blushingbride

Wow, great dress! Love how it's fitted up top, and all the "feather-looking" frillies on the bottom....as long as you love it, it doesn't matter how old you are. Good luck with your search!!

I would check out bluefly or even your local thrift shops. I know here in NY I bought a pair of used Jimmy Choos for $100 in a thrift store uptown, and they were barely scuffed. They look like new! Best hundred I EVER spent!!!

I love the lace on your dress; looks great on you.

Wow, your girls' wedding plans sound great! Dolce, I love the veggie centerpieces - very different! haskin, welcome to the thread!! Photosouvenir is housed @ Excellence and if you run a search on the forum you will find lots of great reviews and wedding pics from past brides. I will be booking them for my wedding. You will find lots of info on the forum that will help you make the right choice for your perfect day. Best of luck planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by iwantadreamswedding haha, yeah wouldn't want that to happen! I'm actually thinking of buying an airbrushing machine to take to do my makeup, I really want to look as flawless as possible. Those are expensive, right?

Quote: Originally Posted by iwantadreamswedding I may just set up an appointment at the MAC store one day, I think you have to pay $40 but you get products. Basically, I think it's just like the Studio Talk, except you can just schedule one anytime. I plan on taking a picture of a makeup look that I like and having them recreate it for me. That's actually not a bad idea. I think that may be cheaper than the Studio Talk. Hopefully you will get someone who is good at what he/she does so you can re-create the look on your day. I may end up trying that myself if there are no bridal sessions.

ebred, love your dress!!! I will post pics once I find "the one." Glad you found a photog that you feel good about. I think pictures are just as important! peaches, congrats and welcome!

I say go for it, it's your special day! I may go a ballet slippers color, since I normally wear brighter colors...time to tone it down a bit for my wedding day.

There are a few Maggie Sottero dresses I want to try. I love the look of Harlow.

Wow! You look great!!!

If you do both routes, you may end up confusing yourself as well as your guests. It's nice to give them the option, but I think to make easier on everyone you should either have them RSVP via the site or through the response card. If you decide to go through the website RSVP, keep in mind the "technologically challenged" guests. Have you checked out vistaprint? They have cool styles for STD cards.

These templates are great! Good to keep handy!

This thread is great!! I will use some of these ideas! THANKS!

There is so much information and it seems everyone's asked the questions that are on my mind, so it's great to have a ready source to go to! Are you going with the resort's photographer? Congrats on finding your dress! I have been looking around and I also like NM bridal dresses because most of them are beach-friendly. I even went on ruelala based off of a tip from another forum member; they had bridal dresses starting @ $150! But I got there too late - no dresses left in my size. Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be. But, the search continues...

FI and I are staying at the same hotel of our wedding, but it will just be us two, no guests so we are able to do that. If we were going to have guests, we would move to another resort. As much we love our fam and friends, we don't want to spend our honeymoon with them. Some couple opt to make it a long vacation visiting with their guests. In the end, it's up to what you and your FI want. Best of luck!

Great thread!

The only place I have tried AI is in DR and it makes sense there because it comes out so cheap for all you get! I love not having to fork money to get a drink, and then for breakfast, lunch, dinner. In the end, it ends up costing more. The many times I've stayed in DR at an AI, the onyl things we've had to pay for is tips, cab rides, and souvenirs if any. I think AI have lots of reasons for the appeal. For those of you having guests, I think it's more attractive when guests know they can pay for their vacation before they go! AI's are not for everyone; but we love it.

Quote: Originally Posted by iwantadreamswedding thanks blushingbride, I just looked on their website, they have a few coming up soon in my area. It didn't say that it was for bridal makeup specifically but I may still go check one out. Thanks again! Hi iwantadreamswedding, You're very welcome! On their website, they just show the events for the Studio Talk. I chatted with a live rep, and she told me I would have to call up the stores and find out if they are bridal-specific so I have to set aside some time this week to find out. The first one in my area is in 2 weeks. Apparently, they book up quickly. If you go, let me know how you like it.

I am torn about that too. I was thinking of doing what some other brides did and get a similar, cheaper dress to wear that day or just get a new dress altogether. Who knows! When the day comes, I may just end up wearing my wedding dress...ha!

Karen, When we were there, La Brasa was closed for renovations. The restaurant is very centrally located as it has a nice view of the beach. I'm sure your reception will be fabulous there. I have tried the Miami Vice as I am very much into fruity drinks (although they do sneak up on you). I also tried Blue Coral at another resort I stayed at in Punta Cana 2 years ago...that was also very good. I've heard lots of good things about Melia Caribe. They were one of our top choices for our wedding, but they didn't have everything we were looking for in a package and in the end the adults-only factor at Excellence won us over. We are still a year away for our wedding, but I'm trying to gather as much info as I can in the meantime. I would hate to be running around like a madwoman when we only have a few months left for our wedding. Although, I'm sure that'll happen anyway.

Wow, I didn't realize there were so many WC's there either! I am also going with photosouvenir, I've heard nothing but good things on the forum about them. I emailed Severine last month, and she told me they won't have their 2010 prices out yet until this month. Since you're getting married in July, I would try and back them asap since they book very quickly, if they are not already. Good luck with that. I've also heard good things about HDC Photo (??) and I believe they are located in Bavaro Becah - Punta Cana.

Thank you ebred! And you're right, its never too early to start planning! I'd rather be less stressed about the little things as the wedding gets closer. I'm trying to do as much as humanly possible now, but there are alot of things that are still out of my hands...like the photographer doesn't have their prices for 2010 yet, and we were just able to book our honeymoon stay recently. Unless we go through a travel agent, flights for next May aren't published yet either...so I sit in anticipation! In the meantime, I'm practically living on this forum and absorbing as much information as I can. Do any of you ladies have your dress yet??

Quote: Originally Posted by iwantadreamswedding Are the Studio Talk sessions an online thing or a store thing? Studio Talks are held by a MAC professional who goes into your local department store counter and they taach you how to apply all the season's hot make-up trends as well as basic make-up techniques. I have a few friends who have gone and they have learned good tips. I also read online that they have some that are geared towards bridal makeup, so I want to check one of those out. If your interested, you can check out the dates for your local event on MAC's website. I believe there is a cost associated with one of these, but you can apply the cost to make-up afterwards, so it's almost like you're walking out with free make-up or a free class, which ever way you look at it.

I've heard nothing but good things about Melia Caribe. Unfortunately, their package didn't have everything we wanted so we opted for excellence, but Melia was one of our top choices. Best of luck!

I did read somewhere on the forum that Ana works directly with brides to be within a few months of their wedding. Don't know how much truth this holds... I do know that a few weeks ago, I didn't get an answer from my WC Yulina and I forwarded the email to Ana and she in turn just emailed it right back to Yulina to answer, so I'm thinking it was probably because my wedding is still a year away?