fmichelle

Welcome back, Diva! Your pictures are so beautiful! I'm so glad everything was so great. I'm getting so excited as I leave 3 weeks from tomorrow. I feel like it cannot come soon enough. Congratulations, you made an absolutely beautiful bride!

All I have to sat to that is WTF?!!!!!

I'll jump on the venting about sisters bandwagon. I still haven't spoken to mine since she sent me that lovely email about "feeling so badly" about not being able to attend my wedding. When I told my parents about it they were very nonchalant saying "oh yeah, we knew about that." Anyway, I won't be calling her first, she hurt me, very badly. Brandy! 2 Days?! Awesome! Make sure to get your rest. I hope you're over whatever cold thing you had going on. Victoria, BRONCHITIS?! Yuck! I started feeling sick myself after my BD shoot on Friday, maybe it was standing around half naked for a few hours that did it I hope you feel better soon! I know what a crappy thing it is to fly sick. Hopefully the doc has got you on meds, stat. And sorry to hear about your flower girl and all the last minute cancellations. I'm in the same boat. But just remember, once you get to paradise, you won't even think about who isn't there and you'll just be concentrating on who is there (and the lucky guy who you get to marry of course) Lua, I LOVE Dave & Busters! What an awesome surprise! It sounds like your family and friends know you and FI very well. Glad you had an awesome time. Meggers, good luck at your second fitting, looking forward to seeing pics. Speaking of pics, the BD shoot was such a blast! I got my hair trial done in the am, went to the MAC counter right afterwards, then headed home to pick up everything before heading out to the hotel my photographer recommended I book (and I'm so glad we did, made it so much better than her apartment would have been). Unfortunately, when I got home, FI was just leaving and I had to duck so he didn't see me, he was very confused to see a car "driving itself." Anyway, I'm kind of glad I was one of the last of the April ladies to go so I could "steal" some photo ideas. I hope to have some samples soon!! I kept looking at the camera display and saying "wow, that's me??" Have a wonderful day ladies!

Tisha, great pics, thanks for sharing. FI is going to love them. My countdown: 1 day till BD shoot 21 Days till legal day (we got the date we wanted, yay!) 20 days of work left 27 days till we leave for the DR 32 days till we get married on the beach! Just got notification today that my photoguestbook shipped from Mixbook. Website originally said we'd get it by April 4th, UPS now says March 29th! I'll let you all know about the quality if you're still considering ordering.

Greta, don't know how I missed your post. So sorry to hear about your scare. But what a great way to celebrate being negative! Congrats. Brandy, that totally sucks about the dress. But hopefully a good steaming at your resort will get out every last unwanted wrinkle. That's totally lame about the seamstress lying to you. I still have one more fitting, so fingers crossed over here. Erin, I'm flying USAir down and I talked them a while back. They said they don't have closets for the dress, it has to be a carry-on that you put in the overhead bin. Despite flying to the DR, somehow that's not international, so we'll be paying extra baggage fees for sure. However, I was told that sometimes they have upgraded a bride and groom to first class at check in, so it doesn't hurt to ask when you get there. Brandy, you should definitely try that.

So excited, headed to Beverly Hills to pick up our marriage license. Apparently that courthouse is a popular place to get married so we're hoping to schedule our legal date for before we leave. Kinda cool to say we're getting married in BH, 90210 :-) (legally that is) and our two best friends that can't make it to Punta Cana are going to be our witnesses. Fingers crossed they still have appointments available. (they only do legal ceremonies one day a week)

As far as the name thing goes, I took my ex's last name when I got married the first time, so FI would be really insulted if I didn't take his name. And on the professional side, I already anticipated this, so I started using my first and middle name for all my work. It's definitely a pain to change your name (already did it twice now with going back to my maiden name after the divorce) but the kids issue is a really important one. And afterall, I'm going from an 8 letter German name to a 9 letter Russian name, what's the difference really (and I'm moving up one in the alphabet too

Oh wow, totally forgot you had that issue and didn't remember that it was with shutterfly. Well, I'm waiting for my guestbook from Mixbook and I paid the extra $5 for shipping with tracking, so we'll see how that goes. I wonder if shutterfly offers shipping with tracking in the states. I will definitely check in to that before ordering. Thank you so much for reminding me.

Has anyone put together their own guest book that's a photobook from a website like Publisher or VistaPrint? I have thought about doing it but wanted to get any advise from you ladies. I don't have a creative bone in my body......so it has to be easy:0 Greys, that's exactly what I did with Mixbook. Around the time I was researching different photobook companies, they had a deal through Groupon and since they're one of the highest rated photobook makers, I went for it. We used pictures from our childhood, comparing what we looked like at the same ages and then pictures from throughout our relationship (especially cause our engagement shoot was pretty bad). They have a lot of pre-formatted options and you just drag the pictures in. Do a quick search for "photobook coupons" on google. I know picaboo was offering a free one for a bit, but their reviews weren't all the high with regards to quality. I happened to find another groupon for Shutterfly the other day (also rated very highly for their photobooks) so I'm going to use that one for my BD book for my FI. If you need inspiration, there are a lot of examples of photobook guestbooks on the mixbook site.

Oh and Teira, about the different color vest, that is really odd that they didn't check with you to confirm that that was what you wanted. I think if FIL doesn't have a vest it won't be too big a deal, and with the temp on the beach, maybe he'll be happier with one less layer? And Char, those cupcakes rock! I'm a big baker myself and can totally appreciate the creativity that went in to those. How cute of your co-workers to throw you a shower. My students have been wanting to throw me a bachelorette (I teach acting to adults BTW) but along with the rules of not supposed to be fraternizing with students outside of school, not sure how professional I could be with them after an experience like that :-). They said that they'll get one of the guys in class to strip...not really something I'd want get fired over!

Wow, one day of a seven hour class and I fall totally behind. First off, thank you everyone for the words of encouragement. It's been a problem over the last few months and now that I know for sure, I'm going to make sure to be okay with it. I don't have a wedding party, or any friends on my side coming down (except my photographer, who gave me a really nice pep talk yesterday, which was awesome) so I think I will ask my FFIL to walk me down. We're very close, they live only 3 blocks from us and we pretty much see them every week, and they are our future babysitters. Brandy, sucks being sick! Chicken soup, Emergen-C, zinc lozenges, OJ, lots of echinacea tea and you should be back in time. Meggers, flower wise you may want to just bring down a jewel or something for each bouquet, that way they'll be even more personalized and the girls carrying them may feel more special and maybe they could keep the charm afterwards? Just a thought Laura, your girls weekend looks like it was awesome, really nice pics. Tisha, don't stress about the rings, the cool thing is that they were both custom made especially for you. No one is ever going to examine them as closely and be as critical, they are beautiful and that's what matters. Greys, beautiful dress. Fits you wonderfully. You're going to be a gorgeous bride. Lisa, great job kicking his butt into gear. I've been trying for weeks and I think I've still got the bulk of responsibilities. I've found that if I get him to work on things with me as opposed to sending him off on his own, we're a lot more productive together. Definitely never go to sleep angry. The morning can be extremely awkward filled with unneccessary tension. FI always seeks to read my mind when I'm upset or frustrated, so I never even get the chance to go to bed angry. Can't remember who, but awesome score on the honeymoon! Since the bill has been footed, I'd start contacting the resort and finding out their spa menus and any other special things for you two while you're there. And on a productive note, FINALLY ordered our guestbook this weekend through Mixbook. I can't wait to see it in person. I included pics from us growing up and all our guests and pics of those who aren't able to make it. It will be an awesome keepsake. And the guestbook off of Etsy looks adorable. What do the pages inside look like? I can't believe the early April brides are leaving so soon! What a long strange trip this has been, huh?

Despite the torrential down pour, I checked out a local gym today and worked out hardcore. Thinking of doing that as much as possible this week, BD shoot's on Friday. I'm still not exactly where I want to be, but I figure an extra push this week won't hurt since I leave in four and a half weeks!

Victoria, unfortunately we got my e-ring at a chain store, I bought my band online and FI got his in Hawaii, can't be of much help in that regard. I would just say shop around, there are sooo many jewelers in that area downtown, tons I each building, it can get quite overwhelming. I'm sure you will find something. Enjoy your stay here. Let me know if you need anything else, hopefully I can be of more assistance ;-) Erin, I just bought my chair sashes, based on what they look like I don't think they'd be too hard to make. It's just a single long piece of fabric with finished edges. If you choose to, good luck! Weren't you the one without much of a to-do list? Are you just trying to find things to do? On a sad note, looks like I won't have anyone from my side at the wedding. My sister sent me a very vague email yesterday saying that she feels badly but she won't be able to make it. I can't tell you how disappointed I am. My parents paid for her trip, she's currently working for my father, so it's not like she can't get the time off. I think what upsets me the most is that she couldn't even call me to tell me the reason. My parents probably aren't going to make it either, :-(. Who's going to walk me down the aisle? I guess I could walk myself, but it is just a shame that I'll be arriving in a beautiful horse and carriage (part of the wedding package) all alone :-(. At least I'm marrying the best guy in the world and we will become our own family. And his parents, who I love, live only 3 blocks from us and we are very close.

Sherri, that totally sucks, sometimes they just need to see that we do things with them in mind, not to hurt them. Can't he just see the intention behind the action as opposed to the action itself? Like everyone else has said, hopefully once he sees the book he'll forget who took the pictures. Too bad you couldn't have just told him the wife took the pictures and the husband had nothing to do with it. Victoria, congrats on the fitting. I saw on another forum that you're going to be in LA for a few days before the wedding? If you need ideas of anything to do while here, let me know. I've lived in LA for over ten years. Lisa, those fans sound like a pain. I've been going back and forth on the idea, but since we're only having 14 people, one of which is my photographer, one is officiating the wedding, and four of which are the parents, that only leaves eight people sitting and watching, it just doesn't seem like it's necessary. I do like the idea of the program, but we don't have a wedding party so I wouldn't really know what to put on it, especially because I'm writing the ceremony myself. Happy weekend ladies. Can't believe we have so few of these left as single ladies!!

Since this is a second marriage for me, i didn't want to go all out, so I bought a "recyclyed dress" and it saved me a lot of money i still have to alter it, but that would be the case even if I bought it new. I requested we complete the transaction via paypal and everything went very smoothly.

I really like them, they look so fun and you look beautiful. It seems like the photographer really helped your personality shine through. I'm sure FI is going to love them. Thanks for sharing fellow April bride!!

Brandy, my vote is for shoes #1, not really sure why I like those best, but I just do. And I also thing they're the most practical for future use.

Brandy Wedding: April 2 Leaves: March 30 Beaches Turks & Caicos Teneshia (Tennyt1) Wedding: April 2 Leaves: March 30 Sandals Grande Ocho Rios, Jamaica lsmith211 (leah) Wedding: April 5 Leaves: March 31 Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay JA Char (bryanandchar) Wedding: April 5 Leaves: April 2 RIU Ocho Rios, Jamaica Christina Wedding: April 7 Leaves: April 2 Riu Ocho Rios, Jamaica Teira Wedding: April 7 Leaves: April 4 Dreams Los Cabos 3 weeks from today!!!!!! (not that i'm excited or anything lol ) Laura Wedding: April 9 Leaves: April 6 Riu Negril, Jamaica greysgirl(shelley) Wedding April 11 Leaves April 9 Maui, Maluaka Beach JWetli (Jenny) Wedding: April 14 Leaves April 10 Riu Palace Mexico, Riviera Maya Lesee(Elese) Wedding: April 18 Leaves: April 14 Paradisus Palma Real, Punta Cana, DR Meggers (Megan) Wedding: April 19 Leaves: April 12 Barcelo Maya Palace, Riviera Maya Mocha(Sherri) Wedding: April 22 Leaves: April 16 Moon Palace, Riviera Maya Fmichelle (Francine) Wedding: April 25 Leaves: April 20 Excellence, Punta Cana, DR LisaDias(Lisa) Wedding: April 26 Leaves: April 23 Now Jade Riviera Resort & Spa, Riviera Maya Tris (Trista) Wedding: April 28 Leaves: April 23 Gran Bahia Principe, Runaway Bay Jamaica

What a dream wedding you've put together. With so many added layers of personalization, it will absolutely be unforgettable for so many reasons. Your guests are going to feel so special to be a part of your amazing day (if they don't already). Love all the choices and how they go together. Congrats April bride #1, I know we will all be eagerly awaiting your return to hear just how wonderful everything actually was. Congratualtions!

Oh yay, Erin, that must be such a relief. I hope she makes it even better than you expect and I'm sure it will be gorgeous. Meggers, damn girl, hot pics! I hope mine come out even half as good as yours. Now I have that extra week to stress about it. Speaking of auto correct, for a good laugh check you damnyouautocorrect.com. There is some hilarious stuff on there. I've been known to mistype a word or two, but I though it was supposed to be smart and "learn" words we use often. When was the last time you typed the word "udders" on purpose??? In terms of music, FI and everybody else is walking down to "Marry Me" by Train, I'm walking down to an acoustic version of "When You Say Nothing at All" and our recessional is "From This Moment" by Shania Twain, but we're using the duet version with Brian White.

So, just spoke with my photographer and she asked if we could push the BD shoot a week....well, that means an extra week to really kick it with the working out but actually turns out to be a good thing since my salon was totally booked for my original shoot date. Now I'm going to do a hair trial the day of my shoot so I'll not only get that out of the way, but my hair will be awesome for my photo shoot! I wasn't sure how I was going to use my extensions on the day of, and now I'll have a professional help me. One more week to be anxious, but I think it's for the best.

Laura, I can't believe you made that either (not that I don't doubt your abilities, but especially because of how quickly you were able to put it together) You should totally start selling on etsy! And I love the fact that the fabric is from your dress, couldn't be more perfect. Meggers, looking forward to hearing how the shoot went, I'm sure it was fabulous. Lisa, I love the ruffly skirt on the last one, I think it would be so awesome for a TTD. Hopefully you hear from DHGate soon so you can get the whole situation sorted. Greys, glad you like the koa wood ring, they're supposed to be extremely durable too as it was invented by a surfer who wanted something that he could wear in and out of the water. I hope the meeting with the jeweler went well. Tisha, I'm having issues with my ring size as well Who would have thought working out I'd lose it in my fingers more than my gut! I'm gonna wait to size them down though as I know that when you get pregnant your fingers may swell and I'd love to be able to still wear my rings then. As far as cover-ups go, I've had a lot of luck at places like Ross, TJMaxx, Marshalls, and Nordstrom Rack. Not sure if you have those stores up north of the border, but sometimes you can find something great there. And if not, perhaps an outlet mall??

Greys, something you may be interested in is the ring I got for my FI, we found it while vacationing in Hawaii in December, it's a koa wood titanium ring. FI also didn't want anything flashy and this was very unique and very "Hawaii" since they only make them there. But you can order them online, or even buy once you get there. I'm not on my computer right now to show you a pic, but just do a quick search in google for "koa titanium ring" and you'll find it. We paid $150 at a gift shop in Waikiki, but I think it's slightly more expensive online (plus shipping)

Teira, all your stuff looks amazing, great job getting things accomplished this weekend. Meggers, sorry you did end up getting sick I also agree that sometimes workout does make me feel better. My grandfather always used to go to the gym when he was sick and sweat out his colds (and he lived well into his 90's). Regardless, make sure to take a major decongestant tomorrow before the shoot so you're not sniffling or anything and you don't feel gross. But keep in mind, alcohol may interact with any cold medicine you take if you plan on the champagne or mimosa thing. Brandy, 16 DAYS!!! Wow, I can't believe it's so close for you. You must be so excited. In terms of the last name thing, my FI and I were going over the proof for our Ketubah, and the line where I sign will have my maiden name, but since we're doing the legal thing here before leaving FI said I should put his name there, but I reminded him that we're not telling anyone we're already married and besides, I can't change my name on anything until the marriage license comes in the mail, which may not be until we come back (we're doing the legal thing about a week before we leave). It was a cute convo though, I must admit. He seems even more excited than I do for me to take his name. Gotta work out hard this week, BD shoot is on Friday. I'm so bad at keeping secrets, I hope I don't spill the beans before then. I told FI I'm going to hang out with my friend (who also happens to be our photographer) that day, I wonder if he suspects (I'll have to be sneaky taking all my lighting equipment out of the closet when he's at work)

Kiwi, I hope you had a great BD shoot today, I'm looking forward to hearing all about. I think three of us are doing it this week....yay!