tie-backs – 54 for $40 – folded up in picture Assorted lilac ribbon – for $5 (Satin ribbon from Michael's - 2 unopened rolls - 5/8" - 10 yards each, 1 unused sheer lilac ribbon - 5/8" - 6 yards, 1 opened (barely used) 1/4" shiny lilac ribbon - about 8-9 yards left and 1 opened (barely used) 1/8" shiny lilac ribbon) Lavender-colored Just Married Flip Flops - leave imprint of Just Married in Sand - size Medium (about size - bag unopened, forgot to pack - $10 White flip flops (with 3 ½ inch platform heels), never worn - $20 Calendars with beach scene, 2009 and 2010 – 58 available - $5 per dozen, or $20 for all

Finally going through my wedding things and I have a lot of extras/stuff I don't need anymore -- Hair flower (never used) $5 Garter (unopened) $5 Bride Iron-On $3 Bubble Wand - 18 wands for $5 Hot laminating pouches (business card sized) - I was going to use these to make luggage tags but ran out of time - 2 packs of 25 - $5 each Clear lanyard - 10 yards - to make the straps to attach luggage tags - $5 Fans - raffia fans listed as 10 inches (range about from 10 to 12 1/2 inches) - 10 fans for $5 (the picture is of one that I decorated for my wedding - with ribbon and starfish below - the ones for sale are without any decoration). Small silver starfish charms - 15 charms for $3 Shell candles - the shells are actually candles, but pretty realistic looking - I was going to put these in a raffia bag as our favors but forgot to pack - 10 packages of 8 candles - $5 per package White parasols with wooden handle - 2 for $5 Red leather photo albums - measure 2.5" by 3", holds 24 pictures each- each for $5 or all for $20

I felt the same way at first and didn't want to make a registry - then my MOH told me she would do it for us if we didn't .. Seriously though, what she said and I guess is true - people are going to get you gifts regardless (esp for a shower or people who can't make it) and wouldn't you rather get things you like than random stuff that you might not even like or want (and usually can't even exchange easily).. I know some people have done honeymoon registries - I still don't know how I feel about that but it's a thought.. You can register for non-traditional things to - we had some random things on Amazon..

We also had Nathanial for our wedding - and I second (or third) that - he is an amazing photographer and was really great to work with .. I think having a good photographer is one of the most important things for your wedding - you'll have your pictures forever - so this is definitely the place to splurge in my opinion ..

I don't have great advice for you - but if you did chose something in Nassau, Bahamas there are cheaper options for hotels in the area - so don't let the cost for your guests' hotel stop you from there.. It's not my favorite place, but Dominican Republic is a little cheaper than some of the other islands..

All of the showers that I have been to have been without children - and children would have been pretty out of place. How old are your neices? If they are older, you can use that excuse. A 2 month old and 2 year old can be quite a handful.. and if your shower is not an appropriate place for children that age, you should talk to your friend.. I think you should tell her you wanted to keep it to more of an adults activity and ask if it is possible for her husband to watch the children that day. Also, if she did bring her children wouldn't your other friends/family who left there's at home get annoyed that their kids weren't invited??

UPDATE ON DRESS - still for sale I had it tailored down to fit me - I wear about a size 4 street clothes and am 5'3" (but was tailored with heels). It is white with an organza material, some crinolin in the skirt (not much) - it is pretty lightweight feeling. The dress originally had a very short train, but I had it taken off. I wore it for about 30 minutes in a church, it was my 2nd dress - so I wore the other dress for the rest. It was never worn outside and is in perfect condition. I am now selling it for $300 plus shipping.. I can also send more pictures if you want.

I don't want to scare anyone - but I wanted to go to Fiji for our honeymoon and my DH researched it and found the government is unstable. I don't know how bad it really is, but after reading the travel warnings on the US Dept of State website, I agreed now is not the time to go. This is from the site - you can read more and decide for yourselves - Fiji This is from the safety and security section - Under Public Emergency Regulations currently in place, some basic rights have been limited, including freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. The independence of Fiji’s law enforcement and judicial systems is compromised, putting into question protections ordinarily afforded by the rule of law. The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens to carefully consider the risks of travel to the Republic of Fiji at this time. While Fiji’s country situation appears calm on the surface, political, economic, and security uncertainties continue. It is possible that the security situation, especially in Suva, could deteriorate rapidly. American citizens in Fiji should remain vigilant, particularly in public places and near military activities in the greater Suva area, and should avoid demonstrations and large crowds. Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful could turn confrontational and escalate into violence unexpectedly.

A lot of hotels will say they are not responsible for valuables left in the room (even in safes I think), but they will store valuables in a secure box for you and then they will guarantee it. I know people who have done this and were able to store expensive jewelry and cash in a secure box behind the desk - I think I would trust that more in the US than out of the country though... Personally, I've always left cash and jewelry in the safe and have never had trouble. When we were backpacking in college, we sewed a pocket into our bags and hid money in there - so if you are really worried you can try that - a lot of suitcases have lining that zipper out so you can sew something under there.

My MOH gave me an anklette with blue stones - it was perfect.. you didn't really see it but I knew it was there ..

We had an almost 2yo ring-bearer. Our wedding planner suggested having one parent at one end and the other one right near the front and having him walk to the parent in front - or if they aren't in the wedding party, maybe have the 2nd parent sit in the front so they can walk toward them at least. In the end, he wouldn't really walk so his father (one of our ushers) just carried him down the aisle - at least he carried the ring pillow and we got some cute pictures of that . You have to be a little flexible with kids that age .

I am so sorry to hear of your horrible experience. Thankfully I had a great photographer, but a lot of other things went wrong at my wedding (rain , wedding planner messed up decorations, switched locations) and I know how upsetting it can be to have your dream for your wedding to get messed up.. I really hope they are able to fix some of your photos (what great people to offer that for you ). If you want to work on your other pictures, see if you can find someone with photoshop or lightroom you can borrow - I've also used picasa (which is free to download - and also a great site to share pictures b/c anyone you share pictures with can download high-res pictures) - I've used the "feeling lucky" button and it really does a lot to fix the brightness/contrast - that alone might help a lot. For printing albums, I've done photobooks on shutterfly and they came out great. I've read reviews about viovio.com being better and it is cheaper, but I've never used them myself..

That dress is beautiful and definitely not t0o poofy . If you love the dress, don't worry at all about it being too poofy for a DW - it is your wedding and you should wear whatever you want no matter where it is . When I got my dress, everyone convinced me not to get anything poofy or with a train - then I found this other poofy dress I fell in love with and I ended up buying that one at the last minute and am so happy I went with what I wanted - and everyone said it looked beautiful even though they originally told me it was a bad idea to have a train or a poofy dress on the beach.. You do have time to get another dress if you are unsure though - I would try going to try on some other dresses and see - either it'll confirm that this is the dress for you or if you find something you like better, at least there is still time to change things..

sorry the pictures are so huge - I don't know how to resize them .

I should have written this a while ago, but I got so busy with all of the things I put aside while planning the wedding ... Anyway, I wanted to post to also recommend Nathaniel Thompson - it seems like he has a lot of great reviews on this site already and after being lucky enough to get him for our wedding, I agree he definitely deserves all of the praise . We loved his pictures on his website and read some good reviews, but we hadn't spoken much to him before our wedding - so we didn't completely know what to expect in meeting him (other than he is a great photographer:)). When we finally met him (and his assistant Norm) a few days before our wedding, we were very pleasantly surprised at how easy-going yet dedicated he is. He came early to scope out the best places to take pictures and was interested to hear what we wanted in our pictures. What I loved about Nate is he is a very talented artistic photographer, but he was still interested in what we wanted for our wedding pictures. He really listened to all of our ideas and seemed really dedicated to capturing what we wanted for our wedding. Unfortunately, we had a very rainy weekend (and quite a few difficulties with some other details of our wedding) - but Nate went with the flow and even told us he had practiced with his rain-gear in case there was a downpour during our ceremony (which was outside under a tent). We had about 60 people and even though he just met all of us, he knew who the important people were and learned everyone's name in time for the wedding. Everyone at our wedding kept telling us how great he was - he made everyone comfortable and was unobtrusive, yet always seemed to be there to capture the moment. Even after we told him to relax and enjoy himself, he was still taking pictures . During our TTD, he came up with some great ideas of where to shoot - and worked hard to get the perfect angle - once he was balancing on a falling-apart refrigerator on a rusty barge - I was a little scared he might fall right into the ocean, but thankfully no one got injuried, just a little dirty . On our last night, we invited them to our bonfire and junkanoo performance just as guests - but they still showed up with cameras and were taking a lot of pictures. When we thanked him, Nate said that is just what he loves to do. Even after our wedding, our family and friends keep telling us how lucky we were with him.. several people either took his card or asked us for his contact info to recommend him to other people.. I am posting some of the pictures he has given me so far - we can't wait to see the rest!!! If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me..

Joelle - DEFINITELY book Nathaniel - he was my photographer also for my wedding in May - I am a complete slacker and haven't written any reviews yet - but he was amazing and we are so glad we were able to get him for our wedding. I only have a couple of pictures so far, but I love them and I can't wait for the rest . If you have any questions, feel free to PM me also...

I agree that it is probably better just to have 2 close friends (who can keep a secret ..) there instead of your parents. My situation is a little different - but learn from my mistake . We had a "secret" separate ceremony in a church - we wanted to only have our parents so it didn't overshadow our main ceremony on the beach that we had already planned.. once we told our parents, my parents got so worked up that my siblings had to be there - then when we said okay, then it was my aunt/uncle - in the end, we had almost 20 people who "had to be included" - not at all our intention.. so be careful who you chose to invite .

I am selling my bouquet and matching boutonniere (sp?). It is made of real touch flowers - pink roses with white starfish shaped flowers - I forget what they are called, but you can see in the picture . The boutonniere is a matching pink rose. I paid $150 for them - I am asking $80 plus postage. PM me if you are interested.

I have 54 lilac colored organza chair-tie backs - they were used once, but are folded and in a box ready to send out. I am asking $40 for all of them - Or best offer... (plus postage) (tie-back folded in 4) To keep with the lilac theme - I also have a bag of 10 round tulle that has strings to make bags (see picture) in lilac color (sheer) for $2. Satin ribbon from Michael's - 2 brand-new rolls of shiny lilac ribbon - 5/8" by 10 yards each for $2 each. 1 opened but not used sheer lilac ribbon - 5/8" by 6 yards for $1. 1 opened (barely used) 1/4" shiny lilac ribbon - about 8-9 yards left and 1 opened (barely used) 1/8" shiny lilac ribbon - about 8-9 yards left - for $1 or free if you buy the other things. Please PM me if you are interested.