clgriffi7

If it were me, I would probably go to my finace and say that you know his other brother now has a conflict and you are willing to reschedule ONE LAST TIME. And after the date is set this time it doesn't matter who can't come. That way you are being understanding of his family needs but he realizes you are now putting your foot down. Â I would be bothered by the situation as well, but I would hate to think of starting my marriage with my new husband secretly (even subconsciously) mad at me because his brother couldn't make it. Good luck!

My fiance and I plan to have the STD mention the wedding place (resort and location), wedding date, the AHR date, and the website. The website will be update with AHR info as it becomes available (venue, times...) Â I too wanted people to know there would be a way to celebrate with us back home in case that influenced their decision to spend the extra money to travel to Mexico. Â I don't know if there is a protocol to how this should be done, but this makes the most sense to my fiance and myself.

We are going to do an At Home Party - we will rent out a private space at a local bar and have a prepaid tab, cupcake tower, ipod music through the sound system, hors d'oeuvres, and a slideshow. We want to celebrate with people but there is no reason for a formal reception and the cost associated with it. It is not rude to skip the AHR - it is actually rude to tell a bride and groom how to celebrate their union. Do what you want and let them say whatever they will....

BTW - I have ordered from efavormart (I ordered the sample lot of crinkled taffeta sashes and the sample lot of colored napkins to help me choose my color scheme for the wedding) and they came as ordered and in a timely fashion.

For the kind I am looking for (crinkled taffeta) this site has them a little bit cheaper: http://www.efavormart.com/taffeta-chair-sashes.aspx $1.39 each when ordering less than 50  for reference efavormart's satin sashes are $0.99 each, organza is $0.89 each  Â

Wow! You looked beautiful in that dress and those flowers were gorgeous! Congratulations on such a stunning wedding....

Congratulations!!! She is gorgeous...

Number 1 is definitely more bridal but number 2 is more fun and will really stand out in the pictures. As I am doing my TTD in my actual dress I would choose number 1, but that may not be the look you are going for....

I am with eholt - my fiance and I are making the rings part of the wedding budget.

My ceremony shoes just came in! I am having the wedding at a gazebo and then the reception on the beach, so I will go from heels to barefoot. Let me say that I had a ton of trouble looking for shoes because the heel height I can wear is limited: my fiance and I are the exact same height. He and I agreed that I could wear heels (because I just feel prettier and more confident when I wear them - don't ask why bc I don't know), but they just couldn't be too high because of pictures. So I found myself looking for shoes with a 2.5" heel - not easy to do and have them not look like old lady shoes. Here is what I found: (style: Culver, Mfg: Nina, color: raspberry)

Not sure if I am the only one, but I can't see either of the dresses in your post! I love looking at everyone's dresses, so I would love to see what you have chosen....

That cake topper is cute, but likely made out of something edible. Here is a link to a website for something similar but made of clay so it is something you can have the wedding day and keep for later: http://www.mrsclay.com/ (I found that website after seeing a BDW bride's topper she ordered from them) I plan on using Mrs. Clay because it will be a way to incorporate our dog (my fiance is very bummed that the dog can't be there for the wedding). Though I plan on ordering a Mrs. Clay cake topper as a surprise for the fiance, I plan on just putting it beside the cake on the table. I think cakes that just have floral decoration are the prettiest.

I found David's Bridal to be really over the top as well. The sales lady that helped me was great - they just didn't have any dresses that were right for me.... I tried to be polite and say that I was going to look at other stores and maybe be back. (I have since ordered a dress from another store.) Now I get calls at least once a week - maybe I just should have been rude and told them the truth!

My fiance and I met on eHarmony in July 2008 and got engaged June 2010 with a planned wedding date in November 2011. Gotta admit that eHarmony knows what they are doing....

I agree that shorts seems a bit too casual for me! My fiance also wanted to wear shorts but I definitely put an end to that one. We compromised on a long-sleeved linen shirt with rolled up sleeves, khaki linen pants and brown leather sandals. I think he is happy he won't be wearing a suit and tie, so he feels like he won too....

I am so happy for you! You now have an even better dress and you have your money back...and hopefully no gray hairs for all the stress she caused you. I am proud of you for not backing down....

My AHR will be more like a AHP (At Home Party) as we are renting an upstairs area at a bar and having beer/wine, hors d'oeurves, cupcakes, music, and a slideshow. Because of that I don't want to wear my wedding dress again - close quarters, drinks to be spilled, and a casual atmosphere. My fiance and I will be getting legally marrried at the courthouse beforfe we fly to Mexico. For that day I have bought a bridesmaid dress in white so as to be a bit dressed up, but not too much. I plan on wearing that white bridesmaid dress for the AH"P" as well. I still get my bridal white, but I get a dress that is a lot more appropriate for the event we are holding.

I was originally going to order a knock-off for the TTD, but decided to just wear my ceremony dress. At first I was thinking that it wouldn't look that good in the water (it is a mermaid with ruffles at the bottom), but I realized it will be more special if it is THE dress. Let me say that I am not that sentimental - I know I will not wear the dress again so it is more important to have great pictures of it. I also have to say that budget was a factor. I could have easily bought a knock-off and the fiance would never have known the difference in the finances, but I think it would have caused a problem when he saw the second dress and considered it wasteful. So in an effort to save money and keep the peace, I chose NOT to buy a 2nd dress for the TTD.

Both are beautiful - but I agree that the Brianna is a bit better. You are definitely a girl that can totally rock the mermaid and I think the Brianna shows that off a bit better (the volume of the ruffles in the Jenna dress make the dress the focal point - whereas you are the star when wearing the Brianna dress). But you do look great in both, so if Jenna is the one that made you cry then maybe that is a sign. I would say go back and try both on again and just see which one FEELS right. When you look at those wedding pictures 20 years from now, which dress can you envision? Good luck - the great thing is there is no wrong choice here!

I ordered my dress at one of the discount bridal stores (where you don't get the help of a personal sales person) for $525. The sticker price was $618 but they were having a15% off sale on a few styles of that designer at the time. The sale did pressure me into ordering earlier than I had planned, but so far I still love my choice. The sticker had a "compare at" price of $927, but I don't know if that is real or just a number to make you feel good about your "discount". I had set $1000 as my limit for the sales price of the dress, knowing that tax, alterations, and undergarments could cause the price to rise closer to $1500. I am happy that everything will be under $1000 for the dress I chose because my fiance doesn't understand about about a girl and her wedding gown so $1500 would have been a tough pill for him to swallow.

jszy10 - if you happen to find out how to have guests mail them from Mexico, can you share on this thread? Since this is such a great idea, I bet there are a lot of brides out there that would love to know the answer. Sometimes gift shops at resorts sell post cards and stamps - maybe it could be as simple as to pop into the gift shop at your resort once you get there and ask for their entire stock of stamps At most hotels you go to, you can normally drop posted mail off at the front desk to be sent, so I think the actually mailing it off part will be the easiest.

Wow knacarto - your date is coming up really soon! Congratulations.....

I can't advise when the pictures will be best, but I can say that most brides choose sunset just because it is more convenient for a cocktail hour/dinner reception. If you choose a morning ceremony just keep in mind that it might require a bit of extra planning as to how you want the rest of your day to go.

You are not being a bad daughter. You have tried to include her and even offered to pay her way! If you don't think she really wants to go and you are truly okay with her not being there, then not having her there will help you enjoy your wedding with less stress. I would just try to give her a deadline ("I have to know tonight") and slightly encourage her to stay home, but in a way that she won't feel like you are uninviting her. You might not want her at your wedding, but best to not create any extra tension - let her think she is the one deciding. Good luck! Courtney

If you are in love with it, then you have to get it! (and BTW it looks fabulous on you - I too chose a mermaid with ruffles on the bottom and I think it is the perfect way to mix a traditional dress with a bit of destination flair) The ONLY reason to not go ahead and order that dress right now is if you have any reason to believe your bridal shop will be putting it on sale anytime soon. I ordered mine super early just because of a sale. Good luck - you will look beautiful in it! Courtney