Karen&Rene

Glad to hear not everyone had issues with the smell of their dresses, lol. And thanks for the feedback on my dress! I think I'm going to play it safe and just make any alterations once I get it.

Yeah, they wanted $360 for mine and it's not that complicated either!

OMG, are you serious?! Did the smell go away after a few days or did you have to febreeze it or something?

I received the photo of my dress from Monica Bridal. They only sent a photo of the front which makes me a little nervous; I requested a pic of the back which hopefully I'll receive soon. I asked for a different neckline so you'll notice it is different than the inspiration dress. The only other difference I see is the way the skirt is gathered, but I don't think I necessarily like it less than the inspiration dress. What do you ladies think? Any changes that you would suggest? Thanks!!!! P.S. Why does their workshop look like the house of a hoarder?! Lol

Wow, awesome idea! I'm trying to keep my OOT bags under $6 each, so these would definitely fit in my budget. Thanks for sharing!

I thought I was set on the Israel version, but now after hearing Jason Castro, I'm torn as well!

I didn't think to put it on our response cards, but I included a business card that said "please see our website..... for more information about booking travel." Free on Vistaprint!

I already purchased my lip balm for my wedding weekend survival kits, but if I hadn't I would be all over this deal! Nivea lip balm with SPF 4 is on sale at Walgreens for $1.00: http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/nivea-a-kiss-of-moisture-hydrating-lip-care/ID=prod5502135-product And you can get coupons for $2 off 2 Nivea lip care products here for just $.15 http://www.couponsthingsbydede.com/Nivea_Lip_Care_0_17oz_2_00_2_Clipped_Coupons_p/nivea_2-2_156_o1r.htm Thus, they come out to about $.08 per lip balm. Note that the coupons expire on 11/3, so I would order soon! You may also want to check your local Walgreens first to make sure they are on sale in your area and find out when the sale ends. I got coupons for my first aid kits on that coupon site so they came out to less than $.10 each!

There are some photos all the way back on page 62 of this thread. I requested slight changes to the neckline to make it more sweetheart and went for a lace-up back.

Thanks for sharing! I got enough coupons to buy 51 kits... it took a while to find a store where these sold for $.99 (they sell for $1.59 at my local grocery store), but I finally found these at CVS for $.99 and got my first three for only $.07 since they still want you to pay the sales tax. Be aware that you could have some issues since the coupon is for $3 off and the total only comes to $2.97 before tax; my cashier figured out a way to make it go through, but I can foresee a not-so-nice cashier making a big deal about it. Anyone else who is planning on getting those coupons should act fast since they expire Nov. 30th.

Sweet! Thanks for sharing!

Mocha, your dress looks gorgeous! Glad to hear that they're willing to make the changes you want. Ginger, can't wait to see your dress! I have officially placed my order with Monica Bridal and hopefully I'll be receiving photos by the end of this week!

I don't see any expiration dates on the ones I received. Mine are for my April wedding and I'm confident they'll be fine. You would think that they should last at least a year from the purchase date.

Lisa, I think it looks gorgeous on you!!!! I do see what you're talking about with the beading, but it still looks realllllly pretty! I definitely think it would be great for your trash the dress!

Thanks for letting us know! Just purchased 50 of them! Too bad they don't let you buy more than 25 of one scent though... the island margarita one is PERFECT! And thanks for the coupon code! It covered the cost of shipping!

Glad to hear about the good quality, but that's too bad that it's different than the photo What dress did you get again? I'll be looking forward to seeing the photos! I am sure it will still look great on!

Lol, Mocha, that's what I've been doing too... I'm refreshing this thread every half hour or so. The anticipation is killing me! Lisa, thanks for the info; I'll ask them to create a new listing for me.

I'm so excited to see your dress, Lisa! If it turned out well, I'll be placing my order ASAP. I'll probably order it in ivory, not the champagne-ish color that is in the photo I posted. Because I'm ordering a completely custom dress (i.e. not based off of any dress they currently sell) they told me just to purchase a different dress that is the same price and put "payment for dress mentioned in email" in the remarks. This seems strange to me... I just want to make sure they don't send me the dress in the listing, totally not my style, lol. Did anyone else have this experience? I also wonder if they told me they would send photos because they were trying to make the sale... let me know what they tell you ladies.

Hi ladies, I am so glad I found this thread! I actually purchased a dress locally for $800 in March, only to be told 6 months before the wedding that they "no longer feel comfortable" completing the order because they've had some issues with the designer. So... time to start the search again! I found a dress I absolutely loved, but it was over $3,500! I am considering having it made by Monica Bridal or Duosheng. Right now Monica Bridal quoted me $135 which is AMAZING, but I'm a little nervous about it since I've only found two examples of finished dresses. I figure worst case scenario, I could just use it for my TTD. Also, as an FYI to girls who have recently ordered their dresses from Monica Bridal, I asked them if they would send me photos of the finished dress before they shipped it so that I could communicate any necessary changes, and they said they could do it. Still haven't heard back from Duosheng, but here are photos of the original dress I want. I love the rose detail; do you think Monica Bridal will be able to replicate it? I don't want to end up with a separate flower that's just glued on to the dress, lol.

Ok, so I promised Kelley I wouldn't pester her with emails until after her high wedding season was over (not until June), so I was hoping you ladies could help me out. My FI has an aunt with rheumatoid arthritis, and uses a wheel chair almost all the time. I remember reading about the "all terrain wheelchair" that Las Caletas has on hand... but does this mean that they will never have walk to get anywhere? What about the boat... is that wheel chair accessible? Thanks!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to introduce myself... My name is Karen and I have officially booked Las Caletas for April 2nd, 2011!!! I am incredibly indecisive (I'm one of those people who spend 15 minutes at the store comparing different fabric softeners), but when I happened upon Las Caletas when searching online for Puerto Vallarta venues, I was sold immediately! I've read the entire old Las Caletas thread... thanks for all the info ladies! So far, we've decided on our photographer (Michele Turner), ordered our save the dates (from Vistaprint), and even bought my dress (would post a link but my FI is dying to find out what it looks like and I wouldn't be surprised if he looked up my posts for clues, lol)! Can't wait to see some new pics from the recent weddings!!!

Hi ladies, I bought a similar frame from Michael's. It's called a floating shadow box (didn't see it on their website, but they have it in stores). The only catch is that there are only two panes of glass, so you have to buy two frames and add a third pane of glass into the first frame. The panes are adjustable so there's actually an additional slot to put in the extra pane of glass from the second frame. The best part was that they were on clearance for $7.99 each!

We're paying about $4,500 for 8 hours of coverage, a TTD session (no time or location limit), and a disc of all the photos. It was more than I had budgeted for, but my FI had his heart set on this particular photographer. I figure if he wants to put us over budget, it's fine by me since he's paying for it, lol.

I did a boudoir shoot with Harper and Steve at Serenity Photography and couldn't recommend them highly enough! I felt surprisingly comfortable with them and it turned out to be a lot of fun... they made me feel like a real model, lol. Contact me for details or to see pics. I actually did these as a birthday gift to my FI (then boyfriend), and he LOVED them! I'm considering going back to do a more in-depth shoot for his wedding gift. Serenity Photography - Upscale Boudoir Photos

You may want to check out the hall at the Holiday Inn, Merchandise Mart, it has floor to ceiling windows and an amazing view of downtown. I looked into it for my reception (a sit down dinner) and it was surprisingly affordable for a downtown location, so for a more casual reception it would be even cheaper. Or we looked into the Tasting Room which also has a great view. The prices they quoted us were a little expensive, but they seemed willing to work with us to make it affordable. Or if you're set on renting out a house, check out VRBO (example house listed below). Good luck!!! Chicago, Illinois vacation rental by owner: 4 bedroom House rental that sleeps 22. 7BR-New Mansion