fmichelle

That' an awesome app, thanks for sharing, really cuts of variables of things going wrong. We're not hiring a DJ either, not just because of cost, but it looks like we're only going to have about 20 people and I just couldn't justify it. We'll probably do our first dance with the iPod and some other things, but the resort has a club that we'll head over to afterwards and we can dance there for free! I'm still torn on the kind of docking station I plan to use. The resort has an option of renting, but they charge by the hour and then at the end of the day, you don't have anything. For a little more we can have our music with us on the beach and at the pool throughout the whole week. Any suggestions on this front? We know we want one that has a battery as well as A/C option, a remote control, as well as a line input so that we can hook up a microphone. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks again for the app, going to bookmark it in my "wedding" folder.

Love your shoes! You'll have to get at least a few pics with them before you go barefoot Maybe check out some barefoot sandals (a kind of jewelry for the feet) so when you take off the fab shoes your feet will still look fab, just a thought Congratulations!

There are also a lot of options on eBay for large lots of canvas bags. Perhaps if you have a smaller group you could find another bride to go in on it with you. I was looking to spend no more than $2 per bag including shipping (and I'm also concerned by the thinness of the cheaptotes ones) How many did you need? I'm probably only going to need about 15 and the smallest lot at the price I want is 50. PM if you're interested.

I really like your color choices, it'll look beautiful on everything.

Since we're on the topic of numbers, what date did you all put as your RSVP date? I'm getting antsy and already buying OOT bag items, but I didn't request the RSVP till mid-January. I just sent out an email with a coupon code for Orbitz (100VACATION btw for $100 off any Mexico/Caribbean trip booked) to help those few stragglers decide. Just curious how you all are dealing with the numbers game. Lisa, I'm going to check out the Niagara Falls wedding site, sounds interesting! Anything in the script about "taking the plunge?" Sorry, bad pun. If you're having trouble finding shoes, have you exhausted all the online options? You can try and do a search by, eg heels, (your color), (desired height), and it will show you tons of websites. Just don't put in the word "wedding" because the price will automatically double.

islandbride, sounds good to me. My package price is similar at Excellence. I'll just have to be prepared. Thanks for your input.

Love the engagement shoot, we're still waiting to have ours. As a former Chicagoan, I will have to check out that jewelry store next time I go home to visit my parents. You're colors are beautiful, looking forward to the pics when you return.

Great color scheme, and I love the dress quick change, good idea! My dress too was previously enjoyed, that way I won't feel too badly when I trash it! Congratulations. BTW, your older relatives thinking you actually sent them a ticket made me laugh, I can totally see that!

Congrats and welcome. I haven't been to that particular resort, but if you're unable to get your answer here, definitely go to tripadvisor.com and do a search of the name of the resort and "wedding review". You'll get some great info there, I know it helped me make my decision. I would also recommend doing a search on YouTube. It helped me avoid booking at a certain moldy Bahamas resort. (not exaggerating, someone filmed their room with a flip cam and it was repulsive!). Good luck!

Absolutely agree, loved this movie. I love when you walk out of the theatre (also so it in IMAX) and you have to discuss what you've just seen. As a screenwriter myself, stories that are so layered and complicated impress me to no end and inspire me to work even harder as they totally raise the bar.

Quote:Originally Posted by lisadias Congrats on the weight loss Tenny. That is fantastic. I need to kick that into gear in the new year. Hard core for 4 monthsl lol Ella-glad to see things are working in your favor! Thanks for the suggestions Michelle! I am going to be taking the high speed hydrofoils so it shouldn't be too bad! Book my flights tonight! Sooo excited Toronto to Athens then Athens straight to Crete to start my honeymoon. Also Booked a private crete villa with pool for 4 days there. Also I almost finished our ceremony script today. One more thing off the list. Geez I did my list today and it is HUGE! Thank god FI seen I was so stressed out today and spent the entire days researching stuff with me! LOVE the shoes!!!!!! Lisa, yeah the high speed boats definitely make a difference. I was doing the budget backpacking thing post college, slow and cheap was what I did. I'd love to know where you got your ceremony script from. I've been working on ours, we want to include most of the Jewish traditions, even though we're not really religious, just the traditional stuff. Still deciding on if we're going to do a Kattubah as well (even though a Rabbi isn't doing our ceremony). I've just searched basic ceremony scripts online and picked what I liked, but it's not "there" yet. BTW, jealous of your shoes Teira. Since we're getting married on the beach I've either got to go with flip-flops, wedges, or barefoot (or those barefoot sandals I've seen--anyone else considering those?)

Congratulations, what a great proposal story! We're actually honeymooning at the Majestic Elegance and cannot wait. We've never done the DR so hopefully we'll find it as wonderful as you did.

Congratulations, I'm sure everything turned out beautifully! I love how you individualized everything and made the whole thing so personal. Love your color choices and your dress it to die for. Congratulations! I really like what your key card inserts said, I may have to "steal" them Enjoy being a "Mrs."!

I like the original one better, personally. Like I said before, get it steamed, get it altered, and you'll look like a million bucks, not just $1000. Your FI is gonna say "I do" no matter what.

My wedding is also in April and I'm pushing my FI to go shopping now since mine will have to be custom ordered (my E-ring took almost 8 weeks because of the small size) We actually lucked out and found a band he liked when we were vacationing in Hawaii last week with titanium and koa wood, so we've at least gotten that taken care of. I was concerned about buying over the internet because sizes aren't always exact and since he was getting titanium, there was no way to resize it. We'll probably go back to the store where he bought my e-ring since he was able to negotiate a good deal with them. I'd recommend like the other ladies, sooner rather than later, it's not something you want to buy in a rush because of an upcoming deadline.

My biggest piece of advice for saving money, start early and often. I got some great deals on things through eBay and because I'm not in a hurry, I can wait for shipping from Hong Kong. I've also used Craigslist (got a great veil for $10) and bought my wedding dress used (recycledbride.com) Always search the words "coupon code" with the name of the website before ordering ANYTHING. Also, sign up at a website called Fatwallet.com which gives you cash back when you click through their site first (good for travel sites too!) I did the vistaprint thing and got a ton of stuff for free, only paid $10.40 for shipping for everything. (clicked through another site with top 10 free items and then it just kept updating the same shopping cart) Thanks to everyone for adding their ideas to this thread, absolutely no reason to overspend just got it's got "wedding" in the name.

Does this vary by country? If we are paying for a wedding package and there are no outside vendors (everything is taken care of by the resort, no musicians, no florists, etc) I thought we'd tip the wedding coordinator and the hair/make-up...more to add to the budget. Any other Punta Cana all-inclusive brides care to elaborate?

I was in a sticky situation because this is actually my second marriage, and to top it off, shortly before my FI proposed my father was diagnosed with cancer. So, my family didn't want to even talk about the wedding, they would seem interested, but then turn it around. Once he got the free and clear after his surgery, my mom showed some more interest again. I got my mom excited about the dress by trying on her old dress and the two of us cutting it up and deciding that I would use parts of her dress on mine (since hers was falling apart anyway) We went to a dress shop together so I could try stuff on for her and in the end we picked the same one, I bought it used online, and FI chose to pay me back for it because he wanted to. BTW, my parents didn't pay for my first dress either, it was a gift from my ex's father who was the director of a fashion show for a couture wedding gown designer in Italy. I'm actually trying to sell that one now, it's absolutely gorgeous, just can't see myself ever wearing it again.

Congratulations, everything looks great! If you don't mind, what dollar store did you get the bags at? I've decided to go with a plain bag and attach cards to them, but I haven't seen anything I like that's affordable. Thanks! And happy nuptials!

The newsletter looks great! I'm so confused as to what to include, since I've put most everything on the website already. Do you think guests would appreciate having something in hand that they can bring with them as opposed to just reading it on our wedding website? Like other brides, I was thinking of doing the vistaprint thing, but their minimum amount is so much higher than the number of guests we're having....thanks for the inspiration, much appreciated.

Hi and welcome. I was looking at St. Thomas in the USVI before I ended up in the DR. I did a lot of research on different locations and wedding planning options. The people at Bolongo Bay seemed really nice and very accommodating. I'm sure you'll find a lot of advice and help on the forum. Congratulations!

Congratulations, and welcome to the forum. Maui is a beautiful place to have a wedding. We just on the Oahu a couple weeks ago and stumbled across a wedding on a small stretch of beach, absolutely gorgeous. Don't let the little things stress you out, remember that this planning thing is supposed to be fun!

Tenny, congrats on the weight loss, that's amazing, good for you! I see you're in New York, I'm not sure how far you are from Manhattan, but Century 21 is AMAZING! You may also want to check your local Craigslist, I'm sure some people are going to be cleaning out their closet. That's how I found my awesome veil for only $10! Good luck and keep up the good work!

Not sure if you'll see this but, I just made a delicious italian inspired recipe with chicken sausage from Trader Joes. I start with olive oil in a pan, then saute some fresh garlic in it, then I add finely chopped potatoes. Once they've cooked for some time, I add in some skinned and chopped eggplant. At this point you may need to add a little more olive oil so the pan doesn't get too dry. After they've softened for a bit, then I'll add some chopped bell peppers, I prefer the different colored ones because they look pretty After they've cooked for a short time, I add in a couple spoons of olive tapenade (I've used fresh olives, but the pre-made tapenade is easier) and after that has spread through the pan I add some garlic powder and some bread crumbs (probably almost 1/4 cup) and I stir that around for a bit. Then, I'll cut two long sausage links into very small pieces and add that to the mix. The recipe actually calls for some capers as well, but when I made this tonight I didn't have any on hand. You can put them in near the end, and make sure you rinse them first because otherwise it'll be a little too salty. I hope this makes sense, I don't really cook with exact recipes, more by look. But I promise you, this is delicious!

I am not familiar with shuttershock particularly, but I have used other stock photo/stock video sites for my work in the past. In my experience, I recommend pond5.com. Their rates seems to be the best (at least for video anyway...I'm a filmmaker) and yes, after you download you are welcome to use the image however you want as much as you want, as long as you don't take credit for creating the image. I client I did work for also introduced me to istock.com. The same rules apply there as well. Just make sure that whatever format you download the image in is acceptable to whatever program/company you are importing the image into for your invites. I hope that made sense, good luck with it, way to think outside the box and be creative!