richarsd

Bride2be - what a beautiful sillouette on you! Stunning.

Most travel carriers do require that the wedding guests travel together in order for the wedding couple to get any "perks". However, if you have a really good TA that specializes in destination weddings, it's amazing how the carriers will bend over backwards for them and relax some of their expectations. For example, we have guests leaving from three different cities and a couple are travelling a day later than everyone else...normally, this would mean we wouldn't have enough people leaving on the same flight, from the same place to get our free room. However, my TA is awesome and there was no problem negotiating the free room for us because we had 20 rooms booked by guests. So shop around for a good TA!

Hi Chicago, when you say "beach reception" but not a beach party, do you mean a private reception in one of the restaurants on the beach (L'Arrecife or La Uva)? If so, this is what I am doing, as well.

Natalie when is your wedding date? The current package prices are good until the end of April. Past that, the prices haven't been confirmed for 2011 (although it probably wouldn't be much different).

beaz2be - Oooooh I've been searching for a simple, yummy curried chicken recipe for my crock pot. I will definitely be giving yours a try!

This is kind of like ripping off a bandaid - ya know you have to because the one you're wearing is old and just isn't doing it's job anymore. Time for some fresh air (or in this case, fresh Hair!!), lol. I know this is awkward, I've been there. But honestly, I think hair dressers are kinda used to losing clients and gaining clients...it's kind of like a revolving door. And if she's not giving you decent service anymore then, well, she really doesn't deserve you as a client. So next time you need an appointment, just go to the guy instead You don't owe her an explanation - she should be enough of a professional enough to handle it (if she even notices).

I will be getting a spray tan before leaving for our wedding but that's out of necessity...I don't don't tan the "normal" way, whether by the actual sun or a booth so if I want some colour, it needs to be fake. I've gotten spray tans through iTan before (they use the latest edition of the Mystic Tanning Booths) and loved the results. Not at all orangey, looked very natural and I'm pretty fair skinned to begin with. BUT it's true - spray tans do not hold up well at all in salt water or probably chlorine for that matter. From my experience, they are completely faded within 3 days if you're going to be in the water daily...so I will probably limit my time in the water until my wedding (which is on day 3, haha).

ablj209 - I like the 1st bouquet best. The 2nd is really pretty too except for those little, round purple flowers in it that look like Mums or something...they're just out of place in a tropical bouquet.

I think #3 would look best, with #1 being a close second (the #2 pair is very pretty but doesn't really work with the dress). As for ivory shoes and a white dress clashing...depends on the contrast I guess. Some go very well together and you wouldn't notice. But some ivories are almost cream colours, which might look funny with a stark white dress. Just my opinion.

I agree with whoever thought #3 was super blah. #2 would be my pick too.

Congrats on finding the prefect dress. You look so happy in it!! Beautiful

That can totally be done. Since a symbolic wedding is not legal in any way, there is no requirement for being divorced or whatever for a certain period of time. That 10-month requirement for the civil weddings is a law so there's no way around it but since the symbolic ceremony follows no law...you're good to go. And it doesn't really matter whether you did the legal wedding at home before or after the symbolic one...I've heard of people doing it both ways.

MsClarke724 this may depend on whatever deal your TA negotiated with the travel company. For us, we did not have to put down any deposits for the rooms we had reserved. We had a 30 rooms reserved and there were a couple left over by the booking deadline...nothing happened. They just ended up getting released to the public after the deadline. So don't be skeptical...this could very well be the same for you too.

Hey Schayer, I just thought I'd add that your first two questions can vary a bit. If you're having a civil ceremony (with a judge) it only lasts about 10-15 minutes, unless you add in your own piece (like a sand ceremony or something). Symbolic ceremonies can last a bit longer as they're more tailored to your preferences. For what to do after the ceremony, that totally depends on the bride/groom, their preferences, and also what time your ceremony is at. Our wedding is at 2 pm (only time the judge had left and we booked a year ahead!) so after the official cereomy (includes a sand ceremony), we're going to have champagne and the cake. Some brides have the cake immediately after the ceremony, others wait until the reception. Then we're having photos taken after that and our reception is at 6:30 pm. Obviously there's a gap for our guests in between but we can't help that so they are free to do their own thing in between. Most of the other brides with the same schedule that I've talked to have doen it that way, as well. But it's your day so you can pretty much do whatever you want

Chhoker13 - you're right. Some resorts do that but the Palladium, unfortunately, does not. Actually, the Palladium was not our first resort choice (that being one of the reasons). I know that in addition to the Iberostar offering that deal, the Majestic does, as well...these resorts normally waive the wedding fee ($1500 or so) on top of any eals offered by the carrier. However, most of the resorts that do that are normally more expensive. We didn't feel comfortable asking people to pay $1800+ compared to $1400 just so we could get a free wedding.

This is our plan too! I am looking forward to sleeping in with my hubby and the breakfast in bed the morning right after the wedding

Hi Shannon (I'm a Shannon too!) - I wanted something similar to this as well but, like you, wanted to wear my veil down low near the nape of my neck so will probably go with a bun a little higher.

Oh my God Beth, this sounds horrible! Your entire caloric intake for each day is made up of only 2 tbsp of maple syrup...what is that, like 50 calories? Do you eat at all in the 10 days?? I cannot even fathom how this is humanly possible without early organ failure (I'm kidding...but barely). I'm not a dietician but I don't think any nutritional or medical background is needed to realize that this is seriously unhealthy. Really, you should stop this. I'm sorry I don't mean to be rude but I'm appalled and concerned about the potential side-effects of this for you.

I think either would like nice but I prefer the white one for the hair.

Yes, it's not the Cuban ceremony that is rendered "semi-authentic"...it is legal, period. It's Quebec's recognition of it that is "semi-authentic". However, I don't think this actually means anything in terms of whether or not Quebec considers you legally married or not...they do. it just means that anythime, the registrar confirms to another department that you're married, it has to include the info that the marriage was not performed in Quebec. In terms of day to day business, I really don't think this would impact anything. It would be no different if you married in another province, Ontario for example, not just out of country...the "semi-authentic" status would be the same. I checked the Act specifically and here's what it says: "137. Le directeur de l'état civil, sur réception d'un acte de l'état civil fait hors du Québec, mais concernant une personne domiciliée au Québec, insère cet acte dans le registre comme s'il s'agissait d'un acte dressé au Québec. Il insère également les actes juridiques faits hors du Québec modifiant ou remplaçant un acte qu'il détient; il fait alors, sur l'exemplaire informatique, les inscriptions nécessaires pour assurer la publicité du registre. Malgré leur insertion au registre, les actes juridiques, y compris les actes de l'état civil, faits hors du Québec conservent leur caractère d'actes semi-authentiques, à moins que leur validité n'ait été reconnue par un tribunal du Québec. Le directeur doit mentionner ce fait lorsqu'il délivre des copies, certificats ou attestations qui concernent ces actes."

Yuck, I agree with the poster above who said it's tacky. I think you should begin by voicing your objections to the MOH and try and leave the bride out of this if you can. If the MOH does not respect your views, perhaps you can get the other bidesmaids on board. If these options don't work, then you should mention this to the bride as you're right - it will reflect poorly on her, unfortunately.

I did a full page insert along with my formal invites, which had a whole bunch of travel/booking related info. At the bottom, I said the "please see our website for additional info..."etc. Included in that paragraph, I also informed people that if they have any questions, please refer to the website and if something is not addressed there, please feel free to email us. I have not had one single question so I guess that means my referencing to the website has worked

I think every bride has slightly different expectations for their RSVPs. And of course, guests usually have completely different expectations Our wedding is April 2011. I mailed out STDs in February 2010 because I knew that a lot of our family and friends would need a good year or so to save up the money if they wanted to come. We then mailed out our official invites with all the travel/booking info in June 2010. I asked for a RSVP deadline of Feb. 1, 2011. To me, two and a half months is more than enough time get a final count and plan party favours, OOT bags, etc. but every bride is different. I didn't want it to be too far in advance as some people try to book last minute hoping to get a good deal (although if they get a better deal than our group rate, I'll be shocked!). However, I made it VERY clear (in a diplomatic way, lol) that it IS a wedding and requires planning so if you haven't booked by Feb. 1, 2011 then you'll be assumed to not be coming. I also asked people to RSVP only when they are 100% sure whether or not they are coming...it's too confusing to get people to RSVP "yes" when they haven't even booked yet and then may eventually back out (I was pretty clear about that too in my invites). I think it's best to be clear with guests what you expect as most people have never attended a destination wedding before...in my experience, everyone really appreciated the info and "direction" provided, haha

Hi Bailey10, I'm not toally sure if I understand your question...your intention is to change your name when you're down in the DR?? You and your partner don't live in the DR, do you? I'm going to assume you don't so you may just be a little mistaken on the process. If you have a civil ceremony (done by the judge), it is a legal marriage. You will be mailed your marriage certificate to your home address a month or two after the wedding. You need this first before you or your partner can change their name (because you need "proof" that you're actually married). Therefore, you change your name in your home state/province after you've returned from your trip. You wouldn't want to do it down there anyway even if this was possible (which it isn't) because then the passport would have a different name than what is techincally legal for when you go back home. Does this help?

Congrats on finding that perfect dress! You must be thrilled I think it really depends on the city/town where you're looking. Generally speaking, the bigger the city, the more selection and variety in dresses. When I was shopping, I saw tons of "destination" gowns in all of the stores I went too, very much like you described. But a friend of mine from Newfoundland couldn't find anything like that in her home town and had to go to Halifax to find something more "beachy".