Sheree10

Quote: Originally Posted by Jo&Daz 20-10-2010 I am so glad that other girls are having this struggle! The whole reason we decided to have adesination wedding was that we had an engagement party with 150 people and it was crazy! I didn't see my FI except when we cut the cake coz we had to split up to cover all the guests! All my family and friends travelled at least i.5 hours to be there and I felt like I saw each one of them for about 2 minutes each! I spent the whole day feeling guilty that I only spent a couple minutes with so-and-so, when my closest friends had flown in from all over Australia to be there and all I wanted to do was spend some time with them! We wanted a wedding that was small, with only our nearest and dearest, so instead of offending a whole lot of family, we decided to have a DW - and now eve thats getting out of control!! I don't know how its even possible but there are more poeople on the guest list to the wedding then there were to the engagement party! and then there's FMIL's firneds from work etc etc. I know this is a holiday as well as a wedding and people want to bring their friends too - but this is crazy. I like the good cop bad cop idea! might have to start pulling that out Oh wow! 150 people at the engagement party!!! I can see how your guestlist is getting out of control. You and your FI just need to decide what you want and if you can afford to invite all of those people. Just inviting them is expensive because you have to get invites ( didn;t realize how expensive they were!), assemble them and send them out( postage costs too!). So it all adds up. You want to be able to spend time with FI on your wedding day and not have to keep greeting guests. The good thing about a DW is that you can spend a few days with your guests.

Quote: Originally Posted by YoursTruly Like the girls have said, bank on a third of those guests coming. We made it very clear from the beginning that budgte dictated our actions. If our parents wanted us to invite them, it was contingent on them covering the difference. Simple. Hey I notice that you're from Central Jersey. I may be making the move there after the wedding. Not sure if I'm ready to be a Jersey girl! At this point I hope we don't get too much more than we budgeted. I want to really enjoy everyone's company. I agree that the budget will dictate our actions also. The more people we have, the less things we'll be able to include- which will suck since that's the reason we're having a DW.

It's your special day... you should be surrounded by genuine people who love and care for you and your FI. Having her there will only make you upset and it should be the happiest moment of your life.

There are some salons in the US that won't allow pictures either. I think they're afraid that the dresses will be made cheaply and tagged with the designer's name. I think I need to continue my dress shopping next week... maybe I'll be lucky.

very cute.. you got a 2 for 1 deal!!

I don't think it will be too bad. Especially since it's the MOH that has a different dress color- she will stand out from the other ladies but she will also play a bigger role. I second the idea of using a pool sash to tie the colors all together.

beautiful!! Rebecca did a great job.

I took a trip into Michael's today just to look around. I don't want to start shopping too early and buy too much but it doesn't hurt to look around. I saw a lot of clearance items in the Martha Stewart wedding section.

I agree with a congratulations card and write a personal message. Cash is king!

Invite all you wish to be there on your special day- of course if it fits in your budget.

For those who are having a lot of guests maybe you can get a few for BM's MOB,MOG?!

As Oprah would say those bags are "cute-olla" .Great bag. Your guests will love it!!

very nice dress... I hope you can get it for your wedding.

Quote: Originally Posted by Meg&Shay I would say no - unless you're having a church ceremony. I think it's a little too much (too formal) for a beach wedding. I agree... no bolero. It will be very warm and you want everyone to see you beautiful dress. Maybe if it was a local wedding or in a Church.

Welcome and Congrats on your recent wedding!!

Welcome and Congrats!! I do agree that finding the place is one of the hardest decisions to make. Once you're booked then you start the real planning. Good Luck!

Welcome and Congrats! Some places that are not too expensive for a DW are Jamaica, DR, and Mexico. You can find a resort that has packages that fit your budget. An all inclusive resort may be good for you since you plan to have a small group. This way you can have your reception and rehearsal dinner at one of the resort restaurants and save some $$. Start out by making a list of things that you MUST have and what you would like your wedding to look like. Speak to a Travel agent to get information about possible locations that will fit into your travel budget ( for you and guests). Check out the forums on here- you will find so much info and friendly people -it will help you with the planning. Good Luck!!

Hello fellow July 2010 Brides!! Name: Sheree Wedding Destination: Aruba What made you choose this destination? It's a beautiful island with great weather year-round. Wedding Date: July 23, 2010!! What made you choose this date? We decided on the summer since we both work are in education and have July and August off. We chose the date because it would give us time for last minute planning in July and time to relax and unwind before going back to work. Have you decided on your wedding colors? If so, what are they? Not sure... I really like turquoise. What is something unique about your wedding? FI and I are planning a DW in Aruba and we have never been to the island. It will definately be an adventure!! Tell us anything else about yourself and/or your wedding: I'm really excited to be planning a wedding in Aruba and look forward to sharing this special occasion with the ones I love.

Lovely dress! As others have said use lots of powder. Also stay hydrated... it's your special day and you spend so much $$$ on the dress- wear it all night. That's what I plan to do. I may even wear the dress to our AHR. lol

You did hit the jackpot!! Great find.

Geez... $400 less is a lot to save for each guest. Plus, the fact that some guests can travel for free... I hope that agent can help out. I do agree that travel rates change so often sometimes from one minute to the next- Im sure it wasn't done on intentionally - it's just a chance we take.

That is a goregous dress... I agree that when you add other things like the veil, makeup, hair and jewelry it will all come together. I actually found a dress and I think it's the one but I'm not ready to get it. Im afraid that I'll find another one and not like it next year.

Follow Up: Thank you all for sharing your stories. FI and I had a meeting with FMIL this weekend. We knew that we didn't want to add any more people but I also wanted a compromise. FI stood his ground. We played Good cop/Bad cop. We went over the list to make sure those she wanted to invite were there. I allowed her to add five more people. FMIL is planning to have an AHR for her family and friends so she can invite whoever she wishes to it. Now that we're done dealing with this, it will be something else soon. lol.

Quote: Originally Posted by Weddingin2010 We had a very similar situation with our mothers. We did DIY message in a bottle invites and they got pretty pricey once we added in postage, so our compromise was to make extras for the moms to send but they were responsible for the cost of mailing them. We also pushed heavily for them to wait and send announcements and AHR invites to those on their list we really weren't intending to invite on our cruise. Worked out well and everyone was happy in the end. Great idea to have them involved with sending out the invites. It all takes a lot of work. FMIL would like to have a AHR so she can invite those who didn't make the list or can't come to the wedding .

Instead of having the guests bring the cards to the front desk- maybe you can have them leave it in a box at the reception area. Then you can mail them to yourself. It sounds a little silly but they may be more inclined to fill it out there and leave it then. They may not remember to do it at a later time. In addition to writing about their time in JA, they can include well wishes to the married couple.