mochamakes3

eholt - good luck with your latest dress. What are you doing with the first one?

lisadias - it helps that my sister lives in Virginia, so I just have everything shipped there. We're going there for Christmas too, so I can look over everything and make final decisions. I'm really trying to avoid making unnecessary purchases since we have no idea how many guests will end up coming. Ellabaja - that's a great idea to start using your pay increase to pay down more stuff. I've been working a ton of overtime to try and save more money for wedding and hopefully start a baby fund too.

Since the Canadian and American dollar are almost at par, I paid for most of our resort stay this week. Hopefully, by the time we get married we have enough guests booked to get 7 days comp. We're also paying 50% deposit to our photographers this week. Still looking to get decent flights. And that should be all our major items. Dress should be in transit, I'm working on printing invitations, probably buying some decor this week with the dollar parity.... hmm.... where else can I keep spending money (without extending our budget)?

Let me know what you will have available. I will be interested in most of that stuff. And what kind of prices.

Too bad... you may have to visit several stores to get enough.

I've seen them at Dollarama... how many do you need? I'm trying to find somewhere to buy them in bulk so maybe we can split an order?

Check save-on-crafts.com for the lanterns. They have some on sale 10 for $11. And they also sell the LED lights for inside.

Natasha - where are you getting married? I'm looking for the same stuff and our wedding is the day before yours.

skadow, My mom mentioned that to my FMIL and she nearly backed out. She's afraid to go anywhere! But once you look at the number of visitors Moon Palace has, versus the number of incidents you will see that we are probably safer at Moon Palace than most of our home towns. It's a safe, beautiful place unless you go looking for trouble.

I just read online that there is a new issue just release Oct.4. I'm going to try to find one tonight!

I overlooked something really important - bring along people that will tell you the truth. We all know that the sales woman wants to make the sale and will try to make you happy, but if you bring along someone that knows you well and will tell the truth you don't need to worry. And make sure they are a positive influence and know your vision.

YAY! My dresses are being shipped out tomorrow! I can't wait to see them. Too bad I will be stuck on the other side of the country when they arrive Monica Bridal had told me they would send pictures prior to shipping, but I didn't receive any yet. Maybe tonight?

Just one more tip... try to find a dress shop that has a variety of dress in all sizes. It's hard to imagine how your dress will fit when you try on something that is nowhere near your size. If you are not a size 2, don't worry there are dresses that will look beautiful on you. Enjoy your curves. If you are a size 2, same thing, you will find something that makes you a beautiful feminine bride.

Good luck and try not to stress about the perfect dress... if you don't find it, it will find you. Where are you going to look? I went to Rainbow Bridal in Hamilton and they had a lot of selection.

Here's my DIY - very simple but what the FI picked

The other option that your bridal party has is to only stay for 3 - 4 nights if they can't afford a whole week.

Mahalo - I still haven't found BM dresses, but I am planning on something similar to the color Papaya by Jim Hjelm. http://www.jlmcouture.com/assets/Occasions/bm/large/5955.jpg

Lisa - We aren't looking at splitting the travel costs, they are covering the costs themselves. I just thought I might be able to help out another bride?

We're getting married in Cancun on April 22, 2011 and bringing our photographer. Is anyone looking for a great couple of photographers around the same date? They aren't charging us anything outside of the regular cost, so I thought I would see if I could help them find an extra job while they are on vacation.

CynLovesLuis - So sorry to hear about your luck. We were also worried that some of our Bridal party couldn't afford the trip, and I know I can't count on the GM until they actually pay for themselves. I'm pretty sure that we will end up paying for FMIL and FFIL?!? I hate being responsible for paying for grownups! But as with all our other guests, we will just wait to see who books and hopefully, we will have enough rooms for the free unlimited private events. And the bright spot will be that at least we will have great pictures?

We actually managed to find a photographer here that is going to come to Cancun for no extra cost. All we have to do is purchase a regular 2 photographer all-day package. They did our engagement photos and we are so pleased. They consider the cost of the trip to be a reason for a vacation, and because they are going to work it is a tax deductible job related cost. I wasn't really interested in spending too much on photos, but now I'm so excited to see how they turn out. They are also including a TTD or honeymoon shoot the next day.

Chris 2011 - Here is the private function pricing from Palace Resorts Cocktail party after ceremony (Palace guests, non-group booking) ï¶ From 10 to 20 $ 400.00 USD ï¶ From 21 to 30 $ 600.00 USD ï¶ From 31 to 40 $ 800.00 USD ï¶ From 41 to 50 $ 1000.00 USD Above prices are for 1 hour of cocktail reception, including open bar and hors d'oeuvres. Private wedding function ï¶ $400.00 USD per table of 10 guests. ï¶ Includes standard décor. (Tablecloth and napkins). ï¶ Event includes function space, menu, 2 hours of open bar service. ï¶ Buffet and platted dinner services require a minimum of 20 guests. ï¶ Platted dinner is offered in indoor areas only. ï¶ Additional hour of staff service is $60.00 USD, per table. Wedding pass for non-Palace wedding guests ï¶ 2009.- $84.00 p/person ï¶ 2010. -$86.00 p/person 2011 - $88.00 p/person Children 4 years of age or older will be considered towards the private function attendance. If you book as a group wedding you can earn free events.

Congrats Mel! We can't wait to see the pictures. Lisa - I thought about a second hand dress, but am too worried about bad luck from another marriage. I know it can be considered bad luck in certain cultures. My mom is going to be concerned enough if she finds out I ordered a dress without trying it on!

That was exactly why I chose the custom made route. I couldn't find a dress that had everything I wanted, so I'm having one made. And now instead of settling for the resort photographer, we're bringing our own. And my Tacori engagement ring will get it's matching wedding band. It's all about how you choose to allocate your money. I'm going to be quite pleased putting our money towards things that are going to last more than a few hours. I also feel better knowing that my money is going to Monica bridal and their employees, instead of paying for a bunch of advertising.

Alison - you were a beautiful bride. Congratulations and best wishes for a bright future.