AfricanVenus

Our colors were turquoise and gold. The girls wore turquoise-colored dresses and gold accessories. My MOH had turquoise accessories for her gold dress (see below photos): It was important for me to keep the BM dresses cheap, pretty, and comfortable. I also wanted something they could wear again AFTER the wedding. Enter: convertible dresses. I bought them from Etsy seller Erin Nicole's Boutique out of Oregon. They can be worn in any style, are comfy, and extremely wearable after the fact for any occasion. I feel like they got bang for their buck. I basically told them what colors I liked from my seller's options and they chose which color of turquoise they would wear (turquoise, teal, or tropical). I also selected the shiny vs. the matte because my research showed they looked better in photos. I also purchased $4 samples so they could get a feel. The dresses cost $90/each. If they were considered plus-sized, then add'l fees were added. If they wanted a tube top, for extra support, add'l fees were also added. I went half on everyone's dress. Instead of bouquets, they had personalized DIY parasols. As for my MOH, I wanted her in something different and more reminiscent of my wedding dress (Pronovias Gaudi - one shoulder ruched gown). We ordered her dress from LightintheBox.com and it arrived in a decent amount of time. She had lost a considerable amount of weight since ordering, so we had to pin it up at the wedding. It was a gold, sequined-appliqué one-shoulder ruched dress. It also cost $90. My MOH's bouquet was originally going to be my bouquet, a french-vanilla composite rose bouquet I had made by St. Jude's Creations. My wedding package came with a bouquet, however, and they did a great job so I gave her the composite.

We were going for a 1920's Harlem Renaissance feel with the guys' look. Here's a breakdown of the attire: My DH's outfit: Jacket by Jones New York at Men's Warehouse. Pants from Burlington Coat Factory. Shoes by Armani. His outfit totaled $165 (shoes not included as they were a gift from me). The hat he borrowed from his best man. His jacket was actually a light plaid as it had tan and blue lines to play into our wedding colors: turquoise and blue (see below). Grooms Men's outfits: Kohl's (pants by Ralph Lauren's Polo collection), JC Penny's (ties), and Burlington Coat Factory (suspenders, ties [Donald Trump Collection] and shirts). Their caps are by Kangol and we got it from a store in Newark that my DH talked the owner down to $15/each (they're worth $40+). Their entire outfits were $60/each. Their shoes were a gift from my MIL.

It is Le Kliff. I've been before to their restaurant. The food was not that great, but the veiws are lovely. However, I've never used them for a wedding. Others have on here, so you can check out their reviews or pick their brains. All the best.

I was only able to find out that he was the hairstylist for Puerto Vallarta's version of Top Models. He worked with an unreputable vendor I was looking into. That's all. I didn't use him because he was unresponsive to emails.

My husband never wanted to see the dress. I offered, but he was really into seeing me in it on the day. I liked surprising him and he loved my dress when he saw it. It just all adds to the anticipation I think.

I did something similar: Just created a private wedsite that only those attending had the password to. This way, we could fill them in on all the details and generate excitement. I never mentioned ANYTHING on Facebook (not my engagement, wedding date, planning, etc). One, if they're close to you, they'll know already. And two, negative Nellies will be kept at bay (as much as possible). I'm a private person by nature, but I learned my lesson early on. My hairdresser, who I was really cool with, saw each other in Walmart one day. She asked me about the wedding planning and I told her I just bought my dress. I showed her a pic of it on my cell and her immediate response was, "How much did you pay for this?" Not, "Oh, pretty" or "Nice". I said, "About $1500, but it was a gift from my mom." I actually felt embarassed that I had my dream dress because of the look she gave me! She said, "$1500?!? For a dress?!" I didn't know what to say. From that moment on, I never said another word about my wedding planning to anyone unless it was on BDW or close family. People are haters by nature. All of that nonsense you're dealing with is just pure and simple jealousy. Old as Cain and Abel. No one should be made to feel bad/guilty about how they want their special day. You're not dragging them there, and they're not paying for it. A lot of folks thought I was being snotty by being so quiet about my day, but I hate drama and negativity. At home weddings tend to orbit around those two elements. I suggest you use this forum and supportive family members as an outlet for your wedding-sharing news. FB and those who have shown their true colors are not options for sharing your news. I understand your desire to share every aspect, but there's gotta be some balance. It's not censoring your joy. It's knowing who to share that joy with. Hope things turn out better for the stretch!

I had this problem early on in my planning. From the beginning, we were trying to keep the DW on the DL. I was in church and a member that I'm cool with, but not extremely close, cornered me and asked if she could be in my bridal party. I was so taken aback, that I didn't know what to say. One, I was in church. Two, other people were around adding to my anxiety. Three, I wasn't planning on inviting her TO the wedding itself, let alone be a b-maid. And four, I was thinking, "Who does this?!" This particular member just loves to be in weddings and has conned her way into many weddings of other members. That's cool. A lot of the people where I'm from believe in a double digit wedding party because they have a lot of family and friends nearby. I never did. My immediate family are really the only ones in this country. As such, my sister instantly was MOH. And further, I had 3 best friends from college who I knew would be my b-maids, so it never occurred to me to up the number. Small and intimate was always my style. I tried to explain to her that it was a DW, hoping she would get the hint. She didn't. She proceeded to ask me where. I told her Mexico and the cost of the hotel. She then said, it was too expensive and said she'd probably do a different hotel near by! I almost passed out with the sheer audacity of this woman, lol! I then told her that all the guests had to stay at the hotel and further we were keeping it very small. Also, the wedding's location was not to be made common knowledge. She eventually understood I think, but I always felt awkward around her thereafter. I don't know why people "expect" to be in a wedding. Let alone in the wedding of someone they barely know and they don't know the name of who they're marrying, lol. I think you should wait for the person to ask you. Maybe I don't consider it this huge big deal to be a b-maid. I wouldn't be offended if someone didn't want me as a b-maid. Less money to spend, less stress, etc. However, some people do I guess. Either way, it's rude to assume or proffer yourself. Just follow the bride's lead. Like I always say, weddings make people nuts!

I'm waiting on my pro-pics to come in. I used Demure Tresses. I'll review when all my pics come in. Lisa203 should have a review coming up on what she did for her hair....

Your session was beautiful! I'm still waiting on our photos. I got the video, but I'm gonna hold off on sharing it until after our AHR. I am TOO excited!!! Congrats!

Depends on what your dress is made of. Mine is mostly tulle, so it never got "wet" in the ordinary sense of the word. I hung it on the balcony for a few hours before we left and it was mostly dry.

I bought the natural touch peonies from Angel's Accents (www.angelsaccents.com). You can buy individual stems, which worked better for me since my wedding was smaller. They were $69 for 12 stems. They were very natural looking and life-like. I like that they had a sort of wilted look, b/c real flowers look that way, even when fresh. Plus, it looked even more natural b/c we were in a hot environment. Definitely worth the cost I think. As for the shell, I got that from Wholesale Flowers and Supplies ( www.wholesaleflowersandsupplies.com). They were about $6.49/each. The price was lowered, so it's definitely less than $7/each. The only thing is that they get you on the shipping and handling, especially if you order a lot. Hope that helps!

I decided to have an AHR only for people who weren't able to attend the wedding or weren't invited. That way, the party had a specific purpose. Those who were invited, committed right away because they wanted to be there. I did it that way, because I wanted to focus on my wedding and doing it a certain way. People who couldn't come, but wanted to, now felt they had an opportunity to celebrate with us. I would present the AHR as an option for those who want to, but can't. To do so, it's about strategic timing. Let people commit to the wedding first, and then talk AHR. Explain that you don't want to leave them out. Be really diplomatic about it. Make it clear that it is not "another wedding". Just a party to look at the pics...real chill.

@cdc150: I took US Air and they were pretty non-helpful and downright rude! For the first leg of my trip, we rode first class, so they managed to place my dress on a post in the first class section. It had to be sqooshed a bit, but my dress is part tulle so it could take it. On the second leg of my trip, we were in coach and they acted really terribly. I let them know from ahead of time that I had my dress. They suggested I put it on top of others' carry-ons in the overhead bin. I told them that it wouldn't fit that way because most people's carry-ons are designed to fit the minimum space available. Plus, it was a pretty full flight, so there was no room for my dress and they wouldn't let me hold it or put it between my legs (all options I offered since they were of no help). The stewardess actually had the audacity to tell me I was holding up the plane! Don't you know, she took my dress away to find somewhere for it: the stewardess closet! It was available the whole time. Her response to my husband was that she didn't want other people to get upset at my "special treatment" and they weren't permitted to offer it. That was all good and well, but she could have handled it waaaaaay better than that! I was so embarassed and there really was no need to be. She should've just taken the dress quietly and said it was somewhere safe. For all my return flights, they pretty much just stuffed my dress into the overhead bin. I'm fairly easygoing, and my dress could take the abuse, so I didn't mind. It was that one episode that really ticked me off b/c it was so downright unprofessional. So if I were you, I'd try to find a different airline or be ok w/ your dress being shoved into small places. They aren't going to treat you special b/c of the dress, trust me, lol.

Mexico is no more or less dangerous than any other given city we're familiar with. No matetr where you go, there are good areas and there are bad areas. Mexico, like the U.S., is comprised of states. Some of those states are problematic areas and some aren't. Treating Mexico like a monolith is like saying, there was crime in Boston, so I'm not visiting Los Angeles. Or I'm not visiting Montreal because Vancouver is getting crazy with the drug crimes. If you're staying at a resort, then the tourist police are there. Places like Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta are all major tourist ports. Tourism is really lucrative, so they spend alot of manpower protecting those areas. Sometimes good old practical info doesn't work for people however. You can't make them go if they don't want to be convinced. Whenever you travel, you should follow basic common sense guidelines. Travel in groups of 2 or more, no flashy jewelry, carrying excessive amounts of money, start offending the locals, etc. Tell your guests to register with the local embassy if they're really worried.

Thanks I sent you a PM

Here are our centerpieces. It's a non-pro pic, hence the brightness. I modeled it after Object Splendor's "Beach Chic" centerpiece. It's comprised of turquoise sea fans (coral), white peonies, and a nautilus-shaped vase. Surrounding it were four turquoise and gold lotus-shaped votive holders.

What a great thread! Here are mine: Things I Would Do Again Do a DW in Mexico! Have a small wedding w/ close friends and fam Choose Grand Velas. Heck, just hit up my venue again period! Do convertible dresses for my BMs Fly first class Buy my DH's shoes Spa/Golf trip for guests Karaoke w/ our bridal party Pay/subsidize for some of our guests to go Choose our photog and video vendors (and all of our vendors really) Choose our custom cake flavors Almost everything was cool and I'd do it all over again Things I Would Chop Get a different officiant that would have done it the way we asked it to be done Change the signature drink. I liked it at first, but it wasn't that great on the day (same for one of the hors d'oeurve Do the cake over. It was a small thing, but one of the colors wasn't what I asked for. Not sweat whether certain people you expected to show would show up or not Change my hair style and process. Used a different weave and it didn't come out the way I would like. Only allot 4 hrs for bridal party prep. You definitely need like 6, lol Select a photographer that has no real weddings under his belt. Do TTD in the sand. It'll look great, but I'm no top model. That sand was heavy!

Depends on the time of year and time of day. You can do a change of dress or settle into air-conditioned digs at your resort/villa for the reception. My dress had some tulle underneath and it made me sweat in places I didn't know I could sweat. However, that was only for the ceremony. I was fine for the reception since it was indoors.

Zipper w/ buttons all the way! It just looks clean and neat. I think corsets look like you're hemmed up in a cage, lol. To each her own though.

It's definitely addictive. I'm still on, even after my wedding as you all can see, lol. I think I like the helping other B2Bs the most. That's what keeps me coming back here.

The second photo is really beautiful. Magazine-quality!

We got married June 25, 2011 and will have our AHR August 27, 2011. I think I always sort of wanted it well much later b/c I didn't want the pressure of planning two events so close together. My mom kinda chose the date, as she was sort of in charge of it. I wanted it to be really low key, a backyard BBQ, but with the amount of people we have to invite, the fire marshall would be shutting us down. Also, as others have said, the professional photos and video should be back by then ::fingers crossed:: I have the AHR setup as a sort of "viewing party".

I still haven't tallied up the cost of everything, and my wedding is past! I think I don't wanna know, because it was over-budget, lol. The thing is, our wedding itself was under budget, but we helped a few guests to attend so that bumped it up quite a bit. I still don't regret it though. If I had to guess, it would be around $15,000 and our original budget was $10,000.

The final cost for my dress was $1500. With alterations, $1850. I had a $2000 budget originally, but my parents surprised me by purchasing it for me.

I booked my photographer, Aurora Gutierrez of AuroraGPhotography in Guadalajara, Mexico, for the entire day basically. I think it depends on what you're looking for. Initially, I looked at it in terms of hours, thinking I only wanted the major parts covered (getting ready, ceremony, couple/family shots). However, she will stay the day with you. My video guys were the same way. When we got done, they got done. It also depends on the style/intensity of your vendors. I think 6-8 hours is good enough, but then you have to consider the cost. Each photographer prices differently. Do you want one that prices by hours spent or images taken? I'm glad they were there the whole time because I think it tells a better story.