fmichelle

Congrats Jerseygirl! Once you've chosen the location, it all gets a LOT easier.

For us, it's simply a matter of time and money. We figured out the cost of translating all our docs, getting something called an apostle, time lost not having our marriage legal in this country (as soon as you are married, car insurance goes down, we can combine our health insurance, another deduction on taxes, etc) and then money spent to translate back to English it was at least $500. I'd rather spend that money elsewhere and not stress. Our symbolic ceremony will be very special. I'm writing it myself and a close friend of our is performing the ceremony. At felt badly about it at first, but like everyone else, we're not making any kind of deal out of the paperwork, it's just paperwork.

Hi Brandy, I found it at David's Bridal then made a note of the style number from the website and then searched on every used wedding dress site possible. I ended up finding it on recycledbride.com for only $225 shipped! (the price brand new was $500) The girl who wore it never had it altered, only had the bustle put in. The bottom edge is a little dirty, but when I shorten it that will all be gone If you're still looking for a dress or even a TTD dress, just search "used wedding dress" in google and you'll find a ton of sites. Make sure to pay with paypal so in case there are any issue you have recourse.

Thanks Nan. I wish I could swim, no more gym membership for me But I think I'm going to try to get back to my workout videos and just do whatever I can as long as it doesn't hurt too badly. The videos have some upper body stuff and for the aerobic I'll just do whatever I can to get my heart rate up.

Hey Jana, I did a search in google for "vistaprint coupon" and got this site: http://www.techbargains.com/vendor_detail.cfm/422/VistaPrint-coupon-code and if you click on "Top 10 Products Free" then you'll be able to get what you want. You just have to order the things one at a time and open a new page for each product, but your cart will still get updated. I bought postcards, return address labels, a pen, post its, and a tote bag all for $10.41 shipping. This link says it doesn't expire until 12/31/10, so you have some time

Thank you thank you. I have no idea where to begin with this and that site seems like an awesome place to start!

I love the idea of having guests email you songs they like, I'm totally gonna steal that. Thank you! Glad you hear it was a success for you, congratulations!

Zappos has them in Silver and on sale in all sizes...wish I wanted silver Went on the Nina site and they make them in blue, can't seem to find them elsewhere in blue though. I'll see how I feel about the shoes I ordered from Amazon, they should be here by the end of the week, and then I can make a more "informed" decision BTW, my sand ceremony frame arrived today, it's a little smaller than I expected (the umbra ether frame) but how much sand did we really want to pour? Hey Tisha, I don't think that price is totally unreasonable, especially if you book hotel and airfare together (you get a better deal) If you book through orbitz right now, you can enter 100VACATION at check out for $100 of a Mexican vacation (it's also for the Caribbean as well, if anyone else is waiting to book) For us, we booked back in August, but since we're changing hotels, there weren't many sites we could book on (we went through Cheapcaribbean.com) Flights/packages are actually higher now than when we booked, but I'm thinking they will come down a bit in the New Year (hoping at least for those guests who have yet to book). Good luck!

 Thanks so much Aisha, getting a review from someone directly seems a lot more reliable than reading a ton online. Good luck on your song list planning!

Quote:Originally Posted by BeachBrideSoon  You know what I thought is that if it doesn't fit as he wanted, we would just get it altered as I'm sure we might have to do if we were to buy one locally. I didn't want him to have to wear a heavy suit on the wedding day because it will be hot! I figured you couldn't go wrong with the price and the reviews have been great!  True that, very good point. I was checking out Hollywood Suit Outlet online (since the actual store isn't too far from us) and they don't even carry linen. And because of the season, it'll probably be hard to find linen in person anywhere anyway. This looks like the place to go, and I mean, who doesn't want something "custom made".

Quote:Originally Posted by Brandy Alright Michelle, I think I have found some really cute shoes for us beach brides!! These come in Ivory and White   In order to avoid having the same conversation with you on two threads, i'll sat thank you very much here and I will definitely be checking those out, Brandy. I can see from thr link they are Zappos, I don't know how I missed them! You are the best. Great finds for the other girls as well, very impressed!

 As much as I did want canvas, I went to Dollar Tree last night and they must have gotten a new shipment because I found the exact style and size bag I was hoping for. Alas, they aren't canvas, but at least I won't feel hurt if the guests don't use them after the wedding week. And of course, no shipping costs is always nice.

Quote:Originally Posted by Brandy Well I went ahead and ordered these in ivory, I hope they arent too ivory  Brandy, you so are the go to girl for shoes. Where did you find these flip-flops, on Zappos as well? I love them! I just ordered a cute blue pair from Amazon, but I may need a backup. Glad to know I'm not the only one buying OOT bag stuff without having all my RSVPs. I actually found the bags themselves last night at Dollar Tree. They don't even have them on the website, I just went in hoping something new came in. I ordered mugs from discount mugs and because their website wasn't updated and my color is out of stock, I'm waiting till they get more in Feb (since I don't need them till April of course) and they're giving me an extra 10 for free. So in case any of the declines send gifts, at least I'll have a thank you to send them. You all are an inspiration to keep in the spirit of wedding planning this holiday season

 If sunset is slated for 6:45, then you want to start taking pictures by 5:45, which is formally called "golden hour" (the hour before sunset when you get all the pretty colors you're looking for. Your photographer should be familiar if he/she is a professional. Once the sun sets, you're not going to have enough light for really good shots.

I have two that would show (one on my ankle and one on my back) and I'd really like to cover up the one on my back. My ex and I got tattoos together and although I still like the tattoo, I really would prefer not to see a visual image of him in any of my wedding pictures. This is part of the reason I'm not going to do an updo as well. Do you think the cover up with stay on all day through the sun and heat?

So, I did a search on the forum and didn't find anything, so if this is a double post, my apologies. My FI and I try to live our life without OTC meds, except when utterly necessary. And then I started reading about hangover cures and found out that tylenol can actually be harmful when taken after a night of heavy drinking. So, after a great deal more research, I found some alternative options for my "Hang Over" packs that I wanted to share. Turns out that ginger is a natural way to help with nausea, and for the future mommies out there, it's been known to help curb morning sickness. So I bought a couple bags of these: Then I found there is a natural med that if you take two pills before starting drinking and two pills after you finish, you can avoid a hangover. Not that I'll be drinking heavily the whole week, but the night before the wedding I will want to make sure I'm feeling my best the next day. So I'm throwing some of these in for my guests as well (I know it has a funny name, but I did some research and people say it works): And because I know getting the runs is pretty common in the DR, I'm also adding in: If anyone is looking for a site for these, I found they were the least expensive at www.luckyvitamin.com. If anyone else knows of some other herbal/natural/homeopathic remedies, please do share!

Brandy, clearly you've got amazing taste in shoes...perhaps you can find all of us the cutest flipflop or wedge ever? (us beach brides would soooo appreciate it!) Thanks for the share, may have to seriously consider slipping into a pair like that for the reception. Great finds!

No wonder you got so many replies! That's awesome, so much more visual than a typical STD. Now I want to come! Congratulations, you both look extremely happy and I'm sure you will absolutely be living Happily Ever After.

Here's my dress: Sorry, don't have a pic of me wearing it yet, but the back is a corset style and it was the first dress I tried on and fell in love with it.

That sounds a little shady to me. I work part time as wedding videographer here in LA and we never take more than half up front. If you pay all that and they don't show, what kind of recourse do you have? Check if the resort has a photographer that they recommend? I know that at my resort (in the DR) the photographer is included in the package (and very well respected) and we've been emailing back and forth and basically I just need to choose which package I like when I get there (and pay the upgrade fee) so there is nothing up front for us. Another option would be to find a local photographer that does destination weddings and perhaps you can do some sort of deal that would also include an engagement shoot? Hope that helps!

Hi Ladies, my FI seems pretty insistent that he wants to try it on first as opposed to ordering online, how did you "convince" your men that this was the way to go? He only owns one suit right now and we searched all over town to find it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. With the lead time, I'd like to order soon, this sounds like a great place to get a custom suit!

I'm eagerly waiting until I have enough posts to download your planning journal, can't wait to see it! I'm getting married at Excellence in April and it could not come fast enough. Congratulations!

I'm sure your wedding was absolutely gorgeous, LOVE the dress! Your e-ring is very similar to mine and I'm having trouble finding a wedding band I like that compliments it, but doesn't take away, would you mind positing a pic of your wedding ring as well. Thanks for the info about the "cheap" totes, I also had concerns about the size and quality. Great choice on the color scheme, absolutely beautiful. Congratulations!

Will do, thanks for the advice. Listened to a few in-store, but it's hard to tell with all the other outside noise. Good to know you've used yours for outdoor parties in the past. Do you happen to know which model it is?

Also doing a TTD, so I'll just take it with me (since we're just switching resorts on the same island for the honeymoon) and deal with cleaning it when I get home.