bigboponthebeach

Quote: Originally Posted by hockeymom97 The pic is kind of little on my computer, but from I can see they look really cute!! I like the bow too Thanks Heather! The bow is raffia but came out differently than we expected. (Not in a good way) I was going for a diffrent look, but it is what it is and I guess each STD is unique. :-) As for the size, I don't know what I'm doing here with images! LOL I used photobucket for the first time and when I initally dropped the link in, it was huge! I just knew one of the moderators was going to come by and spank my hand! LOL So I re-sized it and it was too small. I guess I need more practice with photobucket and the forum. ;-)

Alright my fellow May '11 brides.....we finally got our STD's up and out! Let me know what you think!

Quote: Originally Posted by tris Hey my fellow May ladies!!! I need your advice about my STD's... http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...4/#post1354281 Love, love, love them BOTH!!! You two are so cute and look so fun in the photos! I'm sure your guests will not only love them, but become excited about the "fun and energy" filled day you are planning. I vote for #1, of course only if you can get your chonies photoshop'ed to be hidden to your liking. ;-)

Adorable!!!!!! I love the uniqueness of them! I vote for #1 because I love the logo placement and water in the background! Too cute!

Quote: Originally Posted by daniepps Same here......started very young and since my job is covered under law enforcement retirement too I only have 15 years until I can retire and I'll only be 48!!! I guess I'll start my second career then. Sad that I'm already thinking about retirement but hey you gotta have something to look forward too! I'm right there with you! I'll be eligible for retirement when I turn 46 and I'm already pondering the courses I will be taking in photography and graphic design! I plan to go back and get another degree and possibly even go to law school to do pro bono work for abused women. It's really sad that I am already thinking of retirement, but it is honestly the only thing that gets me through some days. :-) Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz I am getting married at Le Blanc in 3 weeks! How exciting!!!! I got excited for you just reading your sentence!!!! I'm sure you have bubblies all in your belly!!! (In a good way, of course! ;-) ) Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz I'm glad I could help! I think it will be very cool! Thanks, I'm looking forward to showing you whatever our next creation will be with that color incorporated! Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz Hey guys...here is a great OOT or BM gift find...thought I would share. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...recious-61348/ Thanks for sharing! Those bad boys went FAST!!! Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart That’s awesome!!!! I actually said “whoa cool!†when I read this. May I ask why you don’t like it? Just seems like a really interesting job, always different and unique and fighting crime so to speak. OMG I sound like a little kid… The hours are the worst part about the job. Criminals don't commit crimes 8-5pm, so basically we work when they work more often than not. This causes me alot of internal conflict because I would much rather be with my family at night after dinner than putting on my gear to head out the door. There is a saying in Federal law enforcement, "If Uncle Sam wanted you to have a family, he would have issued you one with your gear bag." My second gripe about it is that although it is 2010, women still have to work twice as hard (if not 3x's) to prove themselves in this male dominated field. You need to be able to shoot just as good as them, be willing to go through a door with or before one of them, and basically just overall hold your own. It's sad, but if they smell weakness, they will exploit it. And my last complaint is that it just doesn't jive with my personality some times. I'm pretty bubbly and outgoing and this work place is a very quasi-military profession and there are rules and policies in place to protect you and the citizen's rights. You make one wrong move and you can throw your whole career down the tubes. There's a lot of pressure to be perfect and that is unattainable to me. I basically supress who I really am during work hours to fit the mold of being boring, by the book, and bland. If you ever watch the Cop shows on TV, none of them really have hobbies or personal lives, it's all about the job. That is one thing I can say is modeled accurately about the profession in TV shows. Quote: Originally Posted by dakotaAZ Good Morning I know some of you have mentioned a new coordinator through Karisma, I guess Cecile is gone now also and that is who I was working with....So has anyone worked with Faye yet? WTH did Cecile go No wonder she did not respond to my email a few days ago. We just spoke with our TA last night and she mentioned nothing about it. Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay We now Have Faye as well! My TA likes her but i haven't had a dealing with her yet. I just found out today. Geez, who is this Faye and when/how did you find out you were reassigned? OK Ladies I NEED TO VENT! Deep Breath Long story short - I had reserved thru Cecila May 30th for my date but not put down the $200. My TA and FMIL were going back and forth between 2 resorts AS and The Royal Cancun. Unfortunately when you accept other people's $$ towards paying for the wedding you have to play nice and my FMIL being a former TA wanted to make sure we got the best deal. (She really did get us an awesome rate). Well for one reason or another that I do not know nor care at this point. All the dates for Memorial Day Weekend and the weekend before are now booked for AS. I lost the 30th. Cecila is gone. This all went down this morning. I had a minor freakout (possibly due to the fact that I am control freak and felt like things were out of control). After calming down, talking to the FI, Talking to my mom, talking FMIL I have a new WC (Faye) New wedding date (May 15th 2011) and feel back to normal. I really wanted May 30th but oh well. This morning was basically throw money at the 15th and see if it sticks. I will know for 100% sure in 24 hours. My FMIL and TA got Fabio on a call and basically got it done. AS was really understanding of my problem but booked is booked. It's our own fault for not putting the $200 down in the first place. WHEW - Thanks! I just had to get it all out and type it to feel better. NOTE: Ladies of Memorial Day weekend 2011 - I am sad we won't get to do that shot together. Also a word of warning. According to Fabio and Faye Thursday May 26th - Mon May 30th are BOOKED Solid with brides. They also said that there were some big groups. I would make sure your TA's and guest know that resort is going to be full that weekend and it's probably a good idea for guests to book ASAP. Again I am hearing this 3rd hand from my TA but might be something to be aware of. Is Anyone else getting married on the weekend of May 13 - 15 2011? Thanks for letting me get that all out. Good news I am offically (in 24hours when they email me confirmation) A Paying AS BRIDE!!!! YEAH! I am so excited! First, I am sorry that you had to go through all of this!!! It sounds like you are having to appease quite a few other than you and FI and for that I am sorry. I'm glad in the end it all worked out and that you are please with your new date. Also, thanks for the heads up about the busy Memorial Day Weekend. We were expecting it to be like that, but it is interesting to hear it confirmed. Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda Hey Mags - OMG such drama for you today!!! I feel for ya girl and WTF that hotel had 500+ rooms - and they are all sold out? I cannot believe that. I hope everyone has large room blocks already booked; lesson learned, eh? Honestly, your guests will get cheaper flights to Mexico 2 weeks before Memorial Day and you are 2 weeks further away from the start of hurricane season so I think you have a great new date! Is Memorial Day Weekend the start of hurricane season? Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda PS - what the hell? Did they fire everyone or did everyone quit? I have the same curiosity! Quote: Originally Posted by mmc1105 I'm a Critical Care Nurse, I work nightshift and have a different schedule every week, which is why I have a hard time keeping up with this thread regularly! I also have an almost-one-year-old son! We decided to do our reception on the beach, but thanks for the advice Lime green will look great! So sorry you are going through this with your mom, but I think you are handling it beautifully! Cool profession! Nurses are valuable assets to the world! Seems like moreso that Doctors sometimes. :-) We are also going to shoot for the beach reception, but I haven't been able to see any photos yet and I have alot of curiosities about how it would all play out. And thanks for the kind words, it will/shall all work out. Oh and last thing, lime green it is!!! :-) Quote: Originally Posted by murmel Congrats on taking that deep breath, not freaking out (I would have) and finding a wonderful new date! And like someone else said, your guests will likely get a better price, since it's not a holiday. It's likely a blessing in disguise Geez, at the expense of cheering Maggie up, you all are starting to make me feel bad about the Memorial Day weekend. Hurricane talk, cheaper flights, better prices.....Debbie Downer here. LOL

Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz I am soooo sorry to hear about your mom, but I love your attitude! Ok, i regards to the STD's. I know you said you are not a girly girl, BUT a dark fuchsia would look gorgeous with burnt orange. Just hints of it. Look at Kittenheart's accent color in her flowers. That would be gorgeous. Also, as crazy as it sounds, I think lime green would be a fun "pop." And lastly, and maybe my favorite...turquoise (like a deep turquoise)!!! That would look amazing!!! Any jewel tone will look pretty with burnt orange. Thanks Lindz! I've got no choice but to put on my big girl panties and suck it up. But as for your color suggestions, I love the concept of intergrating lime green, so I'm going for it! I'll give it a try and let you all know how it come out! Quote: Originally Posted by dstinationdrmr I'm sorry you're going through extra unecessary stress with your mom. I know it's easier said than done, but remember the focus if it all....you and your FH!! You still have time and maybe your mom will come around. Have you tried to have a heart to heart with her? Maybe if you bear all of your feelings she'll get the hint and step up a little more. Your STDs are really cute!! I like them. I would also agree with Lindz and incorporate lime green and/or a turquoise or aqua maybe. Thanks for your understanding, Meredith. I appreciate your advice. I've tried the heart to heart and she has not responded. You'd think I cursed at her or disrespected her. But I digress, I can't internalize her issues. I'm going with your advice to focus on the FI and myself and let the other chips fall where they may! Thank you!!!! I was kinda sad because the sample email she sent us versus the real deal were a tad different. They contained less raffia and looked more homemade in my opinion, which I did not like. It's just a STD, so I won't get caught on the small stuff. I'm also taking your advice, and a few other ladies, on the colors and will go with lime green! I like those together, especially since I'm also a huge fan of the banana leaf look on the table, which is what I would like to also use. Oh and I forgot to tell GingerLover.....Congrats on getting AB nailed down and solidified. I know you must be relieved and I'm happy for you!

Quote: Originally Posted by murmel You could easily do a deep blue or maybe a bright sunshine yellow. I am still trying to figure out colors myself.... Thanks for the suggestion, murmel....I've decided to go with lime green. I'm excited to have made another "final" decision. :-) Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay Off the top of my head what about something in the Blue catagory. Maybe light blue? or Green blue. Not sure! Maggie, thanks for your suggestion....lime green it is my friend! Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Well if you want it understated you could do the burnt orange and ivory or a light green if you don't want it girl? Take your STD to a store with different papers or envelopes and hold it next to it and see what you like. Thanks Amy....lime green it is. Quote: Originally Posted by daniepps I'm going to try to post a link to the pictures from my bridal shower. I had a ball. The Sex and the City theme turned out great!!!!!! Danielles Sex and the City Shower pictures by daniepps1128 - Photobucket Everyone looks like they truly enjoyed themselves and the details were beyond thorough! Cool beans! Quote: Originally Posted by LMMDC Congrats on selecting the big day! FI and I also recently booked for July 23, 2011!! Congrats to you both! Quote: Originally Posted by mmc1105 Bigbop, I think we're in similar stages of planning... I sent out my STDs, too! I'm going to try and post a pic of our STDs below! The color is not exact because of the bad lighting, but you get the idea. This may look better: Very cute! Quote: Originally Posted by beaz2be So sorry to hear about all the drama. My heart goes out for you. As for colours, I agree with most of the blue/green suggestions. Light green or bright blue could look great with a burnt orange. Thanks Beaz, this too shall pass. I'm going to take your suggestion and go with a light/lime green. I looked at those two together on theknot and they caught my eye the most, although I did love the aquamarine color too. So MANY decisions! Green it is though! Quote: Originally Posted by hritlinger Azul Sensatori Bride March 11,2011!! Looking forward to getting all of the details planned and finished. Congrats and welcome to you!!!! Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda Wasn't your Mom being very supportive before? That sucks that you have to deal with this amidst planning what should be your most fun party ever! I hope that things get straightened out - good for you for taking time to your self and reflecting. Thanks Amy! She was and then she fell off. I honestly think she doesn't want to contribute to our wedding and rather than just communicate that, she has become dramatic and irrational. My parents are divorced and since I am a grown woman with a career, I didn't expect them to contribute to the costs of our wedding. My Dad volunteered to assist us with a small percentage and FI's Dad sent us a check for the rehearsal dinner. Once we talked openly in front of her about finances and their contributions, she became indifferent about the wedding. She has not returned my calls, emails, or texts in 3 weeks, so needless to say, I don't even know what the "real" reason is. It hurts not to have talked to her in 3 weeks and I don't even know what I did or said wrong, but it is what it is. I wish there was more to story and then I could justify her being mad about something, but even as I type this out it all sounds sooooo silly to me. I've prayed about it and I'm releasing it. :-) Thanks for your kind words though. Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart I know you B2B's don't want to stray from wedding talk but if you don't mind indulging me, what do you all do for work? I'm a Federal Agent, but normally just refer to myself as a Cop because it just sounds so condescending and formal, which is not me at all. I don't like it, but I started young and have 14 years left until retirement, so I just focus on the sliver lining. I also feel bad complaining about a job in this economy when so many are without. Quote: Originally Posted by gingerlover36 Hang in there girl! Your mom will realize the day is about your dream wedding not hers. I hope she will come around soon for your sake. Thanks gingerlover. I hope she does too, because I only plan to do this once!

Thanks sooo much for sharing as well as linking to your choices! This is more helpful than ya know!

Geez, that is huge!!! I apologize! My first attempt at photobucket and I need to learn how to downsize the images. :-(

Hey Ladies! I've been away for a few days and as usual, you Ladies are moving full steam ahead. I needed to get away and not do any wedding planning because I was beginning to get stressed out with the family drama around me. I cannot believe I am posting this on a public forum, but I am having issues with my Mother and she has been making this wedding planning a nightmare as opposed to something fun. I'm her firstborn and only daughter and I guess my expectations of her involvement were/are a little higher than her perception. Anyway, I'm channeling and processing it all and working on beginning to accept that although she has the funds, she just might not be at or involved in my wedding. It hurts, but it is what it is. I just never invisioned my wedding day without my Mom being front row and center stage. Lots of lessons to be learned in life. Moving past the drama and resisting the urge to emotionally dump here....and back on to weddings!!! We got our STD's back and out in the mail. I will be honest and say that I was on the fence about them and almost hesitated to send them out. We found an awesome seller on Etsy and while I loved all of her other work and samples, I don't think my idea translated over well via email. I wanted something very natural and organic. I love raffia and we are using Burnt Orange as our main color with sand brown and white as accents. After seeing our STD's, I am starting to think we might need another bright accent color. I am a tomboy and not a big fan of pink, so that color is out, although I have seen other weddings and I think those two colors are beautiful together. Any suggestions of an accent color to go with burnt orange that don't give off a "fall wedding" feel are greatly appreciated. Because I know how much we all love photos, my STD's that I sent out are below. We placed thins self-adhesive magnets on the rear so that people could place them on their fridge if they chose to. Any ideas for a pretty accent color??

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! Amy, everything looked great and your wedding was beautiful! I also loved to see the items you made yourself. It gave me motivation to get my butt in gear and create an inspiration board so that all these muddled thoughts in my head would come together. Thanks soooooo much for sharing and not forgetting about us B2B's! :-)

Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay Here is the link for the Houston Thread http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...-brides-57310/ I would say the only reason worth going is to register for prizes. One of them was a 4day 3 night trip to Azul Sensatori Which i would love to win for a scouting trip..LOL. Everyone I know who has gone has won something. With that said. My jeweler was there so I got to show my FMIL the wedding band I want and I got some great coupons for the dress shops in Houston. I didn't pay for the tickets because I got them thru work. So It was worth it! Hey Maggie! Do you know if that wedding bonanza has a website so that I can see if they are coming to a city near me? I would love to attend one and of course enter for some freebies. :-) If not, no worries, I just haven't seen any wedding expos in or near my city. Quote: Originally Posted by msmarmar123 And the deposit has been paid for the hotel...we have a wedding date and a hotel confirmation I am as planned as I can be right now. I decided to stay with destinationweddings.com TA...she has been so helpful and has gotten us so much information...I couldn't justify switching to save $10 a person with all the work she has done. And I assume that if I do hear of someone getting a better rate, then my rate can be matched Congrats MarMar on getting your date confirmed!!!! Quote: Originally Posted by beaz2be By the way ladies - I found my dress!! Got it on the first day shopping! I'm sooo excited. It's not ANYTHING like I had envisioned I would want however, so now I'm starting to rethink the whole image of the day/BM dresses etc. I'm over the moon in love with it tho. Congrats on finding your dress!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by jazz04 The trip advisor reviews are freaking me out. Some are so bad of sensatori. I keep second guessing myself. I seems their reviews are really good or really bad. I guess you can't pay attention to that. Anyways getting pics taken Saturday and deciding what to wear. Found a wedding dress I love. ? found BM dresses. Its a start! I know I've been away for awhile and all the other ladies have said this to you, but DO NOT under any circumstances read Trip Advisor. Their comments are so biased and not helpful. Not only did I make the mistake of reading them, but I copied and pasted it into an email and sent it to my BM's to look at JUST their photos because they do have a plethora of photos on there that the Karisma site lacks. While they loved looking at the photos, a few of them began to read the reviews and I had to calm them down and force them to read some of the other resort reviews on different resorts so that they could see how jaded the reviewers are. I won't beat a dead horse, but this is one case where Trip Advisor has been more harmful than good. :-) Oh and CONGRATS on finding your wedding dress!!! What a relief! :-) Now the real fun begins for you! Quote: Originally Posted by dakotaAZ Hello, I have not posted too much on here but have been reading through everything and havefound it to be really helpful, so thanks for all the great information!! We have secured our wedding date at Azul in April but I am wondering how soon did everyone start deciding things like the reception space, food,flower, ect.? April feels pretty far off but I don't want to be behind the curve either. Thanks! Congrats Dakota on scoring your date! That is a sigh reliever and I'm sure all the other ladies will say that things started coming together once their dates were solidified! Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Sorry to jump in with nothing helpful to say! My photographer made this video with stills, video he took and music for my Vegas reception, made me crack up! Hope you like Amy+ Daylen+Vegas - Chris Schmitt Photography - Chris Schmitt LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this video! You two make an adorable couple and are meant for one another!!! Your friends appear no less than a circle of love and watching your video gave me the warm and fuzzies!!! Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda your siggy pix keep getting cuter and cuter Amy. And girls, I PROMISE - my planning thread will be done this weekend. Its going to be stupidly long. In the meantime, check out my adorable Maryland themed AHR favors! LOVE Them!!!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this unique favor! I love how you incorporated the unique sweets as well!!!! FI and I love Old Bay and had some fresh broiled crab in San Francisco this weekend and used Old Bay on the pier like it was salt and pepper! ;-) Quote: Originally Posted by msmarmar123 Just sent it over Hey Marmar, would you mind emailing me the new updates as well, please My email addy is [email protected] . Thank you kindly! :-) Quote: Originally Posted by Ms.H Hey Ladies, I'm just wondering if any of you are using the website provided to you by the resort, and if so, when did you get it and what kind of url is it? If anyone is willing to show me thiers I would totally appreciate it. I know there is a thread dedicated to websites, but Im looking for ones specifically for azul sensatori! Thanks ladies! We are not, we didn't build our own either. We are using the free DW.com site and uploaded all of our info there. It is not the best looking, but it allows our guest to price out their stay by using the drop down tab as opposed to us feeding them too much information overload via two sites. Quote: Originally Posted by chong Hi Ladies!!! I am finally back This has been the longest time I've been away from the forum. So much to catch up. I've been having some bad times in Houston so my life is a complete mess... like yesterday my car was towed in my own apartment parking garage. We have a place to unload and load stuff and less than an hour period a tow truck took my car! the apartment started to let them come in and out as they please and without a second thought they will tow your car. I was furious!!! I came out to my car to go out to the gym and I couldn't find my car. I thought it was stolen! I am so glad that I am back on this forum and start more focusing on the wedding stuff. I have so much to share and so much to talk about... I am about to start Chong Welcome back Chong!!!

Beautiful photos!!!! I love the warmth of them!

Adorable Meredith!!! And look at you starting planning threads and ish! ;-) Love them!

What a great opportunity!!!! I wish we were in the area at the time....we could knock out our engagement shoot with you guys off Karisma property because we BOTH LOVE your work! Good luck BDW.com Brides!!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by murmel Congratulations! I am sure the photos are beautiful! And you should be very proud of yourself that you did it. I am sure your FI was both surprised and thrilled I did a Bedroom photo shoot for FI for Christmas a few years back. It is nerve wreaking...but now I look back at those photos with pride. And my FI loved the photobook! Love the idea of maybe doing some new ones to give him just before the wedding....hmmm.... Thanks! It was fun dressing up in his work shirt because I was anticipating his face and smile the whole time. ;-) Quote: Originally Posted by dstinationdrmr : I'm excited for you! Especially since you joined like 3 months after me and have beaten me to it....guess I need to start posting more! I flipped when I got rid of noob status. Also, happy that your 1st guests booked. I felt the same way. It was kind of a relief that it was confirmed that FI and I were not gonna be the only ones there. Lol. Have a great weekend!! OMG! I think I'm officially the only one that hasn't done this. I won't even wear a bathing suit without a cover-up! Guess that solidifies the fact that I need to be in the gym this weekend. I envy you ladies that have the balls to do this. Maybe one day? Thanks Meredith! We had 3 more book over the holiday weekend, so we officially have 5 guests! I did a little dance because I'm hyped that our family actually will be joining us. After a few of the complaints we initially rec'vd, I started preparing myself for the worse. But alas!!! ;-) If you aren't digging your "problem" areas.....maybe you can wear your FI's work shirt, a favorite jersey, tie, or lie these things across you in a creative way. It will personalize them and give you some comfort...... Quote: Originally Posted by amandamarieb BigBop...forgot to say that I would LOVE to see your pics if you don't mind OM'ing me the link. Thanks!!! Sent!!!! Quote: Originally Posted by murmel You really should go for it! Don't worry too much about the things you don't like...concentrate on what you do like. I love my back and the photog that I used for my boudoir shots, used this as a starting point. Go with what you're comfortable with, and then feel it out. Remember your FI loves you for you! And will be thrilled to recieve such a wonderful exciting and thoughtful gift like this. I bought a cheap set of satin sheets to drape across me to hide certain areas, and it turned out looking sexy and intriguing. Take a few different pieces of sexy lingerie, and one of your FI shirts to wear! I wore one of my FI dress shirts and it turned out to one of his favorite shots. I too wore FI's shirt, that must be the "in" thing? ;-) Quote: Originally Posted by meghan Hey everyone, we are back and soooo happy!! Thank you all for the good wishes...we had AMAZING weather! We flew into a storm and every day just got better and better. Our wedding day was actually the only day that we had not one drop of rain. We didn't think we could get married on the beach the day before our wedding, because it was sooooo windy, but the night before the wedding coordinator told us it would be great, and it was. It was the most beautiful day ever and I want to do it all again! I"m so tired right now, so I'm going to be short, but all I can say is it is a FANTASTIC place to get married. No one has any reason to worry at all. I will post pictures as soon as I get some from friends. If anyone wants to add me on facebook to see pics, please do (meghan yao!) Congrats MEGHAN!!!!!! Welcome back Mrs!!!!!! Can't wait to hear all about it and see photos!!!! I love it when you AS brides return with great stories and positive energy!!! Quote: Originally Posted by dstinationdrmr cjb0arder13 - I'm totally a prude too! That's why I never gave it a 2nd thought. But I am researching it now and if I do it you gotta go it. I don't even have as much time as you have and I have more than just a little jiggle, but I think I'm gonna suck it up, get typsy one day and do it! I'm trying to recruit my MOH to do it with me for her husband. Too bad he's the one who took our engagement pics and she said hell no when I asked if she'd be comfortable with him doing my BD pics! Lol. bigboponthebeach - I've been on the invitations thread lately but you're on a roll girl! I'm almost positive that unless someone slips me a mickey I'm not gonna go totally nude either. I like the idea of a sheet and one of his shirts. Don't even think I can do the panties although I just racked up @ Vicki's Semi-annual sale! I'll put you on standby cause I may text you for a little pep talk when I do it. amandamarieb - I say we all do the BD shoot. I'm game now! Still embarrassed but all in! Too bad if I were you, I'd want to crash that bachelors weekend tho!! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! I'm your number one cheerleader! See my post above about personalizing your shoot with FI's clothing....... Quote: Originally Posted by msmarmar123 Quick question for all of you....did you use a DW specialist to book your travel and group and wedding? I am currently using destinationweddings.com and have ZERO complaints with my TA..she always gets back to me..explains everything..etc.... BUT..I'm thinking it is possible she might be overcharging...my sister has a TA friend and tried pricing out the hotel for the same days and it was A LOOOOOT less. Did any of you switch TAs and is there any special etiquette for doing it? It comes down to price for me...and I don't want my sister's friend to do all this work for nothing...so if she can save me $$$ I would switch....Thanks I too am using DW.com. We are on our second TA with DW.com and all has been great since then! We had a rocky start with our first TA and tried to give ourselves about a month or so to warm up to her. It didn't happen so we emailed the Manager and were reassigned. As far as pricing, any good TA should be open to getting you the best price. The RA's on here are awesome as well, especially Wendy Hicks, who was kind enough to give us an estimate. A good TA is worth their weight in gold!!! Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd Yup, negotiate with your TA and see what she can do. Booking with DW.com comes with other perks and promotions, so if you like what they're offering outside of room price, that could offset the price. Otherwise, switch TAs. There's no harm and you're perfectly within your right to do so. There's no special etiquette involved; your DW.com TA will know it was b/c of price. I completely agree with Wendy here! No one can knock you for switching TA's to obtain the best prices for your guest. A good TA should have that same interest at heart for you. Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz I wanna see!!!!! You may have sent me the link but my inbox is full. I will empty it now1 I started out with dw.com but switched later. I noticed too that they were a lot more expensive. However, if you like your TA, just send her the cheaper options you found, and she should be able to match it. I even sent my TA now some cheaper options on Orbitz and she matched. IF you are looking for a new TA, I HIGHLY recommend Wendy Hicks @ BDW (Wright Travel Agency). SHe is SO SO SO SO SO SO AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SENT!!!!! I second your thought on Wendy. She was awesome to talk to and gave us an estimate for our ceremony when we were considering leaving DW.com. Unfortunately, her prices were the exact same as DW.com, but that was out of her control and they were using the same vendor to pull prices. 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. LOVE them!!!! You look beautiful!!!!! Ryan is going to treasure his book forever!!!! Thanks for sharing! Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda I am still waiting from pictures from Claudia too - her contract says 4-6 weeks. I have my friends photos for now but an DYING for the professional ones. Then again, with all this AHR planning, I probably should only be doing that and not looking at my pictures for hours on end Can't wait to see them! I know you are on pens and needles with anticipation! Quote: Originally Posted by msmarmar123 Hey Everyone Hope everyone had a great 4th of July...we had our very 1st family barbeque at our house with a meeting of the parents and families and all went really well! I started a wedding web site..here's the link if any of you want to check it out...Steve and Marla's Wedding - wedding website by mywedding.com I'm planning on adding a page for things to do in Riviera Maya...if any of you have suggestions..that would be be great. And if you can think of other things that I am missing..let me know that too..Thanx! Cool looking website! 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? Can't wait to see your's as well! I think the anticipation is going to kill me following our return! :-) Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay LOVE LOVE LOVE the photos! OK now I have to do this for Jay. He would be so shocked!! DO IT!!!! Like Amy said, it is empowering! Not to mention, this is a gift unlike any other for your FI. Quote: Originally Posted by murmel Your website looks great Marla! We got one has well since we thought it would be very useful for all our guests. www.miriamandluke.com Nice looking site!

I love your STD maganets!!!!! Very original!

Hi Ladies....I see you have been busy in here! I just caught up on all that you have written! Everyone seems to be moving along at a steady pace. I've been stuck over in the AS thread (totally addicted), and have not had a chance to catch up on much else. :-) I have ordered and have recieved my STD's and have not had a chance yet to mail them out yet. They came last weekend in the mail and I've just been too busy to sit down and address them. Anywho, sometime this weekend I will get it done! I hope May 2011 brides are all well!!!!

What beautiful dresses.....I"ll be back just as soon as I can catch up! Thanks for sharing!!!

They are both really nice!

Fab as usual! The photo of you two with your GM "writing his name in the rocks" could not be anymore classic!!!! ;-)

Wow....I've been away from this thread for about 3 weeks and have missed soooooo much! This thread went from about 3 pages when I first joined to well over 200! NUTS! I'm headed to catch up and will be back!

Quote: Originally Posted by dstinationdrmr : I'm excited for you! Especially since you joined like 3 months after me and have beaten me to it....guess I need to start posting more! I flipped when I got rid of noob status. Also, happy that your 1st guests booked. I felt the same way. It was kind of a relief that it was confirmed that FI and I were not gonna be the only ones there. Lol. Have a great weekend!! OMG! I think I'm officially the only one that hasn't done this. I won't even wear a bathing suit without a cover-up! Guess that solidifies the fact that I need to be in the gym this weekend. I envy you ladies that have the balls to do this. Maybe one day? I bounced around to alot of threads that interested me, but the one I have spent the most time in lately is the OOT thread section. I am looking for ideas and since I am beyond cheap/frugal, I wanted to see what type of deals the other ladies were getting. I also figured if we started buying OOT stuff now, we could save alot of cash. So anywho, that's where a huge chunk of my posts lie, with the exception of this thread! ;-) If I can do it, you can do it! I know it is totally a personal choice, but I am sooooooo out of shape and still carrying baby weight from giving birth years ago! I started losing weight shortly after I had her and then the death of her father just took me over the edge. Because I was busy tending to her needs, I ate everything in site to cope. I just came to terms last year with the fact that I'm an emotional eater. But I'm working on getting back down to my pre-birth baby weight. And it's been way too long and I have no more excuses!!! Probably TMI, but I tell you all that to say if I could show a little skin, I'm sure you'd be alright! ;-) I didn't go totally nude because I was too embarrased of certain "problem areas." But I said if I lost all the pounds I wanted to, I'd do it again later and get a little more adventurous! Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay I get excitied about allthat as well. It's the little things in life I want to see! I will PM you Ok Ladies I think you have sold me on this idea! Going to research in Houston:) I sent it to you! It was a great experience, but I needed the help of patron and a glass or two of wine to calm me down! ;-) Quote: Originally Posted by cjb0arder13 Thank you Amy!! I'm super bummed too. BUT the important thing is that I'm finding out early enough that we can make the changes we need to without completely screwing up the wedding. And I still get to marry the man of my dreams on the beautiful beaches of Mexico, so I'm beyond ecstatic about that! I was head over heels in love with Azul Beach, and yours and Wendy's weddings were SO beautiful and amazing there, but things happen for a reason So our back-up plan is probably going to be Barcelo Maya Palace. It's a HUGE resort...the complete opposite of AB...but my TA has a lot of good things to say about it and I love that there are different options for the more budget-conscious guests. We'll just see where the road takes us! I hope you gorgeous ladies have a great holiday weekend...don't set anything on fire with all the explosives around...I'm gonna keep my hose handy just in case! I don't know anything about that new resort you mentioned, but I do have my fingers crossed for you that your transition from AB works out better than you planned! Have a great 4th as well!!!! Quote: Originally Posted by cjb0arder13 Meredith I totally felt the same way as you. I have SO many parts of my body that I absolutely hate, but I look at it this way: for some crazy weekend, my FI thinks I'm beautiful. I feel like it would knock his socks off to do this for him...he would TOTALLY not expect it, because I'm a total prude, and I want to surprise him. I'm going to do my BD shoot in October/November, which gives me a few months to whip my butt into shape and firm up some of my jigglies! I too have alot of problem body areas. Drives me nuts! But at the end of the day, I tell myself that those are the things that make me, me. And if I don't change them, it will never happen. And like you said, if your FI thinks you're beautiful.....well then that's all that matters! My FI will not expect it either and will be totally shocked!!! We did them when he was out of town for work, so he will be completely caught off guard.

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Just saw them and wrote you back with my favorites! I love them, I don't think you look nervous at all, I think you're a very pretty girl and your FI is going to adore them! How funny, I had a patron shot and I think 2-3 glasses of wine... my shoot was over 4 hours long! I brought my BF with me who convinced me to go topless and eventually naked... don't know how she managed that one but I'm happy I did it. That photo ended up going on my photographers blog you can't see my face or any parts but I think I fell out of my chairs when someone pointed that out. Thanks so much Amy! I hope he loves them! I'm sure Lindz's will be beautiful!!!! I couldn't go naked because I have way toooooo many pounds to drop! LOL Even when I was totally nude, I found myself clutching the sheet for dear life! LOL I kept telling the photog, "DO NOT get my cellulite!" So I'm sure he felt creatively limited with me. I would have loved to be a little self-consious but I figured oh well, at least I tried it. LOL But thanks, I'm looking forward to making the book for FI! Quote: Originally Posted by amandamarieb That's not strange at all. I cannot wait to hit full member status but I fear that it won't happen until after my wedding. Speaking of, today I am exactly 100 days out! Whoa hooo...better get down to work! The OFFICIAL 100 day countdown!!!! Go girl! :-)