Catalyst

Heh I don't really have a huge wedding party so I don't have to worry about this quite so much. I'm letting my Bm's pick what ever they want as long as it's one of our wedding colors. As for how long in advance to order them. I'd probably check with the store and see what they recommend. It only really matters if you're having them specially made then you'll need to allow a few months. If not order them whenever as long as you get them in enough time to do fittings / make alterations if needed.

Have a great time! Hope everything goes well for you and your day is as special as you want it to be.

Supposed to be getting Married in Jan 2011 at the Iberostar rose hall. Currently living in the UK by my family is all in Canada and my FI's is all in Hong kong. So we thought we'd make everyone travel somewhere we wanted to visit. Ordered my invitations from 'cards by samantha' which I found through the wedding ideas magazine, and I'm happy with them for the most part. As our family is so scattered all over the place we're letting everyone kind of book their own vacations and I'm just keeping them organized when it comes to time frames etc... :-)

No response as of yet, not that I really expected one so soon. After discussing things with my FI I've kinda resolved myself to changing the wedding date. If it comes right down to it I don't care about the date itself at all, it's more the fact that they made a commitment and I have acted based on that commitment and for them to go back on it bothers me more than anything else. We will figure something out with respect to the invitations but the situation still sucks. Don't get me wrong I'm not going to back down on my stance with the hotel, someone screwed up. Not going to assign personal blame to anyone, however this is all very not cool and I will not be fobbed off with a 'a mistake was made and we're changing your date now' e-mail because that simply isn't good enough. I've e-mailed them copies of the contract and confirmation I recieved. Not much else I can do till they get back to me I guess. Thanks so much for all the support it's meant alot and I do appreciate it.

I recieved an e-mail today from the current Wedding co-ordinator at the rose hall beach resort in Jamaica stating ' I was just going through our weddings calendar and I realized that we have your wedding booked for January 20th, 2011 and your file states the 19th and the 19th is booked for another couple, please confirm.' ALL of the information contract and confirmation files I have recieved in communication from the resort state the 19th EVERYTHING. When I originally did the booking I selected the 20th as an alternative date however that date was never confirmed or mentioned to me. So having a contract in hand and booking confirmation I have sent our Save the dates AND invitations, all for the 19th. Not to mention any personalized favors I have already purchased. How is this okay to do? SERIOUSLY I would have been okay to change the date if it had been brought up even two months ago but with approx 6 months left till we are to get married? I have e-mailed her back saying that unless the other booked couple booked earlier than we did or they are willing to compensate us for our out of pocket expenses by deducting the cost of reprinting from our wedding package I am unwilling to change the date confirmed to me in writing. I HATE being like this normally I'm very laid back but I've already invested a ton of money in printing things with this exact date on it and to have it changed without so much as a by your leave makes me angry and upset. I also hate the fact that this whole thing could inconvenience another bride because god knows it's not their fault the hotel screwed up but it doesn't change my situation either. I am just so upset and stressed right now. Such is life I guess, but if I hadn't already put so much effort into this thing already I feel like just forgetting the whole thing. *sighs*

lol umm I believe it would be a none too subtle request for money. That of course is just my opinion though. I would never have thought to do that with my invites though. :-)

Congrats on finding the dress! :-) sounds like a good find. I'm sure your mom will be fine. It doesn't sound like weddings are her thing so I hope she'll just be happy that you managed to find something you like.

I agree with what most of the previous posters have said. I'm personally paying for my dress and although my parents have expressed a desire to help out with the wedding costs I'm not counting on it as they tend to be a little bit flakey when it comes to the details and what they are in fact going to do. Our philosophy has always been from the beginning, this is our day and our choice to do this therefore it is our responsibility to pay for it. If our parents chose to help out I'll happily accept but I've always had issues about approaching people for money and also have no problem just working within my own budget.

It's not weird at all. At least not to me. I've been feeling similarly. I Love him I do but he can irritate the crap out of me sometimes to the point where I wonder about us as a couple. I get over this but the last year or two has been a bit of a strain on our relationship largely due to external factors. He's been the one pushing the wedding more so than I have, always has been. I would be happy if we were committed to each other and just living together. Each time something major comes up with the wedding We set a date, invitations come in, ordering rings etc... I start to freak out a bit about the whole thing. I think it's perfectly normal to be anxious or even irritated by your significant other. You just have to work with them to resolve the issues. My fiancee knows how I feel and has been lovely about dealing with my freak out sessions. ;-)

Quote: Originally Posted by mrs*j*2011 My second favorite dress was an Alfred Angelo, style # 2100. I loved how it looked on but it was constricting and hot so I just couldn't commit to it. But I totally would have chosen it if we were having a traditional wedding at home. Good taste! this is exactly the one I've been eyeing up, haven't had a chance to try it on as none of the bridal shops in my area carry it. I love the area around the bust with th ruffles.

Thanks for the review! definately gave me some food for thought. I very much appreciate you taking the time. Cheers!

Hello! I stayed at The Reef a few years ago with some friends and loved the place. Here are my thoughts : - Great Tropical feel especially the central area inbetween the the buildings it has a lovely canopy of trees . The main reason we stayed here was because it seemed a little more like we were staying in the jungle and not in corporate hotel chain. - Staff were nice and friendly. Definately willing to interact with the guests. - Nightly shows were very much so / so at the time. They may have improved since but when we were there it very much reminded me of going to a school play. Sure everyone did their best and it was somewhat entertaining but definately not professional. - The resort itself is /was smallish and definately not on the scale of other resorts in the area. I have heard of ALOT of people being transferred to other hotels from the reef because it was fully booked and didn't have enough rooms for the individuals arriving. Even when I stayed there they were offering couples the chance to switch to other AI's so that they could accommodate the new guests. This may not be a bad thing all and all we LIKED being able to go and visit other places however if you're planning a wedding you need to be able to count on all your guests being able to stay at your hotel. - Food was alright. Enjoyable for the most part. My BF loved the coconut puddings. I however didn't really enjoy most of the desserts and the food was a little repetative after awhile. Easy walking distance to playa del carmen with a bird sanctuary along the way. Liked the beach nice and sandy but very crowded most days we were there. The pools weren't especially huge but adequate for our needs. They didn't have any weddings going on there when we stayed so I can't really comment on that. Overall I would stay there again, however not sure about the wedding, I think it would depend on where it was held. I wouldn't want to do it on the beach as when I was there it really was crowded... but if you could do it in the jungly area it would be absolutely beautiful. To be completely fair it was about 5 years ago that I went there so it may have changed somewhat in that time? Either way hope this helps.

I think you just have to pay the fee for having an outside guest which I think is 75$ if you want an outside photographer. :-) You can always check with the WC if you can get ahold of her.

I completely understand. My FI and I recieved a similar letter from his father last night saying essentially that we were being selfish and if we held it anywhere else they MIGHT come but they weren't prepared to participate the way we have it planned. In my instance some of the points were fair... but to guilt trip us about everything when he had ample opportunity to let us know his opinion a year and a half ago is unfair. I guess the things is there are ALWAYS going to be people who put up resistance no matter what plans you make. I AM sorry that your father is being so ... difficult about the situation. There really is no call for it. A simple ' no but thank you for asking us' would suffice. As you said it isn't like you expected him to attend really. Just don't let it get to you and go ahead with your planning I'm sure everything will still be lovely on the day. :-)

My 2 cents is that if you are requiring your bridesmaids to wear something specific (Eg. a specific dress from a specific store. ) then it's the bride and groom's responsibility to cover the cost. However if you are cool with letting your BMs pick what they like then I don't see any reason why they shouldn't purchase their own. If you can afford it buying the bridesmaid's dresses is always a nice thing to do, but weddings are expensive and not everyone can afford to do it.