clgriffi7

Would you mind letting me know where you got the travel size aloe? I have been looking for those.....

Amy - you did an amazing job. I love all of the clothing (your dress, the BMs dresses, and all the fellas) and your flowers were gorgeous. I would also like to say that it looks like you took wonderful care of your guests. I only wish I could afford that many activities for mine!

Thanks for the encouragement ladies! I plan on going and ordering that dress tomorrow. One more question: Do you think that mermaid with the ruffles will do well for a TTD shoot or should I think of ordering a flowy chiffon/organza knock-off? Courtney

I need help!!! My anticipated wedding date isn't until November 2011, so it is way early to be looking at dresses. My work does a shutdown over the 4th of July, so I was on vacation this week and couldn't help but dress shop. I hit 3 stores and found a dress I love and it is on sale (15% off). My question to all of you is: should I buy the dress now while it is on sale even though it is 16-17 months before my wedding? I am going to try and upload pictures of me in the dress (hopefully it will work - this will be my first attempt at uploading). Sorry for the other bride in the background of the "front" picture. BTW - I am getting married in Mexico, so I thought the ruffles were a nice touch.

I think dress #1 looks very pretty and beachy (soft), but I agree with the other ladies that dress #2 looks great on your body!

Don't give up on your dream! Does your father really want you to have the traditional ceremony or would he be happy with an AHR? I think most brides that have an AHR (I plan on doing an AHP (at home party)) do so to allow family members and friends that can't make the DW an opportunity to celebrate with the couple. You could even wear your wedding dress to the AHR... I hope your father would go for that option, so you can have your dream but still give him what he wants.

Congratulations! One thing that helped me narrow down the different locations was flight prices. If you hope to have a good number of guests join you then chosing a location with cheaper flights from your airport could help. There is also the opposite, so if you want fa more intimate wedding.....

My fiance is almost 7 years older than I am - currently I am 29 and he is 36. I think it is very fortunate that he is 7 years older because we both agree that I wouldn't have had anything to do with him when he was 29 (irresponsible and immature).

I have decided on light blue and navy blue. One reason I chose navy blue is because I think (make that hope) that it will be able to match up. Seems like everything (dresses, ribbon, etc.) is available in navy blue. I plan on buying chair bows (ceremony and reception) and napkins (reception), as the resort package provides everything in white (chair covers, table cloths, plates, etc.). In order to pick colors that would go well together, I actually ordered sample lots of the napkins and chair bows from efavormart. A sample lot of each cost me a total of ~$42 including shipping, but it gives me a bit of peace of mind. Hope this helps. Courtney

Hey Robbie - Congratulations!! I am not sure if you have a travel agent yet, but everyone on this site seems to love the travel agents that "run" it. Click on the banner at the very top of each page. I have had a few communications with Jill and her banner indicates she is a Dreams expert. Good luck! Courtney

What I plan to do is register online for a honeymoon fund. My fiance and I are both own our own houses and will already have 2 of everything when we combine our houses. The last thing we need is more stuff!! In fact my fiance's little brother will get a lot of our duplicates and he made a comment that it was like his wedding. There are several honeymoon registry websites out there (I have even come across a thread on this forum - which means there are likely several!). Some couples just collect all of the gifts in a single fund while others "register" for dinners or excursions while on vacation so guests can still buy a particular item. I hope this helps! Courtney

Thanks!! Best wishes with your upcoming wedding! (mine is still too far out to even book a date, but I have already become addicted to this forum and can't help myself when I come across great ideas like these)

hat0112 - Did you buy the etsy frame with the picture or the frame with the engraving? I see that the page for the engraved frame mentions being able to seal it after the ceremony, but the page for the picture frame does not. I like the idea of both, but not being able to seal the phot frame could definitely sway me towards the engraved one. Please let me know which one you got and if it has a "lid". Thanks! Courtney

I just bought the ID badge holders from ebay and the wrist coils from oriental trading company. The coils from OTC come with whistles - should I leave those on or take them off. On the one hand, my guests might have fun with those. On the other hand, the other people at the resort might hate me for it! Let me know what you think... Courtney

I have read the question on other threads, but don't think I have seen an answer yet: has anyone had any trouble taking starfish or shells into Mexico? I think the starfish on the back of the ceremony and reception chairs (like the inspiration picture Tissey has) is just beautiful, but I would hate to spend a lot of time/money just to have them confiscated. Courtney

dreamyeyez - I actually started by looking at RIU Palace Riviera Maya...I think that resort is beautiful. What swayed me towards Dreams are the reception options. With the RIU package, a reception in one of the resort restaurants was included - but you just got a portion of the restaurant, so your reception wouldn't be private. With Dreams it they include a private reception for up to 20 ppl in the highest level package. I love the idea of getting married in a gazebo overlooking the water and then having a private reception set up on the beach. Just wanted to put that info out there in case you hadn't seen it on their websites. If you see anything really interesting or make a final decision, please let me know! Also, when are you thinking of getting married? I am thinking Nov 2011 to give 1 year+ to save money and then wait until after hurricane season. Courtney Courtney

Michelle - I am thinking we are going to do more of a party instead of a reception. We think we could have between 100-150 people in attendance. One of the reasons we chose a destination wedding is that there is no way we could afford a nice traditional wedding for the number of people we would have to invite (my fiance hasn't lost contact with a friend since elementary school - and unfortunately I am not kidding). So we are more likely to find a place with a bar that we can rent out and do a pre-paid tab, have hors d'oeuvres (sp?), and hopefully a DJ. Cafe Luna sounds like a great option - I have seen where they actually hold wedding ceremonies there, so I am sure they can help you with anything you would want. Courtney

I had to google "OOT" as well. In this forum you will see some ladies that spend a whole lot of money on these bags and those that don't. I think the OOT bag is a good idea - especially since it is a great way to include at a minimum a thank you letter from you and the groom as well as an itinerary of events (obviously the wedding day itself, but also if you are planning an excursion, welcome cocktails, day after brunch, etc...). If you follow some of the planning threads, brides will say what they are putting into the bags and often give links to where they bought the items. I am more than a year out from my wedding, but I have started keeping a list of items I like and the websites they came from in case I can't find the threads later on. Hope this helps! Happy planning... Courtney

Hi Kevin - Congratulations on your engagement! I see you listed Cary as your location - I live in Raleigh. My fiance and I are still trying to find the perfect resort for our wedding (likely Riviera Maya, Mexico), but we are also trying to find a local location for a post-wedding party. Not sure if you are planning a party for the people that can't travel, but if so - I would love to share ideas. Congrats again...

He wasn't upset at all - since I said YES! each and every time :-)

Congratulations on your engagement! I am an NC girl so I am glad to hear you chose the Outer Baks...

When I tell the story to friends about his attempted proposal in the jewelry store, he always replies with "Well you ruined the surprise factor..". To which I reply "I don't remember inviting myself to go ring shopping" (his first attempts by himself were on the sly).

I thought a few of you might find it amusing, so I am sharing my proposal story. My fiance went ring shopping without me and apparently became very overwhelmed. Eventually he asked me to go shopping with him and we found the perfect ring - one that we both love. While the sales lady was ringing up the purchase, my man turns towards me (we are sitting in chairs) and says, "So, will you marry me?". To which I respond, "I am not getting engaged in a jewelry store!" We had a long weekend trip to NYC planned for the following weekend, so I told him he had to wait until then to ask me so I could have a "story". We get to NYC and take the subway to Grand Central station (with our bags) so we get head up to the street and walk to the hotel. While we are in Grand Central, he asks me if I know where the bathroom is. So I start looking around and when I turn back to him, he is on one knee. He then asks me to marry him and I say "Of course!... now get up!" as there were people around staring and I can be a shy person. I then have to tell him that he is not allowed to post our new status on Facebook until AFTER I have called my mother and sister. For the rest of the weekend in NYC - I would pull my fiance aside and say "You have to ask me again". He would then pull me close (and not down on his knee - so no one around us knew what was going on) and, with real feeling in his eyes, ask me to marry him. So I get to say that I got proposed to in Grand Central, on the Brooklyn Bridge, at a Broadway show, on top of the Empire State Building, at the Statue of Liberty, and in Central Park. I guess I got my story :-)

I just got engaged June 4th to a man I met on eharmony. Although I still have a bit of hesitancy saying that I met my man online (I suppose I still feel like there is a bit of stigma attached to it), I will certainly sing eharmoy's praises from the rooftop. The match you well and they have a great step-wise communication program that starts with multiple choice questions that you select and ends with an internal email-like communication. My fiance and I met early July 2008 and dated just shy of 2 years before he popped the question. One of our "disagreements" has been over our anniversary - is it the day you start communicating online or the day you met for the first time? I guess that argument will be put to rest next year when your anniversary becomes the day you got married!! (oh crap - nope, still going to be a disagreement - will it be the date of the courthouse marriage back home or the symbolic ceremony in Mexico!)

Adriana - Thanks so much for your reply. I am really impressed with the Dreams packages as well. At first I looked at the RIU packages and was happy - but then I saw the Dreams package and it blew RIU away. I think my fiance and I are going to have a tough time picking between the 4 resorts in the Cancun/Riviera Maya area. Each of them has pluses and minuses based on location of the resort and wedding/reception locations on the resort. I think one of the top factors for me will be a wedding ceremony site that is a bit more private (like the Cancun or Puerto Aventuras gazebos). I am definitely glad to hear that you are impressed with the food/alcohol/room decor as well. I thought all of that was fantastic for a resort that seems quite affordable for guests. Courtney