chong

Thanks for sharing! I love your image that you found - i love the color! Ha... your dilemma with the dress. I had a similar dilemma with the shoes - much less expensive and was able to return for full price. Your final choice is my favorite!!! Love the one shoulder dress. Your invitation and program turn out great! I decided not to do the program but seeing yours make me want to Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay I am going with the Free Sweet Wedding package and adding on. I have a TA and she is dealing directly with the group booking dept at AS. They confirmed that we qualify for the Bride and Groom stay free if I book 16 rooms. This is even where I get lost and My TA and FMIL are kinda taking the lead! That is AWESOME! I heard from Faye and she said for sure we will know tomorrow!!!! I also asked my TA to sort this out for me. She told me she got us the Free Sweet wedding package My TA is AWESOME! Quote: Originally Posted by amandamarieb Thanks ladies....well here it goes. Let me know what you think: I like the 1st one better but we'll probably use the second for chapsticks and things like that. Oh wow.. I love the map idea and birds. We don't have anything fancy like that...hehe. Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay I basically just ask his opinion on some things here and there and I told him he can pick out his shirts and pants for himself and the groomsmen. I also have him picking out the gifts for our parents and his brother (Who is his BM) Also he is very excited about the Donkey and has come up with a scavengar hunt photo contest idea (Again I just let him roll with it) He wants to get little stuffed donkeys to put in the OOT bags with a list of pictures you have to get of the stuffed donkey doing silly things. For Example: Donkey with a beer, Donkey on a random strangers chair while they are sunbathing, donkey at dinner, Donkey with the live donkey etc etc. The everyone will send us their pics after we all get back and we will crown a winner. Again His idea and I thought it might entertain people and they could have some fun with it. AHHH my FI cracks me up sometimes. My FI is pretty lay back. I always run things by him before making any decisions. He likes to be involved but that doesn't mean he gets to make any decisions I ask for his opinions but ultimate I make the call. hehe. He learned that this is just how it's going to work till the wedding plan is done. That sounds so much fun. We have to think of something to entertain everyone... Ah. too much stuff to do. Quote: Originally Posted by jazz04 Does anyone see anything different between the pearl and free wedding packages except the bridal and grooms flowers? Not much.. besides flowers and frame i also didn't see much of difference. if you can get the free wedding package, go for it and add on stuff that you want. use your TA to negotiate that stuff. Chong

Maggie, I am so sorry to hear about this. Last time I talked to you, you were so excited about finally settling with AS. But sounds like you got it all worked out. You can vent any time Quote: Originally Posted by amandamarieb Wow girls..I was gone for 1.5 and half and wow was it hard to catch up. Chatty Cathy's as my mom would say. I leave tomorrow night on a red eye to Baltimore. Heading home for a weekend full of activities including my son's 1st birthday party and my bridal shower brunch. Should be a lot of fun but I am already dreading all that travel and all the events in just 3 days. Wish me luck. Ha... I know. I was afraid to leave for 4 days. My FI is making fun of me for sitting front of this computer AGAIN for hours. I am not sure if I caught on everything yet... Have fun in Baltimore! I am going to MD to see my parents and Philly to see my friends (bachelorette/bridal shower) on the labor day weekend. I am so excited! I miss home. This hot weather hasn't been helping... Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by cjb0arder13 Eek! Seriously? That kind of makes me nervous. FI and I are staying at Cozumel Palace for our HM...my TA said it was a really nice resort, and I know FI wanted to get some diving in (I'm kind of scared to scuba, but I told him I'd get certified with him because he's really excited about it) Of course...hopefully we won't be leaving the hotel room much anyway...hee hee. I remember that... We also stayed at five star resort (all inclusive) Wyndham but it really wasn't five start resort. We did not like the food so we went into the town every night to eat. I would highly recommend that you stay near the downtown area and go out to eat. the view was great~ the room was OK. The food is pretty good near the downtown area and more stuff to do. you can ride the taxi to go anywhere around the island... but very small we LOVE scuba diving in Cozumel... easy and beautiful. last year we went and dove for 2-3 times a day for 5 days. we have a great contact for scuba diving if you need one. Chong

Hi... I was in New Orleans for work for the past few days. So much to catch up! Quote: Originally Posted by msmarmar123 And another question How long are/did you stay in Mexico for your wedding? We are planning 14 days...7 for wedding and family and friends...7 just for us....did all of you stay in just 1 resort? Or did you go to a different place? We are thinking of maybe going to Cozumel for the second week...but still totally up in the air.... We are staying 10 days at AS. You have to be at the resort 3 days (require days change depends on if you are having a legal marriage or symbolic marriage) before the wedding date - and weekends do not count! We LOVE Cozumel. We are actually planning to take the ferry to go over to Cozumel for some scuba diving. I don't think Cozumel is as nice as Riviera Maya area - hotel and food wise. Most of our guests are staying 3-4 nights but Darryl's Bestman and his finance are staying for 7 days with us. We are very excited to hangout with them after our wedding! For us.. honeymoon is little bit over rated. We don't get to see our friends and family very often (we are in Houston and everyone else is in east coast) so we want to have a big party! Quote: Originally Posted by daniepps I'm from Maryland too! Not Baltimore though, I'm from Prince George's County. My parents live around Waldorf which is not too far from the PG county. I also wen to high school in Ft Meade.... small world. Is your sig pic from your bridal shower? I like your dress!!! so PINK Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda That's so funny! Go Maryland! OK, so I finished my planning thread. It doesn't really flow but whatever, I could only look at it for so long - plus I wanted to get it done before I got my pro pics - b/c then I have to write the wedding review. Phew so much to do So, here it is: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...wedding-61350/ Have a great day! WOW... LOVE your FI ring. so unique and different. We've been dating for 9 years and we are finally getting married. We also always says we are too young to get married and now here we are after 9 years Awesome job on the planning thread. I am going to read more after this. Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by Woodsylou no probs, she's on holiday at the mo, back on the 25th, but email her on [email protected] and say Louise Woods recommended her xx Thanks for the information! I am so excited about this Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by lesley_mexico_bride I live in the same area too, in fact I was a member at Houston Gym for years, lived 3 doors down from it. I moved 2 minutes away off Washington. We are getting married at Las Caletas Puerto Vallarta May 29,2011. I am almost freaking out that we all live around the same area. We might even know each other!

Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay Quick Question ladies and forgive me if it has already been answered. Is Tiffany no longer with them? Not that is a big deal because we haven't gotten that far with her yet but she was our initial WC. Yep. That's what I hear. It shouldn't be a problem.

Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay Well I was due to some pricing issues but this weekend with everyone's blessing we are going to go with Azul Sensatori (Which is what I wanted all along:)) So I am going to reserve my wedding date with the $200 deposit on MONDAY!!! Excited! Congrats! I am so glad that it's final~ Quote: Originally Posted by lilly129 I was at the bridal show today!!! I do the Body 3 Fitness Boot Camp so I was there doing the boot camp shows!!! If any Houston brides want to do a boot camp, I've been doing it for just over a month and LOVE IT! Sorry I've been MIA lately on this forum I live in the Heights as well! Oh wow... go Heights! What is Body 3 Fitness Boot Camp? I am pretty crazy about exercise. I saw a lot of ladies around the shepherd and washington area. Is it? I go to Houston Gym and doing some personal training and boot camp with one of the taboo instructors. I have lost about 15 lbs and when I went for my fitting today I found out that i lost about 2" around my waist!!! Chong

Can someone explain to me what this is? I am bit lost. And I would like to be on the invite list - [email protected]. Do I need to PM someone or is this enough? Thanks for the help! Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by Woodsylou hey, no probs at all. i had my friend make them, she's a graphic designer. i'm sure she could do them for you but i don't know much she charges. if you're interested i can give you her email address. they're about 4" by 3" at a guess, maybe a little smaller. they're printed on folded card. we don't have the budget to have all the amazing touches you can at a wedding, so we thought we'd make personal touches. photos of guests is always a nice touch, i think they'll love them. In our 'welcome to mexico' brochure there are also photo's of all the wedding party, they look so cute! Oh wow. I wish I had a graphic designer friend. Would you mind sending me a PM with her email address? i would love to contact her and see if I can do something very similar. Thanks! Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by wendyjd I ordered totes from them and had a great experience. here's a discount code if anyone is planning to order this weekend: weekend 10% off Thanks for the code. I was just looking at the website to order some shot glasses. Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay Just checking in on the Houston ladies I know Leigh is off getting married this weekend but how is everyone else? I am still in resort limbo between Azul Sensatori and The Royal Cancun. Hoping to have the damn thing done by July 15th ! maggie, I didn't know you were still debating on the resort. I hope you decide on the one that you think it will work out the best for you! Chong

Hi - I am also a Houston bride! I am getting married on 10-10-10 at Azul Sensatori. Maggie told me about this forum and I am very excited. I live about the Heights area. I would love to meet you all. Let me know if you guys are planning one. Congrats, Leigh! can't wait to hear more about your wedding!!! Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay GOOD LUCK! I went to a HUGE Bridal Extrvaganza today and survived! How was it? Was it worth the trip? I was always debating on going to that but never could make myself to go. Let me know how it was and maybe I will change my mind. Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Welcome back Chong!!! Amanda, thank you for reminding me, I'm going to stick your stuff in the mail now. Congrats on getting so much done, I love Santey Alley! I'm heading over to Target, Banana Repbulic and J Crew today. I always think, what if Amanda is at the mall and I run into her! Thanks - good to be back. Can you also share your pre-travel brochure with me too? Or any tips? I did started on it but there are just too much information. thanks! Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay Sorry to hear that girl I am in Houston too! We live in midtown area! you should hop over on the Houston Thread too. 5 of us have met up for drinks and we are meeting up again in August. I found a BD Photographer in Houston that got recommended to me and she seems really cool in The heights area. Boudoir Mon Cheri and her prices are really the best in town. My friend Shelly has a session for her upcomming wedding in Aug so i am going to see how it goes for her. Oh wow.. I live in the heights area. We are practically neighbors (in Houston standard for sure). I didn't know there was a Houston bride forum. I have to find one. I will be delighted to meet you girls. How exciting!!! Hmm.. I have not decided on the BD book. Let me know if you really like this photographer. Thanks! Quote: Originally Posted by katken Hey ladies, I'm not going to quote the message about the lanterns because I have no idea what page it's on, but here's some more info on that and Zavaz Plaza. I had the pink paper lanterns, like mentioned above they charged a $50 cash set up fee to place everything including hanging the lanterns. I think I bought 8 small, 8 medium, 4 large and 2 extra large. They didn't use all of them. The extra large ones were placed around Zavaz Plaza near palm trees on the ground. It actually looked nice. I LOVE your pictures. Did you guys meet before the wedding ceremony to take some pictures? We are planning to do that also. Where did you guys meet? How did it work out? Quote: Originally Posted by msmarmar123 Just sent it over Thanks. The packages look so much better! Quote: Originally Posted by amandamarieb Thanks for sharing. I've only had Carolina for a couple of days but she is already leaps and bounds better than Tiffany. Yes we should meet while there. I'll be there Tues-Tues than FI and I are coming back and going to wine country fora few days while my moms watches our son. I think we are also going to get legally married in wine country while we are there, assuming the court house will provide witnesses for us. Thanks for that but nor sure I am really that on top of everything. There's still a lot to do. My next projects are finalizing our monogram, OOT bags, pre-travel brochures, creating jewelry for bridesmaids and making custom table runners. But beyond that still so much to do...write ceremony, music, dress fittings, buy FI's ring, oh boy I am freaking myself out. I didn't get to talk to Carolina yet. We were suppose to talk on Friday but she has to cancel it for some reason. I am glad to hear that she is better than Tiffany. I am very excited to meet you in person!!! As the time gets closer, I guess we need to plan a meeting at the resort. OH man... don't get me started on the list. I fill like it's a never ending list. I am so behind but a good thing is I am not that picky I am glad that we are both struggling to get to the finish line! I will be your motivator and you can be mine! Chong

Oh wow... this is a great finding. thanks for sharing! chong

Oh my gosh! I love it!!! Your shoes is fabulous and the bridesmaids' dress looks AWESOME. I was trying to incorporate the picture of each guest for the sitting chart. I LOVE your idea. Would you mind PMing with the template or how you did it? Did you go through VISTA? How big is it? How did you put it all up? Did you put it on the plates? OMG.. I hope you can get back to me with some info. This is a great idea!!! Thanks. Chong

Flowers look great! Awesome DIY centerpiece. that's exactly what I am planning to do too. It's good to see that it turns out great and fabulous. Thanks for sharing. Congrats! Chong

Oh wow.. I cannot believe you made those bags. Great Job. I love your shoes. It's so unique. Thanks for sharing. I think you did a great job putting everything together! Chong

Wondering planning thread! It's never too late to share the information with us I LOVE your OOT bag stuff. How cleaver. I have such a long way to go to fill my bag. I am just too overwhelmed. Thanks for sharing! chong

Great planning thread! Today was your wedding day. Congrats, Mrs! I love all your OOT bag stuff. How cleaver. Thanks for posting all the templates. Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by amandamarieb Ok ladies!!! Just wanted to share that I feel like I am finally getting things done. FI got his suit and 2 of the 4 groomsmen have as well. Almost everyone is booked...I think we are at 56 so just 10 or so to go! We got the groomsmen's ties today at Santey Alley in downtown LA for $6 each and they are perfect match for the BM gowns! Both in metallic sage. Yay! I also got my dad's suit today. In fact 3 piece suit, shirt, tie, belt and socks for $100. A real steal! If any of you ladies are in SoCal Santey Alley is where it's at. As some of you might already know, besides my full time jobs as bride to be and mommy to a beautiful almost 1 year old baby boy (whimper...i can't believe he's going to be 1!) I am a publicist by profession. One of my clients, ShoeDazzle.com (an online styling service which suggests shoes, handbags and accessories for you based on your fashion profile. you select one per month and it's shipped to you for $39.95 per month. it's a lot of fun) well anyway, i got my monthly selection and, gasp, I think i might be wearing my $40 shoes for the wedding. It's hilarious but hey, again, saving money and they give me like 4.5 inches and so far seem pretty comfortable. here's hoping. i've only walked around my apt in them so might have to give them a longer trial run. Also, I am getting a custom monogram made from a gal on etsy. She sent me 9 options today! 9! And they are al pretty great so I just need to figure out which one we like and go from there. I think I might ask for more than one in hi-res so I can use them for different things. If I can figure out how to post them I will. I would love all of your feedback. And those of you who told me about Carolina...you are right. She's pretty amazing. So if I can get my pre-wedding brochures done this weekend, I will feel really accomplished. Sorry for my rant. I just worked out and now I can cross that all of my list. Feels good. I hope this can continue. Amanda... holy smokes. You are so on everything. Am I missing something? Man... I am not the best negotiator. You should share your secrets. I know you got the free cocktail party (which I couldn't really get since we booked in Nov 09)... anything else I am missing? Do you mind sharing? You can PM me if you would like. Thanks We are having about 30 guests and the towels were something we really wanted to do. We bought 32x64 Terry Velour Beach Towels with the Custom Embroidery. I paid $10 per towel + shipping. Check out this website - Discount Towels, Bath Robes, Washcloths, Fitted Sheets & Chair Covers | Buy Beach, Bath, Hand, Rally, Cotton, Wedding, Hair Salon & Golf Towels Online - if you are interested. I found my shoes too - no heels but super cute. I am so excited. I am glad you found your shoes too. That was the hardest thing for me. Our groomsmen are wearing something very simple - no suite for us Sounds like you found stuff for a great price! Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart No it's nearly 7 minutes long! How weird... Let's try to embed it... It is so funny. I LOVE it. It's great to have the memory to keep and play over and over again to re-experience it all over again. Chris did a fantastic job putting that together. btw - I love the music!!! Quote: Originally Posted by amandamarieb AH! And here you come to my rescue! Thanks!!! It's just that I am 3 months and 3 days out and really hate to waste my energy educating another WC on what the one I had before should have already known. But then again it was Tiffany and she was so slow to respond and certainly didn't have her stuff together. Here's hoping Carolina will be a gem. Fingers crossed. Ha.. Amanda, I also have Carolina now. She seems OK. What are you doing lately? Maybe you can help me stay on track We definitely need to meet at the resort. I am flying in Wed and stay through next Fri - 10 days!!! We are going over to Cozumel for scuba diving on day trips but staying in Azul since some of our friends are also staying till Fri. Quote: Originally Posted by beaz2be Oh that's TOTALLY worth it. I think I will do LED lights - I'll figure it out. But glad to hear that it looked great regardless, and that they'll tape them up etc. at the venue. SWEET Please let me know if/when you decide to sell them. Were they different colours? (I've forgotten if I say them in your pics). I definitely want to do the the same thing. And I'd also love to hear your method for easy activation. (I'm trying to avoid having too much to stress about once we get down there before the wedding - knowing myself I'll want as little to obsess over as possible). I am also planning to have paper lanterns. I found this website to DIY paper lantern LED lights. You should check it out. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...anterns-37079/ If Only I Had Majored In Event Lighting Instead of Biology | Weddingbee I have few of my friends coming over next weekend to help me making it!!! I enjoyed reading all the engagement stories. Thanks for sharing your website. We didn't really do much with our wedding website. We've been dating for so long (almost 9 years). We wanted to wait till our 10th year anniversary but 10-10-10 was too great of date to give up well...and it was time for us to be engaged. He totally surprised me too - in Mexico. Looks like I am the only one online at Friday night... This is pretty sad but hopefully you don't mind reading all my postings. I think I have one more to do and that's it...bare with me ladies. I been away for so long. It's like crack that you can't give up. Chong

Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz I got the link to the pages of my BD book...lemme know if you want to see it! Just shoot me an email or a PM. I read few page discussion on the BD book. I don't know about me. I am in Houston so sounds like I have a lot of options... You guys almost convinced me to do it. Lindz - I PM'ed you for the link!!! I am so excited to see it Quote: Originally Posted by meghan Thank you for all the wonderful compliments! We have to wait 6 weeks for our professional photos...it's making me crazy! I used the Wedding Holiday, like Nicole. No one could find better rates and they don't charge any additional fee to use them. They were so fantastic. They even surprised me by getting us a cocktail party. When we were in Mexico, the wedding coordinator told us that the Wedding holiday bought us a cocktail party...I don't think many other TAs would do that. Meghan... You look gorgeous!!! I am sooo happy that you had a sunny weather on your wedding day. I was definitely doing the no more rain dance for you. I love the short video you have posted on the Facebook. I cannot wait till to see more pictures. Congrats! That is so awesome that your TA arranged a cocktail party for you guys. What a great surprise! I am jealous Quote: Originally Posted by meghan We used Erik Rodriguez, and his contract is the same ...4-6 weeks. He said it is high season right now, and has to use photoshop. We saw some on his camera and they looked amazing! It's gotta be six weeks by now for you, isn't it? I also have Erick Rodriguez. I was wondering what you thought about him. I am very excited to work with him. How many hours did you have him? I would like to talk to you more about Erick. Did you do a TTD session? Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz Random question: did you guys do wedding favors or just OOT bags? I am working on my OOT bag - so far I have beach towel (with embroidery) & hand sanitizer. Oh boy... I have a lot to do. For wedding favor - I bought maracas. I am planning to put a tag on saying "Instead of tapping on your glass, here is a system with Mexican Class. Stand and shake with all your might to see the groom kiss his bride tonight." Something I saw other brides did for their wedding and I thought it would be fun Chong