amybermuda

Hey guys - so my wedding payment is due today. Anything I should consider before handing over my CC # for copious amounts of money??!!

Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz I just hope I have time to do them!!!! It's a lot of DIY involved...I think?!? I need them to go out in 1 month. I think I can do it. Well, let's not get too ahead of ourselves...I have 15 rooms (30 people) booked or BOOKED THROUGH DEPOSIT. SO, that doesn't mean they have officially booked, they have simply put down the $300 deposit...let's hope they don't back out! I sent them a "nice" email 2 weeks saying the rooms had to be booked by April 23rd, or I have to release the rooms. If I release the rooms, instead $400 a night, they will be $640 a night. I think that motivated them a little. So, all of FI's guys have booked...11 groomsmen (2 cant go) and his family. I have 2 bridesmaids that have booked. Hopefully, they will by the end of this week. Lindz thats a great rate. Dont we all know about last minute people.... April 23rd will be busy for your TA so you should encourage people to do it all of next week and not to wait until Friday. All of my guests listened to me when I told them that, except for FMIL - and then she panicked when could not get a hold of TA... Luckily it all worked out but.... $400 a night for your rooms are awesome. My guests are all paying more than that and your hotel is sooooooooooo nice. Thats great for you!!!!!! So, tell me about these invites... Are you going to send them to everyone invited including those who have already said they could not go or the ones who have not decided yet? I am just thinking that if I could not go to a wedding and then got an invite, or if I said I could not go but then saw people who were going got invitations and I did not get one - it might be awkward... I don't mean you should not do them - b/c I loved my invites and I know how AWESOME it is to see your name and FI's name and the statement that you are getting married in print - it feels so amazingly good - I just want to make sure you have thought of this before you commit to the $ & time to find them, assemble them, etc.

Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay Ladies who are getting married in 2011. What are you finding is the avg Price per person you guests are spending on the trip? I am narrowing down resorts and the cost to my guest is one factor. A ballpark would be awesome! Thanks! PS This forum rocks and is so helpful! Maggie - I think there is only 1 bride for 2011 on here for AS. I would call a TA and get prices or check the Karisma webiste. They have prices listed for the coming 12+ months. Not sure about most here, I know some got deals, but my guests are all paying rack room rates. But my TA sucks, so maybe you could get a 20% discount max?

Crista - Bummer that your not further along but this might give you more breathing room. Hope everything works out. xx

Katie - the dress is gorgeous - and you look sooooooooooo teeny in the picture. I cant wait to see the whole she-bang on your day! Amy - You really dont want to be able to sit? You could perch on the edge of a chair if its really tight - you also might need help getting it off at the end of the night then!!!

Amy that is crazy people are booking less than a month away. I made January my RSVP date. I have had a couple requests for dates which are OK in my book, but I have 38 people and really only 2 spaces so I can do 5 tables of 8. Also, cant wait to hear how your last fitting is/was! Thanks Lindz - I loved the song when I hear it - now on to up beat music.... Hmmmmm Maybe "Life Less Ordinary" by Carbon Leaf. FI went to their concert last night and was so pumped up after it. Katie, I am dying to see the back of your dress now !!!

Oh my gosh - I forgot to tell you guys we FINALLY picked our 1st dance song! Gosh that was the hardest thing of all to do. I could not find anything that worked - FI hates oldies (his only bad trait, i swear) and we both dont like cheesy songs, and it had to be 3 1/2 minutes or less b/c we are not the most gifted dancers and can't take lessons considering we live in difference freaking countries right now, so.... "This Kind of Love" by Sister Hazel LOVE IT !!! After listening to mostly songs by female artists, I realized I really thought a man singing would be better. I am walking down the aisle to Alicia Keys, and thats a girl saying how she needs nothing but him, so this one is vice versa. So perfect! Now on to find exiting down the aisle songs.... FI doesn't like "Sign Sealed Delivered" b/c its too much like an oldie (surprise surprise). UGH I thought it was perfect. Back to the drawing boards... or iTunes Any suggestions BTW Megan - love your new siggy pic - so cute

Katie!!! Those curls look great! I am sure they will be able to replicate it in Mexico. Do you have a good hairspray you use? I use a Frizzease one (not sure they have in UK) -0 but anyways - I am bringing my own hairspray b/c I know mine holds up against humidity and am not taking a chance with the hotels. You will definitely want something strong so your curls stay so bouncy! Are you considering taking your hair out after the ceremony? The bachelorette pix look amazing

Oh yeah, its quiet from what I have heard. There is a tequila bar that stays open til 1am and I have heard they'll let you play your iPod, but besides that, nothing really. B/c I am having 20 crazy friends in there early 30s (late 20s) - I figure we are going to party anywhere we go. Including on the beach til 3am if we want I loved the small boutique resort as well. To tell you the truth, I would not have picked Mexico if I had not found Azul Beach. I did not want one of those super cheesy mega resorts.... Last thing too - I did not want to be up partying at a disco until 3am the week of my wedding. I know what happens when FI and I do that and the pictures on wedding would not be pretty. But 2 nights before wedding we have rented buses to take everyone from 8pm to 2am to Cancun for bar hopping. We did want some craziness at Daddy Rock and Coco Bongo of course!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Hi Theresa! This is definitely a question for past brides here which they do stick around a little. I am just going to go ahead and say that I personally have not heard of a bad wedding review from any of the girls that got married on this site. Most of the wedding reviews are glowing and gorgeous reflections of their perfect day. I would suggest you search BDW planning threads, some of the past AS planning threads on here are just amazing. Side note for us AS thread girls, KatKen's AS wedding got published in a wedding mag, so exciting! Hi Theresa! Congrats on looking at AS! I would echo Amy's comments that Trip Advisor seems to be a bit off on its reviews. Here is what I did to overcome the Trip Advisor crap - I looked up places I had been before and tried to determine if I agreed with the comments. It seems to me that a lot of the negativity is geared towards billing errors or travel companies people booked through and its not really a fair assessment of the hotel. I hate when people complain that they closed restaurants b/c they were not a full occupancy. I personally think that eating in a quiet empty restaurant while on holiday would SUCK! Who wants to vacation in a ghost town Anyhoo, look at the reviews from past brides here and also on Trip Advisor. They will tell you what you want to know. Also, there seem to be good reviews from ppl who went to weddings as a guest there. I personally had a friends younger brother go there this late summer-ish time and he loved it! Good luck with your search Amy

Lindz, Have you bought them yet? Personally, I throw out every wedding invite I receive after the wedding (even my sister's). I hope that helps you GET ON IT and just send them out. Your "will you be a bridesmaids" messages in a bottle were amazing, but a quick invite with a web address to your wedding website and your TA's contact details are all your guests need. Put all your addresses in an excel spreadsheet and use the mail merge function to print labels. I used "dafont.com" to download a cute font and printed the labels from my computer and used them. No way was I going to hand write all of those addresses. Lastly, if this does not work, GO GREEN, and send e-vites. Come on girl - this weekend - you can get it done!!!! loads of support girlie from me

Quote: Originally Posted by dirtymartini Has anyone heard anything about the two photographer companies that Azul works with, Caribe or Matias Cano? They both seem to pretty new but I have heard good review from caribe, nothing from the Matias Cano. If you have the money or if pictures are very important to you, I would bring your own photog down with you.

Wendy - have fun & I will miss you while you are gone! Congrats lady, relax, and let yourself be in the moment. Your words gave me goosebumps. Keep glowing girl!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by JenK Thanks for the info! I'll email Sensatori to ask them. Would you book a resort hoping that not all guests go?? That makes me nervous but I really like a smaller resort! Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd Boy, I don't know that's a tough one! No, I probably wouldn't on the slim chance most people ended up going. You take a chance either way I guess. All you other AS ladies, what are your thoughts? How many did you invite and how many are actually going? I think you can have 80 at AB now. They used to say max was 50, but now its 80 to get the Blue Terrace. Jen, you should ask the Wedding Department at Karisma to get the most up to date answer. Plus, good to have in writing. I only invited 60 and we have 38. We knew 12 were not coming automatically b/c of $ and the rest were friends who had kids. But we were selective to start with. Quote: Originally Posted by dstinationdrmr Thanks! It's really good to hear that I'm actually NOT losing my mind. Yeah, my TA is actually the one that suggested AS. She's great! She's the least of my worries. If anyone doesn't have a TA I highly recommend her. She got us fabulous rates. I am actually going dress shopping in Atlanta this weekend. They're having a trunk sale for my #1 ranked dress. So keep your fingers crossed on that one! I'm sure I'll need LOTS of assistance. I tried to go back and read all 600 pages of this thread, but it's just not happening. So I apologize in advance if I ask a repeat question. Thats awesome you have a good TA. That will make your life so much better. Mine has been a freaking nightmare. Last person paid last night though - so we should be pretty much through with dealing with her. OMG good luck on the dress this weekend! I am so excited to hear how it turned out

Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd From 70% rain to 30% scattered showers. AmyB-- Wow 18 pounds is AMAZING!!!! I hope you are so proud of yourself!! I knew that % would change. And that 30% is probably one freaking rouge cloud that'll last 10 mins max. Thank you - I am super proud of myself and FI is as well. I still have 7 # left I want to lose in the next 6 weeks before I leave, but I feel OK now in my own skin so if I plateau here, it would not be bad. Thats a good place to be Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd Ladies, I had the most surreal moment over the weekend. .... "Oh my gosh, it's all started!!! The first person has moved as a result of our wedding (Ohio to Colorado)! The balls have started to roll and there's no turning back now!" .... Wow that is amazing Wendy. I cant believe you leave on Wednesday!!! I am so excited for you. When is your last day of work? Oh and the acrylics.... Don't try to pick at anything b/c its freaking impossible. Itches are the worst, you have to use a pen cap or something similar to get any satisfaction Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart My BFF & MOH actually offered to clean my house and another offered to do my laundry, how SAD is that?! Can they come over to my house please? Quote: Originally Posted by dirtymartini After our Travel Agent switch, we're only have a fraction of people sign up again. My mom wants me to sue the old TA who lost our contract. Whatta jerk!!! I am really depressed by this news today. And I'm getting mad at my FI for being so anti a big wedding that we ended up doing a DW. I wish I weren't such a damn pushover!!! Sara, I am telling you, you will not regret the small destination affair. And if closer to the date you feel like its too small or a lot of people can't go (which I dont think will be the case, but in the event...), you can have a VERY lax AHR when you return from Mexico and get the BIG wedding feel - without your FI objecting. You can even do the invites via Evite and say "no gifts" at the bottom. There is nothing wrong celebrating with people who wanted to be there for you but couldn't - and tell FI thats what all the guests who couldn't make it wanted. And in the end you'll actually save money doing both compared to one big wedding in PA.

That SUCKS Heidi b/c the personalization double the prices of the mugs! Thanks for wanrning everyone. I also got super cool mugs from discount mugs and then I had stickers printed through Vistaprint - the kinds that stores put on the outside of their windows. It was cheaper that way - the personalization is so expensive and this way I got unlimited colors! I cut each design out of the large sticker and applied to each mug.

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Crista-Lee~ The P90X, body pump, yoga classes I've been taking really did a number on me! I'll just have to be more careful next time around! Next gym excuse - I don't want to go to the gym... I might get pregnant!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Also, one lesson I learned... don't wait for people to tell you anything because they won't. Just ask, up front and blatantly. Tell your grandmother, are you planning to come to the wedding? I need to know by (fill in the date) so I can plan for it financially, other than that I will consider you not coming. Also, just do one thing at a time... chose a photographer and do nothing else until that's done, then move on to the next item. Keep a list and check stuff off, you'll be moving in no time! I do a to do list for the thread every two weeks, feel free to add some stuff to do and you focus on those items for 2 weeks, it's easier to focus on a small list instead of thinking about your whole wedding all at once. Vent away my dear, this is why we're all here, we all understand exactly what you're going through and have been there. And this is why my dear friend AMY IS MEMBER OF THE MONTH!!!! Such good advice Ames. It makes me feel better I hope it does you too!

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Crista-Lee~ We're expecting! Unsure of the date still... but it looks like October. Whoops! OMG Crista!!!!! Congratulations! I got goosebumps reading this. I am so happy for you and FI. I mean, yes the wedding planning and all the work you have done just to change the date sucks, but WOW! You little fertile mertile you What a shock!!!!!!! I think your reproductive system liked Insanity! (or was it P90X)...

Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz That makes me SO happy that you use it so much, and that it helped you lose all that weight! It is the BEST thing for a diet and makes cooking soooo much easier! CONGRATS on losing the weight. I bet you feel so great about yourself and feel so much healthier!!!!! I bet you are super HOTTTT!!!! Yes, I feel so good. I don't think super hot, but I am comfortable in a bathing suit again which I have not felt for close to 2 years, so that's awesome. You and Amy super motivated me to start this process and Wendy kept me going with her own personal success story. What would I do without BDW??!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Katie~ Good morning ladies I am on cloud 9!!! I had THE most amazing night at my hen do on Saturday. I still can't stop grinning and my voice is almost non-existent! ... but I decided that if I did, it would only ruin my night and I didn't want anything to do that so I just accepted it and moved on... AWESOME! Sounds like you had a good time. I'll have to add you on Facebook to see your pix Quote: Originally Posted by ~Katie~ As for those with problems with 'friends', if my night on Saturday taught me anything, it was who are real friends and how precious they are...those are the ones that matter. this wedding has brought a lot of things into perspective and shown people in a different light (whether that be a better one or worse one). I know which I will make more effort with and treasure more, and those that will probably just become a name on the Christmas card list I couldn't agree more. Its amazing how you see who steps up for you on your wedding and who totally shrinks away. I had a friend RSVP yes to my shower & bach and then canceled at 10pm the night before to my sister. No contact was ever made to me. You just kinda have to say "OK" and catalog it for later. I am doing the same thing with my TA. I started writing the letter to her telling her how awful she is that I plan on sending after the wedding - but I realized it gets me too angry now - so I am pushing every negative thing out of my mind and forcussing on the positive right now! Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz One day I am crying my eyes out and on the verge of depression, and the next day I try to find something to look forward. I think weddings are just tough for everyone, especially a DW. There is a lot of money involved and a lot of emotions and OPINIONS. That has been the hardest thing for me to handle: not taking these opinions personally! Wow Lindz, you summed it up perfectly. It is so hard having a wedding - that a DW might be harder too - its just all hard. Emotions are running wild!!! PS - I have to thank you for the recommendation last year to buy a grill pan. I use it almost every day and love it! And I am down almost 18 pounds now! WOO HOO

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Sara - those are fun! I have a pair I got as a shower gift Sara - you're right you should have acknowledgment and feel like a bride, people should be happy for you and want to help you absolutely! I got a pair at my shower too! Sara - what? This sounds like a job for your bridal party! Do you think you have someone you can tell that will get the word out or throw you a happy engagement party? Doesnt have to cost a thing - just meet after 5pm for drinks somewhere?!

Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda to actual live people!!! SORRY!!! I mean in the flesh talked to people - I dont think you guys are IMAGINARY like Katie's FI Just re read my post and was like "wtf that did not sound right!!!" Anyways ladies, have a great friday, or whats left of it

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart I am so sensative at the moment I don't even want to see anyone, it's ridiculous and I'm sick of people talking about my wedding for some reason. I know I am being dumb too but I wish had just eloped at this point. I am the same right now --- and I feel so guilty to have everyone travel and spend all this money. I guess its b/c people can't get a hold of the crappy TA and today was the last day to pay!! I sent 3 emails URGING people to pay at the latest on Wednesday b/c she was so unreliable. Then they contact me or FI when they cannot get a hold of her today at 12pm. Quote: Originally Posted by dirtymartini I am EXTREMELY sensitive, even though our wedding is months away. My fiance's sister is getting married next month, and his brother & sister-in-law are having a baby in Sept (he's 1 of 6, big family) and no one is even acknowledging that we're getting married. I know this is me being a spoiled brat, but is it too much to ask to have them ask me "how's it going?" It really has me upset. Don't worry - it'll be your time soon - I actually talked more on this site daily about my wedding than I did weekly to actual live people!!! Are you doing an AHR or do you expect all of these people to come to Mexico? Just curious b/c we are doing an AHR b/c FI has a big family too (6 kids - even tho some are step) and most of them had kids and therefor eno $ to come to Mexico.

Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd so I'm extra sensitive. This whole wedding thing has made me extra sensitive too !!! I use it as an excuse though. Can one of the other groomsmen tell the best man what they are wearing? Or one of the men in your family attending?